I pooped a straight razor
Scientists Develop New Strain Of Bird Flu That Could Kill Millions
www.huffingtonpost.com
It sounds like the setup for a Hollywood thriller: scientists in a lab create a virus as contagious as the flu that kills half of those infected. We're safe as long as the virus remains locked up, but if it escapes or gets into the hands of bioterrorists, it has the potential to become a pandemic an.....
@edgarblythe,
Gritting grimacing along with you, edgar......
Why on earth would scientist in the Netherlands create such a strain of virus?
For what purpose?
Quote:It sounds like the setup for a Hollywood thriller: scientists in a lab create a virus as contagious as the flu that kills half of those infected. We're safe as long as the virus remains locked up, but if it escapes or gets into the hands of bioterrorists, it has the potential to become a pandemic and kill millions around the world.
But this isn't the latest summer blockbuster. According to New Scientist magazine, researchers in the Netherlands studying H5N1 -- commonly referred to as the bird flu or avian influenza -- have created a strain of the virus that's easily passed between mammals, and it's just as lethal as the original virus.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the H5N1 virus has infected more than 500 people in more than a dozen countries and is known to kill around 60 percent of those that become infected.
Ron Fouchier, a researcher at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, led the team that successfully created the mutation. Fouchier presented the findings at a conference in Malta in September and, according to NPR, is now seeking publication of his results.
But some in the scientific community are debating whether or not that's a good idea.... <cont>
Bird Flu: Scientists Develop New Strain Of H5N1, Avian Influenza, That Could Kill Millions :
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/bird-flu-h5n1-avian-flu-virus_n_1118673.html
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@msolga,
Seems, there is a separate Japanese research on H5N1, which shows similar results
@Rockhead,
Rockhead wrote:fixed the maul...
today's grimace involved a bird. inside the cabin...
stinky got very excited. then the bird got very excited. I then got kinda worked up, too...
then it got ugly. and not because of stinky, who was surprisingly docile once we got over the shock of the situation.
I opened the front door, and grabbed a broom. (we have had this drill before) but I was unable to find the bird. (here birdie birdie...)
it had become entangled in a fly strip. (yucky) this made capturing the little guy real easy. but made releasing him a bugger...
I finally got him shook free and he ran away. not sure if he will be able to clean the sticky crap off and fly again, or not...
gonna hafta find a different form of fly control. not gonna do that again...
I had that happen, years ago, one morning when I was due in court.
A bird c.1O inch wingspan was inside.
I opened the back door, wide. Within about 5 minutes he flew out,
none the worse for wear.
David
I bought a new television today.
It has a cashback by redemption deal with it. $100 cash back.
So - I logged on to the manufacturer's site (Toshiba - if you're interested).
I registered. I answered a million questions. I filled in all the details correctly. I didn't write any rude words on any forms.
I finally completed the form and submitted it electronically - only for a message to pop up that I now have to print out the form, print out their acknowledgement, and take a copy of the invoice, which MUST contain a zillion specific bits of information, and post the whole bloody lot to them!
And then they may, if I'm one of the chosen ones, send me a $100 prepaid Mastercard.
Do you think they're trying to discourage people claiming the cash back? Bastards.
@margo,
Turds!
I hope the Telly is a good one.
@margo,
I suggest you also sent it by way of certified mail - return receipt required.
@edgarblythe,
How can they say that without testing? Oh jeez, I hope they don't read this.
@roger,
Thought I'd killed the beastly caterpillar which was destroying my basil yesterday.
Came out this morning........basil almost completely gone and a second caterpillar lying dead in the pot.
I'm wondering if the heat killed it?
@dlowan,
or you fed it too much basil...
@Rockhead,
pesto caterpillar, anyone?
@margo,
Sure glad they don't call them raterpillers.
Someone once formed a company called Raterpiller. It involved a rat running inside a wheel, with a real small belt driving something or other. The Caterpiller immediately bought out the entire company.
This did not make me grit my teeth.
I hate it when caterpillars get my food. One caterpillar apparently came in on someone's store-bought (or farmer market bought, more like it) vegies. It ate all of the basil I had sitting in a bud vase by the kitchen window. It left dark green pesto-poops all over the sill as well.
My grimace, though, is about the housemate. May have to resurrect the Housemate From Hell thread. She's not from hell, but she is getting hard to live with.
@littlek,
Quote:dark green pesto-poops all over the sill
I can just see that, k!
Quote:May have to resurrect the Housemate From Hell thread.
Oh good!
Not that I'm glad you're having housemate difficulties, mind!
What, you want to hear my gripes?! Really? OK.
In a nutshell, new housemate (HM) is a flake. She leaves lights on, cabinet doors open, food on the counter, doors unlocked, etc. I've talked to her, and talked to her and left notes and talked to her some more. She's a sweetie, so it's hard to be mad, but man is she frustrating!
I was enjoying time home alone. She returned two days early without notice and had a friends stay that night. Not such a biggie. She left the hall light on, despite the sticky note on the door to remind her to shut it off. Then she left the back stairwell light on. Saturday morning I was making breakfast in my PJs. She walked past me to the door and let a friend in. No mention to me on the way to the door that a stranger was coming into the house while I made coffee in my robe. Um. Hello. Then she spent all day Sunday cooking. I mean ALL day - from like 11 am through 8 pm. I have no idea. She said it was more efficient to cook everything all in one day. Maybe for her it was. "Sorry about the mess," she said, "I'll clean it all up after I'm done." Not really.
My main gripe though, the one I came here to vent about, was the broken container in the cabinet. I have glass storage containers. I reached in to grab one, but couldn't see well. So, I stooped down to get a better look - good thing I did. There was a large piece of jagged glass from one of the containers sitting among my containers. It was about a third of a container. I had no idea when this happened. Had I somehow done it? No, clearly she had broken it, removed about two-thirds of it, and left the rest. Was there shattered glass in the other containers? On the shelf - behind the lids? I hauled everything out and rinsed it and wiped down the shelf. "Oops," she said, "So sorry!"
@littlek,
She sounds like she might be an ADD sufferer. In particular, the left on lights and unsecured doors are suggestive. Does she also neglect to make her bed and leaves dirty dishes in the sink?
Sympathetic, k. You are a very tolerant and patient person. I guess roommates come with idiosyncrases.
The only roommate I could ever tolerate had to have four legs or feathers.
