REAL LIFE NEWS: DON'T WORRY ABOUT BIRD FLUby HazedRight now we're all panicking about pig flu, but a few years ago the big worry was bird flu which looked like it was about to turn from a few minor outbreaks in Asian countries into a pandemic. Now it seems we needn't have been so worried, because scientists have discovered that the human nose is usually too cold for the virus to thrive. Experiments at Imperial College London in which the environment of the human nose was recreated found that at 32 degrees Celsius, avian flu viruses lose their function and cannot spread. The likelihood is that they have adapted to suit the warmer environment of 40 degrees found in the guts of birds. This means they would need to mutate before bird flu became a human problem. So that's all right that! Read more here. |