Far and Wide

"CDC considers climate change a serious public health concern"

To be clear, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the government's premier disease monitoring agency.

Its director, Dr. Julie Gerberding,  testified before a Senate hearing yesterday on the impact of climate change on health.

What she'd planned on saying was this:

" ... scientific evidence supports the view that the earth's climate is changing" and that many groups are working to address climate change. "Despite this extensive activity, the public health effects of climate change remain largely unaddressed. CDC considers climate change a serious public health concern."

But after she submitted her draft for White House review, the paragraph was axed.  In all, six pages of details about specific disease and other health problems that might flourish if the Earth warms, were never delivered at the hearing, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

The White House on Wednesday denied that it had "watered down" her congressional testimony.

For more, check out this AP story by H. Josef Hebert.

-- Jaime Holguin

China steps up its space game

(AP Photo/Greg Baker)

One down, two to go.

China launched its first lunar probe Wednesday, marking the first step of a three-stage moon mission.

The Associated Press reports the Chang'e 1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, is expected to transmit its first photo back to China in late November, and to conduct explorations of the moon for a year.

In the second phase of China's moon mission there will be a moon landing with a moon rover in 2012. About five years later, another rover will land on the moon and return to Earth with soil and rock samples.

For more, check out this AP story by Audra Ang.

-- Jaime Holguin

Soyuz craft lands short of destination

(AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev,Pool)

Did they have to hitch a ride home?

A Russian spacecraft landed more than 200 miles off course. The Soyuz craft did arrive safely, bringing two Russian cosmonauts and Malaysia's first space traveler back to Earth. AP correspondent Vladimir Isachenkov reports a computer glitch caused the craft to miss its mark west of its designated site near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. The crew returned a minute ahead of schedule.

Russian astronauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov were returning home after a six-month stay at the international space station. Malaysian Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was there since Oct. 12.

-- Howie Rumberg

The tide is high

(AP Photo/Somnuk Attipanyo)

There are 33 cities around the world that are expected to have more than 8 million residents by the year 2015. At least 21 are vulnerable to rising sea levels and other disasters due to climate change.

Keep reading for a list of some of the more prominent cities cited by the Worldwatch Institute.

Women in space

(AP Photo/John Raoux, file)
The space program is about to get a feminine touch.

A first: Two spacecraft are going to be commanded by women at the same time. The space shuttle Discovery, launching Tuesday, will be commander Pamela Melroy and the international space station is being run by commander Peggy Whitson, who arrived at the orbital outpost on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on Oct. 12.

AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn reports this is just a coincidence, not a public relations gimmick thought up by NASA.

• "This is a really special event for us," Melroy said. "... There are enough women in the program that coincidentally this can happen, and that is a wonderful thing. It says a lot about the first 50 years of spaceflight that this is where we're at."

Melroy and Whitson will meet in space: The shuttle's mission is a construction project at the space station. They will be together in orbit for 1 1/2 weeks.

-- Howie Rumberg

In the news Saturday

Straight from the AP wires:

Iran's top nuclear negotiator resigns 
Panel: Kids shouldn't use cold medicines 
Courts-martial for two in Haditha deaths 
Pakistan says It tried to protect Bhutto
J.K. Rowling outs Hogwarts character

Bush veto sustained

(AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Even with bipartisan support, House Democrats couldn't push the efforts to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program past Bush's veto.

Right now, the government program subsidizes health care insurance coverage for about 6 million children. The bill would've added 4 million more children.

Read more about it in this story by the AP's Kevin Freking.

In the photo: Singer Paul Simon, left, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the Children's Health Care Compromise Bill.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Working blues

Who are the most depressed workers in the United States?

According to a new government report, folks who tend to the elderly, change diapers and serve up food and drinks have the highest rates of depression.

The lowest rate of depression occurred in the job category that covers engineers, architects and surveyors.

You can find the government report here.

And the complete AP story by Kevin Freking here.

-- Jaime Holguin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

Al's Nobel, the commute in Delhi and the sad end of a red cedar tree are all getting a lot of attention among contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press is working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

A Nobel laureate's influence over '08

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
He won the Nobel Prize for peace, and the talk began anew: Maybe Al Gore will run for president again after all.

Indeed, the will-he-or-won't-he mystery remains an interesting one. But taking it a step further: What sort of influence might Gore and his peace prize have over the race for '08 if, say, he doesn't run for president? And how much thought is he putting into his impact on the race as a non-candidate?

We put those questions to AP Online Political Editor Ron Fournier, a veteran of inside-the-beltway political reporting who wrote the AP's latest news analysis looking at whether Gore is likely to run.

  Listen to this audio clip to hear Fournier's answer.

-- Eric Carvin

Nobel Prize not good news for Draftgore.com

With Al Gore back in the headlines this morning, a lot of the cable news shows are wondering whether the Nobel Peace Prize will propel him into war with Hillary and Barack.

Well, our favorite political reporter Ron Fournier decided to weigh in on the topic this morning with an AP News Analysis piece on Gore's options. It turns out, the Prize probably made Gore's decision easier ... to stay home.

Read Fournier's piece here to get the details.

-- Otis Hart

INSIDER INSIGHT: The increase in humidity

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
We're going to try our best to not make any "it's not the heat..." jokes during this blog post. Instead, we'll let AP science writer Seth Borenstein do the talking.

He reported today that the world has gotten more humid over the last few decades, mostly due to man-made global warming.

Click here to listen to Borenstein explaining the report and what its implications are. Then read his entire story here.

We're pretty sure he limited himself to one bad joke.

-- Otis Hart

Two Europeans win Nobel Prize in physics

Two European scientists who independently discovered a phenomenon known as giant magnetoresistance are sharing the 2007 Nobel Prize for physics. The finding by France's Albert Fert and German Peter Gruenberg lets iPods and other digital devices store tons of data on ever-shrinking hard disks.

Watch the AP video report above for more details and for an in-depth report, read this story filed today from Stockholm, Sweden.

--Paul Chavez

Fast Focus: Nobel Prize for medicine

(AP Photo/Scanpix, Anders Wiklund)

And the Nobel Prize in medicine  goes to ...

Mario Capecchi, 70, of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City; Oliver Smithies, 82, a native of Britain now at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and Sir Martin J. Evans, 66, of Cardiff University in Wales.

Their discovery of a technique used to manipulate genes in mice landed them the $1.54 million award. "Gene-targeting"  lets scientists turn off or modify individual genes in mice and observe how the changes affect the animals. This method has helped researchers study heart disease, diabetes, cancer, cystic fibrosis and other diseases.

AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter reports the first mice with genes manipulated with this technique were born in 1989.In this audio clip he discusses the widely-used technique.

Predicting the Noble Prize winner is always a popular parlor game for writers. Ritter tells us how he did this year.

-- Howie Rumberg

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

A video game developer called Bungie and some prizes called the Ig Nobels are getting lots of attention among contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press is working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

The Sputnik anniversary and a menacing typhoon are getting lots of attention among contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press is working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Federal investigators focus on what went wrong

Authorities believe smoke and fumes from a chemical fire likely killed five workers trapped in an underground pipeline at a hydroelectric plant in Georgetown, Colo.

Watch this AP video report to learn more about the investigation into what went wrong at the plant.

--Chelsea J. Carter

Vulnerable germ labs tough to identify

(AP Photo/Gary Emeigh)

How's this for reassurance from our government: Dozens of federal terror-fighting agencies responded in the negative when asked if they could identify the American labs that could become targets of attackers.

The Government Accountability Office did not get a positive response from a single lab that handles dangerous germs and toxins. AP Writer Larry Margasak reports that there are 409 government-regulated labs that are approved to work with the 72 deadliest organisms and poisons, including anthrax. But less is known about labs that work with organisms that cause whooping cough, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, meningitis, typhoid fever, hepatitis, herpes, several strains of flu, rabies.

The AP reported this week that American laboratories handling the world's deadliest germs and toxins have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003.

-- Howie Rumberg

In the news Thursday

Straight from the AP wires:

Vulnerable germ labs tough to identify 
More than 2,000 safe from S.Africa mine 
Two Koreas sign summit declaration 
Child health veto will be election issue 
GOP hunts for delegates in California 

-- Howie Rumberg

More than 100 incidents reported at labs handling deadly germs

 (AP Photo/Gary Emeigh)

Think you've had a bad day at work? Imagine this: A researcher at a private laboratory in Maryland this summer is working with a ferret – designated Ferret No. 992 – that was deliberately infected with the bird flu virus. Except the infected ferret isn't happy, and takes a chunk out of the researcher's right thumb. The worker is sent home and kept quarantined for five days, forced to wear a mask to protect everyone around him.

It really happened, one of more than 100 accidents and lost shipments since 2003 at high-security labs across the United States that handle the world's deadliest germs and toxins. For the first time ever, the Associated Press has obtained confidential reports of accidents submitted to federal regulators. No one died, and officials believe the public was never at risk. But the accidents – involving anthrax, monkeypox, bird flu and plague-causing bacteria at 44 labs in 24 states – reflect poorly on procedures and oversight at the labs. The reports describe workers bitten or scratched by infected monkeys, the ferret and a guinea pig. They also include cases of infected mice that turned up missing: In one case, investigators concluded they must have been cannibalized by their cagemates.

The reports are so sensitive the Bush administration said it was illegal to release them under the Freedom of Information Act, after the AP asked for them. The administration cited an anti-bioterrorism law aimed at preventing terrorists from locating stockpiles of poisons and learning who handles them.

A U.S. House subcommittee in Washington is investigating the accidents, and will conduct an oversight hearing later this week.

To learn more, read the exclusive story by Associated Press reporter Larry Margasak.

--Ted Bridis

In the news Tuesday

(AP Photo/Korea Pool via Yonhap)

Caption: South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, center, and his wife Kwon Yang-sook, left, toast with North Korea's No. 2 leader Kim Yong Nam during their dinner in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il greeted Roh in Pyongyang Tuesday to begin only the second summit between the two countries since the peninsula's division after World War II.

Straight from the AP wires:

UK plans to pull 1,000 troops from Iraq 
Korean leaders meet at historic summit 
Inquest Into princess Diana's death opens 
U.S. labs mishandling deadly germs 
U.N. envoy meets Suu Kyi, junta leader 

-- Howie Rumberg

In the news Friday

 (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)

Here are some of the top stories of the moment, straight from the AP wires.

Myanmar troops club activists, cut Internet access
Pakistani court says Musharraf can run for new term
Russia seeks report on Iran nuke program
Iran strengthens ties with South America
Bush seeks new image on global warming

PHOTO: Pakistani lawyers chant anti-Musharraf slogans while holding a placard, front, that reads, "Army dictator unacceptable," in Multan, Pakistan on Thursday, Sept 27, 2007.

--Jaime Holguin

C.S.I. Siberia: Extracting mammoth DNA

  (AP Photo/Francis Latreille/Nova Productions)

OK, so this isn't really breaking news. In fact, it's thousands of years in the making.

AP science writer Randolph E. Schmid wrote a story today about scientists extracting DNA from mammoths. Sure, there are more important things going on the world, but ... c'mon, how often do you see a story about mammoths move on the wire?

Check it out here.

-- Otis Hart

In the news Thursday

(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Here are some of the top stories of the moment, straight from the AP wires.

Myanmar soldiers fire weapons into crowd
Bush climate goals marked by bureaucracy
11 Palestinians killed in Gaza fighting
Iran strengthens South America ties
NASA launches asteroid mission

PHOTO: Water is sprayed as Palestinians gather around the wreckage of a car after it was hit in an Israeli missile strike in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007.

-- Jaime Holguin

DEA announces wide-ranging steroid busts

Operation Raw Deal nabbed 120 people in a steroids ring.

The Drug Enforcement Administration agency says they spent 18 months investigating illicit steroid labs around the world and had help from nine countries and several U.S. agencies in cracking the case. AP Writer Pete Yost reports 56 labs in the United States were seized for manufacturing anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. About 11.4 million doses of steroids were seized and over 500 pounds of raw powder for steroids that originated in China.

Countries participating in the investigation were: China Mexico, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Thailand.

The DEA scored another big bust Thursday in New Jersey, seizing more than 40,000 doses of anabolic steroids from a central New Jersey home.

No professional athletes names haven been associated with the operation. That's unlike the pharmacy based in Orlando, Fla., that's been under investigation. Several athletes' names have been found on documents.

-- Howie Rumberg

Beans and rice, quick!

(AP Photo/Joel Page)

Gotta love those speed-eating contests.

Eater X took on all comers -- and lots of rice, black beans, pork and cheese -- to win a burrito-eating championship today. That's him on the left.

They do these on weekends to fill up slow news days.

Still, here are the details: Eater X is the name taken on by Tim Janus, a 30-year-old day trader and aspiring pizza chef from New York. He ate 10 burritos in 12 minutes. That is all.

--Ryan Pearson

A warm spot for neptune

(AP Photo/VLT/ESO/NASA/JPL/Paris Observatory )

Neptune has a warm spot.

Scientists say one of the coldest planets in our solar system has a spot that is significantly warmer than the rest of the planet, but don't pack the bathing suit just yet. It's only about 18 degrees warmer than the rest of the planet, which has an average temperature of 320 degrees below zero. Brrr.

The spot is at the south pole, which apparently has been in the summer sunlight for 40 years.  A Neptunian year -- the time it takes to orbit the sun -- is equivalent to about 165 Earth years. The planet is 2.8 million miles from the sun.

-- Howie Rumberg

$5 bill getting a colorful makeover

(AP Photo/Bureau of Engraving and Printing)

Expect to see some splashes of purple and gray on your $5 bills in the near future. AP economics writer Martin Crutsinger reports in this story that the bill is getting the same makeover that it's $10, $20 and $50 counterparts have already had.

So why the colors? They're added to stay ahead of counterfeiters.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Bats force dorm evacuation in Texas

More than 200 students at Texas Southern University aren't living in their dorm anymore.

Why?

Bats.

One student living in Lanier Hall East says he killed dozens of bats. Now the city's health department is worried that students may have been exposed to rabies and the school has sent exterminators to the building.

Read more in this story from the AP bureau in Houston.

-- Caryn Rousseau

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

In China, a typhoon. In Florida, a Tasered student. And everywhere, the dangerous mix of Crocs and elevators.

These are some of the stories getting attention today from contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press is working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to learn more from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

We want to be under the sea

(AP Photo/NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program)

Six "aquanauts" are living with the fishes. No, not in the mafia sense. They're actually living with the fishes -- 60 feet below the surface.

The scientists are residing at the Aquarius Reef Base, on the Atlantic Ocean floor about nine miles southeast of Key Largo in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for nine days. There they will study changes along a coral reef. AP Writer Adrian Sainz reports it's the first time students and others will get a full-time perspective underwater in the 21-year history of the lab.

You can watch the divers as they live and work in the yellow, 43-foot-long, 9-foot-diameter tube, roughly the size of a school bus.

-- Howie Rumberg

Got Crocs? Be careful on the escalator.

Could wearing your comfy Crocs shoes on the shopping mall escalator be hazardous to your health?

The popular clunky, soft-soled clog-like shoes seem to be the common factor when people, particularly youngsters, report that they'd gotten their toes caught in escalators.

AP writer Sarah Karush reports that four-year-old Rory McDermott (at left with his injured foot and the shoes) had his Croc-clad foot caught in an escalator last month.

More on the trend in this AP story.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

-- Caryn Rousseau

Health Care for president!

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Health care for everybody: take two.

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't manage to push her universal health care goals the first time she tried, but she's at it again. Today in Des Moines, Iowa, she said: "I believe everyone - every man, woman and child - should have quality, affordable health care in America." And not only does she believe in it, she actually has a plan for how to get there.

Read all about it in this AP story by Beth Fouhy.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Sunday's early headlines

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Plane crash in island of Phuket kills at least 66
Several thousand anti-war protesters march in D.C.
Bicycle bomb attack in northern Iraq kills at least 5
Simpson accuser now "on O.J.'s side"
Chinese authorities recall tainted leukemia drugs

-- Jaime Holguin

It's getting hot up there

It's bad news for Arctic sea life, good news for maritime traffic.
   
According to the European Space Agency, Arctic ice coverage has receded this week to record lows.
   
Many experts believe that global warming is to blame for melting the Northern Passage, a long-sought waterway that could trim thousands of miles from Europe to Asia compared with the current routes through the Panama Canal.
   
AP writer Jamey Keaten reports, some countries -- including the United States and Canada -- are jockeying for claims over the passage, also a potentially oil-region region under the North Pole from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic archipelago.
   
Read more here.

-- Jaime Holguin

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

Humberto, the former hurricane, is getting a lot of attention today from contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press is working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to find out, from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy, what else is getting buzz on the site. (A hint: one popular topic has to do with gas prices and obesity.)

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to find out, from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy, what else is getting buzz on the site. (A hint: one popular topic has to do with gas prices and obesity.)

-- Eric Carvin

Listen to this audio clip to find out, from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy, what else is getting buzz on the site. (A hint: one popular topic has to do with gas prices and obesity.)

-- Eric Carvin

Science fiction fans take note

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Apparently, one son was not enough for David Hanson. So he went out and built himself another.

Hanson and a small team of engineers and designers at his company, Hanson Robotics, made a 17-inch, 6 -pound robot named Zeno -- a friend for his son 18-month-old son, Zeno. AP Technology Writer Matt Slagle reports that robot Zeno can't speak or walk yet. Its eyes blink and track people, and its face has a range of expressions.

Zeno might not be as sophisticated as the robot boy in Steven Speilberg's "Artificial Intelligence: AI," but it sure sounds like the direction Hanson wants to take this product. He calls Zeno an interactive learning companion, one that can engage in conversation and convey human emotion.

The little robots should be available to consumers within the next three years and will cost $200 to $300.

-- Howie Rumberg

Good morning: Thursday's early headlines

(AP Photo)

Here's what we're watching this Thursday morning in dry, sunny NYC:

• Oh boy, Humberto. Hurricane rocks Texas.
• More quakes strike Indonesia 
• Bush to ask for more time in primetime tonight

-- Otis Hart

Life expectancy figures at new high

Americans expect to live until nearly age 78.

The National Center for Health Statistics released new data this morning, reports AP medical writer Mike Stobbe in Atlanta. The statistics, from 2005, aren't the best news. The U.S. age is lower than the life span in more than three dozen other countries. The preliminary report uses the newest government figures from 2005.

Other statistics:

• The number of deaths in the U.S. rose about 2 percent from 2004 to 2005.
• Women can expect to live five years longer than men.
• Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, has the longest life expectancy, at 83.5 years.

More in this AP story.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Not to be confused with foot-in-mouth disease

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The AP's Tariq Panja reports that foot-and-mouth disease is back in England.

What is foot-and-mouth disease, you ask? While not much of a worry for humans, it's a nasty virus that can spread like wildfire among livestock, which is why officials slaughter herds of animals at the first sign of outbreak. In 2001, Britain actually had to postpone general elections because of the crisis. It causes blisters in the mouth and on the feet of sheep and cattle.

-- Otis Hart

Talented research parrot dies

(AP Photo/Brandeis University, Mike Lovett)

Alex, an African Grey parrot who could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration, has died at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., after more than 30 years of helping researchers at the school.

Irene Pepperberg, a Brandeis scientist, said researchers worked with Alex every day for three decades and were grieving the bird's loss. She said the last time she saw Alex was Thursday when she told him it was time to go in the cage and said: "You be good, I love you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Alex responded, "You'll be in tomorrow."

Read more about Alex's many talents in this AP story.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Report: Security gaps in TB case

The case of the Atlanta lawyer who was able to leave and re-enter the United States with tuberculosis has exposed major holes in the Center for Disease Control's ability to prevent someone infected with a biological agent from entering the country, according to a congressional investigation.

The AP acquired a copy of the report -- set to be released Monday -- by the House Homeland Security Committee's Democratic staff. AP Writer Eileen Sullivan reports that the review comes down hard on the CDC and it's lack of a sound plan for preventing a major health scare.

• "How we address these gaps now will serve as a direct predictor of how well we will handle future events, especially those involving emerging, re-emerging, and pandemic infectious diseases," according to the report.

In its defense CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said:

• "Preparedness is a process and not an event, and people need to realize that we are light years ahead of where we were six years ago," Skinner said. Each instance, such as the one last May, is a way to test and exercise the government's systems."

-- Howie Rumberg

First lady has surgery for pinched nerve

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Talk about a pain in the neck.

First Lady Laura Bush had successful surgery to relieve pain from pinched nerves in her neck, the White House said. She underwent the 2 1/2-hour procedure at The George Washington University Hospital while President Bush was flying home from Australia. Doctors had advised Mrs. Bush from taking long trips, and she didn't accompany the president to the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney.

Mrs. Bush injured her neck and shoulder while hiking earlier this year. Physical therapy wasn't working and doctors recommended the operation.

-- Howie Rumberg

Chip implants linked to animal tumors

(AP Photo/Steve Mitchell)

Is that Dennis Quaid getting ready for an "Innerspace" trip?

Find out what this tiny microchip is for, and the potential dangers that come along with using one after the jump.

APEC leaders forge climate change pact

(AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service)

Pacific Rim leaders established modest goals to address a major issue: global warming.

World leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's annual summit in Sydney, Australia,  said, "The world needs to slow, stop and then reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions." AP Writer Rohan Sullivan reports that some experts and activists dismissed the program as ineffective.

The 21 leaders, including those from the United States, China and Russia, agreed on a program whose  centerpiece is a goal to reduce "energy intensity" -- the amount of energy needed to produce a dollar of gross domestic product - 25 percent by 2030. The program did not include goals for reducing emission of polluting gases.

-- Howie Rumberg

CDC: Suicide rate among U.S. girls soars

The suicide rate among preteen and teenage girls has risen to its highest level in 15 years.

That's according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows the biggest spike -- about 76 percent -- in girls ages 10-14 from 2003 to 2004.There were 94 suicides in that age group in 2004, compared to 56 in 2003. 

OVERALL
Suicide rates among all American young people, ages 10 to 24, fell 28 percent from 1990-2003. But in 2004 it shot back up by 8 percent, driven largely by increases among females aged 10-19 and males aged 15-19.

DEATH BY:
In 1990, guns accounted for more than half of all suicides among young females. By 2004, though, death by hanging and suffocation became the most common suicide method. It accounted for about 71 percent of all suicides in girls aged 10-14; about half of those aged 15-19; and 34 percent between 20-24.

Hear from AP Correspondent David Melendy.

-- Megan K. Scott

Caffeine game: Cola vs. Citrus

Researchers in Alabama have released a study that finds citrus-flavored sodas often have more caffeine than the popular cola brands.

AP writer Kate Brumback reports that the Auburn University team says labels on these beverages should give consumers the caffeine content.

-- Caryn Rousseau

Dangerous popcorn

Popcorn consumption causes pulmonary problems?

Doctors at a leading lung research hospital, Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center, believe they have seen the first case of  popcorn lung in a consumer. The patient ate several bags of popcorn with extra butter flavoring every day for several years. His symptoms include progressively worsening respiratory symptoms of coughing and shortness of breath, reports AP Writer Marcus Kabel.

Previously, popcorn lung had been linked to workers at food processing plants who were exposed to a chemical that goes into the flavoring. AP correspondent Sandy Kozel reports in an audio clip that one popcorn manufacturer says it is removing the dangerous chemical from its recipe.

-- Howie Rumberg

Speaking of hurricanes, why does Texas escape?

(AP Photo/NOAA)

The recent hurricane activity prompted a reader to ask Houston Chronicle science writer Eric Berger why hurricanes frequently seem to miss Texas.

Berger responds in this posting from his SciGuy blog, complete with charts and everything.

Caption: Hurricanes Henriette, left, and Felix are seen in this photo provided today by NOAA. A pair of Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes making landfall on the same day has never happened in recorded history.

--Paul Chavez

Picking mates: Men competitive, women picky

Men go for good looks. Women are choosy.

Didn't we know that already?

Well now scientists at Indiana University claim they've got it confirmed. The researchers report today that a speed dating style study they undertook finds that females are more particular about who they mate with, while males are competitive and go for physically attractive mates.

More in this story from AP science writer Randolph E. Schmid.

-- Caryn Rousseau