Discovery | SilverScorpio.Com

UPDATE 1-Premier Oil sees H1 output rising 17 pct

July 16, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

July 15 (Reuters) – Britain’s Premier Oil (PMO.L) said it expects average first-half production to rise 17 percent and that its full-year production remains in line with previous guidance.

Estimated average group production for the first half was 46,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) while forecast full year production continues to be around 44,000 boepd.

“Premier continues to make good progress towards its 75,000 boepd production target for 2012,” said Chief Executive Simon Lockett. “Our major projects are progressing well and the recent Catcher discovery will now move rapidly into development.”

Earlier this month, Premier raised its reserves estimate for the Catcher/Catcher East area in the UK Central North Sea to a range of 60 million to 100 million barrels of oil. [ID:nLDE6640AA]

(Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by James Davey)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: $100 million, 60 million, Central North Sea, chief executive, discovery, Group Production, guidance, James Davey, Major Projects, oil equivalent, pct, PMO, production target, reuters

Creator of first synthetic living cell claims he’s not playing god

May 21, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, May 21 (ANI): Dr Craig Venter, who has created the first synthetic living cell, has said that he is not playing god, but the feat could help them understand the basic nature of life.

In a recent interview Venter as said that what he has achieved is indeed the first in the world.

“This is the first time anyone has built an entire 1.08 million base pair chromosome, transplanted that chromosome into a recipient cell and for that chromosome to take over that cell, effectively converting it into a new species defined by the chromosome. So it”s a whole new paradigm, the first time we have a cell that is totally controlled 100 per cent by a synthetic chromosome,” the Independent quoted him as saying.

“We”re defining it as synthetic life because it”s totally determined by the synthetic chromosome. We do start with a living cell but the synthetic chromosome totally transforms that living cell to this new synthetic cell,” he added.

When asked if the new form of life is a replicating, free-living organism, he said: “That is correct, only it is only free-living in the sense that it grows in the laboratory in a very rich culture media so it wouldn”t survive in the outside environment. Given the right nutrients in the laboratory it is completely self-replicating on its own.”

And he said that the discovery could help scientists in many ways.

“The purpose is to try to understand the basic nature of life, and the minimal sets of genes needed for life. We do not know all the gene functions in any single cell. We don”t know what they do, we don”t know how they all work so we”ve been trying for 15 years to come up with ways to be able to define that even for simple cells.

“So that is the key part of the next stage. But over the years the uses of this technology have become much more apparent to us and to others. It”s a powerful technology for actually trying to design specific functions into organisms, for example to manufacture new fuels out of carbon dioxide or to create new vaccines very rapidly instead of the long delays we have.”

Asked, if he is playing God with life, he replied: “We”ve covered this before because it”s almost a cliché every time there”s a new breakthrough in science, particularly in biology. Science is understanding life at its most basic levels and trying to use that knowledge for the betterment of humanity so I think we are part of the progression of scientific knowledge and understanding of the world around us.”

On the chances of the technology being misused, he said: “We have to be concerned. It”s a powerful technology and I”ve proposed new regulations in this field because I feel the existing ones don”t go far enough. Because we”re the inventors and developers of this we want to see everything that can be done to prevent misuse of this technology.”

“I”ve proposed regulating the companies that synthesise DNA, to screen [the DNA being synthesised] against harmful agents, and we”ve given feedback on improving those screens and being more rigorous. I”ve been briefing the US Congress on this.

“We don”t want people taken by surprise. We want to put this breakthrough into context in terms of what it means. We”re trying to take every responsible step we can in that respect.

“I think this is the first incidence in science where the extensive bioethical review took place before the experiments were done.

“It”s part of an ongoing process that we”ve been driving, trying to make sure that the science proceeds in an ethical fashion, that we”re being thoughtful about what we do and looking forward to the implications to the future,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Base Pair, Basic Nature, cells, chromosome, culture media, discovery, Dr Craig Venter, Gene Functions, genes, Living Organism, Minimal Sets, New Paradigm, nutrients, organisms, Playing God, powerful technology, Recipient Cell, rich culture, Scientists, Synthetic Life

Famed Chinese general’s 1800-yr-old tomb found

May 19, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 19 (ANI): Archaeologists in central China”s Henan Province claim to have disinterred a tomb of Cao Xiu, a prominent general from the Three Kingdoms period (220 AD-280 AD), and a bronze seal found at the site that bore his name on it, confirmed that it was indeed his tomb.

The tomb, 50 meters long and 21 meters wide, held chinaware, copperware, liquor cups, and jars as well as some human bones, said Sun Yingmin, spokesman of the Henan provincial cultural heritage bureau, at a press conference Monday, the China Daily reports.

Tests suggested the bones belonged to a 50-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, he said.

Chinese history books describe Xiu as a fearless warrior of a high rank, and that Cao Cao, a king from the Three Kingdoms period took him as his own son, the China Daily reports.

Last year, Chinese archaeologists had unearthed Cao Cao’s tomb, and now they have found that the newly discovered Xiu tomb had similar architecture as Cao Cao’s.

However, last year’s sensational Cao Cao tomb discovery had been written off by some experts as a hoax. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: architecture, Cao Cao, central china, china daily, Chinese Archaeologists, Chinese Books, Chinese History, cultural heritage, discovery, Fearless Warrior, Henan Province, Heritage Bureau, history books, Human Bones, liquor, New Delhi, old man, old woman, spokesman, Three Kingdoms

Fish dislike their own reflections

May 18, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, May 18 (ANI): When facing themselves in a mirror, fish become feisty but fearful, say two Stanford biologists.

“It seems like something they don”t understand,” said Julie Desjardins, a post-doctoral researcher in biology and lead author of a paper to be published in Biology Letters describing the study. “I think this stimulus is just so far outside their realm of experience that it results in this somewhat emotional response.”

Desjardins and coauthor Russell Fernald, professor of biology, arrived at their conclusion by comparing the behavior and brain activity of male African cichlid fish during and after one-on-one encounters with either a mirror or other another male of about the same size.

Cichlids grow to several inches in length and territorial males typically have bright blue or yellow body coloration.

Territorial male cichlids usually react to another male by trying to fight with it in a sort of tit-for-tat manner. Desjardins suspects the fish fighting their own reflections become fearful because their enemy in the mirror doesn”t exhibit the usual reactions they would expect from another fish.

“In normal fights, they bite at each other, one after the other, and will do all kinds of movements and posturing, but it is always slightly off or even alternating in timing,” Desjardins said. “But when you are fighting with a mirror, your opponent is perfectly in time. So the subject fish really is not seeing any sort of reciprocal response from their opponent.”

The discovery that fish can discern a difference so subtle could prompt researchers to take a second look at how well other lower invertebrates can discriminate among various situations. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: African Cichlid Fish, biologists, biology, Body Coloration, Brain activity, coauthor, Desjardins, discovery, doctoral researcher, emotional response, Enemy In The Mirror, invertebrates, opponent, reflections, Russell Fernald, several inches, stanford, stimulus, Territorial Male, Territorial Males

Platypus could help beat superbugs, battle climate change

May 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 6 (ANI): The platypus – a semi-aquatic mammal – could help beat superbugs and fight climate change.

In a first, researchers at Victoria””s Department of Primary Industries (DPI) have isolated, synthesised and tested a number of platypus proteins called antimicrobials.

These substances, similar to antiseptics that kill bacteria, are 10 times more powerful in killing bacteria than conventionally used antimicrobials, according to Victorian Agriculture Minister Joe Helper.

“If we can harness some of this potential we could better protect patients from ””superbugs””, meaning they will recover from surgery faster and spend less time in hospital,” news.com.au quoted him as saying.

DPI deputy secretary Dr Bruce Kefford said scientists were already using their discovery to help the livestock industry.

“If introduced into the stomachs of cattle, these platypus antimicrobials could improve an animal””s digestion of feed and reduce methane production, one of Australia””s largest contributors of total greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Agriculture Minister, Aquatic Mammal, bacteria, cattle, deputy secretary, digestion, discovery, Dr Bruce, Fight Climate Change, greenhouse gas emissions, Hospital News, Livestock Industry, Melbourne, methane production, news com au, proteins, Scientists, stomachs, superbugs, Victoria

Time travel possible, says Stephen Hawking

May 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 03 (ANI): Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking thinks that time travel is possible.

In the past he has steered clear of the topic in public lest he be considered a crank but Hawking told the Daily Mail that now he is less worried about that possibility.

Preparing for the debut of his Discovery documentary, Stephen Hawking”s Universe, which screens next week, Hawking said he believed humans could travel millions of years into the future and repopulate their devastated planet.

“Time travel was once considered scientific heresy, and I used to avoid talking about it for fear of being labelled a crank,” News.com.au. quoted him as saying in the docu.

“These days I”m not so cautious,” he added.

Manchester University professor Brian Cox told The Times that Hawking”s theory had already found some basis in experiments carried out by the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.

Hawking also says we can only travel forward in time.

Moving backwards is impossible, Hawking says, because it “violates a fundamental rule that cause comes before effect”. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: astrophysicist, brian cox, crank, daily mail, debut, discovery, docu, documentary, fear, Fundamental Rule, geneva, heresy, Large Hadron Collider, manchester university, Melbourne, news com au, Professor Brian, Stephen Hawking, time travel, university professor

Noah”s ark discovery ‘a hoax’?

April 29, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 29 (ANI): An American ark-hunter claims that the latest discovery of Noah”s ark in eastern Turkey could be a hoax.

A group of Chinese and Turkish explorers had announced this week that they are ”99.9 percent” sure of their discovery on Mt. Ararat, reports CSMonitor.com.

However, Dr. Randall Price, an evangelical Christian and former member of the Chinese-led team that announced the finding, says the latest purported finding may not withstand closer scrutiny.

“If the world wants to think this is a wonderful discovery, that’s fine. My problem is that, in the end, proper analysis may show this to be a hoax and negatively reflect how gullible Christians can be,” he says. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: christians, discovery, Dr Randall, Eastern Turkey, Explorers, hoax, Led Team, Mt Ararat, Noah Ark, Noah S Ark, Randall Price, scrutiny

Nickel miner considers reopening Miitel mine

April 10, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Nickel miner Mincor Resources has flagged the possible reopening of its Miitel mine near Kambalda.

Mincor put the project on care and maintenance in late 2008, citing falling nickel prices.

The company’s managing director, David Moore, says recent drilling results suggest the discovery of a new, high-grade ore surface at the site.

Nickel prices have also improved significantly in the past 12 months.

Mr Moore says the company is examining the possibility of reopening Miitel, with an announcement likely to be made next month.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 12 months, Australia, business-economics-and-finance, Director David, discovery, Drilling Results, Grade Ore, industry, kalgoorlie, Kambalda, managing director, Mincor Resources, mining, nickel prices, wa

Remains of WWI diggers identified as brothers

April 10, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Two relatives of a New South Wales south coast man have been discovered buried in a mass war grave at Fromelles in France.

Shane Tough, from Basin View, says he recently received a call from the Department of Defence with the news.

Two brothers of Mr Tough’s great-grandmother were killed in World War I while serving in the 53rd Battalion.

He says despite his grandmother spending years documenting family history, the discovery came as a surprise.

“It was amazing. I just felt a real sense of being proud about the guys that went over there as Australian fighters and soldiers and in particular those guys that I was related to them,” he said.

Mr Tough says the bodies have been reburied and several family members have been invited to their memorial.

“There will be an inaugural ceremony rightfully fitting for all the soldiers on the 19th of July this year,” he said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 53rd, Australia, basin-view, battalion, community-and-society, Department Of Defence, Diggers, discovery, family history, family members, Fromelles, Great Grandmother, history, Human Interest, inaugural ceremony, New South Wales, nsw, relatives, Shane, south-coast, surprise, those guys, two brothers, War Grave, Wollongong, world war, world war 1

Three injured in drug lab blast

April 9, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Three men have been injured, one critically in an explosion at a suspected illegal drug laboratory in the Perth suburb of Doubleview.

Detective Sergeant Craig White says emergency services were called to the Huntriss Road duplex last night.

“As a result two people were quite badly injured, and one was superficially injured and we’ve got some officers from the other part of our team there at the moment,” he said.

“At this stage I believe there is a lab there and that may have been part of the reason why there was an explosion.”

One man is in a critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital and the other two injured men are stable.

Meanwhile, at Rockingham, south of Perth, a couple in their 30s are being questioned about the discovery of a methamphetamine lab at their house, a loaded shotgun, ammunition and cannabis was also found.

Police say they lived at the property with two children who are under 10 years old.

They have been taken into care.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 10 years, blast, Craig White, critical condition, detective sergeant, discovery, emergency services, explosion, illegal drug, methamphetamine, Methamphetamine Lab, one man, Perth Suburb, royal perth hospital, Shotgun Ammunition, three men

Progress in Rayney defamation case

April 8, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The lawyer for Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney says a major hurdle has been cleared in his client’s defamation case against the State of W-A.

Mr Rayney is suing the State over comments by police that he was the prime suspect in the 2007 murder of his wife Corryn.

Mr Rayney denies any involvement in her death and no one has been charged with her murder.

Today, W-A’s Chief Justice Wayne Martin ruled that Mr Rayney was allowed to include in his defamation claim comments by police in three news conferences, before the one in which they described him as a suspect.

His lawyer, Martin Bennett says the decision means a trial date may soon be set.

“So the matter can now proceed,” he said.

“This is the last of the major hurdles, pleadings out of the way we’re now into discovery, we’re now dealing with the action we now progress through to trial.

“We move now into the meaty part of giving discovering documents, proving the extent of loss and damage that Mr Rayney has suffered.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: barrister, Chief Justice, Defamation Case, Defamation Claim, discovery, extent, hurdle, hurdles, lawyer, Lloyd Rayney, Martin Bennett, news conferences, perth, Pleadings, Police News, prime suspect

NASA fuels space shuttle Discovery for launch

April 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 5 (Reuters) – NASA fueled space shuttle Discovery for launch early on Monday, hoping to kick off a 13-day resupply flight to the International Space Station.

Liftoff was set for 6:21 a.m. EDT (1021 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

With an 80 percent chance of good weather for the launch, technicians pumped 500,000 gallons (1.9 million litres) of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the shuttle’s fuel tank for the 8.5-minute climb into orbit.

If the shuttle launches on time, it will link up with the orbiting space station on Wednesday.

The station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations, is nearing completion after more than a decade of construction 220 miles (350 km) above Earth.

After Discovery’s flight, three shuttle missions remain to finish outfitting the orbital outpost.

NASA is preparing to retire Discovery and sister ships Atlantis and Endeavour by the end of the year due to cost and safety concerns. The shuttles have been the cornerstone of the U.S. human space flight program since 1981.

“We’ve managed to do tremendous things that could never have been done without the shuttle — building the space station and working with the Hubble (space telescope),” Discovery commander Alan Poindexter said in a prelaunch interview. “It’s just been a spectacular experience.”

What will follow is uncertain. President Barack Obama’s administration is planning to ax a $108-billion program to return astronauts to the moon in the 2020s. Obama plans to visit Florida on April 15 to rally support for a revamped space program built around technology development, environmental monitoring and commercial space initiatives.

Obama’s proposals include adding $6 billion to NASA’s budget over the next five years to seed development of space taxis to ferry astronauts to and from the space station.

With the shuttle’s retirement, Russia’s Soyuz capsules will the only vehicles available for crew transport, a service that costs the United States $51 million per seat.

The only other country that has launched people into orbit is China, which is not a member of the space station partnership.

Discovery’s four-man, three-woman crew will be delivering about 10 tons of equipment and supplies to the station, including an ammonia cooling system, a washroom, experiment racks and a freezer to hold experiment samples.

In addition to Poindexter, the crew includes pilot James Dutton, spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Clay Anderson, flight engineer Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, mission specialist Stephanie Wilson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. (Editing by Tom Brown and Chris Wilson)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Barack Obama, construction, discovery, Florida, retirement, Soyuz capsules

Shazam App for iPad Now Available on App Store

April 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Popular music app with 15 million iPhone and iPod touch users offers unlimited
tagging and multiple features which take advantage of revolutionary iPad

LONDON–(Business Wire)–
Shazam, the world`s leading mobile discovery provider, today announced its
Shazam App for iPad is now available on the App Store. The app is a specially
designed version of the globally popular music discovery app that lets users
identify new music and enjoy a rich music discovery experience that utilizes
some of the unique features of iPad such as its innovative Multi-Touch display.

“Shazam was one of the inaugural apps available when the App Store launched
nearly two years ago and we are delighted to be available for iPad at launch as
well,” said Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam. “We have enjoyed immense popularity on
iPhone and iPod touch, having accumulated more than 15 million users since the
summer of 2008, and the launch of our app for iPad extends the availability of
the best music discovery experience in a mobile environment.”

Shazam has utilized iPad`s innovative visualization features to give users the
option to browse, share and create their tag list in a new and unique way. For
example, when the app is initially opened, the user will immediately see the
latest Shazam charts and have the option of creating their own tag list by
adding any song from the Shazam chart to their list. For selected tracks, the
users would then have access to a comprehensive range of information such as
artist biographies, lyrics, discographies and more. Additionally, Shazam App
users on iPad can directly access the recommendations feature and add songs to
their tag list or just see added detail about a recommended track. On iPad,
Shazam users can build tag lists without ever having to identify a song, though
they can always still tag and discover new music through Shazam`s audio
recognition.

Shazam App for iPad features include:

* My Tags: Save and manage lists of tagged songs on a single screen to take
advantage of the large screen.
* Previews: Users can listen to a 30 second clip of Charts, Recommendations and
Tags before buying.
* Find what`s hot and popular: Shazam music charts generated by millions of
other Shazamers can be accessed in a new single screen layout to help users keep
up to date with the new tracks and players in the music scene.
* Share a music moment:Shazamers can send their Tags as a Tweet to followers; to
their Facebook mini-feed or even as a Postcard to friends so they can add the
Tag to their own collection in Shazam, as well as preview and buy direct from
iTunes.
* Music recommendations: Users can discover other music similar to the track
that`s been tagged to enhance their music collection and knowledge.
* Learn more about the music:Users can read track and album reviews and artist
biographies, plus see other music from the same artist and view song lyrics.

The Shazam App for iPad is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at
www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About Shazam Entertainment

Shazam is the world`s leading mobile discovery application – enabling consumers
to experience and share music with others across mobile devices and the
Internet. Since its launch as the first mobile-specific service to help users
discover new music seven years ago, over 50 million people have used the
service. Shazam has created a new way for users to connect to each other through
their music tastes and preferences.

Headquartered in London, England, Shazam`s solutions enhance the music
strategies of carriers in more than 200 countries, including AT&T, T-Mobile and
Vodafone. It has deployed across multiple platforms such as iPhone, BlackBerry,
Android, Symbian and Java.

The Shazam Tag Chart, generated by the company`s mobile music recognition
service, is constantly referenced by the music industry as a true indicator of
market interest in pre-release material and a monitor of the hit potential of a
track or artist.

Shazam`s successes have been recognized through numerous awards, including the
Mobile Entertainment Award for Best Music Service Provider.

For more information please visit www.shazam.com

The Shazam name and symbol are trademarks of Shazam Entertainment Limited.

Shazam Entertainment
For UK/Europe media enquiries:
Heather Forty, +44 207 608 4658
shazam@skywritecomms.com
or
For US media enquiries:
Greg Kalish, +1 516-665-3292
shazam@gkcomms.com

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Andrew Fisher, Artist Biographies, Audio Recognition, best music, business wire, ceo, discographies, discovery, Discovery Experience, immense popularity, Ipad, iPhone, ipod, launch, london business, Mobile Environment, multi-touch, Music Discovery, new music, Popular Music, preferences, Rich Music, Shazam, Shazam Users, Visualization Features

Post-mortem fails to reveal cause of Gold Coast death

March 31, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Police say a post-mortem examination has not revealed the cause of death of a 26-year-old woman whose body was found in parklands on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Tree loppers made the discovery at Mermaid Waters Monday afternoon.

Police will wait for further toxicology tests but at this stage, they say the death is not considered suspicious.

Brisbane body found

Meanwhile, police say a body found behind a set of shops in Brisbane on Tuesday morning is that of a 28-year-old Ipswich man.

Detectives were called to the shops on Cracknell Road at Annerley just before 10am (AEST).

Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the man’s death.

Police say at this stage the death is not thought to be suspicious.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: brisbane, Cause Of Death, death, discovery, gold coast, investigations, Man Detectives, Mermaid Waters, mermaid-waters-4218, monday afternoon, Mortem Examination, old woman, Parklands, police, post-mortem, Queensland, southport-4215, Toxicology Tests, tuesday morning

Museum hunts for shipwreck piece

March 30, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Maritime archaeologists are appealing for public help to track down part of an historic shipwreck which washed ashore in Geraldton during last week’s storms.

The WA Museum was alerted to the discovery of the 3.5 metre timber frame by a local resident who stumbled across it on Glenfield Beach.

The relic, believed to be from a mid-19th century shipwreck was removed before it could be retrieved and positively identified by the museum.

The museum’s regional manager, Catherine Belcher, says anyone with information on the whereabouts of the item is urged to call the museum.

“The more that the ocean reveals to us … the more the maritime archaeologists and conservators and historians are able to piece together that really rich and diverse history that we’re fortunate to have hear on our mid-west coast and of course the Abrolhos Islands as well,” she said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 19th Century, Abrolhos Islands, archaeologists, Belcher, conservators, discovery, Geraldton, geraldton-6530, historians, history, Mid West, Regional Manager, relic, shipwreck, storms, Timber Frame, Wa Museum, West Coast

Comedy promoter not laughing on way to bank

March 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Police are investigating allegations of theft from the recent the Big Joke Comedy Festival in Bangalow.

Festival Director Jay Allison says ticket sales and takings don’t match the number of people at each night, with more than $15,000 missing.

He estimates about a thousand people attended the four-day event.

Mr Allison says the discovery has shocked and saddened him.

“I did the reconcillation on Monday night, obviously exhausted after a busy weekend, and just went through everything again and again and again and started to realise there was at least six thousand dollars missing and that figure just grew over the last two days, probably up to about 15 and a half thousand,” Mr Allison said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: allegations, Bangalow, bangalow-2479, carnivals-and-festivals, comedy, comedy festival, Crime, Director Jay, discovery, Festival Director, Jay Allison, joke, monday night, promoter, Reconcillation, Takings, Thousand Dollars, ticket sales

Asbestos exposure claims at Kwinana power station

March 25, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The State Opposition says hundreds of workers at the Kwinana power station have potentially been exposed to deadly asbestos fibres.

Workers at the Verve operated plant have been sent home on paid leave after asbestos was detected at a demolition site yesterday.

The Opposition Leader Eric Ripper says if the power station is contaminated, the health of the workers is at risk.

Worksafe says Verve followed the correct procedures after the discovery of the asbestos.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: asbestos, Asbestos Claims, Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Fibres, Asbestos Workers, demolition, discovery, exposed, Health, kwinana-town-centre-6167, opposition leader, risk, state opposition, Verve, wa, Worksafe

Pair to front court after drug lab find

March 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Two people have been charged after the discovery of a drug laboratory on the Sunshine Coast.

Police allegedly found the lab on a property at Yandina yesterday.

A 36-year-old man has been charged with five offences, including possession of a dangerous drug, and a 32-year-old woman has been charged with failing to take reasonable care with a syringe and unlawful possession of glassware.

The couple are due to appear in court next month.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Australia, caloundra-4551, community-and-society, Crime, Dangerous Drug, discovery, Drug Lab, drug offences, drugs-and-substance-abuse, law-crime-and-justice, old man, old woman, police, Qld, Reasonable Care, sunshine coast, syringe, unlawful possession, yandina-4561

Patel performed ‘wrong operation on the wrong patient’

March 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The trial in Brisbane’s Supreme Court of former Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel has heard he performed the wrong operation on the wrong patient.

Patel, 59, has pleaded not guilty to three manslaughter charges and one of grievous bodily harm.

One of the manslaughter counts relates to Patel’s treatment of James Edward Phillips.

Prosecutor Ross Martin has continued opening the Crown case by providing more details of an oesophagectomy that Patel performed on Mr Phillips.

Mr Martin said it was a major procedure and Mr Phillips was already in poor health.

It was described as a tragic case because Mr Phillips could have been treated in less dangerous and invasive ways.

Mr Martin also said medical evidence would show a doctor should perform at least six oesophagectomies a year to maintain a reasonable level of skill.

He said Patel performed four oesophagectomies during his time at Bundaberg and did not have the experience to perform the operation.

Mr Martin outlined the case of another patient not the subject of charges against Patel.

He said James Grave underwent an oesophagectomy in 2003.

The Court heard Mr Grave’s condition deteriorated and doctors at Bundaberg tried to arrange a transfer to a larger intensive care unit.

Mr Martin said Patel reacted by saying “if this patient leaves, I’ll resign” and would not cooperate.

He said Mr Grave was later sent to Brisbane’s Mater Hospital where his condition eventually improved.

The trial has also heard Patel told a patient he was going to “whip out” his bowel because it did not like his body.

Ian Vowels was 56 in 2004 when Patel removed his bowel after the discovery of a non-malignant polyp.

Mr Martin said when Mr Vowels questioned the need to remove his bowel when the polyp was benign, Patel said “your bowel doesn’t like your body. We’ll whip it out”.

Patel assured Mr Vowels he would be running around like a horse in no time.

Mr Martin said the operation should not have been done by Patel at all.

The prosecutor also told the court Patel ignored a stipulated order issued by the State of Oregon’s Board of Medical Examiners after his repeated acts of negligence in the US.

The order refers to restrictions on his ability to perform surgery and the mandatory requirement that he seek second opinions on complicated surgical cases.

Mr Martin said Patel did not tell anyone at Bundaberg about the order and there was no evidence he sought second opinions or documented them as required.

The trial continues.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Australia, brisbane, brisbane-4000, bundaberg-4670, courts-and-trials, Crime, discovery, doctors, Edward Phillips, grievous bodily harm., intensive care unit, law-crime-and-justice, Malignant Polyp, manslaughter charges, Mater Hospital, medical evidence, mr phillips, murder-and-manslaughter, oesophagectomy, poor health, prosecutor, Qld, ross martin, Supreme Court, Tragic Case, Vowels

Asbestos report questioned

March 20, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

A Clarence Valley resident says the local council’s response to the discovery of asbestos in gravel from one of its own quarries has been inadequate.

Traces of asbestos were discovered in the material late last year, and roads on which it had been used have since been sealed.

But Ewingar man Michael Mizzi says he is dissatisfied with a report the Clarence Valley Council has prepared on the issue.

Mr Mizzi says he is worried about what might have happened before the discovery was made.

“Nobody knows how many people have been exposed to this and it only takes a very small amount of asbestos to enter your lungs to create the possibility of disease further on in the future,” Mr Mizzi said.

“What has happened in the time that this material has been left to lie on the roads? That is between September and December last year.

“We don’t know how many people have been exposed to it, it was a very dry time of the year, it was a time when dust storms went through the area as well, so we’re not really sure what council is doing as far as that’s concerned.

“The council should at least contact residents and ask them to voice their concerns and get some input from the residents as to what they would like council to do.”

The council’s deputy general manager, Ron Donges, says he is still waiting for advice from the Health Department.

“We haven’t heard back from them yet and so we really can’t take that next step,” Mr Donges said.

“They’ve got the report and we’re waiting for their response, I think when it comes to the delegation of authority the health issues are best handled by the Department of Health and we’ll take their advice on that.”

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: asbestos, Clarence Valley Council, Delegation Of Authority, department of health, Deputy General, discovery, donges, Dry Time, dust storms, gravel, health department, health issues, local council, lungs, Man Michael, Mizzi, Quarries, traces