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JIANGYIN, Jiangsu, July 1 (Xinhua) -- China's manned deep-diving submersible, the Jiaolong, embarked on a journey on Friday during which it will make a 5,000-meter dive in the Pacific Ocean.During the dive, the submersible will undergo several operational tests in which it will take photos, shoot video, survey seabeds and take samples from the ocean floor, according to Jin Jiancai, deputy director of the submersible's diving test program team.The tests will be conducted in the Pacific Ocean in accordance with a contract signed between the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research & Development Association and the International Seabed Authority (ISA).The submersible is scheduled to spend 47 days at sea, according to a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology.A submersible differs from a submarine, as it typically depends on another vessel or facility for support.The Jiaolong, designed to reach a depth of 7,000 meters, completed 17 dives in the South China Sea between May 31 and July 18 last year, reaching 3,759 meters during its deepest dive.In the year since the submersible's last dive, program team members have made several technical improvements to the submersible and its support vessel, Jin said.Jin said the program team members are "very confident" about the test.He also stressed that the test will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as the ISA's rules and regulations.The Jiaolong is the world's first manned submersible designed to reach depths of 7,000 meters below sea level, according to Xu Qinan, the submersible's chief designer.

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Exposure to secondhand smoke ( SHS) is associated with increased risk of hearing loss among adolescents, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.Among U.S. children, approximately 60 percent are exposed to SHS, according to background information in the article. Studies have associated exposure to secondhand smoke prenatally or during childhood with various health conditions, from low birth weight and respiratory infections to behavioral problems and otitis media. Children exposed to SHS are more likely to develop recurrent otitis media, the authors note. "Secondhand smoke may also have the potential to have an impact on auditory development, leading to sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)," they add.Anil Lalwani and colleagues from New York University Langone Medical Center examined the risk factors for SNHL, including SHS, among adolescents, stratified by demographic groups. They included 1,533 individuals from 12 years to 19 years of age who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2006.Participants were interviewed about their health status and family medical history, exposure to SHS, and self-recognition of hearing impairment. In addition, they underwent a physical examination, including blood testing for cotinine (a by-product of nicotine exposure), and hearing tests.Compared with teens who had no SHS exposure, those who were exposed to secondhand smoke exhibited higher rates of low- and high-frequency hearing loss. The rate of hearing loss appeared to be cumulative, increasing with the level of cotinine detected by blood tests. The results also demonstrated that more than 80 percent of participants with hearing loss did not realize they had impairment.As hearing loss early in life can cause problems with development and functioning, the authors suggest that these results have "significant implications for public health in the United States."They note that most adolescents do not receive screening for hearing loss in the absence of risk factors.If further studies replicate these results, they state, SHS could be considered one such risk factor.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Facebook has hired Joe Lockhart, who was former U.S. President Bill Clinton's press secretary during the last two years of his second term, as the social network company's vice president of global communications, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.Lockhart, 51, will report to Elliot Schrage, Facebook's current vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy, The Wall Street Journal said in a report."His experience building and running a press office at the White House gives him particular appreciation for the demands of a global 24-hour news cycle and the challenges of responding effectively to intense scrutiny," Schrage said of Lockhart's arrival.Lockhart will start at Facebook on July 15 and will move from Washington D.C. to Facebook's headquarters in California.Lockhart is the latest Washington insider to join Facebook as the world's largest social networking site is facing intense scrutiny for its privacy practices and growing global presence, The Wall Street Journal pointed out.Last year, Facebook also hired White House economic adviser Marne Levine to serve as its vice president of global public policy.More recently, Facebook hired former Bush administration officials Joel Kaplan as its vice president for U.S. public policy, and Myriah Jordan, who will become a policy manager focusing on congressional relations.

Beijing, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A sperm donation scandal disclosed recently has aroused growing concern in the United States.According to the New York Times' report, Ryan Kramer, the son of a donor, found that he has more than 150 half-siblings - they are all the children of the same donor."It's wild when we see them all together - they all look alike," said Cynthia Daily, mother of Kramer.As more women choose to have children on their own, the demand for sperm donors has surged.Some sperm banks are earning huge profits by allowing too many mothers to receive sperms from the same popular donors, according to the report.And this trend will lead to risks: rare genetic diseases could be spread more widely, and the children of the same donor could meet and, unbeknownst to them, commit incest, medical experts warned.Parents and donors are calling for a tighter regulation so that donor children can know more about their donors, and the number of kids from each donor can be limited.

TAMPA, the United States, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The HIV/AIDS patients in the U.S. state of Florida are in dispute with state authorities over a proposal to impose tighter restrictions on those who qualify for drugs provided by the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).According to the proposed restrictions, individuals would have to earn less than 21,000 U.S. dollars annually to qualify for ADAP drugs. If approved by the Florida Department of Health (FDH), this would affect approximately 1,150 HIV/AIDS patients."The FDH is currently looking at the number of cost containment activities, including altering the financial eligibility for ADAP services," said FDH's press secretary Jessica Hammonds. "After soliciting public input on this matter, the department is in the final stages of evaluating the matter."The Florida ADAP program serves almost 9,500 clients, each of whom receiving 8,600 dollars in funding annually, Hammonds said. There are still another 3,482 on a waiting list.Four FDH sponsored public hearings were held in April and May on the proposal to reduce HIV/AIDS funding. Two were held in Miami, one in Tampa, and the other one was held in the state capital city of Tallahassee. Over 1,000 people attended the hearings.The issue has become so ubiquitous that it caught the attention of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), created by the popular entertainer of the same name.