Nervecentre

Early bird flu warning for Dutch

BBC1 broadcasted a two-part documentary  on Panorama, (the concluding part is next week), about a  recent disturbing brush with bird flu in the Netherlands. You can find out more about it here;

Early bird flu warning for Dutch

And there are also lessons to be learned from Vietnam.

Points of Interest - 15th August 2005

'Eternal planes' to watch over us.

Sun and hydrogen 'to fuel future'.

What will we drive when the oil runs out?

Can you survive a plane crash?

The end of cattle farming? Scientists propose meat 'grown' in the lab.

Chickens on sale in shops are found to contain superbugs.

Bird flu vaccine hope.

As dog obesity increases alongside human obesity, we need to take a long, hard look at the food we are feeding our pets.

In the wake of the London bombings, cycling has taken off on the streets of the capital with some bike shops reporting an increase in sales of 300 per cent. There are, however, important rules of the road for all these new cyclists to abide by, if they want to avoid accidents and mishaps.

Points of Interest - 14th August 2005

Do the stars play a part in triggering Earth's ice ages?

Bush chooses to ignore the dead soldiers mother on his way to a republican fund-raising barbeque. Hmm, what's more important George - the young kid's lives in Iraq or charred meat and swelling the political coffers?

With the deaths from lung cancer of US news anchor Peter Jennings and Vertigo and Dallas star Barbara Bel Geddes and the diagnosis of Dana Reeves for lung cancer, smokers and former smokers are clamoring for a promising new combined x-ray technique that, it's been alleged, can detect lung cancer when it is as small as the size of a pea.

A Manhattan Project for the 21st century.

Read how the supposed 'withdrawal' of Israeli settlers from the occupied territories is a cynical smokescreen used to mask a more insidious policy of encroachment. Don't believe the lies.

Points of Interest - 13th August 2005

It looks as though the 10th planet has been known about by astrologers for at least 2 years. They needed at least 6 months to establish the size of the planet before going public. Apparently, a hacker was responsible for bringing that announcement date forward.

It's official! Beer is good for you! It protects the blood against radiation exposure.

Video games are set to replace TV, says expert.

When it was announced last week that cats lack the ability to taste 'sweet' flavours, little did they know that a schoolgirl from Honolulu had already discovered this fact in a school project - 5 years ago!

Siberia's rapid permafrost thaw is worrying scientists as it could speed up global warming.

Hurricane Ivan generated a wave more than 90 ft. high. It's thought the hurricane may have generated waves as high as 132 ft!

A new treatment offers hope for eliminating latent HIV.

And there is also encouraging news about a new stealth drug that could be employed in cancer treatment.

Bush sends a warning to Iran over its nuclear plans. And a mother whose son died in Iraq has had her plea to meet with the president rejected by Bush.

New documents have been released of harrowing accounts by New York firefighters of the events of the 9/11 attacks. The design for the Freedom Tower has been revised to protect it from terrorist attack. Meanwhile, the FBI has issued a warning that Al-Qaeda cells are planning on mounting a series of truck bomb attacks on American cities on or around the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The man who eats live snakes!!

A study has found a possible link between excess alcohol consumption and cancer.

Points of Interest - 11th August 2005

Sad news. Barbara Bel Geddes, star of the excellent Vertigo and perhaps best known as Miss Ellie in Dallas, has died of lung cancer at the age of 82.

Europe is getting hotter.

Not really news as such as this has been known about for ages but, organic farms are good for wildlife.

Ever wondered how noisy your neighbourhood is? Soon, the government will be publishing 'noise maps' for England so that people can see for themselves just how noisy their locale might be. London has already had its noise map published. As has Birmingham. And if, like me, you ever long for a bit of peace and quiet sometimes, it might not be too long before we have 'tranquility maps' available to us.

There are more and more uninsured drivers on the road. Time for a crackdown. And on a similar theme, when the hell are the government going to get their arses into gear and roll this bad boy out across the country?

1 in 25 fathers are 'not the daddy'.

Points of Interest - 09 August 2005

Some interesting background facts on super volcanoes. The Siberian Traps eruption was the single biggest eruption in the history of our planet, it's thought the eruption lasted for around a million years and caused the biggest mass extinction and also triggered a lengthy ice age. And there is cause for concern over a number of volcanic sites in the U.S.

As the U.S. comes to terms with the death of one of it's leading news anchors from lung cancer, questions are being asked about perhaps the most scariest form of cancer and what more can be done to improve treatment, prevention and detection. Some new lung cancer treatments suggest improvements, however slight. There is also hope for methods of early detection and effective treatment, but this is notoriously hard, as chest x-rays aren't good at detecting hidden tumours in the lung. For the time being, it seems as though intake of vitamin D might prove beneficial for those fighting lung cancer as trials indicate the vitamin may be good at restricting and curtailing spread of the cancer.

On the subject of breast cancer, there is evidence that exercise might be crucial for some women's survival chances during and after treatment with chemotherapy. Some evidence showed a cut in the death rate from recurrence by half if the woman exercised between 3-5 hours a week. It appears that exercise can cut the production of the female hormone oestrogen, that feeds the cancer cells and also improve the functioning and production of immune cells to also prevent recurrence. This, at a time when new drug treatments are offering hope to millions of women around the world.

And there is also hope of nanotechnology being employed in the fight against cancer. The 'cancer bomb' is injected into the bloodstream and it delivers powerful chemotherapy drugs to the tumour cells but not to healthy cells - it also has been shown on tests in mice to lengthen survival time too.

Points of Interest - 08 August 2005

Read the story of a man fell out of a plane, only to be caught by the plane again as it fishtailed through the air.

The U.S. military has drafted a war plan in case of a coordinated terror attack on its soil.

Evidence has come to light that global warming is 'pumping up' the force and power of hurricanes.

Moderate drinkers end up better thinkers.

Points of Interest - 07 August 2005

The world's first 'face transplant' has been greenlighted.

Another way to combat cancer - put the cancerous cells into cellular suspended animation.

There's been a significant breakthrough in the potential for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

And another genetic breakthrough in the understanding of how breast cancer is triggered.

Gigantic rogue waves that eat ships, formed seemingly from nothing, exist.

I've mentioned it on Nervecentre many times before, but here's another link to an interesting article about Yellowstone's slumbering supervolcano.

Very sad news. UK anti-war MP and former Cabinet Minister Robin Cook has died aged 59. UK politics will be all the poorer with his loss. He had an incisive mind and great influence. His resignation speech is one of the most impressive political speeches of modern times.

7 ways to stop terror.

Points of Interest - 01 August 2005

Something I think I've already pointed out but, if there is life already on Mars stoopid NASA might have contaminated it with Earth bugs.

Soccar ball sized hailstone is found in the U.S.

It's beautiful to look at, but deadly if it strikes you. When you examine the facts, lightning kills more people than you might think. But there are ways of reducing your risk. And it seems as though where you live might have some bearing on your overall risk of a strike.

Genetic research shows that Britons have changed little since their ancient forebears first colonised the British Isles 8,000 years ago. The evidence proves that the modern British have retained 80% of the genetic profile of their ancestors, despite many waves of settlers throughout history.

If you didn't know already, Jewish people tend to score the highest score in ID tests of all races. They consistently score '12 to 15 points' more than the average white European.

There's new evidence of the 10 ft tall 'Terror Bird' that lived in South America between 60 and 2.5 million years ago. It would have been able to swallow a dog in one gulp.

Geneticists find more clues about the secrets of longevity.

Osama Bin Laden. 'Wanted: Dead or Alive'? Apparently not...

Pig Fever

Oh
Dear

"There's nothing to see here people. Move along now. Move along. Everything's under control. There's nothing to worry about".

All sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?