] Advexin is an ingenious drug that uses a disabled virus (one that
] causes the common cold, in fact) to deliver a gene called p53 to
] tumor cells. When this gene is mutated, cells can start dividing
] uncontrollably and turning into tumor cells. Advexin delivers a
] normal copy of p53 to tumor cells in order to restore order to the
] cells.

cool...

Anti-cancer drug aproved for FDA fast tracking

] The SARS-like virus found in a food market in Guangdong,
] China jumped from animals to people - and not the other
] way around - suggests new research.
]
] The study represents an important step in tracing the
] original source of the virus. However, the work still
] leaves many important questions about the route of
] transmission of the SARS virus to people unanswered.

SARS!!!!!!!!! (sorry...I feel the need to yell that every time I hear anything about this virus....strange huh?;) - Nano

New Scientist

Synthetic biology refers to both (a) the design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world and (b) the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems.

[*drool*....I have found my new calling.....Synthetic Biology...its an emerging field, and I am so excited to learn more about it!!!! - Nano]

Synthetic Biology

For all you nano-peeps out there...

[werd! -Nano]

UGA faculty of engineering researchers awarded $1 million NSF grant to develop nanoscale biosensors

] Researchers have identified a genetic factor that may
] predispose young people to harmful drinking habits. A
] team of scientists interviewed college students about
] their alcohol consumption and then analyzed their genetic
] profiles, or genotypes. They found that students who
] shared a particular variant of the serotonin transporter
] gene (5HTT) consumed more alcohol per occasion, more
] often drank expressly to become inebriated, and were more
] likely to engage in binge drinking than students without
] the variant. The study appears in the current issue of
] the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

I blame my sophmore year in college on my genes.

Serotonin Transporter Gene Shown to Influence College Drinking Habits

] Scientists say they have identified an ocean sponge
] living in the darkness of the deep sea that grows thin
] glass fibers capable of transmitting light better than
] industrial fiber optic cables used for telecommunication.

CNN.com - Scientists: Ocean sponge bests man-made fiber optics - Aug. 21, 2003

for free, a good companion to the books (being that the books are based on these lectures)...

[Werd.... - Nanochick]

the Fynman lectures on physics on mp3

] Armed with inexpensive, mass-produced gems, two startups
] are launching an assault on the De Beers cartel.
]
] Next up: the computing industry.
]
] By Joshua Davis
]
] Aron Weingarten brings the yellow diamond up to the
] stainless steel jeweler's loupe he holds against his eye.
] We are in Antwerp, Belgium, in Weingarten's marbled and
] gilded living room on the edge of the city's gem
] district, the center of the diamond universe. Nearly 80
] percent of the world's rough and polished diamonds move
] through the hands of Belgian gem traders like Weingarten,
] a dealer who wears the thick beard and black suit of the
] Hasidim.
]
] "This is very rare stone," he says, almost to himself, in
] thickly accented English. "Yellow diamonds of this color
] are very hard to find. It is probably worth 10, maybe 15
] thousand dollars."
]
] "I have two more exactly like it in my pocket," I tell
] him.
]
] He puts the diamond down and looks at me seriously for
] the first time. I place the other two stones on the
] table. They are all the same color and size. To find
] three nearly identical yellow diamonds is like flipping a
] coin 10,000 times and never seeing tails.
]
] "These are cubic zirconium?" Weingarten says without much
] hope.
]
] "No, they're real," I tell him. "But they were made by a machine
] in Florida for less than a hundred dollars."

Wired 11.09: The New Diamond Age

Its back....and its worst then last year. The CDC has state by state stats on case numbers.

CDC info on West Nile Virus

] Even if the only evidence forensic analysts can pull from
] a crime scene is a fingerprint smudged beyond
] recognition, a new technique developed by Canadian
] scientists soon could harvest enough DNA from the print
] to produce a genetic identity.

United Press International: DNA extractable from fingerprints