The dead swan was found on the northern island of Hokkaido and authorities have confirmed that the wild bird was infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
Another case, also in a dead swan, found five days ago near Lake Saroma in eastern Hokkaido, has also been confirmed as bird flu, this latest case apparently had the same strain found in another dead swan found on April 24th on another part of the island.
This latest case is Japan's third outbreak this year; several swans were found in April with the H5N1 strain on the shores of Lake Towada, close to the northern tip of the main island of Honshu.
Japanese authorities are concerned that the bird flu virus may be spreading among wild birds in the north but so far officials in Hokkaido say no poultry have been affected.
Health authorities will inspect three nearby poultry farms and disinfect 180,000 chickens as a precaution and scientists at Hokkaido University are conducting gene tests to find out more information about the cases.
Officials say the period when swans fly into Hokkaido has now peaked and only about 500 remain in a lake on the tip of the island.
Even though the virus remains a disease mainly of birds which is difficult for people to catch, scientists are concerned the virus will ultimately mutate into a form that spreads more easily between humans, with the potential to kill millions worldwide.
According to the World Health Organisation at least 240 people have died from bird flu since 2003, and most human cases have been las a result of close contact with infected poultry.
To date Japan has reported no human cases of the bird flu virus.
Dr Saunders, Dr Cox and colleagues have identified the fruit fly equivalent of the key human ageing gene known as WRN. They find that flies with damage to this gene share important features with people suffering from the rapid ageing condition Werner syndrome, who also have damage to the WRN gene. In particular, the DNA, or genetic blueprint, is unstable in the flies that have the damaged version of the gene and the chromosomes are often altered. The researchers show that the fly's DNA becomes rearranged, with genes being swapped between chromosomes. In patients with Werner syndrome, this genome instability leads to cancer. Cells derived from Werner syndrome patients are extremely sensitive to a drug often used to treat cancers: the researchers show that the flies that have the damaged gene are killed by even very low doses of the drug.
Professor Nigel Brown, Director of Science and Technology, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council said: "The ageing population presents a major research challenge to the UK and we need effort to understand normal ageing and the characteristics that accompany it."
"Fruit flies are already used as a model for the genetics behind mechanisms that underlie normal functioning of the human body and it is great news that this powerful research tool can be applied to such an important area of study into human health."
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