NEW YORK — A panel of scientists convened by America’s leading scientific advisory group says the hunt for extraterrestrial life should be greatly expanded to include what they call ‘weird life’: organisms that lack DNA or other molecules found in life as we know it. ‘The committee’s investigation makes clear that life is possible in forms different from those on Earth,’ the scientists conclude in their report, ‘The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems,’ published by the National Research Council. Other experts hailed the report as an important rethinking of the search for life. ‘It’s going to help us a lot to make sure we go exploring with our eyes wide open,’ said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars exploration program. Starfish, sequoias, salamanders and the rest of Earth’s residents may seem very diverse, but they are surprisingly similar on the molecular scale. All species that scientists have studied need liquid water to survive, for example. Further, they all rely on DNA to carry genetic information, and they all use that information to build proteins from the same set of building blocks, known as amino acids. NASA has long looked to life on Earth […]
Pervez Musharraf misrule of Pakistan during the past eight years is finally catching up with him. Yesterday the general’s army was engaged in the bloody siege of a mosque in Islamabad where pro-Taliban Islamic extremists have been defying his government’s authority; more than 20 people already have died in the siege. The rebellion began in January, but Mr. Musharraf refrained from taking on the militants until clashes erupted around the mosque last week — a strategy symptomatic of his tolerance for the growth of Islamic extremist movements. The general has had far less patience for the secular political parties and civil society groups that could be his allies in fighting the Talibanization of Pakistan. He has refused to allow two former civilian prime ministers to return from exile; he has bullied the media, rigged elections and tried to fire the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Consequently, the pressure the president now faces from Islamists is matched by a nationwide campaign against him by Pakistan’s moderate center. Last Monday a Supreme Court judge rejected the evidence that Mr. Musharraf presented against the dismissed jurist, who had been investigating political disappearances and seemed likely to resist the general’s attempt to […]
UK scientists have identified a gene they say increases the risk of bowel cancer by 20%. Researchers from London and Edinburgh pinpointed the gene after scanning the DNA of over 30,000 people – half of whom had the disease. Writing in Nature Genetics, they estimate that half the population carry the genetic fault which is associated with one in 10 bowel cancers. However, the increased risk is too small to warrant a genetic test. In the future, as more genes associated with the condition are identified, it may be possible to design a test for a combination of genes to identify those most at risk, improving prevention and diagnosis, the researchers said. Several genes are already known to contribute to bowel cancer risk but are extremely rare among the population accounting for less than 5% of bowel cancer cases every year. But it has been estimated that genetic risk contributes to around a third of cases. DNA analysis Professor Malcolm Dunlop, from the University of Edinburgh and the Medical Research Council’s Human Genetics Unit, compared the DNA of around 8,000 bowel cancer patients from North America, France and Scotland, to that of […]
SEA CLIFF, NY — Just when you think you’ve found a way for your kid to eat their vegetables, along comes news that those veggies could seriously harm your child. Of course, broccoli and carrots straight up do not pose a health hazard – as much as your kid might try to convince you otherwise. But Veggie Booty may do just that. The manufactured veggie snacks have been recalled after reports of salmonella poisoning. Distributed by Robert’s American Gourmet Food Inc. out of Sea Cliff, New York, Veggie Booty is a snack made from puffed rice and corn with a vegetable coating, and is sold in all fifty States, as well as Canada. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency in Atlanta (CDCP) was notified of illness stemming from the consumption of tainted Veggie Booty product in March of this year, and following extensive investigation notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 27th. Findings indicate the presence of a strain of salmonella known as Salmonellawandsworth, which can wreak havoc with the gastrointestinal system. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. So far, reports have come in from 17 states and the salmonella […]
The White House has decided to defy Congress’s latest demand for information regarding the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys, sources familiar with the decision said yesterday. Such an action would escalate the constitutional struggle and propel it closer to a court showdown. Senate and House committees have directed President Bush to provide by tomorrow a detailed justification of his executive privilege claims and a full accounting of the documents he is withholding. But White House counsel Fred F. Fielding plans to tell lawmakers that he has already provided the legal basis for the claims and will not provide a log of the documents, the sources said. White House counsel Fred F. Fielding is planning to direct former Bush aides not to testify in response to congressional subpoenas. White House counsel Fred F. Fielding is planning to direct former Bush aides not to testify in response to congressional subpoenas. (Mark Wilson – Getty Images) Special Report The standoff suggests that neither side is prepared to budge in the fight over documents and testimony in the widening U.S. attorney investigation. Officials in both camps said no serious negotiations are taking place to resolve the dispute. Fielding plans to […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
