Month: January 2007

Study uncovers a lethal secret of 1918 influenza virus

Study uncovers a lethal secret of 1918 influenza virus « Biosingularity
In a study of non-human primates infected with the influenza virus that killed 50 million people in 1918, an international team of scientists has found a critical clue to how the virus killed so quickly and efficiently.

Importantly, the new work shows that infection with the virus prompted an immune response that seems to derail the body’s typical reaction to viral infection and instead unleashes an attack by the immune system on the lungs. As immune cells attack the respiratory system, the lungs fill with fluid and victims, in essence, drown.

The same excessive immune reaction is characteristic of the deadly complications of H5N1 avian influenza, the strain of bird flu present in Asia and which has claimed nearly 150 human lives but has not yet shown a capacity to spread easily among people.  BBC coverage

Old & new world birds don’t normally share flu.


Photo: Green Flash – Virgin Islands

  Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands Newspaper,
Daily News photographer Sean McCoy recently shot a series of images, taken from a West End beach on St. Croix as the sun was setting, and chanced to catch the phenomenon – a momentary flash of green that occurs just as the sun slips below the horizon.

More  Green Flash Photos.

An Introduction to Green Flashes

Foreigners Don’t Tip.

I WAS SERVED A FRENCH DI$$ IN N.Y. CAFE By JENNIFER FERMINO – New York Post Online Edition: Seven
A French-born Manhattan resident claims a trendy SoHo restaurant tacked a gratuity on his bill without telling him – then said it was to “protect” the waiters because foreigners don’t tip.

Everyone ordered their meals in accented English, then sat back and gabbed in their native tongue. They enjoyed a leisurely, two-hour meal, complete with a bottle of white wine, some raw-bar shellfish, four fish entrees and three side orders. The bill was $247.32 – including an 18 percent tip.

Audesson, a hair colorist at Pierre Michel, said when they asked the manager why the gratuitous gratuity was tacked on, he was told, “We do that because you’re foreign, and foreigners don’t tip.”

Why do they Spam Us?

O’Reilly Radar > Spamonomics 101
Spammers have to get out a high enough volume of spam that the small sliver of profit is greater than the cost of sending it.

These economics drive the patterns of spam we receive. Traditionally porn advertisements have the highest click-through rate, followed by pharmaceutical advertisements, though penny stock spam is gaining popularity. And the spam messages that aren’t advertisements, scams, or virus attacks, but just random strings of text? Ken Simpson comments, “Those messages are sent by spammers to poison the spam filters. When someone receives a message full of gibberish and reports it as spam, the spam filters tune themselves to recognize gibberish as spam—which reduces their overall accuracy.”

Rich Russians ditch vodka for ‘aspirational drinks’

Guardian | Rich Russians ditch vodka for ‘aspirational drinks’
According to a survey by the firm Euromonitor, vodka sales in Russia have fallen by 15% since 2000, with upwardly mobile Russians switching to brandy, cognac and tequila. Sales of beer and wine have also gone up, the survey said.

Originally sold in taverns, taxes on vodka played a key role in the economy of Tsarist Russia, at times providing up to 40% of state revenue. The drink remained popular in the 20th century – often knocked back with a plate of dried fish or delicious pickles. Even in 2001 vodka amounted to 70% of all alcohol sold in Russia.

Mikhail Kalashnikov – famous for designing the AK-47 – raises a vodka toast, but many aspiring young Russians find his choice of tipple dated. Photograph: John D McHugh/AP

“Dispatches: Undercover Mosque”

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: “Dispatches: Undercover Mosque”; Update: Part 2 added; Update: Part 3 added

After seeing these hidden camera videos shot by UK Channel 4, you will understand why British Muslims are considered by the Zogby Poll to be the most radicalized in Europe and why “assimilation” is their greatest fear.

“This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Hardcash Productions Ltd. because its content was used without permission”

An Environmental “Middle Road”?

The Reality-Based Community

In her latest column for the Boston Globe, Cathy Young, a contributing editor at the libertarian magazine Reason, picks up on an earlier post here about the reluctance of those most concerned about global warming as a problem to look seriously at reflecting more sunlight back into space as part of the solution.
I argued for a symmetry between environmentalist opposition to albedo-increasing efforts to fight global warming and religious opposition to using condoms to fight the global AIDS epidemic: between Al Gore and Pope Benedict. Young argues that distortions of the truth by those concerned about global warming are symmetric with distortions of the truth by those who deny that it’s a problem: between Al Gore and ExxonMobil. Whether or not I made out my case, I don’t think she made out hers.

The “Middle Ground” concept in the NY Times is also questioned here at the Real Climate Blog

51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse

51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse – New York Times
In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.

Coupled with the fact that in 2005 married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could ultimately shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and employers distribute benefits. Continue reading “51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse”

Actual English Menu Translations in China

rahoi.com
It was a night like any other – people inviting us out to a steakhouse. We get there, we are seated in a private room. All was well. Niceties aside, we prepare to order. I ask my wife what I should get. She says, “Go ahead and look at the menu – it’s in English.”

“Oh Really?” Click on the link above for more.