BERLIN - Official test results Monday are likely to show that sprouts from an organic farm in northern Germany caused the E. coli outbreak that has killed 22 people, sickened more than 2,200 and left Europeans across the continent uneasy about eating raw vegetables.
If sprouts from the farm in the village of Bienenbuettel, between Hamburg and Hannover, are confirmed as the only source of the highly aggressive, "super-toxic" strain of bacteria, it could solve a mystery that has puzzled authorities for weeks. Suspicion for the cause of the deadliest known E. coli outbreak had fallen on lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, initially from Spain.
Even so, authorities say the danger is not over yet. More cases of the illness, which has hit Germany hardest, are likely for at least another week because the contaminated sprouts may have already been delivered to restaurants and grocery stores across Germany and could infect consumers.
And health officials still say they cannot yet rule out that there may be other sources for the infection as well. They warned against eating any sprouts and kept up a general warning for tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuces.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Germany awaiting test results on sprouts in E. coli outbreak that killed 22
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Kindle Reader
Kindle Wireless Reading Device Review
Article by Kathlene Easter
Customer Review Kindle Wireless Reader
Amazon has developed the most amazing piece of technology. It is called Kindle. If you are like I was not long ago, you maybe wondering what is a “Kindle”? Kindle is a wireless reading device. You may also be wondering what is a “wireless reading device”? It is a Kindle.
Kindle is a hand held, battery operated device designed especially for reading, and to do it with the greatest of ease.
Kindle’s wireless reading device is so versatile you can enjoy reading anything you normally would in the normal paper and ink style. Kindle allows you download blogs, magazines, newspapers, periodicals of every description and most cool of all is complete books.
Kindle will hold over 1,500 books at one time. And, this amazing wireless reading device will even read your books to you out load. Or you can order audio books to listen to. Can you imagine hauling around 1,500 books even in the trunk of your car? You would need a truck, not a trunk. And yet that is exactly what Kindle will haul around for you with no added weight at all to its slightly over 10 ounces.
The diner’s guide to restaurant tipping
There are certain topics that are guaranteed to incite passionate responses. Discussing controversial issues such as religion or politics is bound to land you in, at the least, a spirited debate. Oddly, you'll find that similar vigour and vitriol enters the conversation when discussing tipping etiquette, especially if you bring it up around those in the restaurant industry. The debate over who, where, when, why and how we should tip has become so overrun with conflicting opinions that it's tough to know what to do, particularly if you're in a foreign country. To clear up some confusion (and likely stir up some controversy), let's look at the standards for tipping service staff in some popular vacation destinations, and the rational for each custom. (Don't put your money on the table before getting a taste for analyzing this sector. Check out Sinking Your Teeth Into Restaurant Stocks.)
The United States
Unfortunately, many workers in America's food industry don't receive fair minimum wages. In some states, tipped employees (workers who collect more than $30 per month in tips) only collect the federal minimum wage of $2.13 per hour. Worsening the deal, tipped employees must claim their tips on their income taxes. For these reasons, it is customary for a diner to tip enough to help boost the server's wage to the prevailing minimum wage.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Buzz Killer: Special Smells Keep Mosquitoes at Bay
A whiff of one of three newly identified scents can send a mosquito into a bout of woozy bewilderment, scientists find. These odor molecules, they say, may stop the pests from biting and transmitting malaria and other diseases to humans.
'These chemicals offer powerful advantages as potential tools for reducing mosquito-human contact, and can lead to the development of new generations of insect repellents and lures," study researcher Anandasankar Ray, of the University of California, Riverside, said in a statement.
The compounds could help replace the expensive and toxic repellent DEET and help fight malaria and other diseases spread by mosquitoes, which cause millions of deaths per year. [7 Devastating Infectious Diseases]
I want to sense your blood
Female mosquitoes find their blood meal using special structures near their mouths called maxillary palps, which detect carbon dioxide exhaled by mammals, including humans. When they sense carbon dioxide, they whip around and fly upwind, eventually finding the source.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Deadly Mass. tornadoes flip homes, cars
People in the northeast are more used to blizzards than tornadoes. But two powerful twisters struck the Springfield, Mass. area Wednesday, killing at least four people, flipping cars, and collapsing buildings.
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency. He instructed residents to shelter in basements and bathrooms, and noted that one man was killed when his car turned over in West Springfield.
"There's just total destruction," said one man who was driving through West Springfield.
In one arresting raw video, rooftop cameras captured a twister sucking water from the Connecticut River hundreds of feet into the air:
And in another dramatic sequence, aerial video captured one of the tornados completely flipping a house over:
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Greenland cold snap linked to Viking disappearance
An iceberg floats in the sea ice near the town of Uummannaq in western Greenland
OSLO (Reuters) - A cold snap in Greenland in the 12th century may help explain why Viking settlers vanished from the island, scientists said on Monday.
The report, reconstructing temperatures by examining lake sediment cores in west Greenland dating back 5,600 years, also indicated that earlier, pre-historic settlers also had to contend with vicious swings in climate on icy Greenland.
"Climate played (a) big role in Vikings' disappearance from Greenland," Brown University in the United States said in a statement of a finding that average temperatures plunged 4 degrees Celsius (7F) in 80 years from about 1100.
Such a shift is roughly the equivalent of the current average temperatures in Edinburgh, Scotland, tumbling to match those in Reykjavik, Iceland. It would be a huge setback to crop and livestock production.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
B.C. boy who vanished 6 years ago is found when mother is arrested in U.S.
CHANDLER, Ariz. - A British Columbia boy who was allegedly abducted by his mother more than six years ago has been found near Phoenix, Ariz.Valor Howell was three years old when he went missing from Grand Forks, B.C. in December, 2004.
His mother, Jamie Howell, was arrested Sunday when police responded to a complaint of disorderly conduct at a laundromat in Chandler, Ariz.
Chandler Police Det. David Ramer said police ran a background check and found Howell was wanted in Canada for alleged parental abduction.
He said the 10-year-old boy is in good shape, and showed no signs of abuse.
"He was kind of withdrawn and aloof when it was first taking place with officers. Currently he's in Child Protective Services, our local agency, and they're working with the father to reunite them," Ramer told The Canadian Press in an interview.