The Kinder Side of a Scorpion Sting. The venom inactivates cells’ immune functions and could become the basis for a new generation of immunosuppressive therapy to treat autoimmune disease and prevent transplant rejection, etc. And mosquitoes genetically engineered to produce scorpion venom (which has been found to be lethal to the malaria organism) could be released into the wild to supplant wild populations and prevent the spread of malaria. They tell us (of course) the bites of these modified mosquitoes won’t be worse…

Research Predicts Summer Doom for Northern Icecap. The receding north polar icecap could begin to completely melt each summer within some of our lifetimes. New York Times

The former Cat Stevens denied entry into Israel. The ex-musician who became a devout Sufi Muslim is on a list of undesireables since he supposedly gave large sums of money to Hamas when he last visited Israel in the late ’80’s. He was turned around after landing and attempting to debark in Israel Wednesday night at 2:30 a.m. Nando Times

At least five copies of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire bought by the

Salt Lake City Public Library end in a cliffhanger – the last 28 pages are missing. In news more pleasing to Potter fans, Lego plans Harry Potter toys. Arriving in late 2001, tied to the release of the first film from the books. Nando Times

Hubble sees star’s death throes

The Hubble Space Telescope has seen a

massive star, nearing the end of its life,

tearing apart the shell of surrounding material

it blew off 250,000 years previously. BBC

Automatic Media press release: Feed, Suck and alt.culture to band together as Automatic Media; Lycos takes 25% stake.

“It’s increasingly clear that Web publishing is moving away from the

single-title model towards content networks. Automatic

Media is backed by a powerful and unique combination of players

with complimentary strengths: Lycos’s huge worldwide reach,

Advance’s wealth of resources and experience in offline and online

media, and the creative vision of some of the true innovators of Web

content.”

Dancer’s mother sues ballet:

One day shy of the third anniversary of her daughter’s fatal collapse, the mother of Boston Ballet dancer Heidi

Guenther has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the ballet and its artistic director, charging that their pressure on

Guenther to lose weight had contributed to the 22-year-old’s death. National Post

What happened to America’s music? Europe’s got it. Recent European jazz albums suggest that the innovation in jazz is

coming from the Old World and not from America. “Almost without anybody noticing, European jazz,

regarded for years by the Americans with the same kind of tolerant smile they reserve for Japanese

baseball, seems poised to step to the forefront.” The Times (London)

Aux barricades! Row over French “hard-core ‘Thelma and Louise’ “: A film described as

“an unbroken series of extremely

crude sex scenes and of images of particular violence that may deeply

disturb certain spectators” was pulled from distribution by French government intervention after objections from family-value champions, despite its having a restrictive rating. French cinematic and cultural leaders have rallied to its defense.

Sony officially launched its Palm-based PDA – – or “personal

entertainment organiser”, as the company calls it — yesterday. With 8 MB RAM, an optional color screen, a bundled web browser and a slot for Sony memory sticks that will accept such peripherals as GPS and Bluetooth receivers. The Register

Celebrity Bigots. ‘So John Rocker played at Shea, and the fans booed him. By baiting the “hate hurler” (as Rocker was

dubbed by one tab), they got to feel superior, basking in their sympathy for the huddled masses on

the No. 7 line. But the morning after Rocker’s drubbing, many of these same defenders of diversity

tuned in to Don Imus, who never met an immigrant he didn’t mock. Another hate hurler? Nah, it’s just

the I-Man funning.’ Imus, Dr. Laura, Eminem…celebrity hate rules, and audiences by and large are soft on it. The Village Voice

New Mechanism Of Drug Resistance Found In Cancer Cells: Researchers showed that

“…solid and metastatic tumors

produce high levels of growth factors that protect the

tumors from the effects of anticancer drugs.

The inability of cancer drugs to destroy metastatic tumors – tumors that

have spread from the primary site – is the leading reason why cancer

therapy fails.

Clinical trials using the drug suramin to block the growth factors are

expected to begin late this summer in certain lung cancer patients.”