It has just come out that supplies of rice in the USA have been contaminated with a gene that was not approved for human consumption.
It has just come out that supplies of rice in the USA have been contaminated with a gene that was not approved for human consumption.
This is a cool pair of images showing a striking similarity between the structure of neurons and that of our universe. I’ve often wondered whether the entire universe isn’t some kind of a mind or a brain in which we are like subatomic particles.
… Read More “Amazon Desertification May Start Next Year — Global Warming Could Increase by 50% — Note to Self: Find New Planet”
Amazon Rainforest Faces Desertification
Amazon rainforest ‘could become a desert’
And that could speed up global warming with ‘incalculable consequences’, says alarming new research
The Independent (U.K.), July 23, 2006
The vast Amazon rainforest is on the
brink of being turned into desert, with catastrophic consequences for
the world’s climate, alarming research suggests.
A University of Arizona professor has invented a ripeness sticker that shows how ripe a piece of fruit is. Why didn’t I think of this!!! This is a simple, brilliant idea. It’s right up there with the blue-tip match. The University of Arizona is going to make a lot of money on this.… Read More “Ripeness Sticker – Brilliant”
150 years ago, German physiologist Emil Du Bois-Reymond discovered that electric currents could speed up the healing of flesh wounds. But his research has been ignored ever since. Until now…
… Read More “Electric Currents Heal Wounds”Now Josef Penninger of the Austrian Institute of Molecular
Biotechnology in Vienna and Min Zhao of the University of Aberdeen, UK,
have demonstrated that natural electric fields and currents in tissue
play a vital role in orchestrating the wound-healing process by
attracting repair cells to damaged areas.
New research has shown that fatherhood brings about dramatic enhancements in male brains. Although the researchers don’t suggest it, this effect may be nature’s way of counteracting the dramatic decrease in male brain function that occurs in proportion to the number of times they get laid in a given week (Note: this particular malady was brought to national attention on the popular TV show Seinfeld).
A major new discovery about the structure of DNA molecules has been announced. Researchers have found there is a pattern to the organization of nucleosomes in DNA, which may explain why certain parts of the molecule are accessible or inaccessible to transcription.… Read More “New Level of Order Discovered in DNA”
A strain of bacteria has been discovered that turns dissolved metals into gold.
New research has found that ants navigate in part by counting the number of steps they take.
South Korean researchers have synthesized a molecule that seems to not only stop, but also reverse, the built-in aging functions of cells.
… Read More “Anti-Aging Molecule Discovered”A team of South Korean scientists on Sunday
claimed to have created a “cellular fountain of youth,’’ or a small
molecule, which enables human cells to avoid aging and dying.
I’ve been interested in bacteriophages for a few years, ever since I first heard about them. This article goes into more detail about why they may present a new and better alternative to antibiotics in the treatment of resistant bacterial infections.… Read More “Fighting Infection with Phages”
Are you living in a cloud of electronic smog? New research has shown that fields from electrical wiring and devices in the home and office should be considered to be a form of pollution. Recent studies are finding that many cancers and other diseases may be directly related to exposure to these electrical fields.
A new study has found a fatal flaw in past studies that claimed moderated drinking is good for your health. It seems the past studies compared moderate drinkers to abstainers, and found the moderate drinkers were more healthy. Unfortunately what they neglected to consider was the fact that many of their abstainers were abstaining because they had other health problems or were frail and elderly and on medications that interacted with alchohol.… Read More “Moderate Drinking Turns out to Not be So Healthy After All”
More evidence that many synthetic food and beverage packaging materials are unsafe:
… Read More “Widely Used Food Packaging Material Related to Surge in Prostate Cancers”A CHEMICAL used to make food wrapping and line tin cans could be the
cause of surging prostate cancer rates in men, says a study.Bisphenol A is widely used in the food industry to make
polycarbonate drinks bottles and the resins used to line tin cans, even
though it is known to leach into food and has long been suspected of
disrupting human sex hormones.
New research into the mathematical properties of whale songs reveals that they have a complex language:
… Read More “Study Discovers Whale Song Syntax”The songs of the humpback whale are among the most complex in the
animal kingdom. Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that
whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases
that can be combined to form songs that last for hours.
Researchers continue to make progress in fusing living neurons with computer chips:
… Read More “Neuro-Chips”
The
line between living organisms and machines has just become a whole lot
blurrier. European researchers have developed "neuro-chips" in which
living brain cells and silicon circuits are coupled together.
It was previously thought that some types of bacteria carry around magnetic crystals in order to orient themselves. But a recent study has found that in fact this does not seem to be the case — so why do they carry magnetic crystals?… Read More “Why Do Some Bacteria Contain Magnetic Crystals?”
In a big step for medicine, scientists have figured out how the flu virus replicates — including the bird flu — inside cells. This opens up new pathways for developing drugs to fight all strains of the flu.
The theory of quantum evolution is a radical new take on how mutations
in DNA occur. Basically the theory postulates that DNA molecules are in
fact macroscopic quantum objects that undergo quantum interference. It
is spearheaded by Johnjoe McFadden, a professor in the UK and makes for an interesting read.… Read More “Quantum Evolution — A Radical Theory”
Recent brain scans have shown that accupuncture can actualy deactivate the brain’s pain centers. One more bit of evidence for alternative medicine.
The Norwegians are planning to create a deep underground vault near the North Pole to house a backup copy of seeds for all known varieties of crops. The goal is to ensure food supplies and enable humanity to regenerate in the event of nuclear war, global warming or other catastrophes.… Read More “Doomsday Vault to House World Seed Bank”
The Edge has published mini-essays by 119 "big thinkers" on their "most dangerous ideas" — fun reading.
… Read More “Big Thinkers' Most Dangerous Ideas”The history of science is replete with discoveries
that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally
dangerous in their time; the Copernican and
Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious.
I recently read a report of new neuroscience research in which researchers are able to predict what a person will recall by analyzing their brainstate. You can read a summary here.
This reminds me of an idea I had a while back for using biofeedback to guide brainstates, in order to improve memory.… Read More “A New Kind of Memory Aid”
More news about aspartame ("Nutrasweet"), which is being found to be far more toxic than anyone imagined… (from: this article)
Combining food additives may be harmful, say researchers
… Read More “Aspartame Even More Toxic When Mixed with Food Coloring”· Aspartame and artificial colourings investigated
· Mice nerve cells stopped growing in experiments
Felicity Lawrence, consumer affairs correspondent
Wednesday December 21, 2005
The Guardian
New
research on common food additives, including the controversial
sweetener aspartame and food colourings, suggests they may interact to
interfere with the development of the nervous system.
A recent study has found that human-level dosages of aspartame (the artificial sweetener formerly known as Nutrasweet and now cleverly disguised by new, obscure trade-names) causes stastitically significant increases in the occurrance of multiple forms of cancer. In other words, don’t drink diet colas that include aspartame, don’t chew sugar-free gum, and when you see "sugar-free" on food, beware.… Read More “Aspartame (Nutrasweet) Proved to Cause Cancer at Human Levels of Ingestion”
Now this is really interesting! New research has found that certain parts of the body emit measurable numbers of photons. This may open up new diagnostic techniques. But that’s just the beginning. Spiritual healers from many different faiths have long said that they experience light coming from their hands, and can feel (and even see) energy from the hands, feet and heads of other people.… Read More “New Study: Human Hands, Feet and Foreheads Emit Light”
This article discusses recent research into encoding short 100 word messages into the DNA of living organisms. The error-correcting characteristics of DNA enable such messages to be passed down without degrading across generations. By embedding short messages into hardy organisms such as particular strains of bacteria, it may be possible to preserve information over longer timeframes than by using any other known storage media.… Read More “Using DNA to Send Messages into the Distant Future”
From Boing Boing today:
… Read More “20% of Your Genes Belong to Them”Xeni Jardin: A report in this week’s issue of Science
says 20 percent of human genes have been patented in the United States:The study (…) is the first time that a detailed map has been
created to match patents to specific physical locations on the human genome.
