May 3 2009 Dinosaur 'Blood' Extracted From Fossils

And I couldn't be happier. I'm gonna be Jurassic Parking it before you can say, "Geekologie Writer, are you sure you want to go into the raptor pen?" To which I will reply, "oh I'm sure. I'm sure".

A dinosaur bone buried for 80 million years has yielded a mix of proteins and microstructures resembling cells.

[Scientists] report recovering not just collagen - which conveys little evolutionary information because it is the same in almost all animals - but also haemoglobin, elastin and laminin, as well as cell-like structures resembling blood and bone cells. The proteins should reveal more about dinosaur evolution because they vary much more between species.

Haemoglobin baby! This particular fossil came from a hadrosaurid (duck-billed dinosaur), so I guess I'm boning them first. But hopefully they'll be able to score some blood from one of those flying bastards. 65 million years in the making, The Geekologie Writer joins the mile-high club.

First dino 'blood' extracted from ancient bone [newscientist]

Thanks to b00geyman, who better not be hiding under my bed tonight. And to Zmann966 and trishna87, who are celebrating an anniversary today. Happy anniversary guys!

Mar 31 2009 Ooh, Scienc-y: Video Of AIDS Spreading

No, it's not unprotected sex, it's a video showing how an infected AIDS cell spreads the disease to other, healthy cells. It's the first time the process has ever been caught on video, and scientists hope the information will help in the search for a cure.

The study was made possible after experts created a molecular clone of infectious HIV and inserted a protein into its genetic code which glows green when exposed to blue light.

They noted that when an infected cell came into contact with a healthy one, a bridge was created between them, called a virological synapse.

"We should be developing vaccines that help the immune system recognise proteins involved in virological synapse formation and antiviral drugs that target the factors required for synapse formation."

Hey, whatever helps find a cure. I can't wait till we wipe out all these STDs and then the only thing you have to get worry about is getting a girl pregnant. Which, at least for me, is no concern -- I have a laptop on my balls 10 hours a day!

Scientists film HIV spreading for first time [telegraph]

Thanks to Joemo, who once got a whole women's volleyball team pregnant just by attending a game.

Mar 17 2009 PEW PEW Goes The Debt Star

I'm only posting this because I have a contractual obligation to post anything Death Star related. Also, I secretly enjoy watching you folks duke it out in the comments section Special Olympics style. However, in the case of this poster, I believe it actually carries a powerful political message. One about mediocre Photoshop skills, and also, Ewoks. My God they're delicious. "Gunta, che-ya gobu fenga wa!" Haha, shut up and get back on the grill.

Thanks to The Blue Bass, who didn't specify if he was large or smallmouth.

Feb 11 2009 Different Geeky Takes On The Iconic Obama 'Hope' Poster

Remember the iconic 'Hope' posters used during Obama's presidential campaign? Ha, how could you forget, they're burnt into your retinas the way -- HEY LOOK AT THIS! -- my genitals now are. Well the website obamicon.me has been kicking it for a while, allowing any Tom, Dick, or Jane to make their own inspirational poster and message using a photo they upload. So go make one. Then post a link to it in the comments. But more importantly, hit the jump for a gallery of posters that are way cooler than the one you were going to make. Unless, of course, you were going to make one with a picture of me that says 'DOPE', in which case, yes, I am pretty fly.

Hit it for the galleria.

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Jan 13 2009 President-Elect Barack Obama Plays Wii

That's right folks, the soon-to-be president is rocking a Wii. And thank goodness too, because in an earlier interview Barack claimed the last video game he'd played was Pong. So yeah, whew.

Barack Obama reportedly said he's better at the Wii version of bowling than he was at the real thing while on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania last year.

This knowledge is courtesy of a passing reference Thursday by a New York Times blogger, who buried it in his last paragraph, unaware that the Wii news, rather than Obama's (accurate) prediction that Florida would win college football's championship game, would light up the Internets the next day.

So, Barack, maybe you could add me to your friends list. Then our Wii Miis could parade together. That would be fun, wouldn't it? Also, quick question: are you man enough to play wrist-strapless? Because I am. Isn't that right, Superficial Writer? Ha, your TV was a piece of shit anyways.

Barack Obama's family gets a Wii video game system; so what does his Mii look like? [chicagotribune]

Thanks to Lisa, who is chock-full of Wii win.

Dec 31 2008 Eff 2008, Bring On 2009: Happy New Year!

Well folks, we survived another year. Amazing, I know. It's been one hell of a time, and I have every reason to believe 2009 is going to rock the track pants and Members Only jacket off 2008.

Happy New Year! See you in 2020! And by 2020 I mean after my Lasik surgery. HIYO!

Nov 6 2008 Scientists Still Hope To Clone Extinct Species

Scientists, spurred on by the passing of Michael Crichton, have kicked their efforts of cloning extinct species into high gear. And I think I speak for all of us here when I say, sex with dinosaurs: it's about freaking time.

Japanese scientists have produced clones of mice that have been dead and frozen for 16 years -- a feat that could lead researchers to one day resurrect long-extinct species, such as the mammoth.

Researchers had thought that frozen cells were unusable because ice crystals would have damaged the DNA. That belief would rule out the possibility of resurrecting extinct animals from their frozen remains. But the latest research -- published in the journal, Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences -- shows that scientists may have overcome the obstacle.

Yes please! Now tell me somebody's got some frozen dinosaur remains around here somewhere. If not, we're going to need to go back in time and get some. Damn, sometimes my profound logic amazes even me.

Scientists hope to clone extinct species [cnn]

Thanks to Jonathan, who fears for a dinosaur apocalypse. Which, incidentally, is my dreamworld.

Apr 18 2008 Sunlight Poem Projector Is Brilliant, Beautiful

The One Day Poem Pavilion is cool and proof that the sun is smarter than you think. By sending his rays through an arrangement of pre-cut perforations he makes poems appear in the shadow of the little pavilion. You only get to see one stanza at a time, so it takes a good while to read an entire poem (worthwhile time lapse video here).

Using a complex array of perforations, the pavilion's surface allows light to pass through creating shifting patterns, which-during specific times of the year-transform into the legible text of a poem. The specific arrangements of the perforations reveal different shadow-poems according to the solar calendar: a theme of new-life during the summer solstice, a reflection on the passing of time at the period of the winter solstice.

That's beautiful. If I had any talent for building things I'd be tempted to construct one in the backyard with a little bench and maybe a garden gnome. No, a whole family of garden gnomes. I love those ornery little bastards. Well, except for papa gnome -- he's always trying to steal vegetables out of my garden. Plant some yourself you lazy freaking cheeseweasel!

Another picture of the pavilion's poetic beauty and a link to the time lapse video (in case you missed the link in the text), after the jump.

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Mar 6 2008 Bee's Project Art Exhibit Detects Diseases

MOMA Online has an exhibit entitled Design and the Elastic Mind which is a bunch of different projects combining art and science. The Bee's Project is one of these. Basically it consists of a number of glass vessels with bees inside. Taking advantage of a bee's highly sophisticated sense of smell, they are trained to detect different diseases, from cancer to pregnancy (which, in my wife's case, IS a disease). If the bees sense a certain odor when a user blows into the device they will fly into a corresponding chamber, indicating the presence of whatever disease they've been trained to detect. Or if you have shit-breath then the bees all congregate in the bottom. You know, because you killed them all.

A couple more pictures and a link to the exhibit after the jump.

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