Black Death code cracked

Black Death code cracked

Black Death code cracked_ Scientists have mapped out the entire genetic map of the Black Death, a 14th century bubonic plague that killed 50 million Europeans in one of the most devastating epidemics in history.

The work, which involved extracting and purifying DNA from the remains of Black death victims buried in London's "plague pits," is the first time scientists have been able to draft a reconstructed genome of any ancient pathogen.

Their result -- a full draft of the entire Black Death genome -- should allow researchers to track changes in the disease's evolution and virulence, and lead to better understanding of modern-day infectious diseases.
Building on previous research which showed that a specific variant of the Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis) bacterium was responsible for the plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, a team of German, Canadian and American scientists went on to "capture" and sequence the entire genome of the disease.
"The genomic data show that this bacterial strain, or variant, is the ancestor of all modern plagues we have today worldwide. Every outbreak across the globe today stems from a descendant of the medieval plague," said Hendrik Poinar, of Canada's McMaster University, who worked with the team.
"With a better understanding of the evolution of this deadly pathogen, we are entering a new era of research into infectious disease."
Major technical advances in DNA recovery and sequencing have dramatically expanded the scope of genetic analysis of ancient specimens, opening up new ways of trying to understand emerging and re-emerging infections.
Experts say the direct descendants of the same bubonic plague still exist today, killing around 2,000 people a year.
A virulent strain of E. coli bacteria which caused a deadly outbreak of infections in Germany and France earlier this year was also found to contain DNA sequences from plague bacteria.
For this study Poinar's team analysed skeletal remains from Black Death victims buried in London's East Smithfield "plague pits," which are located under what is now the Royal Mint.
By focusing on promising specimens from the dental pulp of five bodies, which had already been pre-screened for the presence of Y. pestis, they were able to extract, purify and enrich the disease's DNA and at the same time reduce the amount of background non-plague DNA which might interfere.
Linking the 1349 to 1350 dates of the skeletal remains to the genetic data allowed the researchers to calculate the age of the ancestor of Y. pestis that caused the mediaeval plague.
Poinar, whose work was published in the journal Nature, said the team found that in 660 years of evolution, the genetic map of the ancient organism had only barely changed. "The next step is to determine why this was so deadly," he said.
Johannes Krause Of Germany's University of Tubingen, who also worked on the study, said the same approach could now be used to study the genomes of all sorts of historic pathogens.
"This will provide us with direct insights into the evolution of human pathogens and historical pandemics," he said in a statement.

source: yahoo

Police impound mobile strip club

Police impound mobile strip club, Detroit police impound suspected mobile strip club. Detroit police have impounded a party bus they say operated illegally as a strip club for reveling football fans at a popular tailgating spot.

The Detroit News and WDIV-TV report that the "Booty Lounge" bus was parked Monday near Ford Field, where the Lions played the Chicago Bears. Police say it was cited for not having a state safety inspection and because the driver didn't have a commercial license.

The bus was parked earlier Monday outside a bar in the Eastern Market area. Bus operator Joe Parsons agreed to move it at the request of police and said he planned to park out of town. Parsons has said Detroit has no ordinance against "mobile entertainment clubs." detroit mobile strip club impounded, detroit operated illegally as a strip club, Detroit has no ordinance against "mobile entertainment clubs."

An email seeking comment from a "Booty Lounge" representative was sent Wednesday.

Source:yahoo

France Ketchup

France Ketchup

France Ketchup, The country has officially banned the tomato condiment from all high school and college cafeterias. While France may blame the condiment's high sugar content, it may also be snubbing the pervading influence of American fast food culture, like McDonald's.

"France must be an example to the world in the quality of its food, starting with its children," said Bruno Le Maire, the agriculture and food minister.

French health authorities want its students to have access to healthier food items, such as more fruits, vegetables and dairy products -- while paying homage to French cuisine.

"Canteens have a public health mission and also an educative mission. We have to ensure that children become familiar with French recipes so that they can hand them down to the following generation," said Christophe Hebert, chairman of the National Association of Directors of Collective Restaurants. And the ban isn't only for health reasons but for cultural reasons. Apparently, a smear of ketchup is the equivalent of watching a Hollywood movie or playing Adele on your iPod. France Ketchup,

"We have to ensure that children become familiar with French recipes so that they can hand them down to the following generation," he explained this week.

"We have to stop children from being able to serve those sauces. Children have a tendency to use them to mask the taste of whatever they are eating," added Hebert.

French tots who can't quit the ketchup bottle will have to be satisfied with putting it on their potatoes.
Students are allowed ketchup on only one food -- French fries.

Read more: mid-day

Man Return Marijuana

Man Return Marijuana

Man Return Marijuana, A man walked up to an officer and demanded that he return the marijuana that he just dropped. Miles Bennet was bold enough to demand that the pot should be given to him.
Officer Dwayne Ausbrooks found the bag on the tarmac in front of a Pittsburgh shop. When he opened it, it contained a weed and Miles walked up to him later to claim ownership and demand that the drug should be returned to him.

When Miles walked to the officer, he said that, “Nah, nah, nah that’s not even cool you can say what you want but, I’m going to tell you. I thought you were going to be cool though.”

The officer replied, “Be cool about it? Sir, when I walk up here I find marijuana on the ground and you say ‘excuse me sir like that’s my marijuana.”

Miles told Dwayne that he accidentally dropped the drug and was coming back to have it. The officer of course didn’t give the drug to him but he also allowed him to walk free.

Experts say the officer did the right thing because he had no evidence that the controlled substance did actually belonged to Miles. The officer could have arrested him of he had seen him drop the item.

Source: thaindian

Motorcyclist Switzerland

Motorcyclist Switzerland

Motorcyclist switzerland, A motorcyclist is facing prosecution after being caught speeding – while sliding along the ground without his motorbike.
This incredible image released by police in Switzerland shows the 38-year-old man careering helplessly towards the side of the road at around 66mph.

Traffic police believe he would have been going a great deal faster when he first saw the camera.

Sparks are flying from his bike, which he is thought to have lost control of after noticing the traffic camera ahead of him.

The incident happened between the towns of Cibourg and La Chaux-de-fonds, close to Bern and the French border, on October 2.

A police spokesman said: ‘It appears that he suddenly saw the traffic control measure ahead and lost control as he tried to slow down.

Police say the motorcyclist, who was wearing protective leathers, was unhurt apart from minor cuts and bruises, as well as a degree of shock. Motorcyclist Switzerland,

He confirmed that the man was still facing a fine and the withdrawal of his driving licence for up to three months.

The officer said some 18 motorists had been caught speeding on the same stretch of mountain road on the same Sunday morning.

Source: dailymail

Two sent to hospital after World's Hottest Chilli contest

Two sent to hospital after World's Hottest Chilli contest

Two sent to hospital after World's Hottest Chilli contest. Pair in hospital after Kismot 'killer' curry contest. Two people have been taken to hospital following the "world's hottest chilli" competition at an Edinburgh Indian restaurant.
Emergency services were called to the Kismot restaurant in St Leonards Street on Saturday afternoon after some competitors became "very unwell".


The competition involves people eating the "Kismot Killer" curry.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is now calling for a review into how the event is managed.

On the restaurant's website it insists that participants sign a legal disclaimer before taking part in the competition, which raises money for the Scottish children's charity Chas.

It is understood that members of the British Red Cross were on hand at the event, but the Scottish Ambulance Service still had to be called because two people had such a violent reaction.

Curie Kim, 21, an American student on an exchange to Edinburgh University, said she decided to enter the challenge when she saw it advertised in the restaurant.

"It was very painful and felt like I was being chainsawed in the stomach with hot sauce on the chainsaw”


End Quote Curie Kim Competitor

She told the BBC Scotland's news website: "It was very painful and felt like I was being chainsawed in the stomach with hot sauce on the chainsaw.

"I have learned my lesson and will never do it again and, in fact, I will be cutting down on my spice intake full stop."

Ms Kim came second in the contest.

"The woman who won ate the last bowl in four seconds and then ran outside to be sick where as I didn't so I've learned I should have had a game plan like that," she said.

"There were three rounds and I managed half of the last bowl.

"I was in so much pain I wasn't aware of what was going on around me and when I got to hospital they gave me medicine for the indigestion.

"I don't think the restaurant should do it any more as I think there are a lot less painful ways to raise money for charity."
'Hands up'

Organiser Abdul Ali said: "The British Red Cross we had on board could not cope. We put our hands up. We did have to call the emergency services for a couple of our participants."

Mr Ali said he regretted that the services had to be called out on a busy Saturday.

He said all participants were now "fit and well" and more than £1,000 was raised for charity.

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "Two patients were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after becoming very unwell at Kismot restaurant.

"We would urge the organisers to review the way in which this event is managed in future in order to avoid another situation where emergency ambulances are required to treat their customers."

Gordon Mackenzie, whose council ward covers the restaurant, called the event a "shambles" and said: "The owners owe a debt to the ambulance service, and I hope they'll find some way of making it up to them."

Source:bbc

School bans hand-raising

School bans hand-raising

School bans hand-raising. Put your hand down, kid: UK school bans hand-raising. Thumbs up, everyone who hated to raise their hand in class. That’s the intent of a British school which has banned hand-raising from its classrooms, hoping to settle down those overly enthusiastic Hermione types whose arms shoot constantly skyward in frantic “pick-me” oscillation.


Now, it’s all about the thumbs, Fonzie-style.

Teachers at the elementary school in Bridlington, a coastal town about 400 kilometres north east of London, met at the beginning of the school year and came up with the solution, hoping to get more students offering up answers. The school has even posted helpful signs in the hallways demonstrating the new technique, which requires students to placing their thumbs-up in the palm of their other hand and wait to be called upon.

Some parents, as the Telegraph reports, are rolling their eyes, but head teacher Cheryle Adams told the newspaper, “It has calmed the students down. Staff have noticed a positive difference in the amount of people answering questions.”

It’s worked so well, she claims, they plan to start introducing it to students as young as four. (Currently it’s in practice for eight and nine-year olds.)

“It sounds silly,” said Michael Corbett, an education professor at Acadia University, when told about the new “thumbs-up” approach. After all, he points out, if teachers are worried about kids being too exuberant with their hand-raising they could just tell them to behave better. “You aren’t going fix the problem of overly exuberant students by telling them to raise their hand in a certain way.” school children The fonz, just daft  pupils, hand raising ban calmer classrooms

Retired Toronto school teacher Susan Roy has a better suggestion for teachers (and even parents): in a classroom experiment, she found that getting the teacher to wait five seconds after answering the question saw more hands raised. She’s used the thumbs up herself - so a student could indicate whether they were getting the lesson to that point.

But research has suggested that students may even learn faster when their hands stay down. A British experiment, conducted as part of a BBC documentary, found that students learned twice as fast when they were asked to write their answers on a white board and then lift them up to the teacher as a group.

The British school isn’t alone in trying an alternative. In lieu of hand-raising, there are some U.S. schools using computer technology so students can buzz in their answers without anyone else knowing if they got it wrong. Smart boards allow students to throw soft balls at a target to demonstrate their knowledge. In some Christian schools, students have been required to raise flags at their cubicles when they want to get the teacher’s attention.

The ubiquitous thumbs up, at least, has an optimistic quality to it. And isn’t The Fonz due for a comeback?

Source:theglobeandmail

Cops say mom tried to sell infant

Cops say mom tried to sell infant

Cops say mom tried to sell infant, A Delaware mother of three has been charged with selling her infant son for $15,000 because she wanted money to go to Disney World, police said on Wednesday.Bridget Wismer, 33, of Brookside Park, Delaware, sold her 1-month-old son, Christian, to a Philadelphia man, John Gavaghan, 54, said police in New Castle County, Delaware. Wismer and Gavaghan, who knew one another through mutual friends, were both charged with conspiracy and dealing in children. Cops say mom tried to sell infant, mom sell baby $15,000,

Delaware mom accused of selling baby to go to Disney World: The child was in good condition when he was found in Gavaghan's home, said Corporal John Weglarz Sr.

Christian is the youngest of Wismer's three children.

"Bridget was trying to sell her child because she did not want the child and wanted to go to Disney World," according to a police affidavit that quoted her relatives. 54 year old Philadelphia man baby, mom didn't sell baby,

Gavaghan agreed to pay Wismer $15,000 in installments, but not all the money was actually paid, police said.

Wismer's relatives tipped off New Castle detectives about her plan to sell the child.

With help from the Delaware State Police and the city of Philadelphia police, officers searched Gavaghan's home in Philadelphia.

"After detectives conducted separate interviews involving both subjects, they were able to confirm that Gavaghan and Wismer were involved in the sale and purchase of the newborn," a police statement said.

They were arrested last week and details of the crime were unveiled by police on Wednesday.

Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center, said that the legal course action would have been for Wismer and Gavaghan to contact a registered social worker, an adoption agency or a lawyer experienced in adoption. It's likely that a home study would have been ordered to make sure that Gavaghan's home was suitable for a baby, she said.

Source: yahoo

Cops say parents locked boy in coffin

Cops say parents locked boy in coffin

Cops say parents locked boy in coffin, Police were searching on Tuesday for a couple accused of punishing their 7-year-old son by forcing him to wear a diaper and locking him in a coffin in the basement of their Pennsylvania home.
Neighbors called police after they heard the boy crying from inside the house in Scranton on September 26, said police Detective Captain Al Leoncini.

Police found the boy sitting in a doorway of the basement, upset and wearing a diaper, he said. The boy told police he was crying because he was hungry.

After coming home from school, the boy said his stepfather had locked him in a coffin held shut by a chair in the basement. He said he was eventually able to escape by pushing it open. boy locked in coffin, boy locked in coffin punishment, Brian Sleboda and Lori Gardner, boy in coffin neighbors crying,

In the past, his stepfather had used duct tape to keep the coffin shut, the boy said, according to court documents.

He said his mother and stepfather often punished him by putting him in the basement, where she told him ghosts lived, the documents said. They rattled chains to scare him and sometimes duct-taped him to a chair, he said. Cops say parents locked boy in coffin,

The child told police he had to wear a diaper because there was no working bathroom in the basement, where sometimes he was locked for an entire day, the documents said.

The boy was placed with a children's welfare agency and police issued warrants this week for Lori Gardner, 26, and Brian Sleboda, 31, both of Scranton, Leoncini said.

Both have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful restraint.

"We're trying to locate the mom and the step-dad to serve these warrants, but at this point we don't know where they're at," Leoncini said. boy locked in coffin, boy locked in coffin punishment, Brian Sleboda and Lori Gardner, boy in coffin neighbors crying,

Breast implants 'save woman's life'

Breast implants 'save woman's life'

Breast implants 'save woman's life', A woman has her breast implants to thank for saving her life under a storm of bullets in a dental office in Southern California.Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Ashkan Ghavami called Lydia Carranza a “lucky woman” after she survived the open fire by a co-worker’s husband in the “Family Dental Care” clinic in Simi Valley.
Carranza was first shot in the arm and then the chest and Dr. Ghavami believes the result could have been fatal had it not been for her size-D implants that may have stopped the bullet from hitting her heart, KTLA News reported. Breast implants 'save woman's life',

Dr. Ghavami is now looking to perform the reconstructive surgery at a reduced cost.

The expert said: “Lydia has seen several doctors. Many of them displayed an attitude of, ‘you should be grateful to be alive, who cares about an implant?’ My hope is Lydia will be able to move on from this trauma when her reflection shows someone she recognizes, and finds beautiful.” Breast implants 'save woman's life',

The suspected gunman, Jaime Paredes, has been without bail on numerous counts, including murder and premeditated attempted murder and was said to be awaiting trial. (ANI)

Source: thaindian

Mule Deer Attack

Mule Deer Attack

Mule Deer Attack, A local man and woman are recovering from a deer attack near Preston. According to a news release issued by Idaho Fish and Game, Sue Panter was walking near her home in Whitney Friday morning when she saw two deer cross her path about 100 yards ahead.
The buck at first walked parallel to Whitney but then he began to close the distance. Panter started to yell and even threw gravel to discourage the attack. But the deer knocked Panter to the ground and started raking her body with his antlers.

Panter tried to play dead but the deer continued to gore her legs. Now feeling she had to fight back Panter grabbed the deer antlers and fought to keep the deer's head away from her own head. Mule Deer Attack,

Around that time Michael Vaughan and his 17-year-old daughter Alexis were driving down the road when Alexis saw the attack. She jumped out of the SUV and started punching the deer. Michael joined in the fray and grabbed the deer by the antlers. Freed from the attack, Panter got into the SUV.

Mule Deer Attack, The deer had now turned its attention to Michael. At the urging of her father, Alexis grabbed a hammer from the vehicle and started striking the deer. Finally the deer stepped back and ran off.

Michael Vaughan and Sue Panter were treated for puncture wounds, scratches, and bruises in Preston and released the same day.

Sue's husband, Scott Panter, said his wife still trying to come to understand what happened.

“She has a difficult time even talking about it,” Panter said. “We are all in shock and cannot believe this happened.”

Panter added, "I am so grateful for the Vaughans. I don’t know how I am going to repay them.”

Michael Vaughan said that he was glad that he and his daughter were at the right place at the right time. “If we hadn’t come up on [Panter] when we did, it could have been so much worse. I don’t think she would have made it.”

Blake Phillips, Regional Conservation Officer for Fish and Game’s southeast region, says that it is not known for certain why this mule deer buck attacked Panter, however behavior like this is typical of deer which have been hand-raised or “tamed” by people. Mule Deer Attack,

Source: kpvi

Venison ice cream

Venison ice cream

Venison ice cream, A Scottish restaurant has come up with the first venison ice cream in the world. The chef who is responsible for the invention says he got lucky with the creation. The creation was made when local chef Julien Miran decided to take part in a contest organized by the restaurant Cow Shed.
The contest was to honor this year’s Royal Deeside and Cairngorms Venison Festival. The delicacy has indeed turned out to be a hit because several of the customers who have tasted it say they like it. Venison ice cream,

Miran told reporters that, “We were just trying to make something different from the usual venison dish and thought about ice cream. Venison and juniper berries work together very well for a main course so we thought it could be nice as well for ice cream.”

Miran came up with the dish after he mixed the venison and milk. After he got the resulting product, Miran turned it into ice and placed it on a cone for an ice cream. After his creation, Miran admitted that though it did taste good, he wouldn’t take it as a dessert because it was too heavy. He suggested that it should be added to the main course. Venison ice cream,

Source: thaindian