Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land.

Fishermen captured the four-finned dolphin alive off the coast of Wakayama prefecture in western Japan on Oct. 28, and alerted the nearby Taiji Whaling Museum, according to museum director Katsuki Hayashi.

AP Photo:

Source: MSNBC/AP

“Researchers say that they have found a way to produce stem-cell lines without destroying human embryos.”

Source: Newsweek

–Will Pro lifers be cool with this? I want to know.

The number of planets in our solar system would jump from nine to 12, and puny, belittled Pluto would remain among them under a proposal by an international body of astronomers meeting in Prague.

The definition of planet being proposed today by the International Astronomical Union, if approved, would rewrite the textbooks and discard the simple nine-planet solar system that schoolchildren have memorized for decades.

Under the proposed definition, our solar system would gain three planets immediately. A dozen or more additional planets could be added later, if they qualify.

Source: RockyMountain News

Any predictions on what route the voting board will go?

An electronic device that emits a magnetic field could offer relief for millions of people who suffer from migraine headaches.

The device, tested by Yousef Mohammad, an assistant professor of neurology at Ohio State University Medical Center, administers a therapy known as transcranial magnetic stimulation.

The therapy, its proponents claim, painlessly “resets” hyperactive neurons associated with the disease.

“The patients feel a little pressure, but that’s all,” said Mohammad, who presented the results of a preliminary study today at the annual American Headache Society meeting in Los Angeles.

Only since that late 1990s have doctors begun to understand that hyper-excited neurons — not vascular constriction — are at the root of migraines.

The hyper-excited neurons set off otherwise normal neurons nearby in a chain reaction of dysfunction that spreads quickly over the brain.

About 25 percent of migraine sufferers experience the spread of hyperactivity as an aura — seeing shooting stars, zigzagging lines, flashing lights, and feeling a tingling sensation, among other things — an hour before the migraine sets it.

The device is meant to interrupt that chain reaction before it leads to the pulsating headache, sensitivity to light and sound, and vomiting associated with the headache.

Source: Discovery

I’m happy to hear this bit of news as I have a 16 hour plus flying day in front of me from Japan.

“Reduced air pressure and oxygen levels on planes do not increase the risk of blood clots in the legs, a study says.

Previous research has suggested air passengers are at an increased risk of DVT because of the unique conditions.

But Leicester and Aberdeen university researchers said sitting for long periods was the main cause, and warned people about all forms of travel.

The study of 73 people was featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

One in 2,000 long-distance passengers will suffer a blood clot, which can be fatal if it reaches the lungs. ”

I worry about deep vein thrombosis, because Protein S Deficiency runs in my family. Although I have been cleared by a blood test I still worry about these things because of my love to travel.

A “virtually untreatable” form of tuberculosis is quickly emerging across the globe, according to a federal report Thursday.

The total number of infections by the new strain is relatively small, but researchers fear it will spread rapidly in the TB incubators of Eastern Europe, India and China.

In 2004, the strain accounted for 11 percent of all drug-resistant TB cases in industrialized countries, up from 3 percent in 2000. “The time to act is now to prevent a new pandemic,” said Dr. Marcos Espinal, executive secretary of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Stop TB Partnership.

Source: Seattle Times

–Considering I just the The Constant Gardener, this is pretty scary.

The European Union said avian influenza has been found in two swans in Austria and tests were being conducted to determine if it is the deadly H5N1 strain.

The European Commission, in a statement sent by e-mail today, said Austria was applying “precautionary measures.” Austria becomes the fourth EU nation to be hit by bird flu, after Greece, Italy and Slovenia.

“The Austrian authorities have informed the European Commission this afternoon of a confirmed case of the H5 avian influenza virus in two dead swans found in the region of Stiria, near to the city of Graz,” the commission said. “Further tests will now be carried out.”

A wild swan tested positive for an H5 subtype of avian influenza in Slovenia, the European Commission said yesterday, a day after Italy and Greece confirmed the lethal H5N1 virus in swans. The commission is the EU’s executive branch.

The virus has killed birds in more than 20 countries and infected at least 166 people, killing 88 of them.

Source: Bloomberg

Bird Flu, Avian flu, Italy, Greece, Austria, H5N1

-Side note: I really liked Vienna when I was there.

Fewer Americans died of cancer in 2003 than in previous years, the first such decline ever recorded, although the number of cancer deaths among women increased, the American Cancer Society said on Thursday.

“From 2002 to 2003, the number of recorded cancer deaths decreased by 778 in men, but increased by 409 in women, resulting in a net decrease of 369 total cancer deaths,” the American Cancer Society said in a statement.

Due largely to a decline in smoking among men, it is the first decrease in numbers since 1930, when nationwide data was first compiled.

The society predicts that 2006 will see a slight decline compared to 2005, projecting that 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2006, and 565,000 will die of it.

“The death rate from all cancers combined has decreased in the United States since 1991, but not until 2003 was the decrease large enough to outpace the growth and aging of the population and reduce the actual number of cancer deaths,” the society said.

–A combination of early detection, prevention, and more education are probably the reasons. What does this mean for tobacco companies?

Source: Rueters

Cancer Statistics

Health authorities in China and Indonesia on Friday each reported a woman killed by a deadly strain of bird flu. Azerbaijan became the latest country to report an outbreak among fowl, and Nigeria said the virus had spread there, too.

The spread of bird flu has increased the chance that the virus will mutate and cause disease in humans and a possible pandemic, said Dr. David Nabarro, the U.N. bird flu chief. He said there is no evidence yet of any change in the bird flu virus.

Source: ABC News

Bird flu has been detected in northern Cyprus, according to the European Commission. Tests on dead birds showed they were carrying the lethal H5N1 strain, the Brussels body said yesterday.

Source: Financial Times