I thought we pretty much need everything we needed to know about the human body in the 19th Century. No?
They found two new blood types. Have you seen this? Have you heard about this? The previously known blood types included A, B, AB, O, or some variation on positive or negative – buts hands up, how many of you know your blood type or would you just rely on your mom to know? – but U.S. researchers hav found two new blood types: Langereis and Junior. They claim they’re rare, but do exist among specific ethnic groups. For example, “more than 50,000 Japanese are thought to be Junior negative and may encounter blood transfusion problems or mother-fetus incompatibility,” University of Vermont biologist Bryan Ballif wrote in his study, which appears in this month’s issue of Nature Genetics. They found the new types by identifying two proteins on red blood cells they believe are responsible for these lesser-known blood types. Crazy.
Watch the horses. Looking to tell if Global Warming is real? Watch the horses.
Somehow the animals are always the first to know. So it goes with Global Warming, as well. According to the Daily Mail, “Paleontologists studying fossilized horses have found a direct link between the size of mammals and the planet’s temperature – with warmer times meaning smaller beasts.” Researchers in Florida and Nebraska used fossils to examine the evolution of horses from “their earliest appearance 56 million years ago,” and determined that horses have shrunk and grown and shrunk again as temperatures have fluctuated. We need only watch the horses to see where the world’s temperature is going again. Surely there’s a better way? I’d like to hear it!
Government warns against “miracle” drugs.
It has got to be pure desperation that would lead someone to purchase a “miracle” mineral drug that claims to be able to fight off diabetes and some cancers. But the government of Canada is warning against two new websites selling what they claim are miracle cures, but in reality contain a dangerous cocktail of ingredients such as “sodium chlorite, which is used as a germicide by veterinarians and as a hard-surface disinfectant.” For the curious, you can visit www.miracle-mineral-supplement.com and find out more about the Miracle Mineral Solution that will cure your cancer.
When scientists go rogue.
Peter Gleick, a water expert at the Pacific Institute, has temporarily stepped down from his leading role there because of his actions in obtaining sensitive information from Heartland Insititue, a right-wing think-tank. Frustrated with the misinformation that Heartland was spreading about climate change, and curious about who the anonymous donors of the organization were, Gleick posed as a Heartland Board Member and asked for information on the organization – donor lists and contact information, as well as the size of their donations. He then leaked this information to the press, and has been dealing with the fallout ever since. Heartland has denied the entire thing ever happened, calling it “Fakegate” on their website.
To some, Gleick should be commended for doing whatever is necessary to expose the lies that some are willing to tell about climate change for various and nefarious purposes, but to others he has stepped over the line and lost the moral high ground in the climate change debate previously held by science.
In stepping down, Gleick said: “My judgment was blinded by my frustration with the ongoing efforts to attack climate science.” I only wonder what took him so long. But bravo, Mr. Gleick.
Andrew Reeves writes the Morning Cable (and other stuff) for Toronto Standard. Follow him on Twitter at @reevesreport.
