Ford unit Volvo Cars presented a new concept car on Monday that combines a plug-in charged lithium battery with a diesel motor, technology which it aims to have on the market in 2012.
"This is a significant leap compared to our earlier plans of offering a regular full-hybrid on the market by 2012," Volvo Cars chief executive Stephen Odell said in a speech.
The plug-in hybrid car, developed in partnership with Nordic power utility Vattenfall, can run on battery power for up to 50 kilometers, Odell said.
He said emissions would be below 50 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, about half the emissions of the best hybrids on the market, and called for politicians to introduce schemes for consumers to make the new technology affordable.
"We do of course expect that the purchasing price will be higher," he said. "In this area we are keen to see further subsidies and incentives from the political arena to promote green choice among customers."
PROSPECTIVE BUYERS FOR VOLVO
Odell told Reuters on the sidelines of the presentation that Volvo, put up for sale by its troubled owner Ford Motor Co. earlier this year, was still in talks with potential buyers but that Ford was in no rush to close a deal.
"Ford Motor Co has said there are a number of very interested parties in the company," Odell said. "Ford is, with me as part of that process, talking to those parties, and not ready to give any signs beyond the fact that the discussions are ongoing."
"We'll go through due process and when it will end I don't know. We're not going to do this in haste."
He said the talks were not yet at a point where Ford and Volvo Cars could "narrow the field" of potential buyers.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hormone therapy lifts lung cancer death risk: study
Use of menopausal hormone-replacement therapy increases the risk of death from lung cancer by 60 percent after five years, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday.
For smokers, the trial found that use of Prempro, Wyeth's combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy, caused an extra death from non-small cell lung cancer for each 100 women during the study.
Doctors once thought that hormone therapy, or HRT, could protect women from chronic diseases, especially heart disease.
But use of the drugs plunged after 2002 when the large Women's Health Initiative study found that HRT could raise the risk not only of breast and ovarian cancer, but of strokes and other serious conditions.
"Women almost certainly shouldn't be using hormone replacement therapy and tobacco at the same time," said Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, a medical oncologist Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and lead author of the study, which analyzed data from the WHI trial.
Since 2001, sales of Wyeth's hormone-replacement products have plunged by about 50 percent to around $1 billion a year, and the bulk of sales are now estrogen-replacement drug Premarin and cream formulations, said Joseph Camardo, head of medical affairs at Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth.
"Practice has already changed significantly," he said. "Guidance and the label have changed ... use has shifted toward much shorter duration and lower doses."
The Wyeth official noted that the average age of women in the WHI study was 63, and the participants used high doses of Prempro over long periods of time.
Chlebowski said previous research suggested that hormones play a role in non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease, because women tend to have higher survival rates than men and respond better to certain therapies.
His study, presented here at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, was the first to show a correlation in a randomized clinical trial setting.(reuters)
For smokers, the trial found that use of Prempro, Wyeth's combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy, caused an extra death from non-small cell lung cancer for each 100 women during the study.
Doctors once thought that hormone therapy, or HRT, could protect women from chronic diseases, especially heart disease.
But use of the drugs plunged after 2002 when the large Women's Health Initiative study found that HRT could raise the risk not only of breast and ovarian cancer, but of strokes and other serious conditions.
"Women almost certainly shouldn't be using hormone replacement therapy and tobacco at the same time," said Dr. Rowan Chlebowski, a medical oncologist Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and lead author of the study, which analyzed data from the WHI trial.
Since 2001, sales of Wyeth's hormone-replacement products have plunged by about 50 percent to around $1 billion a year, and the bulk of sales are now estrogen-replacement drug Premarin and cream formulations, said Joseph Camardo, head of medical affairs at Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth.
"Practice has already changed significantly," he said. "Guidance and the label have changed ... use has shifted toward much shorter duration and lower doses."
The Wyeth official noted that the average age of women in the WHI study was 63, and the participants used high doses of Prempro over long periods of time.
Chlebowski said previous research suggested that hormones play a role in non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease, because women tend to have higher survival rates than men and respond better to certain therapies.
His study, presented here at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, was the first to show a correlation in a randomized clinical trial setting.(reuters)
Susan Boyle hospitalized after losing 'Britain's Got Talent'
Susan Boyle, the most famous contestant, is hospitalized at the Priory Clinic in London with nervous exhaustion. Three children broke down on camera, leaving the stage in tears. Others were mocked by the judges and hooted by the fans. All in the name of reality TV.
Is it really a surprise that Boyle, an amateur singer with learning disabilities who lives alone with her cat, would have trouble competing live on national TV? Or that 10-year-old Hollie Steel would break down from the pressure? Or that 10-year-old Natalie Okri and 11-year-old Aidan Davis would burst into tears after being told they didn't make the cut?
Chris Thompson, medical director of the 14 Priory hospitals, said reality TV show producers have a responsibility to fully inform participants that instant fame can bring instant scrutiny and unbearable pressure.
Is it really a surprise that Boyle, an amateur singer with learning disabilities who lives alone with her cat, would have trouble competing live on national TV? Or that 10-year-old Hollie Steel would break down from the pressure? Or that 10-year-old Natalie Okri and 11-year-old Aidan Davis would burst into tears after being told they didn't make the cut?
Chris Thompson, medical director of the 14 Priory hospitals, said reality TV show producers have a responsibility to fully inform participants that instant fame can bring instant scrutiny and unbearable pressure.
2009 Bennetts Babes Video and Pictures
After an initial entry of over 300 girls, the final squad for Bennetts Babes 2009 has been unveiled.
Bennetts Babes were first unveiled in 2004 and have set pulses racing in the biking community ever since.
The Sun's page 3 beauty Nicola McLean helped launch this year's search, following in the footsteps of the likes of Lucy Pinder, Lauren Pope and Danielle Lloyd.
To see our exclusive behind the scenes video of the Bennetts Babes 2009 photoshoot, click on the video player below.
Missing French jet hit thunderstorms over Atlantic
A missing Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris ran into lightning and strong thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast.
Chief Air France spokesman Francois Brousse said "it is possible" the plane was hit by lightning.
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT, 6 p.m. EDT) with 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand.
About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.
The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 0200 GMT Monday (10 p.m. EDT Sunday). An automatic message was received fourteen minutes later "signaling electrical circuit malfunction."
Brazil's Air Force said the last contact it had with the Air France jet was at 0136 GMT (9:30 p.m. EDT Sunday), but did not say where the plane was then.
Brazil's air force was searching near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Natal, a spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.
The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio.
Finger Lakes Wine Trail Pictures
Seeing as I'm leaving NY in the next week, I decided it would be a great time to check out one of Upstate NY's finest attractions, the finger lakes wine trail. Me and some of my best friends crammed in the car and drove down to Seneca Lake to take some pictures of Watkins Glen, after that we headed back along the lake to hit up some of the awesome wineries. Here's a few of my favorites from the day:
A couple wild chickens
I look like such a wine connoisseur
I love these bottles!
The Chateau Lafayette Winery Cat
A couple wild chickens
I look like such a wine connoisseur
I love these bottles!
The Chateau Lafayette Winery Cat
Here's a fun game:
1) Take friend out for drinks
2) Make sure he is good and drunk
3) Drop him at the side of the road so he can pee
4) As he is coming back to the car slowly pull away
5) As friend freaks out and chases the car, take pictures of him!
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