Saturday, February 6, 2010
Immortal Human Cells...
The first line of human cells capable of reproducing ad infinitum (hence the label “immortal”) were derived in 1951 from a tumor on the unfortunate Henrietta Lacks. Her cells have been used in thousands of medical experiments and tests, and they're still in use to this day. Here's the fascinating story, which is the subject of a new book by Rebecca Skloot.
Flying Bridge in the Netherlands...
The unique drawbridge pictured at right (click to enlarge) is on the western edge of Leeuwarden, Netherlands. The locals call it the “Flying Bridge”. Here it is on Google Maps.
The Unfortunate Sex Life of the Banana...
Read this and you'll learn something – but probably not what you're thinking...
Weatherman Attacked by Pelican...
And I'm not sure which is funnier – the pelican's attack or the weatherman's reaction. Pelican and weatherman both survive, though the latter declares himself “permanently scarred”...
How to Fail a Test...
If you don't know the answer to a question on a test, what do you do? Here's a nice collection of some creative answers to that conundrum (one example at right, click to enlarge)...
Oldest Known Bird Ancestor, Reconstructed (Even Color!)...
Scientists from Yale have reconstructed what Anchiomis huxleyi must have looked like (at right, click to enlarge). A. huxleyi lived in what is today China some 160 million years ago, and is the oldest known feathered dinosaur (and presumed ancestor of today's birds)...