Curiosity Killed the Cat

~/o Nano technology~~~
This did in fact win an award from ACS.

Quick, run a PCR DNA analysis on this sample!

This is what happens when I have to take the screenshots.
Three years and I'm still subscribed to those Pharma emails...
Also, Scotch tape X-rays are like, the most awesome thing ever.

So it only took 120-odd pages for Genentech to get a mention.
In the same sentence as Wyeth. And Bio-Syn, which I'm pretty sure was the fake company that was behind the Jurassic Park shenanigans.

Also, AU Google now indexes pages of filetype shmtl!

What a trainwreck of a book. Thank Darwin I never actually paid for it (I got it from the book sale I volunteer at, and that's exactly where it's going back to, once my roommate has a good laugh.)

I was also amused by how many characters (and there were far too many characters to keep track of or even care about) named after famous, Nobel-winning biologists.
Watson. Koch. Sanger. Kendall. If they've won it, they've got someone named after them.

Holy crap, now a company named BioRad does paternity testing!

By the way, if you've ever spent any time in a bio lab, even just taking a class in school, you've probably used Bio-Rad equipment. Their stuff is EVERYWHERE.

In the wonderful, mysterious alternate universe of Michael Crichton's Next, Amgen, the world's largest biotech company¹ is located in Los Angeles² and BioGen³ is a struggling biotech startup⁴ in Los Angeles⁵. Oh, and Huntington's disease has mutated into an autosomal recessive disease⁶.
Holy shit, I'm only on page 50.

( THIS BOOK IS AWESOMESAUCE )

Also, there are talking monkeys. BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABSURD ENOUGH UNLESS THE APES SPEAK. IN DUTCH.
I'm sure this will be explainedBS'd later on.

MAH BUKKETS!

I think this crazy duo is actually scared that the scientists running LHC might try to kill all the pigeons in the world give everyone cancer.

Science Debate 2008

There Goes the Science Bit... - a report on debunking absolutely stupid claims by supposed "health" products. My favorite is the "Aerobic Oxygen". That's like calling water wet, fer chrissakes. Also, the chemical-free fruit reminds of the fake "keep our food DNA-free!" science-awareness site from a few years ago. Or the "ban mono-oxygen di-hydrogen" campaign. Except that the people selling so-called chemical-free fruit are actually trying to make a profit.

Infected Pfizer computers send out Viagra spam.
Ah, delicious irony.

CSI could benefit from computer sidekick
When I read that, I had this terrible vision of Horatio with an Aibo running alongside him.

Me: And chocolate fest is next week!
Roommate: Dammit, I'm going to be at a conference!
Me: You should demand Genentech give you a piece of chocolate shaped like a DNA double helix. With a candy backbone.

IS THIS AWESOME Y/N?

Flying windmills, wtf?
Am I the only one who thinks needing a 9000 meter tether is a dangerous idea? I feel sorry for any pilot who has to fly within a few miles of that thing.
However, I'm all for renewable energy that requires less landmass to be effective.

I'M MOVING TO MERRY OL' ENGLAND

Unless you're Huckabee, Brownback or Tancredo.

I'm scared.

Remember how I posted that a study showed a strong correlation between California's rain and the seasonality of quakes (in other words, rain makes quakes?)
Well, apparently rain suppresses quakes in other parts of the world (the Himalayas).

Oh this topsy-turvy world.

In light of the recent Allerca scandal, this website raises intriguing questions on how we might view bioengineered pets. (Link via The Scientist)

Studies are showing a very strong correlation between winter rainfall and a seasonal increase in earthquake activity. The theory is that the weight of the rainwater, as it seeps through the ground, exerts additional pressure on fault lines, which can set up resonances that in turn may trigger quakes.

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

Global Climate Change = more extreme weather = more extreme rain = LETS GET READY TO RUMMMMMMBLEEEEEEE!

I'd hate to be this guy's kid.
Just think about it. Your grandfather AND your father are Nobel Laureates. For work on DNA and RNA polymerase respectively.
Sorry kid, I think you're out of polymerases to study.