Biology // Current TV

Scientists Find Post-Tsunami Radiation in Sea Kelp

NBC | LOS ANGELES... . Scientists Find Post-Tsunami Radiation in Sea Kelp,... more

EthicalVegan
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Article: Darpa, Venter Launch Assembly Line for Genetic Engineering

... program, called “Living Foundries,” was first announced by the agency... more

frankpatton
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Indiginous People of Australia Fighting for Right to Keep Lands

Southwest Australia has been ravaged by agriculture and mining. The Noongar people... more

nmsamanda
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Article: "Public Interest" Groups Call for Synthetic Biology Regulation

check out the orgs that have signed on... big list

frankpatton
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First Gorilla Genome Map Offers Clues to Human Evolution

CNN... First gorilla genome map offers clues to human evolution By Matthew... more

EthicalVegan
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U.S. Probes the Deaths of Golden Eagles at DWP Wind Farm

Los Angeles Times... . U.S. probes golden eagles' deaths at DWP wind farm... more

EthicalVegan
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Honoring Darwin Day

Co-authored by U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and American Humanist Association Executive... more

BrianMageeAHA
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Near-Extinct Catalina Island Fox Makes Astounding Comeback

Los Angeles Times... . Catalina Island fox makes astounding comeback Since... more

EthicalVegan
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Engineered virus which hacks & controls brain: Do you mind?

Today, an average computer user cannot even keep the machine secured. So what will the world look like when hacking your mind becomes as easy as infecting your machine with a computer virus?

Human knowledge on DNA nanotechnology and bio-molecular computing increases exponentially with every passing year. Thus, protecting your own brain from security breaches could become the highest priority challenge of the 21st century.

Synthetic biology is becoming one of the most powerful forms of technology in the world. But many people fear that scientists’ games with the genetics of life forms could spin out of control and open the door to a new age of bio-hacking and bio-terrorism.
Natural living viruses and bacteria are not only making people sick, they also control the behavior and condition of the hosts, though without any malice. But the consequences of getting exposed to an artificially-created virus could be much more serious than a headache or a fever.
“Synthetic biology will lead to new forms of bioterrorism,” security expert Marc Goodman told the Daily Mail. “Bio-crime today is akin to computer crime in the early ’80s.”

Viruses and bacteria are manipulating the chemicals inside the human body and, by programming them to send the right agents into the brain, the bio-programmer potentially can take control over the victim’s behavior.

We are seeing the opening stages of the synthetic biology industry. Some basic tasks like decoding, insertion and excision of parts of the DNA, and relatively successful attempts of cloning is pretty much everything that modern science can carry through.
But in the ’80s, computer science technology was actually at the same level of maturity. At that time no one could really believe that 20 years later any person would have a greater power over the computer – and not only the one that belongs to him – than the best present-day programmers.

Cells are living computers and DNA is a programming language that can be used to control and influence life forms, believes Andrew Hessel of Singularity University, on NASA's research campus.

“Synthetic biology – the writing of life,” Hessel says. “It's growing fast. It will grow faster than computer technologies.”

Programming the DNA, however, is more of a speculation at this point. There is no development environment or any frameworks to manipulate the cell. Just like in computer programming, a set of basic instructions and codes has to be developed before an average coder could perform some task of greater complexity.

The industry is developing rapidly and the future of DNA programming seems bright. But drawing parallels with computer science, it would be better for humankind to recognize the problem of “malicious bio-programmers” with all possible seriousness and proactively develop defensive and counter-offensive methods.

http://rt.com/news/dna-virus-infecting-brain-897/Today, an average computer user cannot even keep the machine secured. So what will the... more

MotherForTruth
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Do men really think about sex more often than women?

According to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University, the oft-cited statistic that men think about sex, on average, about once every seven seconds can safely be put to bed.

Although men may think about sex more often than women do, a new study suggests that men also think about other biological needs, such as eating and sleep, more frequently than women do, as well.

And the research discredits the persistent stereotype that men think about sex every seven seconds, which would amount to more than 8,000 thoughts about sex in 16 waking hours. In the study, the median number of young men's thought about sex stood at almost 19 times per day. Young women in the study reported a median of nearly 10 thoughts about sex per day.

As a group, the men also thought about food almost 18 times per day and sleep almost 11 times per day, compared to women's median number of thoughts about eating and sleep, at nearly 15 times and about 8 1/2 times, respectively.

The college-student participants carried a golf tally counter to track their thoughts about either eating, sleep or sex every day for a week. Each student was assigned to just one type of thought to record. Before receiving the tally counter, they had completed a number of questionnaires and were asked to estimate how often they had daily thoughts about eating, sleeping and sex.

Overall, a participant's comfort with sexuality was the best predictor for which person would have the most frequent daily thoughts about sex.

"If you had to know one thing about a person to best predict how often they would be thinking about sex, you'd be better off knowing their emotional orientation toward sexuality, as opposed to knowing whether they were male or female," said Terri Fisher, professor of psychology at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus and lead author of the study. "Frequency of thinking about sex is related to variables beyond one's biological sex."

Correcting this stereotype about men's sexual thoughts is important, Fisher noted.

"It's amazing the way people will spout off these fake statistics that men think about sex nearly constantly and so much more often than women do," she said. "When a man hears a statement like that, he might think there's something wrong with him because he's not spending that much time thinking about sexuality, and when women hear about this, if they spend significant time thinking about sex they might think there's something wrong with them."

The study appears online and is scheduled for publication in the January issue of the Journal of Sex Research.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/osu-sds112811.phpAccording to a new study by researchers at Ohio State University, the oft-cited... more