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Gene study narrows source of SARS 19:00 04 September 03 NewScientist.com news serviceThe SARS-like virus found in a food market in Guangdong, China jumped from animals to people - and not the other way around - suggests new research. The study represents an important step in tracing the original source of the virus. However, the work still leaves many important questions about the route of transmission of the SARS virus to people unanswered. In May, the researchers, led by Yi Guan at the University of Hong Kong, revealed initial results of tests on a SARS-like coronavirus isolated from market animals...

JEDDAH (Reuters) - Former dictator Idi Amin, blamed for the murder of tens of thousands of Ugandans in the 1970s, died on Saturday in a Saudi hospital where he had been critically ill for weeks, a senior medical source said "We can confirm that Mr Idi Amin has died from complications due to multiple organ failure," the source at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

THE BBC has admitted that it had made "slips of the tongue" in describing its source for bitterly contested allegations about the intelligence dossier on Iraq released by the Blair Government last September. The BBC acknowledged that a number of journalists, including defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan, made errors when claiming the stories were based on an "intelligence source" when, in fact, David Kelly, who committed suicide last Friday and has subsequently been revealed by the BBC as its source for claims the dossier was "sexed up" by Downing Street, was a Ministry of Defence consultant. A BBC spokesman said on...

The man named as the possible Whitehall "mole" for a BBC report claiming the Government "sexed up" its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction has denied he was the source of the story. Dr David Kelly, a Government adviser on Iraqi weapons, said he had met the BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan a week before he broadcast his story on the Radio 4 Today programme. However, he told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that Mr Gilligan's account of his conversation with his source was so different from their conversation that he did not believe that he could be the source....

The man who helped set off a media firestorm over President Bush's State of the Union reference to Iraq seeking uranium in Niger is actually a confirmed Bush-hater who opposed the war in Iraq and complained in March that Bush had led America into a period of "historical madness." In his New York Times op-ed piece last Sunday, so-called career diplomat Joseph Wilson said he was tapped by the CIA to investigate whether there was any truth to the Niger uranium story. After traveling to the country and interviewing government and industry officials, Wilson said he couldn't find anyone...

An enzyme-catalysed battery has been created that could one day run cell phones and laptop computers on shots of vodka. The key to the device is a new polymer that protects the fragile enzymes used to break down the ethanol fuel, scientists told the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in New Orleans on Monday. Enzyme-based batteries have the potential to be cheaper than fuel cells that rely on expensive platinum or ruthenium catalysts. "It sounds great," says Bob Hockaday, founder of the company Energy Related Devices and designer of a methanol-powered battery. "Enzymes are inexpensive and catalytically very active." Fuel...

The price of oil rose again Tuesday as gasoline prices edged toward an all-time record, leaving customers concerned about what might happen in the coming months if the United States engages in a war with Iraq. "I don't remember it ever being this high," 68-year-old Rob Dixon said as a friend pumped gas for his minivan at a Hess station outside Washington, D.C. "And I don't think bombing Iraq is going to make it any better." The gas station was charging $1.67 per gallon - five cents lower than an Exxon station across the street. But both were higher than...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 February 14 The Heart in NGC 346 Credit: Y.Nazé (Université de Liège) et al., CXC, NASA Explanation: Yes, it's Valentine's Day (!) and looking toward star cluster NGC 346 in our neighboring galaxy the Small Magellanic Cloud, astronomers have noted this heart-shaped cloud of hot, x-ray emitting gas in the cluster's central region. The false-color Chandra Observatory x-ray image also shows a strong x-ray source just above...

I was flipping the radio dial changing channels and almost fell out of my chair when I heard this!So is this the kiss of death for their credibility with their 'seal of approval?'

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 December 27 X-Ray Mystery in RCW 38Credit: S. Wolk (CfA), et al., CXC, NASA Explanation: A mere 6,000 light-years distant and sailing through the constellation Vela, star cluster RCW 38 is full of powerful stars. It's no surprise that these stars, only a million years young with hot outer atmospheres, appear as point-like x-ray sources dotting this x-ray image from the orbiting Chandra Observatory. But the diffuse...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 26 Dark Matter, X-rays, and NGC 720 Credit: D. Buote (UC Irvine) et al., CXC, NASA Explanation: Elliptical galaxy NGC 720 is enveloped in a cosmic cloud of x-ray emitting gas. Seen in this false color image from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the extreme temperature of the gas - about 7 million degrees Celsius - makes it impossible to confine the cloud to the vicinity of...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 28 X-Ray Rainbows Credit: J. McClintock et al. (CfA), CXC, NASA Explanation: A drop of water or prism of glass can spread out visible sunlight into a rainbow of colors. In order of increasing energy, the well known spectrum of colors in a rainbow runs red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. X-ray light too can be spread out into a spectrum ordered by energy ......

A state van containing a gauge with small amounts of radioactive material has been stolen. The device containing the radioactive material is in a case about the size of a suitcase. It was located in the back of a van operated by a Tennessee Department of Transportation employee in Corryton. The gauge is used for measuring moisture density in road construction and does not pose an immediate threat if it is remains in tact. Officials say if the radioactive sources are exposed or removed from their sealed container could present a radiation hazard.

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 May 21 The Galactic Center Radio Arc Credit: Farhad Yusef-Zadeh et al. (Northwestern), VLA, NRAO Explanation: What causes this unusual structure near the center of our Galaxy? The long parallel rays slanting across the top of the above radio image are known collectively as the Galactic Center Radio Arc and jut straight out from the Galactic plane. The Radio Arc is connected to the Galactic center by...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 May 17 Gamma-Ray Burst, Supernova Bump Image Credit: S. Kulkarni, J. Bloom, P. Price, Caltech - NRAO GRB Collaboration Explanation: On the 21st of November 2001, satellites detected yet another burst of gamma-rays from the cosmos. While this flash of high-energy photons lasted for less than a minute, eager astronomers have been following the fading optical light from the location of the burst source ever since. Seen...

In the past three months, the open-source community has been given a wake-up call. While Microsoft has concentrated on reviewing its flagship Windows source code as part of a new focus on security, Internet watchdogs have released the details of three widespread flaws in open-source applications usually shipped with the Linux operating system. The flaws could compromise the security of computers on which the applications are installed, prompting some developers to urge the open-source community to take another look at popular code. But most fear the majority of members won't bother. "No one is doing auditing," said Crispin Cowan, chief...