Tornado record
More than 1700 tornadoes battered the US in 2004, the most since the US National Weather Service began collecting data in 1950. But improved detection systems meant there were only 35 deaths, fewer than in recent years. In 2001 to 2003 the annual average number of tornadoes was 1195.
Rabid teenager recovers
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An American teenager has survived rabies without vaccination, the first person known to have done so. Vaccination can save bite victims if given before symptoms appear. But when Jeanna Giese was admitted to hospital in October, a month after being bitten by a bat, it was too late to vaccinate her. Instead, doctors in Milwaukee induced a coma and gave her a cocktail of drugs.
Rise of the blog
The blogosphere is growing. In 2004 the number of web log or 鈥渂log鈥� users in the US jumped by 58 per cent. Around 1 in 14 US net users has created a blog, and more than a quarter read others鈥� blogs. Eleven million claimed to have consulted a blog during the election campaign. Despite this, nearly two-thirds of web users are still unsure what a blog is.
Much-needed vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline will launch Rotarix, its vaccine against diarrhoea-causing rotavirus, in Mexico on 10 January. This and other vaccines in development could save 500,000 children鈥檚 lives each year. An earlier vaccine was withdrawn because of safety concerns (New 杏吧原创, 17 July 2004, p 10).
Shuttle progress
NASA鈥檚 grounded shuttle fleet is a step closer to lift-off. A revamped fuel tank was dispatched to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week, part of the agency鈥檚 effort to make its ageing space vehicles safe to fly (see 鈥淭he future starts here鈥� 2005鈥�). The fuel tank was redesigned after foam falling from it was blamed for the Columbia accident in 2003.