- What do microbes deep in the dark, cold, briny depths of Antarctic lakes and
alien life in outer space have to do with one another? If a scientific team
that discovered an ancient colony in Lake Vida, Antarctica, is correct, there
could well be a significant link between the two. The microbes are estimated to
have been isolated for more than 2,800 years in the decidedly harsh environment
of Lake Vida, where a temperature of -13 degrees Celsius and more than 20
percent salinity with a nice mixture of oxious ammonia, nitrogen, sulphur and
supersaturated nitrous oxide make for an inhospitable locale. “It’s an extreme
environment – the thickest lake ice on the planet, and the coldest, most stable
cryo-environment on Earth,” said research team member Nathaniel Ostrom,
zoologist at Michigan State University. “The discovery of this ecosystem gives
us insight into other isolated, frozen environments on Earth, but it also gives
us a potential model for life on other icy planets that harbour saline deposits
and subsurface oceans, such as Jupiter’s moon Europa.” That’s right, freaking
Jupiter. Because the microbial life in the lake lives on the chemical energy
released by hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the water and not on upon the
energy of the sun like most earthly life, researchers believe it could thrive
not only in the northernmost of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, but also light years
away, including the possible sub-icecap lakes or oceans of Europa. Chemicals
that would thwart life for most creatures on Earth - nitrate, nitrous oxide and
hydrogen gas – actually fuel the microbial ecosystem, possibly through chemical
reactions between anoxic brine and surrounding iron-rich rocks. “If that’s the
case, this gives us an entirely new framework for thinking of how life can be
supported in cryoecosystems on earth and in other icy worlds of the
universe," says lead researcher Alison Murray of Nevada's Desert Research
Institute. That is some freaking exciting news, science, really……….
- Inspiration can come from many sources for a recording
artist. For pop hacks like Katy Perry and Rihanna, it comes from professional
songwriters who are assembled by their management and tasked with writing songs
for said pop hack’s next album because the hack in question doesn’t have the
talent to write his or her own. For Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, the
inspiration for some of his best-known tracks came not from his own struggles
and heartbreaks nor from his life greatest successes, but rather from
paranormal sources. Yes, he’s claiming that ghosts have helped him pen quite a
few tracks from the Pogues’ catalog. “I actually see people dictating to me
behind me through… they call it the third eye, but the [Japanese] reckon you’ve
got at least eight, apart from the two here. I’ve seen ghosts behind me in
period costume dictating songs on a couple of occasions,” MacGowan said. So not
only are ghosts assisting his songwriting, but they’re decked out in perioud
costumes? Bitchin’. MacGowan cited the 1991 track “A Rainy Night in Soho” as one
that was created through “automatic writing” driven by ghosts. “I had no idea
what it was about. I had a vague idea by the time I got to the fourth verse but
until then I hadn’t got a clue what was going on,” he said. Maybe some of his
connection to death and the afterlife comes from his own near-death
experiences, which according to MacGowan include jumping out of a moving car on
a highway and being hit by cars on two occasions. These other-worldly
revelations come as the band is preparing a special 25th anniversary re-release
of the song “Fairytale of New York,” featuring the late singer Kirsty MacColl……….
- Bust big or go home. That philosophy clearly rules the day
for the Honduran government’s anti-drug forces, as agents on Saturday
broke up an alleged gang of synthetic drug producers and seized $100 million in
assets. It is a decidedly big punch to the gut for the poor, disenfranchised stoners,
coke heads and heroin addicts who were counting on that product the government
seized, but a series of raids on 24 sites in the northern part of the country
led to not only the taking of massive quantities of drugs, but also 700 heads
of cattle and 150 vehicles in one of the biggest organized crime seizures in
the last decade, spokesman Carlos Vallecillo said. In trying to keep a degree
of secrecy and potentially protect informants and sources along with keeping
the upper hand in the battle, Vallecillo did not specify which drug cartel the
group belonged to. He did lay out an operation that laundered money through
companies and property, but declined to go into further detail. Among those
detained in the raids were a local police official, a Honduran civilian, and
two Colombian pilots. If this sort of persecution of those merely trying to
supply the drug needs of the masses continues, poor Tommy Crackhead down the
street from you is going to have a much more difficult time affording the
8-ball of coke he needs for the weekend and now he’s going to have to rob an
extra old lady or two just to make ends meet. Here’s guessing that the Honduran
government didn’t consider that when its anti-drug trafficking agents carried
out their raids and made their arrests. The seizures occur just as Honduras was
beginning to earn its stripes as a viable alternative location for cartels now
that the Mexican government's campaign to tame its drug cartels has driven
Mexican drug traffickers to seek out new places to set up shop. Criminal
violence in the Central American nation has escalated as a result, but progress
always come with some pain and while Honduras has the highest per capita
homicide rate in the world, with 86 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants,
being a key hub in the drug chain has to be a gratifying accomplishment………
- Mahatma Gandhi and the NBA are not two entities
typically linked together. In the mind of Orlando Magic big man Glen Davis, the
two have a direct correlation in the form of first-year Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. Davis
was asked to compare the coaching styles of his former coach, Boston Celtics
head man Doc Rivers, and Vaughn, who is a head coach in the Association for the
first time. “Different guys,” Davis said Sunday before the two teams did
battle. “Doc is more of a military-minded kind of guy, and Jacque is more of a
Gandhi kind of guy. Soft but powerful. Doc’s more get the job done, and Jacque
Vaughn is more the kind of guy who will ask you, ‘Would you feel comfortable
getting the job done?’” Of course, Rivers has won an NBA championship and
Vaughn has posted a 5-8 record in his first 13 games as an NBA head coach, so
suggesting that Gandhi is the way to go might be jumping the gun. Davis played
his first four seasons in the NBA for Rivers and the Celtics, winning a
championship in 2008 before departing for Orlando as a free agent after the
2010-11 season. The Magic haven’t done much damage in the standings since Davis
arrived, but he seems to prefer playing for Vaughn over working under Rivers’
leadership. “I think that’s different with players. But in my system, I think I
just feel better functioning in Jacque’s system. Doc wasn’t the kind of guy to
pat you on your back and say, good job, man. He’s more like, OK, move on,”
Davis added. “In a way that’s positive, but some players are different.
Jacque’s a different kind of guy. He pats you on your back – good job. That’s
his motivation.” Motivating players is never easy because they are all slightly
different, but hopefully the Gandhi approach continues to suit Davis because
with the Magic’s relative lack of talent on their roster, someone needs to provide
a healthy dose of positivity…………
- Do not – repeat DO NOT – drink the hooch being brewed in
the toilets at the Arizona State
Prison Complex Eyman in Florence. Drinking anything a person has crafted inside
their toilet is a dicey proposition for the world’s non-canine inhabitants, but
when in prison the options for getting drunk are über-limited. That would
explain how seven inmates at the prison are suspected of getting botulism from
cell-made alcohol over the weekend in the Special Management Unit 1 section of
the facility. Beginning Saturday, four inmates were hospitalized because of
severe illness and a fifth man arrived late Saturday. Two of their heartier
comrades held out another day and didn’t arrive at the hospital until noon on
Sunday. All seven inmates are now undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit. The results for
the botulism test won't be available for a while, but in the meantime proactive
steps have been taken to help with the inmates' treatment. As soon as hospital
personnel knew what they were likely dealing with, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) were notified of a preliminary confirmation of the
botulism poisoning so health officials could receive authorization to receive an
anti-toxin for treatment. The CDC did release the anti-toxin to the medical
team treating the affected inmates and while they recover in the relative
comfort of the hospital, Pinal County Public Health Officials have launched an
investigation into the case in conjunction with the Department of Corrections
and Arizona Department of Health Services. The prime suspect is
"hooch," a prison homemade alcohol, that is made from fermented
fruit. Samples of the brew were sent for testing and officials are still
waiting on the lab results for confirmation, but the muscle weakness and
difficulty speaking, chewing or swallowing experienced by the inmates is a
solid indicator of what is wrong with them. Next time, ferment more carefully,
inmates………
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