WHO says new bird strain is "one of most lethal" flu viruses

By Sui-Lee Wee

BEIJING (Reuters) - A new strain of bird flu that has killed 22 people in China is "one of the most lethal" of its kind and is more easily transmissible to humans than an earlier strain that has killed hundreds around the world since 2003, a top World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Wednesday.

The H7N9 virus has infected 108 people in China since it was first detected in March, according to the Geneva-based WHO. Although it is not clear exactly how people have been infected, WHO experts see no evidence so far of the most worrisome scenario - sustained transmission between people.

An international team of experts led by the WHO and the Chinese government conducted a five-day investigation in China, but said they were no closer to determining whether the virus could become transmissible between people.

Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general for health security, said "the situation remains complex and difficult and evolving.

"When we look at influenza viruses, this is an unusually dangerous virus for humans," Fukuda said at a briefing, also naming the previous H5N1 strain that killed 30 of the 45 people infected in China between 2003 and 2013.

Although the H7N9 strain in the current outbreak has a lower fatality rate to date, he added: "This is definitely one of the most lethal influenza viruses that we've seen so far."

Fukuda stressed that the team is still at the beginning of its investigation and that "we may just be seeing the most serious infections" at this point.

The team of experts said what was mystifying about the latest virus is the absence of visible illness in poultry, "making it harder to track and control".

Fukuda also said that based on the evidence, "this virus is more easily transmissible from poultry to humans than (the) H5N1" virus, which has killed 371 people globally since 2003.

Ho Pak-leung, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, noted in the British Medical Journal that in the two months since it was first detected, the H7N9 flu has already resulted in almost twice as many confirmed infections in China as H5N1 caused there in a decade.

Besides the initial cases of H7N9 in and around Shanghai, others have been detected in Beijing and five provinces.

Samples from chickens, ducks and pigeons from poultry markets have tested positive for the H7N9 virus, but those from migratory birds have not, said Nancy Cox, director of the influenza division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"At least we can now understand the likely source of infection is poultry," Cox said.

The experts also looked at poultry samples from farms but found nothing, said Malik Peiris, a clinical virologist at the University of Hong Kong.

Liang Wannian, the director general of the office of health emergency at the National Health and Family Planning Commission, warned that more sporadic cases will probably emerge, "before the source of infection has been completely confirmed and effectively controlled."

There has been a "dramatic slowdown of cases" in the commercial capital of Shanghai, which has recorded most of the deaths, said Anne Kelso, the Melbourne-based director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza.

"This is very encouraging at this stage of the outbreak," she said.

After Shanghai closed down its live poultry markets in early April, "almost immediately there was a decline in detection of new cases," Kelso said.

"The evidence suggests that the closing of the live poultry markets was an effective way to reduce the risks of infection of the H7N9 virus," she said.

Even so, the WHO's China representative, Michael O'Leary, issued figures last week showing that half of the patients analyzed had no known contact with poultry.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ken Wills)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/says-bird-strain-one-most-lethal-flu-viruses-072106064.html

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Jupiter's atmosphere still contains water supplied by the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing Herschel observations of water in Jupiter's stratosphere. It is a clear remnant of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact on Jupiter nearly 20 years ago.

In July 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) hit Jupiter and left visible scars on the Jovian disk for weeks. This spectacular event was the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision in the solar system, and it was followed worldwide by professional and amateur astronomers.

SL9 was discovered orbiting Jupiter by astronomers David Levy and Carolyn and Eugene M. Shoemaker on March 24, 1993. It was the first comet observed orbiting a planet rather than the Sun. SL9 was found to be composed of 21 fragments. Soon after that, orbital studies showed that the comet had passed within Jupiter's Roche limit in July 1992. Inside this limit, the planet's tidal forces are strong enough to disintegrate a body held together by its own gravity, thus explaining SL9's fragmentation. Even more interestingly, the studies showed that SL9's orbit would pass within Jupiter in July 1994 and that the comet would then collide with the planet, with impacts in the southern hemisphere near 44?S latitude.

The SL9 impact and its subsequent scars on Jupiter were observed for weeks, but its chemical impact on Jupiter's atmosphere lasted even longer. Emission from water vapor was observed during the fireball phase of the SL9 impacts, but from that observation, it was difficult to assess how this would modify Jupiter's composition on the long term. In 1997, the ESA Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) detected water vapor in the stratosphere of Jupiter. At that time, astronomers suspected that it might be a consequence of the SL9 impact because comets are known to be water-rich bodies. However, there were other possible sources of water: interplanetary dust particles produced by cometary activity and asteroid collisions, icy rings, or one of the 60 Jovian satellites.

Nearly twenty years after this major impact, astronomers are still observing its consequences on Jupiter. T. Cavali? and his colleagues [1] observed Jupiter with the ESA Herschel Space Observatory, which is sensitive enough to map the abundance of water vs. latitude and altitude in the Jovian stratosphere. These observations, which have now been published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, show a clear north-south asymmetry in the distribution of water, with more water in the south. They indicate that 95% of the water currently observed on Jupiter comes from the comet.

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Journal Reference:

1. T. Cavali?, H. Feuchtgruber, E. Lellouch, M. de Val-Borro, C. Jarchow, R. Moreno, P. Hartogh, G. Orton, T. K. Greathouse, F. Billebaud, M. Dobrijevic, L. M. Lara, A. Gonz?lez, H. Sagawa. Spatial distribution of water in the stratosphere of Jupiter fromHerschelHIFI and PACS observations. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2013; 553: A21 DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201220797

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/CXcnp-4LL4M/130423102335.htm

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Henty Wingman review

When you need to travel with a clean shirt or suit – whether it be by bike, walking or airplane – the big problem is keeping your clothes neat and pressed. ?Whether I’ve folded them into a carry bag or put them into a traditional suit bag, my first job when I get to my [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/04/22/henty-wingman-review/

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Be Lifehacker's New Editorial Fellow

We're on the hunt for a new editorial fellow based in New York City. Interested? Here's what you need to know.

A fellowship at Lifehacker means you'll help us with our daily pursuits and hunting down the best tips and tricks for getting things done. More specifically, the fellow will learn to be a Jack- or Jill-of-all-trades, assisting us with research, post-finding, basic copy editing, emailing, social media tasks and, with some guidance, writing. Basically, you'll get valuable experience in the skills needed at a site like Lifehacker that you can take with you to basically any writing/media job.

What You'll Need:

• The ability to work out of our New York office full time, five days a week
• Basic HTML skills
• Modern computer skills such as Tweeting, Facebooking, RSSing, IMing and other ways of communicating on the internet
• Talent, a good work ethic, ability to listen and learn fast
• The ability to follow directions to the letter
• Be at least college age

For Bonus Points:

• The qualities of a good Lifehacker writer. Being able to write makes it much more likely that you'll get more writing time.
• Graphics (mainly Photoshop/Photoshop alternative) and video skills.

The Focus

This fellowship is foremost a learning opportunity; a chance for you to quickly learn the skills that it takes to be a blogger/news writer/life hacker in a short amount of time. The pay is hourly; the position is full time, for about 3 to 6 months. If you come into the fellowship with a great attitude for learning and enthusiasm for the experience, you'll find that a Lifehacker fellowship is one of the best things you can do to get your writing career started. We're also looking for editorial assistants, and this fellowship is how we intend to find them.

How Do You Apply?

We get a lot of applications and rely on Gmail to help us keep things sorted, so it's very important to follow these instructions so we don't miss yours. Here's what to do:

• Send an email to tips+fellowship@lifehacker.com with the subject Lifehacker Fellowship.
• In the email, a few sentences about yourself. Good things to discuss are why you want to be an fellow, your interests and experience that fit with Lifehacker (programming/writing/hacking/DIY experience), and your availability (when you can start). Focus on the fact that being concise is much more effective, but write as much as you need to to tell us what experience you have and what special circumstances allow you to be a great Lifehacker fellow.
• In the email, also include a couple of links to writing and/or projects you've done.
• No attachments, please.

We get a lot of emails, so unfortunately we can't reply to everyone. If we do contact you, it may not be immediately so please be patient. If you don't hear from us, feel free to give it another shot the next time around.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/MXt11gVe48I/be-lifehackers-new-editorial-fellow-477041092

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Uphill battle for defense of marathon bomb suspect

FILE - In this Monday, July 23, 2007 file photo, attorney Frank Rubino, left, talks to reporters as Jon May looks on during a news conference in Miami. Attorneys who handle terrorism and other notorious cases say public opinion is stacked against the defense for obvious reasons. Rubino, who represented former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on drug conspiracy charges, agreed it wouldn't make sense to deny the younger Tsarnaev's involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings, but attorneys could try to spare his life by focusing on his age - 19 - and possible coercion by his older brother, Tamerlan, 26, who was killed Friday, April 19, 2013 in a fierce police shootout. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

FILE - In this Monday, July 23, 2007 file photo, attorney Frank Rubino, left, talks to reporters as Jon May looks on during a news conference in Miami. Attorneys who handle terrorism and other notorious cases say public opinion is stacked against the defense for obvious reasons. Rubino, who represented former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on drug conspiracy charges, agreed it wouldn't make sense to deny the younger Tsarnaev's involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings, but attorneys could try to spare his life by focusing on his age - 19 - and possible coercion by his older brother, Tamerlan, 26, who was killed Friday, April 19, 2013 in a fierce police shootout. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

There are photos of the suspect at the bomb scene, video footage of him dropping a knapsack at the site of one of the blasts, and perhaps most incriminating could be the written words of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev himself during questioning in a Boston hospital. A case with evidence like this may be the toughest challenge a lawyer can face: defending someone accused of an act of terror so horrific a nation cries out for swift, severe punishment.

Attorneys who handle terrorism and other notorious cases say public opinion is stacked against the defense for obvious reasons. Acts of terrorism unleash an outpouring of anger from the public, including potential jurors. In Boston, the circumstances are especially egregious: Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, died in the twin blasts, more than 260 were injured, and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer was later fatally shot.

Some lawyers say that in this case, the surveillance evidence and a police shootout make a "he wasn't there" innocence claim untenable ? and keeping Tsarnaev out of the execution chamber may itself be a triumph.

"The reality is you just try to save his life," said Thomas A. Durkin, a Chicago lawyer who has defended several terrorism suspects, including Ramzi bin al Shibh, one of the alleged plotters in the 9/11 attacks now being held in Guantanamo.

Durkin said there are several steps the defense can take: Hire top-notch investigators, look for possible psychiatric issues or brain damage and scour for potential vulnerabilities in how the government collected evidence. But he said the biggest hurdles for lawyers, clearly, are the bombings and the ensuing horror.

"It's just an unspeakable crime," Durkin said. "It strikes at the heart of a free society. It strikes fear into everyone. It's just an awful, awful situation ? people standing, watching a race one second and having no feet after that. I can't imagine worse evidence."

Frank Rubino, a Miami defense attorney who represented former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega on drug conspiracy charges, agreed it wouldn't make sense to deny the younger Tsarnaev's involvement, but attorneys could try to spare his life by focusing on his age ? 19 ? and possible coercion by his older brother, Tamerlan, 26, who was killed Friday in a fierce police shootout.

"To take this case to trial and argue that he didn't plant the bomb and someone else did it would be futile," Rubino said in an email. "The evidence of both flight from the police and the shootout will come in evidence as 'consciousness of guilt.' How can one explain that conduct? Innocent people don't throw bombs at the cops, shoot it out with the cops and hide."

Tsarnaev was charged Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill in the April 15 bombings. He could face the death penalty if convicted. He was questioned in his Boston hospital room by a special interrogation team for high-value suspects.

Two U.S. officials said preliminary evidence from that interrogation suggests the brothers were motivated by religious extremism but apparently were not involved with Islamic terrorist groups. Tsarnaev communicated with his interrogators in writing, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

An FBI affidavit released Monday reveals incriminating evidence against Tsarnaev, including surveillance-camera footage that shows him raising his mobile phone to his ear just before the two blasts. After the first explosion, a block away, as the horrified crowd turned in that direction, he appeared calm. He then quickly walked away, leaving a knapsack on the ground. About 10 seconds later, the FBI said, a bomb blew up where he'd been standing.

Authorities also have said they found a "large pyrotechnic" and BB pellets during a search of his dorm room at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth on Sunday. Among the shrapnel that struck victims were BBs.

It's far too soon to say what defense strategy Tsarnaev's lawyers will use. The federal public defender for Massachusetts, Miriam Conrad, has been appointed to represent him. Conrad is expected to be the lead attorney, but the office will bring in at least one, if not two lawyers, with death penalty experience.

Thomas H. Dupree Jr., a Washington, D.C., lawyer, says in most cases with so much evidence, the defense might consider an insanity defense, but that would be very difficult here. "This appears to be a carefully calculated, malevolent plot," he said.

Without that option, he said the defense could seek to enter a guilty plea in a deal to avoid the death penalty. "They may make the argument that he was not the ringleader and was under the spell of his brother," Dupree said. "I don't know how successful that would be."

The focus now should be on gathering the facts, he said. "If you're his lawyer you want to find out if there are any mitigating circumstances that might change the public view of him," Dupree added. "If the facts turn out to be what we see now, their focus should be on saving his life."

___

Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in Miami, Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-23-Boston%20Marathon-Suspect's%20Defense/id-279a68b0b9c34e7bbb7f5c174ff22f57

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U. of Illinois researchers measure near-field behavior of semiconductor plasmonic microparticles

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: William P. King
wpk@illinois.edu
217-244-3864
University of Illinois College of Engineering

Nanometer-scale heating reveals surface plasmon resonance

Recent progress in the engineering of plasmonic structures has enabled new kinds of nanometer-scale optoelectronic devices as well as high-resolution optical sensing. But until now, there has been a lack of tools for measuring nanometer-scale behavior in plasmonic structures which are needed to understand device performance and to confirm theoretical models.

"For the first time, we have measured nanometer-scale infrared absorption in semiconductor plasmonic microparticles using a technique that combines atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy," explained William P. King, an Abel Bliss Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE) at Illinois. "Atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy allows us to directly observe the plasmonic behavior within microparticle infrared antennas."

The article describing the research, "Near-field infrared absorption of plasmonic semiconductor microparticles studied using atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy," appears in Applied Physics Letters.

"Highly doped semiconductors can serve as wavelength flexible plasmonic metals in the infrared," noted Daniel M. Wasserman, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois. "However, without the ability to visualize the optical response in the vicinity of the plasmonic particles, we can only infer the near-field behavior of the structures from their far-field response. What this work gives us is a clear window into the optical behavior of this new class of materials on a length scale much smaller than the wavelength of light."

The article compares near-field and far-field measurements with electromagnetic simulations to confirm the presence of localized plasmonic resonance. The article further reports high resolution maps of the spatial distribution of absorption within single plasmonic structures and variation across plasmonic arrays.

"The ability to measure near field behavior in plasmonic structures allows us to begin expanding our design parameters for plasmonic materials," commented Jonathan Felts, a MechSE graduate student. "Now that we can measure the optical behavior of individual features, we can start to think about designing and testing more complex optical materials."

###

The authors on the research are Jonathan Felts, Stephanie Law, Daniel M. Wasserman, and William P. King of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, along with Christopher M. Roberts and Viktor Podolskiy of the University of Massachusetts. The article is available at http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v102/i15/p152110_s1. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Contact: William King, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-3864

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: William P. King
wpk@illinois.edu
217-244-3864
University of Illinois College of Engineering

Nanometer-scale heating reveals surface plasmon resonance

Recent progress in the engineering of plasmonic structures has enabled new kinds of nanometer-scale optoelectronic devices as well as high-resolution optical sensing. But until now, there has been a lack of tools for measuring nanometer-scale behavior in plasmonic structures which are needed to understand device performance and to confirm theoretical models.

"For the first time, we have measured nanometer-scale infrared absorption in semiconductor plasmonic microparticles using a technique that combines atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy," explained William P. King, an Abel Bliss Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering (MechSE) at Illinois. "Atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy allows us to directly observe the plasmonic behavior within microparticle infrared antennas."

The article describing the research, "Near-field infrared absorption of plasmonic semiconductor microparticles studied using atomic force microscope infrared spectroscopy," appears in Applied Physics Letters.

"Highly doped semiconductors can serve as wavelength flexible plasmonic metals in the infrared," noted Daniel M. Wasserman, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois. "However, without the ability to visualize the optical response in the vicinity of the plasmonic particles, we can only infer the near-field behavior of the structures from their far-field response. What this work gives us is a clear window into the optical behavior of this new class of materials on a length scale much smaller than the wavelength of light."

The article compares near-field and far-field measurements with electromagnetic simulations to confirm the presence of localized plasmonic resonance. The article further reports high resolution maps of the spatial distribution of absorption within single plasmonic structures and variation across plasmonic arrays.

"The ability to measure near field behavior in plasmonic structures allows us to begin expanding our design parameters for plasmonic materials," commented Jonathan Felts, a MechSE graduate student. "Now that we can measure the optical behavior of individual features, we can start to think about designing and testing more complex optical materials."

###

The authors on the research are Jonathan Felts, Stephanie Law, Daniel M. Wasserman, and William P. King of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, along with Christopher M. Roberts and Viktor Podolskiy of the University of Massachusetts. The article is available at http://apl.aip.org/resource/1/applab/v102/i15/p152110_s1. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Contact: William King, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-3864

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uoic-uoi042213.php

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Hagel: Israel, U.S. see 'exactly same' Iran threat

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ? U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday the United States and Israel see "exactly the same" threat from Iran, but differ on when it may reach the point of requiring U.S. or Israeli military action.

Hagel used his first visit to Israel as Pentagon chief to highlight his view that Israel must decide for itself whether and when to pre-emptively attack its neighbor.

"Israel will make the decision that Israel must make to protect itself, to defend itself," Hagel told reporters before arriving here on Sunday to begin a weeklong tour of the Middle East.

Hagel acknowledged that while Israel and the U.S. share a commitment to ensuring that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, there "may well be some differences" between the two allies on the question of when Iran's leaders might decide to go for a bomb.

He said there is "no daylight at all" between Israel and the U.S. on the central goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.

But he added, "When you back down into the specifics of the timing of when and if Iran decides to pursue a nuclear weapon, there may well be some differences."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tends to see more urgency, reflecting in part the fact that certain Iranian technological advances toward a nuclear weapon could put the program beyond the ability of the Israeli military to destroy it with airstrikes. U.S. forces have greater reach.

The first thing Hagel did upon arrival in Jerusalem was take a guided tour of the Yad Vashem Holocaust history museum, participate in a ceremony at the Hall of Remembrance and write an inscription in the guest book at a memorial for the 1.5 million Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust.

"There is no more poignant, more touching, more effective way to tell the story than this reality, as painful as it is, but it is a reality," he said after completing his visit. "It did happen, and we must prepare our future generations ... for a clear understanding that we must never allow this to happen again."

In an interview on an overnight flight from Washington, Hagel repeatedly emphasized Israel's right of self-defense and stressed that military force ? by implication, Israeli or American ? remains an option of last resort.

"In dealing with Iran, every option must be on the table," he said.

Hagel, 66, came under intense fire from Republican critics, prior to his February Senate confirmation hearing, for some of his past statements on Israel. His critics painted him as insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state.

In choosing to make Israel one of his first overseas stops, Hagel sought to put that controversy behind him ? with serious words and a touch of humor. The February confirmation hearing, which Republicans used to hammer him on Israel and other subjects, "was years ago," he deadpanned.

During his two-day visit to Israel, Hagel is expected to put the final touches on a U.S. arms deal that would provide Israel with missiles for its fighter aircraft, plus KC-135 refueling planes that could be used in a long-range strike on a country like Iran, as well as V-22 Osprey transport planes. He called the proposed sale a "very clear signal" to Iran.

"The bottom line is, Iran is a threat ? a real threat," he said, not only for its nuclear ambitions and its stated goal of destroying Israel but also for its alleged sponsoring of terrorism.

Hagel said U.S. and international economic sanctions are "hurting Iran significantly," but he said they do not guarantee that Iranian leaders will be persuaded to stop what the West sees as their ambition to become a nuclear power. Iran asserts that its nuclear program is designed entirely for non-military purposes.

Hagel suggested he holds hope that Iran's presidential election in June might change the trajectory of its nuclear drive.

He asserted that there is still time for diplomacy and international sanctions to resolve the Iran problem.

"These other tracks do have some time to continue to try to influence the outcome in Iran," he said.

In the interview en route to Tel Aviv, Hagel was asked whether the Obama administration has determined whether the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against opposition rebels. He said intelligences analysts are still assessing the evidence and have not reached a conclusion.

After his talks in Israel, Hagel is scheduled to visit Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Each of those four is an important American ally in the Middle East, and each is worried by Syria's civil war.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are part of a $10 billion proposed US arms sale that includes Israel. The UAE would get about 26 F-16 fighters and it and Saudi Arabia would get advanced air-launched missiles.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also in the region. He is working to mend the strained relationship between Turkey and Israel and on Sunday he announced the White House is doubling its non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition to $250 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hagel-israel-us-see-exactly-same-iran-threat-084103356--politics.html

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