- FDA has given two biotechnology companies approval for clinical trials that will transplant organs from genetically modified pigs into patients with kidney failure.
- That “fresh” apple you just grabbed at the grocery store was probably picked a thousand miles away and over a year ago. The latest episode of Radiolab, Forever Fresh, was full of surprising facts about the food industry. (Spoiler: It’s all about plastics.)
Here are two fascinating links on the importance and function of sleep: Our Sleep, Brain Aging, and Waste Clearance and Scientists Uncover How the Brain Washes Itself During Sleep – both via Jodi Ettenberg- I’m considering adding my bluesky feed to a (new) sidebar on this site using Robert Devore’s WordPress Plugin.
- How do MAGA voters feel after the first two weeks of idiotic executive orders, flagrant disregard for the Constitution, economic upheaval, and diplomatic absurdities? They’re mostly fine with it, which is as horrible and disturbing as it is unsurprising. It was never about eggs.
- Five VSCode Extensions to Supercharge Your Markdown Writing has me interested in looking into VSCode again. (I’ve been using Nova (née Coda) from Panic forever, but really hate the way it handles remote servers and connections.)
- Rather than understand – or even acknowledge – the paradox of intolerance, the increasingly-popular newsletter / publishing platform Substack has decided to double-down on it.
- “Dr. Potter will not be silenced by UnitedHealthcare‘s attempts to threaten and harass her.” Pop Quiz: Without knowing any of the details about this legal issue, would you root for the health insurance company or the doctor?
- A second grade teacher in Philadelphia is using football to help her students score big in math. Her students take inspiration from their hometown football team — the Eagles — practicing their math skills by counting rushing statistics held by Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. – via George Conway
Posts tagged “genetics”
#FridayFive: Apple Varieties
<singing>A whole new world …
Urge the FDA to Say YES to Accelerated Approval for safe, effective therapies for children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy — the leading genetic killer of children, which impacts one out of every 3,500 boys born in the United States.
Genetic Memories
Fascinating Fact about Planarian Worms
Genetics and Evolution
… some wonderful comments on genetics and evolution from the USS Clueless …
Cats
I’m interested in learning how you feel about this: A company called Transgenic Pets is attempting to create genetically modified cats. These cats, “will be like any other cats except they will no longer have the protein that causes an allergic reaction in human beings.” BBC article NY Times article
Space Seeds
A geologist working for the Italian National Research Council and a professor of molecular biology at Naples University identified and brought back to life extraterrestrial microorganisms lodged inside 4.5 billion-year-old meteorites kept at Naples’ mineralogical museum. The bacteria, called “cryms” (for crystal microbes) by the researchers, remained dormant for billions of years and survived extreme
TechnoSphere
Cool3 TechnoSphere is a 3D model world inhabited by artificial lifeforms created by WWW users. There are thousands of creatures in the world all competing to survive. They eat, fight, mate and create offspring which evolve and adapt to their environment. When you make a creature it will email you to let you know what
BladeRunner
Director Ridley Scott took issues already noticeable in the 1980s, such as urban development, genetic engineering, and, of course, climate change, and took them to what he thought was their next logical stage. So what else did Blade Runner get right? link via Follow Me Here …
BioEngineering
I got into a bit of an odd conversation last night at dinner. This girl, we’ll call her Gretchen, was talking about the ramifications of genetically selecting your children. Somehow we started in on cell phones and biotechnology and such. I was saying that I will be the first in line for jacking myself into