Scientists have detected the first signs that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) may have crossed into sheep in a study that is likely to rekindle anxieties over the safety of lamb and mutton
A pregnant woman in Mexico gave birth to a healthy baby boy after performing a caesarean section on herself with a kitchen knife. It is thought to be the first known case of a self-inflicted caesarean in which both the mother and baby survived. The unidentified 40-year-old, who lived in a rural area without electricity, running water or sanitation that was an eight-hour drive from the nearest hospital, performed the operation when she could not deliver the baby naturally
NEC has developed a battery that can be recharged only in 30 seconds. Called an organic radical battery, it can be recharged to the same level of power as that stored in nickel-hydrogen cells, which are widely used in digital cameras, portable MD players and other electronic devices. It takes only about 30 seconds to recharge the battery enough to allow 80 hours of continuous operation of an MD player, compared with around an hour needed by conventional rechargeables — via Meta-Roj Blog
The latest fashion trend to hit the Netherlands is eyeball jewellery. Dutch eye surgeons have implanted tiny pieces of jewellery in the mucous membranes of the eyes of six women and one man. Called Jewel Eye, the cosmetic surgery procedure has been pioneered by an ophthalmic surgery research and development institute in Rotterdam. The procedure involves inserting a 3.5mm wide piece of specially developed jewellery into the eye’s mucous membrane. The technique is performed under local anaesthetic at a cost of about $800 to $1,600 — via Die Puny Humans
Regular doses of worms really do rid people of inflammatory bowel disease. The first trials of the treatment have been a success, and a drinkable concoction containing thousands of pig whipworm eggs could soon be launched in Europe. At the moment the concoction cannot be stored for long, so doctors or hospitals would have to prepare fresh batches of the eggs for their patients. But a new German company called BioCure, whose sister company BioMonde sells leeches and maggots for treating wounds, hopes it will soon solve the storage problem
The film industry is fighting rampant piracy in Russia with a new tactic: cutting prices. To fight piracy in Russia, where 9 out of 10 DVDs are illegal copies, Columbia TriStar, a division of Sony, will price discs at no more than 299 rubles, or just over US$10, less than half of the current price. Warner Home Video, a division of Time Warner, has already cut its prices in Russia to the equivalent of US$15
Chuckles Central makes handbags and other accessories filled with sickeningly sweet cuteness, all handmade by genuine humans. They sell felt decorated robot handbags, crocheted iPod / digital camera / mobile phone cozies, laptop magnets and robot magnets.
Mozilla have got their finger out in the merchandising department and know have Firebird t-shirts available.
Yet another wacky controller for PS2 is about to be released, this one is a wireless motion-sensitive sword for a character in Onimusha 3.
Magnetoids are yet another magnet toy for me to drool over. Despite sounding like some kind of strange ointment for an android’s rear port, these curious yet beautiful little oblique spheroids are actually incredibly powerful magnets that simply can’t bear to be apart.
Pioneer Electronics just announced that they will introduce an electron-beam recorder for next-generation optical data storage. The electron beam is much finer than that of a typical laser so they are able to achieve densities of 50GB or more with a standard 12cm disc
The Teletubbies and Tweenies are to be banned from promoting unhealthy children’s food, the BBC announced yesterday. The change follows intense pressure from food campaigners concerned that pre-school television characters are used to sell foods high in salt, sugar and fat
The Government will split amendments to the Telecommunications (Interception) Act, holding off changes that could have blocked employers from monitoring staff e-mail for viruses and offensive content. The decision came after a senate committee examining the amendments was most concerned
about a dispute between the Australian Federal Police and the Attorney-General’s Department over how police had been interpreting the existing Act. The AFP has been using search warrants to access suspects’ e-mail accounts and download messages, a practice the department said was not permitted under the legislation
If you’re going to make a Halloween cake then why not go all out make a replica of a Gray’s Anatomy illustration of a complete thoraxic cavity.
The plan was for each organ to be made out of a different kind of cake and to secrete a different color of fluid when it was cut into. Previous heart cakes have bled fresh, homemade raspberry sauce. This year I made raspberry, strawberry, kiwi, mango, and blueberry sauces. Sadly, the organs didn’t bleed as well as I had hoped when I cut the cake, as each organ was relatively small and couldn’t hold much sauce. Also all the moving around after filling the organs made it hard to keep the sauce contained in the little cavities I hollowed out. The heart bled pretty well, but the other organ fluids weren’t very dramatic.
Of course, with all the organs on top of it, virtually no one ever actually saw the fact that there was a complete spinal column underneath all the cake so some might say there was a bit of wasted effort there, but I say if you’re going to make an edible, anatomically correct chest cavity dessert tray, you might as well do it right!
An Ohio teen whose mobile phone was ripped off called the number, found herself speaking to the thief’s girlfriend, and social-engineered the bimbo into giving up the crooks’ address, busting a notorious mobile-stealing ring in the process
An interesting story got posted on the Irish Linux Users group. It involves the arrest of a scammer/spammer working in an internet cafe. It even includes the attempt to eat a USB pen drive, several cops and a ten minute struggle to subdue the man
DIY fan Kevin Brunie built a guillotine — then beheaded himself in his back garden. The keen carpenter spent weeks making the device out of wood with a metal blade. He told relatives it was a toy car. Dad-of-two Kevin, 42, was said to have been in good spirits and was laughing and joking
with his mum Lynda Nelson, 62, days before he died. She said: He had not talked to me about killing himself. I have no idea why he died. He was always good with his hands
— via Die Puny Humans
Hundreds of area technophiles wired their computers together in an attempt to generate computing power on a par with the world’s strongest supercomputers. Organizers hoped to break into the ranks of the world’s top 500 supercomputers through the event, which they called Flashmob I
Rabies-carrying vampire bats killed at least 13 people in a remote Amazon town in Brazil’s northern state of Para last month. The state health care department said the thumb-sized creatures had attacked about 300 people — an unusually high number — since 2 March in the riverside Portel area, next to the world’s biggest estuarine archipelago of Marajo. Government scientists suspect the attacks are linked to a change in the bats’ migration pattern caused by deforestation — via Oft Quoted
Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad flies economy class but has reportedly dislodged Microsoft’s Bill Gates as the world’s richest man
At the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, the official licensed model of the Akira motorcycle is displayed. This Kaneda bike is not a mere replica, but a full working model. On its cockpit is DVD-navi-system + trackball & ten-key + custom computer-controlled LED meters — all licenced by the author and the publisher of Akira. Though at the show only miniature figures are sold and real price or release date is unclear, you can check out the manufacturer for later info
A gallery full of photographs of wonderfully ornate French manhole covers.
Some amazing metalwork from a time where the simple things in life were created with great beauty.
It seems a shame that since these photos were taken some of the manhole covers have been removed.
Researchers have found new colonies of endangered species in a wildlife survey in Sydney’s water catchment area. Thirty species not previously recorded in the area were found as part of the survey, which aims to help the Department of Environment manage the area better
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