USC researchers have determined the 3-D atomic structure of the Apo2 protein, the first of the APOBEC enzyme family to be described. The protein structure has guided them to a new understanding of what goes wrong on a molecular level in a rare, but serious immunodeficiency syndrome.
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Using VIMOS on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, a team of French and Italian astronomers have shown the strong influence the environment exerts on the way galaxies form and evolve. The scientists have for the first time charted remote parts of the Universe, showing that the distribution of galaxies has considerably evolved with time, depending on the galaxies’ immediate surroundings. This surprising discovery poses new challenges for theories of the formation and evolution of galaxies.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new documents on the safety of animal cloning. “Based on FDA’s analysis of hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and other studies on the health and food composition of clones and their offspring, the draft risk assessment has determined that meat and milk from clones and their offspring are as safe as food we eat every day,” said Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.
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A German / U.S. research team plans to decode the Neandertal genome from 30,000-year-old bone fragments. Other biotech snips of the year: Engineers create banana-scented bacteria and brain chips to help paralyzed patients to move. In Beyond the Beyond.
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Somebody forks over $700,000 on eBay for the original costume worn by Bert Lahr in The Wiz — it’s the only one from the flick out there for sale (and it’s rumored to be made of real lion pelts). Who’d rather buy an apartment for that kind of dough? In Table of Malcontents.
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Here are the 10 most fun, most visited or (IMHO) most important stories this young blog flagged this year — like Sen. Ted Stevens’ rant on the internet being a series of tubes … oh yes, we have more. Plus: Why do airport screeners toss all those dangerous half-filled water bottles into a trash can next to their station? In 27B Stroke 6.
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Slovenia’s POP TV channel has recently reported that parts of Prince Caspian will be filmed in the beautiful Soca River region.
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Want to make a splash this New Year’s Eve? Forget the timid champagne twist: Decapitate your bottle of bubbly with a saber instead. By Lewis Wallace.
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It’s gizmos galore in 2007, including Sony Ericsson’s caller ID timepiece, Dash’s intelligent GPS tracker, and Creative Labs’ audiophile sound processor. From Wired magazine.
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Scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville have succeeded in imaging, in unprecedented detail, the virus that causes influenza.
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