Good Evening All,
Today's theme seems to be rescue. In fact, there are four articles on rescues printed below. The first is about an 80 year old back country skier, who got lost, called for help, and was rescued after 2 days, in Canada. The second is about a swimmer who tried for more than 3 hours to swim through high surf to get to shore in Kona Hawaii, and was rescued by firefighters. The third is about a brittish photographer who had been a hostage for over 2 months in Iraq, and was rescued by Iraqi Police. The fourth, and my favorite, for it's cuteness, is about a dog named snickers, who was rescued after being stranded for 2 months on a tiny pacific island.
There are several other interesting articles too today. I hope that you enjoy the read, as I thoroughly enjoyed making today's post. :) See you tomorrow!
Today's Top 5.
1. World-first Discovery Could Help Treat Life-threatening Tumors(Science Daily)
2. NASA to Build Moon Base for Six-month Stay (France 24)
3. Skier, 80, Found Safe After 2-day Search (CBC Canada)
4. Firefighters Rescue Swimmer from Seas off Kona (Honolulu Advertiser)
5. Fireman-for-a-day Dream for Child, Treat for N.Y. Firefighters (Firerescue.1.com)
Honorable Mentions:
1. Earth Day Message: Don't Scrap that Old Computer! (Earth Times)
2. Kidnapped British Photographer Safely Back in Europe After Two-month Basra Ordeal (Daily Mail UK)
3. Billionaire Texas Oil Man Makes Big Bets on Wind (Yahoo news)
4. Pet Spaniel Rescued After Months at Sea (WCCO TV)
Today's Top 5:
1. World-first Discovery Could Help Treat Life-threatening Tumors
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140951.htm
ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2008)
WA researchers investigating how blood vessel growth keeps cancers alive have made a world-first discovery that could boost the chances of successfully treating life-threatening tumours.
Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) Associate Professor Ruth Ganss and her team have found that a gene called RGS5 can reverse angiogenesis -- the growth of blood vessels inside the tumour. The discovery was recentlly published in the journal Nature.
"It's the uncontrolled growth of blood vessels and the formation of abnormal blood vessels inside tumours that 'feed' them, allowing them to grow and stopping the immune system from wiping out the tumour," said Associate Professor Ganss.
"What we've shown is that RGS5 is a master gene in angiogenesis and that when it is removed, angiogenesis reverses and the blood vessels in tumours appear more normal.
"Importantly, this normalisation changes the tumour environment in a way that improves immune cell entry, meaning tumours can be destroyed and improving survival rates in laboratory tests."
Reversing abnormal vessel growth represents a fresh approach to tackling angiogenesis, with most current research focusing on how to block or kill tumour-feeding blood vessels.
"We've long-suspected this research would deliver advances in knowledge about what impacts tumour growth and this publication recognises the innovation and importance of our work," said Associate Professor Ganss.
"By understanding what is actually going on in the tumour itself, the ultimate hope is that we'll be able to work on making current therapeutic approaches even more successful and reducing side effects of them."
Associate Professor Ganss' breakthrough comes after joining WAIMR from Heidelberg where she worked at the German Cancer Research Center.
The majority of the discovery was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and part of the work was achieved using facilities at The University of WA based Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis.
Earlier this month, a second paper by Associate Professor Ganss' and her team was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation which describes how tumours can be attacked by the immune system with fewer side-effects.
"This discovery involves targeting tumours with inflammatory substances that change the environment, so immune cells can attack the tumour through blood vessels more effectively and lessen the amount of toxins going elsewhere in the body," Associate Professor Ganss said.
2. NASA to Build Moon Base for Six-month Stay
http://www.france24.com/en/20080419-nasa-preparing-moon-base-six-months-space
Saturday 19 April 2008
NASA said it was conceiving moon bases that can house astronauts for stays of up to six months. The design for the lunar outpost could be inspired by the orbiting International Space Station (ISS). Saturday 19 April 2008 By AFP NASA wants astronauts who will return to the moon to take one long step for mankind. The US space agency hopes to build moon bases that can house astronauts for stays of up to six months, with an intricate transportation and power system, Carl Walz, director of NASA's Advanced Capabilities Division, said Friday. NASA is examining different designs for lunar outposts but that they could be inspired by the orbiting International Space Station (ISS), he said. "We need to establish a long, extended presence on the moon, up to six months -- same as the time we spend at ISS," Walz, a veteran astronaut, told AFP during a forum on the future of NASA at the University of Miami. "I would anticipate that we would build something similar as what we are building for the ISS, but maybe something different," he said. The station usually houses three scientists, although it can accommodate more when astronauts arrive aboard NASA's space shuttle on missions to expand the orbiting laboratory. The orbiting ISS contains a complex set of laboratories from the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan that allow scientists to study the effects of very low gravity on humans and plants. NASA plans to finish construction of the orbiting outpost in 2010, when it is scheduled to retire its three shuttles and replace them with a new spacecraft capable to taking humans to the moon and eventually to Mars. US space officials plan to return to the moon by 2020 and build permanent outposts on the surface of Earth's natural satellite. The space agency will also need to design transportation, communication and power systems for the lunar surface as well as give the astronauts the ability to venture out of their bases for scientific research, Walz said. "We will live at the moon, work at the moon, do sites at the moon and use its resources," he said.
3. Skier, 80, Found Safe After 2-day Search
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/04/19/skier-found.html
Last Updated: Saturday, April 19, 2008 7:58 PM AT
Search-and-rescue crews have found an 80-year-old skier who had been missing in Cape Breton Highlands National Park since Thursday.
Park warden Erich Muntz said several ground crews finally located Lloyd Stone at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday after he gave them a compass bearing.
Muntz said the experienced woodsman was in good shape and good spirits when he was found. He said Stone smiled and shook hands with searchers from Halifax and nearby Cheticamp, N.S.
Stone, who lives in Baddeck, apparently knew the area well, had plenty of supplies and was dressed for the weather.
He had requested help by calling on his cellphone, but the search was hampered by rough terrain, heavy snow on the ground and thick fog.
Stone's daughter said the avid back-country skier usually doesn't ski alone.
With files from the Canadian Press
4. Firefighters Rescue Swimmer from Seas off Kona
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/BREAKING01/80419023
Updated at 9:15 a.m., Saturday, April 19, 2008
Big Island firefighters rescued an exhausted swimmer from heavy surf off Kailua-Kona yesterday.
The swimmer was reported to be in trouble about 2:55 p.m. approximately 200 yards off Kahakai Road, fire officials said.
When firefighters from the Kailua station-house arrive, they could see the tired swimmer trying to approach the shoreline in an area where large waves were hitting the shore, officials said.
They were told the swimmer had been in the water for approximately three hours and been seen earlier sitting on a mooring farther out to sea.
A member of the Kailua fire company swam out to the swimmer through the surf on a rescue board and kept him from trying to swim back into shore until the swimmer and firefighter were picked up by a Hawaii Fire Department rescue boat and brought to the Kailua Pier.
Paramedics treated the swimmer at the pier before taking him to Kona Hospital to be examined.
5. Fireman-for-a-day Dream for Child, Treat for N.Y. Firefighters
http://www.firerescue1.com/news/397567-Fireman-for-a-day-dream-for-child-treat-for-N-Y-firefighters/
By Denise Jewell GeeThe Buffalo News (New York)
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A yellow helmet slipped off his head, and a firefighter's coat reached past his knees Thursday as 11-year-old Matthew Dotts climbed aboard Engine No. 3 at the Ontario Avenue Fire Hall.
Matthew didn't say much. Somewhere between his brain and his mouth, the words got lost.
But his smile was unmistakable.
This day, his parents said, was the happiest of Matthew's young life.
"It's always been the dream of his life to be a fireman," said Matthew's mother, Barbara Dotts. "When you have a special needs child, you never know whether or not their dreams will come true."
Matthew has severe developmental apraxia, a neurological disorder that limits his ability to form words and hinders his motor skills. From age 3 — long before he could say simple things like "yes" or "three" — he has loved anything to do with firefighting.
Thursday, the Niagara Falls Fire Department made Matthew an honorary fireman and took him for a spin on a shiny red engine.
It was a rare treat — both for Matthew and the firefighters, said Fire Chief William D. MacKay.
MacKay and Leigh Colangelo, Niagara Cerebral Palsy service coordinator, arranged to let Matthew follow in the footsteps of his grandfather Robert Johnson, who retired from the Falls Fire Department as a captain 20 years ago and was there for his grandson's big day.
Johnson had tears in his eyes as Matthew prepared for his ride.
"The firefighters' extended family always continues with you," MacKay said. "The Fire Department really has no boundaries as far as its family goes."
Matthew has two adult cousins, Firefighter David Barr and Fire Investigator Lance Gornbein, who currently work for the Fire Department. The family ties have fueled his love for firefighters.
Nearly every day, his mother said, Matthew rounds up his bag of fire engines at home and dresses up in pretend fire gear. He watches old reruns of the 1970s television program "Emergency!" again and again, and he calls everybody Roy and Johnny after the show's main characters.
Matthew was an easygoing baby, but his parents, Falls residents Barbara and Jim Dotts, began to worry when their only son couldn't walk or talk by the age of 18 months. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with apraxia. Colangelo described Matthew's words as being "trapped" within him despite knowing what he wants to say.
"The brain tells the body to talk, but somewhere along the way it gets transmuted," Barbara Dotts said.
Matthew, who has bright brown eyes and dark brown hair, is learning to use a keyboard and communication device to spell out words. His mother said he stumbles sometimes on short words but has already learned to spell "battalion" and "captain."
"He has progressed in so many ways," Colangelo said.
All day Wednesday, Matthew repeated the words "one more" — his way of expressing his excitement for the following day.
"He's been counting the days," Johnson said. "This is his life right here. This is the pinnacle."
Honorable Mentions:
1. Earth Day Message: Don't Scrap that Old Computer! http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/earth-day-message-dont-scrap-that-old-computer,357872.shtml
Posted : Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:50:34 GMT Author : GA-BLANCCO
ATLANTA - (Business Wire) Blancco, the global leader in data erasure and end-of-lifecycle solutions, today announced its participation in an Earth Day computer recycling event with EPC, Inc., an EPA-approved electronics recycler and IT asset management firm. During the April 19 event in St. Charles, Missouri, Blancco and EPC hope to draw attention to the over 50 million computers that become obsolete each year and the fact that there are secure, environmentally sustainable options for destroying sensitive data and recycling or refurbishing old equipment.
“Socially responsible companies are concerned about protecting confidential data and reducing their environmental footprint,” said Markku Willgren, North American vice president of business and sales development for Blancco. “As an alternative to physical destruction, full disk overwriting permanently destroys sensitive data, eliminating the fear of data theft, while preserving the potential to refurbish the computer for future use.”
Held from 8 am to 2 pm at EPC’s headquarters, 3941 Harry S Truman Blvd., the event hopes to draw personal and business users alike. In exchange for free recycling of old equipment, users will receive a disk with Blancco’s Data Cleaner + -- the same overwriting software used by EPC for recycling and refurbishing projects. “We have trusted Blancco products since 2006 for our own overwriting and data destruction needs, and we are happy to introduce these same solutions to event participants,” said Dan Fuller, president of EPC. “EPC and event sponsors like Blancco are dedicated to helping our environment and will continue to pursue environmentally friendly and socially responsible methods for computer disposal and reuse.”
For more information about the event, please visit http://www.epcusa.com.
About Blancco
Blancco is the global leader in professional data erasure and end-of-lifecycle solutions. Blancco’s data erasure products are available through the company’s website and through resale partners, and are trusted by 41 recycling, refurbishing and remarketing centers across the U.S. More information is available at www.blancco.com.
About EPC
EPC is a wholly owned subsidiary of CSI Leasing, Inc., the largest independent IT leasing company in the United States. EPC offers a wide variety of PC-related services, including new and used PC systems, parts and repair services, and networking design.
2. Kidnapped British Photographer Safely Back in Europe After Two-month Basra Ordeal
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=560709&in_page_id=1770
Last updated at 16:36pm on 19th April 2008
A British journalist who was kidnapped in Basra while on assignment for CBS News has arrived back in Europe.
Speaking at an undisclosed location, freelance photographer Richard Butler said he had received no mistreatment during his two months in captivity in Iraq.
He said in a statement: "First and foremost I would like to thank all those who were involved in working for my freedom, especially the Iraqi army whose bravery under fire actually won my freedom. I'd also like to express my deepest thanks to my CBS colleagues who worked tirelessly on my behalf and looked after my family in my absence. At no time during my captivity was I mistreated. And lastly, and most importantly, I would appeal to all hostage takers to release their hostages regardless of nationality and return to their families. Thank you."
US television network CBS refused to disclose which European country Mr Butler had arrived in or give any other details.
Mr Butler was freed on April 14 when Iraqi soldiers stormed a house in Basra and found him by chance.
He was found with a sack over his head and his hands tied. He had been held captive since February 10.
Gunmen from Basra's Shia militias were thought to be behind the kidnapping, in which Mr Butler was abducted from a Basra hotel.
3. Billionaire Texas Oil Man Makes Big Bets on Wind http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080418/us_nm/usa_oil_pickens_wind_dc
By Chris Baltimore Fri Apr 18, 9:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legendary Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $10 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm. But he's not doing it out of generosity - he expects to turn a buck. The Southern octogenarian's plans are as big as the Texas prairie, where he lives on a ranch with his horses, and entail fundamentally reworking how Americans use energy.
Next month, Pickens' company, Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering 2,700 wind turbines that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity - the equivalent of building two commercial scale nuclear power plants - enough power for about 1 million homes.
"These are substantial," said Pickens, speaking to students at Georgetown University on Thursday. "They're big."
Pickens knows a thing or two about big. He heads the BP Capital hedge fund with over $4 billion under management, and earned about $1 billion in 2006 making big bets on commodity and equity markets.
Though a long-time oil man, Pickens said he has embraced the call for cleaner energy sources that don't emit heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
"I'm an environmentalist - I can pass the saliva test," he said.
But Pickens is not out to save the planet. He intends to make money.
Though Pickens admits that wind power won't be as lucrative as oil deals, he still expects the Texas project to turn at least a 25 percent return.
"When I go into these markets, I expect to make money on them," Pickens said. "I don't expect to lose."
America is facing a looming power crunch, with electricity demand expected to grow 15 percent in a decade. And while many states have rejected big coal-fired power projects on environmental concerns, they are offering a bounty of incentives to build renewable sources.
U.S. crude futures at new records above $115 a barrel means a bright future for renewable sources like wind and solar.
Pickens' wind farm is part of his wider vision for replacing natural gas with wind and solar for power generation, and using the natural gas instead to power vehicles.
To picture Pickens' energy strategy, imagine a compass.Stretching from north to south from Saskatchewan to Texas would be thousands of wind turbines, which could take advantage of some of the best U.S. wind production conditions.
On the east-west axis from Texas to California would be large arrays of solar generation, which could send electricity into growing Southern California cities like Los Angeles.
The end result would be to free up more clean-burning natural gas - primarily a power-generation fuel now - to power automobiles.
Major oil companies have embraced so-called natural gas liquids because they have spent billions of dollars building refineries and pipelines to turn crude oil into gasoline, Pickens said.
But shifting natural gas used in power generation to transportation needs could cut U.S. crude oil imports by nearly 40 percent, he said.
4. Pet Spaniel Rescued After Months at Sea
http://wcco.com/watercooler/dog.parrot.cocker.2.703650.html
Apr 18, 2008 10:26 pm US/Central
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Snickers the Sea Dog is barely more than a pup, but he's already an old salt.
The 8-month-old pooch spent three months adrift in the Pacific with his owners and a parrot until their 48-foot sailboat ran aground in December on tiny Fanning Island, 1,000 miles south of Hawaii. Snickers and Gulliver had to be left behind as their owners hitched a ride on a cargo vessel.
Then in March, the SOS was sent out in a boating journal that the orphaned critters were to be destroyed on Fanning, one of 33 scattered coral atolls that make up the remote island nation of Kiribati.
As word spread, a bevy of people worked to rescue the cocker spaniel and the macaw, including a man who desperately wants to adopt them: retired Las Vegas resident Jack Joslin.
"I love animals," Joslin told The Associated Press on Friday. "I had two dogs up until the middle of March. Then I had to have my border collie euthanized. The day they called saying the ashes were back was when I read the story (about Snickers). It occurred to me I could do something."
On April 9, Norwegian Cruise Line workers rescued Snickers from Fanning and dropped him off on Oahu island, Hawaii, where he will remain in quarantine until he is flown to Los Angeles.
Hawaiian Airlines, moved by the dog's survival story, has given the go-ahead on flying the animal for free to the mainland, said Peter Forman, a Hawaii-based airlines historian who helped negotiate Snickers' transport.
Forman said he expects Snickers to arrive sometime in the next three days.
Snickers' original owners, Jerry and Darla Merrow, had set out from California's Moss Landing but their catamaran developed mast problems, said Gina Baurile of the Hawaiian Humane Society.
The boat drifted to the tiny atoll, where it hit a reef and the couple swam 200 yards to shore with Snickers and Gulliver.
Baurile said the pets were left in the care of islanders.
"They don't have the same concept of taking care of pets," Baurile said.
Efforts to contact the Merrows on Friday were unsuccessful. Joslin said he has been unable to contact the pair, and Baurile said she believes the Hawaiian Humane Society never tried to reach them.
"The Merrows got to the point where they had to move on with their lives," said Forman, who is friends with Robby and Lorraine Coleman, a couple with a sailboat off Fanning Island who originally talked to a boating journal about Snickers.
"The Merrows basically signed a release of ownership of the dog," Forman said.
Robby Coleman started watching out for the dog and parrot on the island, Forman said.
"Robby put out the SOS and a lot of people got involved," Forman said.
Contacted by Joslin, the Hawaiian Humane Society took the lead on Snickers rescue.
The organization worked with Norwegian Cruise Line, and a ship was sent out to Fanning Island to pick up the dog, said Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman Krislyn Hashimoto.
The Hawaiian Humane Society provided pet carriers, flea treatment and food, Baurile said.
The dog landed in Honolulu on Wednesday, cleared Customs and has been in quarantine since, awaiting transport to Los Angeles, Hashimoto said.
Getting the parrot off the island will be more difficult, said Joslin, who wants to adopt the animal.
There is a plan to move Gulliver to Christmas Island, near Fanning Island, and eventually to L.A., one of two U.S. ports that accept exotic birds.
"Snickers is going to live with me, I hope, for a long time," Joslin said. "And we're trying like hell to get the bird back here."
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