Scientists have discovered a dramatic variation in the genetic make-up of humans that could lead to a fundamental reappraisal of what causes incurable diseases and could provide a greater understanding of mankind. The discovery has astonished scientists studying the human genome – the genetic recipe of man. Until now it was believed the variation between people was due largely to differences in the sequences of the individual ‘letters’ of the genome. It now appears much of the variation is explained instead by people having multiple copies of some key genes that make up the human genome. Until now it was assumed that the human genome, or ‘book of life’, is largely the same for everyone, save for a few spelling differences in some of the words. Instead, the findings suggest that the book contains entire sentences, paragraphs or even whole pages that are repeated any number of times. The findings mean that instead of humanity being 99.9 per cent identical, as previously believed, we are at least 10 times more different between one another than once thought – which could explain why some people are prone to serious diseases. The studies published today have found […]
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite public holiday. It invokes no religious differences; it entails no commercial obligations. It is just getting together with people one cares about, and saying thank you, in whatever form is personally appropriate, for the many good things that have happened during the previous year. It is my hope that each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, one that creates life-lasting memories. — Stephan
The dream of unlimited clean energy came a step closer yesterday with the signing of an international agreement to build the world’s biggest nuclear fusion reactor which aims to harness the same energy that powers the Sun. Six individual countries and the European Union agreed to spend about €10bn (£6.75bn) over the next 20 years to construct and operate the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) at Cadarache in the south of France. The agreement between the US, China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea and Russia to build Iter – which also means ‘the way’ in Latin – was signed at a ceremony at the Elysée Palace in Paris. ‘The growing shortage of resources and the battle against global warming demand a revolution in our ways of production and consumption,’ the French President, Jacques Chirac, said. ‘We have the duty to start research that will prepare energy solutions for our descendants’. The Iter reactor will take about eight years to build and is the first fusion experiment designed to produce more energy than it consumes. It is hoped that it will spawn prototype commercial reactors that could begin to come on stream within the next 30 […]
ATLANTA — Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday. While out-of-wedlock births have long been associated with teen mothers, the teen birth rate actually dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in their 20s. The overall rise reflects the burgeoning number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married. The increase in births to unwed mothers was seen in all racial groups, but rose most sharply among Hispanics. It was up among all age groups except youngsters ages 10 to 17. ‘A lot of people think of teenagers and unmarried mothers synonymously, but they are not driving this,’ said Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, a co-author of the report. The government also reported that the rate of births by Caesarean delivery continued to climb in 2005 to a record high, despite efforts by public health authorities to bring down the number. Many experts believe a large number of C-sections are medically unnecessary and […]
A major undercount of Democratic votes and an overcount of Republican votes in U.S. House and Senate races across the country is indicated by an analysis of national exit polling data, by the Election Defense Alliance (EDA), a national election integrity organization. These findings have led EDA to issue an urgent call for further investigation into the 2006 election results and a moratorium on deployment of all electronic election equipment. ‘We see evidence of pervasive fraud, but apparently calibrated to political conditions existing before recent developments shifted the political landscape,’ said attorney Jonathan Simon, co-founder of Election Defense Alliance, ‘so ‘the fix’ turned out not to be sufficient for the actual circumstances.’ Explained Simon, ‘When you set out to rig an election, you want to do just enough to win. The greater the shift from expectations, (from exit polling, pre-election polling, demographics) the greater the risk of exposure–of provoking investigation. What was plenty to win on October 1 fell short on November 7. ‘The findings raise urgent questions about the electoral machinery and vote counting systems used in the United States,’ according to Sally Castleman, National Chair of EDA. ‘This is a nothing less than a national […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
