Clipmarks | darkduskx's Pops

Microbial Email: Scientists Discover Wired Bacteria

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:53:29 GMT

Microbial Email: Scientists Discover Wired Bacteria

We might think we're something special with our global communications network, and we're right, but bacteria are able to grow electrical connections out of their own bodies. A feat beyond all mortals except Steve Rogers. Recent research shows that single-celled organisms may be sending electrical-mails of their own.

The recent discovery of biological nanowires has opened a whole new field in bacterial investigation. Still in its early stages, the research has already discovered organisms which build tiny electrical connections out of rust and others which can extrude their own thin wiring. These are used by some bacteria to acquire metal atoms, but it seems they may have many more uses.

Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute believe that the wires, which can even connect different species, could be used for energy or even information exchange.

The implications are incredible.

BBC Caught In Mass Public Deception With Iran Propaganda

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:13:22 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: Whatever your views on the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad and the accuracy of the Iranian election results, the fact that the Anglo-American establishment and its media organs are exploiting and fanning the flames of chaos in Iran to provoke further instability is unquestionable.

Clip Source: www.voltairenet.org

Tricky Headlines

BBC Caught In Mass Public Deception With Iran Propaganda

The BBC has again been caught engaging in mass public deception by using photographs of pro-Ahmadinejad rallies in Iran and claiming they represent anti-government protests in favor of Hossein Mousavi.

An image used by the L.A. Times on the front page of its website Tuesday showed Iranian President Ahmadinejad waving to a crowd of supporters at a public event.

In a story covering the election protests yesterday, the BBC News website used a closer shot of the same scene, but with Ahmadinejad cut out of the frame. The caption under the photograph read, ‘Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi again defied a ban on protests’.

As soon as the truth about the misrepresented images surfaced on the WhatReallyHappened website yesterday, the BBC changed the photo caption on their original article. The caption now reads, ‘Tehran has seen mass demonstrations by all sides since the disputed election’. [The BBC acknowledged the error.]

Tags: oops

Kentucky Pastor Tells Followers to Bring Guns to Church

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:57:46 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: Of the 40 states with right-to-carry laws, 20 allow guns in churches.

Watching the debate in Arkansas was John Phillips, pastor of the Central Church of Christ in Little Rock. In 1986, Mr. Phillips was preaching in a different church there when a gunman shot him and a parishioner. Both survived, but Mr. Phillips, 51, still has a bullet lodged in his spine.

In a telephone interview, he said he found the idea of “packing in the pew” abhorrent.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

"Guns and God were part of the foundation of this country," said Ken Pagano . "I don't see any contradiction in this."

Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church [in Louisville, KY], is passionate about gun rights.

his sermon two weeks ago was on "God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry." And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to "celebrate our rights as Americans!"

"God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,"

"I don't see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist."

"When someone from within the church tells me that being a Christian and having firearms are contradictions, that they're incompatible with the Gospel—baloney," he said.

"As soon as you start saying that it's not something that Christians do, well, guns are just the foil. The issue now is the Gospel. So in a sense, it does become a crusade. Now the Gospel is at stake."

Who Would Jesus Shoot?

Imagine a World Without Fish

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:51:43 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Quotes from the Makers of the Film

We must stop thinking of our oceans as a food factory and realize that they thrive as a huge and complex marine environment. We must act now to protect the sea from rampant overfishing so that there will be fish in the sea for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. -- Charles Clover, the book's author

Overfishing is the great environmental disaster that people haven't heard about." A recent global conference about bluefin tuna stocks saw almost no media coverage in the U.S. We hope this film really sounds the alarm. We can fix this problem starting right now. -- Producer George Duffield

Reading the book The End of the Line changed my life and what I eat. I hope the film will do the same for others. -- Producer Claire Lewis

Clip Source: www.seashepherd.org

End of the Line - The world’s first major documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing

Already showing in cinemas across the U.S., Charles Clover’s film The End of the Line was launched in the UK on June 8^th which was World Oceans Day.

Roest observed, “The film is fantastic; could it be harder hitting – yes, should we stop eating fish altogether – yes, but The End of the Line superbly highlights the desperate state of our oceans as a result of relentless commercial overfishing. I received a personal commitment from Jeremy Langley [fish and shellfish specialist buyer for Waitrose] in front of 350 people that Waitrose would stop selling swordfish and other endangered fish, so a successful evening all round.“

Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.

take personal responsibility and actions where you can. And we continue to welcome your support for our direct action work to save fish and all ocean wildlife.

Implant Bacteria, Beware: Researchers Create Nano-sized Assassins

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:31:51 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Staphylococcus epidermidis is quite an opportunist. Commonly found on human skin, the bacteria pose little danger. But S. epidermidis is a leading cause of infections in hospitals. From catheters to prosthetics, the bacteria are known to hitch a ride on a range of medical devices implanted into patients

Inside the body, the bacteria multiply on the implant's surface and then build a slimy, protective film to shield the colony from antibiotics. According to a study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, up to 2.5 percent of hip and knee implants alone in the United States become infected, affecting thousands of patients, sometimes fatally.

graduate student Erik Taylor have created a nano-sized headhunter that zeroes in on the implant, penetrates S. epidermidis's defensive wall and kills the bacteria.

The finding

is the first time iron-oxide nanoparticles have been shown to eliminate a bacterial infection on an implanted prosthetic device

Tags: medicine

Court Allows Gold Mine to Dump Waste in Lake

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:27:03 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: He said the ruling will allow any developer of a project -- from Pebble to a coal-fired power plant in the Midwest -- to get around federal water-quality standards by petitioning the U.S. Corps of Engineers to redefine its waste as fill material, Waldo said.

That allows for easier, cheaper disposal: when industrial waste is considered fill, it doesn't have to meet state water-quality standards at the point of discharge; however, the water downstream still must meet water-quality standards.
The Corps approved a permit allowing Coeur Alaska to put the tailings in Lower Slate Lake, even though it would kill the fish -- Dolly Varden and threespine stickleback. The permit required the company to restore the lake when the mine closes and restock it with fish. Otherwise, the company would have to forfeit its reclamation bond.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

by Elizabeth Bluemink

The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday decision allowing a gold mine near Juneau to discharge its waste into a fish-bearing lake could be the final word in the long-running dispute.

Water quality hazard: Acid drains from rock near Lower Slate Lake at the Kensington Mine (photo: US Forest Service)

But environmentalists hope that it is not.

Their lawsuit over the Kensington mine, 45 miles northwest of Juneau, fueled a bitter war between industry boosters and environmentalists in the state's capital.

Water quality hazard: Acid drains from rock near Lower Slate Lake at the Kensington Mine (photo: US Forest Service)

On Monday, Kensington's supporters -- including the entire Alaska congressional delegation and Gov. Sarah Palin -- hailed the Supreme Court decision as a positive step for Juneau and the state.

"If the Obama administration does nothing, it has busted the door wide open for destructive mining practices in other places," said Tom Waldo, a Juneau environmental attorney

Crop Cirlcle (Alton Barnes)

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:09:28 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.cropcircleconnector.com

Oakland: We have a giant holographic Jesus

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:53:04 GMT

clipped by: Spiritualmonkey
clipper's remarks: Not Catholic (mom's family is), but I am (510).

And as a resident of this city, from the outside the Cathedral of Christ the Light looks like the worlds biggest industrial vagina made of glass & steel.

Clip Source: arturovasquez.wordpress.com

A monument to 21st century civilization, millenial optimism, and petit-bourgeois good taste it may be, but a church it is not.

Apparently, the price tag of our new communal “worship space” was about 190 million dollars, a lot of which was spent for earthquake-proofing the building

Does it look like money well spent? No. Why does every modern structure have to resemble a shopping mall.

This could be the Social Security administration office, the DMV, or just some conference center that we come to for a human resources meeting

“Why, it’s hologram Jesus! I have heard so much about you. So, my friend told me that you would look so…. shiny?”

See, it was stone in the original, and now they have taken thousands of mirrors and other do-hickeys and made a Jesus made entirely out of light. Pretty freakin’ clever, huh? Ya get it? Who could not like a hundred foot Jesus made out of the rays of the sun? And it’s a traditional image to boot, so we can all feel good about it.

I didn’t.

Clip Source: www.robinsondesign.co.uk

Clip Source: www.hawaiicatholicherald.com

Tags: oakland, architecture, cathedral-of-christ-the-light, holograms

NASA's HiRise camera reveals breathtaking sand-dunes on Mars

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:13:33 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

The wonder of Mars in its seasonal glory

These images of sand dunes in Proctor Crater were taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

This stereo image suggests a process of rock formation called 'rhythmic bedding' in sedimentary rock within the Becquerel crater. A three-dimensional analysis on pairs of images confirmed the regularity of the repetition in the thickness of the beds. The image covers an area about half a mile wide

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

These dark, fern-like features on the floor of the Antoniadi Crater tell the story of an ancient wet environment on Mars where life may have existed.

One hypothesis is that these represent a network of channels that now stand in inverted relief. The channels may have become filled in with materials more resistant to erosion

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

This false-colour image shows gully channels in a crater in the southern highlands of Mars. The gullies emanate from cliffs near the crater's rim.

Tags: mars, nasa, pictures

Amazing Volcano Photo Shows Shock Wave

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:11:13 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: Image from space shows several phenomena that occur early in eruption

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

An amazing new picture from space reveals a volcanic eruption in its earliest stage, with a huge plume of ash and steam billowing skyward and creating a shock wave in the atmosphere.

Sarychev Peak on Matua Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain, northeast of Japan.

The new photo was taken June 12 from the International Space Station. NASA says volcano researchers are excited about the picture "because it captures several phenomena that occur during the earliest stages of an explosive volcanic eruption."

The surrounding atmosphere has been shoved up by the shock wave of the eruption, scientists said.

The smooth white cloud on top may be water condensation that resulted from rapid rising and cooling of the air mass above the ash column. This cloud is probably a transient feature, scientists say, with the eruption plume is starting to punch through.

The last explosive eruption from Sarychev Peak was in 1989.

A Sonic Black Hole

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:26:07 GMT

clipped by: Fast T friend

Clip Source: www.popsci.com

After 30 years of trying, scientists create first-ever acoustic black hole

Stephen Hawking once theorized that black holes would emit a stream of electromagnetic radiation named, what else, Hawking Radiation. However, in the 35 years since Hawking made his prediction, no one has observed the phenomena. Now, a team of Israeli scientists are working on a way to make their own Hawking Radiation by creating an artificial black hole in their lab.

As reported in a recent paper on the physics website arxiv.org, the scientists simulated the black hole by sending sonic waves through a form of matter called Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). BEC is a gas the exists only at the freezing temperatures near absolute zero, and the same equations that explain how sound moves through the condensate also describe how gravity effects light.

And while researchers have yet to observe any Hawking Radiation, they are clearly well on their way. Using sound to create a black hole? Chris Cornell would be proud.

Tags: black hole, hawking radiation, physics, sonic

Washing machine uses just one cup of water

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:29:41 GMT

clipped by: valann 47

Clip Source: newslite.tv

An eco-friendly washing machine, which uses just one cup of water to wash a normal sized load of clothes, has been revealed.

The machine, which could go on sale as early as next year, was developed by boffins from Leeds University.

It replaces most of the water with reusable nylon polymer beads which attract and absorb dirt, cleaning clothes in the process.

Experts say this leaves clothes just as clean, but uses over 90 percent less water and 30 percent less energy.

Finally the breakthrough means that smelly hippies won't have an excuse not to wash their clothes.

Inventor Professor Stephen Burkinshaw said: "Nylon polymers have an inherent polarity that attract stains. Picture how white nylon garments can get dingy over time as dirt builds up on the surface despite repeated washing."

"Dirt is not just attracted to the surface, it is locked into the center. This is exactly what happens when Xeros nylon beads are gently tumbled with dampened garments."

Tags: washing machine, water, eco friendly

Can email patterns within a company signal impending doom?

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:41:55 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: This study was based primarily on email patterns amongst employees of Enron before the collapse. Would be fascinating to know if similar patterns were evident at Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and other financial firms leading up to their collapse. If so, you have to wonder if the public will ever be privy to this kind of data (anonymously) in real-time as a way to anticipate and avoid financial loss.

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Menezes thinks he and Collingsworth may have identified a characteristic change that occurs as stress builds within a company: employees start talking directly to people they feel comfortable with, and stop sharing information more widely.

He says that if further research backs up Menezes's idea, this shift in communication patterns could be used as an early warning sign of growing discontent within an organisation.

Tags: email, enron

Weed, Booze, Cocaine and Other Old School "Medicine" Ads

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:54:36 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: I was born during the wrong era!

Clip Source: www.pharmacytechs.net

Weed, Booze, Cocaine and Other Old School "Medicine" Ads

Cocaine:

Heroin:

Opium:

Morphine:

Quaaludes:

Cigarettes:

Alcohol:

Chloroform:

Marijuana:

Soda:

Amphetamines:

Barbiturates:

Unknown-Content Quackery:

Tags: weed, booze, cocaine and other old school "medicine" ads

Our Brains Have Been Captured

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:37:27 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

In an experiment of one, Dr. Kessler tested his willpower by buying two gooey chocolate chip cookies that he didn’t plan to eat. At home, he found himself staring at the cookies, and even distracted by memories of the chocolate chunks and doughy peaks as he left the room.

“Why does that chocolate chip cookie have such power over me?” Dr. Kessler asked in an interview. “Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.”

But by combining fats, sugar and salt in innumerable ways, food makers have essentially tapped into the brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full.

In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named “bliss point.

“Nobody has ever explained to people how their brains have been captured.”