Salmons Come With Magnetic Sensors

Trigger

Just read “Navigation im TierreichLachse mit magnetischer Seekarte” dated 3/12/14. Here is the abstract of the English language article.

Finally, scientists discovered a magnetic sense in salmon. Apparently some kind of map is inherited by the offspring of salmon.

Excerpts from abstract (emphasis added):

“A particular challenge is explaining how juvenile animals with no prior migratory experience are able to locate specific oceanic feeding habitats that are hundreds or thousands of kilometers from their natal sites”

“We further show that fish use the combination of magnetic intensity and inclination angle to assess their geographic location. The “magnetic map” of salmon appears to be inherited, as the fish had no prior migratory experience.”

What About Humans?

Are we really without such a sense or have we just not discovered it? Has it been dormant?

German Companies Produce Their Own Energy

Trigger

Just read “German Companies Take Back the Power As Electricity Costs Soar, Energy-Hungry Firms Have a Growing Incentive to Go Off the Grid” (subscription required) dated 3/3/2014.

In their nutty ways, the German government “has slapped a surcharge of about 22% on power bills for businesses and households. The levy first imposed in 2000, has nearly tripled since 2010.”

What An Irony Or Is It Insanity!

“Roughly 16% of German companies were producing their own power by the middle of last year, according to the Chamber of Commerce - up from about 10% a year earlier.”

Meanwhile it dawns on chancellor Angela Merkel to revise Germany’s energy laws.

A Breathless Le Monde Diplomatique Article On TAFTA

Trigger

Just read “Government by big business goes supranational/The corporation invasion”

Summary

What a screed from beginning to end! What are the editors of this magazine smoking?

Has it ever occurred to these simple minded editors of this French magazine that big government breeds and depends on big business?

Of course everybody is entitled to their opinion!

Cancer Is History

Posted: 3/23/2014 Updated: 2/16/2016, 11/8/2015, 4/5/2015, 3/10/2015, 1/6/2015

List Of Articles & Comments

As we go along, I will collect here articles in English and German about medical advances in the fight against cancer:

Stopping Breast Cancer in its Tracks

Israeli Researchers Develop Novel Method To Treat Aggressive Blood Cancers

Harvard student develops technique to diagnose cancer from a single drop of blood

Flourescent Camera Pill Could Hunt for Cancer in Your Guts

Scripps Florida Compound Successfully Targets Hard-to-Treat Breast Cancer

Cancer researchers band together to pool tumor genome data

Vitamin C kills tumor cells with hard-to-treat mutation

Gut microbes give anticancer treatments a boost

A Cell Therapy Untested in Humans Saves a Baby With Cancer

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-start-up-uses-trojan-horse-technology-to-kill-cancer-cells/

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/10/modified-virus-prostate-cancer-detection

http://news.sciencemag.org/plants-animals/2015/10/how-elephants-crush-cancer

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/09/genetic-engineering-turns-common-plant-cancer-fighter (This is about podophyllotoxin)

http://www.scripps.edu/philanthropy/landing/newsletter/2015_07_milestones.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ovarian-breast-cancer-risk-vary-according-to-subtle-changes-in-two-genes/

http://azbigmedia.com/ab/health-care/asu-researchers-find-potential-clues-detecting-ovarian-cancer

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150420122540.htm

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/brain-tumor-weakness-0408#

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/using-entire-immune-system-halts-tumor-growth-0414#

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/evolutionary-relic (This one is about pseudogenes)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150403130826.htm

http://news.sciencemag.org/health/2015/04/personalized-cancer-vaccines-may-fight-tumors

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/mri_based_on_a_sugar_molecule_can_tell_cancerous_from_noncancerous_cells

http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534991/liquid-biopsy/

http://www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/newsroom/3d-vaccine-spontaneously-assembles-pack-powerful-punch-against-cancer

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/mar/02/gold-nanotubes-sizzle-cancer-cells

http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20150309/zhang.html

http://www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/newsroom/new-imaging-technique-improved-prostate-cancer-detection-and-treatment

http://phys.org/news/2015-02-gold-nanotubes-three-pronged-cancer-cells.html

http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2015/02/electric-fields-deliver-drugs-tumors

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/532416/nanoparticle-detects-the-deadliest-cancer-cells-in-blood/

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/01/nanoparticle-drug-stops-cancer-s-spread-mice

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/designed-molecules-trap-cancer-cells-in-deadly-cages/

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/01/melanoma-skin-cancer-spread-metastasis-infrared

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/01/smart-nanoparticles-intranuclear-radiosensitisation-cancer-treatment

http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20140811/conkright.html

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/07/viruses-may-explain-why-small-animals-are-more-prone-cancer

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/527691/biotech-makes-personalized-cancer-vaccines-using-tumor-samples/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/wolchok-video-who-knew-cancer-has-an-off-switch-video

http://www.nature.com/news/metabolic-quirks-yield-tumour-hope-1.15005

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/tracking-oxygen-in-the-body-0421

http://www.newswise.com/articles/multi-institutional-team-joins-forces-to-monitor-genomes-of-prostate-tumors-using-blood-biopsies

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/biomedical/devices/photoluminescent-nanoparticles-kill-cancer-

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/diagnostics/tiny-particles-can-deliver-three-cancer-drugs-to-target-tumors

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/526001/the-revival-of-cancer-immunotherapy/

http://www.mskcc.org/blog/aggressive-ovarian-may-be-caused-single-gene-mutation

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/524896/cheaper-cancer-gene-tests-by-the-drop/

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523866/gene-test-helps-patients-avoid-thyroid-surgery/

http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/524531/why-illumina-is-no-1/

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/tumor-growth-checked-3-4-14

Previous, Related Posts

Here.

HIV Is History!

Just read “Can Gene Therapy Cure HIV? Engineering a patient’s own immune cells to resist HIV could eliminate the need for lifelong antiretroviral therapies.”

The days of HIV are counted! :-)

Next Common Cold!

The Importance Of Serendipity In Scientific Research

Trigger

Just read “New use for an old 'trouble maker'”. In brief, researchers became interested in a byproduct of traditional glass making that has been discarded immediately for many decades as undesired. According to this article nobody bothered to study its physical or chemical properties etc.

Devitrite Anyone?

As of 3/22/2014, you cannot find this term in Wikipedia.

It “could find practical use as a cheap and efficient optical diffuser, which are used to scatter and soften light for a range of industrial and household applications.”

Homosexuality In The Animal Kingdom

Trigger

Just read “Schwule Flamingos\So lebt es sich nach der Natur” dated 3/4/2014.

In Brief

1. Homosexual couples are not only important for birds like flamingos
2. Homosexual couples (male and female) of flamingos maintain empty nests together and often adopt abandoned children
3. Both sexes of birds (not only flamingos) produce milk (I did not know that)
4. In the past, scientists came up with unconvincing theories to explain away homosexual couples in flamings or other animals such as had there been enough animals of the opposite sex …
5. There are hermaphrodites among flamingos

Scientific American Becomes Stranger And Stranger

Trigger

Just perused “Climate Risks as Conclusive as Link between Smoking and Lung Cancer”. It is amazing to what level this traditional popular scientific magazine founded in 1845 can stoop to.

So now this magazine wants its readers to believe that climate change is as bad as smoking for your health or at least it alludes to. Even the link between smoking and lung cancer is not as straightforward as the lay person is made to believe.

Deliberate Disinformation Or Worse

Just the title by itself and the content of the above article are phony baloney.

It is a deceptive and suggestive way to mess with one’s mind.

It is pretty desperate!

As a denier I say the climate change is mostly natural and we humans are not yet capable to do much about it but to observe and analyse it.

Previous, Related Blog Posts

Regarding global warming here and here.

Regarding American Scientific here.

Natural Resources And The Crimean Crisis

Trigger

Just read “Ukraine-Konflikt: Gazprom plant Geschäfte auf der Krim” dated 3/18/2014.

Breathtaking

Two days ago there was an illegal referendum held on the Crimean peninsula. Today we learn from the leading German weekly magazine “Der Spiegel” that the Russian Gazprom wants to drill for oil and gas on the peninsula announced by the new Crimean government.

The article reports that on Monday (3/17/2014), the new Crimean parliament voted to expropriate the Ukrainian energy companies Chornomornaftogaz and Ukrtransgaz doing business on the Crimea.

Why Are Phoenix Branch Libraries So User-Unfriendly?

I am personally aggravated when I visit my branch library of the Phoenix public library system.

When you look at the aisles of books, you have no clue what kind of books are in the aisle because the signs attached to each aisle contain only numbers and periods.

Thus, I am forced to either ask a library employee for help or use the computer to query the catalogue etc.

I strongly believe that visiting an aisle in a library should be as easy or easier than visiting an aisle in your favorite grocery store.

If I am not mistaken, most public libraries in the U.S. are set up in a similar way.

Animal Rights Activists Are Inconsequent

Trigger

Just read “Free the Elephants and Orcas in Captivity [Editorial]\Such large, intelligent animals suffer when stuffed in a zoo” written by the editors of Scientific American. This topic of poor elephants and Orcas seems to be quite popular in these times. The title of this article speaks for itself.

Another Noble Savage Fantasy

To do good by animals seems to be just that has caught humans’ flight of fancy.

Free All Pets Held By Humans

If you follow the arguments presented by these editors and also animal rights activists you would have to by the same token free all pets currently held by humans for pleasure, entertainment, and companionship.

What about dogs or horses kept as pets, which are intelligent animals too and they used to be roaming around in herds with social behavior etc.

What about intelligent cats?

I am not sure how many animal activists, who are so fashionable and en vogue these days, sincerely propose to free all pets.

What Is Wrong With Keeping Elephants Or Orcas In Captivity?

Briefly, nothing as long as the animals are not harmed, treated fairly, and with respect. Captivity is not per se doing harm to animals.

On the contrary, like with dogs we may learn more about these animals and we may evolve together.

Why do humans condemn animals to live in the wild?

Do Online Petitions Promote More Democracy?

Online Petitions

There are a number of websites out there that offer any individual to set up a petition addressing concerns they care about. One of these websites that I have recently learnt about is Care2, which appears to be geared towards, e.g., animal rights activists.

Even the White House offers a petition website. Is this where President Obama derives his legitimacy from when he wants to rule without the Congress?

I have seen another one seemingly run by MoveOn.org a radical big government group.

An Alternative To Opinion Polls

We all know that e.g. opinion polls on current topics of the day are being taken notice of but I venture to say their influence on the legislative or regulatory process of big government is minimal.

Tools Of Collectivists

My first impression is that online petition are more prominently used by leftist, statist, socialist type of organisations. Which would kind of make sense, because these groups want government to intervene on their behalf.

We The Ignored, Silent Majority Of The People

We The People should not be accepted that constantly vested and entrenched interest groups have an outsize influence on the outcome of the political process in our capitals.

We the often ignored, Silent Majority of People should not only have a say during infrequent voting.

Tools For More Individual Liberty And Small Government

I think it should be possible for We The People to employ online petitions for these purposes as well. This tool should not be left to leftist big government advocates.

I have to do some more research as to whether any online petition websites out there run by  oriented towards classical liberals.

Some Serious Concerns

• Are there already too many online petition websites out there?
• Who is behind the website?
• Which one’s are trustworthy?
• Which one’s are utilized or followed by which people?
• What kind of quality controls are in place?

To Be Explored

I will try to start a couple of petitions of my own and see what happens. I intend to keep you posted about that.