'Fiscal Cliff' Leaves Boehner a Wounded Speaker

John Boehner is a bloodied House speaker following the startling setback that his own fractious Republican troops dealt him in their "fiscal cliff" struggle against President Barack Obama.

There's plenty of internal grumbling about the Ohio Republican, especially among conservatives, and lots of buzzing about whether his leadership post is in jeopardy. But it's uncertain whether any other House Republican has the broad appeal to seize the job from Boehner or whether his embarrassing inability to pass his own bill preventing tax increases on everyone but millionaires is enough to topple him.

"No one will be challenging John Boehner as speaker," predicted John Feehery, a consultant and former aide to House GOP leaders. "No one else can right now do the job of bringing everyone together" and unifying House Republicans.

The morning after he yanked the tax-cutting bill from the House floor to prevent certain defeat, Boehner told reporters he wasn't worried about losing his job when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.

"They weren't taking that out on me," he said Friday of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers, who despite pleading from Boehner and his lieutenants were shy of providing the 217 votes needed for passage. "They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes."

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

That "somebody" was a number of outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America, which openly pressured lawmakers to reject Boehner's bill. Such organizations often oppose GOP lawmakers they consider too moderate and have been headaches for Boehner in the past.

This time, his retreat on the tax measure was an unmistakable blow to the clout of the 22-year House veteran known for an amiable style, a willingness to make deals and a perpetual tan.

Congressional leaders amass power partly by their ability to command votes, especially in showdowns. His failure to do so Thursday stands to weaken his muscle with Obama and among House Republicans.

"It's very hard for him to negotiate now," said Sarah Binder, a George Washington University political scientist, adding that it's premature to judge if Boehner's hold on the speakership is in peril. "No one can trust him because it's very hard for him to produce votes."

She said the loss weakens his ability to summon support in the future because "you know the last time he came to you like this, others didn't step in line."

Boehner, 63, faces unvarnished hostility from some conservatives.

"We clearly can't have a speaker operate well outside" what Republicans want to do, said freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

Huelskamp is one of four GOP lawmakers who lost prized committee assignments following previous clashes with party leaders. That punishment was an anomaly for Boehner, who is known more for friendly persuasion than arm-twisting.

He said Boehner's job would depend on whether the speaker is "willing to sit and listen to Republicans first, or march off" and negotiate with Obama.

Conservative Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said one of the tea party's lasting impacts would be if Boehner struggled to retain his speakership due to the fight over the fiscal cliff, which is the combination of deep tax increases and spending cuts that start in early January without a bipartisan deal to avert them.

"If there's a major defeat delivered here, it could make it tough on him," King said. "He's in a tough spot."

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Himalayan dam-building threatens endemic species

The Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range, may soon hold another record: it could become home to the greatest density of dams in the world. More than a thousand are either already operating, under construction or being planned in northern India, Nepal and Bhutan. Besides providing clean energy, they could improve flood control and access to drinking water. But they will also pose a serious threat to indigenous species.

Hydroelectricity supplies about one-fifth of India's power, but even so nearly 300 million of the country's inhabitants have no access to electricity. More dams could help plug the energy shortfall: India's hydropower potential is estimated to be four times its current production of 39 gigawatts.

Maharaj Pandit at the University of Delhi, India, and R Edward Grumbine at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Kunming, have now studied the impact 292 of the planned Himalayan dams will have. They used satellite imagery and published data on Himalayan species richness to estimate how each dam's location would affect forest cover and biodiversity.

Extinctions loom

"We project that about 1700 square kilometres of forests would be submerged or damaged by dams and related activities", says Pandit. He and Grumbine predict that such deforestation will result in the likely extinction of 22 flowering plants and 7 vertebrate species by 2025. This number would rise to 1505 flowering plants and 274 vertebrates by 2100 if construction work continues.

Another recent study suggests the dams will be bad news for many of the Himalayas' 300 species of fish. Jay Bhatt and colleagues at the University of Delhi studied distribution of fish species in 16 Himalayan rivers, and found that those richest in biodiversity, with the greatest number of endemic species, were also those where dams will be concentrated.

"Dozens of dam projects are already caught up in litigation due to faulty environmental impact assessments, displacement of people, inadequate compensation, destruction of traditional water and livelihood sources, and loss of biodiversity," says Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People, an informal group of organisations and individuals interested in the impact of dam-building. The combined effect of several hundred new dams would be gargantuan, he adds.

Journal references: Pandit and Grumbine study: Conservation Biology, doi.org/j3z; Bhatt study: PLoS One, doi.org/j3x

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N. Korea confirms arrest of US citizen

SEOUL: North Korea confirmed Friday that it had arrested a US citizen in November, saying legal action would be taken against him but giving no details of the charges.

The man, identified as Pae Jun-Ho, entered North Korea on November 3 as a tourist, and "committed a crime" against the country, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

"He was put into custody by a relevant institution," it added.

The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and KCNA said consular officials from the Swedish embassy, which acts on behalf of the US, had visited Pae on Friday.

"Legal actions are being taken against Pae in line with the criminal procedure law" of North Korea, the agency said without elaborating.

The arrest was first reported earlier this month by a South Korean newspaper which had identified the detainee as a a 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator.

KCNA said Pae was detained as he entered the north-eastern port city of Rason which lies inside a special economic zone near North Korea's border with Russia and China.

Several Americans have been held in North Korea in recent years.

In 2010 former US president Jimmy Carter won plaudits when he negotiated the release of American national, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, sentenced to eight years of hard labour for illegally crossing into the North from China.

On another mercy mission a year earlier in 2009, former president Bill Clinton won the release of US television journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, jailed after wandering across the North Korean border with China.

- AFP/jc

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Dish faces challenges ramping up its LTE network

Dish was recently given a thumbs up by the FCC to build its own LTE network, but the company is up against some stiff obstacles along the way.

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission granted Dish's request to allow it to use 40 MHz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band to create a 4G LTE network. At the time, the FCC indicated that some restrictions would apply, though it didn't reveal the specifics...until now.

The satellite TV provider must finish 40 percent of its LTE network within the next four years, and 70 percent within seven years, as detailed by blog site Electronista.

Further, if the 40 percent goal isn't reached by the due date, the 70 percent deadline will be trimmed to six years. And if Dish can't meet the 70 percent timeframe, it won't be allowed to offer its broadband services in any areas not already covered.

Dish will also have to adhere to certain power limits to avoid interference on the AWS-4 spectrum that it will use for its high-speed network. Specifically, the company must run the 2000-2005 MHz portion of the spectrum at reduced power.

A limit in power usage is a restriction that concerned Dish last month before it even received official FCC approval.

The deadline restrictions also worry some who were against the deal, according to Electronista. Certain opponents feel Dish will choose the most populated markets to ramp up its network and leave less developed areas by the wayside.

The full FCC document on Dish's restrictions is available online through Scribd.

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Winter Solstice 2012: Facts on the Shortest Day of the Year

Today is the winter solstice and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's all due to Earth's tilt, which ensures that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21.

Some predicted that today would also mark Earth's doomsday, thanks to a longstanding rumor that the Maya calendar ends on December 21, 2012. But earlier this year, National Geographic grantee William Saturno found evidence that the Maya calculated dates thousands of years past 2012.

"We keep looking for endings," Saturno said in a statement. "The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It's an entirely different mindset."

(Read more about the Maya apocalypse myth.)

Even without an apocalypse, the solstice has been an auspicious day since ancient times. Countless cultural and religious traditions mark the winter solstice; it's no coincidence that so many holidays surround the first day of winter.

Solstice in Space: Astronomy of the First Day of Winter

During the winter solstice the sun hugs closer to the horizon than at any other time during the year, yielding the least amount of daylight annually. On the bright side, the day after the winter solstice marks the beginning of lengthening days leading up to the summer solstice.

"Solstice" is derived from the Latin phrase for "sun stands still." That's because—after months of growing shorter and lower since the summer solstice—the sun's arc through the sky appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days. Then the arc begins growing longer and higher in the sky, reaching its peak at the summer solstice.

(Related sun pictures: See a full year in a single frame.)

The solstices occur twice a year (around December 21 and June 21) because Earth is tilted by an average of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the sun—the same phenomenon that drives the seasons.

During the warmer half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. The northern winter solstice occurs when the "top" half of Earth is tilted away from the sun at its most extreme angle of the year.

Being the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice is essentially the year's darkest day, but it's not the coldest. Because the oceans are slow to heat and cool, in December the seas still retain some warmth from summer, delaying the coldest of winter days for another month and a half. Similarly, summer doesn't hit its heat peak until August, a month or two after the summer solstice.

Winter Solstice Marked Since Ancient Times

Throughout history, humans have celebrated the winter solstice, often with an appreciative eye toward the return of summer sunlight.

Massive prehistoric monuments such as Ireland's mysterious Newgrange tomb (video) are aligned to capture the light at the moment of the winter solstice sunrise.

Germanic peoples of Northern Europe honored the winter solstice with Yule festivals—the origin of the still-standing tradition of the long-burning Yule log.

The Roman feast of Saturnalia, honoring the God Saturn, was a weeklong December feast that included the observance of the winter solstice. Romans also celebrated the lengthening of days following the solstice by paying homage to Mithra, an ancient Persian god of light.

Many modern pagans attempt to observe the winter solstice in the traditional manner of the ancients.

"There is a resurgent interest in more traditional religious groups that is often driven by ecological motives," said Harry Yeide, a professor of religion at George Washington University. "These people do celebrate the solstice itself."

(Related: Get Stonehenge facts and pictures in National Geographic magazine.)

Pagans aren't alone in commemorating the winter solstice in modern times.

In a number of U.S. cities a Watertown, Massachusetts-based production called The Christmas Revels honors the winter solstice with an annually changing lineup of traditional music and dance from around the world.

"Nearly every northern culture has some sort of individual way of celebrating that shortest day," said Revels artistic director Patrick Swanson. "It's a lot of fun for us to dig up the traditional dance and music and even the plays [honoring] that time of the year."

Of course, as the name suggests, The Christmas Revels mix ancient winter solstice traditions with customs of the holiday that largely replaced winter solstice celebrations across much of the Northern Hemisphere: Christmas.

Winter Solstice's Christmas Connection

Scholars aren't exactly sure of the date of Jesus Christ's birthday, the first Christmas.

"In the early years of the Christian church, the calendar was centered around Easter," George Washington University's Yeide said. "Nobody knows exactly where and when they began to think it suitable to celebrate Christ's birth as well as the Passion cycle"—the Crucifixion and resurrection depicted in the Bible. (Related: "Christmas Star Mystery Continues.")

Eastern churches traditionally celebrate Christmas on January 6, a date known as Epiphany in the West. The winter date may have originally been chosen on the basis that Christ's conception and Crucifixion would have fallen during the same season—and a spring conception would have resulted in a winter birth.

But Christmas soon became commingled with traditional observances of the first day of winter.

"As the Christmas celebration moved west," Yeide said "the date that had traditionally been used to celebrate the winter solstice became sort of available for conversion to the observance of Christmas. In the Western church the December date became the date for Christmas."

Early church leaders endeavored to attract pagans to Christianity by adding Christian meaning to existing winter solstice festivals.

"This gave rise to an interesting play on words," Yeide said. "In several languages, not just in English, people have traditionally compared the rebirth of the sun with the birth of the son of God."

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Amid Protest, NRA Calls for Armed Guards in Schools

The National Rifle Association stood its ground today in arguing that the answer to gun violence in schools is an armed security force that can protect students, while blaming the media and violent entertainment and video games for recent deadly shootings.

"The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said in presenting the NRA's first comments about the Connecticut school shooting since it occured a week ago today.

LaPierre offered no olive branch to gun-control advocates who have called for tougher laws in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Instead, he called for schools across the country to recruit armed security professionals to protect their students.

"It's not just our duty to protect [our children], it's our right to protect them," LaPierre said at a news conference. "The NRA knows there are millions of qualified active and reserved police, active and reserve military, security professionals, rescue personnel, an extraordinary corps of qualified trained citizens to join with local school officials and police in devising a protection plan for every single school."

He was interrupted twice by protestors who stood in front of LaPierre's podium holding signs and shouting that the NRA "has blood on its hands" and that the NRA is "killing our kids." The protestors were eventually escorted out of the room.

President Obama Launches Gun-Violence Task Force Watch Video

President Obama on Gun Control: Ready to Act? Watch Video

Joe Biden to Lead Task Force to Prevent Gun Violence Watch Video

LaPierre also scoffed at the notion that banning so-called assault weapons or enacting gun control laws would stop school violence. He instead cast blame for gun violence in schools on violent entertainment, including video games, and the media.

"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame from a national media machine that rewards them with a wall of attention they crave while provoking others to make their mark?" he asked.

LaPierre announced that former U.S. congressman Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas would lead the NRA's effort to advocate for school security forces.

The leadership of the NRA has held off on interviews this week after refusing to appear on Sunday morning public affairs shows this past weekend. They said they would grant interviews beginning next week to discuss their position.

NRA News anchor Ginny Simone said Thursday that in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, membership surged "with an average of 8,000 new members a day."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the NRA is partially to blame for the tragedy.

"We're not trying to take away your right to advance the interests of gun owners, hunters, people who want to protect themselves," Bloomberg told "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden in an interview Thursday. "But that's not an absolute right to encourage behavior which causes things like Connecticut. In fact, Connecticut is because of some of their actions."

The guns used in the attack were legally purchased and owned by the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, whom Adam Lanza shot to death before his assault on the school.

In the aftermath of the shooting, many, including Bloomberg, have called for stricter regulations on the type of weapons used in this and other instances of mass gun violence this year.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has said she intends to introduce a bill banning assault weapons on the first day of next year's Congress -- a step the president said he supports.

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Data show how US gun control will cut shooting deaths

It is tragic that it took the deaths of 20 children, but it seems that the horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown has finally shifted the debate about guns and violence in the US.

In focusing on Newtown, Connecticut, we mustn't lose sight of the full extent of this problem, on which mass shootings barely register as a statistical blip. The figures are staggering: in 2010, there were 11,078 homicides and 19,392 suicides committed using firearms in the US.

International comparisons show that the US is an outlier among wealthy nations for its high rates of gun ownership and gun violence, and that there is a correlation between gun availability and gun homicide across nations (Journal of Trauma, vol 49, p 985 ).

Such research suggests that restrictions on the availability of guns in the US could bring down the death toll. But correlation does not prove causation, and there are many reasons why homicide rates may vary from country to country. Unfortunately, good data at the individual level on gun ownership in the US – who has them and how that relates to violence – is seriously lacking, in large part because the National Rifle Association has used its political influence to curtail research.

Research restrictions

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has faced particularly onerous restrictions. Back in the 1990s, Congress slashed its budget for studying gun violence and passed language preventing funds from being used to promote gun control. Questions on gun ownership have also been stripped from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the survey used by the CDC to investigate how risky behaviours lead to death, disease and injury.

"There's a limit to what you can achieve if you can't do original data collection," says Philip Cook of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, one of the leading researchers in the field.

Despite these formidable obstacles, there is now a body of evidence pointing to what works, and what doesn't, in reducing gun violence (Crime & Delinquency, doi.org/d66b69).

While political rhetoric focuses on gun control, the strongest evidence comes from community-based law enforcement. Best studied are the "focused deterrence" strategies promoted by the National Network for Safe Communities. These involve police and community leaders meeting with the criminal groups – not necessarily formal gangs – that in many cities are responsible for more than half of all gun violence.

These encounters deliver a clear message: "We know who you are; we're not going to tolerate what you're doing, and here's what will happen if you don't clean up your act." Help is also offered to street criminals who want to change their ways.

In Boston, where the approach was pioneered in the 1990s, "Operation Ceasefire" was credited with a 63 per cent reduction in youth homicides. Similar efforts have spread to several dozen other US cities. Of 10 rigorous studies of their effectiveness, nine show statistically significant reductions in crime (Campbell Systematic Reviews, doi.org/j3d)

Assault on rifles

President Barack Obama now says that Congress will be sent a package of gun control measures by January . These seem likely to include a ban on assault weapons like the rifle used at Newtown, controls on the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, and eliminating loopholes that allow private sales of guns – thought to comprise 40 per cent of the trade – without any background checks on the purchaser.

Evidence for the effectiveness of such gun laws is less clear, and hard to assess – these are not controlled experiments and typically several measures are introduced at once, making it hard to tease apart their effects.

Nevertheless, experience in California, which prohibited private gun sales without background checks in 1991, suggests that this may be a useful step.

A new study of guns recovered by law enforcement conducted for the National Institute of Justice indicates that they move into criminal hands more slowly in California than in states with unfettered private sales. "Our 'time-to-crime' is longer," says Garen Wintemute of the University of California, Davis, one of the report's authors.

As for mass shootings, it stands to reason that removing assault rifles and high-capacity clips from sale should limit the death toll from individual incidents. Australia's experience is encouraging: after 13 mass shootings in 18 years, a ban on semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns was introduced in 1996. It was associated with a reduction in overall gun homicide deaths – and there has not been a shooting involving five or more deaths since (Injury Prevention, doi.org/ff7gm4).

In the US, knee-jerk positions for or against gun control have until now won out over careful consideration of the evidence. In memory of the children who died at Newtown, it is time to put these divisions aside and begin a sensible, meaningful discussion about how to solve a terrible and complex problem.

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'Erin Brockovich' toxin found at Japan plant

TOKYO: The toxic chemical made infamous by campaigning single mother Erin Brockovich has been found at up to 15,800 times safety limits in groundwater at a Japanese iron plant, the factory's operator said Thursday.

Excessive amounts of hexavalent chromium were discovered at Nippon Denko's plant in Tokushima in the country's west as it prepared to halt production of chromium salts at the sixties-era factory, the firm said.

Also known as chromium-6, cancer-causing hexavalent chromium was at the centre of the 2000 US film "Erin Brockovich", which starred Julia Roberts as a real life legal assistant who leads a battle against a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.

At the Japanese plant, the chemical was found at up to 400 times safety limits in soil and up to 15,800 times allowable levels in groundwater, Nippon Denko said, but added that "no hazards to human health or the outside environment" were reported.

"We voluntarily surveyed the soil and groundwater at the plant between June and August before the closure," a company spokesman said, adding that two dozen locations on the site were tested.

"At the moment, we're assuming the contamination is limited to the plant's compound and that no adverse effects have been caused to surrounding areas," a local government statement said.

The authority said its own survey had found no traces of the chemical in water surrounding the plant, which sits on landfill, or in wells on the fringes of the facility.

The company said it was planning to enclose contaminated areas with 11 metre containment walls to prevent seepage of the tainted groundwater.

- AFP/fa

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Start-Ups: Silicon Valley Ep. 8 -- the grand delusion

Sarah. Who is working. On herself.

(Credit:
BravoTV Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

Last night saw some history in "Start-Ups: Silicon Valley."

Yes, given its rather tawdry ratings -- 20 percent of those of "Real Housewives," so rumor has it -- this could be the last episode ever. So the excitement was more palpable than that for the discovery of the tomb of a hitherto unknown ancient Egyptian king.

We began with grunting. Yes, Sarah (blonde lifecaster, recently recovering from not having breast cancer) and David (gay, vaguely sane) are working out.

Sarah has found a wonderful sponsor for the launch party of David's app. It's called Goal Sponsors. The app is about health. The only sponsor Sarah can find is a vodka company.

Which, like other small elements of this show, doesn't quite work.

Ben (short, pretty, pretty high-pitched voice) still doesn't have the money he was promised by investors. Ben is a "technologist" but doesn't code. He needs coder money. The money hasn't arrived.

His sister and occasional partner Hermione (blonde, loud, fond of dildos) is late for the meeting with the coder.

Ben and Hermione beg their investors. The investors are silver-tongued. And, wait, Hermione is off to South America. Ben tells her she "doesn't have the productivity to back it up."

"It" being, well, working. Ben admits he wants to slap her. "Ben is acting like a dick," she declares.

Yes, this is what happens at top-flight startups. Nothing different than what happens at high school.

Kimmy is still dull
Meanwhile, Kim (brunette, nasal, dull) is still taking herself more seriously than anyone else should. Her startup is something to do with fashion. Because that's what the fashion market really needs. Another Web site.

Her method is simply to go around talking to other people and getting ideas. Indeed, she isn't shown doing anything else -- other than talking to Dwight (hairy, actually codes).

"I'm confused," she says. Viewers might, by this stage, have been just bored. Kimmy's musings are about as fascinating as the soot after Santa's visit down the chimney.

David is preparing for his party. He is desperate for beta users. Otherwise his product won't work. However, few people have come to his party so far. His app is, like AA, all about people helping people.

But if there aren't any people, then there'll be no people who can help people.

Where are the lesbians?
Stunningly, he has invited Ben and Hermione to have a booth at his event. Sarah -- who dislikes Hermione like she dislikes smudged makeup -- is appalled. She, after all, is working for free.

Hermione makes a presentation about her startup -- called Ignite -- and offers treats to winners of challenges.

The first prize is champagne. The consolation prize is a date with her.

Sarah decides to intervene and demand that lesbians should come forward to partake of the consolation prize challenge. David pulls her away, before she makes a fool of herself. Well, slightly after.

Yes, it is all cringeworthy watching. Thank you for asking.

Sarah is frustrated that Ben, Hermione and David are all chummy.

Hermione is frustrated that she is in meetings trying to raise Series A funding. She could be "masturbating."

No, Hermione doesn't once think about the viewers and what they could be doing. Why would she? She's Hermione.

The grand delusion
Sarah demands a business meeting with David. She whines that she didn't have a booth at the party. She then whines that David "physically assaulted" her at the event.

"You laid your hands on me," she continues. "The definition of assault is a sudden physical attack," she explains.

"You are a child," replies David.

More Technically Incorrect

She is clearly delusional. "You are delusional," says David.

Oh, dear. A friendship is destroyed in one sad business meeting. Which, naturally, takes place in some restaurant.

"Will you please leave?" demands Sarah. There are no loyalties in business, she wisely explains. Sarah is very loyal. To herself and her delusions.

Hermione explains to Ben that, now they have their $500,000, she's off to South America on another project for a mere month.

You see, these people are involved in so many different projects and companies. How did they ever have the time to shoot a reality show?

Meanwhile Kimmy and Dwight have a meeting. Yes, in a restaurant.

Kimmy's heard. Because all Kimmy does is talk to people. Dwight has sold his Carsabi to Facebook. Kimmy's bottom lip emerges. She is envious.

"He won. Most people lose," is her inner thought, outwardly expressed.

And so this show winds to an end. Many in Silicon Valley feared it would embarrass the Valley.

It didn't. It merely showed that most of these pretty people are pretty frighteningly self-regarding, frighteningly uninteresting and frighteningly smug. Which was what many had expected.

Hermione has now returned from South America. Her absence made no difference. Ben regrets he gave her 50 percent of the company. She was only worth 20.

Sarah feels she needs to work on herself.

Dwight now works for Facebook.

Meanwhile, Kimmy is not working on not being dull.

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Detecting Rabid Bats Before They Bite

A picture is worth a thousand words—or in the case of bats, a rabies diagnosis. A new study reveals that rabid bats have cooler faces compared to uninfected colony-mates. And researchers are hopeful that thermal scans of bat faces could improve rabies surveillance in wild colonies, preventing outbreaks that introduce infections into other animals—including humans.

Bats are a major reservoir for the rabies virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Previous research shows that bats can transmit their strains to other animals, potentially putting people at risk. (Popular Videos: Bats share the screen with creepy co-stars.)

Rabies, typically transmitted in saliva, targets the brain and is almost always fatal in animals and people if left untreated. No current tests detect rabies in live animals—only brain tissue analysis is accurate.

Searching for a way to detect the virus in bats before the animals died, rabies specialist James Ellison and his colleagues at the CDC turned to a captive colony of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Previous studies had found temperature increases in the noses of rabid raccoons, so the team expected to see similar results with bats.

Researchers established normal temperature ranges for E. fuscus—the bat species most commonly sent for rabies testing—then injected 24 individuals with the virus. The 21-day study monitored facial temperatures with infrared cameras, and 13 of the 21 bats that developed rabies showed temperature drops of more than 4ºC.

"I was surprised to find the bats' faces were cooler because rabies causes inflammation—and that creates heat," said Ellison. "No one has done this before with bats," he added, and so researchers aren't sure what's causing the temperature changes they've discovered in the mammals. (Related: "Bats Have Superfast Muscles—A Mammal First.")

Although thermal scans didn't catch every instance of rabies in the colony, this method may be a way to detect the virus in bats before symptoms appear. The team plans to fine-tune their measurements of facial temperatures, and then Ellison hopes to try surveillance in the field.

This study was published online November 9 in Zoonoses and Public Health.

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