Swine flu source spawns wild theories

Dead pigs in China, evil factory farms in Mexico and an Al Qaeda plot involving Mexican drug cartels are a few wild theories seeking to explain a deadly swine flu outbreak that has killed dozens and perhaps hundreds of people.

Nobody knows for sure but scientists say the origins are in fact far less sinister and are likely explained by the ability of viruses to mutate and jump from species to species as animals and people increasingly live closer to each other.

“The pig has been considered the mixing bowl of influenza viruses. Both avian flu and pig flu viruses have spread via the pig to humans,” Paul Yeo, a virologist at Durham University in Britain, said on Thursday.

“The problem now with this virus is that it has picked up a mixture of elements, now including human elements. It’s a complex virus.”

Twelve countries have confirmed cases of the H1N1 strain, a new infection that has brought the world to the brink of a pandemic.

Full story

Finally, a pizza box manufactured from 100% recycled material. The top of the Green Box breaks down into convenient serving plates, eliminating the need for disposable plates.

The bottom of the ‘Green Box’ converts easily into a handy storage container, eliminating the need for plastic wrap, tin foil or plastic bags.

Don’t you love when something so right is also ingenuously simple? Then you’ll love this pizza box.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it doesn’t have the authority to prevent foreign radioactive waste from being imported into the United States.

Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions is seeking a license to import up to 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste from Italy.

After processing in Tennessee, about 1,600 tons would be disposed of in the western Utah desert.

A North Dakota woman, is facing a child neglect charge for allegedly breast-feeding her six-week-old infant while drunk, according to court records.

Full story with mug shot

Two men who had too much to drink caused 117 passengers on a flight from Mexico to Maryland to wait on board after landing while health authorities checked the two for symptoms of swine flu, officials said Tuesday.

The commotion began when AirTran Flight 85 from Cancun, Mexico, radioed ahead to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport that two passengers were had nausea and fever, said airport spokesman Jonathan Dean. When it landed, the airport’s fire and rescue department met it.

The two men were isolated and examined, said David Paulson, director of communications for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said they simply had too much to drink.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which in some cases has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
Such material is made available for the purposes of news reporting, education, research, comment, and criticism,
which constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use',
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.