And the actual announcement.
[url]http://blog.vixra.org/2011/12/13/the-higgs-boson-live-from-cern/[/url]

[url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/alarm-as-dutch-lab-creates-highly-contagious-killer-flu-6279474.html]Alarm as Dutch lab creates highly contagious killer flu [/url]
[quote]For the first time the researchers have been able to mutate the H5N1 strain of avian influenza so that it can be transmitted easily through the air in coughs and sneezes. Until now, it was thought that H5N1 bird flu could only be transmitted between humans via very close physical contact.

Dutch scientists carried out the controversial research to discover how easy it was to genetically mutate H5N1 into a highly infectious "airborne" strain of human flu. They believe that the knowledge gained will be vital for the development of new vaccines and drugs.

But critics say the scientists have endangered the world by creating a highly dangerous form of flu which could escape from the laboratory – as well as opening a Pandora's box for fanatical terrorists wishing to make a bio-weapon.
...
Scientists are in little doubt that the newly created strain of H5N1 – resulting from just five mutations in two key genes – has the potential to cause a devastating human pandemic that could kill tens of millions of people. The study was carried out on ferrets, which when infected with influenza are the best animal "model" of the human disease.

The details of the study are so sensitive that they are being scrutinised by the US Government's own National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which is understood to have advised American officials that key parts of the scientific paper should be redacted to prevent terrorists from using the information to reverse-engineer their own lethal strain of flu virus.

In an unprecedented move, the Biosecurity board is believed to have told the US Government that there is a serious possibility of potentially dangerous information being misused if the full genetic sequence of the mutated H5N1 virus were to be published in open scientific literature.

A senior source close to the Biosecurity board, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Independent that the National Institutes of Health, which funded the work, is about to make a decision on how much of the scientific paper on the H5N1 super strain should be published, and how much held back.

"There are areas of science where information needs to be controlled," the scientist said. "The most extreme examples are, for instance, how to make a nuclear weapon or any weapon that is going to be used primarily to kill people. The life sciences really haven't encountered this situation before. It's really a new age."[/quote]

[URL="http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp30/111222comet/"]Comet seen from space station[/URL]

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/world-first-hybrid-shark-found-off-australia-070347608.html[/url]

[QUOTE=science_man_88;284647][url]http://news.yahoo.com/world-first-hybrid-shark-found-off-australia-070347608.html[/url][/QUOTE]Blame Hyundai, they were going to relaunch the Tiburon.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;284670]Blame Hyundai, they were going to relaunch the Tiburon.[/QUOTE]"Could I have a new windscreen wiper for my Skoda?"
Sales assistant: "Sounds like a fair swap to me."

David

Here's one specially for Ernst: [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16394430[/url]

Paul

[QUOTE=xilman;284730]Here's one specially for Ernst: [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16394430[/url]

Paul[/QUOTE]

Nice - I need to get a pair of these for my terrarium, and name them Harry and Chester. (That might require me to upgrade and install the "hydrothermal midoceanic ridge ecosystem" add-on, though.)

Only problem with the provisional classification of these - they live in large colonies, whereas the Real Hoff is a solo animal, and is mainly a crab when drunk.

Had this been a species of hermit crab, I expect it would have had a high-tech talking, crime-fighting shell.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;284791]crab when drunk.
[/QUOTE]
The technical terminology is "a bugger when it's pissed"

[QUOTE=davieddy;284723]"Could I have a new windscreen wiper for my Skoda?"
Sales assistant: "Sounds like a fair swap to me."
[/QUOTE]
Hahaha! This is a good one! Reminds me about one of my friends and colleagues, owning a brand new [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oltcit"]oltcit car[/URL], 30 years ago. That was a pretty small thing, running well especially during the winter (in fact the only car type I ever saw having really no problems on snow, during the heavy Romanian winters). It was the first car sold in Romania that has an on-board LCD clock, which was actually not on the board, but on the ceiling, in front of the driver, just a normal (for that times) LCD clock. There was the time when [URL="http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=moz35&va=watch+with+calculator"]watches with calculators[/URL], watches with FM-radios, or other stuff like that, started to appear, and they were big fashion, same as ipods/ipads/iphones are now, and we were young and stipid, same as the actual new generation,:smile: and all of us used to make fun of the guy, telling him that he bought a "clock with car".

[QUOTE=LaurV;284849]... and all of us used to make fun of the guy, telling him that he bought a "clock with car".[/QUOTE]For the last few years I've been visiting Brno on business roughly once a month. I was amused to learn that the Czechs tell exactly the same Škoda jokes as the Brits. For instance:
Why does a Škoda have a heated rear window? [spoiler]To keep your hands warm when pushing it[/spoiler]
How do you double the re-sale value of a Škoda? [spoiler]Fill the fuel tank[/spoiler]
and a number of others.

The one they didn't know was a German variant:

Why are the authorities so strict about not throwing litter from moving vehicles? [spoiler]Because the Trabbis get stuck in the chewing gum.[/spoiler]

Paul