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Zika virus declared an international health emergency
If it wasn't already patently clear that the Zika virus poses a serious threat, it is now. The World Health Organization has declared that Zika is a health emergency "of international concern," and that there needs to be "coordinated" response to both track and limit outbreaks. Effectively, it's a call to action -- countries and organizations are under pressure to devote research and funding toward fighting the mosquito-borne disease.
WHO: Zika virus is a threat of 'alarming proportions'
The head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, wants to make it clear that the Zika virus is something we need to take seriously. In an address yesterday, Chan said that the virus, which has been linked to a slew of birth defects in Brazilian children, has gone from "a mild threat to one of alarming proportions." Making things even worse, there's no known vaccine for the Zika virus. The best we can do right now is figure out ways to control mosquito populations, Chan noted in a later briefing, NPR reports.
Chris Chibnall is in charge of 'Doctor Who,' and it's British TV's fault
The news that Chris Chibnall was going to replace Steven Moffat as the man in charge of Doctor Who wasn't one I relished hearing. After all, Chibnall lacks the pedigree of both his predecessors, and the episodes that he has written for the show have been underwhelming. His appointment makes plenty of sense when you look at it from the BBC's perspective, but it also exposes a bitter truth about the state of the UK's TV industry.
Oxford Dictionaries names 'vape' as the word of 2014
Welcome, friends to the intersection of stories about silly words and stories about electronic cigarettes. Every year, Oxford Dictionaries chooses a single word that defines the world that we live in, and the word that defines 2014 is vape. The term fought off strong competition from bae, contactless, normcore and slacktivism to emerge as the winner. It's been a big year for electronic nicotine delivery systems (as they're officially named), since some medical professionals came out in favor of it, saying that it's less harmful than the real thing. That feeling wasn't shared by the World Health Organization, however, which wants e-smoking regulated in the same way as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos. We're going to go out on a limb and say that 2015's word will probably describe the antsy feeling you get when you can no longer vape in public spaces -- does Vanger work for y'all?
The World Health Organization is officially against e-cigarettes
Doctors think that the World Health Organization should ease off against electronic cigarettes, if only because the dangers have to be less harmful than the real thing. For its part, however, the WHO disagrees, publishing a report saying that it wants these nicotine delivery systems to be regulated with the same scorn as cigarettes and cigars are today. Research into the relative harm of "electronic nicotine delivery systems" is still pretty nascent, but the report claims that while the water vapor they emit has a smaller concentration of nicotine, it may spread more widely in the air -- increasing the risk to children and pregnant women in the vicinity. The WHO concedes that e-cigarettes are preferable to the real thing, at least for now, but only in nations where tobacco smoking is being rapidly reduced. The downside, of course, is that there's no consensus -- beyond a few studies -- that the technology actually helps people to kick the habit.
Doctors urge the World Health Organization to lighten up on e-cigs
The World Health Organization suspects that e-cigarettes should be treated with the same regulatory scorn as Tobacco, even if it hasn't yet made this conclusion legally binding. A group of 53 doctors, however, are now urging the WHO to take a gentler approach. They've signed an open letter admitting that while the dangers of vaping aren't fully known, the technology is vastly preferable to people choking down on the real thing. One of the signatories, Professor Robert West, can back up his claims with the study he published last week, which says that e-cigs are much more effective at getting people to quit than patches or cold turkey. We're expecting a lot more back-and-forth on this matter in the next few months, since the WHO's anti-smoking treaty group doesn't meet to reveal its final decision on the vaping issue until mid-October. [Thanks, Ronny]
Warhammer Online releases patch 1.4.5 highlights
Despite Mythic Entertainment's recent winnowing of the Warhammer Online servers -- bringing them down from four servers to a measly pair -- the company is still hard at work developing patches for the RvR-based title. Patch 1.4.5 will be hitting the live servers tomorrow, January 31st, and it brings a number of interesting changes and also ushers in the return of fortresses, which should be good news for open RvR fans. With the recent Skaven invasion, a number of relics have been found in myriad underground tunnels dug below the game's fortresses. Players will be charged with guarding their faction's relics while attempting to purloin those of the enemy. The Grovod Cavern scenario is also making a return, allowing two teams of 12 players to duke it out in the crumbling cave. But this time, there's a twist: Players will be taking control of two teams of Skaven; hilarity will ensue. To top it all off, 1.4.5 is bringing fortresses back into play (after they were removed some time ago), which should hopefully encourage players to head back into the open RvR lakes for fun and profit. For the full details, just head on over to the Warhammer Online official site.
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: Danish study tilts toward the latter
Chalk one up for the chatterboxes. In a study spanning 18 years and more than 350,000 test subjects, researchers in Denmark have found no connection between cellphone usage and brain cancer. The landmark project, carried out by Denmark's Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, was published online last week in the British Medical Journal, and is just the latest in a series of similarly optimistic studies. Of the 358,403 cellphone owners examined, only 356 were found to have a brain tumor, while 856 were diagnosed with cancer of the central nervous system -- percentages that are comparable to those seen among non-mobile users. Even among long-term cellphone owners (13 years or more), incidence rates were not significantly higher than those observed among the general population. Hazel Nunn, head of evidence and health information at Cancer Research UK, described the study as "the strongest evidence yet that using a mobile phone does not seem to increase the risk of cancers of the brain or central nervous system in adults." The study's authors, however, acknowledge some shortcomings in their work, including the exclusion of "corporate subscriptions" -- people who use their mobile devices for work, and who probably use them more heavily than the average consumer. They also recognized the need for longer-term research and for more child-specific studies. You can check out the article in full, at the coverage link below.
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: little tykes under the spotlight
In the rough and tumble debate surrounding the mobile phone's ability to cause cancer, both sides agree that our young ones -- indeed, some of the heaviest users -- could be at an increased risk for cellular-induced tumors. According to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the radio emissions from mobile devices penetrate much deeper into the brains of children, and in the case of little tykes ages five to eight, their noggins will absorb twice the energy of the average adult. This, combined with their developing nervous systems, has brought concern for the welfare of our youngest mobile-savvy citizens, and led to a European study of nearly 1,000 (informed?) participants. Data was gathered over a four-year period, which relied upon self-reporting methods, where youngsters were found to not talk very often, and typically sent text messages instead -- big surprise, right? While long-term risks remain unknown, the researchers conclude that "a large and immediate risk of cellphones causing brain tumors in children can be excluded." In other words: little Suzy won't begin sprouting cancer cells overnight. While you doting parents may find comfort in the latest research, you might consider stopping short of giving the mischievous rascal an unlimited voice plan. After all, gossip still spreads best at the school yard. [Image courtesy Derek Olson (flickr)]
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: Danish chatterbox edition
Concerned that a decade and a half of regular cellphone will have a long-term effect on your health? Hopefully the latest study conducted by members of the World Health Organization (WHO) will put your mind at ease. The examination followed nearly 3 million Danish adults, studying links between phone use and the formation of acoustic neuromas -- non-cancerous, slow-growing brain tumors that form on the main nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. The study concluded that people who've used a handset for 11-15 years weren't any more likely to develop a tumor than those who don't use cellphones at all, though scientists are unsure that this is a long enough period of time to determine a significant correlation (or lack thereof). Still, this comes as refreshing news two months after the WHO released a study revealing that RF waves coming from phones are "potentially carcinogenic," due to a limited link to glioma and acoustic neuroma. Of course, none of these reports can actually conclude that cellphones cause cancer -- only that the two may be correlated. So, what does this latest study really do? It legitimizes the need to conduct more studies.
Research doubts link between cell phones, cancer
Back in May, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued the controversial results of a study that linked frequent cell phone usage to certain types of brain tumors. Now a scientific journal, Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), has published an overview of similar studies that casts doubt on any links between cell phones and cancer. The journal notes that the WHO report was attempting to classify what kind of cancer risk might exist, not the actual probability of developing cancer. EHP had issues with the reliability of the WHO study, which asked 13,000 phone owners to remember cell phone usage from many years ago. The EHP authors mentioned that a number of other studies have not seen a link between cell phones and cancer. The importance of the EHP report lies in the fact that the journal has no connection at all with the cell phone industry, therefore reducing concerns of bias.
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: cancer experts say 'What, me worry?'
If you haven't already gotten whiplash from the ongoing cellphone-cancer debate, a freshly released scientific review might just do the trick. In the paper, published Friday, a panel of experts from Britain, Sweden and the US conducted a thorough survey of previous studies, before concluding that existing literature is "increasingly against" the theory that cellphone use causes brain tumors in adults. The researchers also questioned the biological mechanisms underpinning this hypothesis, while acknowledging some lingering uncertainties, since data on childhood tumors and longer-term research are still lacking. The results come just a few weeks after the World Health Organization released its own literature review, in which it claimed that cell phones should be considered "potentially carcinogenic." But Anthony Swerdlow, a professor at Britain's Institute of Cancer Research and leader of the most recent investigation, said his group's work doesn't necessarily contradict the WHO, since the latter was simply seeking to evaluate cancer risks according to its own "pre-set classification system" -- under which things like pickled vegetables and coffee are also considered "potentially carcinogenic." Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that the debate will die down anytime soon, though Swerdlow expects more definitive conclusions within the next few years -- assuming, of course, that all of our brains haven't turned to oatmeal by then.
Cellphones are dangerous / not dangerous: the WHO changes its mind
To say that experts generally don't agree about whether cellphone radiation can fry your brain is an understatement of massive proportions, but amazingly enough, the World Health Organization has come to a pseudo-conclusion. A group of 31 scientists from 14 countries working in the org's International Agency for Research on Cancer says that -- based on a survey of the literature -- those electromagnetic fields are as likely to be potentially carcinogenic as 266 other worrisome substances, including DDT pesticide and the exhaust from your automobile. Mind you, the WHO isn't saying that cellphones cause cancer, as today's decision is merely the latest call for more research, but the fact that respected scientists even claim that a correlation should be considered will probably be enough to stir the pot.
May Warhammer Online community update details Sigmar Tide event
Sound the WAAAGH! Warhammer Online's May community update was released today and includes details on the upcoming version 1.4.3. Particularly, it outlines the upcoming in-game event Sigmar Tide. Due to the fact that the event won't be available on the public test server to avoid spoilers, the team at Mythic is taking the opportunity to give players an idea of what they should expect from the event. The event itself is based on a special date in Warhammer lore: the day that Sigmar, founder of the Empire, ascended to godhood. And how does the Empire celebrate this occasion? Exactly how you would expect in the Warhammer universe: killing the tainted, hanging witches, and burning heretics. This jovial holiday will introduce a new scenario -- the College of Corruption -- into the mix, and it will be available to all players of any level for the duration of the event. For more information on the event, head on over to the full article.
What is Google Who? (updated)
You see what we're seeing in the browser history? Google Who. Google Who? What's that? It appears at the 32 minute mark from yesterday's Android event video. Perhaps it's just an internal directory lookup or maybe it's something more, a 20 percent project possibly. Tommy, can you hear me? Update: Aww, we just got word that it's The Goog's internal employee directory. Thanks for playing. [Thanks, Joshua G.]
Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver is still fiction -- but not forever
Kudos to Bristol University for catching our attention, and doing so in the name of promoting education. Professor of Ultrasonics Bruce Drinkwater is evoking a rather iconic name to better explain how cool science / engineering can be. Though already used in the manufacturing and medical fields -- don't yawn and look away just yet -- Drinkwater expresses some confidence that the future of this technology could very well usher in a pocketable device similar to the sonic screwdriver fancied by a certain former resident of Gallifrey. You know, that do-it-all device that can repair electronic equipment, burn and cut items, fuse metals, scan for information, and render virtually any lock useless... except here we're focusing on ultrasonic sound waves capable of fixing parts together and creating miniature force fields. As for the Time Lord himself, we know of at least one past Doctor who, as joked by a later incarnation, would rather "save the universe using a kettle and some string" (and has, in more recent iterations, pulled out miraculous victories with even a BlackBerry Storm). Point is, you should maybe consider a degree in Physics and an eccentric outfit should you ever find yourself holding a working prototype.
Visualized: literally
This eyeball, currently under construction in Chicago's Loop district, is an art project appropriately named "Atraxi" "Eye." Getting into a staring contest could be a deadly affair.
E-cigarettes banned in WHO-ville
As it turns out, the World Health Organization (WHO) isn't condoning e-cigarette products -- shockingly -- as some manufacturers might like you to believe. In fact, the lawsuit flag is being waved at a few companies who brazenly plastered the organization's name and logo across promotional material, suggesting an endorsement of the product. The WHO's Douglas Bettcher asserts that the product is untested as a nicotine replacement therapy, stating, "If the marketers of the electronic cigarette want to help smokers quit, then they need to conduct clinical studies and toxicity analyses." So while e-cigs might not carry the same carcinogenic risks as traditional smoking, there are still plenty of health issues surrounding liquid nicotine and all the nasty additives it's served in... and the WHO isn't about to let you forget it.[Via PhysOrg]
Joystiq live at Rock Band Bash 2008 ... with The Who
We're live at the E3 2008 Rock Band bash. "Who" is the special guest band tonight? We have no clue yet, but we'll be updating the gallery with all the pics of the event we can publish, including some of the Joystiq crew making fools rock stars of themselves live on a Rock Band 2 stage. Update: We've decked out the gallery with pics from -- you guessed it -- The Who. Now we can try to enjoy ourselves a bit.%Gallery-27916%
Roger Daltrey 'bored' by Rock Band
"The Who recently licensed downloadable tracks for the video game Rock Band. Daltrey said he tried it and got bored quickly. He laments the way technology has shifted how people regularly interact with music, saying the scrapping of long-play records signaled the death of the music industry." (from CNN)Roger Daltrey is 150 years old. (not from CNN; our estimate)[Thanks Drake]
