Day: February 22, 2014

‘It was found in Baja California, in the water, scuttling about. It’s an isopod — a many legged, many jointed, bottom-crawler, related to prawns and crabs and it happily eats dead things. Scavengers aren’t that particular about what’s for dinner. When they find it, they eat it.

This particular isopod was big, almost a foot long, weighing over 2 pounds. In 2007, it was taken from Mexican waters and brought to the Toba Aquarium on the east coast of Japan, where it was displayed as “Giant Isopod No. 1.” At Toba, they don’t name their animals Freddy or Hiroto. They give them scientific-ish numbers. No. 1 was the first of eight captive isopods, but it was about to become the most famous animal at the aquarium.’ (Krulwich Wonders… : NPR).

‘People born with Down syndrome have always been considered to be incurably developmentally delayed—until now. In the past few years a number of laboratories have uncovered critical drug targets within disabled chemical pathways in the brain that might be restored with medication. At least two clinical trials are currently studying the effects of such treatments on people with Down syndrome. Now geneticist Roger Reeves of Johns Hopkins University may have stumbled on another drug target—this one with the potential to correct the learning and memory deficits so central to the condition.’ (Salon).

We’re mad because people should be better: “Anger is really a sign of hope — and belief that the world can, and must, be better than it is…” — Alain de Botton (Salon).