- And the blind will see….maybe….eventually. British
researchers have discovered a treatment that has helped mice see in the dark and
believe that the process could one day restore sight to the blind. Researchers used
injections of healthy cells to repair the damaged eyes of rodents and the
results were impressive, with small numbers of cells restoring vision up to
half of normal levels. While the study is in its early stages, the potential to
reverse the effects of age-related
macular degeneration - one of the most common forms of blindness – is huge. University
College London researchers used healthy rods, which are tiny structures in the
back of the eye essential for seeing in dim light, from healthy mice that were
one week old and injected them into the eyes of adult mice whose rods didn’t
work (insert your own sophomore joke here). Four to six weeks later, the new
rods functioned normally and had formed the connections needed to transmit
information to the brain. Tests indicated that visual responses in the brains
of the mice were enhanced after the procedure. Placed in a dimly lit Y-shaped
water maze in which one of two routes led to escape, the untreated mice in the
study swam in circles, but treated ones could see the way out. Following
treatment, four of nine night-blind mice completed the task in 70 percent of
the trials. “Patients who have lost all vision tell me that what
they’d really appreciate is a treatment that gives them the ability to see
light, to be able to navigate to see the door,” lead researcher Robin Ali said.
Although the first clinical trials might be five or 10 years away, Ali and her
team sounded an excited tone in an article in the journal Nature. “The results
presented here demonstrate for the first time that transplanted rod-photoreceptor
precursors can integrate into a dysfunctional adult retina, and, by directly
connecting with the host retinal circuitry, truly improve vision,” they wrote
in the article. Going forward, scientists will have to determine how many cells
can be injected into the retina and how effective they will be in the long
term. Potential side effects are also an issue, but let’s try to focus on the
positive for once……….
- Take a long walk to the Grand Canyon, continue past the
warning signs about being too close to the edge and keep walking. Either that
or go f**k yourself. Both are wise advice for St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, suspended
indefinitely by the NFL for his role in the New Orleans Saints' bounty program,
as he seeks reinstatement into the league. Commissioner Roger Goodell hit Williams
with his suspesnion for running and perpetuating the practice paying players to
injure opponents and given rumors of similar programs at his previous stops and
the number of times the Saints lied to the league about their bounty program, his
career seemed very much in jeopardy. It still does, but Williams has already
begun the process of working toward being reinstated, according to league
sources. His advisers have contacted high-ranking NFL officials to ascertain what
he needs to do during his suspension in order to apply for reinstatement. The
idea of him being allowed to coach again after presiding over a bounty program
and offering monetary rewards for hits that resulted in opponents being carted
off the field or knocked out of games is every bit as absurd right now as it
was at the time he was suspended. The prognosis went from bad to worse earlier
this month when footage leaked of Williams speaking to the Saints before their
playoff game last season against the San Francisco 49ers, imploring his players
to injure 49ers players and target specific areas of the body. Friends who have
spoken with Williams since his suspension have said he is focused on becoming a
better person and earning his way back to football. The league could make him
speak to high schools and youth leagues about the dangers of excessive violence
in football, make him an ambassador promoting player safety and sportsmanship…or
simply tell Williams to go f*ck himself for the damage he willfully and
deliberately did to its sport. Option C sounds best……….
- Burn, baby, burn. Austerity measures have lit fires under
populations across Europe and in response to harsh austerity cuts by the Italian
government, a museum in Italy is blazing back – literally. Fittingly on the
high holiday for stoners worldwide, the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in
Naples is setting fire to protest the cuts. Museum director Antonio Manfredi kicked
off the protest by setting fire to a
painting by French artist Severine Bourguignon and promised that the
museum will burn three artworks each week as part of its "Art War"
campaign. "I have 1,000 artworks from artists around the world, and
they're already facing destruction due to the indifference of the
government," he proclaimed. "We want the government to pay attention
to the country's cultural institutions." Italian Prime Minister Mario
Monti has enacted tough austerity measures designed to keep the country from defaulting
as it faces mounting debt problems.
Like any good artistic soul facing the harsh reality of the real world,
Manfredi belives those cuts have hit cultural institutions hard and
views the closing of a handful of museums in Rome, Palermo and elsewhere in
recent months as a warning sign that his museum could be next. Lest the museum
be accused of crimes against art, Manfredi is only burning works with the
blessing of their artists. Bourguignon watched the burning of her painting via
Skype and artist Rosaria Matarese from Naples set fire to her own sculpture in
person at the museum on Wednesday. Other European artists are joining the
effort on their own, with Welsh
sculptor John Brown burning one of his artworks on YouTube and others
planning to do so next week. "Next week the first one is an artist from
Austria," Manfredi said. "I hope that the government stops me because
this is terrible what I'm doing." The irony is that Manfredi has never
received government funding for his museum, so the austerity measures shouldn’t
hit the Casoria museum as much. The government has not responded to the protest
and Manfredi has vowed to keep it going until they do………….
- Simon Cowell is an asshole. Thus, reports that there has been a falling out
between Cowell and ITV, partners on his reality karaoke debacles "Britain's
Got Talent" and "The X Factor,” seem believable. Even is Cowell’s
spokesman insisted the reports have been blown out of proportion, siding with
the chances of ass-hattedness on the part of Grade-A tool like Cowell is simply
a solid choice. Yes, his reality karaoke train wrecks draw in plenty of suckers
with terrible taste in music and thus pull in lots of advertising income. The
rumors of a rift surfaced this week after Tom Bower, whose unauthorized biography of
Cowell popped up in the Sun tabloid before landing on store shelves Friday,
reported that ITV bosses failed to respect Cowell and properly appreciate what
he had done for the channel. Bower claimed the dispute between Cowell and ITV
executives was at a “crisis point.” With a multi-year partnership valued at
$160 million, staying in business would seem wise for both sides – even if
Cowell is single-handedly murdering music as we know it. His publicist, Max
Clifford, downplayed any dissent. "Simon and ITV have had a very close and
hugely successful relationship for many years," Clifford explained. "Inevitably
they don't agree on everything all the time, but the overall situation is as
healthy, good and mutually beneficial as it's ever been." The agreement
for both shows runs through 2013 and ITV said in a written response that it
plans to honor the deal. "We're continuing to work closely with Simon and
the production teams to ensure that the shows are the very best they possibly
can be," the statement read. So it would seem that "Revenge: The
Intimate Life of Simon Cowell” is either trumped up, fabricated or it has spurred
the involved parties to band together and keep their drama in house. With
ratings for “Britain's Got Talent” lower than expected, unity is wise. Cowell
is also coping with rumors of an affair with one of the show’s judges and is reportedly
in a tiff with “X-Factor Karaoke” judge Gary Barlow, lead singer for pop band
Take That. The acerbic Cowell left the show last year to launch an American
version of the debacle. Imagine how important all of this would be if the music
created by Cowell’s reality karaoke travesties was good………
- Behold the power of cheese. Specifically, behold the power of cheese
to inspire four individuals to concoct a scheme to ship more than
110,000 pounds of contaminated Mexican-style cheese into the United States. The
cheese-smuggling operations took place in 2007, but it was just this week that
a federal grand jury in Chicago returned a six-count indictment against the
four individuals for their role in the plot. While the indictment does not
claim that the cheese caused human illnesses or other public health
consequences, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of
Illinois, pressed ahead with the case over the past five years. Lab analysis of
the cheese showed it was adulterated with Salmonella, E. coli and other
illness-causing bacteria, meaning it was still a hazard on some level.
Fitzgerald alleged a complex conspiracy in which all involved brought specific
skills to the table. One defendant owned an Illinois company that imported the
dried Mexican cheese to the U.S., while another defendant owned a Wisconsin
company with a facility in suburban Elmhurst, Ill. that distributed cheese to
customers nationwide. All four defendants in the Great Mexican Cheese
Conspiracy are charged with illegally distributing cheese (a real charge,
apparently), which came to light when dissatisfied customers returned the
product. The defendants allegedly scraped off mold and fungus before selling it
and they are also charged with lying to inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) by creating and sending the agency false documentation.
Retail stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia and Texas bought the
smuggled cheese under the Queso Cincho De Guerrero brand name. It was sold in
35 and 40 pound blocks, which is amazing in and of itself between who the hell
needs a 40-pound block of Mexican cheese? The accused conspirators are Baldemar
Zurita, 39, of Chicago, his brother Guadalupe Zurita, Miguel Leal, 47 of
Monroe, Wis. and Cynthia Gutierrez, 37, of Cicero, Ill. They will stand trial
on charges of conspiracy to violate the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by
introducing adulterated cheese into interstate commerce and three counts of
violating food safety law. Leal, Gutierrez and Guadalupe Zurita are also charged
with obstructing the FDA for allegedly concealing the sale and distribution of
311 boxes of dried Mexican cheese. The lengths these four went to for their
scam are amazing, all the way down to (allegedly) obstructing FDA for allegedly
making a false bill of lading referencing the 311 boxes and submitting the
document to an inspector. So why press forward with the case even though no one
was harmed? Because, enforcement of food safety laws by FDA is
"imperative," Fitzgerald said. As long as there is a good reason………
No comments:
Post a Comment