Founder of a Cancerous Genetic Disorder

If you have polyps and are wondering if you belong to the family with the colorectal founder gene, I would imagine that these are people who would have settled on the Connecticut River or other areas where the Dutch did not have settlements. That thesis is dependent on the family being English and not Dutch. If they sailed from England, the assumption is that they were English. Well, at least it is a start to help you learn more.

clipped from news.yahoo.com Colon cancer risk traced to common ancestor By Michael Kahn Wed Jan 2, 12:15 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - A married couple who sailed to America from England around 1630 are the reason why thousands of people in the United States are at higher risk of a hereditary form of colon cancer, researchers said on Wednesday. Using a genetic fingerprint, a U.S. team traced back a so-called founder genetic mutation to the couple found among two large families currently living in Utah and New York. The U.S. team first focused on the Utah branch of the family -- numbering about 5,000 people today -- 14 years ago because its members had an unusually high risk of colon cancer. Because the family was Mormon, the researchers were able to mine a wealth of genealogical information taken from detailed church records over the years that is now part of a large genetics database in Utah, Neklason said. most records related to the Utah part of the family, the researchers eventually identified the New York branch

Ocean Adventures Wallpapers and Ringtones

From the various Ocean Adventures documentaries, a series with Jean Michel Cousteau and a team of scientists and ocean adventurers

clipped from oceanadventures.gravitymobile.com FAQ Ringtones Wallpapers

Hiding In Plain Sight

Not only are containers of rubber ducks being lost in the high seas, but huge shipping containers of floating athletic shoes and other debris that pollute the oceans. The up side of this pollution dilemma is that scientists are able to study the movement of ocean currents based on the travels of this objects. If you find any odd piece of debris at the beach, contact an oceanographer.

clipped from www.cbsnews.com For more than 11 years now, oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer has been learning about movement on the ocean by tracking the travels of thousands of bathtub toys, reports CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone. "It's amazing what a duck can teach you," Ebbesmeyer says. "There was one container load of turtles, ducks, beavers and frogs, twenty-nine thousand in a single container that went overboard in the middle of the Pacific," he says. The small, plastic adventurers were accidentally dumped into the ocean in January 1992. Pushed by winds and currents the ducks were carried to Alaska where thousands washed ashore. Ebbesmeyer has faith that there are numerous ducks waiting to be found along the East Coast, though none have yet been recovered. First Years is offering a $100 reward to anyone who finds one of the well-traveled bath toys. "It's really a critical piece of scientific data," Hollywood says.

Kiss of the Assassin

Observing the habitat of the Assassin bug and counting the number of bugs noted by exterminators has been tested as a very inexpensive, yet accurate method to determine if children need to be tested for the presence of the parasite, a protozoan called Trypanosoma cruzi.

Good news for the people in Peru and other South American countries plagued by Chaga's Disease.

clipped from www.reuters.com LONDON (Reuters) - A new, low-cost screening strategy could make it easier for poor countries to target and treat Chagas disease, a deadly parasite-borne condition found mainly in Latin America, according to a new study. By Michael Kahn But a team of U.S. researchers showed they could use easy-to-collect data on the number of insects found in homes during spraying campaigns to identify clusters of at-risk children who should be tested for Chagas disease. "The exterminators are really telling us what kids need to be tested," said Levy, who conducted the study while at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It is very easy to add on to existing programs." Chagas disease is usually transmitted to humans by a blood-sucking insect called an assassin bug or a kissing bug. The insect carries a protozoan parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which kills more people in the region each year than any other parasite-born disease, including malaria, Levy said.

Real Whale Research, not Whale Hunting!

Terri Irwin has stepped up with an appropriate response to help end Japan's facade to the nations. Animals don't have to be killed to find out their life biology. It seems to me that the other governments should have already suggested alternative forms of research, but it is great that Terri Irwin has come up with a great idea. Thanks Terri!
Another idea that has never happened, the Japanese government should not be allowed to sell the whale meat for human or animal consumption.

clipped from hosted.ap.org SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- The widow of TV "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin announced Thursday she will launch non-lethal research of whales in Antarctic waters next year in hopes of showing that Japan's scientific whale kill is a sham. AP Photo/Ed Wray Tokyo has staunchly defended its annual cull of more than 1,000 whales as crucial for research, saying it is necessary to kill the whales to properly gather information about their eating, breeding and migratory habits. Japan had planned to kill up to 50 endangered humpback whales this season, but backed away from the plan in the face of strong international condemnation. "We are determined to show the Japanese they can stop all whaling, not just humpbacks," Irwin said.

100 Top Songs of 2007

Because our very existence is an irony, one thing can be said about the Americans I know, including myself, we love the ironic, the sardonic. Randy Newman, a contemporary American songwriter, cornered the market on American musical sardonic humor in his latest release, A Few Words In Defense of Our Country!

While Randy's new song is an apology for America and Americans, we don't get off the hook so easily. He is more than willing to make hay with our current history, including our American Pity Party pursuing terror.

I suppose that may explain why A Few Words In Defense of Our Country quietly became the #2 song in Rolling Stones 100 Best Songs of 2007. There is another irony, so everyone can relate to part of the song, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country while recognizing the validity of all of the song.

I would like to believe that one important reason this song became so highly prized in 2007 is because Americans understand who we are better than people in other countries believe we do. We are Americans, the whelps of the downtrodden, indentured servants and slaves, the dregs of all your countries, the naysayers and the political enemies of many of the most successful dictators in the ENTIRE world. We are Americans, so we know who we are and where we come from in the historical scheme of things.

We are Americans, and we established a country, a democracy, that many want to join and many want to hate.

My mother always told me that the people who want to destroy you the most are the people who want what you have....in plainspeak....they are jealous. That doesn't let us, Americans, off the hook for any issues we have caused, it just explains why some of the issues exist. Don't get it? It is OK, irony is often the tool of subtlety.

SciFiFry: In a Parallel Universe

One of the excellent members of the Wired Science blog team, Damon Gambuto, will be blogging about Science Fiction books each Friday. He will have plenty to blog about, and this series could continue forever.

When I read his blog, it reminded me of that Environmental Blogging Day I participated in last October. Many bloggers who love science fiction and science could write about science fiction on Friday. This is an idea that could work, especially if we had a bit of organization behind it...a widget or a badge to a weblink that listed all science fiction friday bloggers who are members of the Wired Science group. This is only a kernel of an idea, but I think it would be really cool!