| Titanic expedition shows off some crisp new images By 2010-08-30T01:31:49ZST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland (AP) -- An expedition surveying the wreck of the Titanic is showing off some crisp images of the world's most famous shipwreck, but officials said Sunday they are headed back to shore. Officials from Expedition Titanic said in a statement they are now headed back to Newfoundland because high seas and winds brought on by hurricane Danielle are preventing researchers from carrying out their work.... hosted.ap.org |
Whooooo are you? Who? Who? | GrrlScientist You are THE reason that I write a blog, and you always have been. But I don't know who you are or what you care about. Can you help me by telling me a bit about yourself?GrrlScientist and a new friend, a wild great tit, Parus major, select among her photographs snapped at Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery) in Helsinki, Finland. Yes, it was damned cold there!Image: Bob O'Hara, 24 November 2008.It's been a busy time for me, my peeps. I returned from a two-week visit to England almost one week ago, where I attended and live-tweeted two meetings and several train trips, met my new colleagues at The Guardian, and snapped a thousand or so photographs (some of which I'll be sharing with you in the next few weeks). After I returned home, I thought I could begin writing for you in earnest, only to discover that the ridiculously incompetent fools at T-Mobile inexplicably shut off my wireless connection – for the third time in just six months. After battling those idiots for the past six days, wi-fi has been restored at least temporarily, which leaves me to dig out from under more than 1,500 emails, finish several essays for you and bumble around as I try to familiarise myself with publishing on this new platform. This might sound like a lot of hassle, but the reason I do this is for you. But at this time, I am blind because unless you comment, I don't know anything about you; who you are, where you live, what you do, what you care about. So whilst I attend to business, please help me out by telling me about yourself. Are you a regular reader who has followed my peregrinations all over the blogoverse these past few months or read my blurtations on twitter, or did you just find this blog? Do you live in the UK or are you one of my many international readers? Do you also write a blog or use twitter? If so, let me (and your fellow readers here) know! Of course, I'd love to know other things about you: Do you keep pets? Are you attending university? If so, what are you studying (or alternatively, if you've completed your education, what are you doing now)? Do you travel and if so, where do you most enjoy visiting? What is the title of the book that you are reading right now, or what book have you read recently that most impressed you? But most important to me, if you are reading this and you either haven't commented before or haven't commented here, would you leave a comment to say hello? And as always, if you'd like me to write about something in particular, let me know (I already have one reader suggestion that I plan to work on).GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Cancer fund will put £50m towards access to drugs Announcement welcomed by patient groups but critics worry fund will take money from patients who have other diseasesThe government's new cancer drugs fund launches today with £50m in the kitty and high expectations from patients, support groups, cancer doctors and drug companies.The money is intended to kickstart the fund, which will be formally launched next April, the Department of Health has said. It will pay for cancer patients to be prescribed drugs that Nice, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, has in the past rejected as not cost-effective. New cancer drugs invariably enter the market with a high price tag and some have little evidence of lengthening good quality life."The additional £50m funding for cancer drugs available from today is just the start of our plans to address the disparity in patients' access to cancer drugs in England compared to other countries," said the health secretary, Andrew Lansley."My aim is to truly empower patients by giving them more control over their care and helping them access the clinically effective drugs that their doctors believe could improve their quality of life. I know this will mean a lot to cancer sufferers, their carers and their families and I want to assure all patients that I am working towards longer term plans to change the way we pay for drugs so patients get better access to drugs and the NHS and taxpayers get better value for money."The announcement was warmly welcomed by patient groups who will each hope their own members benefit – be they breast, prostate or kidney patients.But critics are concerned that the fund will take money from patients who have from other diseases and will damage Nice, which is much admired in other countries."Why treat cancer specially? There are lots of other diseases that cause a lot of human misery," said York-based health economist Alan Maynard.He suspected a successful pharmaceutical industry lobby. "They have run into problems with Nice because they have been unable to demonstrate that the drugs they have brought to market are cost-effective," he said.The existence of the fund was effectively "running a coach and horses" through the concept of cost effectiveness, with which the companies had struggled with the government for 20 years, he said.Bowel Cancer UK was one of the patient groups welcoming the start-up funding. "We hope [it] will enable more cancer patients to gain access to the treatments they need to live longer and feel better with the disease," said chief executive Deborah Alsina. Patients needed to have a choice of treatments, she said. "We therefore call on the government to honour its commitment to introduce the full cancer drugs fund next April and to utilise the fund as a pilot for value-based pricing for treatments as a step towards a longer term solution to the access to drugs issue."Macmillan Cancer Support said it was crucial the government delivered on its £200m promise. "We feel passionately that everyone should get the drugs their doctor recommends regardless of what type of cancer they have or where they live," said Mike Hobday, head of policy.DrugsHealth policyCancerHealthSarah Boseleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
China highlights climate change efforts By TINI TRAN 2010-10-09T03:15:29ZTIANJIN, China (AP) -- As the world's biggest greenhouse gas producer, China was widely seen as an obstacle in the Copenhagen climate summit last year. But while negotiations inched forward, Beijing poured $34.6 billion into clean energy in 2009, nearly double the U.S. investment.... hosted.ap.org |
Q & A: Pelicans in Training Young pelicans learn to feed themselves through a combination of trial and error, imitation of experienced adult birds and instinct, bird experts suggest. feeds.nytimes.com |