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New
Mars Probe Safely Enters Orbit
March
10, 2006
The
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully entered orbit around Mars on Friday,
NASA mission controllers have confirmed. The mission to study the Martian
surface is "the most technologically advanced payload" NASA has ever
sent to another planet.
Source:
New Scientist.com
Measles
Deaths Drop by Nearly Half
March
10, 2006
10
March 2006 -- Figures released today by WHO and UNICEF show that due to a major
global immunization drive, measles deaths have fallen globally by 48% between
1999 and 2004. The largest reduction occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where
measles cases and deaths dropped by 60%.
Source:
World Health Organization
Canada's
Lonely Killer Whale Dies
March
11, 2006
A
lonely killer whale that captured the hearts of many Canadians is believed to
have died after being hit by a tugboat propeller. The seven-year-old male mammal
appeared to have been sucked into a propeller after miscalculating its power.
Source:
BBC News
Death
of The World's Rivers
March
12, 2006
Disaster
warning from UN as investigation reveals half of the planet's 500 biggest rivers
are seriously depleted or polluted. From the Nile to China's Yellow River, some
of the world's great water systems are now under such pressure that they often
fail to deposit their water in the ocean or are interrupted in the course to the
sea, with grave consequences for the planet. Adding to the disaster, all of the
20 longer rivers are being disrupted by big dams. One-fifth of all freshwater
fish species either face extinction or are already extinct.
Source:
Independent.co.uk
Cameroon
Records First Bird Flu
March
12, 2006
The
lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu has been detected in Cameroon, making it the
fourth African country to be hit by the virus. A government statement said it
had been found in a duck on a farm near the northern town of Maroua, on the
border with Nigeria.
Source:
BBC News
NASA
And Google Bring Mars to PCs Everywhere
March
13, 2006
With
Google's help, web surfers can now navigate from the plains of Meridiani to the
Proctor Crater Dunes on Mars as though they were two local destinations. Arizona
State University's Mars Space Flight Facility and Google teamed up last summer
to produce Google Mars
(www.google.com/mars/), a mapping tool released Monday, which allows users to
view and scroll across the surface of the Red Planet, visiting its many
landmarks.
Source:
New Scientist.com
Nobel
Laureate Wangari Maathai Urges Individual Action to Protect Environment
March
13, 2006
Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai says people worried about the environment
should rely less on government and more on themselves to protect the planet's
limited resources. Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist who won the Nobel prize in
2004, said people who recycle and plant trees have a bigger influence on the
planet's health than elected leaders.
Source:
Environmental News Network
Bird
flu could hurt world economy, IMF warns
March
14, 2006
Governments
are not sufficiently prepared for a possible human pandemic of the H5N1 bird flu
strain which could deal a serious blow to the world economy, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
Source:
EUobserver
Azerbaijan
Reports 3 Dead from Bird Flu
March
14, 2006
Azerbaijan
reported three people killed by bird flu, after Myanmar announced its first
outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain in poultry and officials cited a strong
threat that the disease also struck Afghanistan.
Source:
Abc News
Chernobyl:
a poisonous legacy
March
14, 2006
Twenty
years after a blast in the nuclear plant at Chernobyl spread radioactive debris
across Europe, it has been revealed that 375 farms in Britain, with 200,000
sheep, are still contaminated by fallout.
Source:
Independent.co.uk
Bird
flu 'causes first dog death'
March
15, 2006
A
stray dog has died of bird flu in the Caspian nation of Azerbaijan, health
officials have said - thought to be the first time the virus has killed a dog.
Source:
BBC News
India
Bird Flu Cases 'Positive'
March
15, 2006
The
authorities in the western Indian state of Maharashtra say they have identified
four cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain.
Source:
BBC News
Hungary
Develops H5N1 Vaccine
March
15, 2006
A
vaccine to protect humans against the current form of the H5N1 bird flu virus
has been developed by Hungarian scientists, the country's prime minister
announced Tuesday. This new vaccine is designed to shield people working in
close proximity to birds infected with H5N1. While the vaccine does guard
against the current form of H5N1, it is not intended to defend people against an
anticipated mutant form of the virus that could trigger a pandemic, Agence
France Presse reported.
Source:
News 24.com
Google
Awaits Us Judge Decision
March
15, 2006
A
judge is expected to order internet giant Google to turn over some search data
to the US government, after the state reduced its previous demands. But Judge
James Ware told a hearing in California that he would weigh the government's
need to gather data against the privacy of Google users.
Source:
BBC News
Vaccinated
Adults Less Likely to Die from Pneumonia
March
16, 2006
Adults
hospitalized for pneumonia
who have received the pneumococcal vaccine are at a lower risk of dying from the
disease than those who haven’t been vaccinated, according to an article in the
April 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases,
now available online. Prior vaccination
also reduces patients’ risk of developing medical
complications and decreases their length of stay in the hospital.
Source:
Sciencedaily.com
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