WISER for Android 2.0 Now Available

NLM Technical Bulletin 15 May 2013

WISER for Android 2.0 is now available and can be installed directly from the Google Play Store. Here’s a look at what’s new in this release.

WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) is a system designed to assist first responders in hazardous material incidents. WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression advice.

WISER now fully integrates content from the Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) Web site. This integration includes:

• New hospital provider and preparedness planner profiles
• Acute care guidelines for six known mass casualty agents/agent classes
• The addition of a wealth of CHEMM reference material
• CHEMM Intelligent Syndrome Tool (CHEMM-IST), a new help identify tool designed to diagnose the type of chemical exposure after a mass casualty incident

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Tutorials for WISER are available here

Scientists clone human embryos to make stem cells

ABC News 16 May 2013

Scientists have made a long-awaited breakthrough in human cloning, by using human skin cells to create early-stage embryos.

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Scientists lament budget’s lack of vision

ABC News Jake Sturmer 15 May 2013

Looking forward, but not far enough – that is the verdict of the 2013 budget from scientists.

The Australian Academy of Science says there is no long-term vision for Australia’s future, claiming the budget represents a missed opportunity.

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Coronavirus – the next pandemic?

On Line Opinion Peter Curson 15 May 2013

Here we go again, or do we? Currently we are witnessing the emergence of a new SARS-like coronavirus which seems to have been spreading throughout some Middle East Countries over the last year. So far a small number of cases have been identified of which at least half seem to have been contracted in hospitals. Are we seeing a return of the SARS scenario where hospitals and their staff played a major role in the spread of a deadly infection?

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Passenger car drivers are more likely to die in crashes with SUVs, regardless of crash ratings

(University at Buffalo 14 May 2013) Most consumers who are shopping for a new car depend on good crash safety ratings as an indicator of how well the car will perform in a crash. But a new University at Buffalo study of crashes involving cars and sport utility vehicles has found those crash ratings are a lot less relevant than vehicle type.

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Stupid science funding decisions? Australia’s not the only dunce

The Converstation Jonathan Borwein, David H Bailey 13 May 2013

The Australian government’s ironic and perverse decision to better fund schools at the expense of already-promised university funding would make for a good episode of the 1980s sitcom Yes, Prime Minister. Sadly such colossal stupidity, announced last month, is no laughing matter.

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Explainer: what is the new coronavirus?

The Converstation Charles Watson 14 May 2013

Over the past six months a new coronavirus has come to light, beginning with cases in the Middle East, but spreading to Europe. There have been over 30 cases of infection so far, 24 in Saudi Arabia, where over half of those infected have died. Cases in Europe have been linked to travellers returning from the Arabian Peninsula.  The agent has been called novel coronavirus 2012 (officially London1 novel CoV 2012). The virus is in the same family as the SARS virus, but has some different biological features.

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‘Weight loss gut bacterium’ found

BBC News James Gallagher 14 May 2013

Bacteria that live in the gut have been used to reverse obesity and Type-2 diabetes in animal studies.  Research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a broth containing a single species of bacteria could dramatically alter the health of obese mice.

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New coronavirus – Q and A

The Guardian UK James Meikle Alok Jha 13 May 2013

What are the symptoms of infection with the coronavirus, how contagious is it, and where has it come from?  A series of Q & A about the new coronavirus which can be passed between human, but only after prolonged contact.

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UN report says insects could be food of the future

ABC News 14 May 2013

The thought of eating insects like maggots, beetles, caterpillars and ants may give you the creeps, but a United Nations report says they may be the food of the future.

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