Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.
— D. H. Lawrence
Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.
— D. H. Lawrence
If you follow the link of only one of my science headlines this week, make it this one: It sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their “immortality”. The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders and so is known to be relatively safe. It also has no patent, meaning it could be manufactured for a fraction of the cost of newly developed drugs. The story at the link goes on to explain how DCA works, tying it in with known processes at work in cancer cells – how they generate energy, how they avoid programmed cell death, and how cancer spreads. The fact that this research ties in with so many things already known (as opposed to “this drug works, but we don’t know why or how”) suggests [to me at least, LOL] that these folks may really be on to something here…
A few days ago I mentioned Comet McNaught, plunging in towards the sun at the time. Now it’s heading back into space, trailing a magnificent tail. Unfortunately (for most of us) it’s only now visible in the southern hemisphere. Here’s a photo that (the poster says) captures reasonably well what you would see if you were there. [If you follow only two links of mine this week, check out the photo.]
Scientists who recreated “Spanish flu” – the 1918 virus which killed up to 50 million people – have witnessed its remarkable killing power first hand. The lungs of infected monkeys were destroyed in just days, as their immune systems went into overdrive after infection with the rebuilt the virus. The reason for the lethal nature of the 1918 flu was never fully understood, as tissue samples could not be sufficiently preserved at the time, but the new work has revealed that a key protein which acts as a throttle on the immune system is shut off by the virus, and the victim’s immune system goes out of control. Since a similar mechanism is involved with the bird flu H5N1 virus, the research points to potential targets for drug development to rein in this dangerous side effect of infection.
Tinfoil hats and your health: Is “electrosensitivity” caused by electromagnetic fields, or is it a placebo effect? The Guardian (UK) takes a look.
Humans continued to evolve significantly long after they were established in Europe, and interbred with Neanderthals as they settled across the continent, according to new research published this week. Researchers compared the features of an early modern human skull found in the Petera cu Oase (the Cave with Bones) in southwestern Romania with other human samples from the Late Pleistocene. Differences between the skulls suggest complex population dynamics as modern humans dispersed into Europe.
A new study linking body burdens of PBDEs to the levels of these flame retardants in dust in the home indicates that children could be exposed to levels that put them at risk neurological problems.
A U.S. astronomer says a new moon-rock study suggests the satellite has an iron core and might be more like the Earth than thought. Larry Taylor, director of the Planetary Geosciences Institute at the University of Tennessee [Go Vols!], told National Geographic News the findings add weight to the theory the moon formed from debris thrown off when a Mars-size object collided with a young Earth.
Here’s a hot business tip for Jerome a Paris: There’s strong backing for offshore wind power as a future source of energy, at least in the state of Delaware. The survey, conducted by University of Delaware researchers, showed more than 90 percent of the 949 Delaware residents polled voiced support for an offshore wind option, in which wind turbines as tall as 40-story buildings would be erected to generate electricity. Fewer than 10 percent of participants voted for an expansion of coal or natural gas power at current prices.
Removing large herbivorous mammals from the African savanna can cause a dramatic shift in the relative abundance of species throughout the food chain, according to new research. Although elephants and zebras do not interact directly with insects, they share plants as a food source. When elephants and zebras are experimentally removed or hunted out, plant matter accumulates and insect populations increase. With an increase in insects comes an increase in the insects’ predators, such as lizards. And the effects ripple throughout the ecosystem. These effects have previously been theorized, but now have been experimentally demonstrated by fencing off large plots in Kenya.
Ran out of room for the Climate Change Update! Maybe tomorrow…
The Warming of Greenland
A peninsula long thought to be part of Greenland’s mainland turned out to be an island when a glacier retreated.
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Permafrost Meltdown – CC Acceleration
Viewed an interesting BBC production on permafrost, Siberia and scientist Sergei Zimov from Northeast Science Station in Cherskii, Russia
Cities, roads and airports will be wrecked"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."rescued after Katrina: Yahoo
While I wish these people the best with their new baby, am I the only person who saw this and thought “WTF? We’re supposed to hail the safety of a white couple’s frozen embryo as one of the crowning post-Katrina achievements?” And the fact that Brangelina bought a 3.5 million dollar home in New Orleans while so many longtime News Orleans residents remain homeless as another stunning achievement, one that will supposedly focus media attention on the rebuilding of New Orleans?
Last night on Dan Rather Reports on HDNet, Dan interviewed Retired Army Major General John Batiste, who said something that blew me right off my chair. The General said that of those 20,000 troops that Bush is sending into Baghdad, close to 15,000 are support troops, which leaves between 5,00 and 6,000 troops that will actually be on the streets.
Rather: ARE YOU TELLING ME OR NOT THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT 20,000 ADDITIONAL TROOPS, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT FIGHTING BOOTS ON THE GROUND OUT OF THAT 20,000, MAYBE SIX OR 7,000
Batiste:AT THE MOST. AND THAT, DAN, IS A SMALL DROP IN THE BUCKET OF THE REQUIREMENT.
The transcript is all in caps and I’m not going to retype… it also is kind of all mishmashed together without identifying the speaker, which I’ve added. Batiste went on to blast Tommy Franks, Rumsfeld, Bush and a whole lot more. It’s worth wading through the screwy transcript. The first half hour of the show was about the missing climbers on Mt Hood, so this section starts about halfway down the page.
Figures. BS, BS, and more BS.
I’ve been noticing how the mainstream media news in the morning had Hilary on yesterday to report on her Iraq trip and the idiocy of the surge strategery…and then they have people like Rick Santorum and Bill Bennett providing the pro-surge pro-Bush talk. If the surge deserves air time, why aren’t they having the military folks who support it on tv?
Oh right. There aren’t any of those, so they have to stick with out-of-work rightwing former senators and pill popping gambling addicts.
Not only “out-of-work rightwing former senators and pill popping gambling addicts” but also wacko ego-maniacal neocons from the American Enterprise Institute. It just fries me when CNN puts on twits from AEI , never bothers to identify them as neocons, and ends up presenting them as legitimate mainstream ‘supporters’ of Bush.
A question regarding this: does anyone know if psychologists have looked into whether people remember best (or are persueded more by) who spoke first or who spoke last? It would seem the liberal leadership would want to use this fact in negotiating with the media just how they agree to appear on a network interview. And as power players now, the Democrats are in a position to start bargaining for the best slots to persuade the public of their message. You know the right wing has done this for years…
Oopsy, I forgot the link to the transcript page
I’ve read this before as to how many troops are doing actually fighting and how many are support troops..having to feed them/do their laundry/deliver mail/do maintenance etc etc…….so yes that number bush keeps blabbing about is bullshit..no surprise there though. And is it doubtful that the media will push that story and the public will be left with bush’s lies as usual.
I couldn’t find anywhere else to put this but I am watching the house on cspan, and reps. just tried to move for adjournment and called for a vote, this was a surprise as representatives were not on the floor, the vote was minimum 15 min. but went on for longer. As soon as the vote was closed, against adjournment, the Reps. stood up and questioned the holding open of the vote.
There is a nasty mood brewing in the House.
What were they voting on? And was it the Republican reps who pulled the surprise vote and complain about it being held open trick?
This is the oil company bill, Bayner(sp) Minority leader,., is the one who called for adjournment and the recorded vote and then another took to the floor to complain that at the end of 15 min. (mostly because the Republicans were present and had this planned and the Dems were not,) the yays were ahead.
So they don’t like the turnabout play.
Sleigh of hand: Before we march off in glee that Bush has done a U-turn on NSA warrantless spying, via Thinkprogress the government can still gather personal information without a court order through National Security Letters.
Supreme Court Chief: Is he one cry baby? Good to know that’s all it takes
“In an exclusive interview, The Atlantic, Chief Justice John Roberts says that if the Supreme Court is to maintain legitimacy, its justices must start acting more like colleagues and less like prima donnas.”
From the article on John Roberts: “…Roberts declared, he would make it his priority, as Marshall did, to discourage his colleagues from issuing separate opinions.”
Roberts wants iron control over the court… anyone who thinks for themselves is now a “prima donna”. Sounds like Roberts doesn’t like anyone to disagree with his opinions for any reason. What a pile of poop he’s shoveling. Roberts and Alito will linger long after Bush is gone, like the foul aroma of a rotting carcass… promoting the unitary executive and other right wing extremist plots against Democracy. Roberts beliefs make him a wingnut wackjob. His IQ makes him dangerous.
Via CGG’s ever caffeinated Blog:
This is one of the reasons I became involved in the “Anti-Alito-Brigade” effort…
via Rawstory:
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The Pentagon manual could spark a fresh confrontation between the Bush administration and Congress — now led by Democrats — over the treatment of the nation’s terrorism suspects.
Two law firms representing former White House official I. Lewis Libby, have also done work for Guantanamo detainees
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."