Monday, 13 August 2012

Gloucestershire gets new rapid response water rescue centre

A new water rescue centre in Gloucestershire will enable rescue teams to attend incidents anywhere in the county within 30 minutes, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) said.

The centre at Moreton Fire Station "completes the provision of strategically-placed water rescue teams in Gloucestershire".

The need for such a facility was highlighted in the service's Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) and DEFRA provided £56,000 funding for it.

The IRMP advised an improved water rescue response was necessary in the event of further major flooding in the area.

A similar centre was set up at Tewkesbury Fire Station in 2011.

Deputy chief fire officer Geoff Sallis said: "Since the floods in 2007, we have significantly increased the number of swift water rescue technicians located around the county."

Firefighters have completed specialist water and mud rescue training and now have technical rescue equipment designed to perform rescues from water.

The water response team is also trained to support the large animal rescue team and to work alongside the rescue boats and the GFRS hovercraft.

Sunday, 12 August 2012

england

The Dobunni were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions.^[1]^[2] The latter part of the name possibly derives from Bune, a cup or vessel. The name seems to have had a similar meaning to the later tribal name Hwicce; both being related to the recognisable cult of a Romano-British goddess.^[3]
Various historians and archaeologists have examined the Dobunni, including Stephen J. Yeates in his book The Tribe of Witches (2008).

[hide]

[edit] Territory

The tribe lived in the part of southwestern Britain that today broadly coincides with the English counties of North Somerset, Bristol, and Gloucestershire; although at times their territory may have extended into parts of what are now Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire.^[4]^[5] Their capital acquired the Roman name of Corinium Dobunnorum, which is today known as Cirencester.
Their Territory was bordered by the Cornovii and Corieltauvi to the North; the Catuvellauni to the East; the Atrebates and Belgae to the South; and the Silures and Ordovices to the West. Some of these suggestions are, however, speculative.
There is evidence for a cult associated with the tribe in the Romano-British period; the evidence being coterminous with the tribe's territory. Sculpture has been found at: Gloucester, Cirencester, Nettleton, Bath, Wellow, and Aldsworth.^[6]

[edit] Iron Age period

The Dobunni were a large group of farmers and craftsmen, living in small villages concentrated in fertile valleys. A major study of the Iron Age material was carried out by Tom Moore.^[7]
Remnants of several fortified camps, otherwise known as hillforts, thought to have been occupied by the Dobunni can be seen in the Bristol area at Maes Knoll, Clifton Down, Burwalls and Stokeleigh - all overlooking the Avon Gorge - and at Kingsweston Down and Blaise Castle.
In the late Iron Age period, southern Britain saw the development of sites generally referred to as oppida (towns). An example of such a site has been recognised for some time at Bagendon, near Cirencester.^[8] It has now been realised that the Bagendon site was not as important as first thought, as other extensive sites are now known to have existed at places such as Salmonsbury.^[9]

[edit] Roman period

Dio Cassius referred to the tribe as "Bodunni", probably a misspelling of the Dobunni. Tributary to the Catuvellauni, they capitulated to the invading Romans when Caratacus and Togodumnus withdrew.^[10]
Unlike the Silures, their neighbours in what later became south east Wales, they were not a warlike people and submitted to the Romans even before they reached their lands. Afterwards they readily adopted the Romano-British lifestyle.
Even though the Dobunni were incorporated into the Roman Empire in AD 43, their territory was probably not formed into Roman political units until AD 96-98. The tribal territory was divided into a civitas centred on Cirencester, and the Colonia at Gloucester. The Colonia was established during the reign of the emperor Nerva (AD 96-98).^[11]
At the beginning of the 4th century, Britain was reorganised into, initially, four and then five provinces. The Dobunnic territory lay in the province of Britannia Prima, as described in an inscription found at the base of a Jupiter column.^[12] The area remained a Roman Civitas until approximately 409.
The Dobunnic territory contained two large towns (Corinium Dobunnorum now Cirencester, and Colonia Nerviana Glevum now Gloucester). Besides this there were numerous smaller towns, and many rich villas.
A study of the religion of the Dobunni has shown that there was a focus on the worship of the natural world It is possible to identify deities associated with the landscape; for example: Cuda, a mother goddess associated with the Cotswold Hills, and its rivers and springs, and Sulis Minerva at Bath. Other cults were defined by social action, such as mining, for example at Lydney Park, and hunting, for example at Pagan's Hill near Chew Stoke.^[13]

After the collapse of the Roman Provincial Government, the core of this area retained territorial identity until the Battle of Deorham in 577, (now largely regarded as a dubious event ^[14]) when the Saxons made advances as far as the River Severn. These gains were reversed 50 years later when Penda of Mercia fought the West Saxons at the Battle of Cirencester, and the area came under the influence of Mercia as the sub-kingdom of the Hwicce. It has been suggested that the area retained a distinct identity as a Christian sub-kingdom, instead of being simply absorbed into Pagan Mercia, as a reward for an alliance against the West Saxons; and that this is evidence of a cultural continuity between the Dobunni Civitas and the Hwicce Kingdom.^[15]

Sunday, 29 July 2012

Bristol care home cuts could be illegal

Solicitors' firm claims Bristol care home cuts could be illegal

Jon Rogers, deputy leader of the council, said the whole service needed an overhaul

Proposals to close care homes and day centres in Bristol could be illegal, a firm of solicitors claims.

Bristol City Council is considering three options for services, all of which involve closures.
But, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors is concerned that an option involving no closures has not been put out to public consultation, infringing the law.
The Lib Dem-run council, which could close up to 13 centres, says it is consulting widely on the plans.
Nine council-run care homes and at least four day care centres have been mooted for closure.
An Irwin Mitchell spokesman said it appeared the public had been given no choice on which of the homes and centres to close.

Options for day care

Close four buildings, which require investment to be fit for purpose accommodating displaced users in remaining centres, where possible
Develop three service hubs and close 10 centres
Close 11 day services based in council-owned buildings, or transferring their ownership

Polly Sweeney, from the firm, said: "The law is quite clear in saying that the consultation process must be open and allow people to respond adequately, and they must be given sufficient information to be able to respond properly.

"One of the concerns that people are telling us is that they just aren't being given the option to keep care homes open when they feel that's the right option for their loved ones."
Julie Wilson, regional organiser for Unison in Bristol, said: "Across the whole of health and social care the council is proposing to make savings of £5.1m and in order to do that is proposing making approximately 150 posts redundant.

Residential elderly care options

Explore potential to manage three homes - Redfield Lodge, Grenville and Brentry - in a council-led partnership, doubling capacity at Westleigh to 20 beds, and closing nine homes
Maintaining Redfield Lodge as a home for people with dementia
Retain Westleigh and double capacity to 20 beds, and closing 10 remaining homes

"In day services it is a third of all staff... that's a very significant cut in services."

But Jon Rogers, deputy leader of the council, said the whole service needed an overhaul.
"We actually had a lot of debate internally about whether we should have a 'do nothing' option on the paper," he said.
"We thought the difficulty is that everybody who has a resident there will say 'let's do nothing'.
"And they won't think about the impacts of actually closing this particular home or that particular home."

Monday, 16 July 2012

homeless

Gloucester council's homeless plan criticized by Gear agency

A homeless agency says people will be turned on to the streets if a council plan to cut emergency accommodation in Gloucester goes ahead.

Gloucestershire County Council said it was unfair that the only provision for the whole county was at the Gear project unit on Southgate Street.

It plans to provide six emergency beds in Cheltenham and reduce the Gloucester bed provision from 21 to eight.

Gear's Brian Jones said the council's £1.5m proposal was "nonsensical".

He said: "At a beds allocation meeting in Gloucester last week, 70 people were chasing just four vacancies.

"There is an accountability issue here. Difficult decisions must sometimes be made but as the life expectancy of homeless people is just 42 years, more not less care needs to be taken of them and in the decision making process.

"Unless something is done to address the reduction in beds tragedy will result."

'Take pressure off'

A Gloucestershire County Council spokesman said support for homeless people was "inconsistent" across Gloucestershire, largely centred in Gloucester itself and "too reliant on emergency shelter".

He said: "We need to put more support into rural areas, increase the number of beds in Cheltenham and start to deal with homeless people where they live.

"We want to take the pressure off Gloucester and change the way we treat the homeless."

He added that the decision to change the service would now be subject to a review by the council's Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.

Saturday, 7 July 2012

Severe flood warnings in South West as heavy rain falls

Severe flood warnings in South West as heavy rain fallsContinue reading the main story

Severe flood warnings have been issued for parts of south-west England, as river levels rise after heavy rain.

The Environment Agency said lives were in danger by parts of the River Yealm, Devon, and Burton Bradstock, Dorset.

In Northumberland, motorists have been warned to be aware of standing water after a man, 20, died when his car came off a road during torrential rain.

Some 74 flood warnings and 143 flood alerts remain in England and Wales, with 13 flood warnings in Scotland.

Meanwhile, officials at Silverstone on the Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire border say motorists who turn up for Formula One Grand Prix qualifying sessions on Saturday will be turned away because of muddy conditions in its car parks.

Up to 30,000 ticket holders travelling by car have been asked to stay away but ticket holders for car parks away from the circuit, those camping elsewhere and able to arrive on foot, or planning to use the park and ride service, should still be able to access the site.

Spokeswoman Katie Tyler apologised to fans and said the circuit was "genuinely upset" by the disruption after heavy rain flooded car parks. All available car parking is now full.

She said a decision would be made on Saturday afternoon whether fans would be allowed into public car parks on Sunday.

The Met Office has amber warnings of rain in force for Dorset, Somerset and parts of Devon.

In other developments:

In Midlothian, several drivers had to be rescued from carsovernight, mainly on minor roads in the Rosslyn and Auchendinny area
Residents in the Leicestershire village of Sheepy Magna were evacuated from homes after flooding
Firefighters were called to protect properties from flooding in Powys and Carmarthenshire
Flooding is affecting rail services in England with problems including a landslip near Honiton and flooding at Totnes in Devon
Saturday's sessions the Taste of Edinburgh festival have been cancelled after its site on the Meadows was hit by flooding
Monday's horse racing meeting at Newton Abbot has been abandoned due to a waterlogged track

The Environment Agency's severe flood warning means there is a danger to life, while a flood warning means immediate action is required.

People by the River Yealm in South Hams, Devon, from Cornwood to Yealmpton have been urged to stay in a safe place, listen to the emergency services and be ready to evacuate their homes.

The same warning has been issued for High Street, Mill Street, Manor Farm and The Rookery in Burton Bradstock, Dorset.

At the scene

John AyresBBC South West

With severe flood warnings we knew south Devon would have problems but not where would be worst-affected, so the day started with a call to the Environment Agency.

The River Yealm was expected to flood, but getting there was a problem. I had to turn my car around on three occasions as roads were blocked by flooding.

When I arrived in Yealmpton, a road was partly flooded and river levels were high, some people were trying to protect their properties. Everyone was worried about high tide.

A decision was taken to close Torr Bridge fearing it might collapse, cutting one side of the village off from the other. Along the affected parts of the river were 40 properties and 75 people, although everyone was accounted for. When the water levels dropped the bridge was judged to be safe.

The Environment Agency have used pumps to help emergency services clear flood water from properties and warned people on campsites to stay alert.

It also warned residents to stay away from dangerous flood water, and not to walk or drive through it.

Heather Shepherd, from the National Flood Forum, told the BBC: "There are many properties across the country that actually haven't been affected by flooding before, and this is suddenly arriving on their doorstep unexpectedly."

She said the most important things were to plan what to do with loved ones and pets if you needed to leave your home, and to get your most precious household items up high and safe.

BBC weather forecaster Peter Gibbs said a large area of rain had been concentrating over south-west England and predicted as much as 60-70mm (2.4in-2.8in) of rain in some spots on Saturday.

The Met Office said a low pressure system was set to bring rain and thundery showers to the UK until early next week.

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Bricgstowe (Bristol)

Exactly when the city was founded is unknown. The earliest relic is a silver coin in the Royal Collection at Stockholm, Sweden. The coin bears the image of Ethelred Unrede (978 - 1016) and was minted in Bricgstowe (Bristol) by a man named Aelfweld. If Bristol was important enough to have a mint by 978 it must have been in existance sometime before then.
It is fairly certain that no town existed here before 577 AD. The reason being that in 577 two Saxon kings (Cuthwine and Ceawlin) fought and killed three British kings (Commail, Condidan and Farinmail) at a village called Dyrham near Pucklechurch, just outside of the present city. Although the towns of Bath, Gloucester and Cirencester are mentioned in the account of this battle, Bristol isn't mentioned at all, even though it would have been closer than those mentioned.
Thus, Bristol was founded sometime between 577 and 978 AD. Even by this latter date the town was known to be dealing sending slaves to the Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.
Bridges at this time were of vital importance. There are three reasons why Bristol, as a port, is situated 7 miles inland with access to ships up a very tortuous river. A bridge across the Avon nearer it's mouth would have been technologically very difficult, the land there was very prone to flooding and the town would have been very exposed to attack. Ships would make their way up the Avon until they reached Bristol Bridge and lay beached at low tide on the mud ready to be unloaded.

Bristol ~ before 1000 AD (the area enclosed by the Old City Walls)

The named streets are still in existence.

Being built in the crook of the River Frome next to the River Avon provided Bristol with near perfect protection. The building of a wall around the town further increased its fortifications. A walk around the area bounded by the old city walls - even though they don't exist now, except for the old St. John's Gate at the bottom of Broad Street - is a very pleasant way of spending an hour or so.

ORATION : The Court of Bricgstowe No. 75, 2nd April 2011
by W.& Em.Bro. Colin Lowther, Provincial Eminent Grand Prior Elect of Wessex

Most Worshipful Grand Master, Worshipful Master, Worshipful Brethren, Brethren.

Brethren, we are assembled here today in harmony and peace, and privileged to be present at, and to participate in, the consecration of the newest Court of Athelstan, the sixth Court in the Province of Wessex.

Bricgstowe Court No. 75.

Bristol or is it Bricgstowe, has a recorded history of over 1000 years. There is an unrecorded history going back to pre Roman times. It was a small market town or burgh from as early as the 10th Century and forming part of the Kingdom of Wessex.

1000 years has seen many changes. We meet here today in this ancient city and in this wonderful Masonic Temple. The Bristol we know today has grown from a small town into a thriving city. The original Kingdom of Wessex disappeared many years ago but the name Wessex lives on and we now have the Province of Wessex in the Masonic Order of Athelstan.

The building in which we meet today is the Province of Bristol. All of the Orders and Degrees administered by the Province of Bristol meet in this one building. Craft, Royal Arch, Mark, Royal Ark Mariners and the Camp of Baldwyn. The Camp of Baldwyn holds a unique position in English Freemasonry. It incorporates in one body, five Royal Orders of Knighthood.

This building was acquired by the Province in 1872 and with the exception of a number of years following damage by enemy action in 1940, every meeting has been held within these walls.

As the Masonic Order of Athelstan, we are youngsters in the Masonic world. But our Order is based on foundations laid down when Bricgstowe was but a youngster. Ten Provinces each with Ten Courts. Representing, as near as possible, the original Kingdoms and Guilds as they were set up by King Athelstan during his reign as First King of the English. All this when Bristol was just a village near a bridge.

Since that date, there have been many changes. Bristol was granted a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373 separate from Gloucestershire and Somerset. The Masonic Province of Bristol has as its boundary, the original city boundary.

The history of Bristol as a city and a Province is an inspiration to us all. 1460, William Canynge, Mayor of Bristol. St Mathyas Chapel being in ruins was this year erected by him into a Freemasons Hall. We have Canynge Lodge.

In 1497, John Cabot set sail from the port of Bristol and discovered North America. Bristol has Cabot Lodge and Cabot Chapter. In 1532, Robert and Nicholas Thorne founded the Bristol Grammar School. They have Robert Thorne Lodge.
John Whitson, in his will, left funds for the foundation of the Redmaids School, the oldest surviving girls school in England. They have Whitson Lodge. Edward Hodges Bailey, the Sculptor created the frieze above the main entrance to this building. His name is commerated by Baily Lodge. Colston, Brunel and Chatterton, all famous names with strong Bristol connections.

There are records of a Masonic Lodge in Bristol in 1725, the Nags Head Lodge No. 29. Not, I am sure named after a famous Bristolian but the hostelry in which they met.

1739 saw the first Methodist Chapel, the building still exists. 1771, Records of the Royal Sussex Lodge of Hospitality show that the Lodge was opened at half past eight and closed immediately with all due Harmony and Decorum.

In 1844 Brunel's SS Great Britain was launched, 1864, the Bristol Suspension bridge was built, both still here today and we finish the list with Concorde
.
The Province of Bristol was created in 1786 at the request of Brother Thomas Dunkerley. He was the first Provincial Grand Master for Bristol. There are now 36 Lodges in the Province of Bristol, all meeting in this wonderful building. During 1786, Dunkerley was also the Provincial Grand Master in five other Provinces.

However, we are assembled here today not to look back. We look to the future and the growth of the Masonic Order of Athelstan. As Court number 75 we represent a milestone in the history of the Order.

As Bricgstowe Court, we must always remember, although we meet in the heart of the Province of Bristol, we are not Bristol Masons, we are part of the Province of Wessex, meeting in this historic Bristol building. A building steeped in Masonic history.

Many of the founders of Bricgstowe Court are Bristol Masons, brought up on sound Bristol traditions. As members of the Order of Athelstan they will now see the fine precepts and disciplines on which the Order of Athelstan is founded

Built on solid foundations, the Order of Athelstan is growing month by month, year by year. The building bricks are being added one by one. As Bricgstowe Court, we are the 75th brick. It may not be very long before the 100th brick is laid and the building completed.

As Court Master Masons, we are inspired by our leaders. They lead from the front. They are here today to watch with interest as we are formed into a new Court. They will follow our progress as we grow from strength to strength and will attend our future meetings when time permits.

Right Worshipful Brother Malcolm Burns, Provincial Grand Master for the Province of Wessex will guide us and encourage us to make further advances in our Masonic knowledge.

Brethren, today we add the name of Bricgstowe Court number 75 to the register of the Grand Court of the Masonic Order of Athelstan in England, Wales and its Provinces Overseas.

Let us go forth, inspired by the famous names that appear in the history of the city of Bristol.

May the Great Architect of the Universe bless you and forever guide and protect you.

An organisation which supports black and ethnic minority people in Bristol

UK homes are consuming

Homes are 'hungrier for energy'

UK homes are consuming much more electricity than previously estimated, a report described as the most detailed of its kind suggests

UK homes are consuming much more electricity than previously estimated, a report described as the most detailed of its kind has suggested.

For example, it found that up to 16% of households' energy bills are spent on devices left on standby.

It is estimated that domestic energy use accounts for more than a quarter of the nation's CO2 emissions.

The report was commissioned by the government and the Energy Saving Trust to unearth the nation's energy habits.

"This standby power is double what we have assumed it to be in past models and policy assumptions," explained Paula Owen, the report's lead author.

"Before, we have always gone with an 8% figure so it was quite a shock."

Within in this study, Dr Owen explained, standby had a slightly wider remit from its traditional perception of the red lights on TVs and videos.

"When we talk about standby in this context, we are talking about things that are on standby and things [that] are idle, rather than [doing] what they are primarily designed to do," she said.

The modern home contained an average of 41 devices, compared with a dozen or so in the 1970s.

The UK year-long study, commissioned by EST, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc), involved more than 250 households.

Only two previous studies of its kind have been carried out before.

In 2008, Sweden detailed the electricity consumption of 400 households, while a study in France considered the use in 100 homes during 2007.

'Don't live alone'

Dr Owen explained: "One of the more surprising findings from the study is the amount of use from single occupancy households, which were shown to be using as much as, even more than, as family occupied homes."

The emergence of electric cars could place an additional strain on the National Grid

Another insight was the use of washing machines, which varied greatly across the sample group, Dr Owen said.

"Typically, people use their washing machine 300 times a year; we found that there were some people who were using it three time a day.

"So there is a lot of evidence in this report that shows how people are using their electrical equipment, as well as how often they are using it."

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust (EST), said that it was "crucial that households across the nation make informed decisions by having the right advice to help them reduce their energy usage and fuel bills".

"This research shows that there's still more work to be done with consumer advice, product innovation and take up of energy-efficiency labelling," he said.

Environment minister Lord Taylor said the government and households could not control the rising cost of energy but could play a part in ensuring that it was used more efficiently.

"Our study has found that homes can save up to £85 by just switching things off and not leaving them on standby," he said.

"Some savings can be made by us, as individuals, by just being more sensible in the way we use energy."

Dr Owen said a big issue for the future would be the increasing popularity of electric vehicles.

"This will dramatically increase our pull on the grid," she told BBC News.

"That is the big growth area over the coming decades, if electric cars do become popular, so we need to see offsets in the domestic setting in order to allow us to power our vehicles in the future."

Rosalyn Foreman, energy adviser for the EST, explained that there were still traditional areas where their efforts could be focused.

"The fridge and the freezer in a house are the real energy eaters. They are the ones that can make a real difference, and it is easier to target the consumer on buying a better appliance.

"It is areas like this where you can make a difference and influence people.

"But we have never had the evidence down to this level of detail before, so it gives us an insight into what we can target and how we target it."

Saturday, 23 June 2012

Researchers

Bird flu 'could mutate to cause deadly human pandemic'

By Pallab GhoshScience correspondent, BBC News

The H5N1 virus could mutate to a deadlier form and spread to humans

The H5N1 bird flu virus could change into a form able to spread rapidly between humans, scientists have warned.

Researchers have identified five genetic changes that could allow the virus to start a deadly pandemic.

Writing in the journal Science, they say it would be theoretically possible for these changes to occur in nature.

A US agency has tried unsuccessfully to ban publication of parts of the research fearing it could be used by terrorists to create a bioweapon.

According to Prof Ron Fouchier from the Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands, who led the research, publication of the work in full will give the wider scientific community the best possible chance to combat future flu pandemics.

"We hope to learn which viruses can cause pandemics and by knowing that we might be able to prevent them by enforcing strict eradication programmes," he told BBC News.

He added that his work might also speed the development of vaccines and anti-viral drugs against a lethal form of bird flu that could spread rapidly among people.

The H5N1 virus has been responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of birds and has led to hundreds of millions more being slaughtered to stop its spread.

“Start Quote

We hope to learn which viruses can cause pandemics and by knowing that we might be able to prevent them”

Prof Ron FouchierErasmus Medical Centre

The virus is also deadly to humans but can only be transmitted by close contact with infected birds.

Coughs and sneezes

It is for this reason that relatively few people have died of bird flu. Latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures indicate 332 people have died of the illness since 2003.

Health officials are concerned though that the H5N1 virus could one day mutate into a form that could be spread between humans through coughs and sneezes through the air.

This could, they fear, result in a lethal pandemic that could spread rapidly across the world killing tens of millions of people.

It is only now that a study has confirmed that the emergence of such a deadly virus is theoretically possible.

A group led by Prof Fouchier wanted to find out which genetic changes were required to enable the H5N1 virus to mutate into a form that could be transmitted from person to person through the air.

Men in protective clothing capturing Bird Flu infected chicken

His team compared the genetic structure of the bird flu virus with those responsible for earlier human flu pandemics.

The researchers found five key differences, which they reasoned could be the mutations required for airborne transmission of the virus.

They confirmed their theory was correct by genetically engineering those changes into the H5N1 virus which they found could then be spread between ferrets through coughing and sneezing.

A team from Cambridge University then looked to see whether such a mutation could emerge naturally and if so its likelihood.

The researchers studied the genetic structure of 3,000 bird viruses and 400 that occur in humans.

They found some of these viruses had two of the key changes needed to become airborne. Mathematical modelling suggested it was indeed possible for a virus to develop the three further changes required during the course of an epidemic.

Bioweapon

It is the first time it has been shown that it is possible for bird flu to become airborne, but the research team was unable to determine precisely how likely this was to happen.

Prof Derek Smith, who led the analysis, said more information was needed.

He said researchers required a better understanding of how flu viruses were transmitted between people in order to develop a clearer idea of the likelihood of the emergence of an airborne strain of bird flu.

"These are difficult things to find out," Prof Smith told BBC News.

“Start Quote

We will need to work toward the establishment of a comprehensive, international system for assessing research that might have a dual use”

Dr Bruce AlbertsEditor in chief, Science

"What this work enables us to do is to prioritise particular experiments to obtain this information".

It is clear though that the emergence of an airborne mutation of H5N1 is unlikely. Were it not it would have emerged already.

But researchers want to be able to calculate the risk of such a virus emerging more precisely in order to help public health officials in their contingency planning.

News of Prof Fouchier's work, and another similar study by Yoshihiro Kawaoka published this May in the journal Nature, prompted the US National Security Advisory Board for Biotechnology (NSABB) to ask both journals last November to redact some sensitive parts of the research.

The NSABB believed the information could be used by terrorists to create a bioweapon.

The scientists who carried out the research, and the journals concerned, considered suggestions as to how the results could be redacted in the journals, but distributed to bona fide researchers who urgently needed the information.

But they concluded such a system was unworkable.

"You can't share information with so many people in the field and keep it confidential," according to Prof Fouchier.

Editor in chief of the journal Science, Dr Bruce Alberts, said the publication of the research in both Science and Nature had "shone a spotlight" on the need to deal more effectively with research that could be misused by terrorists - so called "dual use research of concern" (Durc).

"It has become clear that we will need to work toward the establishment of a comprehensive, international system for assessing Durc, one that includes transparent procedures to allow selected access to any information omitted from a scientific publication to those with a need to know".

But Prof Fouchier questioned whether a system of asking scientific journals to censor Durc work is ever workable or even appropriate.

"The general mode should be that science should be freely available so that the wider scientific community can build on the research," he said.

"I have a hard time identifying research papers that you shouldn't publish. So I'm not sure whether we should ever go down this alley".

dumnonia

Monday, 13 August 2012

Gloucestershire gets new rapid response water rescue centre

Gloucestershire gets new rapid response water rescue centre

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Sunday, 12 August 2012

Sunday, 29 July 2012

Solicitors' firm claims Bristol care home cuts could be illegal

Options for day care

Residential elderly care options

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Monday, 16 July 2012

Gloucester council's homeless plan criticized by Gear agency

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Saturday, 7 July 2012

Severe flood warnings in South West as heavy rain fallsContinue reading the main story

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At the scene

Thursday, 28 June 2012

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

More news on this topic

Mediation talks over Bristol City FC stadium fail

Homes are 'hungrier for energy'

Saturday, 23 June 2012

Bird flu 'could mutate to cause deadly human pandemic'

“Start Quote

“Start Quote