of the saint, and that mere enrollment in the roman martyrology does not by any means imply this honour ( benedict xiv, l, c., xliii, no 14 ). is the pope infallible in issuing a decree of canonization? most theologians answer in the affirmative. it is the opinion of st. antoninus, melchior cano, suarez, bellarmine, banez, vasquez, and, among the canonists, of gonzales tellez, fagnanus, schmalzgruber, barbosa, reiffenstul, covarruvias ( variar. resol., i, x, no 13 ), albitius ( de inconstantia in fide, xi, no 205 ), petra ( comm. in const. apost., i, in notes to const. i, alex., iii, no 17 sqq. ), joannes a s. thoma ( on ii - ii, q. i, disp. 9, a. 2 ), silvester ( summa, s. v. canonizatio ), del bene ( de officio inquisit. ii, dub. 253 ), and many others. in quodlib. ix, a. 16, st. thomas says : " since the honour we pay the saints is in a certain sense a profession of faith, i. e., a belief in the glory of the saints [ qua sanctorum gloriam credimus ] we must piously believe that in this matter also the judgment of the church is not liable to error. " these words of st. thomas, as is evident from the authorities just cited, all favouring a positive infallibility, have been interpreted by his school in favour of papal infallibility in the matter of canonization, and this interpretation is supported by several other passages in the same quodlibet. this infallibility, however according to the holy doctor, is only a point of pious belief. theologians generally agree as to the fact of papal infallibility in this matter of canonization, but disagree as to the quality of certitude due to a papal decree in such matter. in the opinion of some it is of faith ( arriaga, de fide, disp. 9, p. 5, no 27 ) ; others hold that to refuse assent to such a judgment of the holy see would be both impious and rash


the opinion of some it is of faith ( arriaga, de fide, disp. 9, p. 5, no 27 ) ; others hold that to refuse assent to such a judgment of the holy see would be both impious and rash, as francisco suarez ( de fide, disp. 5 p. 8, no 8 ) ; many more ( and this is the general view ) hold such a pronouncement to be theologically certain, not being of divine faith as its purport has not been immediately revealed, nor of ecclesiastical faith as having thus far not been defined by the church. what is the object of this infallible judgment of the pope? does he define that the person canonized is in heaven or only that he has practiced christian virtues in an heroic degree? i have never seen this question discussed ; my own opinion is that nothing else is defined than that the person canonized is in heaven. the formula used in the act of canonization has nothing more than this : " in honour of... we decree and define that blessed n. is a saint, and we inscribe his name in the catalogue of saints, and order that his memory by devoutly and piously celebrated yearly on the... day of... his feast. " ( ad honorem... beatum n. sanctum esse decernimus et definimus ac sanctorum catalogo adscribimus statuentes ab ecclesia universali illius memoriam quolibet anno, die ejus natali... pia devotione recoli debere. ) there is no question of heroic virtue in this formula ; on the other hand, sanctity does not necessarily imply the exercise of heroic virtue, since one who had not hitherto practised heroic virtue would, by the one transient heroic act in which he yielded up his life for christ, have justly deserved to be considered a saint. this view seems all the more certain if we reflect that all the arguments of theologians for papal infallibility in the canonization of saints are based on the fact that on such occasions the popes believe and assert that the decision which they publish is infallible ( pesch, prael. dogm., i, 552 ). this general agreement of theologians as to papal infallibility in canonization must not be extended to beatification, not withstanding the contrary teaching of the canonical commentary known as " glossa " [ in cap. un


, i, 552 ). this general agreement of theologians as to papal infallibility in canonization must not be extended to beatification, not withstanding the contrary teaching of the canonical commentary known as " glossa " [ in cap. un. de reliquiis et venerat. ss. ( iii, 22 ) in 6 ; innocent., comm. in quinque decretalium libros, tit. de reliquiis, etc., no 4 ; ostiensis in eumd. tit. no 10 ; felini, cap. lii, de testibus, etc., x ( ii, 20 ) ; caietani, tract. de indulgentiis adversus lutherum ad julium mediceum ; augustini de ancona, seu triumphi, de potestate eccl., q. xiv, a. 4 ). canonists and theologians generally deny the infallible character of decrees of beatification, whether formal or equivalent, since it is always a permission, not a command ; while it leads to canonization, it is not the last step. moreover, in most cases, the cultus permitted by beatification, is restricted to a determined province, city, or religious body ( benedict xiv, op. cit., i, xlii ). some, however, have thought otherwise ( arriaga, theol., v, disp. 7, p. 6 ; amicus, theol., iv, disp. 7, p. 4, no 98 ; turrianus on ii - ii, v, disp. 17, no 6 ; del bene, de s. inquisit. ii, dub. 254 ). we must first distinguish causes of martyrs from those of confessors or virgins, since the method followed is not entirely identical in both cases. in order to secure beatification ( the most important and difficult step in the process of canonization ) the regular procedure is as follows : this procedure is followed in all cases of formal beatification in causes of both confessors and martyrs proposed in the ordinary way ( per viam non cultus ). those proposed as coming under the definition of cases excepted ( casus excepti ) by urban viii are treated in another way. in such cases it must be proved that an immemorial public veneration ( at least for 100 years before the promulgation, in 1640, of


excepted ( casus excepti ) by urban viii are treated in another way. in such cases it must be proved that an immemorial public veneration ( at least for 100 years before the promulgation, in 1640, of the decrees of urban viii ) has been paid the servant of god, whether confessor or martyr. such cause is proposed under the title of " confirmation of veneration " ( de confirmatione cultus ) ; it is dealt with in an ordinary meeting of the congregation of rites. when the difficulties of the promotor of the faith have been satisfied, a pontifical decree confirming the cultus is promulgated. beatification of this kind is called equivalent or virtual. the canonization of confessors or martyrs may be taken up as soon as two miracles are reported to have been worked at their intercession, after the pontifical permission of public veneration as described above. at this stage it is only required that the two miracles worked after the permission awarding a public cultus be discussed in three meetings of the congregation. the discussion proceeds in the ordinary way ; if the miracles be confirmed another meeting ( super tuto ) is held. the pope then issues a bull of canonization in which he not only permits, but commands, the public cultus, or veneration, of the saint. it is with the utmost possible brevity that i have described the elements of a process of beatification or canonization. it may be easily conjectured that considerable time must elapse before any cause of beatification or canonization can be conducted, from the first steps of the information, inquiry, or process, to the issuing of the decree super tuto. according to the constitution of this congregation, more than one important discussion ( dubia majora ) cannot be proposed at the same time. it must be remembered it will not be out of place to give succinctly the ordinary actual expenses of canonization and beatification. of these expenses some are necessary others merely discretionary, e. g. the expenses incurred in obtaining the different rescripts ) others, though necessary, are not specified. such are the expenses of the solemnity in the vatican basilica, and for paintings representing the newly beatified which are afterwards presented to the pope, the cardinals, officials, and consultors of the congregation of rites. the limits of this class of expenses depend on the postulator of the cause. if he chooses to spend a moderate sum the entire cause from the first process to the solemn


pope, the cardinals, officials, and consultors of the congregation of rites. the limits of this class of expenses depend on the postulator of the cause. if he chooses to spend a moderate sum the entire cause from the first process to the solemn beatification will not cost him less than $ 20, 000. the expenses of the process from beatification to canonization will easily exceed $ 30, 000. in illustration of this we subjoin the final account of the expenses of the public solemnities in the vatican basilica for the canonization by leo xiii, of saints anthony maria zaccaria and peter fourier, as published by the most rev. diomede panici, titular archbishop of laodicea, then secretary of the congregation of rites. to decoration of the basilica, lights, architectural designs, labour, and superintendence lire 152, 840. 58 procession, pontifical mass, preparation of altars in basilica 8, 114. 58 cost of gifts presented to holy father 1, 438. 87 hangings, sacred vestments, etc. 12, 990. 60 recompense for services and money loaned 3, 525. 07 to the vatican chapter as perquisites for decorations and candles 18, 000. 00 propine and competenza 16, 936. 00 incidental and unforeseen expenses 4, 468, 40 total 221, 849. 10 or ( taking the lira equivalent to $. 193 in 1913 united states money ) $ 42, 816. 87. apa citation. ( 1907 ). beatification and canonization. in the catholic encyclopedia. new york : robert appleton company. http : / / www. newadvent. org / cathen / 02364b. htm mla citation. " beatification and canonization. " the catholic encyclopedia. vol. 2. new york : robert appleton company, 1907. < http : / / www. newadvent. org / cathen / 02364b. htm >. transcription. this article was transcribed for new advent by janet grayson. ecclesiastical approbation. nihil obstat. 1907. remy lafort, s. t. d., censor. imprimatur. + john m. farley, archbishop of new york. contact information. the editor of new advent is kevin knight. my email address is feedback732 at newadvent. org. ( to help fight spam, this address might change occasionally. ) regrettably, i can


how is global warming responsible for the death of corals? submitted by : ng jing yi global warming has increased the temperature of our tropical oceans by about a degree over the last hundred years. this has increased the chance that corals will undergo something called coral bleaching, which is where the plant - like symbionts inside corals ( also called zooxanthellae ) leave their tissues. the symbionts are important to corals because they give them energy ( trapped from our sun ) which they use to grow and maintain themselves. when they bleached, and loose the symbionts, they are more susceptible to disease and death. since 1979, there have been six episodes of mass coral bleaching across the planet. there are none reported before 1979. they have all been driven by small stressful temperatures, often only 1 - 2oc above the long - term summer maxima. in some episodes, such as that that happened in 1998, over 16 % of the world ’ s corals have died. given that corals build the habitat in which over one million species live, this is a very worrying impact of global warming on the planet ’ s tropical oceans. answer by : prof. ove hoegh - guldberg, director, centre for marine studies, university of queensland, australia. deputy director, arc centre for excellence in coral reef studies ; blog : www. climateshifts. org


- wikipedia contributors. 28 jun. 2007. " colorado river ". wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http : / / en. wikipedia. org / wiki / colorado _ river ( 15 jun. 2007 ). - atkins, william. " colorado river basin ". water encyclopedia http : / / www. waterencyclopedia. com / ce - cr / colorado - river - basin. html ( 15 jun. 2007 ). once great river struggles to reach the sea the natural course of the river flows into the gulf of california, but the heavy use of the river as an irrigation source for the imperial valley has desiccated the lower course of the river in mexico such that it no longer consistently reaches the sea. the lower course of the river, which forms the border between baja california and sonora, is essentially a trickle or a dry stream today due to use of the river as imperial valley ' s irrigation source. prior to the mid 20th century, the colorado river delta provided a rich estuarine marshland that is now essentially desiccated, but nonetheless is an important ecological resource. the colorado river is a major and in some cases life - sustaining source of water for irrigation, drinking, and other uses by people living in the arid american southwest. allocation of the river ' s water is governed by the colorado river compact. several dams have been built along the colorado river, beginning with glen canyon dam near the utah - arizona border. other dams include hoover dam, parker dam, davis dam, palo verde diversion dam, and imperial dam. almost 90 % of all water diverted from the river is for irrigation purposes. the all - american canal is the largest irrigation canal in the world - larger in volume than new york ' s hudson river. several cities such as los angeles, las vegas, san diego, phoenix, and tucson have aqueducts leading all the way back to the colorado river. since the completion of the dams, the majority of the river in normal hydrologic years is diverted for agricultural and municipal water supply. the colorado ' s last drops evaporate in the sonoran desert, miles before the river reaches the gulf of california. historically the flow of water in the river was much higher before water usage began in the basin and since the construction of massive dams on the lower course of the river, large floods are now rare. mexico & us > 17 million the colorado river basin is home to fourteen native species of fish. four are endemic and endangered : colorado pikeminnow ( formerly colorado squawfish ), razorback sucker


zurich, switzerland - 13 jan 2012 : ibm scientists have developed a flexible, non - contact microfluidic probe made from silicon that can aid researchers and pathologists to investigate critical tissue samples accurately for drug discovery and disease diagnostics. tissue staining is widely used in pathology to detect disease markers in a patient ’ s sample. more specifically, a particular disease marker is bound with an antibody, which is then chemically colored or stained on the tissue. the intensity of the color classifies and determines the extent of a disease. tissue staining is a tedious process with many chemical steps analogous to developing photographs, whereby excessive chemical solution or long exposures can overdevelop the sample or photograph. in the context of pathology, this can cause false positives and negatives, which can lead to misdiagnosis. according to a report issued by johns hopkins hospital, of 6, 171 biopsy slides that were sent from late 2008 for a second review, pathologists disagreed with the diagnosis on 86 of them. obtaining a biopsy is an invasive procedure for the patient, so small samples are taken whenever possible. pathologists are determined to gain as much information as possible from these small samples, which can be only a few millimeters in length. working at this scale requires staining to be performed on many thin slices of the sample to identify and sub - type diseases such as cancer, for treatment. pathologists are often challenged in performing a sufficient number of important tests on these limited samples, critical for personalized treatment strategies. “ a key aspect of taking clinical samples is to ensure a high diagnostic capability while minimizing patient discomfort — the probe developed by ibm scientists does exactly that. the probe allows one to stain a very small section of a tissue with virtually any biomarker that may be clinically relevant. this capability allows the clinician to not only do more with a smaller sample, but will also allow the use of multiple stains on the same sample, therefore increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis. thus this work may be transformative for diagnosing a variety of ailments ranging from cancer to cardiac disease, ” said prof. dr. ali khademhosseini, associate professor at harvard medical school and brigham and women ' s hospital. to address these important challenges, ibm scientists in zurich are reporting today in the peer - reviewed journal lab on a chip an innovative proof - of - concept technology called the microfluidic probe, which can accurately stain tissue sections at the micrometer scale. the eight millimeter -


ibm scientists in zurich are reporting today in the peer - reviewed journal lab on a chip an innovative proof - of - concept technology called the microfluidic probe, which can accurately stain tissue sections at the micrometer scale. the eight millimeter - wide, diamond - shaped probe consists of a silicon microfluidic head with two microchannels at each tip. similar to an inkjet printer cartridge, the head injects the liquid on the surface, but then unlike a printer, it continuously aspirates the liquid to prevent spreading and accumulation on the surface, which can lead to overexposure. specifically for tissue section analysis, the probe can deliver an antibody very locally in a selected area of a tissue section with pinpoint accuracy. since analysis can be done on spots and lines instead of on the entire tissue section, the tissue is better preserved for additional tests, if required. in addition, only a few picoliters ( one trillionth of a liter ) of liquid containing antibodies are needed for each analysis spot. “ we have developed a proof - of - concept technology, which i hope puts pathology on a modern roadmap — benefiting from the latest developments in silicon - based microfluidics, ” said govind kaigala, a scientist at ibm research - zurich. he adds, “ this new approach will enable pathologists to stain tissue samples with micrometer precision and easily perform multiple tissue stains on limited samples. ” this research is based on ibm ’ s decades of experience with silicon, which is now being applied to novel micro and nanotechnologies to solve today ’ s greatest challenges ranging from energy production and consumption to healthcare. the microfluidic probe fits to standard workflows in conventional pathology. in addition, it is compatible with current biochemical staining systems and is resistant to a broad range of chemicals. the small size of the probe also enables easy viewing of the sample from above and below by an inverted microscope commonly used in research and clinical laboratories. prof. dr. khademhosseini said, “ the developed system may have great potential in applications where sample size and the need for testing various types of biological analysis are required. i am confident that one day such approach will enable us to take small tissue biopsies and be able to obtain significantly more information. ” ibm scientists will continue to test and improve the probe and potentially begin using it in laboratory environments in the next several months. in addition, the team plans to explore specific clinical applications, possibly with partners in the field


center of science, policy and society programs : aaas dialogue on science, ethics and religion aaas dialogue on science, ethics and religion physics & the cosmos the field of physics attempts to make sense of the universe at all scales, from the impossibly small particles from which we are comprised to the inconceivably large structures within which we exist. the miniscule yet fundamentally important realm of quarks, photons and protons ( among many others ) is articulated by quantum mechanics through such concepts as the simultaneously wave and particle nature of light and the inherent uncertainty in the physical universe. at the other extreme, einstein ’ s general relativity provides a framework for understanding our cosmos on the largest possible scale and accounts for the large - scale gravitational effects of all matter on space and time. from quarks to quasars, physics and astronomy address an enormous variety of objects and phenomena, many of which provoke intriguing physical and metaphysical questions. since the beginning of human history we have been looking up at the night sky, wondering about the countless points of lights and what might lie beyond. ancient astronomers observed that the visible heavens are relatively ordered and predictable, yet also peculiar and vast. such universally experienced mystery has engendered tremendous philosophical, religious, and scientific inquiry. the last several hundred years in particular have witnessed revolutions in the way we understand the universe. copernicus re - envisioned the cosmos as sun - centered, not earth - centered. galileo observed jupiter ’ s orbiting moons and the sun ’ s “ imperfect ” spots that led him to challenge the traditional greek conceptions of the heavens. indeed, both religious and scientific communities have had to regularly revise their understanding of the cosmos as more discoveries come to light. modern astronomy and physics continue to reveal many unanticipated features of the universe ’ s structure and evolution. astrophysicists theorize that all space, matter and energy expanded explosively from an extremely dense soup of subatomic particles in an event called the big bang. after a process of cooling and coalescing, cloudlike nebulae of gas and dust collapsed to form stars, and these stars clustered to comprise galaxies. eventually, terrestrial planets and moons were forged from the heavier material expelled from dying stars. over an unimaginably long span of time — approximately 13. 7 billion years — the components of the universe gradually formed, and today the universe continues to evolve as space itself dramatically expands. in addition to piecing together the intricate history of the universe and explaining the various objects we see around us


— approximately 13. 7 billion years — the components of the universe gradually formed, and today the universe continues to evolve as space itself dramatically expands. in addition to piecing together the intricate history of the universe and explaining the various objects we see around us, astronomers also seek to predict what the future may hold for the cosmos. however, such projections are constrained by the limits of our current understanding and by uncertainties inherent in many physical processes. as a result, recent cosmological models are not only plentiful but also often directly contradictory. will the expansion of the universe continue to accelerate until space is torn apart in a “ big rip? ” will the currently expanding universe eventually begin contracting, leading to a “ big crunch ” and potentially another big bang? could it be that this universe is only one of an infinite number of other universes? discussion of the universe ’ s turbulent past and uncertain future raises many socially relevant questions including : how does the vastness of space inform our conception of humanity ’ s role in the universe? more locally, a notable feature of our planet is that it contains conditions suitable for an incredible diversity of life. perhaps even more remarkable, however, is the fact that astronomers are discovering a multitude of planets orbiting other stars, some of which may share these conditions and some of which may also host life. such discoveries would impact our perceptions about human uniqueness, significance and purpose, and we must be prepared to address and explore the implications. the realm of physics and astronomy is wide ( physically and metaphorically! ), and it spurs questions foundational to religion, philosophy, and human significance. advances in particle physics, cosmology, astrobiology and energy are sure to yield abundant fodder for socially relevant discussions over the coming years. see doser ' s work related to physics & the cosmos


when all data are not created equally t idewater areas can be difficult places to acquire consistent - quality seismic data, because different sources have to be used across exposed land surfaces than what are used across shallow - water areas. typically, explosives are used in shot holes in the onshore portion of a tidewater prospect, whereas environmental regulations may require that an air - gun source be used in shallow - water areas. these two seismic sources produce different basic wavelets – and profiles produced with explosives and air guns rarely tie in an optimal manner at common image coordinates without using wavelet - shaping algorithms to create equivalent reflection character across targeted intervals. an example of using an explosive source and an air - gun source across a louisiana tidewater area is documented as figures 1 and 2. this shallow - water test line was recorded twice because, at this location, explosive sources were allowed. for one profile, the source was a 30 - pound ( 13. 6 - kilogram ) charge positioned at a depth of 135 feet ( 41 meters ) at each source station. for the second data acquisition along the same profile, the source was an array of four air guns with a combined volume of 920 in3, and eight air - gun pops were summed at each source station. considerable processing effort was expended to make the final reflection character identical on each test line. the data illustrated as figure 1 show the results of the data processing. the frequency content of the two profiles is approximately the same, but wavelet character is not identical at the junction point ( station 165 ). in this instance, the interpreter responsible for this prospect decided that the reflection character expressed by the explosive source was preferred rather than the wavelet response shown by the air - gun source. the challenge was that in neighboring tideland areas, regulations required that an air - gun source be used in water - covered areas – shot - hole explosives could not be used in shallow water as they had been across this initial test site, and a method had to be developed that would allow air - gun - source data to be used in conjunction with explosive - source data acquired across adjacent exposed - land areas. said another way, the problem was to create a basic wavelet in air - gun - generated data that was equivalent to the basic wavelet embedded in explosive - source data. this type of problem has to be solved by data - processing procedures, not by data - acquisition techniques. an approach used by many data processors to ensure that equivalent basic wavelets exist in two seismic profiles acquired with different sources is to


- source data. this type of problem has to be solved by data - processing procedures, not by data - acquisition techniques. an approach used by many data processors to ensure that equivalent basic wavelets exist in two seismic profiles acquired with different sources is to calculate numerical cross - equalization operators that convert the phase and frequency spectra of source a to be equivalent to the phase and frequency spectra of source b. this technique was applied to the tidewater seismic data illustrated on figure 1 by using data from the image trace at station 153 to calculate cross - equalization operators that converted the phase / frequency spectra of the air - gun data to the spectra of the explosive - source data. the result is exhibited as figure 2. the wavelet character of the profiles now agrees better at the tie point so that common horizons, sequence boundaries, and facies character can be interpreted on both profiles with greater confidence. the example discussed here is from a tidewater area where operating and environmental constraints forced different sources to be used on land - based and water - based seismic lines. the concept of numerical equalization of the basic wavelets embedded in any grid of intersecting 2 - d ( or 3 - d ) data, however, applies to a variety of onshore and offshore areas where people have access to overlapping legacy seismic data that have been acquired by different companies at different times and with different energy sources.


when a person with seasonal allergies comes in contact with pollen, his or her immune system releases chemicals called histamines to combat the allergens. histamines are behind hay fever symptoms, including sneezing, headache, runny nose and watery eyes. tree pollen in early spring and grass pollen in the summer can make this time of year particularly uncomfortable. each year, the asthma and allergy foundation of america ( aafa ) releases a list of the top 100 worst cities for people with spring allergies. the list is based on a pollen score ( that takes into account recorded grass, tree and weed pollen and mold spores for the most recent spring season ) and the number of local allergy specialists in the area and allergy medications used per patient. it ' s no surprise southeastern cities usually dominate the top of the list because oak, maple and elm trees are the primary pollen culprits in this region during spring. geography and weather play important roles in seasonal allergies. in southern regions, where the growing season starts early in the year, spring allergies can begin in january. dry and windy weather is especially hard on people with spring allergies because these conditions are ideal for pollen and mold dispersal. rainy and humid conditions, by contrast, dampen pollen and reduce exposure by making it less airborne. although aafa doesn ' t identify the best cities for people with spring allergies, in 2012, san diego and portland, or., were ranked better than average compared with other cities on the list. should you pack up and move to portland if you have spring allergies? probably not, says waldron. whether you ’ ll be uncomfortable for a big chunk of the year living in a city at the top of the list depends on your exact allergy and whether you can reduce your exposure to it. a good first step is to visit an allergist for a skin or blood test to determine the causes or " triggers " of your allergic reaction. for tips on how to lessen your exposure during peak pollen times, read " 10 tips for managing spring allergies. " here, the cities at the top of aafa ’ s spring allergy capitals list for 2013 :


skip to : main navigation | main content or try the a - z library back pain usually gets better by itself, but chronic pain can be disabling. regular exercise, losing weight and careful lifting and carrying can help prevent back injuries. homo erectus came down out of the trees and stared walking on two legs sometime between one and two million years ago. it was good news for the human race just think how hard it would be to take a phone call, place a bet on the horses, or open a jar of gherkins if we still got around on all fours. but this gaint step for mankind came at a price. standing erect suddenly meant a lot more weight to carry. without two arms to bear the weight of the top part of the body, that extra weight now had to be carried by the the spine, hips, knees and ankles. no surprise that, ever since, these weight - bearing joints have tended to give us trouble. but of all them, it ' s the spine, especially the lower part, that bears the greatest stress and is most prone to injury. add extra body weight from our high - fat, high - calorie diet and our tendency to lift heavy objects and sit in awkward positions and we shouldn ' t be suprised that back pain is such a problem in our society. around eight in 10 people in western countries suffer from back pain at least occasionally. it ' s the second most common reason people go and see their gp ( the first is respiratory infections ). and it ' s the third most common reason for taking time off work ( after headaches and colds ). back pain isn ' t disease in itself it ' s a symptom of injury to the back. and like most musculoskeletal injuries, providing the back itself is structurally sound and healthy, in most cases, people with back pain recover well. but in a smaller percentage of people usually with severe injuries or with an underlying condition of the spine it can become chronic and disabling. what we think of as the back is actually the spinal column a series of 24 to 25 bony discs called the vertebrae stacked on top of each other to form an s - shaped column. it ' s supported by ligaments that run up and down it, and by muscles than run either side of it. its main job is to support the weight of the body. but it also needs to be flexible. between each bony disc is a thinner disc of cartilage with a soft jelly - like inner core


and by muscles than run either side of it. its main job is to support the weight of the body. but it also needs to be flexible. between each bony disc is a thinner disc of cartilage with a soft jelly - like inner core surrounded by rings of tough fibre. the cartilage disc acts as a shock absorber, and the vertebrae and discs together act as a series of joints allowing the spine to move forwards, back and sideways, and to partially rotate. it ' s these joints that give the back its flexibility, allowing us to arch, twist and bend ( and make those of us of a certain age looks like fools on the dance floor ). the other job of the spine is to protect the spinal cord a tube of nervous tissue which travels from the base of the brain down through the spinal column, ending in a series of nerves which leave the spinal column to supply the limbs and internal organs of the body. like any supporting structure, the back is subject to stresses. it can cope with the normal stresses of everyday life running, pushing, lifting, and twisting but if subjected to abnormally high stresses, muscles and ligaments can become overstretched and tear, and joints can become damaged. abnormal stress can be : these stresses cause more damage if the back is in poor condition if ligaments and muscles are weak or wasted, they ' re more susceptible to injury. so back pain is more common in people who : if the person has some underlying degenerative condition of the spine, they are also more susceptible to injury. someone who has osteoporosis ( age - related demineralisation of the bones ) may be more prone to a fractured vertebra. someone who has arthritis in the vertebrae may have bony spurs that can grow out from the edges of the vertebra and press against the nerves that leave the spinal column. they irritate and damage the nerves and cause pain, numbness or other symptoms. in old age, the cartilage discs between the vertebrae can shrink, weaken, and lose their elasticity. they may rupture, allowing the inner soft gel - like part to herniate out ( i. e. escape through the fibrous outer part ). this material too can press against the nerves and cause pain and other symptoms. this is known as a slipped ( or herniated ) disc. sometimes, a vertebra can slip forward relative to the rest of the spine and as it does, pinch a nerve, causing the same symptoms (


cause pain and other symptoms. this is known as a slipped ( or herniated ) disc. sometimes, a vertebra can slip forward relative to the rest of the spine and as it does, pinch a nerve, causing the same symptoms ( this is called spondylolisthesis ). and there may be other diseases that can affect the bony spine secondary cancers that have travelled to the spine from other organs, or infections in the spine ( though neither of these are common ). in a normal healthy person, it ' s usually pretty clear what ' s happened the pain follows stress to the back, therefore it ' s a back injury. it ' s often not necessary to see a doctor, especially if the pain is mild. however you should see a doctor if : in this case a gp may want to order further tests to see if there is any serious injury like a slipped disc or a vertebral facture, for instance or whether there ' s any underlying condition like arthritis, osteoporosis, or a tumour or infection of the spine. tests the doctor may order include : in most cases, back pain gets better by itself in a few days or at most a few weeks. it used to be thought that back pain needed three days or more of bed rest on a firm mattress. we now know that prolonged periods of rest may actually worsen the condition, and a firm mattress has no effect. in fact, the sooner you become active and go back to work, the better for your back ( though strenuous activity like heavy lifting, bending or twisting should be avoided ). mild painkillers like paracetamol or aspirin will help relieve the pain. in more severe cases, or if it doesn ' t improve, your gp may refer you to a physiotherapist. there ' s evidence that treatment techniques such as massage, exercises to stretch and strengthen back muscles, and spinal manipulation ( by a physiotherapist or a chiropractor ) may be helpful. there is no scientific evidence supporting the use of muscle relaxant drugs, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, magnet therapy, traction, or physical treatments like ice, heat, short wave diathermy, massage, ultrasound and hydrotherapy. the back wasn ' t designed to spend long periods of time sitting at a desk. nor was it designed to lift, pull or push heavy weights. both are features of many workplaces. no surprise then that back injury accounts for


and hydrotherapy. the back wasn ' t designed to spend long periods of time sitting at a desk. nor was it designed to lift, pull or push heavy weights. both are features of many workplaces. no surprise then that back injury accounts for one - third of all workplace injuries. it ' s the responsibility of both employers and employees to make sure the workplace is safe. it ' s best to be proactive rather than wait for injuries to accumulate before doing something. there needs to be an emphasis on ergonomic seating, procedures for safe lifting and moving of goods, and workspaces designed to prevent repetitive movements that place stress on the back. poorly designed buildings, furniture and equipment may need to be replaced, and work processes changed. your workplace may have an occupational health and safety ( oh & s ) policy and / or oh & s officers that can advise you. ninety per cent of people make a full recovery within four weeks. in about 30 per cent of cases though, there ' s a recurrence of back pain. but again, the pain usually settles with painkillers, a short period of rest and activity. to reduce the chance of a recurrence, you should take care not to injure the back again ( see prevention, below ). however in a smaller percentage of people, the pain just never goes away. usually, if it lasts longer than three months, it ' s considered to be chronic back pain. chronic back pain usually arises because there ' s an underlying condition such as arthritis or osteoporosis, or because the injury was severe a fractured vertebra or spondylolisthesis, for instance. unfortunately, chronic back pain is much harder to cure, because the injury is so severe or because the underlying condition is degenerative one that can ' t be reversed. so the treatment is aimed at reducing pain and disability and keeping the person as pain free, comfortable and mobile as possible. in a few cases surgery may be possible for instance to remove disc material from a slipped disc that is causing sciatica or other nerve symptoms. ( the operation is called a discectomy. ) or, if it ' s caused by the bony spurs of arthritis, the protruding bit ( s ) of bone can be removed, or and the nerve ' decompressed ' ( this is called a laminectomy ). a forward slippage of a vertebra spondylolisthesis can be treated with surgical fusion of the affected vertebra to other nearby vertebra


whether it ' s a drug prescribed by a doctor or just a bottle of acetaminophen, medicines require some special care. the united states food and drug administration and the american pharmaceutical association provide some tips for safely using and storing medicines. and remember, these rules apply to nonprescription drugs, such as ibuprofen and cold medicine, as well as prescription drugs. even vitamins ( especially those containing iron ) can be very dangerous if inadvertently taken in excess — most commonly by young children. if a medicine is in your house, know what it is for. whether the doctor prescribed it or it ' s just an over - the - counter drug, if you don ' t know what it ' s for, find out. read the label and if you don ' t understand anything you read, take the bottle to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist. here ' s what you need to know about any drug you take : - the name - what it is for - when to take it - how much to take - when to stop taking it - any special instructions for taking it ( for example, with food, without food, before bed only, etc. ) - what the potential side effects are - what food, drink, or other medicines it interacts with medicines can degrade if they get too hot, too moist, or too cold. when a medicine degrades it may become less effective, totally ineffective, or possibly even dangerous to take. note : the bathroom cabinet is not a cool, dry place. the bathroom may be a convenient place to keep medicines, but it is probably the most moist room in the house, so don ' t keep your medicines there. try putting them in a kitchen cabinet. and don ' t leave them in your car where they will be exposed to extreme temperatures. this is the only way to ensure that you know what medicine is in the container. plus, if you have side effects or a bad reaction to a medicine, the medical personnel who try to help you need to know what you have taken. all medicines expire, even aspirin and cold medicine. when a medicine expires it may become less effective or totally ineffective, or it may even degrade to a point where it is dangerous to take. do not flush old medicines down the toilet unless specific instructions tell you to do so. instead take them out of the original container, mix them with other subsances such as cat litter, place them in a sealable bag and throw them into the


do not flush old medicines down the toilet unless specific instructions tell you to do so. instead take them out of the original container, mix them with other subsances such as cat litter, place them in a sealable bag and throw them into the garbage. another option is to take them to a community drug take - back program. if you are in doubt about how to dispose of the medicine, talk to your pharmacist. if a medicine is not prescribed for you, don ' t take it. you don ' t know how the drug will affect you, and you don ' t know how it will interact with other drugs you take or food and drink you consume. sometimes when symptoms clear up and you ' re feeling better, you ' re tempted to stop taking a medicine. if your doctor prescribes a medicine, take all of it as directed. many medicines, such as antibiotics, do much more than relieve symptoms. they are working inside your body, whether you are aware of it or not. stopping medicines early can cause your illness to relapse, or even worse, it can lead to more virulent infections. if a medicine is causing unpleasant side effects or is not working for you, tell your doctor. there may be other medicines you could take or medicines that can control the side effects. don ' t suffer through unpleasant side effects, but don ' t stop taking the medicine either. talk to your doctor.


| english version | | a propos de nous | | versione italiana | | conditions generales de vente | | version francaise | | temoignages de clients | | espanol | | programme safari 2012 | liens rapides sur le rwanda rwanda, land of a thousand hills, is a tiny landlocked country in central africa. bordered by tanzania, uganda, drc and burundi, rwanda is experiencing a tourism rebound after falling off the map post - genocide 1994. the country is split by the rift valley and dominated by a mountain range that traverses the country from north to south. the west coast of the country overlooks the beautiful shores of lake kivu. capital city : kigali, 340. 000 inhabitants. total area : 26, 338 sq km ' s. population : 7. 4 million people ( 2005 ) languages : english and french ( official ), kinyarwanda. religions : christians of various groups 65 %, 25 % are following traditional religions and moslems are about 10 %. government : republic. national day : 1 st july industry : coffee and tea factories, cotton and textile, tobacco, plastics, soaps. agriculture : coffee, tea, pyrethrum. climate : tropical originally the domain of hunter - gatherers, rwanda emerged into a centralised state with a feudal monarchy in the fifteenth century. it became a german colony in 1890 and was mandated to the belgians after the first world war. the belgians found convenient to rule rwanda indirectly through tutsi chiefs and their princes. in 1962, under prime minister gregoire kayibanda, rwanda gained independence and this brought the hutu majority to power. ten years later major general juvenal habyarimana came to power. his death in a plane crash in april 1994 unleashed the genocide in which about one million rwandans are thought to have been killed and nearly twice as many fled into exile. in recent years, as peace and stability have returned under president paul kagame, many rwandans have come back. local elections were held for the first time in 35 years in 2001 and again in 2003, an encouraging sign of the steady return of stability to the country. a combination of tropical location and high altitude ensures that most of rwanda has a temperate year - round climate. temperature is rarely above 30 degrees celsius during the day or below 15 degrees celsius at night throughout the year. the exceptions are the colder upper slopes of the virunga mountains and the hotter low - lying tanzania border


- round climate. temperature is rarely above 30 degrees celsius during the day or below 15 degrees celsius at night throughout the year. the exceptions are the colder upper slopes of the virunga mountains and the hotter low - lying tanzania border area in akagera national park. throughout the country, seasonal variations in temperature are relatively insignificant. most parts of the country receive in excess of 1, 000mm of precipitation annually. the dry season is mostly between june to september and the rain season between march to may. rwanda hosts large tropical forests, home to the mountains gorillas in the parc national des volcans in the virunga volcanoes and to large troops of colobus monkeys in nyungwe forest, one of the largest montane forests in central africa, also renowned for the rich variety of orchids. akagera national park is a savannah park with elephants, hippos and crocodiles. lake kivu is a beautiful inland sea enclosed by steep terraced hillsides. there are a large variety of birds. rwanda has a rich culture with its second city, butare, having the site of the cultural museum and the main university of the country. other towns are gisenyi, along the congolese border, offering beautiful beaches on lake kivu ; further south is kibuye, one of the most beautiful places in rwanda with gorgeous views on lake kivu.


save a life! adopt a pet - directory. com helping to unite loving families with homeless animals... sharing our living space with wildlife growth and development in our metropolitan area have created problems for wildlife by crowding them into less and less space. as they try to adapt to the ever - changing environment they have to live closer to people than ever before. you can help by being tolerant and willing to share some space with wildlife. careful planning can create a good environment for both you and your backyard when an animal gets into a building it may be necessary to trap and remove it. however, live trapping and relocation are only a temporary solution to wildlife problems. unless you take the preventive measures outlined below, other animals may soon move in. checklist to avoid problems with - do not use not use plastic garbage bags. use sturdy metal or tough plastic garbage cans with tight lids. secure cans so that they cannot be knocked over. - put your garbage on the curb the morning of pickup. - wild animals are not pets. do not feed them. - put only a small amount of bird food out at a time. - do not leave pet food outdoors at night. - screen all exterior accesses to buildings, including, including vents, chimneys, attic fans, dryer vents and areas around soffits and rain gutters. use 1 / 4 " mesh hardware cloth. - install screens in all windows and doors. - fill in holes around foundations. screen crawl spaces and cover window wells. - trim vegetation to prevent it from covering foundation walls. allow two feet between the vegetation and the building. - trim tree limbs away from the roof. - be sure all animals, especially young, have left before sealing off an area. an animal trapped in its den will die of starvation. be aware of the times of year when young may be present monday march 28, 2011


| health policy outlook logo 130 | no. 4, may 2009 as the h1n1 swine flu continues to spread, the focus has turned to the prospects for quickly developing a vaccine that can protect americans. so far, most infections in the united states have been mild, but even if this flu strain turns out to be no more potent than the seasonal flu, there is reason to believe that more people will be stricken - - and with more serious illnesses. this summer - - not the season in which flu traditionally spreads - - may provide a backstop that limits the spread of the virus. but even under optimal circumstances, we could still see slow but continued transmission of h1n1 through the spring and summer, followed by a spike in cases this fall, when flu season returns. regular flu is associated with 250, 000 - 500, 000 deaths worldwide every year, including those of 30, 000 - 50, 000 americans. so far, swine flu appears relatively mild outside of mexico. for reasons we cannot yet explain, the virus is infecting more young people than elderly and more women than men. even a mild virus could still cause widespread illness and harm, since our population is naive to this new strain - - we probably harbor no innate immunity. moreover, the current strain of h1n1 could still undergo changes that would make it a more dangerous infection. thus, as of this writing, the decision to make a vaccine has not been formally made. but it seems highly likely that the centers for disease control and prevention ( cdc ) will proceed with developing one once they have the virus fully isolated in a few weeks. the only question is how quickly they can make a vaccine. the good news is that today we are much better prepared to deal with this challenge - - and to develop a new influenza vaccine rapidly - - than at any time before. this owes in large measure to specific actions that we have taken in the last five years to prepare for pandemic flu and other emerging biological threats, including infections that would be used deliberately as terrorist weapons. as of this week, the cdc was planning to request that vaccine manufacturers expedite their production of seasonal influenza vaccine and then prepare to produce h1n1 vaccine. the h1n1 flu, which is an assembly of genes from swine, avian, and human viruses, poses the biggest threat of a large - scale pandemic since the appearance of the h5n1 avian flu strain in 2003 that killed millions of birds and hundreds of people.


of genes from swine, avian, and human viruses, poses the biggest threat of a large - scale pandemic since the appearance of the h5n1 avian flu strain in 2003 that killed millions of birds and hundreds of people. that disease proved lethal to more than half of the people who contracted it, though the virus largely did not spread from person to person and only infected 421 people. ( in many cases, the qualities that can make a virus highly contagious - - spreading from person to person - - also make it less deadly. the world health organization is distressed that h5n1, which kills 63 percent of its victims, is becoming less deadly, which could mean that the virus is evolving toward a less lethal but more contagious form with enough lethality to cause significant morbidity and mortality. ) while we are better equipped today for confronting a pandemic because of the efforts we undertook to ready ourselves against avian flu, there are still some additional steps we need to take to improve our national preparedness. some of these steps require longer - term policymaking, but others we must take very quickly to respond to the present threats. production of an h1n1 vaccine could require some difficult trade - offs, especially a decision to reduce the amount of seasonal flu vaccine we can ultimately produce for the fall. it appears that with proper policy steps, we can address this trade - off when it comes to a vaccine for h1n1. but if we make the right investments today, in the future, we could avoid these difficult trade - offs altogether when another pandemic inevitably arises. working in our favor is the fact that the vaccine industry has undergone a renaissance in recent years. this is a result of three developments in this product category. first, government incentives and grants helped subsidize the creation of demand for new vaccines, especially those targeting pandemic flu strains. these grant programs also helped to create more domestic vaccine production capacity, an important strategic asset. second, improvements in how vaccines are regulated by the fda mitigated some of the cost and risk in making new products. third and finally, new scientific advances in the production, delivery, and effectiveness of vaccines demonstrated that intellectual property created in this field could be rewarded through higher margins and increased consumer demand. this is also true when it comes to vaccines that target pandemic flu, for which advances in science underpinned improvements that have created a market for these products. these policy developments and their impact on the vaccine industry


margins and increased consumer demand. this is also true when it comes to vaccines that target pandemic flu, for which advances in science underpinned improvements that have created a market for these products. these policy developments and their impact on the vaccine industry have improved our medical footing. it is important that we build on these efforts, even as we deal with swine flu. a renaissance for vaccine production vaccines were long seen as commodities, marked by little new investment. this is especially true when it came to vaccines for flu. the sector made products that reflected little innovation and sold them cheaply, mostly to government agencies that valued low prices that enabled wider use over advances in how vaccines worked or were manufactured. the end result was a declining industry, with few reliable suppliers. as recently as five years ago, only two manufacturers produced most of our flu vaccine, and just one of these was a domestic company. even today, seasonal flu vaccines are still made by the same process that has been used for fifty years : growing inside chicken eggs. this chicken egg process is dirty, slow, and expensive, costing more than $ 300 million to build a new plant and requiring more than five years to bring it on line. here is how it works : the influenza virus, as with any virus, will grow only in living cells. in the case of seasonal flu vaccine, production of the vaccine components has used the cells of embryonated ( fertilized ) hens ' eggs. the success of this system is primarily dependent upon the availability of adequate flocks of chickens. these flocks must be hatched approximately six months in advance to achieve maturity at the time that the eggs are needed for production of flu vaccine. this process is not without risk. the flocks, for example, are susceptible to their own diseases. the egg process, therefore, requires a long production cycle. since vaccine strains are usually selected between the end of january and the end of march for the upcoming winter flu season, we are finishing now our production of seasonal flu vaccine. that means we can largely wrap up production of seasonal flu vaccine before we need to shift to production of a vaccine against h1n1. but vaccine manufacturers will have to restart the six - month egg process to produce a full run of swine flu vaccine. moreover, we may not catch this break next time a pandemic inevitably arises. a pandemic strain could emerge at the beginning of the production cycle for the seasonal vaccine. this would force a hard decision whether to shift some of the production capacity for a


we may not catch this break next time a pandemic inevitably arises. a pandemic strain could emerge at the beginning of the production cycle for the seasonal vaccine. this would force a hard decision whether to shift some of the production capacity for a seasonal vaccine into efforts to manufacture a vaccine against pandemic virus. these vulnerabilities and our present efforts to make a vaccine to h1n1 illustrate the shortcomings and risks of the egg - based process. another challenge of the egg - based process is virus yield - - in other words, the number of viral particles that come out of an egg that could be used to make the vaccine. eggs are typically low - yield factories for the production of vaccine components. this limits how much vaccine can be produced in a limited time. as a rule of thumb, three eggs are needed to produce each individual shot of the seasonal flu vaccine. virus yield is increased substantially by using strains of the virus that are specially tweaked to make them produce more viral particles and survive better in the eggs. that is because the " wild - type " viruses that are isolated from patients do not grow well in the eggs that are used for their manufacture. therefore, the wild - type viruses need to be altered or reassorted to grow well in eggs while still retaining the ability to make the viral antigens that are needed for an effective vaccine. the antigens are basically components of the virus that have lost their property to infect people but remain similar to wild - type virus. when injected as part of a vaccine, they stimulate our immune systems to develop antibodies that will target the natural, wild - type virus. but this process of making reassortant strains takes time. it is this process that cdc refers to when it says it is working on the " seed " of the swine virus to give to vaccine manufacturers. at present, there are not many labs that work on developing these reassortants. thus, the egg - based process is slow and involved. when it comes to h1n1, based on current knowledge about the virus, " it would take at least two to three weeks for vaccine strain preparation, seed virus preparation would take another three or four weeks, putting the start of bulk production at the end of june, " according to a timetable provided by novartis. " standardizing reagents would not be available for another eight weeks, and quality control would tack on an additional one to two weeks.... that would bring us to a time


, " according to a timetable provided by novartis. " standardizing reagents would not be available for another eight weeks, and quality control would tack on an additional one to two weeks.... that would bring us to a time frame of early september when we could start distributing the vaccine. " the cdc estimates that it will have the seed prepared in two weeks. advancements that improve our preparedness because of the uncertainties and delays inherent to our current vaccine production process - - and because the emergence of pandemic strains of influenza virus may occur outside the normal time frame for vaccine production - - we need alternative production systems for flu vaccine. this includes the use of tissue culture cell lines as incubators for vaccine production instead of eggs. we must invest in other approaches that can help improve the effectiveness of a flu vaccine. these include the use of recombinant dna proteins ; the development of a universal flu vaccine that protects against a range of flu strains ; and the use of vaccine additives called adjuvants, which boost the efficiency of vaccines while enabling producers to stretch limited vaccine stock. in the past five years, the vaccine market has reemerged as a key industry and growing business for the large drug firms, which have invested heavily in better ways of making these products. these investments are the result of rising profit margins for these products and the success of several new consumer vaccines against important infectious targets, such as herpes zoster ( the cause of shingles ) and human papillomavirus ( a major cause of cervical cancer ). other new vaccines target global public health challenges. for example, merck ' s rotateq helps prevent infection with rotavirus, a gastrointestinal illness that is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among young children, especially in developing countries. as a result of the commercial successes of new products, between 2004 and 2007, vaccines generated a compound annual growth rate of 32 percent for the drug industry. this encouraged additional investment in new vaccines and underpinned a number of key innovations in how vaccines are developed and manufactured. the renewed interest in vaccines is also a consequence of legislation that created new incentives for manufacturers to develop these products and practical regulatory changes at the fda that lowered development risks for sponsors by applying better scientific tools to evaluating vaccines. this is especially true when it comes to flu vaccine, which is a product segment that has functioned much differently from the rest of the vaccine sector. the market for flu vaccine was marked by underinvestment.


applying better scientific tools to evaluating vaccines. this is especially true when it comes to flu vaccine, which is a product segment that has functioned much differently from the rest of the vaccine sector. the market for flu vaccine was marked by underinvestment. this was largely a result of low - bid government contracts for vaccine that was distributed largely through public health agencies. these contracts valued low price in order to spread fixed government budgets widely. but they did not provide a margin to support new investments or to promote innovations in how vaccines worked or were made. in recent years, this has changed as a result of policies specifically aimed at promoting investment in flu vaccines. these policies include a series of key guidance documents issued by the fda ' s biologics center, mapping out a streamlined development process for the approval of flu vaccines. it relied on more rapid measures of benefit from tests against biological markers that gauge immune system response to the vaccine. these measures reduced development costs and created more predictability for new vaccine developers. the fda also put in place an express inspection process for certifying new vaccine manufacturing facilities. the agency also worked collaboratively with manufacturers to help them develop the new cell - based vaccine technology. while this technology is still under development, it could become especially important for making vaccines against a potentially virulent form of pandemic flu that might not be efficient or even possible to manufacture using the egg - based production method. another factor that helped increase the incentives for additional production of flu vaccine was a significant increase in medicare payments for flu vaccine and administration. taken together, these regulatory steps gave rise to new vaccine products that give today ' s policymakers many more options in responding to the h1n1 outbreak. the department of health and human services also established a government grant - making and contracting process for vaccines under its bioshield program for medical products that could protect against biological weapons and other threats. one contract for $ 487 million was awarded three months ago to novartis for the construction of the first u. s. facility to manufacture cell - based flu vaccine. that facility should be on line by 2014. baxter, glaxosmithkline, and sanofi - aventis ( among others ) are also working on cell - based vaccine production. according to biocentury, cell culture cuts three to four weeks from the time required to mass - produce a vaccine with the egg - based method. but the biggest advantage of cell culture manufacturing is rapid scale - up, which is impossible using older processes because hundreds of thousands of


, cell culture cuts three to four weeks from the time required to mass - produce a vaccine with the egg - based method. but the biggest advantage of cell culture manufacturing is rapid scale - up, which is impossible using older processes because hundreds of thousands of eggs cannot be produced on short notice. a typical cell - based facility, however, costs as much as $ 600 million and would only be able to produce about 40 million doses of seasonal " trivalent " flu vaccine a year. the novartis facility will be able to produce around 150 million doses of " movalent " vaccine - - containing just one viral strain, as opposed to the seasonal flu vaccine, which contains three different viral strains - - in the event of a pandemic. this illustrates the more challenging economics of vaccine production, for which significant upfront expenditures are required to build facilities capable of producing largely fixed capacities of vaccine. the margins made on flu vaccines are also narrow by drug - industry comparisons. flu vaccine doses cost about $ 3 each to manufacture, according to industry insiders. this does not include the depreciated costs of the capital needed to invest in manufacturing facilities. each vaccine ultimately sells for $ 10 - 12 for each dose. the fixed costs related to quality assurance, administration, and depreciation are estimated to account for 60 percent of total production costs. near - and long - term options for ramping up vaccine supply if we need to deploy a vaccine against a pandemic flu, the cell - based process could be used in a pinch. but few of these worldwide facilities are operational, and so far, none are approved by the fda. the fda would probably have to invoke its emergency use authorization - - which allows unapproved medical products to be made available in a public health emergency - - to make a cell - based vaccine available. the agency needs to prioritize the development and certification of more of these cell - based facilities. but in the meantime, in all likelihood, we are going to have to rely on the egg - based process for the near future. the good news is that today there are three times as many manufacturers licensed to make flu vaccine using the egg process as there were just four years ago. since there are more manufacturers making seasonal flu vaccine, and since each has some extra " surge " capacity to make more, we have the ability to make limited quantities of a pandemic vaccine using the egg process, even if its production had to overlap with the usual production cycle for seasonal vaccine. but if the need for


some extra " surge " capacity to make more, we have the ability to make limited quantities of a pandemic vaccine using the egg process, even if its production had to overlap with the usual production cycle for seasonal vaccine. but if the need for large - scale production of a vaccine against a virulent pandemic flu collided with the same timetable for the manufacture of a seasonal vaccine, we would be hard pressed to produce sufficient quantities of both vaccines. we would need to make some difficult trade - offs. avoiding these trade - offs requires more scalable production capacity. the cell - based process is ideally suited to this challenge. another option is to extend the supply of vaccine using an adjuvant. adjuvants work to bring the antigen into contact with the immune system and, therefore, influence the type of immunity produced as well as the magnitude and duration of the immune response. right now, there are two different adjuvants that are approved as safe and effective in europe that experts believe could be used in a swine flu vaccine. novartis and glaxosmithkline have both done innovative work incorporating new adjuvants into vaccine products. in 2008, glaxosmithkline became the first company to obtain a european license for an adjuvanted prepandemic vaccine, prepandrix. this vaccine is designed to raise immune protection against several strains of the h5n1 virus. but none of these adjuvant products is approved for use in the united states. there is good reason to believe that these adjuvants ( one of which is already used in a u. s. stockpiled vaccine that targets pandemic avian flu ) could boost the supply of a swine flu vaccine as much as fivefold. the fda needs to assess these adjuvants rapidly and decide if it will permit their use in this case. the fda has taken a cautious view on these vaccine additives, but there is now ample experience in europe on which the agency can draw. the fda should develop clear guidance on the approval process for adjuvanted products. the potential benefits offered by technology such as adjuvants and cell - based manufacturing underscore why we must continue to invest in the capacity to develop vaccines, creating incentives for the development of better products and more and better manufacturing facilities. so long as the market for new vaccines continues to remain robust, there is every reason to expect that more manufacturers will continue to enter this field. but our improved prepared


vaccines, creating incentives for the development of better products and more and better manufacturing facilities. so long as the market for new vaccines continues to remain robust, there is every reason to expect that more manufacturers will continue to enter this field. but our improved preparedness is not a sure thing, nor are continued advances in vaccines that can reduce risks and improve our preparedness. one significant reason is diminishing incentives for investment in research and development of vaccines and new industrial capacity to manufacture them. intellectual property creation has been a key component of driving more investment into vaccines - - not only for vaccines targeting new infectious diseases, but also for flu vaccines. in particular, the need to develop vaccines against new pandemic flu strains has required companies to invest in new processes for developing and delivering these products. these innovations have had more generalized benefits, spilling into improvements being recognized in other kinds of vaccines, including seasonal flu vaccines. for example, one technique for developing pandemic vaccines, pioneered by the biotechnology firm medimmune, has created significant new capabilities against pandemics and generated an attractive royalty stream for the company. the technique is called reverse genetics, and it can be used to engineer the specific seed strain rapidly. with the reverse genetics method, scientists can splice the desired genes into small circular pieces of dna called plasmids. the plasmids are then put into animal cells, and the vaccine seed virus grows. the seed stock can then be grown in mass quantity for vaccine production either in the traditional chicken egg or in cell culture. using reverse genetics is a potentially more predictable process for developing these seed strains. reverse genetics can also be used to improve the process for making seasonal flu vaccine, shaving time and uncertainty off that process. it seems only a matter of time before manufacturers move away from using the customary process for developing seed strains for the seasonal flu vaccines and adopt reverse genetics as a universal tool. reverse genetics is the process currently being used by the cdc in the development of a seed strain for a vaccine targeting h1n1. the development of this technique is an instructive example of how the creation of new intellectual property rewards investment while significantly improving our pandemic preparedness. but the patent protections that secure these investments are in doubt. the average patent life on big new drugs has been reduced to as little as ten years from more than twelve just nine years ago, in part by legislative endeavors favoring generics and lower drug costs. these measures improve access to medicines but reduce incentives to invest in new plants and technology.


drugs has been reduced to as little as ten years from more than twelve just nine years ago, in part by legislative endeavors favoring generics and lower drug costs. these measures improve access to medicines but reduce incentives to invest in new plants and technology. now, proposed legislation sponsored by representative henry waxman ( d - calif. ) would reduce the effective patent life on biologics like vaccines still further - - to as little as five years under some measures. this legislation is intended to address the approval of follow - on biologics ( fobs ) or so - called generic biologics. but it contains no carve - out for vaccines, even though the vaccine industry has narrower margins than those for traditional biologics. the intellectual property protections afforded under any potential legislation on fobs is likely to reflect a compromise that affords these drugs substantially more protection than waxman ' s proposed five years. nonetheless, the unusual economics of the vaccine industry means that it should be treated separately, not lumped in with traditional biologics as part of a new legislative scheme. at a time when we are trying to create new incentives for manufacturers to invest in this product category, we should be considering longer, not shorter, patent terms for products that embody genuine innovations and advances in intellectual property, especially products that target low - probability but potentially high - impact threats like a global flu pandemic. newly created intellectual property has been an important factor in coaxing more investment in the development of many new vaccines. ultimately, it is through new innovations like these that we will be able to thwart the risk from pandemic flu. to these ends, the holy grail would be a universal flu vaccine that protects against all varieties of influenza, including pandemic strains like h1n1. the complexity of flu vaccine owes to the fact that we have to develop a brand new vaccine each year to guard against that year ' s circulating strains of influenza. this stands in marked contrast to vaccines against other infectious diseases, which do not vary over time, enabling the vaccines to be mass - produced and stockpiled. with flu vaccine, just - in - time delivery is required. the idea of a universal vaccine is not far - fetched, however. a universal flu vaccine that would cross - react against a broader range of influenza viruses is more than theoretically possible. several biotech companies are working on such a product. in the case of h1n1, a possible complication to a new vaccine is that the product will be


cross - react against a broader range of influenza viruses is more than theoretically possible. several biotech companies are working on such a product. in the case of h1n1, a possible complication to a new vaccine is that the product will be made using the strain available now ; whether that will work if the virus mutates is uncertain. a universal vaccine, by contrast, would target more " conserved " regions of the flu virus ' s structural proteins - - parts of the flu virus architecture that do not undergo much mutation and, therefore, are unlikely to change, regardless of the particular strain of flu. right now, our vaccines target proteins that are on the outer surface of the flu virus. since our immune systems attack these proteins, the proteins themselves undergo adaptation, mutation, and change in order to evade our immune response. but structural proteins that are core components of the architecture of all flu viruses would be less likely to undergo mutation, regardless of the pressure from nature to change in order to survive. theoretically, to target these core proteins, a universal vaccine would need to recruit our t cells to attack the flu virus, as opposed to today ' s vaccines, which recruit an antibody response. for that reason, some suggest that such a vaccine would more likely be a therapeutic tool, as opposed to a protective vaccine. there is some literature to suggest that a t cell response alone may not be sufficient to protect us fully from flu, but work continues, and a universal vaccine is at least possible. steps the fda must take to improve vaccine readiness preparing for future threats requires a broad armamentarium and the residual capacity to create new things quickly. even as we respond to the present threat, policymakers must be looking downfield at the longer - term steps we need to take to improve our readiness. perhaps most important are those efforts undertaken by the fda to open up pathways to products that will continue to improve capacity. a few of the steps that the fda can take to continue to improve our preparedness deserve a high degree of attention from policymakers. first, the agency should develop guidance on the regulatory review pathway for other emerging technologies, such as dna - based vaccines, the use of adjuvants, cell - based methods, and a universal vaccine that triggers t cell responses. regulatory uncertainties and delays have in the past been obstacles to realizing benefits from new vaccine technologies. additional fda guidance may require some new investments in the fda ' s scientific capacity. the fda needs to develop the capacity to play a more proactive role in providing advice on the development


have in the past been obstacles to realizing benefits from new vaccine technologies. additional fda guidance may require some new investments in the fda ' s scientific capacity. the fda needs to develop the capacity to play a more proactive role in providing advice on the development and testing of these important technologies. once vaccine is available, it is the fda ' s responsibility to make sure that the products are potent and free from potential contaminants. impurities in the egg - based manufacturing process create health risks and have triggered some recent vaccine shortages. rapid assays are necessary to control manufacturing quality and accelerate the process for releasing lots of vaccines after they are manufactured. the fda needs to work with manufacturers to develop standardized assays for the rapid assessment of vaccine potency, quality, safety, and potential contamination. many current assays are outmoded and difficult to perform. since the fda sets the standards for testing and certifying new vaccine lots, the agency needs to play a key role in directing the science to develop better tools for assuring that new lots of vaccine are safe and effective. this also includes tools for establishing the standards for vaccines produced using new techniques. more broadly, we need to invest - - through federal grants if necessary - - in additional facilities for manufacturing flu vaccine, in particular cell - based facilities. these plants could be scaled quickly to enable rapid production of a pandemic vaccine. a certain amount of this production capacity needs to be maintained domestically. in a full - blown pandemic, with a very deadly strain of flu causing mass casualties, it is hard to envision that foreign nations would allow limited supplies of potentially life - saving vaccines to be shipped outside their borders. the reaction to h1n1, an infection that is turning out to be milder than first feared, demonstrates how quickly international panic can set in, prompting governments to take extraordinary and sometimes severe measures, such as china ' s decision to place mexican visitors under extended, involuntary quarantines. in a full - blown pandemic, we can expect vaccine - manufacturing facilities to be nationalized. much of the flu vaccine production capacity exists outside the united states. the creation of more domestic capacity for rapid vaccine production should be viewed as a strategic asset. finally, the development of countermeasures will require an embrace of new technology. one of the most significant impediments to these investments remains an antitechnology and anti - drug industry bias that permeates many policy decisions, thwarting innovation and targeting new therapeutics. one of the external


embrace of new technology. one of the most significant impediments to these investments remains an antitechnology and anti - drug industry bias that permeates many policy decisions, thwarting innovation and targeting new therapeutics. one of the external ringleaders of this anti - industry bias is public citizen chief sidney wolfe, who in 1999 said of relenza, the antiviral drug that is being deployed as a potential backstop against swine flu, " this drug should never have been approved. the benefits are close to zero. " that type of unfortunate miscalculation - - and lack of foresight - - too often holds prominence in policy considerations. preparing for future threats will require vision and accommodation in our embrace of new technologies and their uncertainties. scott gottlieb, m. d., is a resident fellow at aei. 1. malcolm ritter, " u. s. flu tally jumps to 245 as labs catch up, " associated press, may 3, 2009. 2. brian knowlton and denise grady, " flu cases increase, but there is some optimism, " new york times, may 3, 2009. 3. noelle - angelique m. molinari et al., " the annual impact of seasonal influenza in the u. s. : measuring disease burden and costs, " vaccine 25, no. 27 ( june 28, 2007 ) : 5, 086 - 5, 096. 4. centers for disease control and prevention, " update : infections with a swine - origin influenza a ( h1n1 ) virus - - united states and other countries, " morbidity and mortality weekly report dispatch, may 1, 2009, available at www. cdc. gov / mmwr / preview / mmwrhtml / mm5816a5. htm ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 5. ben hirschler, " companies start initial work on pandemic vaccine, " reuters, april 28, 2009 ; " u. s. to have h1n1 vaccine ready by fall : official, " reuters, may 3, 2009 ; and alice park, " how fast could a swine flu vaccine be produced? " time, april 29, 2009. 6. tom randall, " swine flu pandemic declared imminent as world alert raised, " bloomberg, april 29, 2009. 7. kumnuan ungchusak et al., " probable person - to - person transmission of avian influenza a ( h5n1 )


expedite development of seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines, " news release, march 2, 2006, available at www. fda. gov / bbs / topics / news / 2006 / new01330. html ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 19. fda, " team biologics, " august 5, 2008, available at www. fda. gov / cber / genadmin / teambio. htm ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 20. u. s. department of health and human services, " hhs awards $ 487 million contract to build first u. s. manufacturing facility for cell - based influenza vaccine, " news release, january 15, 2009, available at www. hhs. gov / news / press / 2009pres / 01 / 20090115d. html ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 21. bruce japsen, " flu vaccines no easy remedy : low sales mean lack of incentive for drugmakers, " chicago tribune, april 29, 2009. 22. steve usdin and erin mccallister, " opportunity in crisis, " biocentury, may 4, 2009. 23. " after decades of malaise, the vaccine industry is getting an injection, " knowledge @ wharton, november 2, 2005, available at http : / / knowledge. wharton. upenn. edu / article. cfm? articleid = 1306 ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 24. robert lowes, " fda okays emergency use of antiviral drugs, diagnostic test for swine flu, " medscape today, april 28, 2009. for more on the emergency use authorization, see stuart l. nightingale, joanna m. prasher, and stewart simonson, " emergency use authorization to enable use of needed products in civilian and military emergencies, united states, " emerging infectious diseases 13, no. 7 ( july 2007 ), available at www. cdc. gov / eid / content / 13 / 7 / 1046. htm ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 25. john carroll, " novartis readies key adjuvant for swine flu use, " reuters, april 30, 2009. 26. i. leroux - roels et al., " antigen sparing and cross - reactive immunity with an adjuvanted rh5n1 prototype pandemic influenza vaccine : a randomised controlled trial, " the lancet 370, no. 9, 587 ( august 18


., " antigen sparing and cross - reactive immunity with an adjuvanted rh5n1 prototype pandemic influenza vaccine : a randomised controlled trial, " the lancet 370, no. 9, 587 ( august 18, 2007 ) : 580 - 89. 27. steve usdin and erin mccallister, " opportunity in crisis. " 28. see european medicines agency, " guideline on adjuvants in vaccines for human use, " emea / chmp / veg / 134716 / 2004, january 20, 2005, available at www. emea. europa. eu / pdfs / human / vwp / 13471604en. pdf ( accessed may 6, 2009 ). 29. ernie hood, " flu vaccine production gets a shot in the arm, " environmental health perspectives 114, no. 2 ( february 2006 ) : a108 - a111. 30. neal masia, " the cost of developing a new drug, " focus on intellectual property rights, april 23, 2008, available at www. america. gov / st / business - english / 2008 / april / 20080429230904myleen0. 5233981. html ( accessed april 30, 2009 ). 31. mica rosenberg, " flu spat cools budding mexico - china relationship, " reuters, may 5, 2009. 32. stephen byrnes, " the truth about relenza ‚ " health on the edge, july 1, 2001 ; and paul recer, " fda approves drug against recommendation of advisory panel, " associated press, july 28, 1999.


much of the increased mortality seen in patients with hiv can be attributed to smoking, danish investigators report in the online edition of clinical infectious diseases. “ the loss of life - years associated with smoking was larger than that associated with hiv, ” write the investigators. the authors believe their findings have important implications for hiv care, showing the importance of smoking cessation counselling and support. thanks to antiretroviral therapy, the prognosis for many people living with hiv is now excellent. rates of hiv - related illnesses and deaths have fallen dramatically since the mid 1990s, meaning that lifestyle - related factors are now a major cause of morbidity and mortality in people living with hiv. a number of studies have shown that people with hiv are more likely to smoke than their hiv - negative peers. illnesses that are potentially related to smoking, such as cardiovascular disease and cancers, are being seen with increased frequency in people with hiv. the role of smoking and other potentially modifiable risk factors is currently unclear. investigators from denmark therefore designed a study to evaluate the effect of smoking on mortality among people with hiv in a setting where treatment is freely available. they also compared the risk of death and loss of life - years associated with smoking with the risk associated with hiv - related factors. the study population involved 2921 adults who received hiv care in denmark between 1995 and 2010. injecting drug users were excluded from participation. the people with hiv were matched with 10, 642 both the people with hiv and the controls were followed for a median of four years. among hiv - positive patients, 47 % were current smokers, 18 % were former smokers and 35 % had never smoked. the corresponding rates for the controls were 21 %, 33 % and 47 %. the excess mortality rate for hiv - positive current smokers ( compared to hiv - positive patients who had never smoked ) was 18 per 1000 patient years. the corresponding rate for the hiv - negative controls was 5 per 1000 patient years. the risk of non - hiv - related death was five - fold higher for current smokers compared to hiv - infected patients who had never smoked. hiv - positive patients who were current smokers also had a fourfold increase in their risk of all - cause mortality. the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease was approximately two times higher for hiv - positive current smokers compared to hiv - positive non - smokers. current smokers were also three times more likely to die of cancer. smoking had a significant impact on the life expectancy of hiv - positive patients


it is the religious time of the year. step into any city in america or britain and you will see the night sky lit by religious symbols, christmas decorations certainly and probably also a giant menorah. religion in the west seems alive and well. but is it really? or have these symbols been emptied of content, no more than a glittering backdrop to the west ’ s newest faith, consumerism, and its secular cathedrals, shopping malls? at first glance, religion is in decline. in britain, the results of the 2011 national census have just been published. they show that a quarter of the population claims to have no religion, almost double the figure 10 years ago. and though the united states remains the most religious country in the west, 20 percent declare themselves without religious affiliation – double the number a generation ago. looked at another way, though, the figures tell a different story. since the 18th century, many western intellectuals have predicted religion ’ s imminent demise. yet after a series of withering attacks, most recently by the new atheists, including sam harris, richard dawkins and the late christopher hitchens, still in britain three in four people, and in america four in five, declare allegiance to a religious faith. that, in an age of science, is what is truly surprising. the irony is that many of the new atheists are followers of charles darwin. we are what we are, they say, because it has allowed us to survive and pass on our genes to the next generation. our biological and cultural makeup constitutes our “ adaptive fitness. ” yet religion is the greatest survivor of them all. superpowers tend to last a century ; the great faiths last millenniums. the question is why. darwin himself suggested what is almost certainly the correct answer. he was puzzled by a phenomenon that seemed to contradict his most basic thesis, that natural selection should favor the ruthless. altruists, who risk their lives for others, should therefore usually die before passing on their genes to the next generation. yet all societies value altruism, and something similar can be found among social animals, from chimpanzees to dolphins to leafcutter ants. neuroscientists have shown how this works. we have mirror neurons that lead us to feel pain when we see others suffering. we are hard - wired for empathy. we are moral animals. the precise implications of darwin ’ s answer are still being debated by his disciples – harvard ’ s e. o. wilson in one corner, oxford ’ s


when we see others suffering. we are hard - wired for empathy. we are moral animals. the precise implications of darwin ’ s answer are still being debated by his disciples – harvard ’ s e. o. wilson in one corner, oxford ’ s richard dawkins in the other. to put it at its simplest, we hand on our genes as individuals but we survive as members of groups, and groups can exist only when individuals act not solely for their own advantage but for the sake of the group as a whole. our unique advantage is that we form larger and more complex groups than any other life - form. a result is that we have two patterns of reaction in the brain, one focusing on potential danger to us as individuals, the other, located in the prefrontal cortex, taking a more considered view of the consequences of our actions for us and others. the first is immediate, instinctive and emotive. the second is reflective and rational. we are caught, in the psychologist daniel kahneman ’ s phrase, between thinking fast and slow. religion reconfigures our neural pathways, turning altruism into instinct. the fast track helps us survive, but it can also lead us to acts that are impulsive and destructive. the slow track leads us to more considered behavior, but it is often overridden in the heat of the moment. we are sinners and saints, egotists and altruists, exactly as the prophets and philosophers have long maintained. if this is so, we are in a position to understand why religion helped us survive in the past – and why we will need it in the future. it strengthens and speeds up the slow track. it reconfigures our neural pathways, turning altruism into instinct, through the rituals we perform, the texts we read and the prayers we pray. it remains the most powerful community builder the world has known. religion binds individuals into groups through habits of altruism, creating relationships of trust strong enough to defeat destructive emotions. far from refuting religion, the neo - darwinists have helped us understand why it matters. no one has shown this more elegantly than the political scientist robert d. putnam. in the 1990s he became famous for the phrase “ bowling alone ” : more people were going bowling, but fewer were joining bowling teams. individualism was slowly destroying our capacity to form groups. a decade later, in his book “ american grace, ” he showed that there was one place where social capital could still be found :


science fair project encyclopedia avro lancaster, england, 2002 | crew | | 7 — pilot, flight engineer, navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator, mid -, upper and rear gunners | | first flight | | january 9, 1941. | | length | | 69 ft 5 in | | 21. 18 m | | wingspan | | 102 ft | | 31. 09 m | | height | | ft in | | 5. 97 m | | wing area | | ft² | | 120. 8 m² | | loaded | | 63, 000 lb | | 28, 636 kg | | engines | | 4 rolls - royce merlin xx piston engines | | power | | 1, 280 hp | | 954 kw | | maximum speed | | 280 mph at 15, 000 ft | | 448 km / h at 5, 600 m | | combat range | | 2, 700 miles with minimal bomb load | | 4, 320 km with minimal bomb load | | service ceiling | | 23, 500 ft | | 8, 160 m | | rate of climb | | ft / min | | m / min | | guns | | 8 x browning 0. 303 in ( 7. 62 mm ) machine - guns in three turrets | | bombs | | normal 14, 000 lb ( 6, 350 kg ) | special versions 22, 000 lb ( 10, 000 kg ) the avro lancaster was a four - engined world war ii bomber aircraft made initially by avro for the royal air force. first used in 1942, together with the handley - page halifax it was the main heavy bomber of the raf, the royal canadian air force, and squadrons from other commonwealth and european countries serving with raf bomber command. the lancaster was primarily a night - time bomber ; unlike the halifax, it was not used during the war for duties other than bombing. the original design was for a twin - engined heavy bomber powered by rolls - royce vulture engines. the resulting aircraft was the avro manchester, which proved a disappointment due to the unreliability of the vulture. it was withdrawn from service in 1942 with only 200 aircraft built. the chief designer of a. v. roe, roy chadwick, switched to a design using four of the more reliable rolls - royce merlin engines which resulted in an aircraft initially designated the type 683 manchester iii. renamed the lancaster, it made its first test flight on january 9, 1941, and proved to be a great improvement on the manchester. most of the original manchesters were rebuilt as lancasters


in an aircraft initially designated the type 683 manchester iii. renamed the lancaster, it made its first test flight on january 9, 1941, and proved to be a great improvement on the manchester. most of the original manchesters were rebuilt as lancasters. the majority of lancasters during the war years were manufactured by metropolitan - vickers, armstrong whitworth and a. v. roe. the avro was also produced at the austin motor works in longbridge later in world war ii. only 300 of the mk ii with bristol hercules engines were made. the mk iii had newer merlin engines but was otherwise identical to earlier versions ; 3030 mk iiis were built, almost all at a. v. roe ' s newton heath factory. of later versions only the canadian - built mk x was produced in any numbers, built by victory aircraft in malton, ontario. 430 of this type were built. they differed little from earlier versions, except for using packard - built merlin engines and having a differently configured mid - upper turret. 7, 377 lancasters of all marks were built over the war ; a 1943 lancaster cost £45 - 50, 000. lancasters from bomber command were to have formed the backbone of tiger force, the commonwealth bomber contingent scheduled to take part in operation downfall, the codename for the planned invasion of japan in late 1945, from bases on okinawa. in 1942 - 45, lancasters flew 156, 000 operations and dropped 608, 612 tons of bombs. 3, 249 lancasters were lost in action. only 35 lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations. the greatest survivor completed 139 operations and survived the war, to be scrapped in 1947. an important feature of the lancaster was its extensive bomb bay, at 33 feet ( 10. 05 m ) long. initially the heaviest bombs carried were 4, 000 lb ( 1, 818 kg ) or for special targets the 21 feet ( 6. 4 m ) long 12, 000 lb ( 5, 448 kg ) ' tall boy '. towards the end of the war, attacking hardened targets, the ' special b ' lancasters could carry a single 25. 5 feet ( 7. 77 m ) long 22, 000 lb ( 9, 979 kg ) ' grand slam ' or ' earthquake ' bomb. this required modification to the bomb - bay doors. ( note : the exact weight in kg of ' tall boy ' and ' grand slam ' bombs differs according to source. the figures above are the most common. ) the lancaster had a very advanced communications