LOS ANGELES - Scientists believe NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander exposed bits of ice while recently digging a trench in the soil of the Martian arctic, the mission’s principal investigator said Thursday.

Crumbs of bright material initially photographed in the trench later vanished, meaning they must have been frozen water that vaporized after being exposed, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said in a statement.

"These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it’s ice," Smith said. "There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can’t do that."

Phoenix Mars is studying whether the arctic region of the Red Planet could be habitable. The probe is using its robotic arm to dig up soil samples, and scientists hope it will find frozen water.

Read more on yahoo.com

written by Andrew

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Britain’s drive for tighter EU sanctions against Iran’s oil and gas sector slowed Thursday as European diplomats — facing consumer protests over soaring fuel prices — said any new measures in that area were unlikely for months.

The European Union hesitancy comes despite growing sentiment among many of the bloc’s individual nations that tougher steps are needed to keep Iran from turning its nuclear activities into weapons.

Still, the diplomatic assessment represents a setback to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who assured President Bush this week that the EU would soon start a "new phase of sanctions on oil and gas."

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written by Andrew

LONDON - Doctors have long suspected that people with herpes are more likely to catch HIV. So they thought that by treating herpes, they could also cut a person’s HIV risk. But a new study that tested this strategy found the assumption may have been wrong.

Researchers tracked more than 3,000 men and women infected with herpes in Africa, Peru and the United States. Roughly half were treated with aciclovir, an antiviral that stops herpes ulcers.

After a year and a half, the scientists found that 75 people out of the 1,581 who had been receiving aciclovir were later infected with HIV. Of the 1,591 people who received placebo pills, 64 contracted HIV.

Read more on yahoo.com

written by Andrew

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - President Bush, surveying the aftermath of devastating floods during a lightning-quick tour of the Midwest on Thursday, assured residents and rescuers alike that he is listening to their concerns and understands their exhaustion.

"Obviously, to the extent we can help immediately, we will help," said Bush, still mindful of criticism that the government reacted slowly to Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

"You’ll come back better," the president said while being briefed by state and local officials at a cinderblock emergency operations center set up at a community college here, part of a three-hour tour. "Sometimes it’s hard to see it."

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written by Andrew

Pe-un picior de plai
Unde habar n-ai
Iata vin cu tot
La aeroport
Jucatori - vedete
Cu cercei si plete,
Ghiuluri, celulare,
Si cu girofare

Se vor îmbarca
Cu toti vor pleca
Spre un campionat
De toti asteptat
Cam de vreo opt ani
Sperante si bani,
Ni s-a împlinit
Pohta ce-am pohtit

Ne-au aruncat sortii
Într-o grupa a mortii,
Cu dârzi olandezi,
Cu cocosi francezi
Si italieni
Iuti si cam vicleni.

Cu toti am crezut
De la început,
Biata Miorita
Va fi chisalita,
Vom fi niste miei
În groapa cu lei,
Cu toti ne gândeam
Si ne planuiam
De la început
Nu-i nimic pierdut,
Sa jucam frumos
Si spectaculos,
Orice gol marcat
Sau punct câstigat
Va fi pretuit
Si sarbatorit…

Umpluti de emotii,
Am înfruntat sortii
Jucând primul meci
C-o echipa - terci,
De cocosi francezi
Ce ai nostri iezi
De se-nvârtosau,
Sigur o bateau.

Dar am remizat
C-un zero barat
Într-un meci închis
De mare plictis…

Apoi a urmat,
Meciul asteptat,
Mare tevatura
Cu echipa azura,
Ce fusese încinsa,
Umilita, învinsa,
De niste batavi
Aprigi rau si bravi.

Dumnezeu din cer
Si c-un tusier
Mult ne-au ajutat,
Gol le-au anulat,
Si-un italian
Putin cam plavan,
S-a cam bâlbâit,
Direct l-a servit
Pe al nostru Mutu,
Care a dat cu sutu’
Le-a bagat-o în plasa
Si mortul în casa.

Dar nu a tinut
Decât un minut,
Ca ne-au egalat
Dintr-un gol ciudat,
Caci un brav fundas
Zis Gabi Tamas,
Da pe lânga minge
Si meciul se-ncinge.

Nenea flueras
Cu capul golas,
Ne face cadou
Ca la anul nou,
Un pinalti mare
De calificare,
Numa’ gol sa dai,
Ca noroc tot ai…

Intra iar în scena,
Vedeta eterna
Tot Mutu suteaza
Si normal, rateaza!
În toata splendoarea
Si calificarea…

Acum olandezii
Au batut francezii,
Facând cu ei bors
Zeama de cocos.

Bietii nostri iezi
Spun la olandezi
S-o lase mai moale,
Capul nu-i mai doare
Sunt calificati
Si-ar fi câstigati,
Meciul lor sa-l dea,
Atunci ar scapa
De italieni
Care sunt vicleni,
Sarmanii francezi
Vad doar stele verzi,
Sunt împrastiati,
Descalificati.

În al treilea joc,
Nu mai era loc
Sa se speculeze,
Sa se parieze,
Miorita laie
Iese la bataie,
Ca e favorita
De lume iubita,
Temutii batavi
Nu mai sunt chiar bravi,
Vor sa se conserve
Au bagat rezerve,
Sunt buni de batut
De la început.

Joaca relaxat,
Rateaza distrat,
Ai nostri stresati
Cad ca secerati,
Cu fundul pe jos
Si joaca fricos.

Dica parca doarme,
Mutu are toane,
Contra are treaba
Tot cade prin iarba,
Banel tot alearga
Mingea s-o culeaga,
Si face marcaj
La kilometraj,
Iar bietul Piturca
E satul de turca,
Schimba disperat
Dar s-a terminat!

Meciul s-a sfârsit,
Rau ne-au umilit,
Jucând cu rezerve
Iar noi cu conserve.

Vor veni în tara,
Pentru a câta oara?
Spunând raspicat:
IARASI AM RATAT!

written by Andrew

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the season because of surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee, an injury that has troubled him for last 10 months despite winning nine of 12 tournaments.

Woods also said he suffered a double stress fracture of his left tibia while preparing to return to the PGA Tour last month, which forced him to miss the Memorial and was the source of his pain at Torrey Pines where he won the U.S. Open.

He had arthroscopic surgery April 15 to clean out cartilage in his left knee, bypassing ACL surgery with hopes it could get him through the 2008 season. But going 91 holes for his 14th career major made it impossible to play any longer.

Read more on CNN.com

written by Andrew

When I moved into my apartment three years ago, the first thing I did after I tipped the movers was sit down on a box, crack open my laptop and sniff the air for wi-fi signals. And I found them: my apartment was chock-full of delicious, invisible data, ripe for the plucking. You couldn’t say I made a conscious decision at that exact moment to become a criminal. But it definitely got a lot harder not to be a criminal.

For the next three years, I didn’t pay for Internet access. Instead, I got online via the unsecured wireless networks of my neighbors….

Read more on time.com

written by Andrew

NEW YORK (AP) — In just five hours, the new version of the Firefox Web browser had as many downloads as its predecessor got during its entire first day, the software’s developers say.

Firefox 3 reached 1.6 million downloads by early evening Tuesday to match Firefox 2’s first-day downloads.

In the opening hours, Firefox’s Web site was distributing nearly 9,000 copies of the free software every minute.

Downloads continued Wednesday as Firefox supporters sought to set a world record for most software downloads in a 24-hour period.

The category is new, and Guinness World Records must certify it, a process that could take a week or longer.

Tuesday’s release was delayed as visitors checking for the update overloaded Firefox’s Web servers.

Read more on CNN.com

written by Andrew

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) – The son of "The Godfather" creator Mario Puzo sued Paramount Pictures on Wednesday, claiming the studio failed to pay royalties from a 2006 video game based on the book and movie characters.

Anthony Puzo of New York claims in a court filing that he represents his father’s estate and is seeking more than $1 million in damages for breach of contract.

The suit seeks damages for a game created by Electronic Arts, which was not named in the lawsuit that prominently features elements of the film.

Read more on CNN.com

written by Andrew

"Briliantul" si-a asumat vina pentru eliminarea Nationalei de la Euro 2008, considerand ca lovitura de la 11 metri ratata in partida cu Italia ne-ar fi calificat pentru "sferturi". "Am pe constiinta penalty-ul ratat la fel cum l-ar fi avut orice alt jucator care nu ar fi inscris", a declarat Mutu. 

"Nesansa a fost sa nu ne calificam, am fost obositi, iar la pauza am aflat de scorul de la Zürich. A trebuit sa schimbam tactica. Puteam sa ne calificam daca treceam de Italia. Sper sa-mi iau revansa in preliminariile pentru Mondiale. Stiu ce se asteapta de la mine, am incercat sa joc pentru echipa. Nu suntem la nivelul celor trei echipe, asta s-a vazut si o stiam si noi. Am jucat defensiv si distructiv, pentru ca altfel pierdeam cu 0-3. Am iesit onorabil", a spus Mutu.

Citeste tot articolul pe infoportal.ro

written by Andrew