“UBC Researchers Find New Superbug Weapon for Near-empty Antibiotics Arsenal“:The team found that a peptide, or chain of amino acids, they have dubbed innate defense regulator peptide (IDR-1), can increase innate immunity without triggering harmful inflammation, and offer protection both before and after infection is present. *** “Antibiotics are now under threat because of the …
I hope it works out. As I like to say (and I don’t think I’m the first), “Wikipedia is a very useful tool. Sometimes it’s even right.” Here’s the nascent rival: Citizendium. It’s Wikipedia with real names…and experts.
…you’re stinking up my wine: Ladybugs may look pretty but they also have a dark side. In some places, the polka-dotted insects have become a nuisance by invading homes and crops, including some vineyards. To make matters worse, the bugs produce a foul-smelling liquid that, besides irritating homeowners, can be inadvertently processed along with grapes …
It’s The Children of Húrin, begun 89 years ago, left unfinished (like so much else) when Tolkien died in 1971, and now painstakingly recreated from Tolkien’s manuscripts and notes by his son, Christopher. This story from The Independent, though, has a terrible title: “Tolkien Jr. completes Lord of the Rings.” The Children of Húrin takes …
Trouble is, it probably won’t show up for about a billion years.
I’ve previously mentioned my enchantment with blimps, zeppelins, and other lighter-than-air airships. Now here’s a really cool one: a concept for a blimp that swims through the air like a fish, using artificial muscles.
…but you’re tired of looking down on everyone, trying looking up instead, via WikiSky. From New Scientist Space Blog: The site features a map of more than half a billion astronomical objects. You can navigate around it easily by clicking and dragging the map and using a zoom-in/zoom-out sidebar. You can also search on specific …
We’ve become accustomed to seeing real and virtual actors (or at least extras) blended with real and virtual sets in the movies. Now it’s being done live on stage: Using new techniques that merge the Internet 2 with traditional stage theatre, the University of Central Florida, Bradley University in Illinois and the University of Waterloo …
France has unveiled a new web site that ought to be fun to poke around in: France became the first country to open its files on UFOs Thursday when the national space agency unveiled a website documenting more than 1,600 sightings spanning five decades. The online archives, which will be updated as new cases are …
More photos here.
I had the pleasure of attending the local launch of Lindeman’s new line of wines from South Africa this afternoon at the Willow on Wascana. You can read my impressions of the wines at our Willetts on Wine blog, now once more (after a serious hiatus) being regularly updated. If you’re interested in the opinions …
…here. It was captured by Japan’s Hinode spacecraft in January: “I managed to stay in my seat,” says solar physicist John Davis of the Marshall Space Flight Center, “but just barely.” Davis is NASA’s project scientist for Hinode, Japanese for Sunrise. The spacecraft was launched in Sept. 2006 from the Uchinoura Space Center in Japan …
