Humanity – Page 116

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Stem Cells of the Adult Kind Steal the Headlines

November 18, 2010

Stories about stem cell research need to be divided into two sections: those about adult stem cells (AS), which have no ethical ramifications, and stories about embryonic stem cells (ES), which raise many issues about the sanctity of human life. As usual, most of the actual clinical progress is being made with adult stem cells […]

Amazing Facts

Cells Can Be Transformed

November 8, 2010

An astonishing feat has been performed in a Canadian lab: scientists turned human skin cells into blood cells. Bypassing the need for stem cells, the technique provides hope for a supply of blood from a person’s own skin. Live Science calls it a “modern miracle.” The technique avoids “the ethical concerns concerning embryonic stem cells […]

Amazing Facts

Windows into the Mind

November 3, 2010

What would it be like to see things for the first time? You can watch the reaction on Live Science #1 and Live Science #2. Blind patients were implanted with a microchip that allowed them, for the first time, to roughly sense the visual input of objects in front of them. Amazing as it was, […]

Amazing Facts

Automatic Turnstiles Found in the Cell

October 25, 2010

One of the things students learn about in high school biology classes is active transport: the ability to control flow through a semi-permeable membrane. Contrary to osmosis, in which the flow goes naturally from high concentration to low concentration, cell membranes employ active mechanisms to push or pull the molecules through their membranes according to […]

Bible and Theology

Mind Matters

October 22, 2010

The conundrum of how reasoning could have emerged by an undirected evolutionary process persists. Atheists and materialists are convinced that natural selection is up to the task, while theists strongly disagree and use human rationality as evidence for creation by an intelligent source (usually God). Perhaps a few recent findings can illuminate on the options. […]

Intelligent Design

SETI: To the Unknown, Full Speed Ahead

October 16, 2010

This year marks the 50th year of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute and one of its most outspoken spokesmen, made the cover of Sky and Telescope’s November 2010 issue. He stands proudly over his Allen Telescope Array in his feature story, “Closing in on E.T.” celebrating […]

Amazing Facts

Hairy Bacteria Walk and Talk

October 12, 2010

Little hair-like projections on some bacteria, nearly invisible with light microscopes, are not just for decoration. They do amazing things – as a pair of recent discoveries brought to light. They help bacteria walk and talk. But can they dance? Bacteria swim, but they also land on surfaces – and when they do, they put […]

Amazing Facts

Brain Rewires for Lost Senses

October 11, 2010

Born without vision or hearing? The brain can apparently rewire itself to accommodate the loss, reported the BBC News. Dr Stephen Lomber, who led research published in Nature Neuroscience, said: The brain is very efficient, and doesn’t let unused space go to waste. The brain wants to compensate for the lost sense with […]

Amazing Facts

More DNA Repair Wonders Found

October 7, 2010

One of the most phenomenal discoveries since the structure of DNA was revealed must surely be the discovery of multitudes of protein machines that repair DNA (01/04/2002). The repair machines are themselves coded by DNA, but DNA would quickly decay into nonsense without them. Another “fundamentally new” repair mechanism was discovered by researchers at Vanderbilt […]

Cell Biology

Big Gains for Adult Stem Cells Announced

October 4, 2010

Ever since Shinya Yamanaka figured out how to coax skin cells to become pluripotent stem cells in 2007 (something for which he is being considered for a Nobel Prize, see PhysOrg), other researchers have been improving on his idea. Three big gains were announced recently. PhysOrg and New Scientist reported work by Derrick […]

Cell Biology

Ethics Shmethics: Scientists Obsessed with Embryonic Stem Cells

September 26, 2010

With non-controversial adult stem cell research zooming along, like finding ways to prevent adult stem cells (ASC) from aging (PhysOrg), providing hope for leukemia patients (Science Daily) and giving mastectomy patients a chance for beauty once again (Science Daily), why are so many scientists adamant about keeping embryonic stem cell research on the public dole? […]

Darwin and Evolution

The Evolution of Speech, and v.v.

September 23, 2010

The brain just got more complex – that is, the part that helps us speak. “Complex brain landscape controls speech,” reported PhysOrg, discussing findings by German researchers that show Broca’s region, implicated in speech disorders when damaged, appears to be “a much more complexly structured centre of language than was previously believed.” Not just a […]

Darwin and Evolution

More Neanderthal Promotion

September 22, 2010

It’s a good time to be a Neanderthal. You’ll get more respect than ever before from paleoanthropologists. The latest example, published in PhysOrg, is headlined, “Neanderthals more advanced than previously thought.” Julien Riel-Salvatore [U of Colorado at Denver] says he is “rehabilitating Neanderthals” by challenging a half-century of “conventional wisdom” that portrayed them as numbskulls. […]

Human Body

China Suffers 30 Years of Misguided Malthusian Idea

September 18, 2010

China has had a “one-child policy” for 30 years this week. This policy has caused untold grief for many families desiring children, and has resulted in unexpected demographic problems – such as aging of the population, not enough brides for young men, and enormous numbers of abortions. Two articles in Science this week explored the […]

Amazing Facts

Archer Fish See Like People

September 13, 2010

An archer fish can spit out a man’s cigarette. That’s actually a humorous scene at the end of a video clip on The Scientist that talks about the amazing eyes of this underwater sharpshooter. New research shows that these freshwater fish, known for their ability to spit bugs off bushes, have a mammal-like ability to […]

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