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Friday, October 11, 2013
VIDEO: Antarctic trek team battle elements
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Residents offered radon testing
5 June 2013 Last updated at 10:01 GMT 
Householders can install better ventilation to disperse the natural radioactive gas More parts of Scotland are considered at risk of high levels of radon than previously thought, according to the Health Protection Agency.
Householders can install better ventilation to disperse the natural radioactive gas More parts of Scotland are considered at risk of high levels of radon than previously thought, according to the Health Protection Agency.Seven council areas in the central belt, in the past not thought to have significant levels, are to be tested.
Radon is a naturally-occurring gas but, being radioactive, it can cause cancer.
The agency has published a new radon map of Scotland using past tests and geological information to identify areas with potentially high levels.
Edinburgh, Mid, East and West Lothian, Falkirk, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire are now classified as "Radon Affected Areas".
Thousands of residents will be offered testing later this month.
Precautionary testingLesley Hinds, Edinburgh City Council's environment convener, said: "Radon is a naturally occurring gas that, when found in high levels, can be potentially harmful to health.
"Public Health England has been commissioned by the Scottish government to identify and reduce levels of radon in Edinburgh and the council is assisting them as they carry out their precautionary testing programme.
"Letters will soon be sent to a small number of residents living in areas where levels of radon may be higher, to let them know about the free testing kit available.
"People shouldn't be alarmed about this as even if high levels are found in their homes, this can often be remedied by taking relatively simple steps."
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that comes from minute amounts of uranium found in rock and soil.
Although levels are generally low, it is believed to lead to more than 1,000 deaths across Britain each year.
Work has already been done in other parts of Scotland, including the Highlands and Aberdeenshire where the radon risk was considered greatest.
The Health Protection Agency said the gas was generally only harmful if it was allowed to accumulate in homes. The risks can be reduced by increased ventilation.
WHO warns of Syria disease threat
4 June 2013 Last updated at 10:36 GMT 
Medical facilities are often basic in rebel-held areas The World Health Organization is warning of an increased risk of disease epidemics in Syria and neighbouring countries as summer approaches.
Medical facilities are often basic in rebel-held areas The World Health Organization is warning of an increased risk of disease epidemics in Syria and neighbouring countries as summer approaches.The WHO says outbreaks of diseases carried in water - specifically hepatitis, typhoid, cholera and dysentery - are inevitable, given the severe disruption to Syria's health system.
Cases of diarrhoea and hepatitis-A have more than doubled since January.
There have also been outbreaks of measles and typhoid.
Continue reading the main storyWe are anticipating a number of public health risks from water-borne diseases, specifically hepatitis, typhoid, cholera and dysentery”End Quote Dr Jaouad Mahjour Department for communicable diseases, WHO's regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean According to the WHO, at least 35% of the country's public hospitals are out of service, and in some areas, up to 70% of the health workforce has fled.
Almost 4.25 million Syrians who have had to leave their homes are living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, with concerns about the provision of safe drinking water and safe sanitation.
"All the risk factors that enhance the transmission of communicable diseases in emergencies are present in the current crisis in Syria and its neighbouring countries," said Dr Jaouad Mahjour, director of the department for communicable diseases at the WHO's regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean.
"We are anticipating a number of public health risks from water-borne diseases, specifically hepatitis, typhoid, cholera and dysentery.
"Given the scale of population movement both inside Syria and across borders, together with deteriorating environmental health conditions, outbreaks are inevitable."
Vaccination problemsThe WHO says cases of measles have reappeared in Syria, due to problems running national vaccination campaigns.
The number of confirmed cases of measles in the first quarter of 2013 reached 139, compared with no cases in the whole of 2010 and 2011, says the WHO.
There have also been reports of measles, tuberculosis and cutaneous leishmaniasis - a disease carried by insects - among displaced Syrians in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey.
"Jordan had previously reported zero cases of measles for three years, and was planning to officially declare that it was measles-free," said Dr Mahjour.
"The situation will deteriorate if prevention and control measures are not scaled up soon."
Titanic violin real, scan suggests
23 May 2013 Last updated at 12:32 GMT 
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the scan proved the authenticity of the violin "beyond reasonable doubt" A violin thought to be the one played by the band leader of the Titanic as it sank has been declared genuine following a CT scan at a hospital.
Wallace Hartley died at the age of 34 and came from Colne in Lancashire 
The violin is thought to be worth a six-figure sum
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the scan proved the authenticity of the violin "beyond reasonable doubt" A violin thought to be the one played by the band leader of the Titanic as it sank has been declared genuine following a CT scan at a hospital.Andrew Aldridge from auction house Henry Aldridge and Son said the scan proved the instrument was real "beyond reasonable doubt".
Radiographers at BMI Ridgeway Hospital in Wiltshire took a 3D image of the violin to examine it from the inside.
It has been at the centre of an authenticity debate for seven years.
Wallace Hartley, who came from Colne in Lancashire, and his orchestra, famously played on as the ship sank in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton in 1912, and were among the 1,517 who died.
"The scan revealed that the original wood was cracked and showed signs of possible restoration," said the hospital's imaging manager Astrid Little.
Salt water Wallace Hartley died at the age of 34 and came from Colne in Lancashire "The fine detail of the scan meant the auctioneers could examine the construction, interior and the glue holding the instrument together. The scan also assisted in validating the instrument's authenticity.
"We are very proud to have played our part in the violin's authentication. It was a great honour to have such a rare collector's item in the department."
In 2006, Henry Aldridge and Son - specialists in Titanic artefacts - was approached by the violin's owner who wanted to sell it, but it needed authenticating.
Over the last seven years, various experts have tried to authenticate the violin, including newspaper archivists, jewellery experts and the forensic science service who found the bodywork still had deposits of salt water.
The auctioneers declared the violin to be genuine in March, but said a CT scan was needed.
"The violin was in a heavy duty leather Gladstone type bag, so the violin would have come into contact with water, but it would have been protected by the leather," said Mr Aldridge.
"The instrument is also held together with animal glue, which melts when it is hot, not when it is cold.
Display in US"The silver fish plate on the violin along with some other items that was with it points to it being authentic - or an extremely elaborate hoax - so we needed to carry out thorough research and commission the correct experts.
The violin is thought to be worth a six-figure sum "We've spent the last seven years gathering evidence and we're confident that 'beyond reasonable doubt' this is Wallace Hartley's violin."
Mr Hartley's body was recovered from the water about 10 days after the ship sank, but the violin was not listed among the inventory of items found with him.
It is claimed the violin survived in a leather case, strapped to Mr Hartley's body, which floated upright in his cork and linen lifejacket.
A diary entry by his fiancee, Maria Robinson, said it was saved from the water in 1912 and returned to her.
Following Ms Robinson's death in 1939, the violin was given to her local Salvation Army citadel and was later passed onto the current owner's mother in the early 1940s.
The violin - complete with its certificate of authenticity - is due to go on display in the US this month, and will eventually go to auction.
In April, maritime historian Daniel Allen Butler said the violin could not possibly have been recovered from the doomed ship's wreckage.
The genuine article would have fallen apart after exposure to the waters of the North Atlantic, he said, and the wood would soon have lost its shine and shape.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Visual effects workers 'overworked'
By Jim TaylorNewsbeat reporter 23-year-old Miguel describes life as a visual effects artistThey help to create everything from spaceships to superheroes, and alien cities to entire planets.
Iron Man star Robert Downey, Jr. says visual effects artists are the "unsung heroes" behind blockbusters and Star Trek director J. J. Abrams says they do an "extraordinary amount of work".
But many visual effects (VFX) workers in the UK aren't happy.
They claim they are overworked, underappreciated and claim talented artists could leave the industry.
Continue reading the main story
Definitely the unsung heroes - the hundreds of men and women who are labouring over all the VFX, the CGI and the animationRobert Downey, Jr. Iron Man actor
The union Bectu is trying to recruit British VFX workers to campaign for better working conditions.
Like many British artists, Martin Gabriel has worked on films in the Harry Potter series, which helped establish the UK as a major player in the industry.
After 18 years, he's quit: "I wasn't happy with the way people are being treated.
"However exciting the industry is, it does have this terrible dark secret."
He says that while Hollywood studios make hundreds of millions of pounds from blockbusters, VFX artists end up working unlimited unpaid overtime.
"[The studios] do not pay enough for visual effects," he said. "They seem to have an idea that it's just people pressing buttons on a keyboard, which ignores the fact that it's an incredibly skilled thing which requires a huge amount of talent.
"The way to solve this is to hire more people and have a shift system."
'Incredibly exciting'Several working VFX artists agree with Martin but were not willing to be interviewed.
One described the industry as a "mess", saying "staff are all too often required to work insane hours".
Continue reading the main story
Avatar - 1,855Titanic - 739Avengers: Assemble - 1,453Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - 1,180Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 1,178Source: IMDB, Box Office Mojo
Another wrote: "Exploitation is an understatement to be honest."
But British firms are in competition with others around the world, so have to offer a competitive price to win bids to work on movies.
Working conditions for British VFX workers are thought to be better than those in other countries.
Employers don't have to pay their staff for overtime and say that busy periods in the build-up to a deadline are often followed by much quieter times.
It's thought the VFX industry contributes around £250 million a year to the UK economy.
Miguel Santana is 23 and in his first year working in VFX in London.
Although he admits the working hours came as a shock, he said: "It's an incredibly exciting industry to be a part of.
"We're helping to bring some of the world's biggest films to life and you couldn't do that in any other job."
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Huge 'holograms' created for doctors
18 June 2013 Last updated at 17:48 GMT By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News 
The project's creators say their "holograms" are more memorable than two dimensional slides A system which uses an illusionary effect to help medical students master their subject has been pioneered by two London-based junior doctors. 
An animation was used in the test lecture to illustrate how fluid passes through a kidney 
The University of London says the technology is too expensive for day-to-day use at present
The project's creators say their "holograms" are more memorable than two dimensional slides A system which uses an illusionary effect to help medical students master their subject has been pioneered by two London-based junior doctors. They have demonstrated a 3D graphic of a kidney measuring 4m (13 ft) to demonstrate renal function at a "test lecture" last week.
It was one of a series of hologram-like animations they are developing.
However, the university which hosted the event, said it was not ready to be rolled out yet.
"The cost would be prohibitively expensive," said a spokesman for St George's, University of London. "It's more a proof-of-concept at this stage."
Optical illusionsThe effects were developed by Dr Kapil Sugand, who works at St George's Hospital and Imperial College London, and Dr Pedro Campos from St George's Hospital.
The animations are not true holograms, but are rather based on an illusion called Pepper's Ghost which uses glass or foil combined with special lighting techniques to make objects appear in mid-air.
They said they wanted to make it easier for students to absorb the large amount of detail necessary to pass their exams. Medical students can attend up to nine hours of lectures per day and typically study for six years in order to qualify.
"Research in educational sciences has shown the attention span of the average student is 20 to 30 minutes, but standard lectures are at least an hour," Dr Sugand told the BBC.
An animation was used in the test lecture to illustrate how fluid passes through a kidney "The human body is a very complex machine. It's very difficult to comprehend and appreciate how a kidney or liver functions, for example, from Powerpoint slides."
The images are all animated and can be controlled by the lecturer.
Three projectors are used to generate the full colour images on stage and they are designed to be used in a large auditorium.
While a "holographic "human body has previously been trialled in an anatomy class at Imperial College, it was not intended for a mass audience, said Dr Sugand.
"This could be a way to teach surgical procedures to a large group of trainees quite easily," he added.
The pair have spent £10,000 building up a small library of 3D animation lecture aids - including a sequence which outlines the various effects of malaria on different parts of the human body.
Funding came from the universities where they work, and also Dr Campos's parents.
Teething problemsTechnical problems prevented the first test - scheduled for last Wednesday - from working, but an event later in the week was more successful.
The University of London says the technology is too expensive for day-to-day use at present The response from first year medical students at St George's, University of London, was positive.
"We spend a lot of time looking through textbooks and listening to lectures to try to get our heads round the subjects and I think this would make a lot of medical areas easier to understand," said Hannah Barham.
Andrew Salmon added: "As a concept it's fantastic, but I don't think it will replace the traditional kind of lecture at the moment though as it's not as customisable."
Dr Sugand acknowledged that the animations were intended to be an extra tool, and would not be a substitute for using dead bodies.
"Nothing can substitute dissecting a cadaver - it is the optimal and most traditional way of learning anatomy," he explained.
"But multimedia has become a way of complementing, not replacing, that process."
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