China To Invest $15 Billion Over 10 years For Green Autos: Newspaper Reported

China is the world's fastest-growing major economy, with an average growth rate of 10% for the past 30 years.

The Chinese government will invest more than 100 billion yuan ($14.8 billion) to subsidize its fledgling environmentally friendly car industry over the next 10 years, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday.

According to a draft plan worked out by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 60 billion yuan will be invested in the development of energy-saving technologies, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

The government also wants to foster three to five major makers of energy-efficient cars and two to three parts makers that can supply them, it added.

Beijing unveiled plans in June to offer nationwide subsidies of 3,000 yuan for purchases of cars with 1.6 liter engines or smaller and that consume 20 percent less fuel than current standards.

The programme is estimated to cover more than 4 million such vehicles by 2012, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, said.

China will also hand out subsidies to buyers of electric cars and plug-in hybrid models in five select cities, including Shanghai.

The move is aimed at raising consumer's interest in cars that use less energy and create less pollution than traditional models.According to analysts this will unlikely jump-start the fledgling industry in the short term due to high battery costs as well as inadequate charging and maintenance networks in the country.

Source : REUTERS

Why Swine Flu Spread In People

Influenza A (H1N1) virus is a subtype of influenza A virus and was the most common cause of human influenza (flu).

Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, or pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.

Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. The meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked.

The H1N1 swine flu virus was first identified in people in April 2009 but genetic research later suggested it had in fact been circulating for at least a decade and probably longer in pigs.

The H1N1 swine flu virus underwent a mutation and used a new trick to spread efficiently in people.Typically, a flu virus needs two amino acids -- lysine and asparagines -- on specific sites on its structure before it can jump from animals to people and multiply efficiently in human cells.

But the H1N1 remained a puzzle for scientists because they could not find the amino acids in those two locations.

In an experiment with mice, by scientists discovered the lysine amino acid was residing instead in a completely different position, but it allowed the virus to be just as effective in adapting to human cells.

This is definitely a breakthrough, to help predict the possibility of future flu pandemics.

Source : REUTERS

Oregon Fungus Spreading South Towards California

A virulent, airborne fungus that infects both humans and animals is spreading toward California.

A new extra virulent strain of airborne fungus which infects humans and animals alike has been found in Oregon -- and it is spreading south toward California.

The fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, had been seen over the last decade causing outbreaks on Vancouver Island, Canada, and then spreading to mainland British Columbia and the United States.

The new Oregon strain, however, appears to be a sign that the fungus is evolving and adapting to local environments. That, in turn, suggests it's likely to spread to similar environments in northern California, Idaho and even parts of Nevada.

Most people infected with the fungus never develop symptoms. For those who do, the signs can appear two to several months after exposure and include a cough lasting weeks, sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, fever, nighttime sweats and weight loss.

Animals with the fungus infection have runny noses, breathing problems, nervous system problems and raised bumps under the skin.

Although the fungus is known to spread through the air, the researchers so far have been unable to track it down in nature, that is, outside of the bodies of the cats, dogs, humans and even some unlucky alpacas who have become infected.

Because so many kinds of animals are getting infected, researchers suggest that not only physicians but veterinarians should be well informed of the symptoms so they can diagnose the disease earlier and help in isolating samples and tracking the disease.

If a physician does suspects a fungus, however, they are more likely to think of C. gattii's sibling species C. neoformans, which infects a million people each year. Unlike the new Oregon fungus, however, C. neoformans attacks mostly HIV-infected people with suppressed immune systems and causes more than 620,000 deaths annually.

Courtesy : Discovery News

UK Government Initiative To Pay 25 Percent Of Electric Car Price

The British government is to give up to 5,000 pounds ($7,668) to anyone who buys an "ultra-low carbon" car from next year and will build recharging hubs, the Department of Transport said on Thursday.

The Plug-in Car Grant of 25 percent toward the purchase price, capped at 5,000 pounds, will be available across Britain for both private and business fleet buyers from January 2011, by which time a range of eligible vehicles should be on sale.

Only battery electric, plug-in hybrids with emissions of less than 75 g/km, or hydrogen fuel cell cars will be eligible for part of the 230 million pound total fund.

The electric vehicles must have a range of at least 70 miles, or 113 km, while hybrids must be able to run for at least 10 miles without using fuel, and all vehicles must be able to go faster than 60 miles per hour.

The government also plans to spend 30 million pounds on a network of electric vehicle hubs, called Plugged-In Places, in car parks, supermarkets and selected streets.

The program is a key part of British efforts to cut emissions of climate-warming carbon from transport, which accounts for about a fifth of the country's total emissions.

Source : REUTERS

Seafood-Guide Lists Seafood To Avoid To Protect the Ecosystems

WWF release a new guide to sustainable fish stocks in the Asia Pacific aims to help, to inform diners in Singapore enjoy their meals without harming one of the world's major marine ecosystems.

Singapore is one of the biggest seafood consumers in the Asia Pacific region, with an average 100,000 metric tons consumed each year, according to environmental group WWF, which launched the Singapore Seafood Guide on Thursday.

The guide is the WWF's second in the region -- a guide for Hong Kong seafood lovers was launched a few years ago.

The guide uses a simple traffic light system: green means recommended eating choice; yellow stands for only eat occasionally and red means avoid eating.

Singapore is a hub for seafood and almost all of it is imported, the WWF said, much of it from the unique, and fragile, marine ecosystem next door known as The Coral Triangle.

"The Coral Triangle is under increasing threat because fish are being taken out faster than they can be replenished," said Geoffrey Muldoon of the WWF's Coral Triangle Programme.

"In the past most people have been unaware of where the fish on their plates comes from or whether the species they are eating are heavily overfished or caught in ways that are damaging to marine environment. Much of the seafood you see in Singapore may be from areas that have been overfished for years."

The Singapore Seafood Guide is available as a free download from the WWF Singapore website (www.wwf.sg) and will also be distributed free of charge throughout the country.

The Coral Triangle, dubbed the nursery of the seas, is the most diverse marine region on the planet, and home to more than 3,000 species of reef fish and commercially valuable species such as tuna, in addition to 500 species of reef-building coral.

It covers around 6 million sq km (2.3 million sq mile) of ocean across six countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and East Timor -- and directly sustains the lives of more than 120 million people, the WWF said.

Source : REUTERS

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