TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Report: Climate science panel needs change at top By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-08-30T21:37:46ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists reviewing the acclaimed but beleaguered international climate change panel called Monday for a major overhaul in the way it's run, but stopped short of calling for the ouster of the current leader.... hosted.ap.org |
Royal Institution appoints Sir Richard Sykes as its new chairman Sir Richard will be responsible for shoring up the Royal Institution's finances, which were left in disarray by the global recession and a costly refurbishmentThe financially troubled Royal Institution of Great Britain has appointed a new chairman to oversee its fundraising and strategic development work.Sir Richard Sykes, a former chairman of the pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline and rector of Imperial College, received unanimous backing from trustees after being nominated for the job on Monday.Sir Richard, who is currently chairman of the UK Stem Cell Foundation, will take on the challenge of shoring up the institution's finances, which have been left in a parlous state by the global economic downturn and an ambitious refurbishment of the institution's London premises.He takes over from Adrian de Ferranti, who was chairman of the board of trustees when Baroness Susan Greenfield was made redundant as the institution's director in January.A spokesman for the Royal Institution said Sir Richard was unavailable to comment on the appointment, but issued a statement saying that he was "delighted to become chairman at such an important juncture in the history of the Royal Institution"."This is a crucial era for science in society and our role as home for the promotion of science is a critical one," the statement went on.The latest accounts filed to the Charity Commission in July show the Royal Institution is more than £2m in debt. It is the oldest independent research body in the world and is famed as the former workplace of Sir Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday.Sir Paul Nurse, the incoming president of the Royal Society, said: "This appointment will give strong leadership and much needed stability to the Royal Institution. I wish him and the institution well."People in scienceSusan GreenfieldIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Congress backs Obama plan on NASA's future By JIM ABRAMS 2010-09-30T03:50:36ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress approved a blueprint for NASA's future Wednesday that extends the life of the space shuttle program for a year while backing President Barack Obama's intent to use commercial carriers to lift humans into near-Earth space.... hosted.ap.org |
US porn industry thrown into crisis after actor tests positive for HIV Last major HIV panic in California's adult film industry was in 2004 when an actor with the virus infected three colleaguesThe multibillion-dollar porn industry located in the San Fernando valley of southern California has been thrown into crisis after one of its performers tested positive for HIV.The discovery was made at the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, AIM, a clinic that carries out mandatory testing for about 1,200 porn actors in the valley every month. The clinic has refused to reveal the gender of the performer or which studio he or she worked for, but it has started to track down all other actors known to have been exposed and is now quarantining them until they can also be tested.Two major studios have temporarily suspended filming, Vivid Entertainment, which is probably the largest porn-production company in the world, and Wicked Pictures.The anonymous performer is the first to have tested positive for HIV in over a year. The last major panic to grip the valley was in 2004 when a male star, Darren James, was found to have contracted the virus, probably from a filming session in Brazil.He in turn infected three actresses. More than 30 studios shut down temporarily while tests on many other performers who had engaged in filming with the four infected individuals were tested.The new positive test result has thrown up the long-debated issue about condoms in the porn industry. In the wake of the 2004 scare condom use became prevalent in the valley, but gradually filming without protection returned to being the norm as studios argued that the use of condoms was driving down sales.James, the actor at the centre of the 2004 events, told the Los Angeles Times that he was dismayed by the lack of progress on the issue in the past six years. "The actors … they're not getting the protection that they need. There should have been mandatory condoms," James said. "I knew it was going to happen. And how many years has it been? Again. They went right back to the same habits. Good grief, it's like my deal, all over again. I hate that."The San Fernando valley has become the focal point of the porn industry since the 1970s. It has been dubbed the San Pornando valley and Silicone Valley, a play on the prevalence on artificially enhanced breasts.Wicked Pictures is one of the only major studios that requires actors to wear condoms. It said in a statement: "Even though Wicked Pictures is condoms-mandatory, we have postponed our upcoming productions to give AIM a chance to create a comprehensive quarantine list."Thanks to the continued efforts of AIM the entire industry was all made aware of this possible threat on the same day."AIM was set up by a leading actor in S&M films, Sharon Mitchell, who appeared in more than 2,000 films and directed several before retiring and turning her energies to the health side of the business. The clinic has been in an ongoing tussle with local health and safety bodies that argue that testing for HIV is not enough and that protection must be given a higher priority.The clinic has also faced legal suits attempting to force it to reveal the numbers and identities of infected actors. So far it has managed to resist the challenges.Under California law employers must safeguard their workers against the exchange of bodily fluids. However, most studios bypass the requirement on the grounds that the actors they use are self-employed.The question of condom use is now likely to move to centre stage later this month when a panel that advises the state's health authorities meets to discuss porn industry rules.HIV infectionPornographySexual healthAids and HIVInfectious diseasesHealthCaliforniaUnited StatesEd Pilkingtonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Good breeding season for snakes, say vets Vets are expecting three times the average number of snake bites to pets this summer after one of Queensland's wettest Springs on record. abc.net.au |