This report shows that American cities are contracting Chinese companies to repair and rebuild American infrastructure. Whatever happened to what the president has been talking about about putting Americans back to work by rebuilding our infrastructure?
This is a crying shame and shows how low this country has sunk and how the people we elect to govern us no longer care about this country. Every American should be outraged about this.
A slew of crazed, often cannibalistic, attacks across the United States has left many people concerned about a so-called “zombie apocalypse.” But a craven new assault in Corpus Christi, Texas, has ignited fears about a “vampire” attacker.
(Photo: Facebook)
A slew of crazed, often cannibalistic, attacks across the United States has left many people concerned about a so-called “zombie apocalypse.” But a craven new assault in Corpus Christi, Texas, — has ignited fears about a “vampire” attacker.
A 16-year-old boy was walking along Shoreline Boulevard in Corpus Christi near Corpus Christi Bay Wednesday night, according to Texas radio station 1200 WOAI, when he bumped into a man by accident.
What should have been a harmless misunderstanding then took a turn for the weird — and perhaps the vampiric? — when the man turned around and bit the boy on his neck, according to the radio station.
Police became involved, and Senior Police Officer Julia Hernandez-Garcia told WOAI that the boy’s mother took him to the hospital with minor injuries.
“Apparently he left a bite mark and broke the skin and took some skin off,” Hernandez-Garcia told WOAI. “This is a very unusual case … I’ve been here for 27 years and I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
Police describe the suspect as a Latino male in his early 20s, and they told WOAI he ran away after biting the 16-year-old, whose name was not released as he is a minor.
The attack is at least the second of its kind in recent months, as last month a man with “vampire teeth” was being sought by police in California for allegedly attacking a homeless man in San Diego.
The recent “vampire” attack in Texas comes on the heels of a series of brazen, drug-crazed attacks (mostly at least loosely associated with the drug “bath salts) that have been associated with the “zombie apocalypse.”
The whole “zombie apocalypse” underground conspiracy came to the forefront of the national news cycle in late May, when a man by the name of Rudy Eugene attacked a man in Miami and was filmed chewing on the man’s face before being shot dead by a Miami police officer.
The cannibalistic attack was so violent that Rudy Eugene will forever be known as the “Miami Zombie.” Meanwhile, his victim, Ronald Poppo, has made a miraculous recovery in a Florida hospital after surviving what is known to some as the first well-publicized attack of the “zombie apocalypse.”
In the weeks since that attack, a number of other “zombie”-like attacks have taken place. Here’s a rundown of some of the most gruesome ones, which have helped the “zombie apocalypse” conspiracy persist:
(Photo: Facebook)
Concern over a zombie apocalypse may be dying down, but there may be a new threat to worry about: vampires.
Share This Story
The “vampire teeth” attack is said to have occurred outside a pharmacy around 6 a.m. Monday local time.
The victim, described as a 55-year-old homeless man, was kicked in the head and ribs and was bleeding from the attack, NBC San Diego reported. The vampire-toothed assailant also threatened to kill the victim, according to the police report.
The man with “vampire teeth” was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with assault.
Rob Davenport, a commenter on NBC San Diego’s website, wondered aloud what the world is coming to.
“Last week Zombies… this week Homeless Vampires… Next week flamboyantly gay Werewolves….,” Davenport wrote in a post that had 43 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.
Commenter Jason Atttebury is one of the conspiracy theorists who think the zombie attacks and the “vampire teeth” incident are part of a larger plan.
“The Mayans predicted this. The virus is being spread through illegal narcotics. Roughly 3 percent of the population will be infected and gain undead attributes,” Attebury wrote. “Once the disease has gained a foothold the infection will be spread from any transfer of bodily fluids. That is, if you survive the attack. You have been warned.”
The “vampire teeth” attack comes after a number of incidents that caused concern over a zombie apocalypse.
The most disturbing of those attacks was the one perpetrated in Miami over Memorial Day weekend by Rudy Eugene, who was allegedly under the influence of bath salts when he attacked Ronald Poppo on the MacArthur Causeway and tore off 75 percent of Poppo’s face with his mouth.
Poppo, who was homeless, is listed in critical but stable condition.
Newest ‘cannibal’: Karl Laventure apparently told police he wanted to eat their faces
A ‘zombie cannibal’ was tasered by police after he charged at them wielding a golf club.
Karl Laventure, 21, was believed to be high on bath salts when he tried to attack the officers in Lilburn, Georgia.
And after they had managed to subdue him he began threatening to eat them.
Laventure appeared out of some woods and was seen running naked around a golf range near Atlanta, swinging a club around his head and screaming.
Police said that it took several officers to subdue the man who had ‘super-human strength’.
‘He came running at us out of the woodline,’ officer Ross Hancock told local station WSBTV.
At first, they tried using pepper spray to stop him, but that left him undeterred.
‘He didn’t even wipe his eyes, he just kept them open,’ Mr Hancock said of the pepper spray.
They then turned to their Tasers and though that momentarily shocked Laventure to the ground, it did not stop him.
Trouble: It took several police officers a significant amount of effort to subdue Karl Laventure when he was allegedly high on bathsalts
’We had to Tase him approximately five more times on scene to get him down. It took several officers to hold him down to get him cuffed,’ Mr Hancock told the station.
A video clip of the June 14 arrest shows Laventure lying face down on the ground, shirtless, mumbling seemingly disconnected thoughts and threatening to eat the faces of the officers.
Interrupted: Witnesses saw a naked Laventure running around the Atlanta Golf Center on June 14 ‘making animal noises’
‘Among other things he said “I’m'a eat you. I’ll eat you, I don’t want to eat you but I will,”‘ one witness told Fox News.
Though they controlled him enough to force him to a nearby hospital, he attacked one of the nurses on the scene and another fight ensued.
His behavior is being blamed on the use of the synthetic drug called bath salts, which was also linked to previous violent outbursts throughout the country.
‘I’ve never had to encounter somebody who acted like this before, so there’s no telling what they may do when they are high on this drug,’ Mr Hancock said.
There have been a number of ‘cannibal’ incidents linked to bath salts in recent weeks.
Bath salts, a synthetic amphetamine cocktail known as ‘the new LSD’, was the believed drug of choice for Rudy Eugene, who he chewed off homeless man Ronald Poppo’s face in Miami in May.
While a man in Louisiana, Carl Jacquneaux, was arrested when he bit off a piece of his neighbour’s cheek, which a friend blamed on bath salts.
Image Caption: A 2011 eruption of Eritrea’s Nabro volcano caused the largest stratospheric aerosol load ever recorded by OSIRIS on Sweden’s Odin satellite in its more than 10 years of flight. Credit: Image: Swedish Space Corporation
A University of Saskatchewan-led international research team has discovered that aerosols from relatively small volcanic eruptions can be boosted into the high atmosphere by weather systems such as monsoons, where they can affect global temperatures. The research appears in the July 6 issue of the journal Science.
Adam Bourassa, from the U of S Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, led the research. He explains that until now it was thought that a massively energetic eruption was needed to inject aerosols past the troposphere, the turbulent atmospheric layer closest to the earth, into the stable layers of the stratosphere higher up.
“If an aerosol is in the lower atmosphere, it’s affected by the weather and it precipitates back down right away,” Bourassa says. “Once it reaches the stratosphere, it can persist for years, and with that kind of a sustained lifetime, it can really have a lasting effect.” That effect is the scattering of incoming sunlight and the potential to cool the Earth’s surface.
For example, the massive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 temporarily dropped temperatures by half a degree Celsius world-wide.
The research team includes scientists from the U of S, Rutgers University in New Jersey, the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, and the University of Wyoming. They looked at the June 2011 eruption of the Nabro volcano in Eritrea in northeast Africa. Wind carried the volcanic gas and aerosol – minute droplets of sulfuric acid – into the path of the annual Asian summer monsoon.
The stratosphere’s calm layers are high – from 10 km up at the poles to 17 km altitude at the equator – and it was thought storms could not pierce it. For example, the distinctive flattened “anvil” shape at the top of large thunderstorms is created as the storm pushes against the stratosphere.
Dust from the Nabro volcano, being slightly heavier, settled out, but the monsoon lofted volcanic gas and the lighter liquid droplets into the stratosphere where they were detected by the Canadian Space Agency’s OSIRIS instrument aboard the Swedish satellite Odin. The Nabro volcano caused the largest stratospheric aerosol load ever recorded by OSIRIS in its more than 10 years of flight.
OSIRIS, designed in part at the U of S, is used to study the upper atmosphere, particularly the ozone layer and atmospheric aerosols. Originally intended for a two-year mission, the instrument has been functioning flawlessly since its launch in 2001. It circles the earth from pole to pole once every hour and a half, downloading fresh data to the analysis centre at the U of S campus.
“There are only a few instruments that can measure stratospheric aerosols, and OSIRIS is one of them,” Bourassa says. “It’s become extremely important for climate studies, because we’ve captured more than a full decade of data. The longer it’s up, the more valuable it becomes.”
The hope is these latest findings will provide another piece of the puzzle to allow more accurate models of climate behavior and change.
PITTSBURGH PA
LOUISVILLE KY
GRAND RAPIDS MI
NORTHERN INDIANA
CHICAGO IL
GREEN BAY WI
CLEVELAND OH
TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
LA CROSSE WI
WILMINGTON OH
MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
DES MOINES IA
QUAD CITIES IA IL
CHARLESTON WV
OMAHA/VALLEY NE
SIOUX FALLS SD
ST LOUIS MO
LINCOLN IL
PADUCAH KY
INDIANAPOLIS IN
MOUNT HOLLY NJ
DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
PITTSBURGH PA
LOUISVILLE KY
TOPEKA KS
GRAND RAPIDS MI
JACKSON KY
CLEVELAND OH
KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
WILMINGTON NC
HASTINGS NE
RALEIGH NC
MORRISTOWN TN
SPRINGFIELD MO
WICHITA KS
NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
CHARLESTON WV
OMAHA/VALLEY NE
SIOUX FALLS SD
ST LOUIS MO
MEMPHIS TN
NORTH PLATTE NE
NASHVILLE TN
DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
Ship movements ground to a complete halt both at Shuwaikh and Shuaiba ports following severe sandstorms that swept the country yesterday. According to information available, three ships at berth and three ships at the loading zone at Shuwaikh Port were waiting for improvement in visibility to sail off. Similarly, four ships anchored off Shuaiba Port and four ships moored inside Shuaiba Port are also waiting for improvement in weather conditions. An official at the operations department at Shuwaikh Port, Sulaiman Al- Yahya, said that visibility was limited to one kilometer in the port area while wind speed was 40 miles, forcing the port authorities to halt ship movements until the weather improves. Al-Yahya informed that Shuwaikh Port currently has three ships at the berth while another three ships were in the waiting area. Acting Operations Director at Shuaiba Port Captain Tawfeeq Shihab told KUNA that wind-speed reached 35 knots at port area yesterday causing high waves and disrupting navigation at the port. The visibility was less than 500 m in the area, he said. As a result of the bad weather, four ships had to wait at the anchorage area and will be allowed to enter Shuaiba Port only after the weather improves, Shihab said. At the same time, the other four ships inside the port will be allowed to sail once the weather improves.Head of the weather forecast department at Civil Aviation Osama Al-Muthan expected considerable improvement in the weather condition and visibility overnight in spite of the continuation of northwestern winds at a speed of 20-45 km per hour. Al-Muthan told KUNA that by sunrise today with the increase in earth’s temperature during the day, sandy weather condition will come back and visibility will drop on Friday and Saturday due to the Northwestern winds. The temperature is expected to drop to 44 – 45 degrees Celsius due to sandstorm that will block direct sunrays. Al-Muthan expects the high pressure to fall by Sunday and the Indian seasonal low pressure to drop. The weather will start to improve and wind speed will subside to around 40 kilometers per hour. As a result, the temperature will rise to 47 degree Celsius at Kuwait International Airport. Kuwait is currently under the impact of Indiaís seasonal low pressure from the East and high pressure from North West. These activities will be accompanied by Northwestern wind carrying sand along with it. Wind-speed is expected to exceed 70 kilometer per hour at Kuwait International Airport and visibility will be limited to only 500 meter. During the weekend, sea will be rough and waves will reach.
03.07.2012
Forest / Wild Fire
USA
State of Colorado, [Waldo Canyon]
Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Sunday, 24 June, 2012 at 05:03 (05:03 AM) UTC.
Although the Waldo Canyon Fire is now 90 percent contained as of Thursday, officials are warning of a new possible disaster for the region: flash flooding. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that thunderstorms over the foothills could cause flash flooding in areas now exposed due to the wildfire having consumed the natural vegetation. “Once the rain hits the areas that burned hotly, those soils will not be enough to absorb any of the moisture,” meteorologist Kathy Torgerson with the National Weather Service in Pueblo told the Gazette. “It will mix with the ash and cause these mud and ash flows. And they can be quite dramatic.” This could mean another round of evacuations for the fire-ravaged region which, at the peak of the Waldo Canyon Fire burn, faced evacuations of more than 32,000 residents on June 27. Rain and thunder may be headed to the Front Range as early as Thursday, according to 7News. The hottest June on record could be followed by a very wet July, a much-needed relief from the heat and dryness to be sure, but one that could have dire consequences for wildfire affected regions. The National Weather Service says that flash flooding is a concern for the Waldo Canyon fire burn scar, “Any heavy rainfall on the burn scar will produce rapid runoff along with dangerous debris flows.”Jeff Kramer with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office told 9News that emergency crews have set up a flash flood task force to be ready to help residents if a heavy downpour does arrive. On Thursday, officials also announced that they have determined the ignition point of the Waldo Canyon Fire. According to The Denver Post, the spot was not revealed and officials did not say whether or not the fire was human caused. The Waldo Canyon Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history destroyed 346 homes, left two people dead and burned 18,247 acres to date. Firefighters have had a series of successful days containing the fire despite temperatures remaining above 90 degrees since mid-June. The Gazette reports that utility crews are working to restore natural gas to more than 3,000 homes in the region and hope to have that done by mid-week. But crews must go house to house making sure there are no leaks first before the gas gets turned back on. Crews have begun working on replacing damaged or destroyed power lines in the region as well. Evacuation orders have been lifted for Eileen Court, Centauri Road, Boardwalk Drive and Corporate Plaza Drive as of Monday, according to 9News, and gas has been restored to homes in those areas as well. However, residents returning home remain on pre-evacuation notice as potential for fire growth remains high.
On Sunday, some residents were allowed to temporarily return to their homes for the first time since being evacuated. Many remarked at the chaos that their neighborhoods have been reduced to. “It’s crazy,” Bill Simmons said to The Associated Press regarding the conditions of his home which remains intact and his neighbors’ homes which were reduced to ashes. “The house across the street is burned to the foundation and the other side of the street is untouched.” The Associated Press also reports that a “bear invasion” has been challenging authorities in the region. Evacuees rushed away from their homes and didn’t have time to properly secure garbage — some bears, pushed out of their forest habitat from the fire, have picked up the scent and have come in search of a meal. The devastation from the fire and possible flooding isn’t the only thing residents need worry about — thieves are taking advantage of the evacuated areas and looting homes. At least 32 homes were burglarized and dozens of evacuees’ cars were broken into in the evacuation zones since the fire erupted about a week ago, according to Bloomberg. There have been three arrests so far. The string of burglaries has some wondering if Colorado Springs’ anti-tax movement is partially to blame for a lack of resources to protect the area effectively. Bloomberg reports that the city has 50 fewer police and 39 fewer firefighters than five years ago.
In 2010, Colorado Springs had a nearly $28 million budget shortfall so the city government sold police helicopters on the Internet, cut firefighter and police jobs — including burglary investigators, according to The Denver Post — asked residents to volunteer to mow public green spaces, and turned off more than thirty percent of the city’s streetlights. Karin White, a 54-year-old resident who returned home to a looted and vandalized home, thinks that the smaller force may have “impacted the response,” she said to Bloomberg. Mayor Steve Bach, an anti-tax advocate advocate, says that the lack of tax revenue has not affected the handling of the wildfire, but he offered a dire warning after a press briefing about the fire: “Forget the fire, at our current cost curve, we’ll be insolvent in eight years.” Rebuilding in the wake of the Waldo Canyon Fire will be expensive and unfortunately one of the region’s main sources of income — tourism to the Garden of the Gods, historic Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak Cog Railway — is deeply affected by the disaster. 7News reports that areas like Manitou are usually packed with tourists this time of year, but the streets remain only peppered with visitors. The railway which usually has around 2,000 visitors around the 4th of July holiday is hoping to just get close to 1,000 this year. The cause of the Waldo Canyon Fire is still under investigation and has cost $14.5 million to date.
Several families in Del City were evacuated overnight after a grassfire approached their homes. Oklahoma City television station KWTV reports that firefighters extinguished the flames and no homes were damaged. A fence and two sheds burned in the blaze, which also knocked out electricity to the area. The fire started shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday when a resident reported that an outbuilding was on fire. Authorities say the flames quickly spread and burned at least four backyards. Firefighters evacuated an entire block of homes as a precaution as they battled the fire. Authorities say they don’t know what caused the fire but neighbors reported hearing fireworks shortly before seeing flames.
On Wednesday afternoon, local and federal firefighters responded to a new wildfire reported about 20 miles north of De Beque on Roan Creek, County Road 204, Tanny McGinnis, spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, said. As of 5 p.m. the fire had reportedly burned about 15 acres and was threatening some structures. But firefighters were also reporting that the fire was “laying down,” which means that it was advancing slowly and staying close to the ground. McGinnis said fire crews with the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit responded and called in assistance from two air tankers, a helicopter and eight fire engines. She said the fire was sending a plume of smoke eastward into the Colorado River valley at least as far as New Castle.
05.07.2012
Forest / Wild Fire
USA
State of Idaho, [Lone Pine Gulch, Washington County]
The Lone Pine Fire has burned about 1,200 acres on BLM and state of Idaho lands in Lone Pine Gulch, an area where the Payette National Forest has fire responsibilities. The fire started Tuesday, and quickly grew because of dry grasses in the area. Officials don’t know how it started. No homes are at risk, but the fire is threatening ranch buildings and rangeland. Hand crews, engine crews and helicopters assigned to the fire are making good progress toward containment. There are some forest road and trail closures in the area.
The latest drought report says more than a third of Arkansas is in extreme drought conditions. The U.S. Drought Monitor report, updated Thursday, says all of Arkansas is undergoing drought conditions. A handful of counties are experiencing moderate drought conditions, but most of Arkansas is either in severe or extreme drought. Northern counties from Carroll to Clay and extending south to Jackson are in extreme drought, as is southwest Arkansas. A pocket of north central Arkansas counties from Franklin to Conway and Van Buren counties is also classified as extreme. The National Weather Service says rain is possible this weekend and early next week, but it will likely have little impact on the drought conditions.
The abnormally dry conditions gripping Alabama now cover more than 90 percent of the state. An analysis released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows southwest Alabama is the only section of the state that’s not experiencing a large rainfall deficit. The situation is worst in eastern Alabama, where all but a few counties are in a severe or extreme drought. Arid conditions are classified as exceptionally bad in parts of Barbour and Henry counties in the state’s southeastern corner. In all, about 91 percent of the state is either abnormally dry or in a full-blown drought. Forestry officials say there’s an increased threat of wildfires because of the dry conditions, and farmers are having on irrigation to sustain crops in many areas.
Flash flooding caused by torrential rains has killed eight people, including at least four children in northern Turkey, authorities said Wednesday. The downpours caused a river to burst its banks late Tuesday, inundating homes and shops and stranding cars in the Black Sea port city of Samsun, the state-run Anadolu agency reported Wednesday. Two brothers, aged 1 and 5, as well as a father and his two sons, aged 9 and 16, were drowned when the flood hit their homes, it said. The country’s emergency management authority said at least eight people were killed and two others were missing in Samsun. It said 21 people were injured.
Altogether 538 animals, including 13 rhinos, of the Kaziranga National Park, have been killed in the devastating Assam floods and the death toll is mounting with the KNP authorities of this World Heritage Site recovering more floating carcasses everyday. The floods have also damaged roads and other infrastructure in the park, which is famous for the one-horned rhino. Even amidst the floods, two rhinos were killed by poachers. The floods have claimed 100 human lives, while 16 others died due to landslip in the State. Of these, 56 are children. Of the 31 lives lost in Barpeta district, 21 were children. KNP Director Sanjib Kumar Bora told The Hindu that till Thursday afternoon carcasses of 463 hog deer, 13 rhinos, 16 Sambar, 10 swamp deer, 28 wild boars, 5 porcupines, one wild buffalo and two hog badgers had been recovered.He said the death toll was likely to increase as more carcasses were recovered with the water level receding. About 20 of these hog deer were fatally hit by vehicles as the animals crossed National Highway 37, which passes through the park, to reach higher ground on the southern part. So far, 126 hog deer have been rescued and 94 of these released in the wild after treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), located in the park. Two rhino calves and two elephant caves rescued from floodwaters are being treated at the centre. CWRC volunteers rescued four barking deer, three of which have been released in the wild after treatment. The park director said locals and NGOs also helped in the rescuing the marooned animals and taking them to the CWRC. Mr. Bora said floodwaters disrupted motorable communication, what with damage to roads, bridges and approaches to bridges. “The tourism season this time might be delayed as huge funds and time would be required to reconstruct and repair the infrastructure.” Frontline staff manning 16 of the total 152 anti-poaching camps had to be shifted due to flooding, while four old camps had been fully damaged. “The actual damage is still being assessed,” he said. The flood waters entered the park area on June 26 and by midnight on June 28, the flow peaked submerging 80 per cent of its area, and only the natural and artificial highlands inside were spared. The migration of herds of hog deer and elephants and some rhinos had been noticed by the park authorities since June 22.
Consequently, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr.PC were promulgated along NH 37 and time cards introduced restricting speed limit to 40 km/hour to protect the migrating animals. Now “the water level has receded in most parts but some areas are still submerged,” said Mr. Bora.
05.07.2012
Landslide
India
State of Uttarakhand, [Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district]
A woman was buried alive and 15 others were injured when landslides triggered by incessant rains hit Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district early Thursday. The landslides have also flattened a tourist resort and a camp of Directorate General of Border Roads (DGBR), police said. Police said a search operation has been launched to find out if any person might be trapped under the debris of the landslides. The area has been receiving rains since Wednesday and the search operation is also being hampered by the continuous rains. The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital.
Three people have died and 53 more are infected in a rare outbreak of cholera in south-east Cuba, officials have confirmed.
Communist Party newspaper Granma said a number of wells suspected to be the source of the outbreak had been closed.
The health ministry has dismissed reports of a lack of medicine.
Health officials said they had “all the necessary resources to provide adequate attention to patients” and that the situation was “under control”.
They said they had taken a series of measures, including taking samples of water and adding chlorine to purify it, to combat the outbreak.
About 1,000 people have received medical attention so far. Most of them were from the coastal town of Manzanillo in the south-east of Cuba.
Analysis
Although cholera was all but eliminated in Cuba shortly after the Cuban revolution in 1959, doctors here are highly experienced in treating the disease.
Hundreds have worked, and continue to work, with cholera patients in Haiti, where tens of thousands of people were infected in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.
Several hundred medical professionals from eastern Granma province, including 400 nurses, are among those who have been deployed to Haiti.
Officials said they believed those infected had drunk water contaminated after a period of heavy rains and high temperatures in the area.
They said the number of reported cases was now falling.
The health ministry has said this is the first reported cholera outbreak since soon after the 1959 revolution. The last cholera epidemic in Cuba ended in 1882.
The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Havana says locals have told her health officials had been visiting homes and checking food and water supplies to try and establish the source of the outbreak.
Our correspondent spoke to a guest-house owner who said local radio had been broadcasting information about the importance of personal hygiene and extra care in food preparation, but that the official announcements had only spoken of a diarrhoea outbreak, without mentioning cholera.
A boy born in Virginia two years ago became the known first person in the United States to have acquired Chagas disease from his mother, according to a new report that describes the case.
The case highlights the need for increased awareness of the disease among health care providers in the United States, the researchers said. The disease occurs mainly in Latin America, but cases in the U.S. and elsewhere have been increasing, mostly due to migration, according to the World Health Organization.
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is typically transmitted to people by bites from insects commonly called kissing bugs. Although less common, the disease can also be transmitted congenitally, meaning from mother to child during pregnancy, as was the case with the Virginia boy.
While the boy’s case was the first to be formally documented, it has been estimated that between 65 and 638 cases of congenital Chagas disease occur in the United States each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report said. That estimate is based on the typical birth rates of women from regions where Chagas disease is endemic, and the fact that in about 1 to 5 percent of pregnancies of infected mothers, the disease is transmitted to the child.
In August 2010, the mother, who had recently immigrated to the United States from Bolivia, gave birth by cesarean section when her child was 29 weeks old. The boy had signs of jaundice as well as excess fluid around his heart, abdomen and lungs. The child’s doctors, who did not know the boy had Chagas disease, administered antibiotics for what they believed to be a widespread bacterial infection called sepsis.
Two weeks after the birth, the mother revealed she had been told in Bolivia during a previous pregnancy that she had Chagas disease. After testing her baby boy, the doctors found he too had the parasite in his blood. The boy received a 60-day treatment of benznidazole, a drug for Chagas disease, and was cured.
The case “illustrates that congenital Chagas disease, even when severe, might not be recognized, or diagnosis might be delayed because of the lack of defining clinical features, or because the diagnosis is not considered,” today’s CDC report said.
Chagas disease is estimated to affect about 300,000 people in the United States, most of whom immigrated here.
Doctors in the United States should be aware of the condition so that pregnant women from at-risk areas for Chagas disease can undergo screening and be identified, the report says. Mothers diagnosed with Chagas disease should be treated for the condition, but not until after they finish breast-feeding, the report said.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Health officials in Cambodia are searching for the cause of a mystery disease that has killed more than 60 children over the past three months, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
The “undiagnosed syndrome” has killed 61 children since April, but there’s no indication that is it spreading from person to person, said WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi.
She said health workers are trying to determine whether the cases were all the same disease or a collection of various illnesses.
The children were all under 10 years old and first fell ill with a high fever, followed by neurological symptoms and severe respiratory problems that quickly progressed. The cases have been reported in hospitals in 14 provinces, with most occurring in southern Cambodia.
The majority of the victims were aged younger than three, Reuters reported.
Health Minister Man Bung Heng was quoted as saying identification of the cause may take some time. Neighboring countries have also been alerted.
The United Nations agency said in a June 30 report that the clinical signs of those afflicted with the disease “appear unusual,” with patients suffering from fever and a rapid deterioration of respiratory functions, although platelet counts, liver and renal functions were found normal.
No other hospital patients or staff in Phnom Penh had fallen ill with similar symptoms, WHO said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
An unidentified disease has killed 60 young children in Cambodia in three months, the World Health Organization said Tuesday as it raced to identify the cause. “The number of deaths reported to WHO is 60 cases and they have all been in young children,” said Dr Nima Asgari, a public health specialist for the UN body in Cambodia, adding that the first casualties were reported in April. The WHO is currently working with the Cambodian Ministry of Health “to identify the cause and the route of spread of this disease”, he said. With the investigation still at an early stage, Asgari said it was difficult to specify the symptoms, which “include high fever and severe chest disease symptoms, plus in some children there were signs of neurological involvement”. There have been 61 reported cases so far, Asgari said, with just one patient surviving. The victims, all aged seven and under, were admitted to hospitals in the capital Phnom Penh and the northwestern tourist hub of Siem Reap. In separate comments the WHO said there were no signs yet of contagion. “To date, there is no report of any staff or any neighbouring patients to the cases at the hospitals becoming sick with similar symptoms,” it said. Asgari confirmed there was “no cluster of the cases yet” but said the high mortality rate in such a short space of time was worrisome. “WHO is always concerned about a disease which causes death in such high numbers of children,” he said. Cambodian health ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
Biohazard name:
Unidentified fatal disease
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
The symptoms include high fever and severe chest disease symptoms, plus in some children there were signs of neurological involvement.
Indonesia’s health ministry today announced the death of an 8-year-old girl from an H5N1 avian influenza infection, according to a report from the Jakarta Globe. The girl, from West Java province, got sick on Jun 18 during a trip to Singapore. Six days later her symptoms worsened and she was admitted to a Jakarta hospital with signs of pneumonia. She was transferred two more times and required treatment with a ventilator. A health ministry official told the Globe that she tested positive for the virus on Jun 29 and died on Jul 3. The official said she had often walked past a live-bird market on her way to school, and 6 days before she got sick she had helped carry freshly killed birds home from the market with her father. If the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms the girl’s H5N1 illness and death, she will be listed as Indonesia’s 190th case-patient and its 158th fatality from the disease.
Biohazard name:
A/H5N1
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
At least nine people are confirmed dead in a cholera outbreak at Atebubu in Brong Ahafo Region in just a week with several others infected. According to the District Chief Executive, Sanja Nanja the first case was recorded in May but the situation became worse about a week ago. He told Joy News a District Security Council meeting was held with the various stakeholders to work out ways of curbing the outbreak to avert further deaths. Mr Nanja said about a 100 people had so far contracted the disease. He said task-force has been created to do cholera sensitisation to educate the people on how to avoid contracting the disease. He said some of the measures include suspension of funerals where people usually eat and drink contaminated foods and water.
Biohazard name:
Cholera
Biohazard level:
3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Two people have died and 26 others have been infected by an outbreak of cholera in the city of Gao, northern Mali, a region occupied by hardline Islamist groups, officials reprted on Wednesday. “Yesterday we counted 27 cases of cholera, including two deaths. This morning we had one case,” said Ibrahima Maiga, a health official from Gao hospital. The disease has broken out in Wabaria, a southwestern suburb of Gao on the Niger river. “We have sent someone to Wabaria today to see the cholera cases” and determine what help is needed, said Almahdi Cisse, the president of a local NGO which is helping to bring humanitarian aid to Malians in the area. According to one young Gao resident, the local ruling Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) has told people not to drink the river water or bathe in it in a bid to contain the outbreak. Fear of the disease spreading only adds to the problems currently facing Mali’s desert north, which has been controlled for the last three months by Islamist groups allied to Al-Qaeda after a March coup that toppled the country’s elected president. Chaos and unrest have ensued in the fabled city of Timbuktu where the Ansar Dine group has in recent days run rampage, smashing seven tombs of ancient Muslim saints. The destruction prompted widespread condemnation abroad and led UN cultural body UNESCO to class the city as an endangered world heritage site. Meanwhile in Gao, Ansar Dine’s Al-Qaeda allies have planted landmines around the city to prevent a counter-offensive by the Tuareg fighters they violently expelled last week.
Biohazard name:
Cholera
Biohazard level:
2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Rising sea levels may not stop for several hundred years, even if global average temperatures drop, scientists have warned.
Rising sea levels threaten about a tenth of the world’s population who live in low-lying areas and islands which are at risk of flooding, including the Caribbean, Maldives and Asia-Pacific island groups.
Measures to limit sea rises have focused on lowering temperatures – but this may not be enough.
Even if global average temperatures fall and the surface layer of the sea cools, heat would still be mixed down into the deeper layers of the ocean, causing continued rises in sea levels.
Rising sea levels threaten about a tenth of the world’s population who live in low-lying areas and islands which are at risk of flooding, including the Caribbean, Maldives and Asia-Pacific island groups
This is because as warmer temperatures penetrate deep into the sea, the water warms and expands as the heat mixes through different ocean regions.
If global average temperatures continue to rise, the melting of ice sheets and glaciers would only add to the problem.
Global average surface temperatures have risen about 0.17 degrees Celsius a decade from 1980-2010.
Sea level rise of about 2.3mm a year from 2005-2010 as ice caps and glaciers melt.
How much of this has been caused by ‘greenhouse gases’ is still being debated by scientists.
‘Even with aggressive measures that limit global warming to less than 2 degrees above pre-industrial values by 2100, sea level continues to rise after 2100,’say the scientists
More than 180 countries are negotiating a new global climate pact which will come into force by 2020 and force all nations to cut emissions to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius this century – a level scientists say is the minimum required to avert catastrophic effects.
But even if the most ambitious emissions cuts are made, it might not be enough to stop sea levels rising due to the thermal expansion of sea water, said scientists at the United States’ National Centre for Atmospheric Research, U.S. research organisation Climate Central and Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research in Melbourne.
‘Even with aggressive mitigation measures that limit global warming to less than 2 degrees above pre-industrial values by 2100, and with decreases of global temperature in the 22nd and 23rd centuries … sea level continues to rise after 2100,’ they said in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The scientists calculated that if the deepest emissions cuts were made and global temperatures cooled to 0.83 degrees in 2100 – forecast based on the 1986-2005 average – and 0.55 degrees by 2300, the sea level rise due to thermal expansion would continue to increase – from 14.2cm in 2100 to 24.2cm in 2300.
If the weakest emissions cuts were made, temperatures could rise to 3.91 degrees Celsius in 2100 and the sea level rise could increase to 32.3cm, increasing to 139.4cm by 2300.
‘Though sea-level rise cannot be stopped for at least the next several hundred years, with aggressive mitigation it can be slowed down, and this would buy time for adaptation measures to be adopted,’ the scientists added.
MessageToEagle.com – Between July 12-17, 2012, comet 96P/Machholz will be visible in the SOHO LASCO/C3 field of view and will brighten to about magnitude +2.
It’s a great possibility for scientific study because the comet will not make another close approach to the Earth until 2028, when it will pass at a distance of 0.319 AU (47,700,000km; 29,700,000 miles).
96P/Machholz (or 96P/Machholz 1) is a short-period comet with an estimated radius of around 3.2km, and a high inclination with respect to the plane of the solar system.
It should be visible from both STEREO A and B between July 13-15 and it comes to perihelion on July 14, 2012.It was discovered by amateur astronomer Donald Machholz on Loma Pieta peak, in central California using 130 millimetres (5.1 in) binoculars, on May 12, 1986.
On June 6, 1986, comet 96P/Machholz passed 0.40373 AU (60,397,000 km; 37,529,000 miles) from our planet.
It entered the field of view of the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 1996, 2002, and 2007, where it was seen by the corona-observing LASCO instrument in its C2 and C3 coronagraphs.
Comet Machholz is not as like other comets.
It must have had a very unusual origin and might even have formed in another solar system probably very different from our own.
GALEX Sees Comet Machholz
The figure shows a GALEX NUV grism observation of comet Machholz, recorded on March 1, 2005. The different colors in the image represent different intensities, with black being the lowest, purple a little higher, and yellow the highest. The large, round, “purple haze” is emission from the hydroxyl molecule (chemical symbol, “OH”), and is centered on the large yellowish dot towards the upper left. The smaller yellow dot, just below and to the right of that, is emission from the molecule “CS.” Emission between the two dots is from other material. The stars in the field appear as streaks because their light is spread out by the grism as well. The long, curved dust tail is completely invisible because the comet’s UV emissions totally outshine it. Emission from atomic carbon was also detected in the GALEX FUV grism data. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/U. Washington/J. Morgenthaler
During the comet’s last perihelion passage in 2007, it appeared in SOHO’s LASCO C3?s field of view from April 2 to April 6, peaking in brightness on April 4, 2007, around magnitude +2. In these observations, its coma was substantially smaller than the Sun in volume, but the forward scattering of light made the comet appear significantly brighter.
During the 2002 passage the comet brightened to magnitude -2,and was very impressive as seen by SOHO.
According to David Schleicher of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, researching the physical properties, chemical composition, and behavior of comets, the comet’s level of the chemical cyanogen (CN) is less than 1.5% of the normal level, which is very unusual comparing with 150 other comets having similar levels of CN.
The exact cause of this chemical anomaly remains unknown.
Click on image to enlargeFinding chart (Seiichi Yoshida/StellaNavigator Ver.8 (AstroArts)
Click on image to enlargeFinding chart (Seiichi Yoshida/StellaNavigator Ver.8 (AstroArts)
It’s highly eccentric 5.2 year orbit has the smallest perihelion distance known among numbered/regular short-period comets, bringing it considerably closer to the Sun than the orbit of Mercury.
Comet 96P/Machholz/Apr. 20, 2012. Photo Credits: M. Masek, J. Cerny, J. Ebr, M. Prouza, P. Kubanek, M. Jelinek
It is also the only known short-period comet with both high orbital inclination and high eccentricity. In 2007, Machholz 1 was found to be both carbon-depleted and cyanogen-depleted, a chemical composition nearly unique among comets with known compositions. The chemical composition implies a different and possible extrasolar origin.
There are currently three hypotheses to explain the chemical composition of Machholz 1. One hypothesis for the difference is that Machholz 1 was an interstellar comet from outside the Solar System and was captured by the Sun. Other possibilities are that it formed in an extremely cold region of the solar system (such that most carbon gets trapped in other molecules) – Oort cloud.
The high inclination of Machholz 1′s orbit, 59°, suggests that it could came from the Oort Cloud rather than the Kuiper Belt, which is the source of most short-period comets. Exclusive Views of Comet 96P/Machholz
China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has reported an outbreak of H5N1 in poultry, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced Monday. The disease has killed 1,600 chickens raised by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a unique economic and semi-military government organization of about 2.5 million people. A total of 5,500 XPCC-farmed chickens showed symptoms of suspected avian flu on June 20, according to the MOA. The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory Monday confirmed the epidemic was H5N1 bird flu after testing samples collected at the farm, the MOA said. Local authorities have sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where a total of 156,439 chickens have been culled and safely disposed of to prevent the disease from spreading, according to the MOA. Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a contagious disease of animal origin caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. It can be fatal to humans.
Biohazard name:
H5N1 – Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Biohazard level:
4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.:
Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status:
confirmed
05.07.2012
HAZMAT
USA
State of Virginia, Radford [Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Constitution Road]
HAZMAT in USA on Thursday, 05 July, 2012 at 09:40 (09:40 AM) UTC.
Description
A key production line remains shut down at the Radford Army Ammunition plant after a chemical leak. The Army and plant operator BAE Systems had said after Sunday’s incident that they expected operations to return to normal Tuesday, but it didn’t happen. Army spokeswoman Joy Case told the Roanoke Times that officials are still reviewing the incident, and it could take several days. BAE spokesman Neil Franz said that by “normal,” officials had meant that the plant would be fully ready to meet customers’ needs on Tuesday, and that was achieved. The Army previously said it has an inventory it can draw from in times of need. One employee was taken to a hospital for observation after exposure to fumes. Officials say he was released Monday morning.
Four Tucson firefighters have been taken to the hospital as a precaution this afternoon, after complaining of nausea after responding to a fire alarm. At around 10:30 a.m., Tucson Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at a building downtown, at 32 N Stone. Upon arrival, fire personnel were able to confirm smoke in the basement of the building, according to a TFD spokesperson. After further investigation, the firefighters began to exhibit some symptoms related to possible hazardous material exposure. The building was then evacuated, and Hazarous Materials was called. Right now Tucson Fire is trying to determine the cause of the problem.
Trees lie in the middle of Lake Ave. in Baltimore, Maryland on Monday July 2, 2012.
Thu Jul 5, 2012 11:16PM GMT
3
Amid rising temperatures, more than half a million people still remain without power in the United States following last week’s strong storms.
US utility companies were trying to return lights and air conditions to more than 500,000 customers, including nearly 230,000 in West Virginia, The Associated Press reported on Thursday.
Residents frustrated by the sweltering heat criticized the companies for acting slowly in fixing power lines.
Violent storms, which began on Friday, have hit the eastern United States with high winds, toppling trees onto power lines and knocking out transmission towers and electrical substations.
The storms have claimed 24 lives in seven states and the District of Columbia.
The power outages forced many Fourth of July celebrations across the region to be canceled as local governments deal with damage from the strong winds and with the heat wave and drought conditions that make firework shows hazardous.
A burning trail lit up the sky over Western Australia for 20 minutes after an object suspected to be a meteorite plunged into the sea, leaving a burning orange trail that mesmerised local residents.
Beachgoers in Perth debated what could have caused the strange burning line in the sky, which persisted for 20 minutes. Most meteorite trails are only seen briefly – and seeing an object plunge into the sea is rare.
The burning trail persisted in the sky for 20 minutes afterwards, say Perth residents, who assume that a meteorite left the flaming streak across the sky
A burning trail lit up the sky over Australia for 20 minutes after an object suspected to be a meteorite plunged into the sea, leaving a burning orange trail that mesmerised local residents
Local resident Gavin Trought captured a picture of the ‘burning streak’, saying, ‘The weird streak in the sky seen from Cottesloe last night. I noticed it just before sunset.’
Meteorites are fragments of rock that land on Earth’s surface. Those that burn up – ‘ablate’ – in Earth’s atmosphere are referred to as meteors.
Perth journalist Pip Moir posted a photo she took at Cottesloe Beach to Twitter shortly after 6pm as puzzled onlookers debated what caused the colourful phenomena.
Daniel Jongue, manager at Perth’s The Naked Fig Cafe, said he saw ‘something on the horizon” just before sunset.
Jonque said that the fiery trail lasted for around 20 minutes.
‘It looked like vapour. It was red, orange and yellow and quite beautiful,’ he said.
Meteorites are fragments of rock and sometimes metal that survive the fall to Earth from space. Most are fragments left over from the collision of two asteroids.
Captured by Earth’s gravitational force, they are accelerated to speeds of over 11.2 kilometres per second.
They can vary in size from a fraction of a millimetre to larger than a football pitch. It is believed a meteorite six miles across wiped out the dinosaurs 65million years ago.
Hundreds of meteorites fall to Earth each year but only a handful are recovered.
There have been many bizarre instances recorded when things have fallen from the skies that simply do not belong there.
Among them is the rare phenomenon of red rain which has been reported in some parts of the world.
On July 5, at around 6:50 a brief red rain shower create some panic and curiosity among the residents in Kannur, a city in the Indian state of Kerala.
The rain lasted only 15 minutes.
People in the 1km area in and around Edachery in Puzhati panchayat panicked as their courtyards turned blood red after rain.
According to Times of India: “Kannur block panchayat president Shaija M, who collected the sample of the rainwater, said the water was as dark as black coffee and had the smell of raw beetroot.“I thought someone killed some animal and its blood got mixed with water on the courtyard,” she said. Akshay Sajeevan, another resident in the locality, said in his compound the colour of rainwater was a bit lighter.According to meteorological department, though red rain is a rare phenomenon, but it is no way harmful.
“I assume this is due to atmospheric pollution.
The pollutants in the air get dissolved in rainwater resulting in red rain,” said M Santhosh, director of meteorological department, Thiruvananthapuram.”
This is not the first time red rain has been seen in the state of Kerala.
Godfrey Louis and A. Santhosh Kumar wrote in their research paper that “a red rain phenomenon occurred in Kerala, India starting from 25th July 2001, in which the rainwater appeared coloured in various localized places that are spread over a few hundred kilometers in Kerala. Maximum cases were reported during the first 10 days and isolated cases were found to occur for about 2 months.
Red rain is a rare phenomenon.
In majority of the cases the colour of the rain was red. There were a few cases of yellow coloured rain and rare unconfirmed cases of other colours like black, green, gray etc. Coloured hailstones were also reported.”
The scientists discussed the possibility that the red rain phenomenon could be of extraterrestrial origin as it appeared shortly after a meteor sighting.
“The nature of the red particles rules out the possibility that these are dust particles from a distant desert source. These red particles do not have any similarity with the usual desert dust. This is clearly shown by microscopic study of the particles.
Particles of this type are not found in Kerala or nearby place. The origin of these particles is unknown.
It is convenient to assume that these particles are something, which got airlifted from a distant source on Earth by some wind system.
Several questions remain unanswered even under such an assumption.
An examination of the several characteristics of this red rain phenomenon shows that it is possible to explain this by assuming the meteoric origin of the red particles.
Is a meteor responsible for the red rain shower on July 5th?
The red rain phenomenon first started in Kerala after a meteor airburst event, which occurred on 25th July 2001 near Changanacherry in Kottayam district.
This meteor airburst is evidenced by the sonic boom experienced by several people during early morning of that day.
The first case of red rain occurred in this area few hours after the airburst event. This points to a possible link between the meteor and red rain,” Kumar and Louis wrote in their paper.
What caused the red rain fall in the city of Kunnar this Thursday? Was a meteor responsible for the red rain shower or is there another explanation?
Have you taken any interesting images or filmed something unusual? Remember you can always send the images to us so we can publish them.
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News, Istanbul
Pregnant women are advised to drink no more than a few cups of coffee a day
Regular trips to the coffee machine or having a diet packed with saturated fat have been linked to lower IVF success rates by fertility experts.
One study suggested heavy coffee drinking was as bad as smoking for IVF success rates.
Another showed saturated fats lowered the number of eggs that could be used in IVF, while a ‘Mediterranean diet’ boosted birth rates.
Experts say lifestyle affects both the chances of IVF and natural conception.
Dietary habits
Dr Ulrik Kesmodel, a consultant gynaecologist, presented data at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) meeting in Turkey.
This work reinforces the need for a good lifestyle for those trying to have a baby; eat and drink in moderation, and don’t smoke”
Richard Kennedy Secretary of the International Federation of Fertility Societies
It involved 3,959 women having IVF at the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.
One in 20 women were drinking more than five cups of coffee a day. This group of women were half as likely to become pregnant as those who did not drink coffee.
The researchers said this was as damaging to the chances of a successful pregnancy as smoking.
Dr Kesmodel said: “It does seem reasonable, based on our results and the evidence we have about coffee consumption during pregnancy, that women should not drink more than five cups of coffee a day when having IVF.”
It is not known whether drinking tea or other caffeinated drinks would have the same effect.
Dr Kesmodel said: “The assumption is that caffeine is the culprit although we don’t really know. There are so many substances within coffee.”
The British Coffee Association said a there was no need to completely cut caffeine from the diet as there were “no harmful effects” with low levels of consumption.
Its executive director, Dr Euan Paul, said: “For pregnant women or those trying to conceive, an upper limit of 200mg of caffeine per day is perfectly safe.
“This is the equivalent of 2 to 3 cups of coffee.”
Calorie-free sweetness may confuse the brain into craving more sugar, research suggests.
Want one reason for your beer belly? How about 100 quintillion? That’s about how many bacteria live in your gut. And scientists now believe these bacteria can have a significant impact on your weight.
Consuming high amounts of fructose (a type of sugar), artificial sweeteners, and sugar alcohols (another type of low-calorie sweetener) cause your gut bacteria to adapt in a way that interferes with your satiety signals and metabolism, according to a new paper in Obesity Reviews. (If you’ve noticed you’ve been feeling tired all the time and gaining weight, your metabolism may be slowing.)
“An evolution of the gut flora to this new sweetener-rich environment has a potential to negatively impact our health,” says Amanda Payne, Ph.D., lead author of the review.
How does that happen? As bacteria in the gut process food, they give off byproducts called short-chain fatty acids. These can be beneficial and serve as energy in the body. But as the sweetener-adapted bacteria thrive and become more efficient at processing large amounts of high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and sugar alcohols, they also produce more and more short-chain fatty acids. (Not to imply that sugar is any better than artificial sweeteners.
In those high amounts, Payne says, short-chain fatty acids decrease satiety signals. “This signaling may cause disruptions in our feeling full and hence prevent us from stopping to eat when we should,” Payne says.
As if overeating isn’t enough, the short-chain fatty acids also promote inflammation in the lining of the gut. Just how? Scientists aren’t yet sure. But they do know that inflammation damages gut tissue and results in leaky gut syndrome. Pleasant as it sounds, it means bacteria leak through that damaged gut tissue into the blood stream and cause further inflammation there. That’s a serious problem that can lead to insulin resistance and an increased risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Under doctor’s supervision, some take extreme measures to drop weight before the wedding
The K-E diet, which involves using a feeding tube instead of eating, is gaining popularity, especially for women looking to lose weight for their wedding day. Dr. Louis Aronne and TODAY contributor Dr. Roshini Raj discuss the dangers of this extreme diet. Watch Video Here
Transcript:
GUTHRIE: In your line of work I suppose you’ve seen it all. Where does this feeding tube diet rank in terms of unusual fad diets?
Dr. ARONNE: This is nowhere. This has a very high yuck factor. It is much too severe for people to consider, in my — in my opinion. Really, this is not something that should be done.
GUTHRIE: Dr. Raj, you agree? Is this something that’s just off limits?
Dr. RAJ: I totally agree. I mean, we use feeding tubes in the hospital for very ill patients…
Dr. ARONNE: Mm-hmm.
Dr. RAJ: …for post-surgical patients. But even then we think twice about it. There are risks to having a feeding in your nose, in your stomach. It can cause erosions, it can cause bleeding. And the fact that people would do this knowing that it’s so temporary, it’s so extreme, there’s going to be no long-term benefit, you have to think about the psychological factors going into this decision.
GUTHRIE: I do want to talk about that in a moment. But what — I mean, in your mind, Doctor, what is the worst-case scenario of something that could go wrong with this?
Dr. ARONNE: You could have side effects. And they’re minimized in the doctor’s mind, but people can get dehydrated, have severe constipation. And what is lost is mainly water and muscle. So when you first start losing weight you don’t lose fat, you’re actually losing water and muscle.
GUTHRIE: Let me be a devil’s advocate here for a moment because some doctors do perform this procedure, as we just saw. They monitor the patient closely for 10 days. They are getting calories, 800, enough to subsist. It appears to provide some results. So what’s the harm if it’s just for this 10 days?
Dr. RAJ: Well, first of all, they’re saying they’re monitoring the patient. The patient is not in a hospital being monitored, so I — you know, I was reading their website. They check in maybe every three days. Eight hundred calories is very low. To say that that’s sort of enough to subsist, well, you are going to start to break down parts of your body that you need. And you don’t — when you get 800 calories through food, you absorb it much better than when it’s through a liquid form going into your stomach. So there are a lot of potential side effects. What this doctor just mentioned, in addition, kidney stones, gout. All these can — things can happen with this kind of diet.
GUTHRIE: And Dr. Raj kind of touched on this, Dr. Aronne. I mean, do you think it says something about the mindset of somebody who’s willing to go to these lengths of walking around for 10 days with a feeding tube up her nose?
Dr. ARONNE: Well, if someone wants to lose weight before their wedding, they just need to start a little bit earlier. You’re not really going to get anything useful doing this for 10 days.
GUTHRIE: All right, Dr. Aronne and Dr. Raj. Thank you so much. It’s interesting information. Appreciate it.
By Eric Hunter,
(NaturalNews) Obese and lean individuals have different gut flora composition. The gut microbiota of mice and humans are similar, with Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes dominating. At this point it’s not clear exactly which species are important in weight management. Some studies show reduced numbers of Bacteroidetes in obese subjects, while others point to lower levels of beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus. Even though diet will affect gut flora composition, most studies conclude that gut flora…
By Danna Norek
(NaturalNews) Sulfates are a group of detergents or surfactants that are used in countless consumer goods today. The most commonly used sulfates are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). These corrosive cleaning agents started off as an industrial strength cleaning additive since they easily cut through heavily soiled surfaces. It was around the 1930′s when shampoo, soap, toothpaste and other foaming personal care products containing these synthetic detergents were introduced…
Common crop pesticide is a public health threat causing diabetes
By Craig Stellpflug,
(NaturalNews) Diabetes is brought to you in part by Bayer AG – Germany. You know, the most powerful German corporate cartel in the first half of the 20th century – IG Farben (AKA Bayer) – and the single largest profiteer from World War II. This is the same IG Farben that was intimately involved with the human experimental atrocities committed by Mengele at Auschwitz. This company is in business today because we continue to buy their products. IG Farben was the only German company to run its own…
By PF Louis
(NaturalNews) Summer provides the opportunity for vitamin D3 and sunbathing and tanning for many who have been confined to the indoors for several months. It is also a time for more outdoor activities under the sun. But overdoing it, especially at first, leads to sunburn for most. Knowing how to sooth and heal sunburns naturally is to your advantage. Here are eight natural sunburn remedy tips: (1) Aloe vera gel may be the best sunburn solution. Try to purchase a tube or jar of gel with the…
Study reveals green tea drinkers show less disability with age
By PF Louis, July 3 2012
(NaturalNews) Probably no other beverage has been studied as much recently as green tea. It seems there is an inexhaustible list of benefits. Most recently, a study has determined that senior citizens who drink green tea have better control of their bodies to remain functional as they age. The latest study conducted in Japan, was led by Yasutake Tomata of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. Tomata and his team monitored almost 14,000 senior citizens 65 and older for three years…
In this video, Dr. Karen Becker interviews Dr. Barbara Royal, founding member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA), about an exciting new campaign the foundation is kicking off.
I get many questions from Mercola Healthy Pets readers who are confused or bothered by my views on AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) nutrient profiles. AAFCO is the non-profit organization that sets standards for animal feed and pet food in the U.S.
The confusion seems to arise whenever I advise pet owners that it’s better to feed a commercial diet meeting AAFCO nutritional standards for complete and balanced pet food, than an unbalanced, species-appropriate diet.
The comments I receive whenever I give this advice are along the lines of,“I don’t understand why Dr. Becker insists on meeting minimum nutrient requirements from AAFCO, when AAFCO shouldn’t be trusted.”
So I thought I would write a short article to address those concerns.
Some Information is Better than No Information
Unlike many countries, the U.S. has an organization that collects data on nutrition research for animal health. That organization is AAFCO, and I’ll tell you why I’m thankful it exists.
Before AAFCO was founded in the early 1900’s, countless pets and other animals suffered and died from diet-related diseases because human caretakers could do no more than guess at their nutritional requirements. Unable to use their natural instincts to feed themselves properly, captive animals were and are utterly dependent on humans to nourish them in a manner that meets their basic nutritional needs.
Thankfully, AAFCO has taken some of the guesswork out of the equation. In order for a dog or cat food to be labeled “complete and balanced,” it must meet the nutritional standards established by AAFCO.
These standards are defined by two nutrient profiles: adult maintenance, and growth and reproduction (this second profile includes puppies, kittens, and pregnant or lactating females).
In order for a pet food manufacturer to claim a product meets an AAFCO nutrient profile, it must be validated through laboratory analysis alone, or by laboratory analysis combined with feeding trials.
Pet food that does not meet one of the two nutrient profiles must be labeled,“This product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only.”
AAFCO’s nutrient profiles dictate, for example, the correct calcium/phosphorous ratios for growing puppies. And that’s a good thing.
Better Than Nothing, but Certainly Not Perfect
Chemical analysis of food and short-term feeding trials are not sufficient to determine the ultimate nutritional adequacy of commercial pet diets… but again, other countries have no standards or guidelines whatsoever, and neither did the U.S. a hundred years ago.
AAFCO’s nutrient profiles don’t address micronutrient deficiencies, but they do serve to prevent gross nutrient abnormalities in pet food. Unfortunately, AAFCO does not have any standards for the quality of vitamins and minerals used in pet food pre-mixes, meaning there are substantial differences in the quality of nutrients going into pet food premixes, and unfortunately, whole food nutrients are not encouraged.
Additionally, AAFCO has not set maximum requirements for many nutrients, probably because they haven’t conducted clinical nutrient overdose trials in research animals to see exactly what side effects develop. This lack of upper limit standards has led to serious health problems in some cats and dogs because pet food companies have over supplemented, often in an attempt to replace nutrients lost during the extreme processing methods many commercial pet foods undergo.
So my wish list for AAFCO improvements would include establishing maximums for nutrients. Other items on my list:
:
I would like to see AAFCO evaluate absorption and digestion of nutrients in pet food. I’d also like to see them move more quickly to develop standards for valuable nutrients they currently don’t recognize, like MCHA (Microcrystalline hydroxyapatite — the healthiest form of bone meal) and krill oil, as well as whole food nutrients
I would like to see AAFCO include other valuable animal nutrition research in their standards. The National Research Council (NRC) and Ellen Dierenfeld’s report on the nutrient composition of whole vertebrate prey have contributed substantial findings that should be incorporated into AAFCO standards. AAFCO has accepted some of NRC’s recommendations, but there are others that should be included.
I would like to see AAFCO acknowledge that some of their recommendations are based on excellent research data, while other recommendations – for example, iodine requirements for cats – are not backed up by well-sourced research. Certainly there is much room for improvement.
Blue, a Sheltie/Blue Heeler mix, lived well past the 30 days she was given after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Blue’s owners attribute her longevity and quality of life to holistic veterinary care.
Our Blue Heeler/Sheltie mix, Blue, previously appeared in the youtube video Blue The Canine Rocky. This is a sequel to that video.
Blue turned 16 in July, 2009–roughly 2 1/2 years after receiving a terminal diagnosis (and an estimated 30 days to live). Despite various ailments brought on by old age (arthritis, sluggish liver function, knee ligament damage) Blue continues to thrive thanks to various herbal supplements and a holistic care approach. She is happy, active, and still the alpha dog in a 3-dog household.
If you are a pet owner, please investigate alternative, herbal, holistic, and non-surgical options to traditional veterinary medicine. Blue is proof that many of these supplements have merit.
This video is dedicated to Blue and senior dogs everywhere.
The Dirty Little Secret Behind Health Care Research Funding in the U.S.
By Dr. Richard Palmquist, Co-Director of the AHVMA Foundation
Allergies are a good example of a chronic, widespread disease that causes enormous suffering for both people and pets – yet scientific research into allergic conditions is focused on symptom management, not curing the disease.
Much of the funding for health-related research in the U.S. originates from a desire to develop therapies that can be patented and sold over long periods of time for a profit. Finding cures is not a priority.
Even the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has as its goal to, “Advance the science and practice of symptom management.”
Pet owners, however, aren’t content to simply manage symptoms. They are looking for cures for the diseases their animals suffer from. Thanks to websites like this one and social media, users are able to talk and share information more easily. People are seeking holistic and integrative therapies in larger numbers for allergies and other disorders.
If you’d like to lend your support to wellness-focused veterinary medicine research, we hope you’ll join the AHVMA Foundation’s “One in a Million” fund raising effort. Between now and July 2, 2012, every $1 donated to the AHVMA Foundation toward the “One in a Million” campaign will be automatically doubled. That’s right – MercolaHealthyPets.com will contribute $2 for every $1 donation to the foundation from June 25th through July 2nd.
Angel, a 4 year-old Husky who lives in California, has an autoimmune disorder called Masticatory Myositis. Dr. Becker was able to restore Angel’s health through a living food diet and protocol of natural remedies.
New Lifesaving Tool for Pet Owners
Tens of thousands of dogs and cats are accidentally poisoned every year in and around their own homes. By far, the biggest danger is human medications.
Now there’s an iPhone app created by the Pet Poison Helpline that can help pet owners quickly identify potential poisons as well as symptoms of poisoning. It also provides one-touch direct dialing to the poison helpline.
Non-iPhone smartphone owners can download the Pet Poison Helpline’s mobile-enabled website, which also has a direct dial feature.
Listen to the relaxing flow of water as the underlying message works its way in to your subconscious mind. For a FREE e-book on living a happier life; please see my other video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTavnnxADRo
Subliminal Message:
I am relaxed
• I am competent you are competent
• I am strong – you are strong
• I am intelligent -you are intelligent
• I am beautiful – you are beautiful
• I am a good person – you are a good person
• I am caring – you are caring
• I am loving -you are loving
• I am energetic -you are energetic
• I am enthusiastic – you are enthusiastic
• I am joyful – you are joyful
• I am trusting – you are trusting
• I am generous – you are generous
• I am courageous – you are courageous
• I am smart – you are smart
• I am creative – you are creative
• I am talented – you are talented
• I am forgiving – you are forgiving
• I am open – you are open
• I am confident – you are confident
• I can take risks – you take risks
• I am a winner – you are a winner
• I have a good sense of humor – you have a good sense of humor
• I am assertive – you are assertive
• I am healthy – you are healthy
• I am positive – you are positive
• I am successful – you are successful
• I will like myself better each day – you like yourself
• I will gain emotional strength each day – you have emotional strength
• I am the best me I can be – you are the best you u can be
• I will smile more -you smile more
• I feel good about me – you feel good about yourself
• I have the ability to handle anything – you can handle anything
• I am capable – you are capable
• I deserve love – you deserve love
• I deserve to be loved – you deserve to be loved
• I am a deserving human being – you are a deserving person
• I love myself for who I am – you love yourself
• I have the right to feel good – you feel good about you
• There is nothing I can’t handle-
By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online
The purple shows up the plaque on the half of the dentures that has not had the “seaweed” treatment
Adding enzymes from seaweed microbes to toothpaste and mouthwash could provide better protection against tooth decay, a team of UK scientists have said.
Researchers at Newcastle University had been studying Bacillus licheniformis to see if it could clean ships’ hulls.
But the scientists now believe it could protect the areas between teeth where plaque can gather despite brushing.
Their lab tests suggest the microbe’s enzyme cuts through plaque, stripping it of bacteria that cause tooth decay.
Dr Nick Jakubovics, of the university’s school of dental sciences, said: “Plaque on your teeth is made up of bacteria which join together to colonise an area in a bid to push out any potential competitors.
“Traditional toothpastes work by scrubbing off the plaque containing the bacteria – but that’s not always effective – which is why people who religiously clean their teeth can still develop cavities.
“We found this enzyme can remove some of these undesirable bacteria from plaque.”
Merck vaccine fraud exposed by two Merck virologists; company faked mumps vaccine efficacy results for over a decade, says lawsuit
By Mike Adams,
(NaturalNews) Breaking news: According to two Merck scientists who filed a False Claims Act complaint in 2010 — a complaint which has just now been unsealed — vaccine manufacturer Merck knowingly falsified its mumps vaccine test data, spiked blood samples with animal antibodies, sold a vaccine that actually promoted mumps and measles outbreaks, and ripped off governments and consumers who bought the vaccine thinking it was “95% effective.” See that False Claims Act document at: http://www.naturalnews…;
Hungry Man frozen dinner company sued over allegations of false trans fats labeling
By J. D. Heyes,
(NaturalNews) There seems to be a growing trend among food companies to “obfuscate” (a fancy word for fabricating) the ingredients in their products. Regular readers of NaturalNews.com may remember our recent stories detailing how beverage giant Coca-Cola escaped a federal lawsuit over false advertising for one of its “pomegranate” drinks that contained mostly apple and grape juices, but just enough pomegranate juice to be able to legally list it as a primary ingredient. Now, Hungry Man frozen…
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
Newest ‘cannibal’: Karl Laventure apparently told police he wanted to eat their faces
Trouble: It took several police officers a significant amount of effort to subdue Karl Laventure when he was allegedly high on bathsalts
Interrupted: Witnesses saw a naked Laventure running around the Atlanta Golf Center on June 14 ‘making animal noises’
Rising sea levels threaten about a tenth of the world’s population who live in low-lying areas and islands which are at risk of flooding, including the Caribbean, Maldives and Asia-Pacific island groups
MessageToEagle.com – Between July 12-17, 2012, comet 96P/Machholz will be visible in the SOHO LASCO/C3 field of view and will brighten to about magnitude +2.
During the 2002 passage the comet brightened to magnitude -2,and was very impressive as seen by SOHO.
Comet 96P/Machholz/Apr. 20, 2012. Photo Credits: M. Masek, J. Cerny, J. Ebr, M. Prouza, P. Kubanek, M. Jelinek
The burning trail persisted in the sky for 20 minutes afterwards, say Perth residents, who assume that a meteorite left the flaming streak across the sky
MessageToEagle.com – We have previously seen that 
Is a meteor responsible for the red rain shower on July 5th?
Mario Tama / Getty Images
