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Weekly Update: First US mad cow case came from Canada: US
WASHINGTON: The first cow in the United States to be found carrying the mad cow disease originally came from a farm in Canada, the US Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.
“We now have DNA evidence that allows us to verify with a high degree of certainty that the BSE positive cow found in the state of Washington originated from a dairy farm in Alberta, Canada,” said the department’s chief veterinarian Ron DeHaven.
Washington state is on the Canadian border.
The US authorities made the case public on December 23 and all of its major foreign markets have since banned imports of US beef.
Canada reported its first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in May last year, causing hundreds of billions of dollars of damage to the country’s beef industry. — AFP
Coffee lowers diabetes risk: US study shows
WASHINGTON: People who gulp several cups of coffee a day can greatly lower their risk of developing diabetes later in life, even if they are overweight, according to a US study published on Tuesday.
The study of 125,000 people suggests that caffeinated coffee — not caffeine-free — may affect the body’s metabolism in positive ways, the researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health said.
Men who drank more than six cups of full-caffeine coffee a day cut their risk of diabetes by more than half over 12 to 18 years, the study found. Women who drank that much coffee reduced their risk by 30 per cent.
Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers said it was not clear what caffeinated coffee does to reduce the risk of type-II or adult-onset diabetes.
The researchers, led by Dr. Eduardo Salazar-Martinez, Dr. JoAnn Manson and others at Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said caffeine is known to affect how the body handles sugar.
Caffeine also raises metabolism, they said, and may affect other aspects of metabolism such as fat oxidation and mobilization of glycogen in muscle.
“Coffee contains a substantial amount of potassium; niacin; magnesium; and antioxidant substances, such as tocopherols and phenol chlorogenic acid,” they added.
“These constituents may have beneficial effects on the development of diabetes through synergistic or independent actions on glucose metabolism and insulin resistance.”
The results validate a recent Dutch study that also showed coffee-drinkers lowered their risk of diabetes.—Reuters
Waugh ends career with battling knock
SYDNEY: Stephen Waugh prided himself on determination, discipline and timing, choosing the right ball to hit and which to leave, even if others might not agree.
So the 38-year-old Australian played one last match-saving innings to force a series draw against India, as if to script in his finale, and then ended his 168-test career that spanned almost two decades, saying it was the perfect time to quit.
The Australians are clear leaders in the International Cricket Council’s 10-nation test championship and salvaging the series draw against India helped them continue an 11-year unbeaten stretch in test series at home, including five years under Waugh’s captaincy.
“That’s the exact reason I’m going. I can’t imagine it can get any better than this. You look back to last year, I was under a lot of pressure, if I’d bowed out last year it wouldn’t have been ideal,” he said.
Waugh was struggling to keep his spot in the starting 11 at this time last season, critics saying he was too old .
In the last 12 months, he became the most capped test cricketer of all time, increased his career total to 10,927 test runs to rank second behind Allan Border.
He is the most successful test captain with 41 wins, nine losses and seven draws in 57 matches.
“If it wasn’t tough, anyone could do it,” Waugh said, explaining his passion for test cricket. “Coming back from adversity is the trait you need if you’re going to have longevity. I think I’ve done that reasonably well.” — APP
Bird-lover’s cat dines on rare flying visitor
LONDON: A rare feathered visitor to Britain survived a gruelling 15-hour journey from Norway, only to be eaten by a birdwatcher’s cat on arrival.
The cat’s owner wrote to a bird charity to report the unusual sight of a Norwegian robin in her garden in the north of England — but she had to confess it was dead in her cat’s mouth at the time.
The unlucky bird was one of only 30 Scandinavian robins known to have made the 400-mile (645-km) flight to Britain since 1919.— Reuters
Spirit snaps colour shot on Mars
PASADENA: The US robot Spirit on Mars has sent back a high colour image of the red planet, shown by NASA officials Tuesday, that boasts unprecedented definition.
The image, actually a mosaic of 12 images taken by a high definition camera, is of such high quality that NASA was able to zoom in on details of stones and pebbles in the reddish brown sand in front of the robot.
The 12-million-pixel image is “three or four times better than any previous mission,” said Jim Bell, who is in charge of the “PanCam.”
The picture is so lifelike that “it is approximately the colour you would see” with your eyes.
“They are the highest resolution pictures of Mars ever obtained,” offering “exquisite detail, a wonderful mix of both smooth and angular rocks, some a few tens of centimeters across,” said Bell.
A number of technical adjustments to the photograph can be made to boost its quality, Bell said.
The snapshot offers just a segment of the full 360 degree panorama, covering a 45 degree angle. Other photos in the series have not yet been transmitted.
Spirit came to rest on Mars on Sunday. All of its instruments are in perfect working condition.
The robot remains on the landing platform but is scheduled to start its journey moving across Martian terrain at the start of next week.
An identical robot, the Opportunity, is set to arrive on Mars on January 25.— AFP
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