////////////////Chapter VI: The Yoga of MeditationSRI BHAGAVAAN UVAACHA:VI.35. ASAMSHAYAM MAHAABAAHO MANO DURNIGRAHAM CHALAM;ABHYAASENA TU KAUNTEYA VAIRAAGYENA CHA GRIHYATE.The Blessed Lord said(to Arjuna):Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed Arjuna, the mind isdifficult to control and restless; but, by practiceand by dispassion it may be restrained!VI.36. ASAMYATAATMANAA YOGO DUSHPRAAPA ITI ME MATIH;VASHYAATMANAA TU YATATAA SHAKYO'VAAPTUMUPAAYATAH.I think that Yoga is hard to be attained by one ofuncontrolled self, but the self-controlled and strivingone attains to it by the (proper) means.
///////////////////////////
Julia chases & confronts paparazzi
Roberts
Los Angeles, Dec. 1 (AP): Silver-screen sprite Julia Roberts is fed up with intrusive paparazzi, and she is letting them know it.
The slightly built star who played Tinkerbell in Hook was videotaped on Wednesday in Malibu wildly tailing two videographers, flagging them down and lecturing them for taping her near a school.
The footage, taken by freelance videographers for the celebrity news and photo agency Splash and broadcast by Inside Edition, shows Roberts driving in a Mercedes SUV behind the men, honking and waving them to stop
Julia chases & confronts paparazzi
Roberts
Los Angeles, Dec. 1 (AP): Silver-screen sprite Julia Roberts is fed up with intrusive paparazzi, and she is letting them know it.
The slightly built star who played Tinkerbell in Hook was videotaped on Wednesday in Malibu wildly tailing two videographers, flagging them down and lecturing them for taping her near a school.
The footage, taken by freelance videographers for the celebrity news and photo agency Splash and broadcast by Inside Edition, shows Roberts driving in a Mercedes SUV behind the men, honking and waving them to stop
///////////////////////////ON THE EDGE=http://1nf0rmat10n.com/?p=81
/////////////////////A FMLY HARVEST=
Children turn into kidney cheats- Relatives plot with doctors & organ brokers to put elders under the knife
G.S. RADHAKRISHNA
Bhagyamma (top), an alleged broker; Kistaiyya (centre), who escaped being duped by son Narasimhulu
Hyderabad, Dec. 1: A man struck a deal with doctors and an organ-transplant broker to sell his aged and unsuspecting father’s kidney, first taking him to hospital for a “check-up” and then telling him he needed an operation.
Narasimhulu, 34, of Medak district north of Hyderabad, was merely doing what hundreds of families have done in the state, an organisation of government doctors says.
Several illegal organ “donations” take place every week in Hyderabad hospitals, the donors coming from the state’s villages and the recipients from as far as Punjab and Gujarat, even from other countries, a doctor said.
“In about half the cases, the donors — usually aged parents or relatives — are kept in the dark,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar, a senior official of the AP Doctors’ Association.
“Before the operation, they are taken to a clinic to test the quality of their organs in the guise of a check-up. The children take the money after the transplant.”
Narasimhulu’s plan went bust after his 65-year-old father, Kammari Kistaiyya, finally smelt a rat and went to Narsapet police station from the family’s home in Jakkapalli village, 85km from Hyderabad.
“My son couldn’t stand me. He beat me up twice for advising him against his wayward life,” the farmer, who owns 12 acres of land and two acres of wetlands, told officers.
Narasimhulu, questioned and warned last week by the police, told them: “Almost every family in our village and those in 10 nearby villages have sold, or struck deals to sell, the organs of their elders.”
The organs are mostly kidneys and sometimes (a portion of) the liver or an eye. The law allows no payment in cash or kind for organ donation.
Sources said the going rate was anything between Rs 75,000 and Rs 4 lakh per kidney, depending on the urgency and the recipient’s ability to pay. A liver donation brings around Rs 1 lakh.
Narasimhulu said villagers in Jakkapalli had struck their deals through Bhagyamma, 45, a former nurse in Hyderabad who lives in the area. Bhagyamma, questioned by the police, said she took a 5 per cent cut from both the parties (donor and recipient) but everything was done legally.
According to the law, if an organ donor is not a close relative of the recipient, the entire case details must go to an authorisation committee at the district, city or state level.
The committee, made up by medical and socio-legal experts, is to ensure no money or gift changes hands, but it is very difficult to do so since the payment can easily be delayed. Also, the patient’s signed consent is a must.
The doctors’ association carried out a probe after receiving reports that many donors were being cheated by their families. It discussed the matter at its meeting last week.
The local police say they know what goes on in Jakkapalli but insist that only rarely are the donors kept in the dark.
“The patients’ families come to the village and talk to the donors to satisfy themselves that there’s no hanky-panky,” an officer said. “We don’t act as long as there is no complaint of cheating.”
Kidney sales are more common in areas with a high rate of farmer suicides, state police say. Many have been reported from the tobacco and cotton belts of Prakasham, Karimnagar, Guntur and Krishna.
Police sources said a few of Hyderabad’s array of super-speciality hospitals are also involved. “Kidney patients from across India — including Bollywood personalities’ relatives — and some foreign countries come here,” a source said.
Andhra has now surpassed Gujarat in illegal transplants, kidney specialist Dr K.N. Naik said. Hyderabad is dotted with dialysis centres that support patients waiting for a transplant.
“There are 138 dialysis centres in Ameerpet, Banjara Hills, Narayanaguda and Jubilee Hills area of the city,” he said.
“The younger generation is making capital of their aged relatives who struggled throughout their life to bring them up,” said Dr Gopalakrishna, nephrologist and former superintendent of Osmania Hospital, Hyderabad.
Children turn into kidney cheats- Relatives plot with doctors & organ brokers to put elders under the knife
G.S. RADHAKRISHNA
Bhagyamma (top), an alleged broker; Kistaiyya (centre), who escaped being duped by son Narasimhulu
Hyderabad, Dec. 1: A man struck a deal with doctors and an organ-transplant broker to sell his aged and unsuspecting father’s kidney, first taking him to hospital for a “check-up” and then telling him he needed an operation.
Narasimhulu, 34, of Medak district north of Hyderabad, was merely doing what hundreds of families have done in the state, an organisation of government doctors says.
Several illegal organ “donations” take place every week in Hyderabad hospitals, the donors coming from the state’s villages and the recipients from as far as Punjab and Gujarat, even from other countries, a doctor said.
“In about half the cases, the donors — usually aged parents or relatives — are kept in the dark,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar, a senior official of the AP Doctors’ Association.
“Before the operation, they are taken to a clinic to test the quality of their organs in the guise of a check-up. The children take the money after the transplant.”
Narasimhulu’s plan went bust after his 65-year-old father, Kammari Kistaiyya, finally smelt a rat and went to Narsapet police station from the family’s home in Jakkapalli village, 85km from Hyderabad.
“My son couldn’t stand me. He beat me up twice for advising him against his wayward life,” the farmer, who owns 12 acres of land and two acres of wetlands, told officers.
Narasimhulu, questioned and warned last week by the police, told them: “Almost every family in our village and those in 10 nearby villages have sold, or struck deals to sell, the organs of their elders.”
The organs are mostly kidneys and sometimes (a portion of) the liver or an eye. The law allows no payment in cash or kind for organ donation.
Sources said the going rate was anything between Rs 75,000 and Rs 4 lakh per kidney, depending on the urgency and the recipient’s ability to pay. A liver donation brings around Rs 1 lakh.
Narasimhulu said villagers in Jakkapalli had struck their deals through Bhagyamma, 45, a former nurse in Hyderabad who lives in the area. Bhagyamma, questioned by the police, said she took a 5 per cent cut from both the parties (donor and recipient) but everything was done legally.
According to the law, if an organ donor is not a close relative of the recipient, the entire case details must go to an authorisation committee at the district, city or state level.
The committee, made up by medical and socio-legal experts, is to ensure no money or gift changes hands, but it is very difficult to do so since the payment can easily be delayed. Also, the patient’s signed consent is a must.
The doctors’ association carried out a probe after receiving reports that many donors were being cheated by their families. It discussed the matter at its meeting last week.
The local police say they know what goes on in Jakkapalli but insist that only rarely are the donors kept in the dark.
“The patients’ families come to the village and talk to the donors to satisfy themselves that there’s no hanky-panky,” an officer said. “We don’t act as long as there is no complaint of cheating.”
Kidney sales are more common in areas with a high rate of farmer suicides, state police say. Many have been reported from the tobacco and cotton belts of Prakasham, Karimnagar, Guntur and Krishna.
Police sources said a few of Hyderabad’s array of super-speciality hospitals are also involved. “Kidney patients from across India — including Bollywood personalities’ relatives — and some foreign countries come here,” a source said.
Andhra has now surpassed Gujarat in illegal transplants, kidney specialist Dr K.N. Naik said. Hyderabad is dotted with dialysis centres that support patients waiting for a transplant.
“There are 138 dialysis centres in Ameerpet, Banjara Hills, Narayanaguda and Jubilee Hills area of the city,” he said.
“The younger generation is making capital of their aged relatives who struggled throughout their life to bring them up,” said Dr Gopalakrishna, nephrologist and former superintendent of Osmania Hospital, Hyderabad.
/////////////////////Smart Cities Design the Folding Scooter
Posted: 01 Dec 2007 11:16 AM CST
The Smart Cities Group has created another design in the hopes of making the world a greener place.
The folding Scooter by this MIT group is a practical electronic scooter that is envisioned to be stored and conveniently placed in large and congested cities for an additional, environmentally friendly, transportation alternative. Similar to the Stackable Rental Cars, these are moving towards providing other means of transportation and keeping the environment’s health in mind.
This little vehicle looks really fun to drive and fold. I wonder where it will be stored. Will there be special lockers available for this? Is it light enough to carry up to your apartment or office? Will this scooter be convenient or actually save space on something that does not take too much space to begin with? Either way, this is definitely a cool design.
Posted: 01 Dec 2007 11:16 AM CST
The Smart Cities Group has created another design in the hopes of making the world a greener place.
The folding Scooter by this MIT group is a practical electronic scooter that is envisioned to be stored and conveniently placed in large and congested cities for an additional, environmentally friendly, transportation alternative. Similar to the Stackable Rental Cars, these are moving towards providing other means of transportation and keeping the environment’s health in mind.
This little vehicle looks really fun to drive and fold. I wonder where it will be stored. Will there be special lockers available for this? Is it light enough to carry up to your apartment or office? Will this scooter be convenient or actually save space on something that does not take too much space to begin with? Either way, this is definitely a cool design.
/////////////////////EASY LISTENING
/////////////////////Human Genome Has Four Times More Imprinted Genes Than Previously Identified
ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2007) — Scientists at Duke University have created the first map of imprinted genes throughout the human genome, and they say a modern-day Rosetta stone -- a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning -- was the key to their success. The study revealed four times as many imprinted genes as had been previously identified.
See also:
Health & Medicine
Genes
Birth Defects
Plants & Animals
Genetics
Evolutionary Biology
Computers & Math
Hacking
Information Technology
Reference
Introduction to genetics
Computational genomics
Huntington's disease
Transgenic plants
In classic genetics, children inherit two copies of a gene, one from each parent, and both actively shape how the child develops. But in imprinting, one of those copies is turned off by molecular instructions coming from either the mother or the father. This process of "imprinting" information on a gene is believed to happen during the formation of an egg or sperm, and it means that a child will inherit only one working copy of that gene. That's why imprinted genes are so vulnerable to environmental pressures: If the only functioning copy is damaged or lost, there's no backup to jump in and help out.
Many of the newly-identified imprinted genes lie within genomic regions linked to the development of major diseases like cancer, diabetes, autism, and obesity. Researchers say that if some of these genes are later shown to be active in these disorders, they may offer clues to better disease prevention or management.
"Imprinted genes have always been something of a mystery, partly because they don't follow the conventional rules of inheritance," says Dr. Randy Jirtle, a genetics researcher in the departments of radiation oncology and pathology at Duke and a senior author of the study. "We're hoping this new roadmap will help us and others find more information about how these genes affect our health and well-being."
The technical wizardry needed to find the genes fell to Dr. Alexander Hartemink, the other senior author of the study and an assistant professor in Duke's department of computer science, and Philippe Luedi, the first author of the study. They fed sequence data from two types of genes -- ones known to be imprinted and ones believed not to be imprinted -- into a computer and asked it to discover the differences. This machine learning approach led to an algorithm, which was able -- like the original Rosetta stone -- to decode seemingly impenetrable data, in this case, specific DNA sequences that pointed to the presence of imprinted genes.
"We can't say for certain that we identified all of them, but we think we found a large number," says Hartemink.
Jirtle, who has studied imprinting for years, notes that imprinting is an epigenetic event, meaning it's something that can change a gene's function without altering the sequence of its DNA. "Imprinted genes are unusually vulnerable to pressures in our environment -- even what we eat, drink, and breathe. On top of that, epigenetic changes can be inherited. I don't think people realize that."
Several years ago, Jirtle showed that Agouti mice -- normally fat and yellow -- when fed certain dietary supplements, would produce brown, normal weight babies. The babies' Agouti genes, the ones responsible for color, were the same as the mother's, yet they looked different. "That's epigenetics in action," says Jirtle.
It's estimated that imprinted genes comprise about 1 percent of the human genome, and until now, only several dozen had been identified. Using their new "Rosetta stone", however, Jirtle and Hartemink found 156 new likely imprinted genes, and validated two particularly interesting ones on chromosome 8, where none had been found before. One of them, KCNK9, is mostly active in the brain, is known to cause cancer, and may also be linked to bipolar disorder and epilepsy. The second, DLGAP2, is a possible bladder cancer tumor suppressor gene.
Hartemink says experiments to confirm that all 156 new genes are truly imprinted -- and not just statistically likely candidates -- will be difficult, mostly because gene expression varies from tissue to tissue and most genes turn on and off over time. "We've certainly narrowed the field, but we have a whole lot of work ahead of us."
This research is published in the December 3 issue of Genome Research.
Grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy and the Alfred Sloan Foundation supported the research.
Duke colleagues who also contributed to the work include Fred Dietrich, from the department of molecular genetics and microbiology; Jennifer Weidman, from the department of radiation oncology and Jason Bosko, an undergraduate in the department of computer science.
Adapted from materials provided by Duke University Medical Center.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2007) — Scientists at Duke University have created the first map of imprinted genes throughout the human genome, and they say a modern-day Rosetta stone -- a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning -- was the key to their success. The study revealed four times as many imprinted genes as had been previously identified.
See also:
Health & Medicine
Genes
Birth Defects
Plants & Animals
Genetics
Evolutionary Biology
Computers & Math
Hacking
Information Technology
Reference
Introduction to genetics
Computational genomics
Huntington's disease
Transgenic plants
In classic genetics, children inherit two copies of a gene, one from each parent, and both actively shape how the child develops. But in imprinting, one of those copies is turned off by molecular instructions coming from either the mother or the father. This process of "imprinting" information on a gene is believed to happen during the formation of an egg or sperm, and it means that a child will inherit only one working copy of that gene. That's why imprinted genes are so vulnerable to environmental pressures: If the only functioning copy is damaged or lost, there's no backup to jump in and help out.
Many of the newly-identified imprinted genes lie within genomic regions linked to the development of major diseases like cancer, diabetes, autism, and obesity. Researchers say that if some of these genes are later shown to be active in these disorders, they may offer clues to better disease prevention or management.
"Imprinted genes have always been something of a mystery, partly because they don't follow the conventional rules of inheritance," says Dr. Randy Jirtle, a genetics researcher in the departments of radiation oncology and pathology at Duke and a senior author of the study. "We're hoping this new roadmap will help us and others find more information about how these genes affect our health and well-being."
The technical wizardry needed to find the genes fell to Dr. Alexander Hartemink, the other senior author of the study and an assistant professor in Duke's department of computer science, and Philippe Luedi, the first author of the study. They fed sequence data from two types of genes -- ones known to be imprinted and ones believed not to be imprinted -- into a computer and asked it to discover the differences. This machine learning approach led to an algorithm, which was able -- like the original Rosetta stone -- to decode seemingly impenetrable data, in this case, specific DNA sequences that pointed to the presence of imprinted genes.
"We can't say for certain that we identified all of them, but we think we found a large number," says Hartemink.
Jirtle, who has studied imprinting for years, notes that imprinting is an epigenetic event, meaning it's something that can change a gene's function without altering the sequence of its DNA. "Imprinted genes are unusually vulnerable to pressures in our environment -- even what we eat, drink, and breathe. On top of that, epigenetic changes can be inherited. I don't think people realize that."
Several years ago, Jirtle showed that Agouti mice -- normally fat and yellow -- when fed certain dietary supplements, would produce brown, normal weight babies. The babies' Agouti genes, the ones responsible for color, were the same as the mother's, yet they looked different. "That's epigenetics in action," says Jirtle.
It's estimated that imprinted genes comprise about 1 percent of the human genome, and until now, only several dozen had been identified. Using their new "Rosetta stone", however, Jirtle and Hartemink found 156 new likely imprinted genes, and validated two particularly interesting ones on chromosome 8, where none had been found before. One of them, KCNK9, is mostly active in the brain, is known to cause cancer, and may also be linked to bipolar disorder and epilepsy. The second, DLGAP2, is a possible bladder cancer tumor suppressor gene.
Hartemink says experiments to confirm that all 156 new genes are truly imprinted -- and not just statistically likely candidates -- will be difficult, mostly because gene expression varies from tissue to tissue and most genes turn on and off over time. "We've certainly narrowed the field, but we have a whole lot of work ahead of us."
This research is published in the December 3 issue of Genome Research.
Grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy and the Alfred Sloan Foundation supported the research.
Duke colleagues who also contributed to the work include Fred Dietrich, from the department of molecular genetics and microbiology; Jennifer Weidman, from the department of radiation oncology and Jason Bosko, an undergraduate in the department of computer science.
Adapted from materials provided by Duke University Medical Center.
///////////////////Lama-da
Calcutta has its own terms of endearment, even if the persons on whom they are showered may be a little befuddled by them.
The Dalai Lama is one of those. On his last visit to the city, as he was about to enter Grand Hotel, without affording the army of photographers a photo-op, an intrepid photographer made his last desperate attempt to make the Nobel Peace laureate turn and pose. “Lama-da, Lama-da, ektu edike,” he cried. Astounded, The Dalai Lama turned — and the shutterbugs could take their pictures home thanks to this local genius.
Calcutta has its own terms of endearment, even if the persons on whom they are showered may be a little befuddled by them.
The Dalai Lama is one of those. On his last visit to the city, as he was about to enter Grand Hotel, without affording the army of photographers a photo-op, an intrepid photographer made his last desperate attempt to make the Nobel Peace laureate turn and pose. “Lama-da, Lama-da, ektu edike,” he cried. Astounded, The Dalai Lama turned — and the shutterbugs could take their pictures home thanks to this local genius.
THE OTHER VIVACIOUS LAMADA -PUTULDIS HSBND RIP-CA LARYNX-?POST SMOKING-AT LEAST FMLY SETTLED-GBU
///////////////////////Free Won’t
Zeno once caught a slave stealing and began to beat him.
Knowing the philosopher's penchant for paradoxes, the slave cried, "But it was fated that I should steal!"
Zeno said, "And that I should beat you."
Zeno once caught a slave stealing and began to beat him.
Knowing the philosopher's penchant for paradoxes, the slave cried, "But it was fated that I should steal!"
Zeno said, "And that I should beat you."
///////////////////Kaprekar’s Constant
Choose four distinct digits and arrange them into the largest and smallest numbers possible (e.g., 9751 and 1579). Subtract the smaller from the larger to produce a new number (9751 - 1579 = 8172) and repeat the operation.
Within seven iterations you'll always arrive at 6174. With three-digit numbers you'll aways arrive at 495. A similar technique works with words.
Choose four distinct digits and arrange them into the largest and smallest numbers possible (e.g., 9751 and 1579). Subtract the smaller from the larger to produce a new number (9751 - 1579 = 8172) and repeat the operation.
Within seven iterations you'll always arrive at 6174. With three-digit numbers you'll aways arrive at 495. A similar technique works with words.
/////////////////////November 30, 2007
Impact of Post-Peak Oil on Our Quality of Life
Say good-bye to Planet Earth and don't thank the Vogon construction fleet for the privilege. Thank the oil companies. As long as the price of crude oil stays above $90 a barrel then extraction from post-peak sources becomes profitable. And that means more plastic crap from China, more SUVs on the road, and more greenhouse gases in the air. But it's not just increased consumption that gives cause to worry. The extraction methods required to get at post-peak oil require far more energy and cause much more ecological devastation than current methods. Another issue the resulting product produces a higher concentration of greenhouse gases than conventional crude.
Development in the Alberta Tar Sands is moving forward at a steady rate, with Shell, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Imperial Oil (which is affiliated with ExxonMobil) receiving approval to construct major projects in the region. With the influx of synthetic crude from the Tar Sands, Canadian output now exceeds 1 million barrels a day, making our Northern neighbor the number one supplier of oil to the U.S.
The amount of post-peak oil available in Alberta Tar Sands, which cover some 57,000 miles, represents the world's second largest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia, and this even if only ten percent of the potential yield of 1.7 trillion barrels is exploited. The primary product to be extracted is a hydrocarbon called bitumen that can be converted into synthetic crude, but at a tremendous cost to the environment. More land needs be mined, and tremendous quantities of natural gas are required by the process (two billion cubic feet per day by 2012).
Another penalty for switching to synthetic crude is an additional 50 to 400 gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere over the next century, on top of the 8 gigatons per year currently being generated by the burning of fossil fuels.
If you've stayed up nights sweating it out over post-peak oil scarcity, you breathe easy and rest assured that your posh petroleum-based lifestyle has landed a reprieve. Just don't expect the same facility at breath in 20 or 30 years due to the rising temperatures and all the extra junk in the air. Now that the potential to extend the petroleum age for generations is upon us, we have to seriously ponder whether our lifestyle is truly worth all our lives.
Posted by Christos Tsirbas.
Impact of Post-Peak Oil on Our Quality of Life
Say good-bye to Planet Earth and don't thank the Vogon construction fleet for the privilege. Thank the oil companies. As long as the price of crude oil stays above $90 a barrel then extraction from post-peak sources becomes profitable. And that means more plastic crap from China, more SUVs on the road, and more greenhouse gases in the air. But it's not just increased consumption that gives cause to worry. The extraction methods required to get at post-peak oil require far more energy and cause much more ecological devastation than current methods. Another issue the resulting product produces a higher concentration of greenhouse gases than conventional crude.
Development in the Alberta Tar Sands is moving forward at a steady rate, with Shell, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Imperial Oil (which is affiliated with ExxonMobil) receiving approval to construct major projects in the region. With the influx of synthetic crude from the Tar Sands, Canadian output now exceeds 1 million barrels a day, making our Northern neighbor the number one supplier of oil to the U.S.
The amount of post-peak oil available in Alberta Tar Sands, which cover some 57,000 miles, represents the world's second largest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia, and this even if only ten percent of the potential yield of 1.7 trillion barrels is exploited. The primary product to be extracted is a hydrocarbon called bitumen that can be converted into synthetic crude, but at a tremendous cost to the environment. More land needs be mined, and tremendous quantities of natural gas are required by the process (two billion cubic feet per day by 2012).
Another penalty for switching to synthetic crude is an additional 50 to 400 gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere over the next century, on top of the 8 gigatons per year currently being generated by the burning of fossil fuels.
If you've stayed up nights sweating it out over post-peak oil scarcity, you breathe easy and rest assured that your posh petroleum-based lifestyle has landed a reprieve. Just don't expect the same facility at breath in 20 or 30 years due to the rising temperatures and all the extra junk in the air. Now that the potential to extend the petroleum age for generations is upon us, we have to seriously ponder whether our lifestyle is truly worth all our lives.
Posted by Christos Tsirbas.
///////////////////////ORA -AMRA DIVIDE=US AND THEM
////////////////November 30, 2007
Jurassic Park Roundup –The Top 10 Discoveries of '07
This year was a great one, at least in terms of dinosaur discoveries. Here’s a sampling of some of the most odd, interesting, fantastic and unusual findings of the year.
1. A Huge Shark-Eating Predator
The remains of an enormous, previously unknown carnivorous dinosaur was found. The monster once thrived around a giant lake 200 million years ago. The fearsome predator specialized in eating and catching giant sharks and huge bony fish that, when consumed, would have been "like biting through chain mail," Utah State paleontologist James Kirkland said. These dinos also make it to the top of the “10 Dinosaurs You’d Never Want to Pet” list. Link
2. Dinosaur Mass Grave Unearthed in Switzerland
There is hope for those of us who like to dig around in our backyard for prehistoric remains. Some random dude in Switzerland discovered what appears to be Europe's largest dinosaur graveyard. "A hobby paleontologist looked at a construction site for a house and happened to discover the bones," said Monica Ruembeli from the Frick dinosaur museum. The area contains the bones of more than 100 Plateosaurus. Not a bad find for an amateur! Link
3. Tyrannosaurus Rex Tasted Like Chicken
Protein resembling chicken has been extracted from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex bone, reinforcing the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds. The collagen tissue was removed from a fossilized thighbone belonging to the giant predator. Analysis showed it was structurally very similar to chicken protein. The bones were unearthed still surrounded by soft tissues, including blood vessels, making it a very rare find. Link
4. Research Likely Solves the World’s Biggest Murder Mystery
Apparently, even killing off the dinosaurs was a job outsourced to India. The latest research reveals that a series of monumental volcanic eruptions in India is likely responsible for killing off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Previously it was believed that the likely suspect was a meteor impact in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the volcanic eruptions in India created the gigantic Deccan Traps lava beds that spewed ten times more climate altering gases into the atmosphere than the nearly concurrent Chicxulub meteor impact. This makes the volcanoes the prime suspect in the most famous and persistent paleontological murder mystery. Scientists have recently conducted several new investigations and were able to hone in on the eruptions timing, which matched nearly perfectly with the dinos extinction. Very suspicious, indeed. "It's the first time we can directly link the main phase of the Deccan Traps to the mass extinction," said Princeton University paleontologist Gerta Keller. Link
5. Teenage Pregnancy Was Widespread Among Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs probably did not enjoy many carefree teenage years, since most were parents before they reached adulthood, according to research announced this year. The find puts dinosaurs on the list of other animals with teenage pregnancy, including crocodiles, lizards and humans. Link
6. 4-Story Tall Prehistoric Species Discovered
Paleontologists have discovered a nearly complete fossil of a new species of giant dinosaur that once roamed what is now northern Patagonia. It is one of the biggest dinosaurs yet found on the planet. Named Futalognkosaurus dukei, the massive herbivore lived about 80 million years ago. It measured an estimated 105 feet to 112 feet and was as tall as a four-storey building. "It's a new species, it's a new group," confirmed Argentine paleontologist Juan Porfiri. "Its neck was very big in diameter, strong and huge." The huge herbivore was so big that it now ranks in the worlds top 3 largest dinos ever discovered.Link
7. Jurassic Park Turns Out to Be Scientific Prophecy
Remember the Velociraptor nightmare in Jurassic park? Most of the fictional attributes they made up for these nightmarish predators turned out to not be fiction after all. One aspect of the book/movie was the way that the Velociraptor’s hunted in packs. There is now solid proof that such behavior was the norm for raptors. Even more incredible, the third claw prediction of the Jurassic Park dinosaurs proved to be accurate as well. In the movie, the Velociraptor had evolved to hold its third claw up off the ground so it wouldn’t wear. There has so far been no archaeological evidence to support such an idea, until now. Raptor tracks were found with two long toes but only a stub of the toes that would have bore the long third claw. This indicates that the animal did indeed hold its third claw off the ground when it moved, keeping it razor sharp. Link
8. The Toothy “Arnold Schwarzenegger” Giant Duckbill
The ultimate prehistoric lawnmower was discovered this year. The lumbering duck-billed giant had more than enough teeth to eat almost any vegetation it stumbled across. The 75 million year old monster found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and was approximately 30 ft long, weighed several tons and had a most impressive set of gnashers. The business-end of its lower jaws measured two feet and carried 40 rows of teeth. At any given time, the dinosaur had over 300 teeth available for chomping and numerous replacement teeth waiting as back up, so in all this duckbill could have carried more than 800 teeth around. That's a lot of teeth, and for an herbivore it was an unusually muscular fellow to boot. It was "the Arnold Schwarzenegger of duck-billed dinosaurs," says Scott Sampson of the Utah Museum of Natural History. Link
9. Ancient Sea Scorpion Bigger than Humans Unearthed
This next isn’t technically a dinosaur, and its origins are long before dinos roamed the Earth. But it is prehistoric and gigantic, so we’ll let it slide. Researchers have found the fossilized claw of a 2.5-meter (8-foot) sea scorpion, a creature straight seemingly straight from a B-grade horror movie, living long before the age of dinosaurs. The 390-million-year-old specimen unearthed in a German quarry is leading scientists to believe that prehistoric spiders, insects and crabs were likely all much larger than previously believed, note scientists at Britain's Bristol University. "This is an amazing discovery," said researcher Simon Braddy. "We have known for some time that the fossil record yields monster millipedes, super-sized scorpions, colossal cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies but we never realized, until now, just how big some of these ancient creepy-crawlies were." Link
10. Some Dinos Liked to Burrow and Were Loving Parents
Dinosaurs are always getting a bad rap for being neglectful parents. The popular idea is that they laid their eggs and ran, but now the 95-million-year-old skeletal remains of some diminutive dinosaurs—along with the bones of two juveniles suggest otherwise. They were found tucked into a fossilized chamber at the end of a sediment-filled burrow in southwestern Montana. "The discovery represents the first scientific evidence that some dinosaurs not only dug burrows but also cared extensively for their young inside their dens," says Anthony Martin, senior lecturer in Emory's Department of Environmental Studies. This newly named species of dinosaur is called Oryctodromeus cubicularis, meaning "digging runner of the lair." So there, everyone can just stop making generalized judgments about dinosaur parenting skills.Link
Jurassic Park Roundup –The Top 10 Discoveries of '07
This year was a great one, at least in terms of dinosaur discoveries. Here’s a sampling of some of the most odd, interesting, fantastic and unusual findings of the year.
1. A Huge Shark-Eating Predator
The remains of an enormous, previously unknown carnivorous dinosaur was found. The monster once thrived around a giant lake 200 million years ago. The fearsome predator specialized in eating and catching giant sharks and huge bony fish that, when consumed, would have been "like biting through chain mail," Utah State paleontologist James Kirkland said. These dinos also make it to the top of the “10 Dinosaurs You’d Never Want to Pet” list. Link
2. Dinosaur Mass Grave Unearthed in Switzerland
There is hope for those of us who like to dig around in our backyard for prehistoric remains. Some random dude in Switzerland discovered what appears to be Europe's largest dinosaur graveyard. "A hobby paleontologist looked at a construction site for a house and happened to discover the bones," said Monica Ruembeli from the Frick dinosaur museum. The area contains the bones of more than 100 Plateosaurus. Not a bad find for an amateur! Link
3. Tyrannosaurus Rex Tasted Like Chicken
Protein resembling chicken has been extracted from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex bone, reinforcing the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds. The collagen tissue was removed from a fossilized thighbone belonging to the giant predator. Analysis showed it was structurally very similar to chicken protein. The bones were unearthed still surrounded by soft tissues, including blood vessels, making it a very rare find. Link
4. Research Likely Solves the World’s Biggest Murder Mystery
Apparently, even killing off the dinosaurs was a job outsourced to India. The latest research reveals that a series of monumental volcanic eruptions in India is likely responsible for killing off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Previously it was believed that the likely suspect was a meteor impact in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the volcanic eruptions in India created the gigantic Deccan Traps lava beds that spewed ten times more climate altering gases into the atmosphere than the nearly concurrent Chicxulub meteor impact. This makes the volcanoes the prime suspect in the most famous and persistent paleontological murder mystery. Scientists have recently conducted several new investigations and were able to hone in on the eruptions timing, which matched nearly perfectly with the dinos extinction. Very suspicious, indeed. "It's the first time we can directly link the main phase of the Deccan Traps to the mass extinction," said Princeton University paleontologist Gerta Keller. Link
5. Teenage Pregnancy Was Widespread Among Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs probably did not enjoy many carefree teenage years, since most were parents before they reached adulthood, according to research announced this year. The find puts dinosaurs on the list of other animals with teenage pregnancy, including crocodiles, lizards and humans. Link
6. 4-Story Tall Prehistoric Species Discovered
Paleontologists have discovered a nearly complete fossil of a new species of giant dinosaur that once roamed what is now northern Patagonia. It is one of the biggest dinosaurs yet found on the planet. Named Futalognkosaurus dukei, the massive herbivore lived about 80 million years ago. It measured an estimated 105 feet to 112 feet and was as tall as a four-storey building. "It's a new species, it's a new group," confirmed Argentine paleontologist Juan Porfiri. "Its neck was very big in diameter, strong and huge." The huge herbivore was so big that it now ranks in the worlds top 3 largest dinos ever discovered.Link
7. Jurassic Park Turns Out to Be Scientific Prophecy
Remember the Velociraptor nightmare in Jurassic park? Most of the fictional attributes they made up for these nightmarish predators turned out to not be fiction after all. One aspect of the book/movie was the way that the Velociraptor’s hunted in packs. There is now solid proof that such behavior was the norm for raptors. Even more incredible, the third claw prediction of the Jurassic Park dinosaurs proved to be accurate as well. In the movie, the Velociraptor had evolved to hold its third claw up off the ground so it wouldn’t wear. There has so far been no archaeological evidence to support such an idea, until now. Raptor tracks were found with two long toes but only a stub of the toes that would have bore the long third claw. This indicates that the animal did indeed hold its third claw off the ground when it moved, keeping it razor sharp. Link
8. The Toothy “Arnold Schwarzenegger” Giant Duckbill
The ultimate prehistoric lawnmower was discovered this year. The lumbering duck-billed giant had more than enough teeth to eat almost any vegetation it stumbled across. The 75 million year old monster found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and was approximately 30 ft long, weighed several tons and had a most impressive set of gnashers. The business-end of its lower jaws measured two feet and carried 40 rows of teeth. At any given time, the dinosaur had over 300 teeth available for chomping and numerous replacement teeth waiting as back up, so in all this duckbill could have carried more than 800 teeth around. That's a lot of teeth, and for an herbivore it was an unusually muscular fellow to boot. It was "the Arnold Schwarzenegger of duck-billed dinosaurs," says Scott Sampson of the Utah Museum of Natural History. Link
9. Ancient Sea Scorpion Bigger than Humans Unearthed
This next isn’t technically a dinosaur, and its origins are long before dinos roamed the Earth. But it is prehistoric and gigantic, so we’ll let it slide. Researchers have found the fossilized claw of a 2.5-meter (8-foot) sea scorpion, a creature straight seemingly straight from a B-grade horror movie, living long before the age of dinosaurs. The 390-million-year-old specimen unearthed in a German quarry is leading scientists to believe that prehistoric spiders, insects and crabs were likely all much larger than previously believed, note scientists at Britain's Bristol University. "This is an amazing discovery," said researcher Simon Braddy. "We have known for some time that the fossil record yields monster millipedes, super-sized scorpions, colossal cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies but we never realized, until now, just how big some of these ancient creepy-crawlies were." Link
10. Some Dinos Liked to Burrow and Were Loving Parents
Dinosaurs are always getting a bad rap for being neglectful parents. The popular idea is that they laid their eggs and ran, but now the 95-million-year-old skeletal remains of some diminutive dinosaurs—along with the bones of two juveniles suggest otherwise. They were found tucked into a fossilized chamber at the end of a sediment-filled burrow in southwestern Montana. "The discovery represents the first scientific evidence that some dinosaurs not only dug burrows but also cared extensively for their young inside their dens," says Anthony Martin, senior lecturer in Emory's Department of Environmental Studies. This newly named species of dinosaur is called Oryctodromeus cubicularis, meaning "digging runner of the lair." So there, everyone can just stop making generalized judgments about dinosaur parenting skills.Link
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Re: Changing NHS pension scheme - 1 April 2008
Posted by: "Ashok Beckaya" http://in.f84.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Beckaya@aol.com&Subj=beckaya
Fri Nov 30, 2007 2:29 pm (PST)
Kannan, Srinivas and Gopa have all made helpful points.The important thing is that we all need to think how we can finance our retirement. The fact is that we need more money after retirement than at any other time in our lives. Investing in NHS pension scheme is just one of the many ways one can invest for the old age.Besides consultants and SAS doctors, there are many other who have invested in NHS pension or are in the process of doing so. It would be wise to go through the NHS pension'website' for more information.It is understandable that there are many who are in a state of flux and unsettled/unsure of the future and therefore have stresses and priorities to handle rather than plan for retirement.Gopa makes a useful and a calm speading point that there is no need to 'repent' if people have already entered the NHS pension scheme.There are many people around who are not keen for entering into pension schemes and feel that there are other productive ways of raising money for the old age like cleverly planned investments including investment in properties and carefully selected businesses and so on.Regards ab
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