In one Florida county, nicotine is a banned drug -

In one Florida county, nicotine is a banned drug  - 



Flagler County commissioners in Florida are taking a tough new stance against tobacco users looking for work -- by considering nicotine a banned drug. 
Beginning Oct. 1, prospective county employees will be required to take a nicotine test in addition to pre-employment drug screening for illegal drugs. 
A failed test would not only deny an otherwise qualified applicant a job, but would also prohibit employment with the county for another 12 months. 
"The tobacco ban applies to anything that would produce nicotine," said Joseph Mayer, Flagler County's community services director. That includes cigarettes, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, pipes and snuff. 
Job applicants also must sign an affidavit stating, under penalty of perjury, that they have not used tobacco within one-year of employment. 
"It's the same thing as drug use," Mayer said. "We have a drug-free policy where everyone is tested for drug use before they come on board, and if they start using afterwards we won't know until either a random test or a workers compensation incident." 


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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/05/in-one-florida-county-nicotine-is-banned-drug/

China Sends Warships to Coast of Syria - to “observe” the actions of US and Russian ships -

China Sends Warships to Coast of Syria - to “observe” the actions of US and Russian ships - 



China has reportedly sent warships to the coast of Syria to “observe” the actions of US and Russian ships as tensions build in preparation for a potential military strike on Syria which could come as soon as next week.
Report: China Sends Warships to Coast of Syria 

According to the Russian news outlet Telegrafist.org, the People’s Liberation Army dispatched the Jinggangshan amphibious dock landing ship and the vessel was seen passing through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt that leads to the Mediterranean Sea and waters off the coast of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
According to the report, the ship has not been sent to engage in any aggressive actions but is merely there to “observe” the actions of Russian and US warships. However, the Jinggangshan is equipped for combat, has conventional armaments and secondary cannons, and was utilized as part of a “show of force” in maneuvers aimed at defending the South China Sea earlier this year.
The report states that additional PLA warships have also been sent to the region but that their identity is unknown.
Yesterday it was reported that Russia was sending three more ships – two destroyers and a missile cruiser – to the eastern Mediterranean to bolster its forces which already include three other warships dispatched over the last two weeks.
Earlier this week, Russia criticized the United States for sending warships close to Syria, with Russian Defense Ministry official Oleg Dogayev remarking, “The dispatch of ships armed with cruise missiles toward Syria’s shores has a negative effect on the situation in the region.”
Five U.S. destroyers and an amphibious ship are currently positioned in the eastern Mediterranean awaiting strike orders. The USS Nimitz and three other warships are also stationed in the nearby Red Sea.
In a related story, China today toughened its rhetoric on Syria, warning President Barack Obama that, “Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price – it will cause a hike in the oil price.”
The Global Times, a newspaper described by Foreign Policy Magazine as “hyper nationalistic” and an “angry Chinese government mouthpiece, also published an editorial yesterday which slammed Obama for failing to prove that last month’s chemical weapons attack was the work of the Syrian government, charging that Washington’s “geopolitical interests” in the region were behind the military build-up.
The editorial, which also complains of the total lack of media coverage in America concerning reports that Syrian rebels admitted responsibility for last month’s chemical weapons attack, accuses the White House of “ignoring logic as it beats war drums.”

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http://www.prisonplanet.com/report-china-sends-warships-to-coast-of-syria.html

Astronomers: Super-Earth 40 light years away 'is rich in water'... -

Astronomers: Super-Earth 40 light years away 'is rich in water'... - 



Blue light observations of a super-Earth 40 light years from our planet suggest that it is a world with a thick, steamy water-rich atmosphere.
Japanese astronomers used the Subaru telescope to observe planetary transits of the super-Earth, which is located at the centre of the Milky Way.
Astronomers had previously confirmed that this alien world has a thick atmosphere, but were unable to determine whether the atmosphere was primarily hydrogen or a steamy soup of water vapour.
Their findings confirm that the super-Earth has an atmosphere rich in water rather than hydrogen.
Super-Earths are exoplanets orbiting a star outside of the solar system that are larger than Earth's but smaller than those of ice giants such as Uranus or Neptune.

Their planetary transits enable scientists to find changes in the wavelength in the brightness of the star, which indicate the planet's atmospheric composition.
If scientists can determine the major atmospheric component of a super-Earth, they can then find out the planet's birthplace and formation history.
The water world, named GJ 1214b is one of the more well-known super-Earths and was discovered by the ground-based MEarth Project in 2009.
This super-Earth is about 2.6 times Earth’s diameter and weighs almost seven times as much.


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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2412151/Super-Earth-GJ-1214b-40-light-years-away-rich-water-steamy-atmosphere.html

Down syndrome reversed in newborn mice with single injection... -

Down syndrome reversed in newborn mice with single injection... - 



US researchers have found a way to reverse Down syndrome in newborn lab mice by injecting an experimental compound that causes the brain to grow normally.

The study, published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, offers no direct link to a treatment for humans but scientists are hopeful it may offer a path towards future breakthroughs.

There is no cure for Down syndrome, which is caused by the presence of an additional chromosome and results in intellectual disabilities, distinctive facial features and other health problems.

The team at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, in Baltimore, used lab mice that were genetically engineered to have extra copies of about half the genes found on human chromosome 21, leading to Down syndrome-like conditions such as smaller brains and difficulty learning to navigate a maze.

On the day the mice were born, scientists injected them with a small molecule known as a sonic hedgehog pathway agonist.

'Unexpected benefits' in learning and memory

The compound, which has not been proven safe for use in humans, is designed to boost normal growth of the brain and body via a gene known as SHH.

The gene provides instructions for making a protein called sonic hedgehog, which is essential for development.

We were able to completely normalize growth of the cerebellum through adulthood with that single injection
Roger Reeves, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
"It worked beautifully," said Roger Reeves of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"Most people with Down syndrome have a cerebellum that's about 60 per cent of the normal size," he said.

"We were able to completely normalise growth of the cerebellum through adulthood with that single injection."

The injection also led to unexpected benefits in learning and memory, normally handled by a different part of the brain known as the hippocampus.

Researchers found that the treated mice did as well as normal mice on a test of locating a water platform while in a swimming maze.

Read more - 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-05/downs-syndrome-reversed-in-newborn-mice/4936412