British kids use pets to fool researchers doing exercise study

Children in east London taking part in an exercise study by Mile End Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine decided to let their pets do their walking. The clever children attached their pedometers to their dogs collars.
Researchers were surprised at the activity levels for some of the obese children that were in the study. After a week the scientists discovered why the 11 to 12-year-olds were still obese even with extremely active pedometer readings, the kids had let their dogs do their walking.
The study of about 200 east London children was compromised with the tricky kids. Still researchers were able to gather enough information to show that the kids were walking far less than what is recommended by doctors. Boys should be taking 15,000 steps a day. Most of the boys in the Whitechapel study only ran or walked 12,620 steps in a day.
The girls in the study also walked less than the recommended 12,000 steps with an average of 10,150 steps.
The borough of Tower Hamlets where the children reside have an 11 percent higher than national average of being overweight or obese.
Researchers are planning on expanding the study in the area, minus the dogs this time around.

Modern Queen Elizabeth Twitters With the World

Queen Elizabeth II is now on Twitter. Anyone now can follow the Queen of England to keep up to date on the royal family.
While Her Royal Highness may be using the social networking site, don’t expect to see Tweets about her personal opinions at @TheBritishMonarchy on Twitter.
The queen has used the Internet to connect the royal family and the public since launching a Web site in 1997 for Buckingham Palace. The queen also has her own channel on YouTube.
BBC reports that a spokeswoman for the Queen said that the royal family will not be doing the Tweet updates themselves.

“The intention,” she explained, “is that it is a news service rather than a personal voice.”

Recent Tweets from the Queen’s page include the Prince of Wales presenting the The Queen’s Gallantry Medal to Sgt. Billy Owen and A Garden Party guest at Buckingham Palace escapes from the torrential rain, 7 July 2009.

Philly swim club may see a racial discrimination lawsuit soon

Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley is accused of refusing to allow black children from a day camp to swim. The children allegedly heard members of the club make racial comments about them while they were at the pool.
The parents and staff from Creative Steps Inc. are considering legal action directed at the Valley Club.

There are 65 campers that are part of the Creative Steps day camp. The children are African American and Hispanic.

On June 29 the campers arrived at the private swim club around 3:30 p.m. on a first visit. The camp had made arrangements for the children to swim at the club on Mondays through August 10.

Three campers came up to Alethea Wright, the executive director, on that first visit saying that they had heard members of the swim club asking what African Americans were doing at their club.

NBC Philadelphia reports:

“When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool,” Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. “The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately.”

The children were upset but they remained at the pool for the time that had been scheduled. Wright approached the club president John Duesler about the event and he seemed to be sorry for the incident.

On Friday July 3 the camp received a refund for the $1,950 they had paid in membership fees to the swim club. The children no longer were allowed access on Mondays.

There was no reason given for the refund.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on a statement given from Duesler:

“There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion . . . and the atmosphere of the club.”

The pool that the camp had previously used, New Frankford Community Y closed last month because of a lack of funds.

The camp is a 20-minute drive away from the swim club.

Campers also use the indoor door at the Jewish Community Center in Philadelphia twice a week but had wanted the children to also have time at an outdoor pool.

DJ Casey Kasem Retires ‘American Top 20′

Casey Kasem has counted down his last top 20 radio hits this past weekend. The show “American Top 20″ is retiring after a 39 year run.
ABC reports:

“We began the weekend of July 4, 1970, and after 39 years this will be our final countdown,” Kasem said matter-of-factly on his “American Top 20″ radio show over the weekend.

Kasem, 77, didn’t give any other advance warning that the show was over than a small press release that went virtually unseen.

Kasem has been one of the biggest names in the world of radio along with the likes of Wolfman Jack and Alan Freed.

ABC reports:

“Casey Kasem … Dick Clark … I really felt like these guys were a part of my family. You get this connection when you’re listening to them or when you’re watching them,” said Ryan Seacrest, who took the mic as host of Kasem’s signature “American Top 40″ show five years ago. Kasem continued to host two spinoffs, “American Top 20″ and “American Top 10.”

On Saturday Kasem signed out how he had for the past 39 years, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

While new broadcasts will not be coming there will be weekly rebroadcasts of Kasem’s programs from the 1970s and 1980s airing on more than 200 radio stations.

Flickr announces new ‘Flickr 2 Twitter’ service

When Internet giants Flickr and Twitter team up, it’s huge news. Today the two photo-sharing site Flickr and the social networking site Twitter are announced the latest feature dubbed “Flickr 2 Twitter.”
The new feature allows Flickr users to automatically post images to Twitter. A press release from Yahoo (the company that owns Flickr) says, “Once authorized, members will be able to tweet photos from the “Blog This” button on their photo page or from their mobile devices.”

User’s photostreams be visible on their Flickr account, and their Twitter account will be updated in real-time with a fancy new Flic.kr shortened URL.

The feature has been in the beta testing for several weeks as Yahoo was gathering feedback from members. Today “Flickr 2 Twitter” is available for the more than 39 million Flickr members.

In order to use “Flickr 2 Twitter” members have to authorize Flickr to post to their Twitter accounts. After the authorization has taken place all members have to do when uploading new photos is select the “Blog This” button.

Flickr has also joined Twitter, so Twitter members can follow them at @flickr.

LA School Superintendent Upset With GQ’s Bruno Photo Shoot

Sacha Baron Cohen is getting some harsh words after a photo shoot at a local Los Angeles high school was described as pornography. The school and its football players posed for the magazine in what is being called “soft porn.”
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon Cortines is not happy with the recent GQ spread featuring Birmingham High School.

Cohen was dressed as his gay character “Bruno” for what GQ is calling its comedy issue. The shoot which Cortines says that the district allowed local students to be “used” features Cohen as Bruno wearing just shoulder pads, tight red shorts, an athletic cup and the football team of Birmingham High School.

Eyewitness News reports that Cortines has bigger issues though than the photo spread. The Los Angeles school district is dealing with huge budget cuts and layoffs.

ABC Local reports:

“The school board should concentrate on other things, like trying to keep their schools running correctly, without worrying about little problems like this,” said Mickey Schechter, Malibu Lake resident.

The GQ issue features Cohen on the cover. The Cohen interview was given in character, presenting a serious conversation with a decidedly Bruno twist. One area covered is style tips by Bruno for those on a budget as Softpedia reports:

“Times are hard, but if you shop around und are prepared to vear some things twice before throwing zem avay, it is still possible to look good on a clothing budget of about $20,000 a veek. Ich mean, obwiously you vill need a bit more zan zat if you are planning on leaving ze house.”

Canadian HIV vaccine ready for human testing

A vaccine for HIV/AIDS developed in Canada is at the human testing stage after passing safety tests in animals. Researchers are now waiting for the United States to approve the human trials.
CBC reports:

“It is a very important milestone for us,” said Yong Kang, a professor of microbiology at the University of Western Ontario in London who has been working on the vaccine for 20 years.

According to Yong Kang this vaccine has the potential of saving millions of lives. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people and more than 40 million people are living with the virus since it was first discovered in 1981.

Canadians for Health Research reports:

“We created a genetically modified HIV and recombinant human adenoviruses to develop a vaccine which can prevent HIV infection and clear HIV-infected cells. It can produce antibodies against HIV and educate one type of white blood cells to find infected cells and kill them,” explains Kang. “We hope the vaccine will not only prevent HIV infection, but that it can be used as an immuno-therapeutic agent.”

It is expected that the FDA will allow for the testing to begin shortly. The United States trials will include toxicology tests and two phases of clinical trials.

The vaccine is being manufactured in a Maryland lab while the FDA approval is being waited on.

Within a decade the vaccine could be available to the public if the human trials are successful. Kang believes that the vaccine could be on the market in as little as three years for therapeutic use and then as a preventive vaccine within six years.

There have been several vaccines that have been developed and undergone animal testing. Few of those vaccines make it to the human test trials and of those there have yet to be a successful human vaccine produced.

A potential vaccine by Merck and Co. in 2007 had to be shut down after those in the trial contracted HIV at a higher rate than those who received the placebo.

The toxicology tests are planned for 40 to 50 HIV-positive volunteers in the United States. The test is designed to see if the vaccine is toxic in humans.

Kang has been the Dean of Science at The University of Western Ontario since 1992.

Argentine Ants Take Over The World

A single mega-colony of ants has been able to filter into much of the world according to scientists. The inter-related colony that have spread across Europe, the United States and Japan refuse to fight each other.
The Argentine ant was first identified in 1866 at Buenos Aires, Argentina by German entomologist Dr. Gustav L. Mayr .

The colony of ants could rival humans when it comes to world domination. They are unwittingly getting help by people in their world growth. The Linepithema humile are native to South America but people have introduced ants to every continent in the world except for Antarctica.

Known for forming large colonies and attacking native animals and crops an Argentine ant colony can span over 3,700 miles. That is the size of the colony that has formed along the Mediterranean coast. There is a 560 mile long colony in California and another large colony that is along the west coast of Japan.

The ants can cause havoc with the ecosystem by killing off native small animals and plants. They are a menace to farmers as they will protect aphids and scale insects from predators and parasitoids. For this protection the ants are rewarded with an excretion known as honeydew.

The fact that these colonies will not fight each other is very rare in the ant world. Researchers testing the ants chemical profile have found that the world-wide colony is from a single colony in South America.

Because the ants are not aggressive with each other they have been able to expand into such large super colonies.

A new colony can be formed with as few as 10 worker ants and a single queen ant.

The death of a young chef sparks protests in Shishou City

The death of a young man in the Hubei Province of China is sparking protests. As many as 70,000 people have barred the police from removing the body of a young man who fell to his death from a third floor at a local hotel in Shishou City.
The public has been protesting what they believe is governmental corruption, torture and murder.

On June 17 the young man’s body was found in front of the Yonglong Grand Hotel’s entrance. On June 20 a Public Security Office released a statement about the incident.

The dead man is Tu Yuangao, a chef, who had left behind a suicide letter. The preliminary medical exam found no other fatal wounds on the body and ruled out murder. The family rejected attempts by the police to remove the body for an autopsy.

Eyewitnesses report that they saw no blood on the ground but did see blood clots around the man’s mouth, nose and ears. They also reported that the lower body of the man showed signs of severe torture.

The family was offered $5,200 on June 18 as compensation if they confirmed that their relative had indeed committed suicide. They were told if they did not the body would be taken away by force and cremated that evening.

The father of Tu Yuangao, 24, refused the offer. He said that he had cans of chemicals and that he would kill himself and anyone else who attempted to seize his son’s body.

By June 19 there were 2,000 people who had gathered around the hotel to help the father’s desire that the authorities not remove the body. The entrance to the hotel had been blocked to prevent the police to enter. Over a dozen people were beaten and taken to a detention center without receiving medical treatment.

Chinese media goes against these reports saying that there were no injuries during the protest.

China Daily reports:

“A handful of people have been detained, but I don’t know if they will be charged or given detention,” an official from Jingzhou publicity office surnamed Xiong, said yesterday.

That only served to fuel the anger of the people.

Radio Free Asia reports:

“We believe this may relate to some kind of illegal activities and drug issues going on in the hotel that resulted in the deaths of certain people. There have already been five mysterious homicide cases at the hotel, but only two cases have been solved,” Huang, one of the protesters said.

By that afternoon there were as many as 40,000 people on the streets near the hotel. The protesters were said to be throwing bricks and bottles at the police.

By early evening riot police had arrived on the scene using water hoses on the crowds. The crowd instead of leaving destroyed the fire trucks supplying the water. The riot police then used tear gas on the crowd.

On June 20 China’s media Xinhua released a report titled Many Departments in Hubei’s Shishou City Jointly Organized a Fire Drill for Vehicle Fires.

Bloggers reports on the incident from within China were removed by the government.

According to those that reside in Shishou there have been at least two other mysterious deaths at the same hotel. One took place in 1999 and the other in 2007.

Those in the city say that the hotel is a hotbed of criminal activity. It is believed that the young chef knew of secrets and those secrets cost him his life.

There are reports that the body of Tu Yuangao has been removed by the police but there is no confirmation on this report.

Radio Free Asia reports:

“A lot of armed police came and took the body away,” another protester said. “They detained a few people as well.”

“They persuaded the family to let it go after they agreed to go through a formal autopsy. We were just watching from the outside. At one point there were around 10,000 of us,” he said.

Shanghai Daily reports that the body was cremated at 4am and a funeral was held around 9:30am on Thursday.