Deadly virus fuels bio-terror fears. “Scientists who accidently (sic)
created a deadly
version of mouse smallpox in the laboratory say
lethal human viruses are only a step away.

The prospect of such dangerous organisms
being produced relatively easily have left
bioterrorism experts fearful of killer global
epidemics.” Subtle modifications to the genome of a virus can, it seems, render it much more virulent and render vaccines useless in producing immunity. Scientists are already busy making small modifications to various pathogenic viruses to use them as vectors to carry genes into the body’s cells for genetic therapy. BBC

Bad Moon Rising: The sinister influence of the full moon on behavior has a venerable place in folklore and inconclusive support in scientific studies. Leaving humans aside for the moment, might there be a general tendency toward hostility under the full moon? Two studies coincidentally published in the same issue of the British Medical Journal, one from the UK and the other from Australia, reached contradictory conclusions in examining the relationship of severe animal bites and lunar phase. Beyond 2000

The Milk of Human Kindness: “How to make a simple morality tale out of a complex public health issue” British Medical Journal [free registration required]

Galaxies Made of Nothing? New Theory of Mysterious Dark Matter. “If the concept of dark matter gives you a bit of a headache,
hold on to your Advil.

Theorists attempting to explain some of the “missing mass”
in the universe now say there may be entire galaxies that are
dark.: A new theory “…suggests that for every normal,
star-filled galaxy, there may be 100 that contain nothing, or
at least nothing that we understand.” space.com

Splinters is the Spike magazine daily weblog. I was pointed to it from LinkMachineGo, which I have just discovered to be an excellent London-based weblog.

Mobile Phone Forces Plane to Land. “A Slovenian airliner made an emergency
landing Tuesday after a passenger’s mobile phone caused its electronics system to
malfunction and indicate there was a fire on board, Adria Airways said Wednesday.” Reuters

A World Divided Into Two-Way-Pager Camps. “Two wireless systems, two passionate camps. The
rectangular, rigid BlackBerry is the choice of a high-tech and
financial elite, including Bill Gates, Michael Dell and the
investment bankers at Goldman, Sachs. They would not be
caught dead carrying a fire-engine-red or cobalt-blue
Motorola Talkabout, which the company markets to young
adults — even teenagers passing e-notes in class.” But they all seem to feel that cellular is passé, as in “20th century”…New York Times

3 Sisters (Sorry Chekhov), Maureen Dowd: ” The president-elect, known for his gunslinger’s stance and
circle of establishment good ol’ boys, has added some female
swagger to his staff — the G.O.P.’s three most famous alpha
females, tall, tough, salty, relentless and fanatically loyal
operatives Mary Matalin, Margaret Tutwiler and Karen
Hughes. Jealousies, one-upmanship and hijinks bound to
ensue?

Never before has a White House had this many powerful,
senior, vocal women in it — at least not since Hillary Clinton
dined alone. And, more deliciously, never before has a
White House had this many powerful, senior, vocal women
assigned to do exactly the same job.” New York Times

‘I Think He’s Nuts’, said the wife of a 36-year-old seminary student from Jerusalem. He had opened a knapsack he found on the ground next to a neighborhood school to find it contained two mortar shells connected to a cellular phone, so he gave a tug and disconnected the phone from the explosives. Several minutes later, the phone rang, a signal that would have triggered the explosion.

“We’ve got lawyers looking at every single issue, every single opportunity” to reverse
actions taken by Clinton in the waning weeks of his presidency, says the illegitimate son. New York Times

Update from the Kumbh Mela

Everyone has a different ‘now’ New Scientist

Everyone has a different ‘now’ New Scientist

Everyone has a different ‘now’ New Scientist

Everyone has a different ‘now’ New Scientist