| Explosive end for sick whale Explosives have been used to euthanase an ill humpback whale that washed up onto a sandbar off Western Australia's south-west coast. abc.net.au |
Natural gas may have jump-started oil eating bugs By 2010-09-16T18:03:39ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Those oil-eating bacteria that suddenly flourished in the Gulf of Mexico following the oil spill may have gotten a jump start from natural gas, scientists say.... hosted.ap.org |
Taser firm loses licence after Raoul Moat stand-off Pro-Tect stripped of right to import and sell stun guns after supplying weapons direct to police rather than Home OfficeThe Home Office licence of the company that supplied the Tasers used during the standoff with gunman Raoul Moat was revoked today by the home secretary .The Home Office said the company involved, Pro-Tect systems, had breached its licence by supplying X12 Tasers directly to the police. The licence only gave the firm permission to supply the stun guns to the Home Office's science and development branch for testing.The Home Office also said Pro-Tect breached "rules governing the secure transport of the devices and ammunition".The move means that Pro-Tect, the only supplier of Tasers in the UK, will no longer be able to import and sell the devices.The decision followed media reports that the Tasers fired at Moat during the six-hour standoff in Rothbury, Northumberland, were not licensed. The gunman's death brought the standoff to an end.Moat was on the run last July after shooting his former girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart, 22, killing her boyfriend, Chris Brown, 29, and blinding PC David Rathband, 42.Northumbria firearms officers fired two Tasers at the former nightclub doorman in an "effort to stop him taking his own life", the inquest into his death was told.James Brokenshire, the Home Office minister, said in a letter to the Commons home affairs select committee that short-term authority had been granted to allow Pro-Tect to dispose of its remaining stock. "You will wish to know that we are working with Acpo [the Association of Chief Police Officers] to ensure that police forces continue to have adequate Taser stocks to cover any transition."The Home Office said it was satisfied that the company had supplied Tasers and ammunition to Northumbria police and another police force contrary to its authority. There was no suggestion that firearms officers were at fault.A Home Office spokesman said: "Inquiries following the Raoul Moat operation revealed Pro-Tect breached its licence by supplying Tasers direct to police … The inquiries carried out by Northamptonshire police also revealed the company breached rules governing the secure transport of the devices and ammunition. Faced with these breaches, the home secretary has decided to revoke Pro-Tect's licence to supply Tasers."The X12 Taser is fired from a 12-gauge shotgun and was being tested by the Home Office before being approved for use by police forces in England and Wales.The Home Office stressed that the police could use any weapon they saw fit as long as its use was lawful, reasonable and proportionate.The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into the circumstances of Moat's death is continuing. An IPCC spokesman said that it was looking into the acquisition, authorisation and deployment of the XRep Tasers from a police perspective. The licensing of weapons, however, was a matter for the Home Office, he said.Amnesty International said it was seriously concerned that the Taser appeared to have been used without going through the official weapons testing and approval process. "The Taser XRep is a potentially lethal weapon which fires electric shock bullet-like capsules from a standard 12-gauge shotgun or the new-style Taser weapon," said Oliver Sprague, for Amnesty. "It can send up to 20 seconds of the same intense and debilitating pain as the traditional Taser. The traditional Taser sends five seconds of electric shock."Raoul MoatPoliceWeapons technologyArms tradeAlan Travisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Toxic coal sludge pollutes Ky. town 10 years later By DYLAN LOVAN 2010-10-10T19:27:25ZLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- In parts of eastern Kentucky, the pictures coming out of Hungary of the red sludge that roared from a factory's reservoir, downstream into the Danube River, are all too reminiscent of what happened a decade ago this week.... hosted.ap.org |
I hope contraceptive gel will replace the imperfect pill | Mary Fitzgerald A seeming lack of side effects could make a new gel revolutionary. Perhaps one day contraception will even be sexyHang on a minute. Don't the fairer sex already have countless contraceptive options at their disposal – pills, patches, injections and coils – while men remain stuck with the centuries-old, deeply unpopular "French letter"; "coitus interruptus"; or a vasectomy? Shouldn't the bulk of research now be focused on remedying this, rather than developing yet another contraceptive for women – this time a gel?Yes, men need more options. But this gel may be a revolutionary step forward for both sexes. The emergence of the pill in the 1960s promised to transform women's lives – allowing them to sleep with whom they wished, and decide when and if they had children. (The attendant benefits for men are equally obvious.) Yet with the new drugs came side effects such as weight gain, hormone imbalance, nausea and, for those with a family history of the problem, an increased chance of high blood pressure. Much progress has been made on reducing these side effects over the decades, but the fact is they still exist, and in Britain alone 2 million women are thought to be unhappy with their contraceptive method. Meanwhile unwanted pregnancies, as we know only too well, are hardly a thing of the past.The pill, as most clinicians accept, is an unsatisfactory solution for many who may forget to take it regularly – and often it's the people whose lives are most chaotic (and who are likely to forget to take their pill) who are also least well-equipped to deal with an unplanned pregnancy (see the controversy raging at the moment about a new project to address this).Of course, women no longer have to remember to take something once a day: they can opt for an injection which protects them for up to 12 weeks, or for a patch or implant which lasts considerably longer. As with the pill, though, these are hormone-based treatments that can have unpredictable consequences – many of which, to date, have been under-researched. One friend who had the implant was told by several specialists that her loss of sex drive could have nothing to do with the treatment. After many months of worry, soul-searching and strain on her relationship, she had it removed and her appetite for sex returned almost immediately. Given the high number of women who, like her, report not enjoying sex, or having difficulty with it, and the negative impact this can have on their relationships, self-esteem and general wellbeing, problems like this should not be ignored.But how might the gel work any better? Like the pill or the implant, it is a hormone-based treatment, bringing in a steady stream of progesterone and oestrogen through the skin to stop the ovaries releasing an egg each month. The difference, though, is that it is applied in small doses, on an as-needed basis, and can be discontinued at any time – making it less risky than an injection (which, once in your bloodstream, you're pretty much stuck with), and much less invasive than an implant or a coil. Neither is it visible or liable to fall off, as the patch is. And, as yet, none of the side effects associated with other hormone treatments have been observed with users of the gel.More promisingly still, it can be used while breastfeeding – unlike the pill, which can frequently interfere with milk supply. (This is no small advantage. As my mother once put it to me: "Probably the worst time you can get pregnant – apart from when you're a teenager – is when you've just had a baby.")One further thought. News of this contraceptive gel comes just weeks after reports of an anti-retroviral gel that could help women protect against Aids. At the moment, only condoms – infamous passion killers – offer this. It's early days of course, but imagine a sex aid that protects you from both pregnancy and STDs – and enhances, rather than detracts, from sex itself. Gel and lubricants are, after all, widely used by men and women to enhance sexual pleasure.Imagine an era where "she said she was on this pill"; or "he told me he couldn't do it with one of them" just didn't cut it anymore. It won't happen tomorrow, but a tube of gel might just revolutionise sex – and sexual politics – as dramatically a packet of pills once did.SexWomenHealth & wellbeingMedical researchHealthMary Fitzgeraldguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |