Clipmarks | flipper1378's clips

Stem cells: not OK. Human/Animal hybrids: fine. [in the UK]

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:02:05 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Regulators in the UK have given scientists the green light to create human-animal embryos for research.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority granted permission after a consultation showed the public were "at ease" with the idea.

Experts said it was vital for research into life-threatening diseases.

Two centres, King's College London and Newcastle University, will now be able to begin their work under one-year research licences.

Any other centres wishing to do similar work will have to apply to the HFEA for permission, which will make a decision on a case-by-case basis.

Hybrids

Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells. The embryos would then be destroyed within 14 days.

The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and have the potential to become any tissue, making them essential for research.

Dr Armstrong said: "Now that we have the licence we can start work as soon as possible.

Cool portable water filter concept

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:00:54 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: www.yankodesign.com

Contrary to belief, city water nowadays is quite safe and clean to drink. What you smell and taste are trace minerals in pipes. It won’t kill you but the stigma is damning. The BottomsUp concept is a portable water purifier. You fill any PET type bottle with water, screw on the top and like Brita (or Pur), what comes out is a whole lot better tasting.

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. Looks promising.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:00:08 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: www.amazon.com

This is a book that students of architecture will want to keep in the studio and in their backpacks. It is also a book they may want to keep out of view of their professors, for it expresses in clear and simple language things that tend to be murky and abstruse in the classroom. These 101 concise lessons in design, drawing, the creative process, and presentation--from the basics of "How to Draw a Line" to the complexities of color theory--provide a much-needed primer in architectural literacy, making concrete what too often is left nebulous or open-ended in the architecture curriculum. Each lesson utilizes a two-page format, with a brief explanation and an illustration that can range from diagrammatic to whimsical.

Antifreeze tastes like sugar [no, really]. Antifreeze is poisonous. Thank you Mr. Ackerman.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:58:57 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: www.govtrack.us

H.R. 4936: To amend the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require engine coolant and antifreeze...

To amend the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require engine coolant and antifreeze to contain a bittering agent so as to render it unpalatable.

Sponsor:

Rep. Gary Ackerman [D-NY](no cosponsors)

Cosponsors [as of 2008-01-16]

Cosponsorship information sometimes is out of date. Why?

Suspend duties on unicycles? I think not, compulsive-buyer clowns.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:56:22 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: www.govtrack.us

H.R. 4939: To extend the temporary suspension of duty on unicycles

Sponsor:

Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D-OR](no cosponsors)

Cosponsors [as of 2008-01-16]

Cosponsorship information sometimes is out of date. Why?

Status:

	Introduced	Jan 15, 2008
	Scheduled for Debate	-
	Voted on in House	-
	Voted on in Senate	-
	Signed by President	-

This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills go first to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills never make it out of committee. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned. [Last Updated: Jan 15, 2008]

Last Action:

Jan 15, 2008: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Bill Text:

Summaries (CRS)

Full Text

100 people, aged 1 to 100 (in order), hitting drums [a curious concept, actually awesome]

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:53:30 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Fake wood file folders... nice.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:52:33 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: swissmiss.typepad.com

That polished mahogany desk you’ve dreamt of may be a few promotions away, but you can still have the warmth and beauty of wood in your workspace with this set of wood grain Hanging File Folders from the Veneer Collection. Each set includes 10 letter-size, Hanging File Folders with 10 blank labels and 10 clear plastic tabs.

Helium Crisis?! We will have to fill our balloons with hydrogen, like the Zeppelin.

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:52:14 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: science.slashdot.org

"Within nine years the National Helium Reserve will be depleted, according to an article in Science Daily. It quotes Dr. Lee Sobotka, of Washington University in St. Louis: 'Helium is non-renewable and irreplaceable. Its properties are unique and unlike hydrocarbon fuels (natural gas or oil), there are no biosynthetic ways to make an alternative to helium. All should make better efforts to recycle it.' (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a local article with quotes from Dr. Sobotka and representatives of the balloon industry.) On Earth, Helium is found mixed with natural gas, but few producers capture it. Extracting it from the atmosphere is not cost-effective. The US created a stockpile, the National Helium Reserve, in 1925 for use by military dirigibles, but stopped stockpiling it in 1995 as a cost-saving measure."

The Meaning of Cell Phone Signal Bars [depressing, enlightening]

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:51:12 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: ask.metafilter.com

I seem to have great cell phone reception (Cingular) everywhere but my home. Yet often while I'm getting terrible reception and dropped calls, the phone tells me it has three bars of reception. What's THAT all about? Is my provider telling my phone to intentionally inflate the reporting of my reception or is something about my home causing my problem even though I nominally have good reception?

They don't mean much of anything, it turns out.

I don't know what they're displaying for GSM, but probably what they're displaying is the signal strength. For CDMA (which is what I know about) that's what they display, but in CDMA the signal strength is highly deceptive because it doesn't inform you of what the noise floor is.

Even worse... there is no industry standard for what "one bar" or "two bars" means. None. Everyone just sort of sets some thresholds, and even from the same manufacturer it can change from phone model to phone model.

Reverse drowning must suck

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:54:00 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: ffffound.com

A Boeing 747 concept from the 70s

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:47:37 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: flickr.com

Digital clay/gelatin pig head still lives

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:47:15 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: 72dpi.cn

Circular Panorama

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:46:39 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: ffffound.com

Increase our albedo by planting metal(reflective) trees

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:46:22 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Forget mirrors in space and seeding the oceans with iron, scientists have come up with a new way to tackle the looming threat of global warming: fields of shiny crops.

Experts at the University of California, Irvine, say reflective plants could send more of the sun's heat back into space, and even reverse temperature rises in parts of the world. Encouraging farmers to grow shinier crops could reduce maximum daytime temperatures in agricultural regions by as much as 1.9C, they say.

Increasing the amount of sunlight reflected back from land, called its albedo, could offset the damaging effects of the loss of Arctic ice, where the shiny white polar cap is being steadily replaced by darker water, which absorbs more heat.

Plant breeders have already created an extra-hairy variety of soya bean to fight pests, which reflects about 5% more sunlight than normal, they said.

Other scientists have suggested different ways

painting roads, roofs and car parks white.

Don't sound stupid, stop saying like.

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:44:49 GMT

clipped by: flipper1378

Clip Source: haha.nu

Don’t say too much “Like”. But I think, “You Know” is really more used. You know… -Vlad-