Monday, January 20, 2003

RNA Trades Bit Part for Starring Role in the Cell Surprising new discoveries show that cells contain an army of RNA snippets that do much more than once thought, refining prevailing theories of genetics. By Andrew Pollack. [New York Times: Science] Between RNA interference, mitochondrial DNA, and "jumping genes," the world of molecular biology will become far less mechanistic and reductionist than many had imagined. 8:51:29 PM    comment []  trackback []

Iconoclast Looks for Fish and Finds Disaster . Dr. Daniel Pauly, a fisheries scientist, is so decidedly global in his life and outlook that he is nearly a man without a country.... The news is uniformly bad. So Dr. Pauly has become a man on a mission to spread the word that fish stocks are plummeting around the world. "In some places in the world," he said, "you can see people chasing the last fish." By Carol Kaesuk Yoon. [New York Times: Science] The irony is that the nutritional consciousness that has moved so many eaters from meat to fish is one of the factors driving the depletion of global fisheries. (Dr. Pauly helped create FishBase, online at www.fishbase.org, with information on every one of the 27,000 fish species; it gets as many as five million hits a month.) The alternative seems inescapable, in a world on its way to 10-12 billion humans: eating lower on the food chain. 8:38:16 PM    comment []  trackback []

It's all about design Tucker Goodrich: "This innocuous little fly just invites being peed upon." [Scripting News] 2:31:22 PM    comment []  trackback []

MLK: Letter to an anti-Zionist friend It's MLKjr Day; his words still ring true: "...You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely 'anti-Zionist.' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is God's own truth. "Antisemitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind. In this we are in full agreement. So know also this: anti-Zionist is inherently antisemitic, and ever will be so. "My friend, I do not accuse you of deliberate antisemitism. I know you feel, as I do, a deep love of truth and justice and a revulsion for racism, prejudice, and discrimination. But I know you have been misled--as others have been--into thinking you can be 'anti-Zionist' and yet remain true to these heartfelt principles that you and I share. Let my words echo in the depths of your soul: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--make no mistake about it." [From M.L. King Jr., "Letter to an Anti-Zionist Friend," Saturday Review XLVII (August 1967), pg. 76.] Unfortunately, the letter may not: [http://www.jewish-history.com/mlk_zionism.html] ...There is no such letter in any of the August issues, nor do the page and volume numbers cited conform to those actually used by that publication. Since the message of the letter (Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism) was one Martin Luther King, Jr. had indeed articulated, we can understand why the King family and the ADL did not feel the need to verify the ñLetter to an anti-Zionist friend.î U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who worked closely with Dr. King shares Dr. KingÍs views on Israel, views which stressed IsraelÍs democratic nature and IsraelÍs need for security. And he also relates that Dr. King said, ñWhen people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism.î This quotation has been confirmed, so you should feel assured that you can use the quotation in letters. Just be sure to mention that it came from Dr. KingÍs 1968 Harvard University appearance, so that no one will think it is from the debunked ñletter.î 11:13:37 AM    comment []  trackback []

The first official SAUNAAB tests This is not the first sauna in a SAAB, I know of at least one SAAB 96 made into a sauna in Finland. 11:04:54 AM    comment []  trackback []

Burning Kyoto's bridges [Boston Globe editorial]: Chris Walker of Swiss Reinsurance, the second-biggest reinsurer in the world, remarked on the seriousness with which his and other European insurers address climate change, especially in contrast with their US counterparts.... The Europeans have come to the conclusion that the costs to industry and transportation of complying with Kyoto are ''not that big a deal.'' If the United States ever seeks UN Security Council support for war on Iraq, that backing would be much easier to come by if foreign opinion on the subject were not so colored by the impression that the Bush administration wants to fight to ensure cheap fuel for SUVs. Bush needs to show far more interest in the global climate and in the world's frustration with US policy. Both are heating up. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is reportedly pursuing a "mandatory voluntary program" with US industry, "collecting written promises from industries to curb emissions of gases linked to global warming." But the targets are modest, and aim at best at reducing the rate of increase of GHG emissions, rather than reducing emission levels themselves. White House officials said the new effort was just the beginning of a protracted campaign for voluntary reductions. "We're not declaring victory here and going home," an administration official said. "It'll be an ongoing thing from here." The news, as always, seems to be better outside the White House. As the Times reports Many big companies, expecting that regulation of greenhouse gases is inevitable, have already moved independently to set up voluntary caps and trading schemes in which companies that aggressively cut their emissions acquire pollution credits they can sell to other companies.... The newest effort began on Thursday, with the start of the Chicago Climate Exchange, under which big manufacturers and energy companies agreed to cut emissions and trade credits with one another. Once again, the markets may drive the policies, more than vice versa. 10:52:58 AM    comment []  trackback []

And continue until you get to the beginning Momma always said "slang could get risky," Tara Sue. But hey, I've never had a public conversation with a major political figure before. :-) PS: Consider yourself nibbled. 10:31:18 AM    comment []  trackback []