• io9
  • science
  • overmind
  • kotaku
  • gizmodo
  • Profile logout login

#madscience#ns#quantumworld

io9

Share Cancel
   
Upload an image | Add an image URL
×

logging in
  • FAQ. Include # before tag:
  • #observationdeck,
  • #tips,
  • #calendar,
  • etc.

San Francisco, 12:57 AM
Sun Dec 20
11 posts in the last 24 hours

Team

Tip your editors:

Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |

News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |

Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |

Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |

Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |

Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |

Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |

Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |

More:
io9 on Facebook
follow io9 on Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO io9 RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
1428 Subscribers
io9
  • Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of twophrasebark twophrasebark
    12/17/09

    In reply to Discovery of 4.4-Million-Year-Old Hominid "Ardi" Is Greatest Scientific Breakthrough of 2009
    I am little surprised that Science has included Ardi because there is a lot about questions and disagreement about her. That is not surprising to be sure, but the team that has the fossils will not let any other groups look at her or confirm their findings. This is not a good sign.

    It doesn't mean that they are wrong, but there have been a lot of instances where upon further examination things become... a lot less concrete. That is, they make some really bold conclusions with Ardi regarding her possible bipedalism...
     Reply
    twophrasebark was starred twophrasebark was unstarred
    Image of EdificeComplex EdificeComplex
    12/17/09

    In reply to Discovery of 4.4-Million-Year-Old Hominid "Ardi" Is Greatest Scientific Breakthrough of 2009
    The Discovery Channel had a special about this not too long ago. Their website has some clips from the show as well as an interactive handbook that details the discovery of Ardi.

    [dsc.discovery.com]
     Reply
    Edited by EdificeComplex at 12/17/09 3:10 PM EdificeComplex was starred EdificeComplex was unstarred
    Image of 0kami 0kami
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    Uh....um...okay I'm just going to come out and say it, that picture sort of looks like an anus.
     Reply
    0kami was starred 0kami was unstarred
    Image of Izod517 Izod517
    12/17/09

    @0kami: I thought it was ham! Either way someone would eat it!
     Reply
    Bootknife-Jackson promoted this comment Izod517 was starred Izod517 was unstarred
    Image of Bootknife-Jackson Bootknife-Jackson
    12/17/09

    @0kami: man, i dunno what kind of assholes you've been licking, but i think you're doing it wrong....
     Reply
    Bootknife-Jackson was starred Bootknife-Jackson was unstarred
    Image of LittleDragon LittleDragon
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    I really hope that this will someday work. If Terry Pratchett's treatment doesn't work, rat brains may be Discworld's only hope.

    And how did that spammer get in here?
     Reply
    LittleDragon was starred LittleDragon was unstarred
    Image of AdoraBelle AdoraBelle
    12/17/09

    @LittleDragon: That's what I was going to say :)
     Reply
    LittleDragon promoted this comment AdoraBelle was starred AdoraBelle was unstarred
    Image of wee little evie wee little evie
    12/18/09

    @LittleDragon: I was just about to make a very similar comment.

    I'm not ready to go without Discworld yet! And I'm sure Terry Pratchett isn't either.
     Reply
    LittleDragon promoted this comment wee little evie was starred wee little evie was unstarred
    Image of Roklimber Roklimber
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    That picture looks like the inside of a coconut.
     Reply
    Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred
    Image of earthclanbootstrap earthclanbootstrap
    12/17/09

    @Roklimber: Have they been banging two of them together?
     Reply
    Roklimber promoted this comment Edited by earthclanbootstrap at 12/17/09 1:40 PM earthclanbootstrap was starred earthclanbootstrap was unstarred
    Image of Roklimber Roklimber
    12/17/09

    @earthclanbootstrap: They're rats, not monkeys. :)
     Reply
    Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred
    Image of earthclanbootstrap earthclanbootstrap
    12/17/09

    @Roklimber: Nor Knights of the Round Table. ;-)
     Reply
    earthclanbootstrap was starred earthclanbootstrap was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Go Play! Anekanta - Go Play!
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    Yeah, but where are we going to get the transgenic newborns to regenerate human brain tissue?
     Reply
    Anekanta - Go Play! was starred Anekanta - Go Play! was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    i'm no nurologist but isn't there a rather large degree of difference between actual alzheimers and 'an alzheimers like state?' i guess what i'm asking is, given that you wouldn't ordinarly given someone whos organs are failing new organs without treating the underlying disease first, why wouldn't the transplanted never cells just succomb to alzheimers themselves? i mean it's a protien folding disease and the 'bad' protiens are still there right?
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of aubreyf aubreyf
    12/17/09

    @tetracycloide: I was curious about the choice of "alzheimers like" as well. I mean, is "cheese like" the same as "cheese?"

    Also what are "never cells" and what happens when you inject them into your brain? :P
     Reply
    aubreyf was starred aubreyf was unstarred
    Image of Akitsu Akitsu
    12/17/09

    @aubreyf: Are you implying Artificial Cheese Food Product is not the same as Cheese?!? ^_^

    Yeah, good call. Whatever is causing the nerve loss in the first place isn't going to be fixed by adding new cells. It might improve the person's condition short term, but the new cells would more than likely succumb to the same fate as the old ones.

    Sadly I can imagine them sending people in for "routine implantation" of nerve cells in order to maintain functionality. This of course would be a great money machine, as it treats the effect and not the cause. Of course one has to wonder if the treatment would even take in an alzheimers patient... or if the disease would block the new cells from integrating in the first place.
     Reply
    aubreyf promoted this comment Akitsu was starred Akitsu was unstarred
    Image of aubreyf aubreyf
    12/17/09

    @Akitsu: Sorry I didn't make it all the way through your comment. I didn't have my morning nerve cells today.

    And if something like this did require routine maintenance how can the patient be expected to remember to do that?
     Reply
    aubreyf was starred aubreyf was unstarred
    Image of VisibleHand VisibleHand
    12/18/09

    @Akitsu: This research seems to be looking at exactly the question of whether such a treatment would take in Alzheimer's patients, and suggests that it would work at the least for some useful duration. Given that the cells apparently came from different source rats, they might or might not succumb eventually.

    If it is only a temporary fix? Then, no, it's not as good a solution as curing the underlying condition. But it's better than the no-solution-whatsoever we had previously. Needing regular treatment (say, every six months) sucks compared to being cured forever, but it does beat having your brain turn to swiss cheese. And if we do find a way to fix the underlying condition, it'll still be useful to have a way to reverse any initial damage that occurred before the disease was discovered.

    Plus, this research doesn't claim to be the final word. It's a good first step, is all.
     Reply
    VisibleHand was starred VisibleHand was unstarred
    Image of Ghost_in_the_Machine Ghost_in_the_Machine
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    So Walter Bishop's brain can be fixed?
     Reply
    Ghost_in_the_Machine was starred Ghost_in_the_Machine was unstarred
    Image of John Hazard John Hazard
    12/17/09

    @Ghost_in_the_Machine: No, his rat brain bits are dead. That poor bastard's permanent crazy 'til the final episode of the series.
     Reply
    Ghost_in_the_Machine promoted this comment John Hazard was starred John Hazard was unstarred
    Image of Ghost_in_the_Machine Ghost_in_the_Machine
    12/17/09

    @John Hazard: The memories may be lost but this could fix the cognitive issues. The down side being we end up with a fully functional evil Walter.
     Reply
    Ghost_in_the_Machine was starred Ghost_in_the_Machine was unstarred
    Image of John Hazard John Hazard
    12/17/09

    @Ghost_in_the_Machine: That would make a nice arc for sweeps. He gets fixed & is evil, but in the end elects to let someone re-insert the crayon in his brain. Let's say, mmm...
    Mo.
     Reply
    John Hazard was starred John Hazard was unstarred
    Image of Ghost_in_the_Machine Ghost_in_the_Machine
    12/17/09

    @John Hazard: I wouldn't be surprised if there is a story arc like this. Of course Walter will reverse the procedure in the end so he can be a good father to Peter. Apparently you can't be an evil genius and a good parent at the same time.
     Reply
    Ghost_in_the_Machine was starred Ghost_in_the_Machine was unstarred
    Image of John Hazard John Hazard
    12/17/09

    @Ghost_in_the_Machine: It's hard to be both in any creative profession.
     Reply
    John Hazard was starred John Hazard was unstarred
    Image of ManchuCandidate ManchuCandidate
    12/17/09

    In reply to Transplanted Rat Brains Could Beat Alzheimer's
    Pinky: Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?
    The Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take, er, I like Cheese...
     Reply
    Edited by ManchuCandidate at 12/17/09 12:15 PM ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Go Play! Anekanta - Go Play!
    12/17/09

    @ManchuCandidate: Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking, Pinky?
     Reply
    Anekanta - Go Play! was starred Anekanta - Go Play! was unstarred
    Image of Dr Emilio Lizardo Dr Emilio Lizardo
    12/16/09

    In reply to We Can Replace Your Blood Cells With Synthetics
    This research has been going on for a decade or more. the biggest customer for synthetic blood is the military - it's invaluable on the battlefield.
     Reply
    Dr Emilio Lizardo was starred Dr Emilio Lizardo was unstarred
    Image of Chip Overclock Chip Overclock
    12/16/09

    @Dr Emilio Lizardo: And by "military" you mean our secret vampire masters?
     Reply
    Chip Overclock was starred Chip Overclock was unstarred
    Image of Dr Emilio Lizardo Dr Emilio Lizardo
    12/16/09

    @Chip Overclock: Actually, I mean the guys in Afghanistan and places like it who are trying not to get in the way of bullets or improvised explosive devices.
     Reply
    Dr Emilio Lizardo was starred Dr Emilio Lizardo was unstarred
    Image of Chip Overclock Chip Overclock
    12/16/09

    @Dr Emilio Lizardo: Mrs. Overclock (a.k.a. Dr. Overclock, Medicine Woman) and I heard an interesting talk by an Army surgeon about all the advances they've made in emergency medicine in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the surprising results is that it's often better _not_ to give blood transfusions. Blood loss activates the body's natural defenses against further blood loss. Giving blood often deactivates these mechanisms and actually leads to greater blood loss. (He also mentioned that if you do give blood, use whole blood.) He had slides of the mobile ER beds they can roll onto a cargo plane (complete with support staff) and have a critically injured patient at a major modern hospital in hours. Interesting stuff, complete with lots of slides shot in Iraq.
     Reply
    Chip Overclock was starred Chip Overclock was unstarred
    Image of Dr Emilio Lizardo Dr Emilio Lizardo
    12/16/09

    @Chip Overclock: Trauma is outside of my expertise - especially battlefield trauma thank god. I do know that the traditional cutoff for a blood transfusion is a hemoglobin of 8g/dl and anything lower tends to make most doctors pretty nervous. However, a young healthy person can tolerate a hemoglobin substantially lower than that - say around 6 or so. Now, it is different if you get there slowly or quickly but a strong young soldier in his/her early 20's can probably tolerate that.
     Reply
    Dr Emilio Lizardo was starred Dr Emilio Lizardo was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    12/16/09

    @Chip Overclock: A friend of mine is an Army trauma surgeon and doesn't like to talk about the war per se, but will go on and on about the tech.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Smeagol92055 Smeagol92055
    12/16/09

    In reply to We Can Replace Your Blood Cells With Synthetics
    Ha ha, fuck you, Daybreakers. Your whole movie has just been rendered moot.

    SCIENCE TRIUMPHS OVER VAMPIRES YET AGAIN
     Reply
    Smeagol92055 was starred Smeagol92055 was unstarred
    Image of ShadowStaarr ShadowStaarr
    12/16/09

    @Smeagol92055: Are you kidding? This is like the tofu of bloodstuff. And no one likes tofu.
     Reply
    Chip Overclock promoted this comment ShadowStaarr was starred ShadowStaarr was unstarred
    Image of Chip Overclock Chip Overclock
    12/16/09

    @ShadowStaarr: But the artificial red blood cells take on the flavor of whatever you mix them with... like long pig.
     Reply
    Chip Overclock was starred Chip Overclock was unstarred
    Image of Dresan Dresan
    12/15/09

    In reply to Accidental Supervillain on Trial for Causing Earthquakes
    "Supervillain by Accident" should be the title of a movie that must be done.
     Reply
    Dresan was starred Dresan was unstarred
    Image of bobwoo bobwoo
    12/16/09

    Or the name of the next rock/alternative band to tear up the charts!
     Reply
    Dresan promoted this comment bobwoo was starred bobwoo was unstarred
    Image of comics0026 comics0026
    12/15/09

    In reply to Accidental Supervillain on Trial for Causing Earthquakes
    Deliberately means he did it knowing that an earthquake could happen, right? Was he on site when they were drilling? 'cause that would be stupid.

    And why would he deliberately cause an earthquake? Nobody wins in an earthquake, especially the guy who caused it. Odds are he'll end up falling into a fissure or being crushed by falling debris.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment comics0026 was starred comics0026 was unstarred
    Image of JRD_2 JRD_2
    12/15/09

    In reply to Accidental Supervillain on Trial for Causing Earthquakes
    I don't know anything about Swiss law, but from an American law perspective it seems bizarre that they're apparently charging him under a criminal statute with an intent requirement. In the U.S. this would more likely be a civil negligence case; I can't see it being prosecuted criminally assuming (as seems to be the case) that he had the necessary permits and was in compliance with applicable regulations.
     Reply
    OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear promoted this comment JRD_2 was starred JRD_2 was unstarred
    Image of OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear
    12/15/09

    @JRD_2: I agree. For too long super villains have had a loophole in American law.

    Someone ought to do something about this.
     Reply
    OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear was starred OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear was unstarred
    Image of earthclanbootstrap earthclanbootstrap
    12/16/09

    @OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear: David Bowie must bring the full might of Guild sanctions to bear!
     Reply
    OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear promoted this comment earthclanbootstrap was starred earthclanbootstrap was unstarred
    Image of pitpat pitpat
    12/15/09

    In reply to Accidental Supervillain on Trial for Causing Earthquakes
    Hmm, "Markus Haering" is an anagram of "Mega Shark Ruin"
     Reply
    Moff promoted this comment pitpat was starred pitpat was unstarred
    Image of goldfarb goldfarb
    12/15/09

    @pitpat: that's Dr. Mega Shark Ruin to you Sir!
     Reply
    goldfarb was starred goldfarb was unstarred
    Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or io9 account.

Sign up here.



  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.