Shares of Tibet Pharmaceuticals and BioSante Pharmaceuticals on the Upswing – Small Market Cap Biotechs Benefit

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -03/01/12)- Biotechnology shares have been on an impressive run of late. Led by the growing popularity in early stage biotechnology companies, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund is up roughly 20 percent over the last three months. A recent survey from BIO Industry Analysis finds that investors are more focused on early stage companies than later. "And, this sentiment is also born out by the increase in percentage of investors who indicate that they are willing to invest in small market cap biotechs," Alan Eisenberg, executive vice president of emerging companies and business development, explained. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Tibet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBET - News) & BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX - News). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.paragonreport.com/TBET

http://www.paragonreport.com/BPAX

Biotech firms continue to negotiate a more challenging regulation process. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 forced regulators to increase standards for approvals of new drugs, introducing mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. According to a Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report from IMAP, several pharmaceutical firms have altered their drug portfolios from primary care driven blockbusters towards specialties such as oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the medical need is "so high that prices are more easily accepted by the regulators."

The Paragon Report provides investors with an excellent first step in their due diligence by providing daily trading ideas, and consolidating the public information available on them. For more investment research on the biotechnology industry register with us free at http://www.paragonreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Tibet Pharmaceuticals is an emerging pharmaceutical company engaged in the research and manufacturing of modernized traditional Tibetan medicines in China. Earlier this week shares of the company skyrocketed after the company reported that it plans to accept a proposal from its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hong Yu to take the company private. Yu offered to buy remaining shares not owned by him for $3.00 a share in cash.

Shares of BioSante also surged this week after the company reported promising Phase I results for its GVAX vaccine for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, develops products for female sexual health and oncology.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

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Shares of Tibet Pharmaceuticals and BioSante Pharmaceuticals on the Upswing - Small Market Cap Biotechs Benefit

Global Biotechnology Industry

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

NEW YORK, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Global Biotechnology Industry

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0788386/Global-Biotechnology-Industry.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Biotechno

The global outlook series on Biotechnology provides a collection of statistical anecdotes, market briefs, and concise summaries of research findings. The report offers a bird's eye view of the Biotechnology industry. Annotated with 21 fact, and data rich tables the report offers a sneak peek into major end-use industries. Also included is a compilation of all recent mergers, acquisitions, and strategic corporate developments. A regional-level of discussion mirrors the prevalent scenario in key regional markets such as the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, France, Germany, Poland, UK, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, India, Malaysia, and Brazil, among few others. The report also includes an indexed, easy-to-refer, fact-finder directory listing the addresses, and contact details of 1,180 companies worldwide.

1. BIOTECHNOLOGY 1

Global Market Overview 1

Global Biotechnology Industry Recovers Strongly from Recession 1

Current and Future Analysis 2

Table 1: Global Biotechnology Market by Geographic Region -

US, Europe, Asia- Pacific and Rest of World with Annual

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Global Biotechnology Industry

Postmenopausal women at greater risk of stroke from high trans fat intake

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

Public release date: 1-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dawn Peters healthnews@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley-Blackwell

New research shows an increased risk of ischemic stroke in postmenopausal women who consume higher amounts of trans fatty acids, commonly found in baked goods, fried foods, and packaged products. Study findings now available in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society, suggest aspirin use may moderate the stroke risk caused by a diet high in trans fats.

Ischemic stroke is a result of a blockage in an artery leading to the brain. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), 795,000 people have a new or recurrent stroke in the U.S. each year. Reports from the AHA indicate that stroke is the fourth cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 137,000 Americans each year with 60% of those deaths in women. Previous research suggests that increased incidence of cardiovascular diseaseone of the risk factors for strokeis associated with trans fat consumption. However, in other prior studies no significant association was found between dietary fat intake and stroke.

In the largest study of stroke in postmenopausal women to date, Dr. Ka He and colleagues analyzed data from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS)a prospective cohort study of 87,025 women between the ages 50 and 79 who are generally in good health. At the time of enrollment participants were given a self-administered food frequency questionnaire and again three years later to assess their diet. The questionnaire asked about frequency of intake and portion size for 122 goods and food groups during a 3-month period and included questions related to fat consumption from meat, dairy, cooking, and reduced fat food items.

Results show 1,049 incident cases of ischemic stroke over 663,041 person-years of follow-up. Women who had the highest trans fat intake (6.1 grams/day) had a 39% greater incidence of stroke compared to those who consumed less (2.2 grams/day). Researchers found no significant associations between total fat, other types of fat, or dietary cholesterol. Aspirin use was shown to reduce the association between trans fat intake and stroke.

Additionally, researchers determined that of the ischemic stroke cases, there were 101 atherotherombotic, 234 cardioembolic and 269 lacunar infarctions, with another 445 unspecified cases that were not included in the subtype analysis. After adjusting for clinical, lifestyle and dietary factors results showed trans fat intake was associated with a higher risk of lacunar infarction.

"Our findings confirm that postmenopausal women with higher trans fat intake had an elevated risk of ischemic stroke, but aspirin use may reduce the adverse effects," concludes Dr. He. "We recommend following a diet low in trans fat and adding an aspirin regimen to help women reduce their risk of stroke, specifically following the onset of menopause."

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The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study by Dr. He and colleagues was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Flu drug speeds up brain recovery

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

NEW YORK -- Researchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago.

Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu drug group could give reliable yes-and-no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush -- things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17 percent versus 32 percent.

"This drug moved the needle in terms of speeding patient recovery, and that's not been shown before," said neuropsychologist Joseph Giacino of Boston's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, co-leader of the study. He added: "It really does provide hope for a population that is viewed in many places as hopeless."

Many doctors began using amantadine for brain injuries years ago, but until now there's never been a big study to show that it works. The results of the federally funded study appear in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury. About three-quarters are concussions or other mild forms that heal over time. But about 52,000 people with brain injuries die each year and 275,000 are hospitalized, many with persistent, debilitating injuries, according to government figures.

Amantadine, an inexpensive generic, was approved for the flu in the mid-1960s.

The study was done in the U.S., Denmark and Germany and involved 184 severely disabled patients, about 36 years old on average. About a third were in a vegetative state, meaning unconscious but with periods of wakefulness. The rest were minimally conscious, showing some signs of awareness. They were treated one to four months after getting injured, a period when a lot of patients get better on their own, Giacino noted.

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Flu drug speeds up brain recovery

Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather SportsStudy: Old flu drug speeds brain injury recovery

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

By STEPHANIE NANO Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Researchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago.

Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu drug group could give reliable yes-and-no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush - things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17 percent versus 32 percent.

A neurologist who wasn't involved in the research called it an important step. But many questions remain, including whether people less severely injured would benefit, and whether amantadine actually improves patients' long-term outcome or just speeds up their recovery.

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury. Falls, car crashes, colliding with or getting hit by an object, and assaults are the leading causes. About three-quarters are concussions or other mild forms that heal over time. But about 52,000 people with brain injuries die each year and 275,000 are hospitalized, many with persistent, debilitating injuries, according to government figures.

With no proven remedies to rely on, doctors have used a variety of medicines approved for other ailments in the hopes that they would help brain injury patients. Those decisions are based on "hunches and logic rather than data," said Dr. John Whyte, of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in suburban Philadelphia. He led the study along with Giacino.

Amantadine (uh-MAN'-tah-deen), an inexpensive generic, was approved for the flu in the mid-1960s. The first inkling that it might have other uses came a few years later when it appeared to improve Parkinson's symptoms in nursing home patients who got it. It was found to have an effect on the brain's dopamine system, whose many functions include movement and alertness, and it was later approved for Parkinson's.

It's now commonly used for brain injuries, and the researchers felt it was important to find out "whether we're treating patients with a useful drug, a harmful drug or a useless drug," Whyte said.

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Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather SportsStudy: Old flu drug speeds brain injury recovery

Study: Old flu drug speeds brain injury recovery

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

By STEPHANIE NANO Associated Press

Severely injured patients who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu drug group could give reliable yes & no answers, follow commands or use a spoon or hairbrush - things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17% versus 32%.

It's now commonly used for brain injuries, and the researchers felt it was important to find out "whether we're treating patients with a useful drug, a harmful drug or a useless drug," Whyte said.

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Study: Old flu drug speeds brain injury recovery

Former UBC staffer must repay $600,000 in excess salary: judge

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

VANCOUVER A former University of British Columbia medical school employee is on the hook for more than a half a million dollars after she secretly accepted almost twice the pay she was owed.

Dating back to 1998, Wanda Barbara Moscipan, a financial administrator at the school, received $610,427.82 she wasn't entitled to, according to B.C. Supreme Court documents.

Moscipan's employment arrangement with the school stipulated that 20 per cent of her salary would be paid by UBC, while 80 per cent would be covered by Vancouver Coastal Health.

In its termination notice to Moscipan, the school accused her of fraudulently accepting 100 per cent of her pay from the school, and an additional 80 per cent from the health authority.

"Effectively, Ms. Moscipan claimed and received an income amounting to 180 per cent of pay for 100 per cent of work," Justice Richard Blair wrote in his Tuesday ruling.

The judge granted the school an injunction to try and recoup its money.

"My order freezes Ms. Moscipan's assets before judgment and also permits UBC to obtain information about Ms. Moscipan's assets through access to her banking and other financial records," the judge wrote.

He said he was convinced Moscipan tried to bilk the school of its money, and he believed there was a real risk that she could hide or get rid of her assets.

Moscipan was fired from her job in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in November 2011.

The injunction comes on the heels of the conviction of John Mwotassubi, a former financial manager in UBC's pediatrics department, who admitted to stealing nearly $460,000 from the school over seven years, dating back to 2003.

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Former UBC staffer must repay $600,000 in excess salary: judge

Harvard halts research in Southborough after fourth monkey dies

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

New experiments at Harvard Medical Schools New England Primate Research Center have been suspended after a cottontop tamarin monkey died at the facility on Sunday, the fourth primate death there in 21 months.

Calling the deaths of four primates at the Southborough facility absolutely unacceptable, deeply regrettable and personally disturbing to me, Jeffrey Flier, dean of Harvard Medical School, vowed to take aggressive action to resolve systems, processes and human errors at the facility.

When I learned of the most recent incident on Sunday, I immediately halted all new research protocols and new research on existing protocols at the (New England Primate Research Center), Flier said in a statement. The goal of this action is to provide time for our personnel to create and implement a corrective action plan.

Harvard Medical School is assembling an independent review committee to assess the facilitys logistics and management and established a team led by veterinary staff and supervisors who will perform additional daily checks verifying the heath and wellness of every animal.

We will do this until we are convinced that systems are in place to ensure the well-being of the animals, said Flier.

Harvard Medical School declined to release details of the monkeys death.

United States Department of Agriculture spokesman David Sacks said he did not have details of the monkeys death because the USDA has not investigated yet. The USDA will send an inspector to Southborough soon.

Officials at the Primate Center reported the monkeys death Sunday night to the USDA, the same day the agency released an inspection revealing three incidents in which several monkeys were injured and a squirrel monkey died because of employee carelessness. The facility is facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines.

Harvard did self-report that fourth incident to us, said Sacks. We were made aware of that.

Describing the past 21 months where three other primates died in December 2011, October 2011 and June 2010 as a tough stretch, Sacks said the USDA has the Southborough facility on its radar.

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Harvard halts research in Southborough after fourth monkey dies

Medical School implements successful radiation protection program for undergraduate medical students

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

Public release date: 1-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Heather Curry PR@acr.org 703-390-9822 American College of Radiology

Reston, VA -- A medical school in Ireland has successfully implemented a radiation protection program, improving knowledge of radiation protection among medical undergraduates, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Although the increased use of diagnostic imaging has resulted in faster, more accurate diagnosis, better assessment of therapy response, and early detection of complications, there has been a great deal of scrutiny of its increasing use. As a result, there is a growing need for medical professionals to be educated in all aspects of diagnostic imaging to ensure a basic understanding of imaging technology, appropriate and efficient utilization of diagnostic imaging investigations, basic image interpretation and possible adverse effects of exposure to ionizing radiation.

An e-learning module in radiation protection was designed and presented to year four medical undergraduates at University Cork College in Cork, Ireland. All students were required to complete pre-module and post-module questionnaires.

Eighty-nine percent and 99 percent of the 127 medical students successfully completed and returned the pre-module and post-module questionnaires.

"After the e-learning module, students' post-module radiation protection knowledge had improved significantly," said Sum Leong, MB, lead author of the study.

Analysis of post-module radiation protection knowledge suggested that a favorable self-assessment of knowledge of radiation protection, perception of career prospects in radiology and completion of the e-learning module with an increased number of sessions were factor predictive of improved radiation protection knowledge.

"The undergraduate medical curriculum is undergoing constant review and modification in response to modern medical developments that are changing clinical practice. The introduction of radiation protection into undergraduate curriculum therefore requires careful planning to maximize the effectiveness of the course while avoiding overburdening undergraduates with unmanageable lecture and tutorial schedules," said Leong.

"Combining e-learning and more traditional educational programs such as a clinical radiology rotation is likely to improve student experience," he said.

Continued here:
Medical School implements successful radiation protection program for undergraduate medical students

UA scientists to discuss aging

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

Did you miss the popular "Living Beyond 100" lecture series presented by the University of Arizona's College of Science that concluded this week?

It focused on the effects of the new longevity, addressing topics including the opportunities and costs of long life, the biology of aging, the effects of aging on the brain and regenerative medicine.

For the past several years the science college has sponsored an annual lecture series on contemporary themes with broad interest. This year's six-part series will be repeated beginning Wednesday at Academy Village, sponsored by the Arizona Senior Academy.

Due to availability of the speakers, the sequence will vary from the UA schedule. Also, three of the lectures will feature the speakers in person while the other three will be presented in streaming video format.

The lectures are free and will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the great room of the Arizona Senior Academy Building.

The schedule of speakers and their topics at Academy Village is as follows.

Wednesday: Janko Nikolich-Zugich, professor and head of the UA Department of Immunobiology and co-director, Arizona Center on Aging. Presented in video streaming format, his topic is "The Biology of Aging: Why Our Bodies Grow Old."

March 14: Shane C. Burgess, dean, UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, speaking in person on "Can We, and What if We Do?"

March 15: Carol A. Barnes, regents' professor of psychology and neurology and director of the UA's Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. Presented in streaming video format, her topic is "The Aging of the Brain."

March 21: Vincent J. Del Casino Jr., associate dean, UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and professor of geography and development, speaking in person on "Society, Geographic Change and the New Longevity."

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UA scientists to discuss aging

Fountain of Immortality w/ AntVenom #3 (HD) – Video

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

12-02-2012 14:34 Swifters be sure to leave a LIKE if you enjoyed the video! AntVenom's Channel: http://www.youtube.com Map Download: bit.ly My Twitter: http://www.twitter.com My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com 2nd Channel: http://www.youtube.com Special thanks to the map creator for putting me on his list of people he wanted to play this map!

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Fountain of Immortality w/ AntVenom #3 (HD) - Video

Minecraft Maps – Fountain of Immortality w/ ChimneySwift11 – Pt. 4 – Video

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

12-02-2012 21:09 Ratings are Appreciated! ChimneySwift's Channel: youtube.com Map Download: bit.ly My Texture Pack: bit.ly Secondary Channel: youtube.com Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: tinyurl.com Twitch.TV: twitch.tv The music comes from the in-game Minecraft soundtrack. If you would like to listen without having Minecraft playing, you can download it here: c418.bandcamp.com

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Minecraft Maps - Fountain of Immortality w/ ChimneySwift11 - Pt. 4 - Video

Possible key to immortality found… in asexual worms

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

LONDON - Who wants to live forever? Some flatworms do, even if it means no sex.

British scientists have found that a species of flatworm can overcome the process of ageing to become potentially immortal and say their work sheds light on possibilities of alleviating ageing and age-related characteristics in human cells.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal on Monday the researchers found that the flatworms, known as planarian worms, can continuously maintain the length of a crucial part of their DNA, known as telomeres, during regeneration.

"Our data satisfy one of the predictions about what it would take for an animal to be potentially immortal," said Aziz Aboobaker, who led the research at Britain's University of Nottingham. "The next goals for us are to understand the mechanisms in more detail and to understand more about how you evolve an immortal animal."

Planarian worms have long fascinated scientists because they have an extraordinary ability to regenerate. A planarian worm split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate living worms.

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Possible key to immortality found... in asexual worms

Can industrial parks be more environmentally friendly?

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

Public release date: 29-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cathia Falvey cfalvey@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2165 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 29, 2012Although industrial parks are often considered major economic engines for the communities in which they reside, they can also consume environmental resources and produce significant pollution that can negatively affect human health and quality of life. A case study published in Environmental Engineering Science (http://www.liebertpub.com/ees), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com), describes a systems-based approach to assess and reduce the negative societal and economic impact of industrial parks. The article on sustainability management for industrial parks (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2011.0109 ) is available on the Environmental Engineering Science website.

"The extent of sustainable economic development is critical to the quality of life that defines various communities," says Domenico Grasso, Ph.D, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, University of Vermont (Burlington). "Industrial parks have long been a cornerstone of regional economic activity and prosperity. This paper by Ching-Ho Chen and colleagues does a wonderful job of helping policy and decision makers evaluate the environmental dimensions and consequences of these important developments."

A team of researchers from Taiwan studied the operation and management of a local industrial park. They measured air and water pollution, solid waste production, land use, and water and energy consumption and proposed a management model based on more sustainable practices. Ching-Ho Chen, National Taipei University of Education, Wei-Lin Liu, Ing-Jia Chiou, Nanya Institute of Technology, and Shu-Liang Liaw, National Central University, describe their work in the article, "Methodology and System of Total Quantity and Sustainability Management for Industrial Parks." (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2011.0109)

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Environmental Engineering Science (http://www.liebertpub.com/ees) is an authoritative monthly online peer-reviewed journal.. This interdisciplinary journal publishes state-of-the-art studies of innovative solutions to problems in air, water, and land contamination and waste disposal. It features applications of environmental engineering and scientific discoveries, policy issues, environmental economics, and sustainable development. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Environmental Engineering Science (http://www.liebertpub.com/ees) website.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Sustainability: The Journal of Record, Environmental Justice, and Industrial Biotechnology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available online at Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com)

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 http://www.liebertpub.com Phone: 914-740-2100 800) M-LIEBERT Fax: 914-740-2101

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Can industrial parks be more environmentally friendly?

Jerry Coyne on race: a reflection of evolution | Gene Expression

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

After my post on the race question I thought it would be useful to point to Jerry Coynes Are there human races?. The utility is that Coynes book Speciation strongly shaped my own perceptions. I knew the empirical reality of clustering before I read that book, but the analogy with species concept debates was only striking after becoming more familiar with that literature. Coynes post was triggered by a review of Race?: Debunking a Scientific Myth and Race and the Genetic Revolution: Science, Myth, and Culture. He terms the review tendentious, and I generally agree.

In the early 20th century Western intellectuals of all political stripes understood what biology told us about human taxonomy. In short, human races were different, and the white European race was superior on the metrics which mattered (this was even true of Left-Socialist intellectuals such as H. G. Wells and Jack London). In the early 21st century Western intellectuals of all political stripes understand what biology teaches us about human taxonomy. Human races are basically the same, and for all practical purposes identical, and equal on measures which matter (again, to Western intellectuals). As Coyne alludes to in his post these are both ideologically driven positions. One of the main reasons that I shy away from modern liberalism is a strong commitment to interchangeability and identity across all individuals and populations as a matter of fact, rather than equality as a matter of legal commitment. In a minimal government scenario the details of human variation are not of particular relevance, but if you accept the feasibility of social engineering (a term I am not using in an insulting sense, but in a descriptive one) you have to start out with a model of human nature. So this is not just an abstract issue. For whatever reason many moderns, both liberals and economic conservatives, start out with one of near identity (e.g., H. economicus in economics).

I want to highlight a few sections of Coynes post:

What are races?

In my own field of evolutionary biology, races of animals (also called subspecies or ecotypes) are morphologically distinguishable populations that live in allopatry (i.e. are geographically separated). There is no firm criterion on how much morphological difference it takes to delimit a race. Races of mice, for example, are described solely on the basis of difference in coat color, which could involve only one or two genes.

Under that criterion, are there human races?

Yes. As we all know, there are morphologically different groups of people who live in different areas, though those differences are blurring due to recent innovations in transportation that have led to more admixture between human groups.

Why do these differences exist?

The short answer is, of course, evolution. The groups exist because human populations have an evolutionary history, and, like different species themselves, that ancestry leads to clustering and branching, though humans have a lot of genetic interchange between the branches!

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Jerry Coyne on race: a reflection of evolution | Gene Expression

Lafayette's 'R.U.R' deals with robots, role of technology

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

Lafayette College theater director Michael O'Neill has never seen the classic Czech play "R.U.R," but after teaching it in his theater classes for years, he became intrigued by the relevance of its premise.

So after reading many translations of the play about robots and a mechanized world where people show no emotions, O'Neill decided to write his own translation and produce it at the college. The play opened Wednesday and continues through Saturday at the Williams arts center.

"I made a lot of cuts," O'Neill says. "In those days, they tended to be awfully talky."

"R.U.R." or "Rossum's Universal Robots" was written in 1920 by Karel Capek. It was a response to the death and destruction he had witnessed during World War I and the emotional dislocation and upheavals of the 1917 Communist revolution in Russia.

The play was written as an expressionistic journey into genetic engineering on a mass scale, O'Neill says. It predicted a mechanized world where people have no emotional connections and where workers have lost their human rights. The play takes place in a factory that makes Robots that can think for themselves and can be mistaken for humans.

"I thought that the play had a lot to say about today and our interest in human cloning and our dependence on technology," O'Neill says. "I was concerned about our growing dependence on our cell phones and our computers and the increasing mechanization of everyday life. I also thought that that this play was particularly relevant to Lafayette, which has such a big engineering program."

The play was the first to introduce the word robot to the English language.

"Actually the word robot means 'worker' in Czech, and the Robots in our production look less like Hollywood robots than Soviet workers from the 1920s," O'Neill says. Costume designer Locklyn Brooks has created gray and monochrome outfits that make the Robots look less like machines and more like people, he says.

O'Neill says the play is not so much science fiction as a social satire with a utopian vision.

"This is actually a very traditional play, and despite the presence of the Robots, its main theme is that the human race needs love to be able to survive," he says.

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Lafayette's 'R.U.R' deals with robots, role of technology

San Francisco: 41-year-old black rhino 'Gene' dies zoo

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

SAN FRANCISCO --San Francisco zoo officials are mourning the death of "Gene," a 41-year-old black rhinoceros who's been a popular figure at the zoo since 1978.

Zoo officials, who described Gene as gentle and friendly, said he died of kidney failure on Monday.

The zoo's animal care and veterinary staff had been keeping an eye on Gene because his appetite had dropped and he was lethargic, according to zoo officials.

After a recent blood sample indicated that Gene had kidney failure, zoo staff focused on keeping him comfortable for the remainder of his life.

Gene was named after the late Eugene Friend, who served on the Recreation and Park Commission for 24 years, zoo officials said.

Gene was born in Kenya and came to the San Francisco Zoo in 1978 at the age of seven.

During his time at the zoo, Gene fathered five offspring, three of which are now living at other accredited zoos, zoo officials said.

Gene's animal keeper, Julie McGilvray, said he had a good disposition and was very friendly.

"We nicknamed him Big Dog because he loved to be rubbed, either by hand or with a scrub brush, and oftentimes he would lie down and absorb the soothing experience," McGilvray said in a statement.

Zoo officials said black rhinos are a critically endangered species because they are targeted by poachers who covet their valuable horns.

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San Francisco: 41-year-old black rhino 'Gene' dies zoo

41-year-old black rhino 'Gene' dies of kidney failure

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Danzig

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Zoo officials are mourning the death of "Gene," a 41-year-old black rhinoceros who's been a popular figure at the zoo since 1978.