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.

Humanoid carps spotted in North Korea

A human faced fish has been spotted in Chongju, South Korea. The appearance of it has made it to the list of the top ten weird and wonderful animals, as shown on Telegraph. This fish’s attraction rate to the people has been increasing all around the world to Chongju in the center of the country, where two of these specimens are living in a small pond. They are believed to be hybrid descendants of two carp species – the carp and the leather carp, also known as a tangerine fish. In the past couple of years they appear to have gotten distinctive human noses, eyes and lips, and are more than three feet long.
The humanoid pair of carps are living in a pond behind the house of a 64-year old South Korean man, and have been living there since 1986, although the attention has just been drawn recently. “My fish have been getting more and more human for the past couple of years” the owner said to the press. As they’re both females it will be impossible for them to breed and have human faced offspring; although the owner added he knows of other fish with similar features.