Mountain high
China is to remeasure the height of Everest. The official height of the world鈥檚 tallest mountain stands at 8850 metres, and it should be growing by 1 centimetre a year because of tectonic action. A new survey is needed because of suggestions that glacier melting caused by global warming has caused the peak to slump by 1.3 metres.
Hubble trouble
Advertisement
Rumours that the Hubble Space Telescope is to be scrapped just won鈥檛 go away, despite NASA鈥檚 promises to keep it running. The ageing telescope needs regular servicing to stay in orbit, but a number of sources report that no money has been allocated for this task in NASA鈥檚 forthcoming budget. This would condemn the telescope to plunging back to earth. The budget will be published on 7 February.
Iceberg ahoy
The world鈥檚 largest iceberg, which was expected to crash into an Antarctic glacier, has run aground instead. The 160-kilometre-long B15A has now become stuck in shallow water 4 kilometres from the Drygalski ice tongue in McMurdo Sound. The iceberg is blocking sea access to three scientific bases and preventing thousands of penguins from reaching their colonies.
Arthritis drug accused
The anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx may have caused up to 140,000 cases of coronary heart disease in the US since 1999. That鈥檚 the conclusion from a study of 1.4 million patients published this week in The Lancet. Its maker, Merck, withdrew the drug in September.
Preparing for flu
If a flu pandemic breaks out, governments will be able to buy cheap generic versions of patented antiviral drugs, thanks to an agreement hammered out this week. Such 鈥渃ompulsory licensing鈥� is permitted under international trade treaties, but the US and other western countries generally oppose its use.