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KAMPALA (Reuters) - A new strain of the deadly Ebola virus has infected 51 people and killed 16 in an area of Uganda near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, U.S. and Ugandan health officials said on Thursday.

"The mysterious disease outbreak in Bundibugyo has now been confirmed to be Ebola disease," Dr. Sam Zaramba, the Ugandan Health Ministry's director of health services, said in a statement.

Genetic analysis of samples taken from some of the victims shows it is a previously unknown type of Ebola, Dr. Tom Ksiazek of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

"This virus didn't behave as would be expected of some of the known strains," Ksiazek said in a telephone interview. "That tipped us off that this is probably a novel or new strain of Ebola."

Tags: virus, ebola, health, microbiology, science

Stunning Science!

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:03:26 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: Science is SO beautiful! Go to the site and enjoy more of these fantastic visualisations of wave functions, quantum resonances, classical collisions etc. It's absolutely breathtaking.

Clip Source: www.ericjhellergallery.com

Welcome to the

Eric J. Heller Gallery

Digital Fine Art

Where science inspires art and art informs science...

Clip Source: www.ericjhellergallery.com

Several different ray speeds we launched in an eddy field to gauge the effect of wavelength on energy bunching, or caustics, which correspond to high risk areas for rogue waves.

Clip Source: www.ericjhellergallery.com

Study of energy flow in ocean waves moving through current eddies. This situation can lead to formation of giant rogue waves. The reflected image shows rippling which in fact is the technical mechanism by which the caustics develop.

Clip Source: www.ericjhellergallery.com

Study of energy flow in ocean waves

Clip Source: www.ericjhellergallery.com

Nonlinear transformations in the plane, involving random vertical and horizontal shearing have taken a benign blue-green-white simply layered initial structure and have turned it into this chaotic mix.

Clip Source: www.ericjhellergallery.com

Tags: science, quantum physics, wave functions, digital art, photos

Why Adopt An Older Dog?

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:48:50 GMT

clipped by: gingembre
clipper's remarks: by Ardeth DeVries. More:

"Older dogs have figured out what humans are all about and are willing and eager to add new information to their knowledge of human behavior. Old dogs can absolutely learn new tricks!

There’s absolutely nothing like the smile you get from older dogs—especially dogs that haven’t felt like smiling in awhile, but now have reasons to smile because you love them.

Older dogs are looking for human companions who will value their wisdom and their slow pace. They have their very own special appeal.

When you adopt older dogs, you can erase any unpleasant past experiences that they’ve had by loving them and caring for them. It doesn’t get any better than that!"

On a personal note, last April our local animal shelter helped us find an older dog to provide a companion to our 15-yr-old dog, who, like us, was grieving over the death of his older "brother" . We adopted our Sadie, a 9-yr-old who had been discarded in favor of a puppy. She is a JOY!

Clip Source: www.olddoghaven.org

Why Adopt An Older Dog?

If you have room in your home and heart for an older dog, consider the following reasons why adopting an older dog is a very good idea:

Older dogs, especially those that come to us, settle in easily and are more than ready and willing to bond with you and your family.

What you see is what you get with older dogs. They’ve already grown into themselves in all ways.

An older dog probably won’t need a great deal of exercise, and will really appreciate quality time with you and a good nap. And of course, your socks and underwear will remain in tact.

Older dogs generally like to watch the same programs on TV that you do, so you won’t have to learn to enjoy cartoons.

Many older dogs have already experienced rides in the car and walking on leash, so they’re instant companions and ready to continue those activities with you.

Older dogs are very grateful for the second chance they’ve been given and are very good at giving and receiving love.

currently adoptable dogs,

Tags: pets, dogs, animals, companionship, love, adoption

Artificial Clitoris, and more

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:33:14 GMT

clipped by: righthand

Clip Source: haha.nu

Photo1:

Location:

The Institute for Microbiology, Tübingen University, Tübingen

Clip Source: haha.nu

La Trobe

A contemporary representation of Charles La Trobe in central Melbourne

This temporary installation was removed at the end of June 2006 and has been acquired by La Trobe University

Clip Source: haha.nu

The Shark became the most famous resident of Headington when it landed in the roof of 2 New High Street (see map) on 9 August 1986

Clip Source: haha.nu

Photo2:

Photo3:

A specially commissioned sculpture commemorating DUBAL's twenty-five years of operation to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, unveiled in Dubai, UAE

"Rising"

Clip Source: haha.nu

Springfield, Missouri

Clip Source: haha.nu

Potsdam

Clip Source: haha.nu

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Tags: photos

Fake Mug shots of Bush administration

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:05:41 GMT

clipped by: ljsdesign

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

Fake mug shots of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other White House officials are on display at the main branch of the New York City Public Library, and the exhibit has caused quite a commotion

About six manipulated photographs of members of the Bush administration made to look like mug shots are lining one of the landmark building's hallways, with each current and former official holding a D.C. police date-of-arrest placard bearing the date they made "incriminating" statements about the war in Iraq, The New York Daily News reported.

The installation, called "Line Up" by artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, is part of a larger exhibit: "Multiple Interpretations: Contemporary Prints in Portfolio at the New York Public Library."

Tags: bush, comic, humor

Right Speech: the importance of our words

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:41:15 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.thebigview.com

Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path

The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.

Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.

Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things.

Tags: noble eightfold path, buddhism, right speech

Digital library exceeds 1 million books

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:14:48 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Digital library exceeds 1 million books

PITTSBURGH - Nearly a decade ago, computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University embarked on a project with an astonishingly lofty goal: Digitize the published works of humankind and make them freely available online.

"Anyone who can get on the Internet now has access to a collection of books the size of a large university library," said Raj Reddy, a computer science and robotics professor at the university who spearheaded the project.

At least half the books are out of copyright or scanned with the permission of copyright holders. Excerpts of copyright-protected works are available, though organizers expect complete texts to become available eventually.

The United States, China and India each have contributed $10 million in cash and contributions to the project, undertaken with partners at China's Zhejiang University, India's Indian Institute of Science and Egypt's Library at Alexandria.

Tags: digital library, 1 million books, literature, books, reading

The Golden Rule

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:36:20 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.religioustolerance.org

Shared belief in the "Golden Rule"
(a/k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity

"Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people's suffering. On these lines every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal." The Dalai Lama

Religious groups differ greatly in their concepts of deity, other beliefs and practices. Non-theistic ethical and philosophic systems, like Humanism and Ethical Culture, also exhibit a wide range of beliefs. But there is near unanimity of opinion among almost all religions, ethical systems and philosophies that each person should treat others in a decent manner. Almost all of these groups have passages in their holy texts, or writings of their leaders, which promote this Ethic of Reciprocity. The most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."

Tags: philosophy

JUST ONE DAY, I WANT TO.............

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:12:19 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: a bit more on the net!

Clip Source: www.authspot.com

Just one day, I want to walk at 12 AM in the darkened lanes of my city, with head held high and with no fear in the heart!
Just one day, I want to feel the freedom of spending the money without worrying about the budget!

Just one day, I want to take the hands of my mother in my hands and want to tell her as how much she means to me!

Just one day, I want to enjoy the life without having to think about going to work in the next morning!
Just one day, I want to let go of my children, without the apprehension about their life and their future!

Just one day, I want my prayers to be answered, as I had asked for, without variations from the God!

Just one day, I want to see the world with no boundaries, no racism and no restrictions!

Just one day, I want to soar into the sky, touch the mountain peaks and sleep on the lap of the God!
Just one day, I want to go to sleep as the happiest person on the universe, and should never get up in the next day morning!

Tags: just one day, inspirational, poetry, thoughts, nice, interesting, authspot.

Committed to Sleep

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:04:40 GMT

clipped by: Teosoma
clipper's remarks: shhht ... i'm working ...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Napping at work isn't acceptable in the UK, but in Japan dozing anywhere from Parliament to business meetings is allowed. It's called inemuri, which literally means "to be asleep while present".

Japan's ex-prime minister shows how it's done

The custom is partly a result of how commitment to a job is judged in Japan, says Dr Brigitte Steger. Inemuri is viewed as exhaustion from working hard and sacrificing sleep at night. Many people fake it to look committed to their job.

Tags: sleep, work, japan

A Major Killer Of Women

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:50:27 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

For Jean Rommes, the crisis came five years ago, on a Monday morning when she had planned to go to work but wound up in the hospital, barely able to breathe. She was 59, the president of a small company in Iowa. Although she had quit smoking a decade earlier, 30 years of cigarettes had taken their toll.

Ms. Rommes has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or C.O.P.D., a progressive illness that permanently damages the lungs and is usually caused by smoking. Once thought of as an old man’s disease, this disorder has become a major killer in women as well, the consequence of a smoking boom in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. The death rate in women nearly tripled from 1980 to 2000, and since 2000, more women than men have died or been hospitalized every year because of the disease.

“It’s the largest uncontrolled epidemic of disease in the United States today,” said Dr. James Crapo, a professor at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center.

Tags: and, i've, seen, what, it, can, do