In the News

[Mike]

Wired Science have an interesting article about a pill that can help mice beat the ageing process. Lets put down some history first.

Scientists have been experimenting with extreme calorie reduced diets in mice for a few years. The mice have been benefiting from stronger hearts, bones and internal organs, although their life is not extended. The problem is that this type of diet would be unsuitable for humans. Therefore the experiments have been focused on trying to emulate this effect using a pill and now they have succeeded. Mice (even those taking it in later life) have benefits from stronger hearts, better bone density, clearer vision and stronger internal organs. Again no benefit to extending life, however, it makes the life experience much better.

[Fez]

im always faintly amused by this obsession some people have with living longer. in terms of the mice i think its a superb idea to maximize what their [and maybe at some point our] bodies can do in its natural lifespan, but what is the point of living forever?

will you become better at time management and make every moment count? no. you'll spend more time sat on your arse in front of the television while endless hours of eastenders eat away what latent intelligence you might have possessed before becoming 'superhuman'.

will you create great works of cultural significance that will enrich humanity for centuries to come? no. you will spend more time at work because retirement will become obsolete, so unless you feel data entry is the height of human achievement, your life will become a frightening prison in which you are condemned to do the same thing over and over again for the rest of eternity.

will it raise humanity to an enlightened state where we strive together to improve life for all and make the world a better, safer place? don't make me choke on my own bile.

if you cant do the important things in life now with whatever time you have been allotted, another century or so of existence will not suddenly transform you into a creative dynamo capable of the impossible. why not try grabbing the world by the balls now and seeing what you can achieve instead of looking to the great white lie of 'if only i had more time'.

[stimpsonslostson]

best. rant. ever.

[Mike]

That is all well and good but I would love to avoid ill health and age related aches and pains during my lifetime!

[mr_e]

There's always suicide for that, Mike.

Death is a motivator for a lot of behaviours, whether or not we realise it. Fez, top rant. I'm sure you could make some kind of "little book of rants". That would be cool.

[Mike]

Scotlands Antonine Wall has just been awarded world heritage status despite being a simple hillock and moat across Scotland!

Anyone for a few rounds of Chess Boxing? You are intended to play chess for four minutes then the board is moved and you box for three minutes. The cycle continues for six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing. The winner is decided on a Knock-out, Checkmate or on points. Anyone for a quick game? Not that I was volunteering!

[Andy]

Scotlands Antonine Wall has just been awarded world heritage status despite being a simple hillock and moat across Scotland!

I don't really understand some of the ones that are listed in the Unesco World Heritage List. All of them are stunning in their own way but there are some rather weird ones in foreign countries and there are some sites in this country that I feel should be listed - York Minster and large parts of York, for example.

[John Knight]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... snap_woman


While i simpathise that this particular incident may have been caused by a structural failure of the shoe it sets a dangerous precedent. I hate our increasingly litigious society, I think I might have to sue the americans to try and claim back some money from the soaring cost of insurance that it causes. What ever happened to personal responsibilty?

[Mike]

Flood Gates will open!

I wonder what sort of person splits a heel, breaks their ankle and still goes for a couple of beers!? That takes a serious commitment.

[stimpsonslostson]

It took me more than 3days to realise I'd dislocated my shoulder. I just thought I'd torn something... until it popped back into socket .

Symptomatic of a developing claim culture. As was mentioned, in America they have to legislate for EVERYTHING!
p

[stimpsonslostson]

Who's got grandparents... Do you know what they've been up to?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7494731.stm
p

OK and 2 more...

Being fat can damage your sperm! Not to be insensitive... but it reduces your chances of getting to use it too!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7494777.stm

Bunny killer on the loose!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7494184.stm

How do I have a hyperlink in blue and write normally, its starting to annoy me.

[mr_e]

Those oldies aren't using protection either. Links up nicely with the article Phil posted, but doesn't bear thinking about.

There was actually a theory (borne out to some degree by statisitics, I think) that kids who abused animals were at far higher risk of moving on to violence against people when older... catching the bunny killer may seem trivial, but if he moved on to people that would be not-so-good. Have now skimmed the article, mentions this briefly in there.

[Mike]

I was disturbed that the Bunny Killer actually was using satellite images to find houses with bunny hutches. What a sick'o.

You make the link disappear and insert blue text by typing Put Text Here followed by if there was a valid URL in there then it would work. There is a little URL button at the top but that does not but the '=' sign in the [url] box so it just creates a hyperlink. Hope that makes sense!

[Mike]

Water On the Moon Scientists have found water on the moon. This has transformed the way they think that the moon was formed and also means that we could have a potential supply of water for a lunar moon base (rather than having to jet a very heavy material into space).

[Mike]

Boeing blimp transportation device. That can lift 40 tonnes and travel 200 miles without needing to refuel. I like the idea of this project, it feels like it should help cut down on fuel costs of helicopters and the like that are often used in areas of natural beauty to manage forests.



Old Franz Kafka notes have been kept in a moldy, damp and animal infested apartment in Tel Aviv for the last forty years Esther Hoffe, Max Brod's secretary and has refused to allow the world to see them for the last 40 years until her recent bout of ill health at 101. I found out some interesting stories about Kafka in this article, he died early at 41 of Tuberculosis and decreed that all his working manuscripts should be burned. Max Brod (his friend) refused to activate his wish and edited (and in some cases completed) his novels The Castle, The Trial and Metamorphosis which are arguably some of the best novels of the 20th Century. I was quite amazed!