POLICE CAR DEATH SHOCKS BRAZIL, SAYS PRESIDENT ROUSSEFF

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has offered her condolences and said the
nation was "shocked" after a woman died when dragged by a police car along one
of Rio de Janeiro's busiest roads.

Mother-of-four Claudia da Silva Ferreira, 38, had been hurt in a shoot-out in the
shanty-town where she lived.

Policemen threw her into their patrol car's boot, which opened by accident when it
drove off.

Relatives said Ms Ferreira had been "treated like a criminal".

She was dragged for more than 300 metres (1,000ft) before the car stopped at a
red light.

Two policemen then got out of the car, put Ms Ferreira back in the boot and drove
to a nearby hospital, where she died.

Footage of the incident, which happened on Sunday morning in the Madureira

neighbourhood, was shown on Brazilian television.

"The death of Claudia has shocked the nation. Claudia da Silva Ferreira had four
children, was married and used to wake up in the early hours of the morning to go
to work in a Rio hospital," wrote Ms Rousseff in her Twitter account.

'Repulsive'
Three policemen have been arrested, accused of acting inhumanely and ignoring
calls from residents to stop the vehicle.
Relatives said that Ms Ferreira was treated with brutality probably because police
suspected she was involved with the local drug gangs.

"They thought she was a criminal and that is why they took her away. It wasn't to
save her life," her daughter, Tais Lima, told O Globo newspaper.

"They grabbed my mother by the legs and dumped her in the boot like an animal.
They didn't even bother to check if the boot was properly closed. That is not the
attitude of someone who is trying to help," she added.

The governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Sergio Cabral, described the attitude of the
policemen as "repulsive".

"They acted inhumanely. The least that should happen to them is being expelled
from the police force," said Mr Cabral.

In a statement, the Rio de Janeiro police command said that policemen

"exchanged fire with criminals during an operation at the Morro da Congonha
community and found a woman who had been injured".

"She was taken to the Carlos Chagas hospital, but did not survive," the note read.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26638995
 THE FLOOD IS WAITING IN THE WINGS

13.03.2014
 

Over a thousand years have passed from the time of the Flood, according to the
Old Testament, the Book of Genesis. Legend has it that through the will of God all
the people were cut off from the face of the earth, except the pious Noah and his
family. The chosen found salvation in the Noah's Ark, where the Almighty asked
them to take a pair of each animal species. All life was wiped off the face of the
earth, leaving no stone unturned, except the blessed Ark. According to scientists at
the University of Innsbruck and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,
a new global catastrophe is coming. Fortunately, it will not be as global in nature
compared to the Old Testament Flood.

German and Austrian scientists in the recent years have been extremely
concerned with the problems of global warming. Ben Marzeion of the University of
Innsbruck and Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research drew attention to the rising sea levels in the long term. The scientists
considered various scenarios of the rise in average temperature of the Earth
caused by human activity

The researchers came to a disappointing conclusion. In the next two millennia, one
fifth of the cultural and mixed heritage would be endangered if the temperature
raises at least 3 ° C above pre-industrial levels. This includes the monuments of
the central part of St. Petersburg, Venice, Naples, Istanbul, London Tower, the
Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera House and many others. If nature is unkind to
mankind, it is likely that the water will cover 1.1 percent of the land. 12 countries
around the world are at risk of losing half of their territories. A huge portion of the
world population and a considerable amount of cultural world heritage sites are
concentrated along the coast. Today, about seven percent of the world population
lives on the coastal lands.

Ben Marzeion said that mankind must take a fundamental decision to either not
worry about the fate of cultural heritage, rejoicing that for several centuries we will
still be able to save something dear to peoples and nations, or start taking steps to
conserve it for future generations. Nearly 20 percent of the World Heritage sites
currently included in the UNESCO list, and about seven percent of settlement
along the coast are currently at risk of being affected by sea-level rise at even
modest-looking three degrees of global warming, said Marzeion. This illustrates the
magnitude of the problem that we are shifting to the future generations. Usually
when people talk about climate change and the economic and environmental
consequences they count how much financial investment it would require. We want
to draw attention to the cultural significance, Levermann said. The temperature has
already risen by 0.8 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, and 40 sites are still
at risk. Scientists believe that even if the current temperature managed to stay at
the same level over the next two millennia, approximately six percent of the World
Heritage cultural sites would be affected by sea-level rise, along with 0.7 percent of
the global land area.

Unlike categorically minded Western counterparts, Russian experts are in no hurry

to make plans for two thousand years ahead. Scientists believe that such long-term
projections are of little interest to the public and researchers. The best option is the
next century during which scientists project that global sea level could rise by an
average of 0.5 to 1 meter. Territories with no security system of their own will be
threatened. Saint Petersburg, fortunately, is not in danger because the city is
protected by a secure dam. The authors of the research did not consider the
impact of other possible factors of climate change in their studies, in particular,
increase in the intensity and severity of extreme weather events.

According to the scientists, in the next couple of thousand years, despite the global
cataclysms, we can live a relatively comfortable life. The Flood is not expected, but
the residents of the coastal countries should think about moving or building the ark
for self-preservation to be on the safe side, and cultural organizations should think
about ways to preserve heritage for future generations.
Yulia Koroleva

http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/13-03-2014/127105-flood_waiting-0/
 FLIES THAT DO CALCULUS WITH THEIR WINGS

MARCH 19, 2014

There are lots of reasons scientists love fruit flies, but a big one is their flying
ability. These almost microscopic creatures, with minimalist nervous systems and
prey to every puff of wind, must often execute millisecond aerial ballets to stay
aloft.

To study fly flight, scientists have to develop techniques that are almost as
interesting as the flies.

At Cornell University, for instance, researchers have been investigating how the
flies recover when their flight is momentarily disturbed. Among their conclusions: a
small group of fly neurons is solving calculus problems, or what for humans are
calculus problems.

To do the research, the members of Cornell team — Itai Cohen and his colleagues,
including Z. Jane Wang, John Guckenheimer, Tsevi Beatus and Leif Ristroph, who
is now at New York University — glue tiny magnets to the flies and use a magnetic
pulse to pull them this way or that. In the language of aeronautics, the scientists
disturb either the flies’ pitch (up or down), yaw (left or right) or roll, which is just
what it sounds like.

The system, developed by Dr. Ristroph as a graduate student in Dr. Cohen’s lab,
involves both low and high tech. On the low end, the researchers snip bits of metal
bristle off a brush to serve as micromagnets that they glue to the flies’ backs.

At the high end, three video cameras record every bit of the flight at 8,000 frames
per second, and the researchers use computers to merge the data from the
cameras into a three-dimensional reconstruction of the flies’ movements that they
can analyze mathematically.

The value of the magnetic pulse, said Dr. Ristroph, is that it is much more precise
and directed than a puff of wind. The researchers can measure the amount and
nature of the flight disturbance and the change in wing position to correct the flight
path. “We can measure the input and output,” he said, “so we can figure out what
math is going on between the input and the output.”

They have so far published the results of pitch and yaw experiments, and reports

on roll experiments are in the works. The research could be useful in further
neuroscience experiments and for work on insectlike flying robots.
The nervous system of the fly, said Dr. Cohen, receives information about how fast
the angles of its flight are changing — up, down, sideways, or rolling around an
axis — and for how long that change has occurred.

TONE WHILE YOU TEXT AND CRUNCH WHILE YOU CALL - THE BIZARRE
IPHONE CASE THAT DOUBLES AS A DUMBBELL

PUBLISHED: 21:15 GMT, 19 March 2014 | UPDATED: 21:43 GMT, 19 March

2014

For Instagram addicts and Facebook fiends, it could be the best workout accessory
you'll ever buy.
An enterprising fitness firm has come up with an ultra heavy iPhone case shaped
liked a dumbbell.
Available in 1kg and 1.5kg weights, the 'Tonefone' is made from steel and coated
with rubber so you don't drop it when answering that urgent call.
Scroll down for video

+4
The ToneFone is available in 1kg and
1.5kg weights
It's makers claim it could let people work
out at home.
'How many times, when leaving work,
have you thought “I’ll definitely go to the
gym tonight!” and then by the time you
get home you can’t be bothered
anymore; you feel tired and without
energy?' say Desirable Body, the firm
behind the case.
'Imagine your phone was a dumbbell,
you’d be working out now!'
Described as 'a revolutionary new case for iPhone 5 and 5s', the ToneFoneeven
claims to help improve the owners skin by claiming 'You won’t get your hands
rough with hard skin from working out thanks to its smooth rubber finish.'
It has already proved a big hit online, and is currently sold out - although the firm
promises more stock within weeks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2584708/Tone-text-crunch-call-
bizarre-iPhone-case-doubles-dumbbell.html
 CORNEA CELL TRANSPLANTS BEING TESTED ON HUMANS

11:07 pm, March 19, 2014

Jiji PressKYOTO (Jiji Press)—Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine has said it

has started the world’s first clinical study to treat patients suffering from the loss of
corneal endothelial cells through transplants of such cells cultivated outside their
bodies.

Since patients have experienced substantial recoveries of eyesight after such

transplants, the treatment method is expected to offer a new cure that could
replace corneal transplants.

The cornea is a clear film that covers the iris of the eye. Corneal endothelial cells,
found in the innermost part of the film, play a role in regulating the amount of water
in the eye. Declines in the number of the cells or in their function lead to
deterioration of vision.

Since corneal endothelial cells do not grow inside the body, corneal transplants
have been the only way to treat the disease until now.

A research team led by Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Prof. Shigeru

Kinoshita succeeded in using low molecular compounds to cultivate corneal
endothelial cells taken from the bodies of patients.

The team injected the cultivated cells into the inner side of a monkey’s cornea and
confirmed that the injected cells started functioning properly.

In March last year, the team obtained approval from the Health, Labor and Welfare
Ministry for a clinical study with human subjects.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001114047
 ENGINEERS DEVELOP CARBON NANOTUBE CIRCUITS TO MAKE
ELECTRONIC DEVICES FLEXIBLE

China National News (ANI) Tuesday 18th March, 2014

Engineers have invented a way to make digital devices that bend by 'doping'
carbon filaments with an additive to improve their electronic performance.
Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, said that it's the first
time anyone has designed a flexible CNT circuits that have both high immunity to
electrical noise and low power consumption.
In a bid to create flexible electronic devices, the team has developed a process to
create flexible chips that can tolerate power fluctuations in much the same way as
silicon circuitry and have found that the ultra thin carbon filaments have the
physical strength to take the wear and tear of bending, and the electrical
conductivity to perform any electronic task.
Bao added that CNTs have the best long term electronic and physical attributes.
The group reported its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. (ANI)

http://www.chinanationalnews.com/index.php/sid/220484694/scat/e25e481de4af3e
d3/ht/Engineers-develop-carbon-nanotube-circuits-to-make-electronic-devices-
flexible#sthash.evN4kRMl.dpuf
 TAIWAN FISHERMEN TO USE ARMED GUARDS
Posted at 03/19/2014 7:16 PM | Updated as of 03/19/2014 7:17 PM

TAIPEI - Taiwan-registered fishing vessels operating in the pirated-infested waters

of the Indian Ocean have obtained permission to hire armed guards on board, the
island's fisheries authorities said Tuesday.

The Fisheries Agency told Kyodo News the agency has approved applications of
some 20 fishing boats operating in waters considered "threatened by piracy or
illegal use of force" to hire private armed escorts to counter piracy.

Following the footstep of Japan's parliament, which enacted a similar bill last year,
Taiwan's legislature approved amendments to the fisheries law in August last year
allowing the deployment of armed guards employed by foreign security contractors
on board Taiwan-registered fishing vessels operating in high-risk areas threatened
by piracy or illegal use of force.

The Fisheries Agency declared in January the areas are located at north of 10
degrees south latitude and west of 78 degrees east longitude in the Indian Ocean.

Such personnel can only board and disembark the vessels when they are
anchored in a foreign port and are not allowed to enter Taiwan.

The Indian Ocean is one of Taiwan's most important tuna fishing grounds.

The Fisheries Agency said Taiwan originally had about 600 fishing vessels
operating in the Indian Ocean, but the number has dwindled to about 400 due to
the rising threat of piracy in the area.

Edward Huang, secretary general of the Taiwan Deep Sea Tuna Boat Owners and
Exporters Association, said his members have about 350 boats operating in the
Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.

About 50 to 100 of them operate in such piracy-prone waters as off Somalia and
Seychelles and require the protection of armed guards, he said.

Since 2005, around 10 Taiwan-registered fishing vessels have been attacked or

hijacked by Somali pirates.

A Taiwanese fishing boat was hijacked in 2011 by Somali pirates who used it as a
mother ship. A Taiwanese skipper and three Somali pirates were killed in an
exchange of gunfire when a U.S. Navy ship was sent to rescue the hijacked vessel.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/03/19/14/taiwan-fishermen-use-
armed-guards

'IN 50 YEARS WE'LL BE LIVING ON MOON, ON OUR WAY TO MARS':

HAWKING

During last night’s Live from Space program, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen
Hawking said we will have settlements on the moon within 50 years, and believes
there will be people living on Mars by 2100, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

And if we fail to colonize new planets, Prof. Hawking believes the human race
faces imminent extinction because there will be too many of us for the Earth to
support.

The 72-year-old said, ”Our planet is an old world, threatened with an ever-
expanding population and finite resources. We must anticipate these threats and
have a plan B.

“If our species is to survive the next hundred years, let alone a thousand, it is
imperative we voyage out into the blackness of space to colonize new worlds
across the cosmos.

“If we follow this path, I have no doubt that this century will go down, in the history
of humankind, as the true Space Age.”
Prof. Hawking made the comments during Channel 4’s Live from Space: Lap of the
Planet program during which astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS)
were broadcast live from orbit.

 http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2014/03/325_153582.html
 DID GERMANY CONTRIBUTE TO PARIS SMOG?

Published: 19 Mar 2014

Some Parisians are blaming Germany for the smog which last week led
authorities in the French capital to ban half of all cars from the city in an
attempt to cut air pollution.

Suggestions have been made that the poor air could be linked to Germany's
increased use of coal power stations after Berlin decided to phase out the use of
nuclear energy in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The major concern has been high levels of fine polluting particles, which can
penetrate deep into people's lungs and are associated with a host of health
problems including asthma and cancer.

Writing in the financial newspaper Les Echos this week, Didier Julienne, a
specialist in natural resources, said: “On European maps of particle pollution this
week, the winds from the east, coming from Germany, are heavily laden with
particles."

The writer pointed to the "unfavourable environmental situation" in Germany

because of the increased use of coal powered stations, especially those in the
west, near the borders with France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

“Effectively Germany is smoking us out,” Julienne said, adding that the last few
days could be an ominous sign of what was to come.

“For the last two weeks we were introduced to the air that risks being ours over the
coming years. A kind of Chinese air," he said.

He concluded that trying to limit the use of French cars was not as useful as asking
the Germans to close down their power stations.

Paris city chiefs imposed the driving curbs to try to tackle last week’s soaring
pollution levels, which they said were posing a risk to the public's health. They
spent €16 million making public transport free during the traffic ban.

But Germany has denied its power generation could have contributed to the bad air
problem. A spokesman from the Environment Ministry told Le Figaro newspaper
that although coal production had increased dramatically in recent years, but the
new power stations were less polluting.

“The scenario of massive air pollution coming from Germany seems unlikely to us,”
the ministry said.
A scientist from Germany’s Federal Institute for the Environment also doubted
Germany was to blame for the Parisian smog and made the point that the wind
blows both ways.

Air specialist Marion Wichmann-Fiebig said coal-power stations were responsible

for ten percent of the emissions of the fine polluting particles.

“We are also subject to pollution coming from Poland, or even France. In one year
our systems calculate that our exchanges of polluting particles are about even,”
she said.

Le Monde newspaper noted a 2011 study by Airparif, which monitors air quality in
France and looked at the origin of the most dangerous, PM2.5, particles in France.

The survey concluded that 51 percent of the polluting particles came from local
traffic, notably the notoriously dirty ring road the Périphérique. However, it also
found that 39 percent of the PM2.5 particles came from neighbouring countries.

But Airparif’s president Bernard Felix poured cold water on the idea that Germany
was to blame for the pollution spike.

“The imports of fine particles from abroad are very variable depending on the wind.
For two days out of three, in the Ile-de-France region, we have winds from the
north-west. Winds from the east are rarer. Most of the pollution episode that we
had did not come from Germany,” he said.

http://www.thelocal.de/20140319/did-germany-contribute-to-paris-smog