Battlestar Galactica Meets with UN

President Roslyn and Admiral Adama with cast of Battlestar.
Image: SciFi.com
As the popular show on SciFi heads towards its final episode Friday, President Laura Roslyn and Admiral William Adama met with a panel of United Nations officials last night (this is true) for a discussion of humanitarian issues.

This comes not a moment too soon. It's about time the United Nations embraced some new ideas that can overcome the permanent state of negotiation and lack of regulatory teeth in their General Assembly and Security Council Resolutions.

I don't know what issues were under discussion, but I can only imagine the topics included something like the following:

*Using FTL drives to transport emergency supplies into Darfur region despite President al-Bashir's decision to expel all relief workers.

*How Kamala Extract induced visions can be useful for predicting future crises and might also be fun at state dinners.

*Suggesting "cylon goo" as a means for the United States to repair its estimated $2.2 trillion in ailing infrastructure.

*How Israelis and Palestinians can be induced to get along by eliminating their "Resurrection Ship" that makes both think they can live forever.

*Encouraging embattled world leaders to adopt Admiral Adama's approach of binge drinking during times of crisis. Proven useful for overcoming such difficulties as: working with sworn enemies, handling the deterioration of your only means of defense, overcoming the death of a loved one, or just to let people know that you're really sad despite your permanently stern demeanor. The Japanese Finance Minister and French President have already led the way (not to mention the famous boozer Richard Nixon).

*How it's about time to tell the distinguished delegate from the great country of North Korea to go frak himself.

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The Gift of Security

Reenact racial profiling this holiday season.
This July I flew from Seattle to Vienna to present a paper at the VISU History and Philosophy of Science symposium. I was wearing the T-shirt I always wear while traveling, which says "We Will Not Be Silent" in both English and Arabic (the same one that blogger Raed Jarrar wore that got him harrassed by security and resulted in a $240,000 discrimination settlement). As I was boarding the plane I was pulled out of line by a team of five TSA agents, one of whom grabbed my crotch before patting down my arms and legs. I asked repeatedly why I was being searched, but they remained mute as they manhandled me. So you can imagine how pleased I was to find this actual toy currently on sale through Amazon.com.

For only $62.00 your child can be the first on their block to own the Playmobil Security Checkpoint. The set comes complete with metal detector, X-ray machine and hand-wand for added security. Apparently the selling point is that while other kids are getting yet another Bratz knock-off, your child can experience all the stress and exhaustion of waiting in line while an overworked TSA officer ransacks their luggage (also included).

But perhaps the best part are these actual customer reviews:

I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger's shoes cannot be removed.

The best thing about this product is that it teaches kids about the realities of living in a high-surveillence society. My son said he wants the Playmobil Neighborhood Surveillence System set for Christmas.

Thank you Playmobil for allowing me to teach my 5-year old the importance of recognizing what a failing bureaucracy in a ever growing fascist state looks like. Sometimes it's a hard lesson for kids to learn because not all pigs carry billy clubs and wear body armor.

When we first set it up we tried it with my daughters African American Magic Jewel Ken Doll and Barbie Princess of the Nile Doll but they were pulled out of line before the security checkpoint and taken to a back room for "processing."

Not complete without the Playmobil Police Checkpoint ($99.99) or the Playmobil Police Station ($47.99) complete with jail! Yes, they're real. This is the world we live in.

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Alito Rules to "Imagine" No Religion

Image: Billboard by the Freedom From Religion Foundation
John Lennon was invoked as part of a unanimous decision today when the Supreme Court ruled against a religious group in Utah trying to erect a granite marker in a public park.

In a case involving the Salt Lake City-based Summum, the court said that governments can decide what to display in a public park without running afoul of the First Amendment. Pleasant Grove City, Utah, rejected the group's marker, prompting a federal lawsuit that argued that a city can't allow some private donations of displays in its public park and reject others. The federal appeals court in Denver agreed.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion of the court (pdf here) and stated that monuments do not fall under the First Amendment protection of free speech because "permanent monuments displayed on public property typically represent government speech" and that the religious group's argument "fundamentally misunderstands the way monuments convey meaning."

He then quoted the song "Imagine" as an example since New York City erected a monument with that word to honor Lennon's death.

Some observers may “imagine” the musical contributions that John Lennon would have made if he had not been killed. Others may think of the lyrics of the Lennon song that obviously inspired the mosaic and may “imagine” a world without religion, countries, possessions, greed, or hunger.

The entire song was then entered into the Supreme Court docket. So, in a unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States we have the following opinion:


UPDATE: Summum is apparently a tiny religious sect founded by an ex-Mormon and is based on ancient Egyptian religious concepts. They even offer mummification for people and their pets (starting at the low, low price of $65,000). Doesn't seem any more bizarre than what's already out there in the name of religion. Incidentally, the park where Summum wanted to place their marker already hosts a statue of the Ten Commandments, which sort of sounds like an official government sanction of one religious belief over another. But what is it about Utah and their nutty religious cults?

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Who Wants a Fabulous Prize?

How reading blogs can be better than watching Oprah.


Hint: the gift will not be a car (car's are everywhere, this gift is rare).

ScienceWoman is going to send me a gift (and it's not even my birthday).

By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five people to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog.

So in the spirit of "paying it forward" I will mail the first five commenters who do the same a real, fully-functional, three-dimensional gift just for letting me know you're out there. I already know what I'm going to get you too (I think you'll really appreciate it).

Thanks for reading!

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Save the Salamander, Save the World

A new season of Heroes and the biology of regeneration


Claire from Heroes has a genetic mutation that allows her to regenerate.

Tonight’s Heroes premiere was one of the most anticipated new shows of the fall season. While the idea that a genetic mutation could allow someone to freeze time, read minds or defy gravity requires a small suspension of disbelief, there is one heroic genotype that scientists are currently exploring for it’s real world applications.

Claire has been one of my favorite characters in the series, and not just because she was the only one in her class who knew that Charles Darwin is famous for the term "survival of the fittest" (though it was actually Herbert Spencer who coined the phrase). I've always been fascinated with the possibility that humans could one day understand cellular mechanisms well enough to regrow damaged tissues, even stave off the inevitable. Now it seems we have the capability within our reach.

According to the journal Science the new field of “regenerative medicine” is one in which cells, tissues, even entire limbs that have been damaged by disease, injury, or aging could be regrown by studying the abilities of the humble salamander.

A salamander can regenerate its limbs and tail, upper and lower jaws, ocular tissues such as the lens and retina, the intestine, and small sections of the heart. . . The salamanders are unusual among adult vertebrates in their ability to regenerate an entire limb from a blastema.

The blastema is a mass of undifferentiated cells that develops into an organ or appendage following a specific pathway for a specific tissue. This is what allows us to regenerate skin and parts of our livers. However, in salamanders the blastema “dedifferentiate” and lose their specific characteristics in order to regenerate an entire limb, tail, even a new brain. This has led to a rush to understand the unique qualities of the salamander’s blastema.

Writing in the journal Molecular Interventions, biologist Panagiotis Tsonis suggests that these abilities might not be too far removed from what we currently understand about stem cells.

In the past few years, however, many studies have shown that stem cells––cells that are reserved and used for repair––might have greater potential for regeneration than originally thought.

Tsonis highlights a newly discovered chemical compound called reversine (because it reverses the cellular process of differentiation and allows progenitor cells to turn into stem cells) and suggests that we could conceivably reengineer human stem cells to behave like salamander blastemas.

Already this research is showing exciting results in the regrowth of fingers. Is it too much of a stretch that one day future cheerleaders could do backflips from an elevated platform without a mat? Perhaps. And while the genetics for regeneration exist, it would be impossible for such a complex mutation to occur in a single generation. Humans and salamanders shared a common ancestor about 350 million years ago. While we share enough in common that we can learn a great deal about applications for regenerative medicine, leaping to such ability would require a heroic imagination.

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