`Scientists are conducting experiments to change the sexuality of “gay” sheep in a programme that critics fear could pave the way for breeding out homosexuality in humans. [..]
It raises the prospect that pregnant women could one day be offered a treatment to reduce or eliminate the chance that their offspring will be homosexual. Experts say that, in theory, the “straightening” procedure on humans could be as simple as a hormone supplement for mothers-to-be, worn on the skin like an anti-smoking nicotine patch.
The research, at Oregon State University in the city of Corvallis and at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, has caused an outcry. Martina Navratilova, the lesbian tennis player who won Wimbledon nine times, and scientists and gay rights campaigners in Britain have called for the project to be abandoned.
Navratilova defended the “right” of sheep to be gay. [..]’
Sounds like a giant chicken hatchery or something.
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`Federal officials in the US say it was probably just some weird weather phenomenon, but a group of United Airlines employees swear they saw a mysterious, saucer-shaped craft hovering over Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
The workers, some of them pilots, said the object did not have lights and hovered over an airport terminal on November 7 before shooting up through the clouds, according to a report in today’s Chicago Tribune.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acknowledged that a United supervisor had called the control tower at O’Hare, asking if anyone had seen a spinning disc-shaped object.
But the controllers did not see anything, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said.’
‘Ali G interviews NBA stars and announcers ‘
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`A cell phone became a lifeline for a Detroit man who woke up inside a garbage truck that had begun compacting its load, Oak Park, Mich., police said.
The man, 41, was scavenging for cans and bottles in the city’s Dumpsters when he apparently fell asleep, Lt. Mike Pousak said. He was awakened after the Dumpster he was in was unloaded into a garbage truck at about 2 p.m. Thursday. The man, whose name was not released, used his cell phone to call 911.
Pousak said the man didn’t know where he was, but that he hadn’t been drinking, and he isn’t homeless. The man is, however, unemployed.’
.. and sticking his finger up his arse whilst he’s doing it, by the looks of things.
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`Over a thousand Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in emergency wards on Sunday after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while sacrificing startled animals.
At least 1,413 people – referred to as “amateur butchers” by the Turkish media – were treated at hospitals across the country, most suffering cuts to their hands and legs, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Four people were severely injured, crushed under the weight of large animals that fell on top of them, the agency reported. Another person was hurt when a crane used to lift an animal tumbled onto him, the agency said.’
`A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in Sydney, Australia, landed 13,000km away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking website.
Dressed for the Australian summer in t-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany yesterday for a four-week holiday.
Instead of arriving “down under,” Mr Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana.
“I did wonder but I didn’t want to say anything,” Gutt told the Bild newspaper. “I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the US.”‘
This is kinda cool, but a bit crazy. If the hills too step to pedal up, there’s always walking. This could be overkill. [shrug] 🙂
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`Drivers swerved cars and trucks into other lanes to avoid a 3-year-old boy, wearing only a diaper and T-shirt, who was playing along a busy highway after wandering away from home while his mother slept, police said.
Some motorists stopped along Interstate 465 on the city’s west side Saturday to take care of the boy until officers arrived, the Indiana State Police said.
“I looked up and I seen this little … boy running down the middle of the slow lane in the interstate. I just could not believe what I was seeing,” said Troy Crady, one of those who stopped to help. [..]
Senior State Trooper Cedric Merritt said that when Dyer was told of her son’s activities, she responded: “Oh, he got out again.”‘
Just lots of useful PHP scripts and examples.
`A synthetic chemical similar to the active ingredient in marijuana makes new cells grow in rat brains. What is more, in rats this cell growth appears to be linked with reducing anxiety and depression. The results suggest that marijuana, or its derivatives, could actually be good for the brain.
In mammals, new nerve cells are constantly being produced in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is associated with learning, memory, anxiety and depression. Other recreational drugs, such as alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, have been shown to suppress this new growth. Xia Zhang of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, and colleagues decided to see what effects a synthetic cannabinoid called HU210 had on rats’ brains.
They found that giving rats high doses of HU210 twice a day for 10 days increased the rate of nerve cell formation, or neurogenesis, in the hippocampus by about 40%.’
`Do the stars find themselves as fascinating as their fans do? Yes, says a forthcoming psychological study of Hollywood’s celebrity class. It is not just money or career that makes them seem different: it is their extreme levels of self love and their compulsive need for public attention. [..]
Two Los Angeles psychologists have produced the first scientific evidence that many celebrities sincerely believe that they are better than the rest of us. The psychologists’ forthcoming book suggests that many pop culture icons are heading for disaster.’
More than you might expect. 🙂
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This is a pretty funny clip of a jump on a mini bike that goes slightly wrong.
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`Armed with my new tips and tricks, I laced up my skates and headed out to face the jungle that is childhood. When the boys confronted me again, I dared them to mess with me. One ballsy kid lunged towards me with the intent of pushing me down. Quickly, I kicked that kid squarely between the legs with my skate. He crumpled to the ground as I hysterically screamed at his friends, “I’LL EAT YOUR EYES! I’LL EAT ALL OF YOUR EYES!” Terrified, those boys got up and ran like Hell. I’ve never felt so empowered in my entire life.’
`A new poll from The Associated Press and AOL News has discovered that Americans are torn in terms of their perception of President George W. Bush and his performance in 2006. When asked to name the past year’s biggest villain, Bush was far and away the #1 choice, commanding 25% of the vote, distantly trailed by Osama Bin Laden (8%), Saddam Hussein (6%), President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran (5%), North Korean leader Kim Jong II (2%) and Donald Rumsfeld (2%). Satan only took in 1% of the vote, as did Hugo Chavez, Tom Cruise, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Rosie O’Donnell, among others.
On the flipside, Bush also claimed the top spot when Americans were asked to name the year’s biggest hero, but with only a trifling 13% of the vote. [..]
There’s some video over at Crooks and Liars.
`Jay Mohr exchanged wedding vows with “Las Vegas” actress Nikki Cox in a ceremony here, People magazine reported.
The couple was married Friday night, according to the magazine.’
`The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who, uh, remove themselves from it…
Like two people, 17 and 20, who imitated Darth Vader and made light sabres from fluorescent light tubes. That’s right, they opened up fluoresceent tubes, poured gasoline inside, and lit the end… As one can imagine, a Star Wars sized explosion was not far behind. One died, the other survived to ‘fess up to their creative, but stupid, reenactment.’
Apparently if you put dry ice into some sort of alcoholic drink, when the carbon dioxide sublimes it pulls some ethanol along with it.
(7.0meg Windows media)
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`An emu has been stolen from an animal centre by burglars who then hid it in a wheelie bin to make their getaway.
Volunteers at Lords House Farm in the Rishton area of Blackburn, Lancashire, said they fear the emu will have died.
Burglars took the bird from the farm, which offers riding and animal therapy, then hid it in a bin stolen from a neighbouring property.
Lancashire police said the bin was pushed for almost a mile, before being abandoned and the emu taken.’
`De’Bella — or Debbie, as everybody calls her — decided late in life to become a porn star. This year she turned 50, time, she knew, to chase her dream.
“I love sex,” she explained, biting into a Burger King special before embarking on her scene for the day at a rented house in the San Fernando Valley. She was wearing a bright pink satin and black chiffon nightie with a matching thong and heavy makeup.
“I decided I wanted to do something different,” she said. “I’d been working behind the scenes, and my friends said: ‘Why not do movies? Have some fun, and get paid for it?’ ”
So she has. Since May, De’Bella (she did not want her real name published) has used days off from her job as an administrative assistant at a sex-related entertainment company, Platinum X, to shoot about 30 scenes, with men mostly 19 and 20 year old.’
