moonbuggy

‘Israeli scientists have devised a computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000 times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret: It runs on DNA.

A year ago, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, unveiled a programmable molecular computing machine composed of enzymes and DNA molecules instead of silicon microchips. Now the team has gone one step further. In the new device, the single DNA molecule that provides the computer with the input data also provides all the necessary fuel.’

Followup to Molecular Computer Runs a Billion Simultaneous Programs, kinda.

`An extraordinary family who walk on all fours are being hailed as the breakthrough discovery which could shed light on the moment Man first stood upright.

Scientists believe that the five brothers and sisters found in Turkey could hold unique insights into human evolution.

The Kurdish siblings, aged between 18 and 34 and from the rural south, ‘bear crawl’ on their feet and palms.

Study of the five has shown the astonishing behaviour is not a hoax and they are largely unable to walk otherwise.’

(5meg Windows Media)

`Providing the strongest evidence yet that human beings are still evolving, researchers have detected some 700 regions of the human genome where genes appear to have been reshaped by natural selection, a principal force of evolution, within the last 5,000 to 15,000 years.

The genes that show this evolutionary change include some responsible for the senses of taste and smell, digestion, bone structure, skin color and brain function. Providing the strongest evidence yet that human beings are still evolving, researchers have detected some 700 regions of the human genome where genes appear to have been reshaped by natural selection, a principal force of evolution, within the last 5,000 to 15,000 years.

The genes that show this evolutionary change include some responsible for the senses of taste and smell, digestion, bone structure, skin color and brain function. Providing the strongest evidence yet that human beings are still evolving, researchers have detected some 700 regions of the human genome where genes appear to have been reshaped by natural selection, a principal force of evolution, within the last 5,000 to 15,000 years.

The genes that show this evolutionary change include some responsible for the senses of taste and smell, digestion, bone structure, skin color and brain function.’

`Coffee drinkers who have more than three cups a day could be dramatically increasing their risk of a heart attack, say researchers.

A study found people who were “slow metabolisers” were at greater risk because they could not process caffeine as quickly as others.

The research discovered that this type of coffee-drinker was up to 64 per cent more likely to suffer a cardiac arrest.’

`New research suggests that a few extra pounds can be good for you — if you’re male and unlucky enough to be in a car accident, that is.

Moderately overweight males are more likely to survive serious car accidents than either the thin or the very fat. Apparently, a bit of extra padding — but not too much — provides extra protection, according to the study. [..]

For reasons that aren’t clear, women don’t get the same protection from extra weight: Being fat, thin or in-between didn’t affect their likelihood of dying in a car accident, the study found.’

`Chris Fromont is feeling strong, his wife says, despite losing both his legs and an arm in a tree shredder last week.

But as the 48-year-old waits for his fourth operation, an investigation into his horrific accident has led to more safety concerns.’

`A Quebec teen with a severe peanut allergy did not die from kissing her boyfriend following his snack of peanut butter, a coroner has confirmed.

Michel Miron says the sudden death of fifteen-year-old Christina Desforges in November 2005 was not caused by a peanut butter sandwich.

The tragedy made headlines around the world.

Miron would not reveal the official cause of the teenager’s death because he said he hadn’t yet submitted his final report and is still waiting on some test results.’

follow up to .. something I posted months ago but can’t find now ’cause my search thingy seems to be a bit stupid. Or badly configured, in which case I’m a bit stupid. 🙂

`Traces of a carcinogenic chemical have been found in soft drinks at eight times the level permitted in drinking water, it was revealed last night.

Tests conducted on 230 drinks on sale in Britain and France have identified high levels of benzene, a compound known to cause cancer, according to the Food Standards Agency. There is a legal limit of one part per billion of benzene in British drinking water. The latest tests revealed levels of up to eight parts per billion in some soft drinks.’

`Several groups around the world have gained approval to develop implants that can monitor and control the behavior of a wide range of animals.

In the United States a team funded by the military has created a neural probe that can manipulate a shark’s brain signals or decode them. More controversially, the Pentagon hopes to use remote-controlled sharks as spies.

The neural implant is designed to enable a shark’s brain signals to be manipulated remotely, controlling the animal’s movements, and perhaps even decoding what it is feeling.’

`A Baton Rouge hospital, hoping to get to the bottom of an office prank, is ordering 25 employees to undergo DNA testing or be terminated.

Leaders at Woman’s Hospital say a man who works in Building Operations returned from several weeks off to find that someone had placed urine in his toolbox.

After hearing of the incident, hospital administrators sent a memo to 25 employees who also work there telling them that DNA testing would be done unless someone came forward admitting guilt. Since no one came forward, the hospital said the DNA testing will begin within the next few weeks.’

`The deadly strain of bird flu has been found in a cat in Germany, officials said Tuesday, the first time the virus has been identified in an animal other than a bird in central Europe.

Health officials urged cat owners to keep pets indoors after the dead cat was discovered over the weekend on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, where most of the more than 100 wild birds infected by the H5N1 strain have been found.

The cat is believed to have eaten an infected bird, said Thomas Mettenleiter, head of Germany’s Friedrich Loeffler Institute. That is in keeping with a pattern of disease transmission seen in wild cats in Asia.’

`A Gulf War veteran undergoing medical treatment said he was given placebos — or sugar pills — instead of real medicine.

Like thousands of other soldiers, Army veteran Mike Woods said he developed bizarre symptoms after serving in the first Gulf War — blackouts, chest pain and numbness in the extremities.

Woods looked to the Veterans Administration for help. He said his VA doctor prescribed him a drug called Obecalp.

“She told me there was this new drug out that would really help me with all of my physical conditions, and my pain. She really wanted me to try it,” said Woods.

But when the pill provided no relief, Woods did some research and learned that Obecalp isn’t a medicine at all, but a sugar pill. He was shocked to learn the word “obecalp” is placebo spelled backward.’

`Bacteria are everywhere, silently going about their business of breaking down cellulose, fermenting foods or fixing nitrogen in the soil, among a host of other activities. Given their ubiquity and diversity of functions, biotechnologists have been searching for new uses for different strains of the microscopic organisms, such as consuming oil spills or even capturing images. Now biologists at the University College Dublin in Ireland have found that a strain of Pseudomonas putida can exist quite happily on a diet of pure styrene oil–the oil remnant of superheated Styrofoam–and, in the process, turn the environmental problem into a useful, biodegradable plastic.’

`Europe’s “Little Ice Age” may have been triggered by the 14th Century Black Death plague, according to a new study.

Pollen and leaf data support the idea that millions of trees sprang up on abandoned farmland, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This would have had the effect of cooling the climate, a team from Utrecht University, Netherlands, says.

The Little Ice Age was a period of some 300 years when Europe experienced a dip in average temperatures.’

`No textbooks or guides existed at that time to help them, and the equipment was hard to find. This is no longer true. For under $2000, any person with the inclination to learn could create a fully functioning abortion setup allowing for both vacuum aspiration and dilation/curettage abortions. If you are careful and diligent, and have a good grasp of a woman’s anatomy you will not put anyone’s health or life in danger, even if you have not seen one of these procedures performed.

Today, I will discuss dilation and curettage — what used to be the most common abortion procedure before vacuum aspiration took its place. Vacuum aspiration is an easier method, but sometimes remaining fetal/placental material necessitates doing a “cleanup” D&C anyway, so you should know how to do this procedure first.’

`Researchers in London have discovered that a weak immune response instigates Crohn’s disease, possibly laying to rest the popular belief that an auto-immune condition is to blame.

In a recent study, scientists at University College in London found that people with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory disorder that causes ulcerations in the small and large intestines, encounter a lowered immune system response when trauma occurs in the body.

“It’s very gratifying,” said lead author Anthony Segal, a professor of medicine at University College. “This is first time people know where to look, now that we understand what the cause of disease is. It will redirect research in this area,” he said.’

`There are plenty of legendary sports tales about athletes playing through injury, but none match the local legend, Terra Linda High senior wrestler D.J. Saint James. [..]

“I grabbed the guy for a single-leg takedown and he flipped back and his foot hit me right between the legs,” Saint James remembered. “I wasn’t feeling to great. I thought I was just kicked and I’ll be all right. I wanted to finish the match and it was only after I walked off the mat that I knew it was more serious.”

A few hours later he found out just how serious.

“They told me I was getting surgery on my (testicles) and the nurse started to explain to my mom that if I died during surgery, she would be the one to come and tell them,” Saint James said. “That’s when I started to freak out.”‘

`A Waco man who has a new penis created from thigh tissue says his “whole life has changed” since Scott & White Hospital doctors performed the pioneering surgery in June.

The 63-year-old man, who wants to remain anonymous, said that after four years without a penis – because of cancer – he can urinate normally and experience sexual intercourse again.

“I’m one of the boys,” he said.’

`Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have engineered a strain of pond scum that could, with further refinements, produce vast amounts of hydrogen through photosynthesis.

The work, led by plant physiologist Tasios Melis, is so far unpublished. But if it proves correct, it would mean a major breakthrough in using algae as an industrial factory, not only for hydrogen, but for a wide range of products, from biodiesel to cosmetics.

The new strain of algae, known as C. reinhardtii, has truncated chlorophyll antennae within the chloroplasts of the cells, which serves to increase the organism’s energy efficiency. In addition, it makes the algae a lighter shade of green, which in turn allows more sunlight deeper into an algal culture and therefore allows more cells to photosynthesize.’

`In 1970, a bizarre gardening accident embedded a small nail deep inside Guy “Bud” Hart’s body.

More than 35 years later, the nail made an unexpected return, much to Hart’s surprise.

The Placerville man was stunned earlier this month when a coughing fit expelled the inch-long sliver of metal, completing its decades-long trek inside the 84-year-old’s body.

“I didn’t think something like that could happen,” Hart said.’

`For the second time in recent months, somebody broke into a 16-year-old girl’s home and stole her prosthetic leg — including one that had been donated following the first crime, authorities said.

The thieves took a $12,000 cosmetic leg and a donated $16,000 leg that Melissa Huff uses to play softball, her mother, Lisa Huff, said. She said a camera in the room was untouched.

“It’s insane. Who hates her that bad?” Lisa Huff said. “I went back to the girls’ room and the room was trashed. Mostly Melissa’s stuff.”‘

`A family in Hilo, Hawaii, has sued a doctor after the man admitted he implanted a screwdriver into the neck of a patient, instead of titanium rods, according to a Local 6 News report. [..]

Doctor Robert Ricketson said that during a surgery on Iturralde, a nurse told him there were no more titanium rods for his neck.

Ricketson said he did not feel he could risk keeping the man under anesthetic with an unstable spine for any longer so he made the decision to substitute the rods with a screwdriver, according to the report.’

`A disciplinary hearing has been told how a nurse allegedly hit a colleague with a frozen fish at a Kent hospital.

Patricia Jennings, 55, from Tunbridge Wells, is also accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour with fellow workers.

The incidents were said to have taken place at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells in 2003. [..]

One nurse said she was slapped in the face with a frozen trout after a patient brought several of them into the hospital as a gift to staff.

Ms Jennings then said “give us a kiss” while moving the fish’s mouth, the hearing was told.’

`In the 1950s, the Seventh-day Adventist Church struck an extraordinary deal with the US Army. It would provide test subjects for experiments on biological weapons at the Fort Detrick research centre near Washington DC.

The volunteers were conscientious objectors who agreed to be infected with debilitating pathogens. In return, they were exempted from frontline warfare.

Fort Detrick was working on weapons it could use in an offensive capacity as well as ways of defending its troops and citizens.’

`A bright yellow slime mould that can grow to several metres in diameter has been put in charge of a scrabbling, six-legged robot.

The Physarum polycephalum slime, which naturally shies away from light, controls the robot’s movement so that it too keeps out of light and seeks out dark places in which to hide itself.

Klaus-Peter Zauner at the University of Southampton, UK, who developed the slime-controlled bot with colleagues from Kobe University in south-central Japan, says the idea is to find simpler ways to control a robot’s behaviour.’

`A Serbian man needed emergency surgery after sticking a pencil inside his penis to keep it stiff during sex.

Zeljko Tupic, from Belgrade, told doctors he had experienced erectile difficulties in the past.

So as he prepared for a night with his new lover, he decided to insert a thin pencil into his penis.

Tupic had to cut his sex session short when the pencil shifted and became lodged in his bladder, forcing him to call an ambulance, the daily Kurir reported.’

`A study conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has shown that DNA itself can be a catalyst for cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Normal DNA is said to become problematic when it twists in the opposite direction to its familiar right hand spiral, thereby becoming what researchers have dubbed Z-DNA. [..]

The discovery that DNA can mutate into other shapes is not new to science, but Vasquez’s latest study actually shows how these mutated shapes occur within the cell. Previous studies found that the likelihood of Z-DNA forming at all is subject to the shape of the base pairs themselves. It is said, for example, that a consecutive sequence of CG 14 times over would likely form Z-DNA, while a consecutive sequence of AT would not. Based on these genomic studies, says Vasquez, the percentage of DNA sequences likely to form Z-DNA is 0.25 percent of the genome.’

`It’s one of the darkest secrets of the Warren Jeffs polygamist community. An especially severe form of birth defect is on the rise and may mushroom in coming generations. [..]

Fumarase Deficiency is an enzyme irregularity that causes severe mental retardation, epileptic seizures and other cruel effects that leave children nearly helpless and unable to take care of themselves.

Dr. Theodore Tarby has treated many of the children at clinics in Arizona under contracts with the state. All are retarded. “In the severe category of mental retardation,” the neurologist said, “which means an IQ down there around 25 or so.”

Until a few years ago, scientists knew of only 13 cases of Fumarase Deficiency in the entire world. Tarby said he’s now aware of 20 more victims, all within a few blocks of each other on the Utah-Arizona border.’