Ermahgerd. I'm not going to pretend that I understand the science. Or even, really, if this is Science is Cool or Science is Terrifying. But I thought I should present it here, so that you're aware. And watching. . . [Excerpt]
Be afraid, be very afraid. . .Image from source, HuffPo.
Biologists Create 'Zombie Cells' In The Lab Which Outperform Living Counterparts
Biological researchers have created dead 'zombie' cells in the lab which outperform living cells.
Seriously. . .
I can't remember the last time I ran a News of the Weird post, and here I have two in a row. But just look at that photo! That watermelon did that. . .to itself!
[Excerpt]
Ka-Boom! Growth Hormone Makes Chinese Watermelons Explode
If there was any doubt remaining that privileges afforded by modern technology are occasionally abused, bursting watermelons in China should clear it up. . .
If you're wondering what that big, pink mass that looked like a boa constrictor, or a snake made of ice cream was all about. I'm still not sure I'm buying the bit about it being soaked in ammonia. I guess it's time for some research. . .
*Urp!* Something about this seems like a bad, bad idea.
[Excerpt]
Mad Science? Growing Meat Without Animals
Winston Churchill once predicted that it would be possible to grow chicken breasts and wings more efficiently without having to keep an actual chicken. And in fact scientists have since figured out how to grow tiny nuggets of lab meat and say it will one day be possible to produce steaks in vats, sans any livestock.
Pork chops or burgers cultivated in labs could eliminate contamination problems that regularly generate headlines these days, as well as address environmental concerns that come with industrial livestock farms. . .
If you ever watched the Jessica Alba TV show, Dark Angel, you may have seen something of a preview of what could happen in the United States. Not exactly of course. Nothing in this story talks about beautiful, genetically engineered women with barcodes on their necks. But in Dark Angel, a "pulse" destroyed the electrical grid, bringing with it a desolate, decimated country.
I like science fiction and dystopian future stories as much as anybody. But the excerpted article below is enough to give me a wiggins. And not in a good way. Do not read it if you like to remain blissfully unaware of possible future calamity.
UPDATE: I've also read a couple of comments out there on the interwebs that seem to think this story might be some sort of hoax or viral campaign. If so, you got me. I may just convince myself of that in any case, anyway. I'll sleep better!
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Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe
IT IS midnight on 22 September 2012 and the skies above Manhattan are filled with a flickering curtain of colourful light. Few New Yorkers have seen the aurora this far south but their fascination is short-lived. Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker, then become unusually bright for a fleeting moment. Then all the lights in the state go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power. . .
Everybody sing, "It's the end of the world as we know it!"
I love science stuff, but I've never quite been able to wrap my head around the whole supercollider idea. I'm sure it's all very cool, but I've never really figured out what they're trying to prove. As it happens, I may never find out, because there is the outside chance that all life on earth will cease tomorrow. Or something. . .
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Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy Earth?
The potential for the world's largest atom smasher to destroy Earth is one question weighing on the minds of some lay people as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) prepares to go online Wednesday.
Don't worry, say the experts, who are more concerned with whether the 17 mile-long particle accelerator underground at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research near Geneva, Switzerland, will work as planned and, perhaps, reveal the existence of the so-called God particle. . .
With all of the issues on our plate this election season, it's easy to forget that we're all gonna die. No, really! Bill Maher has been sounding the alarm for over a year about the honey bees. They're dying at alarming rates, and the hitch is, if the bees all die, we're not far behind.
Without bees, we have no pollination. Without pollination, we have no plants. And without plants, all the animals die. And yep, we're animals too. Please tell me somebody out there has a solution to this?
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Honeybee deaths reaching crisis point
Britain's honeybees have suffered catastrophic losses this year, according to a survey of the nation's beekeepers, contributing to a shortage of honey and putting at risk the pollination of fruits and vegetables.
The survey by the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) revealed that nearly one in three of the UK's 240,000 honeybee hives did not survive this winter and spring. . .
