The authors of the study polled 2,210 infertility patients across the country, asking what they intended to do with extra embryos currently in cryogenic storage. Previous estimates were that only around 3 percent would choose to donate extra embryos to research, but to the authors' surprise, 60 percent said they would donate if that option were available. By contrast, only 22 percent of the patients said they were willing to donate the embryos to other couples.

This is an interesting piece of information. Of course, with Bush in office, it really does no good. I am consistently disappointed in what appears to be a lack of critical thinking when Bush pulls out the veto pen. The veto of the most recent stem cell bill seems to actually go against his views in my opinion. His big stance is not destroying human life for research. The bill he just vetoed was propositioning for the use of the extra embryos created for IVF (in vitro fertilization)in stem cell research. This is a process that generates more embryos than a couple will ever need. Thus, the excess embryos go into cryogenic storage *indefinitely*. So Bush had two options...allow the embryos to be kept in storage (where they will most likely never see the light of day), or allow these embryos to be used for research that has the potential to ease the suffering of thousands of people. And he chose to keep them in storage....which in my opinion is a waste of potential human life. Chances are, these embryos will never be brought to full term...but their life could be dedicated to helping others with devastating diseases.

Bah...thats frustrating.

Survey: Stem Cell Donors Would Choose Research - News Desk (usnews.com)

A biofuel that outperforms ethanol could be easily made from fructose and, in future, glucose derived from the woody parts of plants, researchers claim.

Ethanol has been the biofuel of choice for many years and can be made from corn and other crops. Enzymes are used to break down the plant material to sugar, which is fermented to a boozy fuel. But ethanol has a number of problems, not least its low energy density, its volatility and its water-absorbing nature.

A potential alternative is 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) with a 40% higher energy density, a boiling point 20 �C higher than ethanol and a dislike for water. But DMF has proven hard to make economically from crops and their sugars.

Until now that is. James Dumesic of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his colleagues have cracked the key step of turning a sugar into the intermediate compound 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and then reacting this further to make DMF.

New Biofuel that is better than Ethanol

I need this.

Now, *that's* a margarita maker... on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Crossing my fingers;
Cloning is very tricky.
Beating head on desk.

car repairs on a graduate student stipend suck.

Is amazing! I saw them in Atlanta tonight, and it was the most amazing show I have ever seen. I highly recommend going to see them live.

Watson has said he will make his entire genome available for researchers to study, with the single exception of his apolipoprotein E gene, the status of which he does not wish to know because it predisposes a person toward Alzheimer's disease.

He emphasized the need for sequencing many more individual genomes to help researchers understand mental diseases like schizophrenia, which has struck a member of his own family, and urged others to let their full genomes and identity be put on record so that their physical and mental qualities could be correlated with their DNA.

This will be an enormous, yet interesting path of work. As DNA sequencing gets cheaper and faster, more people will be able to get their personalized genome. Then, scientists can correlate patterns in gene mutations to different "phenotypes" in humans, which can potentially lead to many therapies. Its very exciting!

Watsons genome decipered

One big worry is what nanotechnologists call the “gray-goo problem.” What’s to stop a particularly virulent SynBio organism from eating everything on earth? My guess is that this could never happen. Every existing plant, animal, fungus and protozoan already aspires to world domination. There’s nothing more ruthless than viruses and bacteria—and they’ve been practicing for a very long time.

Rudy Rucker on synthetic biology

Essay: Our Synthetic Futures by Rudy Rucker

If you are bored with what Hollywood is producing, give this a try (if you haven't already....I am a bit behind the curve). Anyway, I found this movie to be creepy in a way that a cheesy horror flick will never compare. It also includes some physics nerdery, which is always a good thing. It will definitely keep your attention, because you will be working to figure everything out the entire time. Unfortunately, at the end, you will probably still be mind-boggled. But thats the fun part

Primer (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finally, the hunt for the Stanley Cup has been pared to two teams.

With the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks set to go at each other next Monday, there's only one question about the NHL Finals that still needs answering:

Who's going to come out on top?

To cheer myself up about the sale of the predators, I needed to post something happy....like the fact that the Senators are in the finals for Lord Stanleys Cup!!!!!! Word.

Bleacher Report - NHL Finals: Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks Chase the Stanley Cup