After wait, Facebookto release iPad app
NEW YORK (AP) ó One of the big, enduring questions of the technology world: ěWhen will iPad users get their very own Facebook app?î
That questioned was answered Monday, as Facebook said it was set to release an updated version of its iPhone application, one thatís also designed to fill out the larger screen of the iPad.
The lack of an iPad app for the most popular social network in the world has confounded users, ever since Apple launched its tablet computer a year and a half ago. Third-party developers have made money selling their own apps that show Facebook pages.
Bret Taylor, the chief technology officer of Facebook, said in an interview Monday that ěWeíre releasing it now because itís done.î
Scientists questionanthrax findings
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) ó Three scientists say theyíre preparing a research paper questioning the governmentís conclusion that an Army microbiologist at Fort Detrick in Frederick was the sole perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax attacks.
Louisiana State University epidemiologist Martin Hugh-Jones said Monday that the paper is scheduled for publication next month in the Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense.
The article raises questions about the chemical composition of the anthrax that Hugh-Jones says must be answered before the case can be closed.
The head of a National Academy of Science committee that reviewed the FBIís work says the article points out connections that deserve further consideration.
Tornado damage to Smokies to be studied
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ó The National Science Foundation plans a long-term study of how damage from an April tornado will affect the ecology of an isolated part of the Smoky Mountains.
The tornado hit on April 27 as part of a massive storm system that swept through the western tip of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Blount County. It cleared a quarter-mile path through a forest and damaged 4,500 acres.
Although the area has had straight-line wind damage in the past, it was the first known time a full-fledged tornado had hit the Smoky Mountains.
Loggerhead sea turtle rescued near base
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) ó The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center is caring for an injured loggerhead sea discovered in the waters at Naval Station Norfolk.
Media outlets report that someone at the base noticed the turtle was stranded Thursday.
Aquarium staff, sailors from the USS Boise and the Naval Station Norfolk Police rescued the turtle.
The turtle has been named Boise. Its gender hasnít been determined.
Marcia Thomas with the aquarium says Boiseís carapace is damaged and its rear left flipper is injured. Boise also has an infection.
Thomas says the turtleís prognosis is good.
Purina commercial aimed at dogs
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) ó NestlČ Purina PetCare is releasing what it says is the first television commercial designed to appeal to dogs.
The company told the St. Joseph News-Press that animal behavior experts at the NestlČ Purina Product Technology Center in St. Joseph, Mo., helped it develop the commercial aimed at selling Beneful dog food.
The ad will be shown in Austria.
NestlČ Purina says its first attempt to develop an ad for dogs had little success. But its experts in Missouri discovered a combination of sounds that attract a dogís attention without distracting from the human-focused dialogue.
The ad features the squeaky sound of a dog toy and a bell.