Professor Ronald Levy, head of the cancer divison at Stanford University in the US, said that the bird virus could not replicate in human cells, so was likely to be safe to use in humans.

BBC: 'Supercharged' immune system takes on cancer

Salvador Jorgensen, a researcher at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, US, said it was still not clear why the sharks went there.

BBC: RELATED BBC SITES

In order to convince other nations not to go nuclear, this trend has to be reversed, argues Sidney Drell, a nuclear physicist who has been at the center of US nuclear policy for many years, now at Stanford University.

NPR: Nuclear Weapons Gain Importance for Regional Powers

In carrying out the study, presented at an economics conference held at Stanford University, eBay removed its paid-search keywords from MSN and Yahoo platforms in the US, while retaining them on Google.

BBC: Google advertising value questioned by eBay

Joining us now is Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University.

NPR: The History of Political Succession

It is hoped the e-university will meet the challenge of US universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford in California, which offer virtual degrees.

BBC: Universities told to catch the e-wave