Vienna, Austria
The Goose reported earlier this week that Kerstin Fritzl had emerged from her medically induced coma and was reunited with her mother and siblings.
Her doctors now report that her recovery is coming along beautifully, and that she is well enough to sit up and even stand with assistance.
Perhaps more inspiring is that, realizing she is free, Kerstin has said she wants to see the ocean, and to see a Robbie Williams concert. Recently she was up until 3AM listening to Robbie Williams in her hospital bed, moving around so much her doctors had to ask her to settle down.
It seems unbelievable that a young woman who didn't see the light of day for the first 19 years of her life could emerge from the ordeal with such normal desires and behavior. Certainly in time she will need therapy to overcome her dark past, but it is truly awe-inspiring to think that in spite of it all, even from a hospital bed, Kerstin is just another teenage girl staying up late and dancing to her favorite music. You go girl.
For more on Kerstin's recovery, visit http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/06/11/austria.fritzl/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Unicorn
I don't check my MSN email often. In fact, it's so rare that I do, it's almost a miracle. Fitting, then, that the first time I navigate towards the MSN homepage in well over a year, I am informed that, in fact, another miracle was taking place: the discovery of a mythical beast!
That's right a UNICORN! This Roe deer, born in captivity in Prato, Italy, was born with a single horn in the middle of its forehead. Not only is being born with a single horn significant, but when it does happen, it's usually off to the side:
So this is really a DOUBLE miracle! Or, as Gilberto Tozzi, the director at the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato, put it: "This is fantasy becoming reality,"
The deer, appropriately named 'Unicorno', is the first of its kind that Tozzi has seen. It is assumed, though, that previous sightings may have ciontributed the initial elements of truth that were woven into the Medieval legend of the unicorn. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping the next baby animal born in Prato hatches in the aviary...
Here's the website for the biopark where Unicorno lives:
http://www.csn.prato.it/index.php?sel_lang=english
For more on Unicorno, check out this original MSN link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25097986/from/ET/wid/18298287/>1=43001
If you're one of our ever growing readers with knowledge of the Italian language:
http://www.italianotizie.it/leggi.asp?idcont=444
and for more on unicorn legends in general, there's always good ole Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn
And finally, if you're looking for a way to celebrate, a personal recommendation:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084237/
That's right a UNICORN! This Roe deer, born in captivity in Prato, Italy, was born with a single horn in the middle of its forehead. Not only is being born with a single horn significant, but when it does happen, it's usually off to the side:
So this is really a DOUBLE miracle! Or, as Gilberto Tozzi, the director at the Center of Natural Sciences in Prato, put it: "This is fantasy becoming reality,"
The deer, appropriately named 'Unicorno', is the first of its kind that Tozzi has seen. It is assumed, though, that previous sightings may have ciontributed the initial elements of truth that were woven into the Medieval legend of the unicorn. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping the next baby animal born in Prato hatches in the aviary...
Here's the website for the biopark where Unicorno lives:
http://www.csn.prato.it/index.php?sel_lang=english
For more on Unicorno, check out this original MSN link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25097986/from/ET/wid/18298287/>1=43001
If you're one of our ever growing readers with knowledge of the Italian language:
http://www.italianotizie.it/leggi.asp?idcont=444
and for more on unicorn legends in general, there's always good ole Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn
And finally, if you're looking for a way to celebrate, a personal recommendation:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084237/
Pluto's Revenge
Space
If you're of my own generation or older, you remember when dear old Pluto was the 9th and smallest planet in our solar system. In elementary school, I was taught recite "Mercury-Venus-Earth-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune-Pluto" in a singsong way that left the order of the planets engraved in my memory, even long after I abandoned the subject of Astronomy.
I was aghast to hear in 2006 that Pluto had been demoted from planet status. Not only was my singsong chant obsolete, my entire solar system just wasn't what it used to be. I pitied Pluto for being kicked out of the Big Kid's Club and made to sit with the other dwarf planets.
I take great pleasure in learning that today, Pluto has made a triumphant return to the spotlight, not as the king of the dwarfs, but as one of only two "Plutoids" in the solar system. (The other is Eris.) Way to go, Pluto! That'll teach 'em!
To learn more, visit http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/11/pluto-plutoids.html
If you're of my own generation or older, you remember when dear old Pluto was the 9th and smallest planet in our solar system. In elementary school, I was taught recite "Mercury-Venus-Earth-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune-Pluto" in a singsong way that left the order of the planets engraved in my memory, even long after I abandoned the subject of Astronomy.
I was aghast to hear in 2006 that Pluto had been demoted from planet status. Not only was my singsong chant obsolete, my entire solar system just wasn't what it used to be. I pitied Pluto for being kicked out of the Big Kid's Club and made to sit with the other dwarf planets.
I take great pleasure in learning that today, Pluto has made a triumphant return to the spotlight, not as the king of the dwarfs, but as one of only two "Plutoids" in the solar system. (The other is Eris.) Way to go, Pluto! That'll teach 'em!
To learn more, visit http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/06/11/pluto-plutoids.html
Turning the Tables on Disease: Using Viruses to Our Advantage
Malvern, PA
The nasty thing about viruses is that they're virtually unstoppable. Other than our own immune systems, nothing really fights them off. That's why, as we all know, there's no cure for the common cold.
But what if we could turn the tables and use viruses for our own purposes? What if we could use them like microscopic soldiers to fight, say, cancer? That's exactly what Dr. Paul Hallenbeck of Neotropix is working on. His team has been testing the recently discovered Seneca Valley Virus-001 to discover whether or not it has the potential to kill tumor cells. Of course, it also has to spare healthy cells.
This idea isn't new, and anti-cancer viruses have shown promise in the past. However the Seneca Valley Virus-001 has a special advantage: it can be borne by human blood to all parts of the body. That means it has the potential to fight metastatic cancer.
Dr. Hallenbeck has tested the virus in lab rats with lung and eye tumors, with tremendously promising results.
To read more, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030160940.htm
The nasty thing about viruses is that they're virtually unstoppable. Other than our own immune systems, nothing really fights them off. That's why, as we all know, there's no cure for the common cold.
But what if we could turn the tables and use viruses for our own purposes? What if we could use them like microscopic soldiers to fight, say, cancer? That's exactly what Dr. Paul Hallenbeck of Neotropix is working on. His team has been testing the recently discovered Seneca Valley Virus-001 to discover whether or not it has the potential to kill tumor cells. Of course, it also has to spare healthy cells.
This idea isn't new, and anti-cancer viruses have shown promise in the past. However the Seneca Valley Virus-001 has a special advantage: it can be borne by human blood to all parts of the body. That means it has the potential to fight metastatic cancer.
Dr. Hallenbeck has tested the virus in lab rats with lung and eye tumors, with tremendously promising results.
To read more, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030160940.htm
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