1918 flu pandemic

The 1918 flu pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920) was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million (three to five percent of the world's population), making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients; in contrast, the 1918 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young adults. Modern research, using virus taken from the bodies of frozen victims, has concluded that the virus kills through a cytokine storm (overreaction of the body's immune system). The strong immune reactions of young adults ravaged the body, whereas the weaker immune systems of children and middle-aged adults resulted in fewer deaths among those groups.

Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the pandemic's geographic origin. It was implicated in the outbreak of encephalitis lethargica in the 1920s.

2009 flu pandemic

The 2009 flu pandemic or swine flu was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus (the first of them being the 1918 flu pandemic), albeit in a new version. First described in April 2009, the virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1 which resulted when a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine and human flu viruses further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus, leading to the term "swine flu". Unlike most strains of influenza, H1N1 does not disproportionately infect adults older than 60 years; this was an unusual and characteristic feature of the H1N1 pandemic. Even in the case of previously very healthy people, a small percentage will develop pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This manifests itself as increased breathing difficulty and typically occurs 3–6 days after initial onset of flu symptoms. The pneumonia caused by flu can be either direct viral pneumonia or a secondary bacterial pneumonia. In fact, a November 2009 New England Journal of Medicine article recommends that flu patients whose chest X-ray indicates pneumonia receive both antivirals and antibiotics. In particular, it is a warning sign if a child (and presumably an adult) seems to be getting better and then relapses with high fever, as this relapse may be bacterial pneumonia.

Bug

Bug may refer to:

Biology

Locations

Technology

Bug!

Bug! is a 3D rendered platform/adventure video game developed by Realtime Associates for the Sega Saturn. Released in 1995 as a launch game for the Saturn in North America, it was one of the earliest 3D platform games. It was later localized to Europe and Japan, then ported to Windows 3.x and Windows 95 on August 31, 1996 by Beam Software, on one CD that contains both versions of the game.

A sequel was released in 1996, Bug Too!.

Plot

The background plot centers around the title character, Bug!, a famous Hollywood star hoping to make his "biggest break" ever. Players take control shortly after Bug! has signed up a deal for the lead role in an action film in which his girlfriend is kidnapped by Queen Cadavra and must set out to rescue her. The gameplay takes place "on the set" of each scene and cutscenes between levels indicate Bug! moving over from one set to the next.

Gameplay

Bug! was played like a traditional side-scrolling adventure game. In the same fashion as Sonic the Hedgehog , Bug! must jump and stung on the heads of his enemies to defeat them while making his way through large levels and collecting power-ups. What sets Bug! apart is the game's 3D levels, which take the side-view and tweak it. Bug! can walk sidewise up vertical surfaces and even upside down. Each set of levels (ranging from a bright, green grassy area to a deep red, desert level) has a deeply individual look and feel.

Bug (Starship Troopers)

The Bugs are an extraterrestrial race in the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, its film adaptation (and its first and second sequels, an animated film and spin-off television series), sometimes also referred to as the Arachnids, although this is a misnomer, as the aliens are not related to Earth arachnids.

The Bugs in the film differ considerably from those in the novel, which calls the Bugs "Pseudo-Arachnids". Meanwhile, Mongoose Publishing's Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game refers to them as the Arachnid Empire or the Bug Empire. In the third film in the franchise, the bugs are referred to as "Archie", similar to nicknames given to Germans ("Jerry") and the Viet Cong ("Charlie") in their respective wars. The novel's Bugs are highly susceptible to radiation and chemical attacks, and the Mobile Infantry frequently seals their escape holes.

Colonization

In the films, the Arachnid Quarantine Zone consists of many star systems colonized by the Arachnids. At some point "plasma" bugs developed the ability to fire spores into orbit. Utilizing a bioship star drive, the spores can travel to other systems and impact with planets, thus spreading Arachnid eggs and creating a new generation of bugs.