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Orange has launched the first pay-as-you-go BlackBerry deal in the U.K. On Thursday, the operator said the Pearl 8120 model will work with its pre-paid data services, making it the only BlackBerry deal in the U.K. that does not require the customer to sign a long-term contract.

“With nearly two-thirds of U.K. mobile customers now using pay-as-you-go, we are really pleased to be bringing one of the most popular e-mail and multimedia devices to the masses,” Orange UK’s head of pay-as-you-go, Pippa Dunn, said in a statement.

BlackBerry smartphones tend to be tied to the BlackBerry Internet and push e-mail service, and Orange’s deal is offering that service on a monthly rolling subscription, at 5 British pounds ($7.28) per month. The handset itself costs 145 pounds.

The candy bar BlackBerry Pearl 8120 has a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a media player, but no 3G connectivity. It also uses a SureType keyboard, which gives a Qwerty-style layout, but packs multiple letters onto each key.

While none of the other major U.K. mobile operators supports the BlackBerry on their pay-as-you-go plans, they do offer various smartphones that can be used with pre-paid data connectivity. For example, T-Mobile customers can buy a Sony Ericsson W880i for 98 pounds and get a day’s use of the mobile Internet for a pound, and Vodafone sells Nokia’s 6210 Navigator smartphone for 170 pounds, after which pre-paid mobile Internet use would also cost 1 pound for a day’s use.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

Yet another claim that a common and contagious virus is linked to some cases of obesity is in the news today.

Studies on humans show that 33 per cent of obese adults had contracted an adenovirus called AD-36 at some point in their lives, according to an article in the UK’s Daily Express, whereas only 11 per cent of lean men and women have had the virus.

The research, to be presented in a BBC television special, is not big news to scientists, however. Further, some worry that the portrayal of obesity as something you simply catch could obscure the fact that overeating remains the biggest driver of obesity.

The facts

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one-third of U.S. adults are obese, as are 16 percent of children and adolescents age 2 to 19.

Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and other illnesses.

It is increasingly clear, several experts say, that viruses might play a role in some obesity cases. There are 49 known human adenoviruses. They cause everything from the common cold to gastrointestinal problems and eye inflammation, pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis.

AD-36 was first fingered as being possibly linked to obesity more than a decade ago. Nikhil Dhurandhar, of Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, and a colleague made the connection in 1997 in research presented at an annual Experimental Biology meeting. That preliminary study of 199 people found that up to 15 percent of them carried antibodies to the virus, which provided indirect evidence that they once were exposed to the virus itself.

Prior to that, Dhurandhar had showed that another type of adenovirus that infects birds and is found only in his native India could induce obesity when it was injected into chickens.

In 2006, research led by Leah Whigham of the departments of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, Madison found that another human adenovirus, AD-37, causes obesity in chickens. The results were published in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology published by the American Physiological Society.

Then in 2007, researchers found that AD-36 could transform adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells. “We’re not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections,” Magdalena Pasarica of Louisiana State University (and a colleague of Dhurandhar) said at the time.

Today’s claim

Today, Dhurandhar said it’s the spreading of the virus to other parts of the body that’s key to its ability to fuel obesity. “When it goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why people get fat when they are infected with this virus,” he said in the Daily Express.

Other researchers point out that the prime cause of obesity is still likely to be environmental, as in what you eat.

“These associations may give some clues but they detract from the basic message that we all need to take more exercise and eat a bit less,” said Tony Barnett, professor of medicine at the University of Birmingham.

And as if all this isn’t confusing enough, a study earlier this month suggested that exercise, despite its many benefits, it not as important in avoiding obesity as is a better diet.

Despite bearish earnings and big layoffs, any week where there’re rumors of a new iPhone can’t all be bad. Apple rumors, rogue road signs, new and/or improved browsers, and the ever expanding world of Google made it a colorful week. Are you tech savvy enough to ace our quiz? Correct answers are worth 10 points (though some questions may have more than one correct answer), and native speakers of Bulgarian will have a slight advantage. Ready? Then begin.1. Is a brand-spanking-new iPhone in the works? The MacRumors blog thinks it’s unearthed evidence of a code name for the next-gen Jesus phone. What is it?

a. iPhone2,1
b. iPhone 2.1
c. iPhone 3.2.1
d. iPhone666

Take the InfoWorld news quiz

As recession drives consumers to cut costs, their commitment to organic food has been tested with sales growth slowing — but so far, sales are not falling. How green are our wallets?

Grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, organic food has been booming, driven by claims it is healthier, tastes better and its production does less damage to the environment than conventional agriculture.

The global market for organic food and beverages was worth $22.75 billion in 2007, after more than doubling in five years, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. The United States accounted for about 45 percent of that total.

With economies in crisis, the trend is slowing in the United States, Britain, France and Europe’s most important market for organic food, Germany. So far, Britain is the market tipped for a fall as shrinking incomes force the newly green to save money.

Typical growth rates of 20 to 30 percent for organic food sales in the United States eased in the second half of 2008 as middle- and upper-income families felt the strain of layoffs and declining investment portfolios, said Tom Pirovano, director of industry insights at market research firm The Nielsen Co.

Sales in December were up 5.6 percent, year on year, against a 25.6 percent rise a year earlier.

Even though growth is slowing, Pirovano noted that most people who purchased organic foods were very committed.

“I’m not convinced that we are going to see big declines in organics any time soon,” he said.

Nielsen data measures packaged foods with bar codes at many retail outlets. Discount retailer Wal-Mart does not participate in the market research.

Late on a Friday in London’s South Kensington, shoppers at the Whole Foods store owned by the U.S.-based organic and natural foods supermarket were sparse.

“I always try to buy organic if I can. But I definitely have cut back,” said Mary Boynton, 20, adding that she buys more organic produce from supermarkets which have a cheaper offer.

Shares in Whole Foods Market Inc. have been on a broadly weakening trend since 2006 and trades around $11, down from nearly $80 in late 2005.

But Michael Besancon of Whole Foods, which claims the world-leading slot in the sector with more than 270 stores in North America and Britain, says there is a hard core.

“It is not a fad,” said Besancon, the company’s senior global vice-president of purchasing, distribution and marketing. “I’m 62 and my mother is still waiting for me to shave my beard and stop eating organic food. That isn’t going to happen.”

Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, said occasional buyers of organic produce were cutting back, but regular buyers were lightening up on processed food in favour of organic whole fruits, vegetables and meats.

“They are trying to stretch their money but they are not willing to stop buying organic,” he said. “We think in the long run the prognosis is good. The energy crisis and climate change can only really be addressed with organic production.”

Wholefoods’ Besancon argued consumers were treating organic purchases differently from those of other premium products.

“When you buy organic you believe it is inherently better for you and the planet,” he said. “Who can afford to get sick? So people are becoming more introspective about what they eat. There is growth in the category. It is just less than it was.”

GERMAN CARROT SHORTAGE

If the relative cost of healthcare is one significant factor keeping well-educated Americans with organic produce, in Germany producers argue organic foods are being helped out of a niche into the mainstream.

Growth in Germany’s organic food sales in 2008 to 5.8 billion euros did slow to about 10 percent, the German organic food industry association BOLW estimates.

This compared with 14 percent growth booked in 2007.

Alexander Gerber, the association’s chief executive, argued that Germany’s giant discount food supermarket chains were increasingly introducing organic food, which was underpinning the market.

Germany had a shortage of organic carrots in 2008 as major discounter Aldi suddenly introduced them into its product range, buying up most available supplies, Gerber said.

“Consumers want healthy food produced in an environmentally friendly and humane way,” Gerber said. “They are not simply throwing this concept overboard because of the difficult economic times.”

In France, the sector continued to grow last year and the head of “Agence Bio”, the main organic food group gathering officials and producers, said she was confident it would continue to do so, albeit more slowly, in 2009.

“For the moment sales are keeping up, consumers are still interested and demand is rising,” said Elisabeth Mercier.

Although official data will not be available until next month, she said her comments were based on wide and recent contacts with producers, specialist shops and supermarkets.

“In Europe, apart maybe from the U.K. where the market seems more fragile, I do not believe there will be a drop in consumption this year although growth rates may be less spectacular,” Mercier said.

DEEP GREENS

In Britain, growth in sales of organic products has slowed dramatically, to an annual rate of about 2 percent from 16 percent, according to Nielsen data for the year to early November 2008.

“What I would expect is for this year to see a small single- digit decline for organics,” said Jonathan Banks, U.K-based business insight director with Nielsen.

The challenge boils down to quality. “Organic producers must show their products taste better, are more nutritious and better for the environment. If they tick all those boxes they can sustain a (price) premium,” he said.

In the London Whole Foods store, shopper Jonathan Daniels agreed. “Eventually, it has got to hit home. I think I’ll cut back,” he said, checking his mobile phone near the cheese display, a pack of green beans tucked under his arm.

“It all hinges on: ‘Is organic all it’s reputed to be? Is it really better for you?’”

Patrick Holden, director of Britain’s leading organic certification body the Soil Association, said he was getting mixed reports, with some consumers switching from organic to cheaper free-range products.

Demand for many products is, however, holding up well: some are benefiting from growing demand for locally produced food.

“Organic food with a local story is bucking the recession,” he said. “This recession has destabilised things a little, but not catastrophically.”

Holden said about 20 percent of organic food sales were vulnerable, being bought by “light green” purchasers who had been influenced by the actions of other consumers.

These he contrasted with the “deep greens” — who make up 80 percent of demand and are committed to the benefits for health and the environment.

“Storm and tempest won’t affect their buying habits,” he said. “I think that rump of committed consumers are with us to stay.”

Gun-toting Digital heroine Lara Croft is heading for a makeover, and will be showing even more skin in her next adventure.Considering the waning popularity of the video game protagonist and economic downturn, rumours are abuzz that the next Tomb Raider game will be rated M rather than T (for teen) - meaning it will be either sexier or bloodier, which may see efforts to make her more female-friendly.

Eidos, the game’s makers, have sacked 30 employees at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, and its shares fell 25 per cent in one day after it revised down its profit forecast, due to lower than expected sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Gamers have expressed their concerns that creators could exploit Croft, famously played by Angelina Jolie in the film.

“I’ve been a fan of the series ever since the first title but isn’t this just a sign of desperation? How about making an awesome game without having to pull stunts like this?” the Courier Mail quoted one fan as writing in a blog.

It is estimated that around 40 per cent of players on the world’s biggest online games, like World of Warcraft and The Sims Online, are women, and the industry is finally taking them seriously.

Penny Sweetser, a senior game designer with 2K Australia, said that the options for women gamers should increase as more women worked in the industry.

Hannah Crosby, an artist with THQ Studios Australia, agreed that women were still getting a man’s take on women’s games.

“Because there’s not many women working on games I guess we’re getting a very male take on what they think women want to play,” she said.

Women view Lara Croft as an icon in the industry and in wider pop culture, and say that they will watch her future appearance with interest.

Crosby, a strong advocate for female characters in games, said that she’d learned to live with Croft’s appearance because of her other heroic qualities.

“It’s the sort of thing women have overlooked to this point because otherwise you wouldn’t play anything,” she said.

“Getting women into games at all at the moment is the first step before anything like what they are wearing or look like,” she added.

Millions of Windows computers have been infected by a new computer worm dubbed “Conficker.” The situation is “not getting better,” but rather is “getting worse,” according to security software vendor F-Secure. Read how you can protect your PC here.

In a blog post, F-Secure security researchers report that the number of machines infected by the Downadup worm has skyrocketed from roughly 2.4 million to over 8.9 million in the last four days alone.

Downadup is a malicious worm that “uses computer or network resources to make complete copies of itself,” according to F-Secure. And it may also include code or other malware that damages both a computer and network. The worm also goes by the names “Kido” and “Conflicker.” Details on how it operates and how to remove it are here.

Once executed, Downadup disables a number of system services, including Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender, and Windows Error Reporting. The worm then connects to a malicious server, where it downloads additional malware to install on the infected computer. Computerworld provides a more detailed report on Downadup’s potential dangers.

Since Downadup uses random extension names to avoid detection, Windows users should make sure their security software is set to scan all files, rather than checking on specific extensions, F-Secure recommends.

The alarmingly high number of Downadup infections led Microsoft last Tuesday to enable its anti-malware utility, Microsoft Software Removal Tool (MSRT), to detect the worm. So it’s important that Windows users, if they haven’t already, download the latest Microsoft security patch that went out earlier this week.

Network administrators might soon be able to mount effective, low-cost defences against self-propagating infectious programmes known as worms, thanks to a new strategy devised by an Indian American researcher.Many computers are already equipped with software that can detect when another computer is attempting to attack it. Yet the software usually cannot identify newly-minted worms that do not share features with earlier marauders.

When network managers detect suspicious activity, they face a major dilemma, said Senthil Cheetancheri, who led efforts to develop the strategy. ‘The question is, ‘Should I shut down the network and risk losing business for a couple of hours for what could be a false alarm, or should I keep it running and risk getting infected?”

Cheetancheri, a graduate student at the Computer Security Lab at University of California-Davis (UC-D) has shown that the conundrum can be overcome by enabling computers to share information about anomalous activity.

Cheetancheri, who works as a network security expert, is a product of Coimbatore Institute of Technology, India. He also studied at Education University of California and computer science from UC-Davis.

As signals come in from other machines in the network, each computer compiles the data to continually calculate the probability that a worm attack is underway.

‘One suspicious activity in a network with 100 computers can’t tell you much,’ he said. ‘But when you see half a dozen activities and counting, you know that something’s happening.’

The second part of the strategy is an algorithm that weighs the cost of a computer being disconnected from the network against the cost of it being infected by a worm.

Results of this ongoing process depend on the calculated probability of an attack, and vary from computer to computer depending on what the machine is used for.

The algorithm triggers a toggle to disconnect the computer whenever the cost of infection outweighs the benefit of staying online, and vice versa, said a UC-D release.

The study was published in Recent Advances in Intrusion Detection, 2008.

If you are trying to get the compensation that you deserve after an auto accident, then you are going to have to go a few things. You will have to do a few things for yourself. The first thing could be adopting an attitude of cynicism toward the insurance company. After that, you just have to hire one of the qualified auto accident lawyers Los Angeles. They will be able to handle the insurance company and save you a lot of trouble later on in your case.

The cynicism can even be ignored if you hire a lawyer soon enough. The problem is that the insurance company will usually do everything that they can do to reduce your payout. They are not your friend. This means a lot of confusing paperwork and a lot of secretive efforts to record you discussing the case. Any wrong move could really hurt you down, the line. The best thing that you can do is ignore their efforts and refer them to your attorney. Don’t let them record you and just politely make official meetings with your lawyer.

Auto accident attorney Los Angeles will also make the rest of the case fairly easy. Most personal injury cases don’t go to court. The majority just end in a settlement that is agreeable to both parties. This is actually your ultimate goal, since the strain of a court trial shouldn’t be taken lightly. Having an attorney will do a lot to make them respect you and offer a reasonable settlement early.

Children may not like it but a British technology firm has invented an electronic babysitter — a wristwatch-like device that lets parents know where their children are at all times.

The GPS Child Locator, or num8, attaches securely to a child’s wrist and contains a Global Positioning System (GPS), said Matthew Salmon, a spokesman for the manufacturer, lok8u.

“It uses GPS and GSM (Global System for Mobiles) technology with an accuracy of 10 feet,” he said. “It tracks your child.”

“It only starts working when the device is connected to the child’s wrist,” Salmon said, and is “very difficult to get off.”

“Even if the child managed to get it off it would send an emergency text message through to your mobile phone,” he said.

“It would give you a Google Maps image with their exact location, the street name and the zip code.”

When a child is wearing the device, a parent sends the text message “wru” and the child’s current location is sent back to a mobile phone or computer.

Parents can also log on to the company website to discover their child’s present location.

“You can also set up a perimeter, an invisible fence, and if they wander out of this invisible fence which you put on the Internet it will warn you,” Salmon said. “It will text you immediately.”

Salmon said that the device is waterproof and shockproof and lasts for three days with a full charge.

It will be available in both Britain and the United States this year and retails for USD 200 with a USD 10 a month subscription fee.

In laboratory and animal studies, scientists have found a 2-pronged gene therapeutic approach could facilitate tumour regression and long-term survival via selective recruitment of immune cells.

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have identified a sequence of molecular events that could help them recruit key immune cells called dendritic cells into areas of the brain where they are not naturally found and recognize tumor cells as targets for attack.

The researchers found that a protein – HMGB1 – released from dying tumor cells activates dendritic cells and stimulates a strong and effective anti-tumor immune response.

HMGB1 does so by binding to an inflammatory receptor called toll-like receptor 2, or TLR2, found on the surface of dendritic cells.

“Toll receptors play a major role in the immune system’’s recognition of bacterial and viral components, but now we have shown that they also trigger an immune response against tumors,” said Maria G. Castro, Ph.D., co-director of Cedars-Sinai’’s Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute and one of the article’’s senior authors.

He added: “Activation of Toll receptors was essential for two key stages in initiating immune responses against the tumor – the migration of peripheral dendritic cells into the brain tumor and the subsequent activation of dendritic cells and stimulation of a specific anti-tumor cytotoxic T-cell mediated response.”

For the study, the researchers used a combined gene therapeutic approach, using one protein (Flt3L) to draw dendritic cells from bone marrow into the brain tumors, and a second protein (Herpes Symplex type I Thymidine Kinase, or TK), combined with the antiviral gancyclovir to kill tumor cells and elicit long-term survival.

They found a novel mechanism by which tumor cell death in response to the treatment leads to the release of an endogenous tumor protein, HMGB1, which is essential to trigger the anti-tumor immunological cascade.

For the first time, the study showed that HMGB1 released from dying brain cancer cells activates TLR2 signaling on tumor infiltrating dendritic cells, leading to the activation and expansion of tumor-antigen specific T cells.

This caused the regression of the brain tumors and increased survival time by six months in experimental brain tumor models.

“The discovery of a central role for HMGB1 and TLR2 in overcoming immune ignorance to brain tumor antigens provides a new therapeutic approach in the fight against brain tumors. Our conclusions relating to anti-glioma immune responses have also been extended to enhancing immune responses against a number of other metastatic brain cancers, such as melanoma,’ said Pedro Lowenstein, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute and co-senior author.

The researchers are now planning to test this novel therapeutic approach in a human clinical trial for recurrent brain tumours in 2009.

The study will be published in the latest issue of PLoS Medicine, an open-access online journal of the Public Library of Science.