Humanity partially safe from the bird flu

Predictions that the bird flu may become a dangerous threat to humans in the future may be erroneous. UK researchers say our nose, which is the main body part that spreads the virus, is too cold for it. Some testing was done in a laboratory that recreated the environment in the nose, and it was found that at 32 degrees Celsius, avian flu viruses lose function and cannot spread. An assumption that the viruses have adapted to suit the warmer 40 degree environments in the insides of birds was made.
A relatively strong mutation would be needed before the avian flu became a problem directly for humans. The lab also created a mutated human flu virus by adding a protein from the surface of an avian influenza virus to test if the new strain could develop and start a pandemic, but was also unsuccessful at 32 degrees.
The leader of the study, Professor Wendy Barclay said that if a new human influenza strain evolved by mixing with an avian influenza virus, it would still need to have several more mutations before it could be successful in infecting humans. She also added that if constant research was made, it could point to warning signs if the viruses are genetically changing and harm humans in a near future. Wendy also said that swine flu was probably an example of a virus that had adapted to cope with the cooler temperatures in the nose.

Superhuman Wim Hof “The Iceman”

“I had a stroll like this in the park with somebody and I saw the ice and I thought, what would happen if I go in there. I was really attracted to it. I went in, got rid of my clothes. Thirty seconds I was in,” Hof said. “Tremendous good feeling when I came out and since then, I repeated it every day.” This was the moment that Hof knew that his body was different. Scientists can’t explain it, but the 49-year-old Dutchman is able to withstand, and even thrive, in temperatures that could be fatal to any other person.
Wim Hof was born on April 20, 1959, Sittard. This man began his journey to see where his abilities could take him. In 1999 he travelled 100 miles north the Arctic Circle to run a half-marathon with his bare feet. In 2002 he won a Guinness World Record by diving under the ice at the North Pole with just a swimsuit on for 80 meters length.
His next challenge will be to run a marathon of 50 kilometers above the polar circle, which will be filmed by an English from firecrackerfilms, who works for BBC and National Geographic. Wim currently holds nine world records and a great achievement for reaching the top of Mount Kilimanjaro just wearing shorts within 2 days. It only took him another 2 days to climb it down. In January 2007 this man ran half a marathon above the polar circle in Finland wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, and no shoes. The ground snow temperature was 35 below zero.