Boys discover microbes that eat plastic

PhDs have been searching for a solution to the plastic waste problem, and this 16 year old finds the answer.

It's not your average science fair when the 16-year-old winner manages to solve a global waste crisis. But such was the case at last month's May's Canadian Science Fair in Waterloo, Ontario, where Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, presented his research on microorganisms that can rapidly biodegrade plastic.

NOTE: there are TWO high school students who discovered plastic-consuming microorganisms. The first was Daniel Burd (last year). The second was Tseng I-Ching (last month), a high school student in Taiwan.

Daniel had a thought it seems even the most esteemed PhDs hadn't considered. Plastic, one of the most indestructible of manufactured materials, does in fact eventually decompose. It takes 1,000 years but decompose it does, which means there must be microorganisms out there to do the decomposing.

Could those microorganisms be bred to do the job faster?

Click here to read the rest.

Upcoming release of convicted bomber stirs controversy

Should Scottish authortities release Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi?

Al-Megrahi, 57, has terminal cancer.
He was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. The airliner — which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York — blew up as it flew over Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the aircraft crashed into the town of Lockerbie.Should Scottish authorities release Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi?

Click here to read all about this story, and the many views people have on it.

Woman, 63, missing for 5 days found on raft

She survives with only two cans of Mountain Dew and a bottle of water
IOWA CITY, Iowa - A 63-year-old woman trapped on a small raft caught in tangled river brush could hear passing cars and people talking but wasn't discovered until a fisherman on his way to his favorite hole spotted her five days later, the woman's son said Tuesday.
Jeanne Schnepp's odyssey began last week with a fishing trip on a tiny inflatable raft along the Wapsipinicon River. But when the Iowa woman found herself on raging waters that nearly flooded the banks, she partially deflated the raft and headed for the side.
Water masked the brush, which caught the raft and held it — and Schnepp — for five days before rescuers pulled her from the river Monday afternoon.
Click here to read the rest from the Associated Press
Photo via AP

Rep. Frank lashes out at protester for Nazi remark

Rep. Barney Frank lashed out at protester who held a poster depicting President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache during a heated town hall meeting on federal health care reform.
"On what planet do you spend most of your time?" Frank asked the woman, who had stepped up to the podium at a southeastern Massachusetts senior center to ask why Frank supports what she called a Nazi policy.
"Ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it," Frank replied.
He continued by saying her ability to deface an image of the president and express her views "is a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated."

Click here to read the rest from the Associated Press

The next healthcare battle: cutting Medicare Advantage

The program gives private insurers a federal subsidy to handle seniors' care. Some swear by it, but others say it's wasteful.
By Christi Parsons and Andrew Zajac
Reporting from Washington - President Obama, struggling to discredit bogus charges that his healthcare overhaul would create "death panels," soon could face another emotionally charged obstacle -- a plan to trim the federal subsidy for a program used by nearly a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries.The program, known as Medicare Advantage, pays insurance companies a hefty premium to enroll senior citizens and provide their medical services through managed-care networks.
Click here to read the rest at the LA Times

Easy is... snow diving!

Fred found that diving for his food kept him in shape and was a fun way to watch his weight!

The Mother of all buses...

Check this beast out click here. You really need to see more shots of it. The inside is stunning. The whole thing screams EXCESS!!

There's public & private options - you pick!

Thanks to Farleftside by Stanfill

9 reasons why there wasn’t stress in the good old days

Nowadays, people seem to be more and more stressed, even average people that at least apparently don’t take big gambles.
Researchers have put a lot of time and money into the study of this problem, and came up with a whole lot of theories, but really, don’t let those fool you. Here’s the real deal, here’s why it was so easy in those days.

Stickney and Poor’s (above photo) are known today mostly for spices, but back in the day, they also sold this syrup that helped babies sleep well; and if the opium inside wasn’t enough, then the 46% alcohol would definitely do the trick.

Bayer’s Heroin (photo on right)

Yeah baby, between 1890 and 1910, heroin was sold as a ‘less addictive form of morphine’. At some point, it was even recommended to treat the usual cough, but only in children.
Diacetylmorphine was first synthesized by Alder Wright, who concluded it was even more addictive than opium, and abandoned research in this direction. However, the Bayer company concluded that it was very effective in treating moderate pains and dealing with diseases such as asthma or tuberculosis, so they branded it as Heroin. What’s interesting is that it was branded pretty much at the same time with acetylsalicylic acid, that became later known as aspirin. It’s hard to say which one of these had more success…

Click here to read seven more examples of what passed for medicine in the good old days at ZME Science!

Prisoners' free health care plan beats anything on the streets

Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 08/16/2009 01:27:21 AM PDT

Recent court rulings call for improved medical care for California's prison population. The court said the care now provided to prisoners is unconstitutional. The reality is everything possible is being done for prisoners health care right now.

The prison system continues to be the biggest drain on California's budget. Billions of dollars come out of state coffers to meet every mental and medical need of prisoners according to the court's orders.

A 2005 court appointed receiver oversees the responses to the prisoner's needs. That almost resulted in new medical facilities to treat 10,000 ailing inmates and create “a holistic” environment with indoor basketball courts, handball courts, electronic bingo boards, stress-reduction rooms, music therapy, kitchens to teach cooking skills and outdoor gardens where inmates could relax in private.

Click here to read the rest at The Times-Standard.

Birds of a feather drink together

They obviously have a better class of pigeon Down Under.

Instead of pecking around on the filthy pavements among cigarette butts and chewing gum, they prefer to sip filtered water and go to great lengths for a bath.

The trio pictured here, in Brisbane, Queensland, appear to have worked out a clever system of adapting the water fountain built by humans for their own pigeon purposes.

After waiting for the fountain to be free, one bird jumped on the lever and pushed it down to fill up the bowl, while another kept watch and the third splashed in.

Read more at The Daily Mail