Malaria blocks 'super-infection'

The malaria parasite can ensure it keeps a host body all to itself by preventing further malarial infections, according to international researchers.

The parasite initially reproduces in the liver and moves into the blood.

A study on mice, published in Nature Medicine, showed the parasite can trigger iron deficiency in the liver and therefore prevent more infections.

An expert said the research was "very cool and very interesting", and improved understanding of infection.

The researchers were looking at super-infections, when a patient already infected with malaria is infected with another batch of malaria parasites.

People in high-risk areas can be bitten by up to 700 different malaria-infected mosquitoes each year.

Protecting turf

In experiments on mice, researchers showed that parasites in the blood were able to stimulate the production of the hormone hepcidin, which regulates iron levels.

This reduced the level of iron in the liver, preventing other malaria parasites from reproducing in the organ.

Dr Hal Drakesmith, from the Weatherall Institute at Oxford University, who was part of the research team, said: "Now that we understand how malaria parasites protect their territory in the body from competitor parasites, we may be able to enhance this natural defence mechanism to combat the risk of malaria infections."

Malaria is often accompanied by anaemia, which is treated with iron supplements.

In this study, mice given iron supplements were more susceptible to additional infections.

Dr Drakesmith said: "We may need to look again at the advisability of iron supplementation programmes in malaria-endemic regions, as possible increased risk of infection may need to be weighed against benefits."

Dr Rita Tewari, a malaria researcher at the University of Nottingham, said: "It's very cool and very interesting.

"It tells us a bit more about the mechanism of malaria infection and gives us some sort of tool, this molecule hepcidin, that you can manipulate which can affect infection."

Thailand police arrest man with rare animals in luggage

Freeland's Steven Galster on the recovery of the "virtual zoo" found in the smuggler's luggage

A man has been arrested at an airport in Thailand after endangered animals - including leopards, panthers and a bear - were found hidden in his luggage.

The animals - all under two months old - had been drugged and put into cages in the man's suitcases, police said.

The suspect, a 36-year-old man from the United Arab Emirates, was trying to board a flight from Bangkok to Dubai.

Several people are thought to be involved and an investigation into a trafficking network is under way.

The man was seized by undercover police at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport while he was waiting to check-in as a first-class passenger.

Officers had been monitoring him since his black market purchase of the rare animals, said the Freeland Foundation, an anti-trafficking group based in Thailand.
'Virtual zoo'

There were two leopards, two panthers, an Asiatic black bear and two macaque monkeys in the man's luggage.

"It looked like they had sedated the animals and had them in flat cages so they couldn't move around much," said Steven Galster, director of Freeland, who was present at the arrest.

Some of the animals were placed inside canisters with air holes.

"It was a very sophisticated smuggling operation. We've never seen one like this before," Mr Galster said. "The guy had a virtual zoo in his suitcases."

Last month, Thai customs officials seized 1,800 protected lizards said to be destined to be sold as food.

The Bengal monitor lizards, stuffed into blue mesh bags and hidden behind fruit, were found in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border.

Lizard meat is valuable and seen as a delicacy in parts of Asia.

Windows 8 Release Date, Projected Late 2011

The Windows 8 release date has been shrouded in a cloud of rumors. Most experts expect a late 2011 early 2012 release of the operating system. A recently leaked Windows 8 product cycle chart provides the answers needed to determine the release date of the next Windows OS by Microsoft.

You can take a look at the image here. The chart lists the planning, development and readiness product cycle of Windows 8 and related Microsoft products such as Internet Explorer 8, Windows Live Wave 4, Windows Live Wave 5 and Windows 7. It also lists major events.

Some events and products have already been held / released and it is possible to pinpoint the release date of Windows 8 by making the remaining calculations.

Here is what we know. Forum I and Forum II have been major events, the former held in December 2009, the latter in April 2010. The listing lists four additional event, Forum III to Forum VI. The next two events fall into the development phase of Windows 8, the remaining two into the readiness phase.

Internet Explorer 9 and Windows Live Wave 4 have either been announced with final dates (at least for the beta) or released already.

Forum II was held 4-5 months after Forum I. If we take this approach we can calculate the approximate month of the other four forums. This would mean between 16 to 20 months from April 2010 on which coincides perfectly with the projected late 2011 release date.

The Windows 8 beta should be released around June 2011 and the final release might even hit the stores at the same time that Windows 7 was released, which was October.

The Internet Explorer 9 product cycle confirms the findings. Microsoft has announced a beta release of Internet Explorer 9 for August 2010. This would be the same time that Forum III will be held, which is exactly four months after Forum II.

The chart may be a bit off since Windows Live Wave 4 was released in June. It could be that Microsoft has projected the Forum III conference for June / July instead.

Could also be that the chart is not 100% accurate and it can happen that development cycles need to be shifted, especially if major issues are encountered during development.

Still, we are pretty sure that Microsoft will release the beta of Windows 8 in or around June 2011 and the final release of the operating system in or around October 2011.

What’s your take on the chart? We are very interested in users who can provide us with additional information including Forum III to Forum VI dates.

Do We Really Need Windows 8 So Soon?

This weekend I was just casually browsing up and down the aisles at one of my local computer stores. All the usual array of promotional banners and offers were on, but there was one in particular that caught my eye. It was a Windows 7 banner, (no surprise there) but what caught my attention is that it was advertising Windows 7 as a “NEW” just released operating system. Of course it was followed with the usual “quicker, securer, etc..” marketing, but it got me thinking. If stores are still advertising Windows 7 as “new”, do we really need Windows 8 so soon?

I know you’re going to argue that Windows 8 isn’t due to be released until early 2012 at the earliest, but realistically the average consumer wont be ready for it. Windows 7 has been out for just over 18 months at this stage, and while it is making good progress in terms of market share, I still don’t feel that the vast majority of people have even upgraded to it yet.

Microsoft had a fairly valid case for getting Windows 7 out as quick as they could (to make up for Windows Vista). Not only the average home user, but also many businesses and enterprises around the world were shouting for an update, so if Microsoft wanted to keep them, they had to deliver. And they did, Windows 7 has received the thumbs up from pretty much everyone and they all seem quite content with it. At the moment there is nothing more that they want than an operating system that’s quick, clean and reliable.


Realistically the average consumer isn’t going to buy a new computer every 2 years. You’re probably looking at more 3-5 years. Of course the more techy ones will upgrade their operating system without updating their hardware, but for the most part people don’t update their OS until they get a new computer that’s running it. Windows 7 came out at the end of 2009 so by the time Windows 8 comes out in 2012, barely 2 years will have elapsed. Consumers won’t be willing to update their systems then, especially if they buy them between now and then.

Look at the enterprise scene too. For large enterprise’s it’s taking nearly 12 months to roll out Windows 7 and update their current systems. It’s costly and expensive for them to do it, generally you won’t find them updating again for at least another 5 years. If you look at it, Windows XP can still be found in many businesses, and that’s been on the go nearly 10 years now. Many of them haven’t even started the roll out yet, but plan on starting it during this year. They’ll have barely got Windows 7 running and staff trained by the time Windows 8 comes out, do you think that they’re going to go through the costly upgrade and training process so soon? If they’ve any sense they wont.

Of course there is a smaller minority of users like ourselves who are always keen to keep up to date with all the latest technology and who are gasping for something new all the time. But I’m afraid we’re not where the vast majority of Microsoft’s sales go to.