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It was 1969 and a busy year for making history: Woodstock, the Miracle Mets, men on the moon and something less celebrated but arguably more significant, the birth of the Internet.

On October 29 of that year, for perhaps the first time, a message was sent over a computer network. Leonard Kleinrock, a professor of computer science at the University of California-Los Angeles, connected the school's host computer to one at Stanford Research Institute, a former arm of Stanford University.

Forty years ago today, the Internet may have uttered its first word.

Twenty years later, Kleinrock chaired a group whose report on building a national computer network influenced Congress in helping develop the modern Internet. Kleinrock holds more than a dozen patents and was awarded the National Medal of Science last year by President Bush.

In an interview with CNN, the 75-year-old looks back on his achievements and peers into the exciting and sometimes scary future of the Web he helped create.

CNN: In basic terms, what happened on October 29, 1969, and what was its importance to the Internet as we know it today?

Kleinrock: Millions of people helped create this Internet. I basically supervised the creation of the Internet at the first node, both in the first connection and the very first message. We had just by then connected the first two host computers to the Internet. The first one was on September 2, 1969, when UCLA connected its host computer to the first packet switcher, the first router if you will, ever on the Internet.

But there was no other computer to talk to. So a month later, Stanford Research Institute received its interface message processor, or IMP, connected it to their host computer, and we created the first piece of the backbone network when a 50-kilobit-per-second line was connected between UCLA and SRI.

What we wanted to do was send a message essentially from UCLA to SRI's host. And frankly, all we wanted to do was log in -- to type an l-o-g, and the remote time-sharing system knows what you're trying to do.

So we typed the "l," and we asked over the phone, "Did you get the 'l?' " And the response came back, "Yep, we got the 'l.' " We typed the "o." "Got the 'o?' " " 'Yep, got the 'o.' " Typed the 'g.' "You get the 'g?' " Crash! SRI's host crashed at that point. So the very first message ever on the Internet was the very simple, very prophetic "lo," as in lo and behold.

And, you know, we weren't aware that this was a significant event that would be recorded in history. We did not have a very effective message like "What hath God wrought" or "Come here, Watson, I need you." Or "One giant leap for mankind." We just weren't that smart.

When the host computers talked to each other, I like to say the Internet uttered its first words on that day.

CNN: Before October 29, 1969, was no computer talking to any other computer?

Kleinrock: Well, typically not over a data connection, no. What was going on at that time was that many users sitting at terminals were connected to time-sharing systems with a local connection. But that was just connecting to a single computer.

CNN: UCLA sent a press release about your work in July of 1969, just a few months before your October breakthrough. At the time, did you have any idea how far-reaching all this was?

Kleinrock: Basically, I said the Internet will be always on, always available, [and that] everybody with any device could connect to the Internet from any time and any location, and it would be as invisible as electricity. What I missed was the social aspect, namely that my 99-year-old mother would be on the Internet, as she was until she passed away two years ago. And by the way, at the same time, my preschool granddaughter would be on the Internet.

CNN: What is feature shock?

Kleinrock: Feature shock is a term I coined some years ago. Systems [such as Windows or Safari] contain an enormous number of features, each one of which may be valuable by itself, but no one is really able to use all the features. However, because you've essentially paid for all those features, you feel guilty if you don't exploit them. So you spend time learning to use them.

I'm a power user of PowerPoint. I spend thousands of hours learning how to use it effectively. If someone came along with a new version of PowerPoint that has a different interface than the one I'm used to, and [even] if it were twice as good as PowerPoint, I wouldn't bother installing it.

We're overwhelmed by [features]; we don't know how to use them. It slows down the rate at which new applications and features are accepted by the public because of this investment they have in their thousands of hours of learning.

And I consider that a good thing. It allows a little more mature thinking in how we start hopping around in technologies and thereby losing the experience and history we had before. There's a kind of a measured way in which people will adopt new technology, and I think that's helpful.

CNN: What are you up to these days in the development of the Internet?

Kleinrock: I'm working on what we call smart spaces, whereby the cyberspace comes out from behind the [computer] screen, where most people consider it residing, and moves out into your physical space so that there will be intelligence and embedded technology in the walls of your room, in your desk, in your fingernails, in your eyeglasses, in your automobile, in your hotel rooms all across the world as you move around.

CNN: If computers will be doing so much of our thinking for us, does that mean our brains will get less of a workout?

Kleinrock: It's always been the goal and desire of we technologists that as we provide capability that computers are good at -- number crunching, file storage, massive databases that can be searched -- that it would free us up to do the things that humans do so well, like pattern recognition and putting thoughts together, intuition and innovation.

So it may relieve us of some of the mundane things that we don't do well. On the other hand, I personally regret that the youth of today are depending so much for their simple arithmetic calculations on these handheld calculators or wristwatch calculators that they don't know how to make change in the supermarkets anymore.

CNN: What other dangers could be ahead?

Kleinrock: There's a very dark side to the Internet, which we're all familiar with. It started with a worm in 1988, and it became spam in 1994, and now we have pornography, we have denial of service [attacks], we have identity theft, we have fraud, we have things like botnets [pieces of software that cyberthieves use to remotely and secretly control your computer], which really worry me.

One of the problems of the Internet is that we didn't install what I like to call strong user authentication or strong file authentication. We didn't anticipate the level of the dark side we see today. The culture of the early Internet was one of trust of all the users.

I knew every user on the Internet in those early days. It was an open culture. We shared everything we did. We got our gratification by putting things out there, which people could use. And there was an etiquette -- net etiquette if you will, which people behaved.

CNN: What about privacy? Is it dead?

Kleinrock: Yes, in a word. Yes.

And it was voluntarily given up in many cases. I mean, when someone lists their telephone number or uses their credit card or makes a cell phone call or even carries around a cell phone, that's an awful lot of info about where you are, what you're doing and some of your private matters.

There are cameras all over the place, and they're increasing in number. I like to say the only privacy we can expect is to go to the edge of the ocean, strip down and jump in and hope there's no sonar down there tracking you, by the way, which there will be soon.

CNN: Do you like to play video games over the Internet?

Kleinrock: The answer is no, no. I'm not of that generation. Nor do I use Facebook or Twitter. I've got enough things that demand my attention. ... E-mail is a wonderful black hole for my time. I don't want to have to answer tweets and SMS messages, following friends, etc. It's too demanding and too frivolous in many ways.

CNN: Do you have a certain emotional tie to the Internet as if it were a member of the family?

Kleinrock: Of course I do, and it's part and parcel to my DNA. But it's as aggravating to me as to anyone else in terms of when it doesn't work, when the applications don't work.

CNN: Were you always an inventor?

Kleinrock: When I was about 6 years old, I built a crystal radio from instructions I found in a Superman comic book. The thing that fascinated me was, I could basically get all the parts at no cost.

I was totally enchanted. This was magic, and I spent the rest of my life trying to figure out how that works. Life is one big puzzle for me in the positive sense. There are a lot of things to play with. And they pay me for it.

Beijing, China -- In some of the photos, the young children are wearing bibs and slight smiles can be seen on their chubby faces.

But these are not your normal baby pictures.

The Chinese government is trying to find the parents of these 60 homeless children, some of them so young that they had not yet developed the strength to hold their own heads up.

This week the Chinese Ministry of Public Security posted pictures of these rescued children on its Web site.

Many of them had similar stories. They were kidnapped, stolen or sold and somehow had been rescued by authorities.

Police tried to find their parents but could not find them through the national DNA database, state-run China Daily reported.

And for the first time, the Ministry of Public Security posted their pictures.

"Even if I can't find my boy's photo on the Web site today, it's a blessing for desperate parents like us who have nearly lost hope," Tang Weihua, a mother who lost her 5-year-old son in 1999, told China Daily this week.

About 30,000 to 60,000 children are reported missing every year, but it is hard to estimate how many are involved in child trafficking cases, the Ministry of Public Security told China Daily.

Police have rescued 2,000 children this year since China launch a nationwide anti-trafficking campaign, China Daily reported.

But after rescuing the children finding the parents can prove difficult. One issue is that in some cases the parents sold the children.

Earlier this week China's state media reported that police arrested dozens in an alleged child trafficking ring that sold at least 52 babies.

The traffickers bought 19 boys and 33 girls from impoverished rural families in Shanxi and Hebei provinces in the past two years, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The ring started crumbling after three men were arrested with a baby boy in their van, Xinhua said. The three suspects said they had bought the baby from a woman and her daughter in Hebei, according to Xinhua.

The women had sold 12 other babies to the men, and were arrested, Xinhua said.

Washington -- President Obama has declared a national emergency to deal with the "rapid increase in illness" from the H1N1 influenza virus.

• National emergency declared to deal with "rapid increase in illness"
• Obama: "Potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources"
• Source: Action helps states by lifting bureaucratic requirements
• CDC says 16.1 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have been made

"The 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities," Obama said in a statement.

"Thus, in recognition of the continuing progression of the pandemic, and in further preparation as a nation, we are taking additional steps to facilitate our response."

The president signed the declaration late Friday and announced it Saturday.

Calling the emergency declaration "an important tool in our kit going forward," one administration official called Obama's action a "proactive measure that's not in response to any new development." Having trouble finding vaccine? Share your story

Another administration official said the move is "not tied to the current case count" and "gives the federal government more power to help states" by lifting bureaucratic requirements -- both in treating patients and moving equipment to where it's most needed.

The officials didn't want their names used because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

Obama's action allows Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements" to help health care facilities enact emergency plans to deal with the pandemic.

Those requirements are contained in Medicare, Medicaid and state Children's Health Insurance programs, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule.

Since the H1N1 flu pandemic began in April, millions of people in the United States have been infected, at least 20,000 have been hospitalized and more than 1,000 have died, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Watch how to find out if you have H1N1

Frieden said that having 46 states reporting widespread flu transmission is traditionally the hallmark of the peak of flu season. To have the flu season peak at this time of the year is "extremely unusual."

The CDC said 16.1 million doses of H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine had been made by Friday -- 2 million more than two days earlier. About 11.3 million of those had been distributed throughout the United States, Frieden said.

"We are nowhere near where we thought we would be," Frieden said, acknowledging that manufacturing delays have contributed to less vaccine being available than expected. "As public health professionals, vaccination is our strongest tool. Not having enough is frustrating to all of us."

Frieden said that while the way vaccine is manufactured is "tried and true," it's not well-suited for ramping up production during a pandemic because it takes at least six months. The vaccine is produced by growing weakened virus in eggs.

Chatham Borough, New Jersey -- The janitor at St. Patrick's Church charged in the slaying of the church's pastor returned a call from a 911 operator and said, "Everything's fine," according to police.

Jose Feliciano stabbed the Rev. Ed Hinds 32 times with a knife after the two got into an argument on Thursday, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said. The Roman Catholic priest's body was found in the church's rectory Friday morning.

Feliciano, 64, has been employed with the church for 17 years, Bianchi said.

Feliciano also faces two weapons charges, Bianchi said at a news conference.

It was not immediately known whether the janitor had retained legal counsel.

When the janitor was interviewed Saturday, after waiving his Miranda rights, he "confessed to the murder of Father Hinds," an arrest affidavit said.

The priest's body was discovered Friday morning in the rectory kitchen by Feliciano and others, according to the affidavit. An autopsy had concluded that Hinds died of "multiple sharp force injuries."

Hinds had stab wounds to his upper torso and the back of his head, Bianchi said. The priest also had defensive wounds on his hands and contusions and bruises to his face, he said.

Hinds called 911 from his cell phone at 5:11 p.m. Thursday, saying he was being attacked and asking for help, Bianchi said.

The call was cut off and the 911 operator called back, Bianchi said. He said Feliciano answered the phone.

The operator couldn't send authorities because the calls were made from a cell phone and could not be traced, Bianchi said.

Feliciano "made a half-hearted attempt to do CPR in front of police. They said it was bizarre. He made about two or three compressions and said something like, 'he's dead,'" Bianchi told CNN.

The affidavit said authorities discovered that Hinds' cell phone had been used in Easton, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles west of Chatham. Further investigation led them to a garbage can in a park there, where a T-shirt and rags "saturated with what appeared to be blood" were found, the affidavit said.

The garbage can was about 50 yards from Feliciano's home, it said.

Feliciano told police that he entered the rectory around 5 p.m. Thursday, where he and the priest argued, the affidavit said.

The two men got into an argument "over Feliciano's continued employment," Bianchi told CNN.

He said Feliciano "beat him up first, there was also bruising on his face," said the prosecutor.

Feliciano left Hinds on the kitchen floor and went into the church to get a kitchen "steak or paring" knife, and returned and stabbed the priest, the prosecutor said.

After the slaying, Feliciano said he cleaned up the blood with rags and paper towels and put them in a black bag, which he put in the trash can, the affidavit said.

Feliciano also said he threw away the knife after returning home and destroyed Hinds' cell phone.

Bianchi said the suspected weapon was found in a field near Feliciano's home.

Hinds also oversaw the church's Catholic grade school.

"When you're the sole pastor and you do most of the baptisms and weddings and funerals, people end up loving you. This will be a big loss for the parish and a big loss for the diocese," said the Rev. Paul Manning from the Archdiocese of Paterson, New Jersey.

Baghdad, Iraq -- At least 132 people were killed and 520 wounded in twin suicide car bombings in central Baghdad Sunday, officials said -- the deadliest attack on civilians in Iraq this year.

Two car bombs detonated in quick succession near Iraqi government buildings about 10:30 a.m., an Interior Ministry official said.

One of the bombs exploded outside Baghdad's governorate building and the second one outside the Justice Ministry, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) away.

Plumes of smoke billowed from the sites of the attacks as victims fled, some with blood streaming down their faces. The streets were strewn with debris, including charred cars and chunks of concrete from damaged buildings. Some government buildings and others in the area were heavily damaged.

The bombings came a day after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, visited the country for the first time, and on the same day Iraqi officials were due to try to break a logjam holding up a new election law. Iraqis are supposed to go to the polls in January, but parliament still has not passed the legislation, putting the balloting in limbo.

Iraq's parliament failed Wednesday to reach agreement on a new electoral law, so the issue was supposed go to the Political Council for National Security on Sunday. It is not clear if the bombings will derail the political council's discussions.

Rice completed a two-day visit to Iraq on Saturday that included a condolence stop at the Foreign Ministry, where a huge bombing killed more than 100 in August.

Security was tightened around Baghdad in the wake of the August 19 attack, which Iraqis dubbed "Bloody Wednesday." Blast walls were erected around the city and more checkpoints were set up.

Iraqi journalists grilled officials on TV on Sunday, demanding to know how the new attacks could have taken place given the new security measures.

An Iraqi official said the government was working to bolster security, but regional cooperation was needed to help fight suicide bombers.

"We are calling on international and U.N. envoys to come and find out why Iraq is being targeted this way," said Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman.

The spokesman said Iraq's setbacks are mainly caused by a fledgling intelligence that has "not been completed."

The European Union condemned "this terrorist attack" and sent its condolences to the families of the victims, the Swedish presidency said in a statement.

The Foreign Ministry, near the site of Sunday's blasts, was one of six places attacked on August 19. That day's attacks killed at least 100 people and wounded hundreds more. The area is close to the heavily guarded Green Zone that also houses the U.S. Embassy.

The August attacks shook confidence in the abilities of Iraqi security forces who took over securing urban areas from U.S. troops over the summer.

The Iraqi government has blamed Syria for harboring former Baath party members, who it said planned the August attacks, and asked for their handover.

Relations between the two neighbors were strained after the bombings. Each withdrew its ambassador from the other's country.

Security in the capital was tightened after the August bombings, and a decision to normalize the situation in Baghdad by taking down blast walls was reversed and checkpoints increased.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned of a possible increase in violence ahead of the country's national elections scheduled for January 16.

Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The disorder may be inherited or caused by other factors such as birth-related or other physical trauma, infection, poisoning (e.g. lead poisoning) or reaction to drugs, particularly neuroleptics.

Causes

The causes of dystonia are not yet known or understood; however, they are categorized as follows on a theoretical basis:

Primary dystonia is suspected to be caused by a pathology of the central nervous system, likely originating in those parts of the brain concerned with motor function, such as the basal ganglia, and the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) producing Purkinje neurons. The precise cause of primary dystonia is unknown. In many cases it may involve some genetic predisposition towards the disorder combined with environmental conditions.

Secondary dystonia refers to dystonia brought on by some identified cause, usually involving brain damage, or by some unidentified cause such as chemical imbalance. Some cases of (particularly focal) dystonia are brought on after trauma, are induced by certain drugs (tardive dystonia), or may be the result of diseases of the nervous system such as Wilson's disease.

Environmental and task-related factors are suspected to trigger the development of focal dystonias because they appear disproportionately in individuals who perform high precision hand movements such as musicians, engineers, architects and artists.

One case reported involves a woman, Desiree Jennings, who apparently developed dystonia 10 days after a regular flu shot, although there has been no demonstrated causal link between the vaccine and the diagnosis of dystonia. Dr. Leigh Vinocur from the University of Maryland Medical System stated on the October 16, 2009, airing of "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News that this case was psychogenic and neurologists were using it as an example of psychogenic dystonia.

This diagnosis does not exclude thiomersal (sometimes spelled "thimerosal") induced neurological damage as a possible causative agent in the young woman's disorder. However, there is no empirical support for a position that such theoretical damage could have resulted from the vaccine in the flu-shot case; it would be the first reported such case. Nevertheless, a hypothetical link between flu vaccines and dystonia is championed by the activist group Generation Rescue, which in the past has been known for making similar medical claims regarding effects of thiomersal (see thiomersal controversy)

Symptoms

Symptoms vary according to the kind of dystonia involved. In most cases, dystonia tends to lead to abnormal posturing, particularly on movement. Many sufferers have continuous pain, cramping and relentless muscle spasms due to involuntary muscle movements.

Early symptoms may include loss of precision muscle coordination (sometimes first manifested in declining penmanship, frequent small injuries to the hands, dropped items and a noticeable increase in dropped or chipped dishes), cramping pain with sustained use and trembling. Significant muscle pain and cramping may result from very minor exertions like holding a book and turning pages. It may become difficult to find a comfortable position for arms and legs with even the minor exertions associated with holding arms crossed causing significant pain similar to restless leg syndrome. Affected persons may notice trembling in the diaphragm while breathing, or the need to place hands in pockets, under legs while sitting or under pillows while sleeping to keep them still and to reduce pain. Trembling in the jaw may be felt and heard while lying down, and the constant movement to avoid pain may result in the grinding and wearing down of teeth, or symptoms similar to TMD. The voice may crack frequently or become harsh, triggering frequent throat clearing. Swallowing can become difficult and accompanied by painful cramping.

Electrical sensors (EMG) inserted into affected muscle groups, while painful, can provide a definitive diagnosis by showing pulsating nerve signals being transmitted to the muscles even when they are at rest. The brain appears to signal portions of fibers within the affected muscle groups at a firing speed of about 10 Hz causing them to pulsate, tremble and contort. When called upon to perform an intentional activity, the muscles fatigue very quickly and some portions of the muscle groups do not respond (causing weakness) while other portions over-respond or become rigid (causing micro-tears under load). The symptoms worsen significantly with use, especially in the case of focal dystonia, and a "mirror effect" is often observed in other body parts: use of the right hand may cause pain and cramping in that hand as well as in the other hand and legs that were not being used. Stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, sustained use and cold temperatures can worsen symptoms.

Direct symptoms may be accompanied by secondary effects of the continuous muscle and brain activity, including disturbed sleep patterns, exhaustion, mood swings, mental stress, difficulty concentrating, blurred vision, digestive problems and short temper. People with dystonia may also become depressed and find great difficulty adapting their activities and livelihood to a progressing disability. Side effects from treatment and medications can also present challenges in normal activities.

In some cases, symptoms may progress and then plateau for years, or stop progressing entirely. The progression may be delayed by treatment or adaptive lifestyle changes, while forced continued use may make symptoms progress more rapidly. In others, the symptoms may progress to total disability, making some of the more risky forms of treatment worth considering.

An accurate diagnosis may be difficult because of the way the disorder manifests itself. Sufferers may be diagnosed as having similar and perhaps related disorders including Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, carpal tunnel syndrome, TMD, Tourette's syndrome, or other neuromuscular movement disorders.

Classification

Types of dystonia

• Generalized
• Focal
• Segmental
• Intermediate
• Acute Dystonic Reaction

Generalized dystonias

• Normal birth history and milestones
• Autosomal dominant
• childhood onset
• starts in lower limbs and spreads upwards
• also known as "idiopathic torsion dystonia" (old terminology "dystonia musculrum deformans")

Focal dystonias

These are the most common dystonias and tend to be classified as follows:

• Cervical dystonia (spasmodic torticollis). This affects the muscles of the neck, causing the head to rotate to one side, to pull down towards the chest, or back, or a combination of these postures.

• Blepharospasm. This affects the muscles around the eyes. The sufferer experiences rapid blinking of the eyes or even their forced closure causing effective blindness.

• Oculogyric crisis. An extreme and sustained (usually) upward deviation of the eyes often with convergence causing diplopia. It is frequently associated with backwards and lateral flexion of the neck and either widely opened mouth or jaw clenching. Frequently a result of antiemetics such as the neuroleptics (e.g. prochlorperazine) or metoclopramide.

• Oromandibular dystonia. This affects the muscles of the jaw and tongue, causing distortions of the mouth and tongue.

• Spasmodic dysphonia/Laryngeal dystonia. This affects the muscles of the larynx, causing the voice to sound broken or reducing it to a whisper.

• Focal hand dystonia (also known as musician's or writer's cramp). This affects a single muscle or small group of muscles in the hand. It interferes with activities such as writing or playing a musical instrument by causing involuntary muscular contractions. The condition is sometimes "task-specific," meaning that it is generally only apparent during certain activities. Focal hand dystonia is neurological in origin, and is not due to normal fatigue. The loss of precise muscle control and continuous unintentional movement results in painful cramping and abnormal positioning that makes continued use of the affected body parts impossible.

The combination of blepharospasmodic contractions and oromandibular dystonia is called cranial dystonia or Meige's syndrome.

There is a group called myoclonus dystonia or myoclonic dystonia, where some cases are hereditary and have been associated with a missense mutation in the dopamin-D2 receptor. Some of these cases have responded remarkably to alcohol.

Segmental dystonias

Segmental dystonias affect two adjoining parts of the body:

• Hemidystonia affects an arm and a leg on one side of the body.
• Multifocal dystonia affects many different parts of the body.
• Generalized dystonia affects most of the body, frequently involving the legs and back.

Treatment

Treatment has been limited to minimizing the symptoms of the disorder as there is yet no successful treatment for its cause. Reducing the types of movements that trigger or worsen dystonic symptoms provides some relief, as does reducing stress, getting plenty of rest, moderate exercise, and relaxation techniques. Various treatments focus on sedating brain functions or blocking nerve communications with the muscles via drugs, neuro-suppression or denervation. All current treatments have negative side effects and risks.

Physicians may prescribe a series of different medications on a trial basis in an effort to find a combination that is effective for a specific patient. Not all patients will respond well to the same medications. Drugs that have had positive results in some patients include anti-Parkinsons agents Trihexyphenidyl, Trihexyphenidyl-Hydrochloride(PAKISONAL), muscle relaxers (Valium), keppra, and beta-blockers including "off-label" uses for some blood pressure medications.

Drugs such as anticholinergics, which act as inhibitors of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, may provide some relief. Clonazepam, an anti-seizure medicine, is also sometimes prescribed. However, for most sufferers their effects are limited and side effects like mental confusion, sedation, mood swings and short-term memory loss occur.

Botulinum toxin injections into affected muscles have proved quite successful in providing some relief for around 3–6 months, depending on the kind of dystonia. Botox injections have the advantage of ready availability (the same form is used for cosmetic surgery) and the effects are not permanent. There is a risk of temporary paralysis of the muscles being injected or the leaking of the toxin into adjacent muscle groups causing weakness or paralysis in them. The injections have to be repeated as the effects wear off and around 15% of recipients will develop immunity to the toxin. There is a Type A and Type B toxin approved for treatment of dystonia; often those that develop resistance to Type A may be able to use Type B.

Surgery, such as the denervation of selected muscles, may also provide some relief; however, the destruction of nerves in the limbs or brain is not reversible and should only be considered in the most extreme cases. Recently, the procedure of deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven successful in a number of cases of severe generalised dystonia. DBS as treatment for medication-refractory dystonia, on the other hand, may increase the risk of suicide in patients. Unfortunately, reference data of patients without DBS therapy are lacking.

One type of dystonia, dopamine-responsive dystonia, can be completely treated with regular doses of L-DOPA in a form such as Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa). Although this doesn't remove the condition, it does alleviate the symptoms most of the time.

In the case of Oculogyric crisis, benadryl may be administered with excellent results. Symptoms subside in a matter of minutes.

A baclofen pump has been used to treat patients of all ages exhibiting muscle spasticity along with dystonia. The pump delivers baclofen via a catheter to the thecal space surrounding the spinal cord. The pump itself is placed in the abdomen. It can be refilled periodically by access through the skin.

Physical therapy can sometimes help with focal dystonia. A structured set of exercises is tailored to help the affected area.

Some focal dystonias have been proven treatable through movement retraining in the Taubman approach, particularly in the case of musicians. However other focal dystonias may not respond and may even be made worse by this treatment.

In the case of a acute dystonic reaction,

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) 25–50 mg IV push is often used in the prehospital and Emergency Department setting to relieve to muscle contractions associated with dystonic reactions. Although an antihistamine, diphenhydramine also possesses some anticholinergic properties. Although diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is used to treat this reaction, it is not an allergic reaction to the medication. The patient should be informed of this distinction.

LONDON, England -- An $80 million research project aimed at giving people 50 active years after the age of 50 was launched by scientists at the University of Leeds in northern England Tuesday.

About half of the babies born in Western countries today will live until they are 100 years old, according to recent research published in the medical journal The Lancet, so the challenge is to ensure they remain active throughout their old age.

While most of us will live longer than our parents and grandparents, the aging population means that in coming decades more people will suffer from age-related conditions such as osteoarthritis, heart disease and chronic back pain. Obesity and increased physical activity also put more pressure on our joints, causing them to wear out faster.

Scientists at Leeds University envisage that many of the body parts that flounder with age could be upgraded using own-grown tissues and more durable implants. This will mean artificial hips, knees and heart valves, for example, lasting far longer than the current 20-year typical lifespan.

"Our work is driven by the concept of 50 more years after 50 -- that is, making our second 50 years of life as healthy, comfortable and active as our first, so we can enjoy a higher quality of life," explains Professor John Fisher, who is an expert in artificial joints and tissue regeneration.

"We now have the technology available to do astonishing things, such as repairing the body by growing healthy new tissue through biological scaffolds and stem cell therapy. And a new generation of prosthetic hip and knee joints that last longer will avoid the need for further replacements."

Fisher says the center also hopes to gain a better understanding of degenerative diseases to allow for early diagnosis, rather than having to treat someone when they are already in crippling pain.

"For example, we're developing biosensor tools that can detect the presence of antibodies and proteins in the blood. All of these technologies will ultimately reduce suffering in patients through more timely interventions, shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times."

So how do you feel about this. Are you looking forward to your old age? Do you believe you will remain active? Click here to send us your comments and we will try to use as many as possible in tonight's show.

Sun Microsystems on Tuesday announced plans to slash 3,000 jobs over the next year, putting the move down to the delay in getting European Commission clearance for its agreed $7bn acquisition by Oracle.

The latest in a string of job cuts from the struggling US maker of servers and other equipment for corporate data centres followed recent complaints from Oracle that the review in Brussels was hurting Sun's business.

Larry Ellison, Oracle's chief executive officer, said last month that Sun was losing $100m a month as it awaited regulatory approval for the deal.

That is twice the rate of losses Sun was suffering in the latest quarter for which it reported earnings.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Sun failed to provide any update about its finances, but said its board had decided on the job cuts "in light of the delay in the closing of the acquisition of the company". The cuts account for about 10 per cent of its workforce.

However, it failed to say whether the regulatory delay -- by causing uncertainty among its customers -- was directly to blame for the job losses, or whether cuts were likely to have been made later anyway following an Oracle acquisition.

There had already been signs that Sun's customers had delayed purchases of new equipment as they waited for the completion of the deal and a clearer sense of whether the software company would continue to develop Sun's existing range of products.

Sun blamed a 31 per cent collapse in its revenues in the three months to the end of June partly on customer caution prompted by the acquisition, although its results were also badly dented by the slumping economy.

A series of retrenchment actions have now seen Sun embark on 10 restructuring efforts, as it tried to deal first with declining competitiveness caused by changes in its markets, and more recently by the recession.

It announced cuts of 5,000-6,000 jobs a year ago.

Mr Ellison has also been expected to make deep cuts to pare Sun's losses to hit his financial targets from the Oracle deal.

In Silicon Valley, where both companies are based, Oracle's agreement to buy Sun was seen as preferable to a possible purchase by East Coast-based IBM . However, one person close to the deal warned that the Oracle purchase would probably lead to far bigger job losses than would have occurred under IBM.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Back-to-back suicide bombings killed at least five people at a university here Tuesday and wounded nearly two dozen, authorities said.

The explosions occurred at the International Islamic University in the Pakistani capital, said police official Bin Yamin.

Naeem Iqbal, Islamabad police spokesman, said three men and two female students were killed, and 22 people were injured.

At least four of the injured were in critical condition, said Altaf Hussein, a doctor at a hospital. All the victims are between the ages of 18 and 25.

Usman Virk, a student, said he heard one explosion in the men's section of the university, followed by a blast in the cafeteria in the women's section of the university.

Virk said he saw several injured students with blood-soaked clothes being taken away by rescue crews.

More than 12,000 foreign and local students, including 5,500 women, are enrolled in the 29-year-old university.

The university Web site describes the school as a "unique center of learning in the Muslim world which strives to combine the essentials of the Islamic faith with the best of modern knowledge."

In recent weeks, Pakistan has been relentlessly rocked by a wave of suicide attacks as Islamic militants retaliate against a military offensive to rout insurgents operating along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

On Friday, a suicide car bomber detonated near a police station in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province. The blast killed at least 13 people, most of them civilians.

A day earlier, militants attacked two police training centers and the country's Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore in eastern Pakistan.

At least 30 Pakistani police officers and civilians were killed in those attacks. At least 10 attackers also died.

And on October 10, militants held dozens of hostages for 22 hours inside an army headquarters in Rawalpindi, which neighbors Islamabad. Eleven military personnel, three civilians, and nine militants were killed in the siege.

Apple revamped its desktop and laptop lines Tuesday, dramatically redesigning the iMac all-in-one and MacBook laptop, and also adding a few updates to its Mac Mini line of small-scale desktops. It also introduced a handful of updated peripherals, with a multitouch mouse bringing the most thorough changes.

New iMacs

The biggest news Tuesday will be the new iMacs, which move from aluminum and polycarbon design to aluminum and edge-to-edge glass, mirroring the look of Apple's line of MacBook Pro laptops. The new iMac will come in 21.5 (1,920x1,080) and 27-inch (2,560x1,440) models, each with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Starting price for the 21.5-inch model is $1,199, with the 27-incher beginning at $1,699. Apple will also offer step-up models for each screen size, coming in at $1,499 for the beefier 21.5-inch model, and $1,999 for the higher-end 27-inch iMac.

As for specs, Apple has mostly opted for raw speed over adding more processing cores. All but the $1,999 iMac come with Intel Core 2 Duo chips, but the CPU speed in the lowest model now starts at 3.06GHz. That used to be the fastest chip available in Apple's previous highest-end iMac.

The one exception is the $1,999 iMac, which starts with Intel's most recent quad-core chip, the core i5 at 2.66GHz, and upgrade options for that model go all the way to the even faster Core i7 at 2.8GHz.

Other new iMac features are relatively straightforward for the systems themselves. There's no Blu-ray option, as was rumored, but you do get an SD Card slot on all new iMacs.

The 27-inch version also lets you use its mini-Display Port input as a video input (via a dongle from Belkin), which means you can use the larger iMac as a second monitor. The GeForce 9400M remains the standard graphics chip, with upgrades available to Radeon HD 4670 and Radeon HD 4870 chips. Storage options go as high as 2TB on the 27-inchers.

13-inch Unibody Polycarbonate

MacBook Apple has also revamped its best-selling laptop, the 13-inch MacBook. The new version retains the white polycarbonate look, as well as the $999 price.

With every other laptop in Apple's current lineup using the "Pro" moniker, the single non-Pro MacBook was starting to look a bit dated. While many industry watchers expected Apple to lower prices on the white polycarbonate version, the company has given the system an upscale makeover, keeping the price the same.

Like the aluminum MacBook Pro models, the MacBook now has a unibody chassis, although in this case, it's still made of polycarbonate. A separate bottom panel has a matte non-slip feel, as opposed to the glossy white upper body. The unibody construction means the battery is no longer removable--also like the current Pro lineup.

We got a chance to get our hands on one of the new MacBooks this morning. While still recognizably a MacBook, the new version has more gently rounded edges on the lid, making it look slightly thinner from a side angle.

The touch pad is the same large glass multitouch version found on the MacBook Pros, and is dominated by the wrist rest. Also like the Pro versions, the 13.3-inch display is now LED backlit, which is better for both power consumption and environmental concerns.

Internal components, including the Nvidia GeForce 9400, are either the same, or very similar to, current models. Some features found in the 13-inch MacBook Pro that you won't find in this new MacBook include the SD card slot and backlit keyboard.

While consumers have long called for lower entry prices for Mac laptops, Apple has always been reluctant to stray into the lower-margin sub-$1,000 market. With this new upscale version of the MacBook, Apple is giving a slight recessionary nod to buyers, without having to dive into the Netbook price wars.

The new Magic Mouse and wireless keyboard

You'll also find new peripherals in the box with a new iMac. Apple has made a wireless mouse and keyboard the default options, and both have received redesigns.

The keyboard now has an all aluminum body, but the new mouse, dubbed the Magic Mouse, is far more interesting. The sleek, touch capacitive design behaves similarly to the track pad on Apple's laptops.

Of course the standard two-button usage model works as you'd expect, but you can also simply drag your finger down the middle of the mouse to scroll up and down. It also supports accelerated scrolling, like the iPhone, along with a few gestures for lateral and 360-degree movement, depending on the application. A new aluminum body Apple Remote is also available as a $16 extra

New Mac Mini Finally, Apple gave a nod to the Mac Mini. The core design remains the same for the most part, with a few minor tweaks to its CPU, memory, and hard-drive capacity.

Prices remain the same at $599 and $799. Far more interesting is the new server iteration of the Mac Mini. This model starts at $999, and instead of a DVD burner, you get the Snow Leopard version of OS X Server, along with two 500GB hard drives.

All of these new products are available today, except for the Core i5-based iMac, which goes on sale in November. We'll also be posting hands-on slideshows and videos of the new MacBook and the new 27-inch iMac shortly, so stay tuned.

It's just one thing after another for Richard and Mayumi Heene. They've caused such an uproar after last week's alleged balloon boy hoax that Lifetime won't air a re-run of their "Wife Swap" episode.

Those who pay close attention to TV Guide would have noticed that the Heene family's first episode for the ABC reality show was scheduled to air on Lifetime on Thursday, October 29, at 2 p.m. ET.

"It was on the schedule long before the incident," a Lifetime spokesperson said. The incident refers to the giant, homemade balloon that sailed over Colorado on Thursday, purportedly carrying 6-year-old Falcon Heene.

The bubble burst when authorities discovered Falcon had been hiding in a box in the attic. During an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the Heene's asked Falcon why he didn't come out as they searched for him, and the boy replied, "You guys said we did it for a show."

That triggered an investigation that revealed the frightful incident was a hoax, police said. Richard and Mayumi Heene are now facing a number of local charges, and the Federal Aviation Administration has begun its own balloon boy investigation, officials said.

As a result, Lifetime has decided to erase the family's "Wife Swap" past from the network.

"Once we found out" [it was allegedly a hoax], the spokesperson said, "we decided to pull it off the air. At this time, we don't have any plans to air it in the near future."

The episode depicted Karen Martel, whose husband runs a child-proofing business, as being shocked "as the Heene kids jump off banisters and run wild, and appalled by Richard's attitude to women," according to the description on ABC's Web site. "Wife Swap" asks its participants to switch places for two weeks.

"Meanwhile, at the Martels'," the description continued, "Mayumi Heene sees safety gates everywhere and wonders how the family [has] fun. She asks the kids about their anxieties and confronts Jay about the climate of fear in his house."

Lifetime plans on filling the time slot with a "Wife Swap" episode that features another family, but rest assured, the Heene's reality TV debut can still be found on YouTube.