Cox, the third biggest of the major cable providers, is going to start pushing TiVo Premiere boxes to its customers as what's basically their "own" DVR solution. Usually, all you get is a lousy Motorola box. More »
From August 14th though September 1st, you can catch San Francisco artist Eric Joyner's imaginative art show "Donut Logic" in Culver City, CA. It's filled with robotry, colorful cupcakes, and a heaping helping of donuts. More »
Louisiana Fishermen Slam Claims that Oil Almost Gone, Seafood Safe
Fishing grounds are full of oil-soaked grass and tarballs, with shrimp season set to open next week, locals say
HOPEDALE, LA.— In the small towns of coastal Louisiana, the widespread consensus is that the oil is far from gone.
Fishermen return from working on cleanup crews or from recreational angling trips with stories of crabs whose lungs are black with oil, or of oysters with shells covered in sludge. They take photos and carry tarballs home like talismans to show what they have seen. They talk about their fears with anyone who will listen, and often their voices are tinged with panic.
Yet a government report released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that 75 percent of the oil has been cleaned up, dispersed or otherwise contained. And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that of all the samples of seafood that have been tested since the oil spill, none have shown evidence of contamination.
Confused? Well, hello. The FDA and the government are misleading you. Wouldn’t be the first time. With the economy so bad, they are putting business and industry over your health. Wouldn’t be the first time they did that, either. Trust the fishermen and eyewitnesses.
Still want some Louisiana oysters? It’s probably best to give up Gulf seafood for a while, and even the fishermen are agreeing with that. What to replace it with? Maybe seafood from elsewhere. The problem is that Chinese seafood, another major source for American seafood eaters, is not safe either. If you’re concerned about your health, you probably won’t eat fish from China. Look on any fish package in your grocery story. If it’s cod or tilapia or another common fish, it’s probably from China or Brazil. Americans actually don’t get much seafood in their stores from the Gulf. But thanks to fossil fuels, we are polluting ourselves out of at least one major food supply all over the world. (See story below this too).
While some in the coastal seafood industry agree with these assessments, a majority seem to view the news with a sense of betrayal.
“The cleanup isn’t even close to being done,” said Karen Hopkins of Dean Blanchard Seafood, which accounts for about 11 percent of the U.S. shrimp supply, on the barrier island of Grand Isle.
Read the rest of the story here.
I hate stock images, but Carl Burguess took stock footage from Getty Images and put together this wondrous music video for Drugs—the latest song by NYC's electronic music duo Ratatat. You'll find it uncomfortable, to say the least. More »
Sean and Kevin O'Keefe Recovery (Facebook Group)
(Paul Pastorek) "Have talked with Laura today as she cruises from one part of the hospital to the other to check on "her boys". She is very upbeat and confident about her boys, but saddened about Sen. Stevens and others onboard. Many of you have contacted me and sent good wishes to Sean and his family. We are grateful, but please pray for the recovery of the other survivors and for those who perished. God Bless You all!"
Keith's update: According to family sources, Sean O'Keefe remains in critical condition. However, unless things take a serious turn for the worse, his injuries are not life-threatening. His son Kevin has several broken bones and a lot of bruises but should be fine with time. Everyone's concern is most appreciated by the family.
Ex-NASA Director Sean O'Keefe, Son Recovering From Crash, US News & World Report
"This afternoon his family spokesman issued this statement from Paul Pastorek, the state superintendent of education and a family friend: ..."
Very very powerful lasers—not like the Spyder III, but actual building-sized lasers used for science—might be reaching their physical ceiling for intensity. Going beyond a certain point means they can destroy themselves. More »
i have a 200KVA gen, a pf of 0.8 to have a true rated power out put of 160W max. if i load the generator to get a true power output of 80W, will i be correct by saying that the load pf is 80/200 = 0.4 and how does this affect the supply and the load?
Like ra-eeee-aaaiiiin on your wedding day, like a free ride when you've already paid, like some good advice that you just didn't take...Or like the world's best repair shop having a broken doorbell. [BoingBoing] More »
According to a Pew study, 21% of Americans claim that they don't use the internet (and 5% still connect using dial-up). How is this possible? I think I've even seen homeless people peruse the internet on their iPhones. More »
I'd never use a case, but when they-fix-I-buy the iPhone 4, I'd either get a replacement wooden back or this leather skin. Not only it will protect its very fragile back but it'll give it the classic Leica look: More »
The nerds at Yelp who revolutionized the way 20-something girls could give their opinions on stuff and actually have it matter in the slightest, have turned their attention to beer. Namely, making an iPad and a keg work together. More »
This is almost certainly the R2-D2 edition of Verizon's Droid 2. It's the Luke to Vader's black Droid 2, and looks very, very 70s. Perfect for the time travel machine that can only go back 40 years. [Twitter via Engadget] More »
This is Grant Sonnex's "computer desk for Apple iMac." Don't you even think about putting some piece-of-shit Acer on it, or Sonnex will personally come to your house and kick you in the groin for having terrible taste. [Design Milk] More »
A new version of the Zeus trojan has been silently stealing money from bank accounts since early last month, according to M86 Security. They say they've "never seen such a sophisticated and dangerous threat." Oh. Wonderful. More »
This is the East River State park. It's next to my house and—in the spring, summer, and early fall—I love to go there and lay down to read a book. Sadly, that pool is not there. More »
How Star Trek artists imagined the iPad... 23 years ago, Ars Technica
"To understand the thinking that led to the design of the Star Trek PADD, we spoke to some of the people involved in production of ST:TNG (as well as other Star Trek TV series and films), including Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda, and Doug Drexler. All three were involved in various aspects of production art for Star Trek properties, including graphic design, set design, prop design, visual effects, art direction, and more. We also discussed their impressions of the iPad and how eerily similar it is to their vision of 24th century technology, how science fiction often influences technology, and what they believe is the future of human-machine interaction."
Thanks to the readers who responded with the correct diagnosis to last week’s case! I’ve also presented this case at our weekly clinical pathology conference and I’ve found it extremely interesting and educational.
This was indeed a case of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTL), gamma-delta type. Characteristically, lymphadenopathy was absent and there was no peripheral involvement at presentation. Interestingly, however, the typical intrasinusoidal marrow involvement was a minor feature second to an interstitial process. Perhaps it was just caught at a progressed stage. The immunophenotype was fairly typical: CD2+, surface CD3+, CD4-, CD5-, CD7 partial dim, CD8 partial dim, CD16+, and CD56/CD57-. One reader pointed out that these lymphomas are usually CD4- and CD8-. This is true; but a solid subset will express partial CD8+ as this case did. Another interesting feature of this T-cell lymphoma is its predilection for expression of multiple KIR isoforms, for those of you keen on flow cytometry. Cytogenetic studies also showed the characteristic isochromosome 7q and associated trisomy 8. The spleen was also removed after diagnosis and representative images are shown below.
While it was more specifically named hepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma in the REAL classification, the WHO 2001 and 2008 classification calls this entity simply hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma, as alpha-beta rearranged TCRs are found in a minority of cases. From my perspective, the main differential diagnoses here are:
1) gamma-delta T-large granular lymphocytic leukemia: often a very difficult distinction to make, though g-d T-LGLLs are quite rare (alpha-beta T-LGLs much more common). From my reading, T-LGLLs will often express some CD5 and/or CD57 (rather than CD56 in many HSTLs) and have the activated cytotoxic phenotype of TIA-1+, granzyme B+, and perforin+ by IHC. HSTLs would be TIA-1+ but granzyme M positive rather than granzyme B. Also, the isochromosome 7q/trisomy 8 associations are not classic for T-LGLLs. Probably most importantly, though, is the clinical picture: T-LGLLs will be relatively indolent and involve the peripheral blood.
2) peripheral T-cell lymphoma (NOS): if classical HSTL features are not present
3) aggressive NK cell leukemia/lymphoma: Asian females, EBV-associated, surface CD3 neg by flow cytometry
I suppose in some respects an adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma might also be on the differential but one would need a different clinical and immunophenotypic picture (patient from Caribbean, Japan, or Africa; positive HTLV-1 status; more atypical lymphocytes [flower cells], CD4+, CD7-, CD8-, CD25(strong+), CD26+.
Another important aspect to point out with regard to hepatosplenic T-cell lymphomas is their association with chronic immune suppression and/or antigenic stimulation. The entity is also one type of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) – but of T cells. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease or following renal transplantation are especially at risk for this complication, especially those treated with the TNF-alpha blocking agents and immune suppressing drugs like infliximab and azathioprine, respectively.
In Dr Foucar’s 3rd edition of Bone Marrow Pathology – a must-read – it is also emphasized that HSTLs may also present with an exuberant myelomonocytic proliferation, sometimes mimicking a chronic or juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML or JMML, respectively).
While there is much more to be said of gamma-delta T cells, my space is limited! Suffice it to say, they are a minor subset of circulating and epithelial T cells involved in the innate immune response and the normal counterpart of primary cutaneous gamma-delta T-cell lymphomas, the other relatively well-described site for these cells to go mad.
Unfortunately for this patient, hepatosplenic T-cell lymphomas are very aggressive and median survival is <2 yrs. It is ultimately difficult to reach allogeneic stem cell transplant and none of the standard chemotherapeutic regimens work well for the disease. Early splenectomy, novel antifolates, cladribine, and monoclonal antibodies (including anti-CD52) have been employed with some effect but the optimal therapy is still years away at best. The post-solid organ transplant cases have a particularly dismal outlook and unlike other PTLDs immunosuppression these agents cannot simply be withdrawn. These patients are treated with HyperCVAD and other extremely intensive chemotherapeutic regimens for any hope of survival.
Hope this was helpful! Below are some helpful references…I highly recommend the Tripodo review from Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. And just for completeness, I have no financial disclosures regarding this case.
Belhadj K et al. Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma is a rare clincopathologic entity with poor outcome: report on a series of 21 patients. Blood 2003;102(13):4261-9.
Jaeger et al. Hepatosplenic gammadelta T-cell lymphoma successfully treated with a combination of alemtuzumab and cladribine. Ann Onc 2008; 19(5):1025-6.
O’Conner OA et al. Pralatrexate, a novel class of antifol with high affinity for the reduced folate carrier-type 1, produces marked complete and durable remissions in a diversity of chemotherapy refractory cases of T-cell lymphoma. BJH 2007;139:425-8.
Tey SK et al. Post-transplant hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma successfully treated with HyperCVAD regimen. Am J Hemat 2008;83:330-3.
Tripodo C et al. Gamma-delta T-cell lymphomas. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2009;6:707-717.
Vega F, LJ Medeiros, and P Gaulard. Hepatosplenic and Other ?? T-Cell Lymphomas. AJCP 2007;127:869-80.
I’ve been waiting a long time to see a hagfish in person. Last year I took a class miles out to sea, hauled up traps from 300 feet, and came up with nothing but mud. Today, however, we discovered not just one hagfish–but fifty. Buckets full of squirming jawless beasts that seemed to slither straight out of the Cambrian Period. Their slime is more like a jelly made of glass–a marvelous thing. I am here to declare that a day with fifty hagfish is a good day.
(For more, read “Secrets of the Slime Hag” (pdf)” in Scientific American by Frederic Martini)
[Image courtesy of Charlotte Zimmer, age 9]
Alexandre Erler, in his essay "Is there any point in worrying about the tedium of immortality?," rightly concludes that we should not regard this supposed threat as having "any serious normative implications for the use and development of life extension technologies." Erler writes,
As for those who might share Walsh’s view and enjoy their life more due to the awareness of their own mortality, they might still preserve that benefit by committing themselves not to use life extension technologies when these become widely available. Of course, when the time to kick the bucket seemed near, they might find themselves unable to respect their previous commitment. But they might perhaps protect themselves from such a hazard by writing advance directives stipulating that life extension procedures should not be made available to them. Or if this were not possible, they could at least publicly declare their resolution not to use such procedures, so as to make it embarrassing for themselves if they failed to meet it. However that may be, the risk that some people might prevent themselves, by their own weakness of the will, to die when they would ideally have wanted to, does not seem a sufficient reason to deprive other people of the benefits of a radically extended lifespan. Pace Temkin, I would conjecture that many of us would welcome greater opportunities to learn everything that we find worth learning, to accomplish more things, and to spend more time with our loved ones. Some have also suggested that future humans might become able to experience goods that we cannot even think of today.
Link.
Stop patting yourself on the back. You’re not so special. Orangutans, a new study suggests, also use complex gestures or pantomimes to communicate.
Looking through twenty years worth of orangutan observations, researchers believe they have found 18 examples of pantomimes. The study, which appeared today in Biology Letters, supports the claim that we’re not unique when it comes to abstract communication and lends credence to other observations of great ape gesturing, according to lead researcher Anne Russon.
[Orangutans and chimpanzees were already known] to throw an object when angry, for example. But that is a far cry from displaying actions that are intentionally symbolic and referential–the behaviour known as pantomiming. “Pantomime is considered uniquely human,” says Anne Russon from York University in Toronto, Canada. “It is based on imitation, recreating behaviours you have seen somewhere else, which can be considered complex and beyond the grasp of most non-human species.” [New Scientist]
Of the eighteen observed orangutan pantomimes, four took place between orangutans and 14 between a human and an orangutan. If you ever find yourself in the Indonesian jungles, here are some examples of messages that you might expect:
Lies
Orangutans can lie, it appears, pretending to engage in one activity while plotting another.
In some recordings, orangutans used gestures to distract or mislead others. One animal indicated to researchers that it wanted a haircut, as a ruse to divert their attention while it stole something, according to the study. [The Gaurdian]
Pity
Along that line, orangutans sometimes appeared to feign helplessness, as seen in this video in which a skilled coconut-opening orangutan pretends to be unable so that a human will do it for her.
The researchers jokingly call this sort of behavior “poor me,” referring to how the crafty apes feign weakness to get others to help. When Siti “failed,” she handed the coconut to a human staff member, along with the stick. She then pretended to use the stick as a machete, reenacting how she’d seen this person opening coconuts with machetes. He got the picture and opened the coconut with a machete while Siti impatiently waited with arms folded. [Discovery News]
Gratitude
Researchers believe that that the orangutans can also pantomime stories to reminisce. They cite a case of an orangutan with a foot injury named Kikan. A week after a conservationist pulled a small stone from the animal’s foot and used latex from a fig leaf to seal the wound, Kikan hugged the conservationist and re-enacted the foot first-aid. Says Russon:
“She’s not asking for anything, which is the most common aim observed of great ape communication, but appears simply to be sharing a memory with the person who helped her when she hurt her foot. It shows her understanding of how events had unfolded in a particular situation, which was very complex.” [BBC]
Good Hygiene
The orangutans observed in this exploratory study had once been in captivity but were then released into the forest. One orangutan seemed to remember face-scrubbings at a rehabilitation facility on Borneo.
[Russon says] she did know what was going on when a young male called Cecep plopped down in front of her and handed her a leaf. “I played dumb,” she remembers. “He waited a respectable few seconds, then–all the while looking me in the eye–he took back the leaf, rubbed it on his own forehead….” Again he handed it to her. “Then I did as I was told,” she says, and wiped away the dirt. [Science News]
Related content:
80beats: An Active Orangutan Burns Fewer Calories Than a Lazy Human
80beats: Study: Orangutans Play Leaf Instruments to Fool Predators
80beats: Syncopated Rhythm Makes Orangutans Masterful Swingers
80beats: Happy News: New Population of Endangered Orangutans Found in Borneo
80beats: Orangutans Are Threatened With Extinction as Habitat Shrinks
Image: Wikimedia / Malene Thyssen
