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Saturday, June 09, 2018
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Artificial life a reality within 4 months?
Courtesy: Times of India
AGENCIES 24 August 2009, 12:07am IST
A controversial scientist who led a private project to sequence the human genome has claimed that artificial life will be created within four months.
Researcher Craig Venter said his team had cleared a critical hurdle to creating man-made organisms in a laboratory.
“Assuming we don’t make any errors, I think it should work and we should have the first synthetic species by the end of the year,” he said.
Venter, who has been chasing his goal for a decade, is already working on projects to use synthetic biology to create bacteria that transform coal into cleaner natural gas, and algae that soak up carbon dioxide and turn it into hydrocarbon fuels.
Venter’s prediction came after scientists at his J Craig Venter Institute, in Rockville, Maryland, announced that they had developed a new method of transplanting DNA into bacteria, promising to solve a problem that has held up the artificial life project for two years.
The team took the first step in 2007 by implanting the genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma mycoides, into cells belonging to a close relative, Mycoplasma capricolum. This transformed the host bacteria into Mycoplasma mycoides, Times Online reported.
Last January the team built a bacterium’s entire genetic code from scratch. The next step was to transfer this synthetic genome into a host cell, using the 2007 transplant technique, to “reboot” it with genetic instructions written by humans. This has failed so far because the synthetic genome will not work when it is transplanted into host cells.
The new research has identified the reason for this failure and developed a new approach to address it. Bacterial genomes are chemically modified by a process called methylation. When they are inserted into other cells this process protects them against chemicals called restriction enzymes, which defend against viruses.
The synthetic genome, however, is not methylated, as it has to be grown in yeast, thus leaving it open to attack by the restriction enzymes.
In the new study, the Venter team remethylated the M mycoides genome before placing it into the host cell. This time the transplants worked and the cells were rebooted as M mycoides. The success suggests that methylating the synthetic genome before transfer should allow it to take over host cells and reboot them with its DNA.
AGENCIES 24 August 2009, 12:07am IST
A controversial scientist who led a private project to sequence the human genome has claimed that artificial life will be created within four months.
Researcher Craig Venter said his team had cleared a critical hurdle to creating man-made organisms in a laboratory.
“Assuming we don’t make any errors, I think it should work and we should have the first synthetic species by the end of the year,” he said.
Venter, who has been chasing his goal for a decade, is already working on projects to use synthetic biology to create bacteria that transform coal into cleaner natural gas, and algae that soak up carbon dioxide and turn it into hydrocarbon fuels.
Venter’s prediction came after scientists at his J Craig Venter Institute, in Rockville, Maryland, announced that they had developed a new method of transplanting DNA into bacteria, promising to solve a problem that has held up the artificial life project for two years.
The team took the first step in 2007 by implanting the genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma mycoides, into cells belonging to a close relative, Mycoplasma capricolum. This transformed the host bacteria into Mycoplasma mycoides, Times Online reported.
Last January the team built a bacterium’s entire genetic code from scratch. The next step was to transfer this synthetic genome into a host cell, using the 2007 transplant technique, to “reboot” it with genetic instructions written by humans. This has failed so far because the synthetic genome will not work when it is transplanted into host cells.
The new research has identified the reason for this failure and developed a new approach to address it. Bacterial genomes are chemically modified by a process called methylation. When they are inserted into other cells this process protects them against chemicals called restriction enzymes, which defend against viruses.
The synthetic genome, however, is not methylated, as it has to be grown in yeast, thus leaving it open to attack by the restriction enzymes.
In the new study, the Venter team remethylated the M mycoides genome before placing it into the host cell. This time the transplants worked and the cells were rebooted as M mycoides. The success suggests that methylating the synthetic genome before transfer should allow it to take over host cells and reboot them with its DNA.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Re: NZ Unemployment Rate at 10 Year High
Courtesy: 
NZ's jobless rate hits 6 percent, 10-year high, AS
Thu, Aug 6 01 :24 AM
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand 's unemployment rate has hit a 10-year high of 6 percent, new figures showed Thursday. Government-funded Statistics New Zealand said that during the last 12 months the number of unemployed rose by 48,000 to 138,000.
Women were the most affected, the data showed. "The unemployment rate rose by 1.0 percentage point during the June 2009 quarter, the largest quarterly increase since the September 1988 quarter," it noted, as it released its latest Household Labor Force Survey.
The survey showed the jobless rate has increased in each of the past six quarters, from a low of 3.5 percent in the quarter ended December 2007. The latest spike was largely driven by a rise in the number of women registered as unemployed in the quarter ended June 30, it said.
About 12,000 women reported losing their jobs in that period, while the number of unemployed men rose by 8,000. The survey which measures all people out of work, not just those who qualify for benefits shows female unemployment running at 6.3 percent compared to 5.7 percent for men.
In the latest quarter, 18,000 full-time jobs were lost, or 1.1 percent, while 7,000 part-time jobs were added, or 1.3 percent. Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett said despite the larger than expected rise in the number of people out of work, New Zealand is "holding up internationally, with an unemployment rate well under the OECD average of 8.3 percent.
" The economy has been in recession since the start of 2008, but "the single biggest quarterly increase in the unemployment rate since September 1988 .
is obviously of concern to this government," she added.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
KIWIS - SOUTH ISLAND MOVE CLOSER TO OZ
Courtesy:
Massive New Zealand quake moves country west, AS
Wed,
Gledhill, director of government-owned GNS Science's "GeoNet" national earthquake monitoring project, said the island's geographic shift showed the immensity of the forces involved. "Basically, it's taken us closer to
"The country is deforming all the time because of being on the plate boundary, but this has done it in a few seconds, rather than waiting hundreds of years." Last Wednesday's quake was the largest in the world this year and
No major damage has been found in the sparsely populated Fiordland region of
This earthquake anywhere else would have caused huge damage," Gledhill said. He said the quake's impact will provide "invaluable information" on the underlying structure of the country.
Martin Reyners, principal scientist for GNS Science, said earlier that a shallow temblor of such magnitude would typically cause widespread damage and loss of life. Last week's quake, however, occurred in "soft rocks" between two tectonic plates, muffling its power, he said.
Reyners said the rocks had lurched rather than snapped, causing a low-frequency rolling rather than the high-frequency waves that are known to damage buildings.
Friday, May 15, 2009
No clear majority for any party 2009 Elections
Courtesy - The Hindu dated 15/05/2009
PREDICTIONS FAVOUR UPA FRONT
UPA will get 216 seats, NDA 177: NDTV exit poll
New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance is projected to emerge as the largest alliance in the Lok Sabha polls with 216 seats, leaving the NDA far behind, according to the NDTV's exit poll.
The poll gave National Democratic Alliance 177 seats while the Third Front was projected to get 105, Fourth Front 30 and others 15.
The poll projected that the BSP-led Third Front would emerge the largest grouping in Uttar Pradesh, bagging 28 out of 80 seats.
The Samajwadi Party-led Fourth Front was predicted to get 23, which would be a reduction of 12 seats from the 2004 elections.
NDA was projected to get 14 seats, closely followed by UPA at 13, according to the poll.
In Maharashtra which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the poll gave NDA 19 seats, six less than the last elections, while the UPA was projected to improve its tally by seven seats to reach 29.
In West Bengal, the poll projected that the Third Front, mainly consisting of Left parties, would get 22 seats out of 42, 13 less than last time. UPA was projected to get 19 seats, a gain of 12, while the NDA was given one.
The poll gave 29 seats to UPA out of 42 in Andhra Pradesh while the Third Front, mainly the TDP, was projected to get 10.
In Bihar, the NDA was projected to get 33 seats, a gain of 22 seats from the last elections. The Fourth Front of the RJD and the LJP was predicted to get only five seats, a sharp decrease of 21 seats from 2004 elections.
Tamil Nadu
The poll gave 20 seats to UPA (alliance of DMK and Congress) out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. The Third Front (an alliance of AIADMK, PMK and MDMK) was projected to get 18 seats.
In Madhya Pradesh, the NDA was projected to get 17 out of 29 seats, leaving the UPA with 11.
NDA was projected to get 18 out of 26 seats in Gujarat, an increase of four seats from 2004 elections. The UPA has been given eight seats, a loss of four seats from the last elections.
In Karnataka, the NDA was projected to get 17 out of 28 seats leaving the UPA with nine.
In Orissa, the poll gave UPA 10 out of 21 seats, a marked increase of seven seats while predicting the drop in NDA's tally by five to touch two seats. The Third Front (mainly BJD) was projected to get nine seats.
The NDA was predicted to get 12 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan, losing nine seats from its 2004 tally. The UPA was projected to gain eight seats to touch 12 seats.
In the exit poll, the UPA was also shown as getting 10 out of 20 seats in Kerala, a gain of nine seats. The Third Front (Left parties) was predicted to manage 10 seats, a drop of seven seats from last time.
In Punjab, the NDA was shown to lose eight seats from last election's tally and manage only three out of 13 seats. The UPA was predicted to get 10, a gain of eight seats.
In Haryana, the UPA was given five seats out of 10, losing four from its tally of 2004. The NDA was shown as gaining two seats to touch the figure of three. The Congress was shown to retain its 6-1 score in Delhi. — PTI
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Re: Air Travel to Jewel in the Crown took 7 days - Courtesy The Hindu
Courtesy - The Hindu dated 13/05/2009.
When flights from London took 7 days to reach India
London: It was considered a flight of fancy 80 years ago, but when the first flights from England to India took off in March 1929, it took seven days to cross the distance - a far cry from what has today become one of the busiest sectors in aviation.
As several flights take off and land between Britain and India today, early aviation records here show that the first flight to India took off from the Croydon Airport in south London. The airport is no longer in use.
According to records, the first flight took off for Karachi in colonial India on March 30, 1929. It had to make more than 20 stops, travelling through France, Italy, Greece, Libya, Gaza, Iraq and then on to India.
Later in 1929, the route was extended to Jodhpur and Delhi. The few passengers of the first flight paid 130 pounds for the one-way journey. The service was operated by Imperial Airways, which ran the aircraft called 'Short Calcutta'.
Imperial Airways was tasked with pioneering a chain of long distance intercontinental air services linking the countries of the British Empire with the United Kingdom. The first of these routes was to the jewel in the crown: India.
Eastbound flights left Croydon every Saturday with the westbound flights from Karachi taking off on Sundays. Three different types of aircraft were used in various stages, an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, a Short Calcutta and a Handley Page Hercules.
The company earned revenue by transporting mail. It cost 6 dimes to post a letter to India. At first, the planes carried mail from the countries they flew through, but this was soon extended to every country in the Postal Union, which included Iraq, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Canada.
The first flights to India carried about 300 pounds of mail, but this soon increased to an average of 550 pounds. In the first six months of the service, 11,893 pounds of mail was carried to the East, records show.
After six months and 26 flights, the Post Office proudly announced that the service had been delayed only three times.— PTI
CRUELTY AT ITS EXTREME
Courtesy: http://www.peta.org/
Kindly do not watch this inhuman and cruel treatment to animals, but if you must, be aware, it's horrible.
<http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=medhttp://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=med <<http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=med>http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=med>
Please sign and forward to all your contacts - this has to be stopped!!!I explain the process below:With a hidden camera, animals were filmed being SKINNED ALIVE!!! They say it's done to get a more perfect ''cut''; afterwards the carcasses are tossedInto a pile, still alive, and for up to 10 minutes you can see their hearts Still beating, in agony, their eyes still blinking, and the puppies' little Paws still shaking. There was one pup, that still lifted his head and gazed At the camera with bloodied eyes.If you don't care to see the video, please sign and forward to your friends:This monstrosity has to be stopped, we have to act!!When the list reaches 500 names, please forward to: <mailto:PETA2@peta.org>PETA2@peta.orgThank you.
Get Active Living TV Shop About PETA Donate Now
Für Informationen auf Deutsch klicken Sie bitte hier.
Klik hier voor informatie in het Nederlands.
Para información en español, haz clique aquí.
Cliquez ici pour des informations en français.
Please tell everyone you know about the horrors of the fur trade by sharing this information with them and showing them the shocking undercover video.
Please donate now Pledge to be fur free
When undercover investigators made their way onto Chinese fur farms recently, they found that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut.
When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.
AC_FL_RunContent( 'codebase','http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,19,0','width','335','height','255','src','http://www.petatv.com/swf/broadcast?v=fur_farm_high','quality','high','wmode','transparent','pluginspage','http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer','movie','http://www.petatv.com/swf/broadcast?v=fur_farm_high' ); //end AC code
Take a look inside the Chinese fur tradeDownload this video: Quicktime Windows MediaStream This Video
Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.
Before they are skinned alive, animals are pulled from their cages and thrown to the ground; workers bludgeon them with metal rods or slam them on hard surfaces, causing broken bones and convulsions but not always immediate death. Animals watch helplessly as workers make their way down the row. Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International recently toured fur farms in China's Hebei Province, and it quickly became clear why outsiders are banned from visiting. There are no regulations governing fur farms in China—farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit—meaning miserable lives and excruciating deaths. The investigators found horrors beyond their worst imaginings and concluded, "Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness." On these farms, foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals pace and shiver in outdoor wire cages, exposed to driving rain, freezing nights, and, at other times, scorching sun. Mother animals, who are driven crazy from rough handling and intense confinement and have nowhere to hide while giving birth, often kill their babies after delivering litters. Disease and injuries are widespread, and animals suffering from anxiety-induced psychosis chew on their own limbs and throw themselves repeatedly against the cage bars. The globalization of the fur trade has made it impossible to know where fur products come from. Skins move through international auction houses and are purchased and distributed to manufacturers around the world, and finished goods are often exported. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States. Even if a fur garment's label says it was made in a European country, the animals were likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere—possibly on an unregulated Chinese fur farm. Because a fur's origin can't be traced, anyone who wears any fur at all shares the blame for the horrific conditions on Chinese fur farms. The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur. Take PETA's pledge to be fur-free today!
Voice Your Opinion on Cruelty to Animals
Complete our opinion poll and provide us with the vital information that we need to make officials and corporate decisionmakers take notice.
l E-Mail This Page l Subscribe to E-News
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Kindly do not watch this inhuman and cruel treatment to animals, but if you must, be aware, it's horrible.
<http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=medhttp://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=med <<http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=med>http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=fur_farm&Player=wm&speed=med>
Please sign and forward to all your contacts - this has to be stopped!!!I explain the process below:With a hidden camera, animals were filmed being SKINNED ALIVE!!! They say it's done to get a more perfect ''cut''; afterwards the carcasses are tossedInto a pile, still alive, and for up to 10 minutes you can see their hearts Still beating, in agony, their eyes still blinking, and the puppies' little Paws still shaking. There was one pup, that still lifted his head and gazed At the camera with bloodied eyes.If you don't care to see the video, please sign and forward to your friends:This monstrosity has to be stopped, we have to act!!When the list reaches 500 names, please forward to: <mailto:PETA2@peta.org>PETA2@peta.orgThank you.
Get Active Living TV Shop About PETA Donate Now
Für Informationen auf Deutsch klicken Sie bitte hier.
Klik hier voor informatie in het Nederlands.
Para información en español, haz clique aquí.
Cliquez ici pour des informations en français.
Please tell everyone you know about the horrors of the fur trade by sharing this information with them and showing them the shocking undercover video.
Please donate now Pledge to be fur free
When undercover investigators made their way onto Chinese fur farms recently, they found that many animals are still alive and struggling desperately when workers flip them onto their backs or hang them up by their legs or tails to skin them. When workers on these farms begin to cut the skin and fur from an animal's leg, the free limbs kick and writhe. Workers stomp on the necks and heads of animals who struggle too hard to allow a clean cut.
When the fur is finally peeled off over the animals' heads, their naked, bloody bodies are thrown onto a pile of those who have gone before them. Some are still alive, breathing in ragged gasps and blinking slowly. Some of the animals' hearts are still beating five to 10 minutes after they are skinned. One investigator recorded a skinned raccoon dog on the heap of carcasses who had enough strength to lift his bloodied head and stare into the camera.
AC_FL_RunContent( 'codebase','http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,19,0','width','335','height','255','src','http://www.petatv.com/swf/broadcast?v=fur_farm_high','quality','high','wmode','transparent','pluginspage','http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer','movie','http://www.petatv.com/swf/broadcast?v=fur_farm_high' ); //end AC code
Take a look inside the Chinese fur tradeDownload this video: Quicktime Windows MediaStream This Video
Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org.
Before they are skinned alive, animals are pulled from their cages and thrown to the ground; workers bludgeon them with metal rods or slam them on hard surfaces, causing broken bones and convulsions but not always immediate death. Animals watch helplessly as workers make their way down the row. Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection/EAST International recently toured fur farms in China's Hebei Province, and it quickly became clear why outsiders are banned from visiting. There are no regulations governing fur farms in China—farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit—meaning miserable lives and excruciating deaths. The investigators found horrors beyond their worst imaginings and concluded, "Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness." On these farms, foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals pace and shiver in outdoor wire cages, exposed to driving rain, freezing nights, and, at other times, scorching sun. Mother animals, who are driven crazy from rough handling and intense confinement and have nowhere to hide while giving birth, often kill their babies after delivering litters. Disease and injuries are widespread, and animals suffering from anxiety-induced psychosis chew on their own limbs and throw themselves repeatedly against the cage bars. The globalization of the fur trade has made it impossible to know where fur products come from. Skins move through international auction houses and are purchased and distributed to manufacturers around the world, and finished goods are often exported. China supplies more than half of the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States. Even if a fur garment's label says it was made in a European country, the animals were likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere—possibly on an unregulated Chinese fur farm. Because a fur's origin can't be traced, anyone who wears any fur at all shares the blame for the horrific conditions on Chinese fur farms. The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur. Take PETA's pledge to be fur-free today!
Voice Your Opinion on Cruelty to Animals
Complete our opinion poll and provide us with the vital information that we need to make officials and corporate decisionmakers take notice.
l E-Mail This Page l Subscribe to E-News
About PETA Donate Now Privacy Policy Disclaimer PETA Web Sites
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