Overheard on the WWW

Racism is ugly

2009-10-21T09:52:00.001-07:00

So, it's great to see that there are organizations working to educate the youth about it. It is kind of too bad that there are not organizations working to educate Lake Havasu City Councilmen.

Could Velociraptors have attacked from above?

2009-09-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

A recent paper by Phil Manning of the University of Manchester, UK, suggests that Velociraptors may have used their fearsome claws to climb trees and attack prey by leaping down on them. This theory is based on further biomechanical considerations based on his earlier assertion that the claws "could puncture skin and help the dinosaur cling to wounded prey but... [not] rip the skin open." Manning goes on to mention that the Microraptor is now known to have used feathery forelimbs to glide down from trees. These suggestions are further emphasized by the recent findings of Ken Dial at the University of Montana. With slow motion video footage, Dial has shown that ground birds with flight abilities will use their claws to aid their wings in the ascension of vertical surfaces.

(Note: Video starts at 4:58, the relevant area.)

[via io9.com]

"'Liposuction Leftovers' Easily Converted To Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells"

2009-09-08T16:32:00.001-07:00

"Globs of human fat removed during liposuction conceal versatile cells that are more quickly and easily coaxed to become induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, than are the skin cells most often used by researchers, according to a new study from Stanford's School of Medicine."

"Cell Discovery Opens New Chapter In Drug Development"

2009-09-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

"'Our findings will be of great interest to scientists and pharmaceutical companies as they open up new avenues for drug development and testing.'"

"Super Sperm - An Evolutionary Reason For Infertility?"

2009-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

"'The rate of human infertility is higher than we should expect it to be,' says Dr. Hasson. 'By now, evolution should have improved our reproductive success rate. Something else is going on.' Combining empirical evidence with a mathematical model developed in cooperation with Prof. Lewi Stone of the department's Biomathematics Unit, the researchers suggest that the bodies of men and women have become reproductive antagonists, not reproductive partners. The conclusions of this research were published recently in the journal Biological Reviews."

"Truth or Lies"

2009-09-08T12:44:00.001-07:00

For some, it may require just as much effort to tell the truth as it does to lie.

First Evidence Of Virus In Malignant Prostate Cells: XMRV Retrovirus Linked To More Aggressive Tumors

2009-09-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

"If further investigation proves the virus, XMRV (Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus), causes prostate cancer in people, it would open opportunities for developing diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapies for treating the cancer, according to the study published Sept. 7 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

Some Health Updates

2009-09-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

That Late-night Snack: Worse Than You Think

Large thighs 'may protect heart'

Those Blinded By Brain Injury May Still 'See', New Study Shows

HIV Is Weaker Than We Think

'Achilles' Heel' In Y Chromosome Linked To Sex Disorders

Alzheimer's genes link uncovered

And a related Alzheimer's breakthrough: Monkey Brains Signal The Desire To Explore

A new rat the size of a cat

2009-09-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

They say it's 82 cm (32.3 in) and 1.5 kg (3.3 lb).

And in the added bonus department...

2009-09-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

HPV Vaccine Could Prevent Some Forms Of Breast Cancer, Australian Research Suggests

Googling biological sustainability

2009-09-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Scientists coopt PageRank algorithm to determine viability of systems as related to varying extinction events.

Customer service algorithms...

2009-09-04T14:09:00.001-07:00

...could pave the way for the first leap into A.I.

Reminds me of the short story "The Nine Billion Names of God".

Evolutionary Updates

2009-09-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Europe's First Farmers Were Immigrants: Replaced Their Stone Age Hunter-gatherer Forerunners

Discovery Of Novel Genes Could Unlock Mystery Of What Makes Us Uniquely Human

Chimpanzees Develop 'Specialized Tool Kits' To Catch Army Ants

New Research Supports Model For Nuclear Pore Complex

Lamarckian experimentalist Paul Kammerer...

2009-09-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

...may have discovered epigenetics.

Pedal charge a battery...

2009-09-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

...with a USB port to charge your device.

"[S]omething about exerting myself to charge my phone really preps my psyche for the days when I'll pedal to power the robot whipping me to pedal to power him."

Technological advances in health (or superpowers)

2009-09-03T12:01:00.001-07:00

Robotic hands and biogel healing minds

Good news for the unemployed this month

2009-09-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

U.S. private job losses fall, factory orders rise

Monster U.S. online jobs index soars in August

Update: Jobless rate rises to 26-year high

Update: Data show why recession is especially deep, long

Being bad is good!

2009-09-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Apparently, there is evidence that many things typically labeled as "bad" actually provide some benefit.

[via Lifehacker]

"One of the oldest canards in the creationists' book is the claim that evolution must be false because it violates the second law of thermodynamics...

2009-09-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

..., or the principle that, as they put it, everything must go from order to disorder."

[via NewScientist by way of NewScientist]

The idea is defended with some astute mathematical comparisons, culminating in:

"To spell it out, there's about a trillion times more entropy flux available than is required for evolution. The degree by which earth's entropy is reduced by the action of evolutionary processes is miniscule relative to the amount that the entropy of the cosmic microwave background is increased."

In fact, a recent modeling effort intended to illustrate the possibilities of life spontaneously erupting from primordial soup determined that "[w]ithout the ability of tRNAs to discriminate between various amino acids, such a random system might not be able to self-assemble into a highly organized code capable of supporting life." "They found that the properties of the molecules set the concentrations at which the molecules needed to exist for a coded regime to emerge."

Wherein we study...

2009-09-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

...the effects of hangovers on hamsters.

Y-chromosomal mutations

2009-09-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

12 mutations found in two men separated by 13 generations.

Not a day for longevity

2009-09-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Oldest dog dies

Man in longest marriage dies

Ethnicity you see

2009-09-01T16:24:00.001-07:00

Is an outdated concept
I am you and you are me
Our blood's been mixing for centuries

Everything that cures or prevents...

2009-08-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

cancer.

[via Gizmodo via MetaFilter]

More energy, one highway at a time

2009-08-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Solar Roadways is designing rugged solar panels to replace asphalt.

[via Gizmodo]

There been some press about the release of thirtysomething on DVD...

2009-08-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

but this is about being thirtysomething at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.

Potential silver-lining for depression: analytical super-computing!

2009-08-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

Depression's Evolutionary Roots presents the idea that depression may be an advantage conveyed to allow for analytical focus on particular problems. An argument to support this is that depression can produce a lack of enjoyment in previously enjoyable pursuits.

[via instapundit]