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It's been known for some time that certain people are physically unable to feel pain. A new test shows that those people are also unable to smell any scents. More »
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Entire species of plants are dying off in droves, just like mammals. And there's no way to save them all, say scientists. How do you decide which plant species to preserve at all costs, and which ones to consign to oblivion forever? Answering that question may mean the difference between selective extinction for some — and worldwide extinction for all. More »
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The idea of making personal genetic information public evokes images of genomic Google searches and gene-testing job interviews straight out of Gattaca. But there are many who believe genetic openness could go a long way toward advancing disease research. Tomorrow, ten volunteers will take the first steps away from genetic privacy, allowing their personal genetic information to be posted online without the veil of anonymity. More »
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Darren Lynn Bousman's Repo! The Genetic Opera is one of the two organ repossession movies coming out this year, and now it's gone viral with a creepy-looking donation poster (jump below see it) urging you to give until it hurts. This "Warnerian-Rocky Horror-meets-Bladerunner musical" takes place in a future where massive organ failures plague humankind. But the sickly masses can ward off death by financing an easy-clone organ implant from GeneCo. If you can't pay when the loan comes due, a repo agent will yank your fancy new organs like a bad tooth. And it's an opera, of course. We've got the awesome repo poster below. More »
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This concept artwork from 2K Games' BioShock shows one of the most starkly dystopian video game worlds created in the past several years. Here you can see one of the observation areas in a city that has seen better days. More »
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NBC's phenom hit Heroes, the X-Men comic books, and the USA scifi series The 4400 all feature heroic mutants. These super-powered humans have been born with "mutant genes," or they've had some tinkering at the genetic level. But we still see the same powers cropping up again and again. Since the X-Men were first published in 1963, they've got the jump on the two television shows. Are Heroes and The 4400 just ripping off their powers? Let's find out with a look at five mutant abilities that these stories share. More »
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