This Is How The World Ends: Scientifically Engineered Avian Flu

This is how the world ends, its not a zombie outbreak, it isn't nuclear warfare, it starts with one curious scientist doing something he shouldn't... Linked in this post is an article with the whole story about how a virologist named Ron Fouchier decided to try and enhance an already dangerous contagion. His attempts made the virus go airborne and evolve to make it spread even faster.

For those of you not wanting to read the entire article, the brief version goes a little something like this:

Video Games and Children: A New Generation

As a university student studying psychology many people ask me 'why are you in psychology and what do you want to do with this degree?' Even if I'm not sure of the latter I do know that psychology interests me immensely.

Throughout my education I have had to write my fair share of papers and a substantial bit of research that always seemed to follow the same trend. Video games. I've researched topics from, the effect of violent video games on children's behaviour to basic positive reinforcement due to 'unlocks' in certain games. Through extensive personal experience I believe video games are more than just a new form of entertainment. The video embedded below gives a great general idea of what I am so interested in, and what I believe to be the future.

Cure for Cancer Found, No One Takes Notice

A University of Alberta medical team lead by Dr Michelakis published an article in 2007 with a potential cure for cancer using a inexpensive drug known world wide called Dichloroacetate (DCA). In 2007 Dr Michelakis and his team worked on test tube samples with findings that suggested the DCA drug achieves ‘antitumor effects by altering the metabolism of cancer’. DCA was found to take away cancers most important strength, the resistance to death (of the tumor).

Since 2007 several independent groups across the world have confirmed the Alberta teams findings. Dr Michelakis and his team also committed the drug to clinical trials with similar findings. In 49 patients over 2 years they showed that tumors responded to DCA the same way the test tube samples reacted by changing the tumors metabolism.

The Canadian Government Begins Another Election...

4 elections in 7 years and the current Parliamentary system seem to be siblings in the crazy mess the Canadian Government has brought on itself. In the 2008 election the Government was announced a minority in favour of the Conservative party with the Liberals closely behind and the Bloc trailing in third. The only way to get decisions through a minority government is to convince enough opposing MPs to back the decision so it gets passed into a law.

Recently Steven Harper's Conservative government tried to push a new budget that would see Canada (in theory) have a surplus of money in two years.  The opposition then brought up multiple problems with this budget. They did not like where the money was going and didn’t agree with a lot of the budget cuts.  

The Lost City of Atlantis Found in Spain!?

The debate whether Atlantis existed has been around for thousands of years and it all started by the Greek philosopher Plato. His dialogues from about 355 B.C. are the only known historical sources of information about the mysterious city. In Plato’s dialogues he states that the island called Atlantis ‘in a single day and night… disappeared into the depths of the sea.’

Lead researcher Richard Freund, of the University of Hartford claims that his research team and himself have finally located Atlantis. Where did they finally find the lost city? Spain! Just north of Cadiz to be exact.

The Government of Canada Rebranded?

As the title states, according to CBC, the prime ministers office has decided that 'The Government of Canada' should be replaced. On all federal communications it now all says, 'The Harper Government'.

It seems to be partly a ploy by Steven Harper to build his image. He has gone onto the government of Canada website (which is payed for by the tax payers) and changed many headings to 'The Harper Government'.

Spray-on Skin

What we used to only think was capable in movies through CGI or 'witchcraft' has now been developed for practical real world applications.

This breakthrough medical procedure would take only a few days to completely heal and is seen as 'the holly grail of burn surgery'. The equipment Dr Jorg C. Cerlach has created is called the 'skin cell gun' which, he says it works quite similar to paint spraying. The ability to create skin graphs for burn victims in hospitals used to take weeks and in some cases months to heal and the real risk was infection to the new skin while it is trying to heal. The way it works is they isolate cells from the heathy part of the skin (patient), 'mixed in a water solution and prepared for cell spraying'. The entire procedure takes roughly about one hour and within a week the patient is fully healed.

The entire procedure is still highly experimental but has worked successfully on a dozen burn victims.

Link to video: National Geographic (warning video has some graphic images)