A Zombie enters the race to become the next President of the United States

A Zombie is entering the race to become the next President of the United States. To be clear, that’s not a zombie, but a one-issue candidate who goes by the name of A Zombie.

The 2012 Presidential race is about to get more lively thanks to something quite dead. A Zombie is slated to announce his candidacy in San Diego. The candidate and his human wife, Patty Morgan-Zombie, will then commence a cross-country bus tour that will take them to six major US cities including Tampa and Charlotte, where they will bring their pro-zombie message to the Republican and Democratic Conventions.

“My husband is someone who has dedicated his life and his afterlife to bringing equal viewing opportunities to all Americans,” said Mrs Zombie. “He’s the right man to lead the fight to bring zombies to everyone in America, and he won’t stop — even if it kills him, again.”

A Zombie’s election pledges are certainly more interesting than those of the real candidates. On the environment, he says: “Four words: reduce, reuse, recycle, reincarnate.”

Dig a little deeper, however, and it becomes clear that the undead candidate is part of a viral campaign organised by US TV company AMC Networks. The company is rallying fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead to switch from the Dish network an alternative provider after Dish dropped AMC shows. The third season of The Walking Dead premieres on October 14.

via A Zombie enters the race to become the next President of the United States – Telegraph.

Footprints of cretaceous dinosaur found at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

A model of a Nodosaur dinosaur sits inside what is believed to be the fossil of a Nodosaur footprint. The footprint was found by Ray Stanford a local dinosaur hunter. (Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth)

About 110 million light years away, the bright, barred spiral galaxy NGC 3259 was just forming stars in dark bands of dust and gas. Here on the part of the Earth where NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center would eventually be built, a plant-eating dinosaur sensed predators nearby and quickened its pace, leaving a deep imprint in the Cretaceous mud.

On Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, noted dinosaur hunter Ray Stanford shared the location of that footprint with Goddard’s facility management and the Washington Post newspaper.

“This was a large, armored dinosaur,” Stanford said. “Think of it as a four-footed tank. It was quite heavy, there’s a quite a ridge or push-up here. … Subsequently the sand was bound together by iron-oxide or hematite, so it gave us a nice preservation, almost like concrete.”

Stanford, a “proud amateur dinosaur tracker” has had several papers published, including the discovery of a new species of nodosaur from a fossilized hatchling found near the University of Maryland in College Park. He previously confirmed the authenticity of this track with David Weishampel of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, author of the book “Dinosaurs of the East Coast.”

He had material from the same Cretaceous-era sedimentary rock dated, with help from the US Geological Survey, to approximately 110- to 112-million years old, by analyzing pollen grains sealed in the stone. The Cretaceous Period ran between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago, and was the last period of the Mesozoic Era.

Goddard Facilities Manager Alan Binstock said the agency considers the footprint and its location “sensitive but unclassified.”

The footprint is on federal land, so improperly removing it could potentially violate three laws: the Antiquities Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act.

NASA officials will next consult with the State of Maryland and paleontologists to form a plan for documenting and preserving the find, Binstock said.

Stanford also identified and presented several smaller footprints — three-toed, flesh-eating therapods — to Goddard officials from the same site.

He called the location of the find “poetic.”

“Space scientists may walk along here, and they’re walking exactly where this big, bungling heavy armored dinosaur walked, maybe 110 to 112-million years ago,” Stanford said. …

via Footprints of cretaceous dinosaur found at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Evolutionary Scientists can’t explain human female orgasm

… What is most striking is just how much can be read from a few ancient skulls if you know how. Bipedalism is a case in point: no scientist has seen our putative ape-like ancestors in the flesh, yet they deduce from a host of clues that these ancestors were walking on two legs some 4m years ago. For example, if the hole through which the spinal cord enters is on the underside of the skull, this suggests an upright posture – in quadrupeds, including great apes such as chimpanzees, this hole tends to be more at the back of the skull. (You can work out why this is by going down on all fours: you will find your head naturally positioned so as to be staring at the ground rather than looking forwards – which is not conducive to avoiding sabre-toothed tigers.)

Countless other clues, from toes to hips, help give an idea of how a specimen might have looked when alive. But they leave open the question of why. Coming down from the trees to wander about upright would, as Tattersall points out, have been hugely risky. It meant leaving a way of life that had been successful for millions of years to develop new foraging strategies in the face of the ferocious predators that prowled the grasslands. There are many theories purporting to explain why our ancestors became bipedal, from minimising exposure to the baking African sun to increasing long-distance trekking efficiency. But none seems entirely adequate to explain such a revolution. This is, as Tattersall puts it, “hugely unfortunate”, as everything that has come since – up to and including you reading this article – follows from those first two-legged steps.

Tattersall does an excellent job of showing how we can sketch the story of our origins from the few precious fossil remains, while at the same time not glossing over our ignorance of such crucial details. But the psychologist David P Barash is even bolder in embracing the unknown: his latest book, Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature, is a catalogue of the many unresolved riddles of our history.

A surprising number of these mysteries concern female sexuality. The male orgasm, for example, serves a rather obvious seed-sowing function – but what is the point of its female equivalent? The popular hypothesis that such ecstasy enhances the likelihood of a subsequent pregnancy is, Barash informs us, entirely without evidence. The idea that it might motivate reluctant ladies also seems flawed: other animals don’t require an eruption of bliss in order to continue the family line. Perhaps it is simply a “non-adaptive by-product” – an incidental development to which evolution is indifferent?

Barash doesn’t think so, preferring to believe that it is more important than that. But in what way remains a riddle – and only one of many posed by the female body. Scientists cannot explain, for example, why women have prominent breasts even when they are not suckling children. Other mammals don’t. Yes, of course, men are drawn to these protruding sacks of fat – but why? No one knows, though theories abound. …

via Planet of the apes – FT.com.

Cold War Spy Tunnel Under Berlin Found After 56 Years

A section of an ingenious tunnel built by U.S. and British spies to intercept Russian phone conversations in Cold War Berlin has been found after 56 years in a forest 150 kilometers from the German capital.

The 450-meter-long tunnel, built in 1955, led from Rudow in West Berlin to Alt-Glienicke in Soviet-occupied East Berlin. By tapping into the enemy’s underground cables, Allied intelligence agents recorded 440,000 phone calls, gaining a clearer picture of Red Army maneuvers in eastern Germany at a time when nuclear war seemed an imminent threat.

The western part of the tunnel was excavated in 1997 and part of it is preserved at the Allied Museum in the former American sector of Berlin. The Soviet authorities dug up the eastern part in 1956 and until now, its fate was unknown.

“It seemed to have vanished without a trace,” said Bernd von Kostka, a historian at the Allied Museum. “I looked through the East German Stasi files, and there was nothing to be found about its whereabouts. We assumed it had been melted down because it was made of valuable metal.”

The find is one missing piece of a puzzle that will take decades to solve completely, as access to intelligence files about the construction and discovery of the tunnel — a tale worthy of a John le Carre novel — is still restricted.

via Cold War Spy Tunnel Under Berlin Found After 56 Years – Bloomberg.

TV reptile expert Mark O’Shea rushed to hospital after being bitten by deadly cobra

Mark O’Shea with the King Cobra which later bit him

World-renowned reptile expert and TV wildlife personality Mark O’Shea had to be airlifted to hospital – after being bitten by a killer King Cobra.

Snake enthusiast O’Shea, 56, had a lucky escape after the massive 10ft (3m) reptile clamped its jaws around his leg at West Midlands Safari Park on Sunday afternoon.

The deadly cobra – whose venom is strong enough to kill an elephant – dug its fangs into the reptile curator’s leg during a routine feed.

First aid staff armed with life-saving anti-venom rushed to O’Shea’s aid due to fears that the deadly poison had entered his bloodstream.

But thanks to their quick thinking paramedics arrived to find him suffering no serious effects from the bite.

O’Shea – best known as the presenter of the Discovery Channel series ‘O’Shea’s Big Adventure’ and Channel 4′s ‘O’Shea’s Dangerous Reptiles’ – was airlifted to Worcester Royal Hospital where his condition was yesterday described as “stable”.

He was expected to be discharged from hospital this afternoon.

Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday, O’Shea played down the bite from the king cobra – the world’s longest venomous snake – and described it as “just a nick.”

He said: “It was an accident. It was just a nick really.

“Sometimes there are accidents at work but it’s just these sort of ones are a lot more interesting to people. …

via TV reptile expert Mark O’Shea rushed to hospital after being bitten by deadly cobra – Yahoo! News UK.

Melbourne researchers rewrite Big Bang theory

“Think of the early universe as being like a liquid,” Melbourne University theoretical physics researcher James Quach said.

“Then as the universe cools, it ‘crystalises’.

“The reason we use the water analogy is water is without form.

“In the beginning there wasn’t even space, space did not exist because there was no form.”

Their research rests on a school of thought that has emerged recently to suggest space is made of indivisible building blocks, such as atoms, that can be thought of as similar to pixels that make up images on a computer screen.

Mr Quach said the standing model for the origins of the universe, the big bang, needed to be rewritten.

He hoped experimentalists would be able to find evidence to support the theory put forward by the Melbourne team of researchers, that would replace it.

“The biggest problem with the big bang model is the bang itself,” Mr Quach said.

“At the bang, physics breaks down.

“The model cannot make any predictions at what occurs at the big bang. You can’t use any of the mathematics [or] any of the theories.”

Mr Quach and his fellow researchers theorise that if quantum graphity “cracks” do exist, they will bend or reflect light, which, if observed through a telescope would support their predictions.

“If they prove my predictions that’s really good evidence for the condensed matter model of quantum graphity in which case you can throw out all the other attempts.”

via Melbourne researchers rewrite Big Bang theory.

Strathclyde University machine ‘re-uses’ patient blood

There are benefits to getting your own back. Especially if it is blood.

The bigger the operation, the more blood gets spilled. In procedures like open heart surgery and major trauma, blood loss can be so great that large quantities need to be replaced.

Blood transfusions are often the preferred option. But in a minority of cases there can be adverse reactions.

And then there is the cost. As Professor Terry Gourlay puts it: “Blood is not cheap”.

He is a bioengineer at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, the leader of a team which has produced a new device to recycle blood during major surgery.

Recovering a surgical patient’s blood and putting it back in the body is not a new idea. But autotransfusion, as it is known, is typically a skilled, time-consuming and costly business.

Hemosep, as the Strathclyde process is known, is altogether more straightforward and looks a lot less labour intensive.

There is a small, lightweight machine which agitates the blood to stop it settling. But the key to it is the special plastic bag in which the recovered blood is poured.

Simply put, it is like a chemical sponge that soaks up the unwanted plasma which has diluted the blood during the operation.

The key component is an advanced polycarbonate membrane which lets the plasma through but keeps the important blood components separate. They include important proteins and clotting factors.

These concentrated cells can then be returned to the patient.

According to Professor Gourlay, the medical benefit of that is straightforward: “It’s your blood.” …

Professor Gourlay says that in some markets the true cost of a unit of blood can touch $1,600 and blood products constitute a multi-billion dollar worldwide market.

He explained: “Blood is not free, by any measure, and in fact in North America the latest studies suggest that a unit of blood costs upwards of $1,600.”

The Strathclyde team and its partners will be contending for a share of that.

And if Hemosep is a success they will also save buckets of blood. Literally.

via BBC News – Strathclyde University machine ‘re-uses’ patient blood.

A protein particle that made humans most intelligent found

Scientists have discovered that a tiny particle within a protein allowed humans to become the most intelligent creatures on the planet.

Researchers from the University of Colorado found that the protein domain issue known as DUF1220 holds the key to understanding why our brains are so much bigger and more complex than any other animal, the Daily Mail reported.

DUF1220 is a protein domain of unknown function that shows a striking human-specific increase in copy number is considered important to human brain evolution.

Humans have more than 270 copies of DUF1220 encoded in their DNA, far more than other species.

“This research indicates that what drove the evolutionary expansion of the human brain may well be a specific unit within a protein – called a protein domain – that is far more numerous in humans than other species,” Professor James Sikela from the University said.

The closer a species is to humans, the more copies of DUF1220 show up. Chimpanzees have the next highest number, 125. Gorillas have 99, marmosets 30 and mice just one.

“The one over-riding theme that we saw repeatedly was the more copies of DUF1220 in the genome, the bigger the brain. And this held true whether we looked at different species or within the human population,” Sikela was quoted as saying by the paper.

It may also explain how human brain’s unequalled mental capacity evolved so rapidly and dramatically, a mystery that has baffled researchers for decades.

The modern human brain is three times larger in volume than those of the great apes, our closest living relatives. …

via A protein particle that made humans most intelligent found | Phenomenica.

Connected vehicle technology helps drivers avoid crashes

Connected vehicle technology helps drivers avoid crashes – YouTube.

Golden Nugget Casino Suing Gamblers Who Won $1.5 Million From Unshuffled Deck

A New Jersey casino has sued a group of gamblers who won $1.5 million after they allegedly realized the eight decks of cards used in a game of mini baccarat were not preshuffled.

The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, N.J., filed suit against the gamblers and playing card company Gemaco after 14 players collectively won $1,536,700 in 41 winning hands.

As the same sequence of cards kept appearing April 30, the players increased their bets from $10 to $5,000, the casino alleged.

“The gamblers unlawfully took advantage of the Golden Nugget when they caught onto the pattern and … by passing money to fellow gamblers in order to place bets in excess of posted betting limits,” the casino said in a statement.

In a lawsuit filed in New Jersey Superior Court, the casino cited gambling regulations that state gaming odds must be fair for both sides.

The Golden Nugget is seeking a return of the $558,900 it paid out to several of the players and the nearly $1 million worth of chips.

Benjamin Dash, attorney for the gamblers, said his clients, who did not know each other, were “playing the game lawfully.”

After paying out a portion of the winnings, the casino managers became suspicious. Convinced they were watching a “sophisticated swindling and cheating scheme,” they refused to cash in the remaining $1 million in chips.

No evidence of a scheme was found. On May 1, the Golden Nugget said it learned by “direct admission” from Gemaco’s CEO that the decks used in the baccarat game were unshuffled, despite being touted as preshuffled, certified decks. …

ABCNews.com was unable to reach Gemaco for comment.

Three of the gamblers filed a countersuit against the casino alleging they were discriminated against because of their Chinese heritage.

“All of the players were Asian [and] none of their chips were honored,” Dash said. “In New Jersey, a chip is evidence of a debt.”

After the win, Dash said, one of his clients was assaulted when he answered the door of his hotel room.

The man was pinned against a wall and his belongings were searched, Dash said. He was then held in a room without access to food, water or an interpreter, according to allegations in the countersuit, which identifies no particular assailant.

The Golden Nugget called the claims “completely false.” …

via Golden Nugget Casino Suing Gamblers Who Won $1.5 Million From Unshuffled Deck – ABC News.