All Trought about politic at Ukraine

Fish that generate electric fields to navigate, fight and attract mates are equipped with a dimmer switch of sorts that can turn down their signals to save energy, a new study finds.

Electric fish, such as some sharks and eels, emit weak electrical signals from a battery-like organ in their tails. The fish studied, called Sternopygus macrurus, are active at night and must avoid predators, such as catfish, that can sense their electric field.

Generating such impulses can be energetically costly.

Now, researchers have located a dimmer switch in the membranes of cells called electrocytes within this electric organ. The switch takes the form of sodium channels that the fish can insert and remove from the electrocyte membranes. More sodium channels mean a stronger electric impulse.

A NASA spacecraft is closing in on Mercury to snap pictures of uncharted territory Tuesday when it whips around the planet for the final time.

The Messenger probe will skim just 142 miles above Mercury at its closest approach during the flyby, the last of three designed to guide the spacecraft into orbit around the planet in 2011. More than 1,500 photographs of Mercury are expected to be taken, some of regions never before observed up close.

"A planetary flyby is really like Christmas morning for scientists," said Messenger principal investigator Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "We expect to be surprised and we expect to be delighted."

On Sunday, Messenger snapped a ... Read more »

NEW YORK — CNN is coming out with an iPhone application Tuesday that has a feature few other news apps have tried: a price tag.

There's been a lot of talk this year about finally charging readers for news, especially on mobile devices, where media executives see a chance to condition consumers to handing over a few dollars for a constant stream of updates to their pocket. CNN is among the first big news outlets to give it a shot. Its app costs $1.99 to download.

The new app follows an announcement this month by News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch that the company will start charging a subscription — possibly as much as $1 or $2 per week — for access to The Wall Street Journal's mobile applications.

Even so, CNN is in relatively new territory as a provider of general interest news. Many in the industry are skeptical that readers will pay for much online beyond business and fina ... Read more »

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. says its new computer security program can be downloaded starting on Tuesday.

Microsoft Security Essentials, as the free antivirus software is called, has been available in a beta test version since June.

The software updates daily to stay current with the latest malicious programs, which can steal passwords or turn PCs into spam servers. Microsoft says it won't make computers run slower.

Microsoft has said it isn't out to steal business from companies like McAfee Inc. and Symantec Corp., which make popular antivirus programs with more features. Microsoft says it hopes the free program will appeal to people who don't already run antivirus software.

BRUSSELS — Turn it down. That's the advice the European Union wants to hear from the makers of digital music players.

It wants those companies to adopt new standards aimed at preserving the hearing of the people who listen to music on those devices.

The EU's consumer affairs commissioner says people who want to still be able to enjoy their favorite songs 20 or 30 years from now should listen to them at a lower volume now. She says there's concern over the health risks of turning the volume too high, especially among younger people.

An EU scientific advisory body says between 2.5 million and 10 million Europeans could suffer hearing loss from listening to MP3 players at unsafe volumes — meaning a volume over 89 decibels — for more an hour a day for at least five years.

The new standards would see new players include a maximum sound level default at 80 decibels. H ... Read more »

A skull long believed to be that of Adolf Hitler actually belonged to a woman, according to an American scientist who has taken DNA samples from it.

The skull was taken by Soviet forces in 1945 when they found charred remains outside the Nazi dictator's bunker in Berlin.

The Russians said at the time that the findings backed claims that Hitler had shot himself on April 30, 1945, and then been cremated along with his wife, Eva Braun.

Now, however, archaeologist and bone specialist Nick Bellantoni says the skull really belonged to a woman aged under 40 and not Hitler - who was 56 when he died.

Neither does Mr Bellantoni believe the skull belongs to Braun, Hitler's long-time girlfriend and last-minute wife, who is thought to have killed herself by taking cyanide and would therefore not have had a bullet wound - as this skull has.

The Russians say they ... Read more »

Scheduling your sex life around PTA meetings and trips to the dry cleaner is better than no sex at all.

But nothing is better than spontaneous sex.

Truth be told, busy couples in long-term relationships often need to schedule "date nights" -- setting aside blocks of time for lovemaking to ensure things don't become stale.

But there's nothing better than just doing it. No planning, no thinking ...

There is something incredibly sexy about sex that’s straight from the source. Spontaneous sex has been hailed for not only grabbing a lover’s interest, but maintaining it. It spikes a relationship’s lust factor, making lovemaking more exciting. Plus, when needed, it can get lovers out of a slump.

And it caters to our carnal nature in its "must have now, no ... Read more »

A 14-year-old British girl died after receiving a cervical cancer vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline, but a link between the death and the drug has not yet been established, health officials said on Monday.

The teenager, named in reports as Natalie Morton, fell ill after she was given the Cervarix vaccination against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) at her school in Coventry, central England, as part of a national immunization program. She later died in a hospital.

"The incident happened shortly after the girl had received her HPV vaccine in the school," Dr. Caron Grainger, joint director for Public Health for NHS (National Health Service) Coventry and Coventry City Council, said in a statement.

"No link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post mortem takes place," Grainger said. "We are conducting an urgent and full investigation i ... Read more »

VALHALLA, N.Y.  —  A New York City girl who survived a 7-story fall says the medical care she's received has inspired her to want to become a doctor.

Eight-year-old Destiny Antonio fell from a broken window in her family's Bronx public housing apartment in August.

She's recovering from a shattered hip and broken leg at a Westchester County children's hospital. A metal rod and pins keep her hip in place. Doctors aren't sure whether she'll walk normally again.

Destiny remains in good spirits. She wants to study medicine so she can help others.

Her mother, Robin Antonio, says she'd complained about the window, which shouldn't open more than 4 1/4 inches.

The Housing Authority didn't immediately return a message.

SYDNEY, Australia —  A husband and wife were jailed Monday for the manslaughter of their baby, who died after they chose to use homeopathic remedies rather than conventional medicine to treat her severe skin disorder.

Thomas Sam, a 42-year old college lecturer in homeopathy, and his wife Manju, 37, of Sydney, were convicted in June of the manslaughter of their nine-month-old daughter Gloria, who died of septicemia and malnutrition in May 2002.

The Indian-born, university-educated parents had faced a maximum penalty of 25 years each in prison if convicted. Instead, New South Wales state Supreme Court Justice Peter Johnson ordered Thomas Sam to serve at least six years in jail, with a maximum sentence of eight years, and Manju to serve at least four years in jail with a maximum of five years and four months. The couple wept as they were sentenced.

Johnson said it was c ... Read more »

SPOKANE, Wash. —  A high school football player from Spokane Valley who was injured in a Friday night game has died.

Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane said Monday that 16-year-old Drew Swank died. He had been in critical condition all weekend after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.

Valley Christian High School assistant coach Mike Heden told KHQ the junior defensive back took a hard hit during the game against Washtucna. School administrator Derek Tabisha says he was able to walk to the sideline where he became sick and collapsed.

Swank was airlifted to Sacred Heart.

When you say the word "bodybuilding," the name that instantly comes to mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold has been crowned the "king" by many in the bodybuilding field, as he really did take the sport to a whole new level.

As such, many involved in bodybuilding today look up to him and try to recreate the programs he used, hoping to sculpt a body that resembles the one he built. In doing so, you’ll fare best if you can recreate the Arnold Schwarzenegger workout routine as outlined in his book, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. This program was utilized when he was initially working on developing a good foundation of mass, in his early 20s. At the end of this period, Schwarzenegger weighed in at a solid 240 pounds, due to the fact that he focused on building the greatest proportion of his strength early on with this program.

If you haven't had a chance to pick up his book, we've ... Read more »

More than half a million U.S. children yearly have bad reactions or side effects from widely used medicines that require medical treatment and sometimes hospitalization, new research shows.

Children younger than age 5 are most commonly affected. Penicillin and other prescription antibiotics are among drugs causing the most problems, including rashes, stomachaches and diarrhea.

Parents should pay close attention when their children are started on medicines since "first-time medication exposures may reveal an allergic reaction," said lead author Dr. Florence Bourgeois, a pediatrician with Children's Hospital in Boston.

Doctors also should tell parents about possible symptoms for a new medication, she said.

The study appears in October's Pediatrics, released Monday.

It's based on national statis ... Read more »

Indonesia's heaviest-ever newborn drew curious crowds Friday to a hospital where the boy named Akbar — or the Great in Arabic — came into the world at a record 19.2 pounds.

Akbar Risuddin was born to a diabetic mother in a 40-minute Cesarean delivery that was complicated because of his unusual weight and size, Dr. Binsar Sitanggang said.

"I'm very happy that my baby and his mother are in good health," father Muhammad Hasanuddin said Friday. "I hope I can afford to feed the baby enough, because he needs more milk than other babies."

PHOTOS: WORLD'S BIGGEST BABIES

Crowds pushed to get a peek of the extraordinary boy, who measured nearly 24 inches when he was born Monday, at the Abdul Manan hospital in the northern town of Kisaran on the island of Sumatra. ... Read more »

Imagine Todd and Julia Grovenburg’s surprise when doctors found not one, but two babies on Julia’s ultrasound – and then told the parents the babies weren’t twins, ABC News reported.

Doctors think Julia and Todd conceived baby girl Jillian first, and two-and-a-half weeks later conceived baby boy Hudson, according to statements from KFSM-TV in Ft. Smith-Fayetteville, Ark.

Jillian and Hudson have different due dates, and this rare development is called superfetation – when a mother conceives another child while pregnant.

“It does really sound like this is a true case of different conception times for these children,” said Dr. Karen Boyle of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. “When the woman had her ultrasound initially, they saw one sack, one baby developing, and that baby had a certain gestational age; then they noticed a sec ... Read more »

A USF doctor convicted of withholding evidence from law enforcement in April received a 10-day suspension without pay from USF Health last week.

Dr. David Ciesla, associate professor of surgery and director of the trauma/critical care division for the USF medical school, received a letter of discipline Sept. 9 outlining his punishment.

The days when Ciesla will serve the 10-day suspension will be determined in “consultation” with the Office of Faculty Affairs, Stephen Klasko, vice president of USF Health, said in the letter.

The suspension will be the only time pay will be deducted from Ciesla’s annual salary, said University spokesman Michael Hoad.

On April 21, Ciesla found a bullet while performing surgery on a man who was shot by a deputy U.S. marshal. Ciesla took the bullet out of the patient’s abdomen and put it in his pocket, Dr. Sergio Alvarez, who assisted Ciesla during surgery, s ... Read more »

MINEOLA, N.Y. —  A patient who was under anesthesia when a brain surgeon refused to step in for a no-show colleague is suing both doctors as well as the New York hospital.

Jennifer Ronca of Tunkhannock, Pa., sued Thursday in state court in Mineola. The suit seeks unspecified damages against the surgeons and North Shore University Hospital-Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

She is claiming "carelessness and negligence" after the surgery had to be postponed.

Attorney Anthony M. Sola speaks for the hospital and the doctors, Paolo Bolognese and Thomas Milhorat. He says that the delay didn't injure the woman and that she later had successful surgery.

The state has filed 14 citations against the hospital.

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico —  Two Canadian men were shot to death in execution-style killing outside an apartment building in the Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta, authorities said Monday.

Witnesses told police that a gunman approached Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans outside the building they were staying in and shot Kendall, according to Jalisco state prosecutor Guillermo Diaz.

The gunman then chased Ivans to the pool area and shot him. Witnesses said two other gunmen arrived minutes later and repeatedly shot the dead or dying Canadians, Diaz said. The men fled and no arrests have been made.

Diaz said Ivans was carrying a handgun, though he apparently was not able to use it before he was shot. It is unusual for people in Mexico, particularly foreigners, to carry handguns. It was not clear if Ivans had a permit.

Diaz said police have reports that the men we ... Read more »

VANCOUVER, British Columbia —  Canada's so-called Prince of Pot is now in jail awaiting extradition to the United States for selling marijuana seeds.

Marc Emery has sold millions of marijuana seeds around the world by mail over the past decade. In doing so, he has drawn the attention of U.S. drug officials, who want him extradited to Seattle.

Emery has agreed to plead guilty in Seattle to one count of marijuana distribution in exchange for dismissal of all other counts, and the U.S. Attorney's Office is pressing for a sentence of five to eight years in a U.S. prison.

Emery will plead guilty in a Seattle court at a later date. Emery will be extradited after Canada's justice minister signs a surrender order.

MOSCOW —  Russia voiced concern Monday about the latest Iranian missile tests and urged Tehran to fully cooperate with a U.N. nuclear watchdog and answer questions about its secret nuclear facility, news reports said.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after meeting with his Iranian counterpart at the United Nations in New York that he urged Tehran to be "maximally cooperative" in its contacts with the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding its previously undisclosed uranium enrichment facility.

Last week, Iran disclosed that it was developing a new secret facility for the enrichment of uranium — the key step to making a bomb. On Monday, Iran successfully test launched upgraded missiles capable of reaching Israel.

"We proceed from the assumption that the Iranian side got the message and we shall see a result of our conversation in Geneva" at a new round of talks betwee ... Read more »

BAGHDAD —  A string of bombings killed at least 18 people across Iraq on Monday, shattering a relative lull in violence during the celebration that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The blasts primarily targeted Iraqi security forces, which have been the focal point of insurgent attacks since U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities at the end of June. The uptick in violence also comes as the country's shops and schools reopened after the Eid holiday that follows the end of the Muslim holy month.

The deadliest attack Monday occurred in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber slammed a tanker truck packed with explosives into a police post, killing at least seven people and wounding 16 more, a security official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Witnesses said ... Read more »

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras —  Honduras' coup-installed government silenced two key dissident broadcasters on Monday just hours after it suspended civil liberties to prevent an uprising by backers of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Dozens of soldiers raided the offices of Radio Globo. Officials also shut down Channel 36 television station, leaving it broadcasting only a test pattern.

Rene Zepeda, a spokesman for the interim government, said the two outlets had been taken off the air in accordance with a government emergency decree announced late Sunday that limits civil liberties and allows authorities to close news media that "attack peace and public order."

Supporters of the deposed leftist president vowed to march in the streets Monday in defiance of the emergency order and carry out ... Read more »

LIMA, Peru —  Former President Alberto Fujimori, who already faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison, pleaded guilty on Monday to authorizing illegal wiretaps and bribes of politicians, journalists and businessmen.

Fujimori, 71 and ailing, appeared to sleep during chief prosecutor Jose Pelaez's accusation, but stirred at the close of the session to say three words to the presiding judge: "Sir, I agree."

Pelaez requested an eight-year sentence for the illegal wiretaps, bribes and embezzlement, which would be served concurrently with a 25-year sentence imposed in his previous murder and kidnapping trial.

He could be freed far earlier, however, if his daughter Keiko is elected president in 2011. She has vowed to pardon her father and she leads some recent campaign polls, partly because Fujimori remains popular for crushing a leftist rebellion durin ... Read more »

CAIRO —  Al Qaeda's deputy leader on Monday seized upon President Barack Obama's failure to bring about a freeze in Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and called him a "fraud" in a new audio message.

Ayman al-Zawahri's 28-minute audio message was mainly a eulogy for slain Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, but he also took the opportunity to slam NATO member states operating in Afghanistan, including Germany, which he criticized for keeping troops there.

The recording comes after a series of Al Qaeda videos this past month, including several attacking Germany and threatening strikes against Berlin's military mission in Afghanistan. Those releases raised concerns among German authorities ahead of parliamentary elections which ended Sunday.

Al-Zawahri res ... Read more »

SYDNEY —  An Australian couple has been sentenced to jail time after being convicted for the manslaughter of their baby girl.

She died after they chose to use homeopathic remedies instead of conventional medicine to treat her skin disorder.

Thomas Sam, a college lecturer in homeopathy, has been sentenced to up to eight years behind bars. His wife is facing a maximum of five years and four months.

The parents were convicted in June of the manslaughter of their nine-month-old, who died of septicemia and malnutrition in 2002. She became malnourished while battling frequent infections that grew through skin broken by her severe rashes. Her parents eventually took her to a hospital, where she died within days.

The judge in the case says her parents' failure to seek proper help for her "may be characterized accurately as cruelty."

BELGRADE, Serbia —  Former Serb paramilitaries took part in last week's brazen helicopter raid of a cash depot in Stockholm, Serbian police officials said Monday.

Former members of the "Red Berets" paramilitary unit who fought wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s took part in the heist, along with Swedish robbers, said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, who heads Serbia's police.

Serbian police "handed certain information about a criminal group which was preparing a robbery" in Stockholm to the Swedish embassy in Belgrade a month ago, but Swedish authorities did not react or contact Belgrade after that, said Milorad Veljovic, a senior Serbian police official.

Masked gunmen used a helicopter in the Hollywood-style heist last Wednesday. They broke through a roof window and set off explosions inside the building before taking off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

A Swedish ... Read more »

TEHRAN, Iran —  Iran tested its most advanced missiles Monday to cap two days of war games, raising more international concern and stronger pressure to quickly come clean on the newly revealed nuclear site Tehran was secretly constructing.

State television said the powerful Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program, successfully tested upgraded versions of the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles. Both can carry warheads and reach up to 1,200 miles, putting Israel, U.S. military bases in the Middle East, and parts of Europe within striking distance.

The missile tests were meant to flex Iran's military might and show readiness for any military threat.

"Iranian missiles are able to target any p ... Read more »