The Debate About Cloning
May 23, 2007
There are two types of cloning. One involves harvesting stem cells from embryos (”therapeutic cloning”). These are the biological equivalent of a template. They can develop into any kind of mature functional cell and thus help cure many degenerative and auto-immune diseases.
The other kind of cloning is much derided in popular culture - and elsewhere - as the harbinger of a Brave, New World. A nucleus from any cell of a donor is embedded in an egg whose own nucleus has been removed. The egg is then implanted in a woman’s womb and a cloned baby is born nine months later. Biologically, the cloned infant is a replica of the donor.
Cloning is often confused with other advances in bio-medicine and bio-engineering - such as genetic selection. It cannot - in itself - be used to produce “perfect humans” or select sex or other traits. Hence, some of the arguments against cloning are either specious or fuelled by ignorance.
It is true, though, that cloning, used in conjunction with other bio-technologies, raises serious bio-ethical questions. Scare scenarios of humans cultivated in sinister labs as sources of spare body parts, “designer babies”, “master races”, or “genetic sex slaves” - formerly the preserve of B sci-fi movies - have invaded mainstream discourse.
Surgical Biomaterials and Tissue Regeneration Technologies
May 22, 2007
Plants, invertebrate animals, amphibians and even reptiles have the ability to regenerate lost or damaged body parts. In the case of lizards, for example, this is a defensive mechanism. When a predator attacks, the lizard can break off its own tail as a means of distraction. While the predator is busy eating the tail, the lizard escapes and regenerates the body part later on. Mammals can regenerate some skin and liver tissue, but our regenerative abilities stop there. Unlike lizards, which have nature to thank for their regenerative capabilities, we are dependent on scientists, physicians and the business community to develop new technologies that will help us repair and replace damaged tissue.
How do lizards and other animals regenerate tissue? Part of the answer has to do with stem cells. When an amphibian loses its tail, for example, stem cells in the spinal cord migrate into the regrowing tail and differentiate into several cell types, including muscle and cartilage. This occurs simultaneously with the growth and differentiation of cells in the tail stump. Eventually, this process results in a new, fully-functional and anatomically-correct tail.
Movin On: Taking Transhumanism in Stride
May 21, 2007
Back in the seventies, we watched “The Six Million Dollar Man”, a popular television show about a trained agent who was critically injured and given the gift of technology–bionic legs and super vision.
Lee Majors portrayed a man capable of leaping tall buildings and scanning the landscape at night. We marveled at the possibility of creating a human with superior qualities. In the opening sequence of each episode, we heard the phrase, “We have the technology.” The implication was that we could–and should–use it to transform a high market value man into a formidable man/machine mix.
My definition of an excellent human is someone who is mindful of maximizing his or her own potential for creativity and compassion. That seems like plenty to tackle, but there is an emerging school of thought that suggests we ought to become excellent superhumans.
Transhumanists believe that the continual evolution of humans requires the–key word here– ethical use of technology to help us live better, longer lives. For them, a life span of 80 years may be what “nature intended” for this decade, but our role as 21st century humans is to use what we’ve learned to improve upon nature.
Global Dumbing?
May 20, 2007
I am beginning to wonder if scientists have been getting it all wrong. All this time, people have been worried about the Ozone, or a giant asteroid, or some breakout of a bio-hazardous agent by a terrorist organization being the doom of mankind. We have spent all this time looking outward instead of inward towards ourselves.
The latest studies have identified two startling facts: 1 - that the whole in the Ozone layer is getter smaller, and 2 ? that the brightness levels on the earth our getting dimmer. Does this all mean that Global Warming is all just a sham? Does it mean that the corporations who continue to abuse our earth with reckless abandon have been right all along? That tree-hugging hippies have had their brains melted from too much LSD?
Scientists seem to be getting dumber in direct proportion to the grants given to them by governments, which are lobbied. of course, by corporate interests. They have looked at the new Global Dimming phenomenon and said, "It can’t be getting warming with less sunlight!" And no doubt that as this new story makes it rounds about the Ozone getting smaller, they will point to the great job done by their benefactors at reducing Green House emissions and say that the Ozone must be replenishing itself.
51 Easy, Eco-Friendly Ways You Can Help Sustain Planet Earth
May 20, 2007
1. Air dry your laundry.
2. Ask your utility companies for an energy audit.
3. Avoid clothing produced in sweat shops around the world. Women and children deserve fair labor practices.
4. Avoid down and feather products, if allergies are a problem. Replace with organic cotton batting or organic wool.
5. Avoid electric bug zappers.
6. Avoid laundry detergent with phosphates.
7. Avoid plastics in your home.
8. Avoid poultry and meats from animals raised on hormones and steroids.
9. Avoid products from farms that practice inhumane treatment of people and animals.
10. Avoid products tested on animals.
11. Buy locally grown or organic food.
12. Buy organic bedding.
13. Buy organic coffees and teas with the Fair Trade label.
14. Buy organic cotton underwear.
15. Buy organic grains, pastas, herbs, and essential products, in bulk.
16. Buy recycled and biodegradable toiler paper.
17. Buy recycled gift wrap.
18. Compost yard debris and food scraps.
19. Consider giving homemade gifts.
20. Decline drinking straws in the restaurant.
21. Diaper Baby in soft organic cottons.
22. Don’t buy a larger home than you need.
How I Became Interested In Looking At The Moon
May 19, 2007
Like a lot of kids, my folks gave me a 60mm telescope for Christmas one year. The scope was a typical department-store brand - not very good - but to a 12-year old kid it opened up the universe.
Through it I got to see the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and the rings of Saturn. But above all these eye-openers, there was the moon. There in the eyepiece stood craggy mountains - spires casting long shadows across crater lowlands, dark maria and (painfully) bright highlands, a surface pockmarked with craters of all sizes, some with bright ejecta rays and some funny squiggle type features. I soon learned that the greatest amount of detail was seen along the terminator, that line splitting light from dark, where shadows played across features showing them in stark contrast. And to cap it all, each night different features could be seen in detail.
They say that as you get older, your memory plays tricks on you - you remember good things more than the bad. I remember lots of clear, frosty winter nights when I could point my ’scope at the moon and scan its disk for some feature I had not seen in relief before. These days, the skies seem to be cloudy much more frequently and the frosty winter nights are few and far between. I guess that’s global warming for you!
TSUNAMI The Next Big Wave:The Grandaddy of Them All
May 18, 2007
A few days ago on Melbourne’s 60 Minutes, renowned scientist Dr Kerry Sieh predicted the guaranteed next big wave or giant Tsunami will definitely happen, and it will be the Grandaddy of them all.
Indonesia gets the full force this time around … When?… whether it be in a few months, or in a decade is all Dr Sieh cannot accurately predict at this present moment.
Kerry Sieh, a Geology professor at the California Institute of Technology, knows Indonesia’s earthquake zone like the back of his hand … and he did in fact predict the first earthquake that hit parts of Indonesia on Boxing Day. Now he predicts another Tsunami will hit, and this will be the grandaddy of them all!
From Melbourne MSN Channel 9’s Sixty Minutes Richard Carleton explains why the earthquakes and ensuing Tsunami’s occur:
RICHARD CARLETON: Dr Sieh’s focus is on the faultline, 5000km long, where moving plates of the earth’s crust grind against each other. The plate under the Indian Ocean slides beneath Indonesia, much like the disappearing stairs on an escalator. But some sections get stuck and then later snap upwards, releasing gargantuan force.
Aliens
May 17, 2007
I am being allowed time out to raise a subject that is dear to my heart (I normally market web sites!).
Is there life out there? Are we alone? How did we get here?
These are the big questions. For what it is worth, I believe there are big bangs happening all the time. The virtually random result from each big bang would produce many universes (I know, a contradiction in terms). The only common factor would be that each started from a burst of energy. In our case, some of that energy was converted to matter, and we are the result. Surely there is no reason why the energy could not have been converted into another phenomenon that our language and our vision cannot comprehend. This may perhaps be a form that is way off the scale of our electromagnetic spectrum, or using a different spectrum altogether.
Divining Your Soul Number
May 16, 2007
Your Soul Number, which defines your very essence or heart’s desire, is calculated using the vowels in the name that appeared on your birth certificate. This reading describes what you or another person value or want most in life.
First of all, eliminate all the consonants from your birth name by adding together the numerical equivalents displayed on the chart below.
A 1
E 5
I 9
0 6
U 3
For instance, let’s take Pamela Anderson, born Pamela Denise Anderson.
First we would eliminate all the consonants from her name. The result is
aea eie aeo
We would then add the number equivalents of all these letters together and reduce them to a single digit as in: 1+5+1+5+9+5+2+5+6 = 39
3+9 = 11
1+1 = 2
Pamela Anderson’s is a master number 11 as well as a 2 so she would read the interpretations for booth as described below.
INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SOUL NUMBER
Soul Number 1
Veterinary Hematology 101; 2005 Abstract
May 15, 2007
Veterinary Hematology is more than just blood cells. Blood, highly functional and truly definitive, does much more than provide for the transport of cellular metabolites and waste products. Blood is made up of four major components: Plasma, Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells, and Platelets.
Each component possesses its own diagnostic significance in the veterinary clinical setting.
Without blood, you have no viable mammal life. Therefore without blood, the clinician has no valid clinical picture of disease-state. To appreciate the value of blood, the clinician should examine each individual component of blood separately to gain an appreciation for the clinical significance and diagnostic value of veterinary hematology in their practice. Anemia will also be discussed.
Plasma
Plasma carries blood and blood proteins. Aside from a high water content, plasma also contains dissolved salts, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Plasma contains clotting factors and on exposure to air it will clot. Serum is the clear fluid that separates from clotted whole blood and clotted plasma. Plasma comprises approximately 20% of the animal body’s extracellular fluid. Most plasma protein molecules are too large to pass through the capillary walls into the interstitial space. The small amount of protein that can pass through the capillary walls is primarily taken up by the lymph nodes and eventually returned to the circulation.
