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November 28th, 2009Hitting early, swine flu claims 11 more kids in US
October 17th, 2009
As the swine flu outbreak strikes the U.S. early and hard, health officials note a worrisome number of child deaths and warn that supplies of vaccine will remain scarce for at least the next couple of weeks.
Delays in producing the vaccine mean 28 million to 30 million doses, at most, will be divided around the country by the end of the month, not the 40 million-plus states had been expecting. The new count from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention means anxiously awaited flu-shot clinics in some parts of the U.S. may have to be postponed.
It also delays efforts to blunt increasing infections. Overall, what CDC calls the 2009 H1N1 flu is causing widespread disease in 41 states, and about 6 percent of all doctor visits are for flu-like illness — levels not normally seen until much later in the fall.
Federal health officials said Friday 11 more children have died in the past week because of the virus.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about half of the child deaths since September have been among teenagers. And overall for the country, deaths from pneumonia and flu-like illnesses have passed what CDC considers an epidemic level.
“These are very sobering statistics,” says the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat.
This new strain is different from regular winter flu because it strikes the young far more than the old, and child deaths are drawing particular attention. Eighty-six children have died of swine flu in the U.S. since it burst on the scene last spring — 43 of those deaths reported in September and early October alone, said Schuchat.
The complete article can be found here.
Swine Flu – Situation Update
October 10th, 2009
During the week of September 27-October 3, 2009, influenza activity continued to increase in the United States. Flu activity is now widespread in 37 states. Nationwide, visits to doctors for influenza-like-illness increased over last week and are higher than expected for this time of year. In addition, flu-related hospitalizations and deaths are increasing as well, and are higher than expected.
Hundreds of New Species Discovered in Fragile Eastern Himalayas!
August 10th, 2009
Decade of Discovery Includes prehistoric gecko, flying frog and world’s smallest deer
Press Release: Aug 10, 2009
Via: WWF
Over 350 new species including the world’s smallest deer, a “flying frog” and a 100 million-year old gecko have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove now threatened by climate change.
Washington, DC – Over 350 new species including the world’s smallest deer, a “flying frog” and a 100 million-year old gecko have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove now threatened by climate change.
A decade of research carried out by scientists in remote mountain areas endangered by rising global temperatures brought exciting discoveries such as a bright green frog that uses its red and long webbed feet to glide in the air.
One of the most significant findings was not exactly “new” in the classic sense. A 100-million year-old gecko, the oldest fossil gecko species known to science, was discovered in an amber mine in the Hukawng Valley in the northern Myanmar.
The WWF report The Eastern Himalayas – Where Worlds Collide details discoveries made by scientists from various organizations between 1998 and 2008 in a region reaching across Bhutan and north-east India to the far north of Myanmar as well as Nepal and southern parts of Tibet Autonomus Region (China).
“The good news of this explosion in species discoveries is tempered by the increasing threats to the Himalayas’ cultural and biological diversity,” said Jon Miceler, Director of WWF’s Eastern Himalayas Program. “This rugged and remarkable landscape is already seeing direct, measurable impacts from climate change and risks being lost forever.”
In December world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to reach an agreement on a new climate deal, which will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol.
The Eastern Himalayas- Where Worlds Collide describes more than 350 new species discovered – including 244 plants, 16 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 14 fish, 2 birds, 2 mammals and at least 60 new invertebrates.
The report mentions the miniature muntjac, also called the “leaf deer,” which is the world’s oldest and smallest deer species. Scientists initially believed the small creature found in the world’s largest mountain range was a juvenile of another species but DNA tests confirmed the light brown animal with innocent dark eyes was a distinct and new species.
The Eastern Himalayas harbor a staggering 10,000 plant species, 300 mammal species, 977 bird species, 176 reptiles, 105 amphibians and 269 types of freshwater fish. The region also has the highest density of Bengal tigers in the world and is the last bastion of the charismatic greater one-horned rhino.
WWF is working to conserve the habitat of endangered species such as snow leopards, Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, red pandas, takin, golden langurs, Gangetic dolphins and one-horned rhinos.
Historically, the rugged and largely inaccessible landscape of the Eastern Himalayas has made biological surveys in the region extremely difficult. As a result, wildlife has remained poorly surveyed and there are large areas that are still biologically unexplored.
Today further species continue to be unearthed and many more species of amphibians, reptiles and fish are currently in the process of being officially named by scientists.
Kepler Spacecraft Telescope Proves It Is Capable Of Finding Earthlike Planets
August 8th, 2009
Kepler, NASA’s Spacecraft Telescope is on a mission to find distant planets similar to our own Planet Earth, with the potential to be hospitable to life or contain water. Until now earth and space planet-hunting telescopes have only been capable to seek out planets both larger and hotter than planet earth. Kepler is different; it is designed to find planets the same size and temperature as our own planet. The data and images Kepler is cable of providing is revolutionary. “When the light curves from tens of thousands of stars were shown to the Kepler science team, everyone was awed; no one had ever seen such exquisitely detailed measurements of the light variations of so many different types of stars,” said William Borucki, the principal science investigator of the Kepler Team. So far all data from Kepler is test data from its first 10 days in space and just a taste of things to come. We will be following this story very closely. Stay tuned.
