Day 269

Mattrixx Initiatives, Inc.

I first heard of Zicam, a Mattrixx Initiatives, Inc. cold remedy product, from my roommate who swore by its effectiveness to ward off colds.  It was very busy time leading up to our thesis exhibition and a cold was the last thing any of us needed.  Today in the news, the FDA issues a warning to the drug company to file a new application on the product after receiving 130 complaints regarding a anosmia, or loss of smell.  

Stocks for the company plummeted 70%.  

Day 230

Hubble Telescope Rescue

Two spacecrafts, the Atlantis and the Endeavor, are parked at Cape Canaveral ready to be launched.  The Atlantis is ready to be launched to start its mission to repair the Hubble Telescope and the Endeavor is on call to rescue the astronauts on the Atlantis in case they get stranded in space.  Stranded in Space..... sounds like an idea for a new reality show.  

Day 222

H1N1

More cases of Swine Flu are surfacing around the country.  In my backyard, classes were suspended at Harvard Dental School after a student was diagnosed with the new strain of virus. It will be interesting to see if all the precautions we are taking will contain the spread.  

Day 216

Swine Flu

20 people have died as a result of the swine flu virus in Mexico City.  This new bred of flu virus is a combination of human, pig, and bird viruses.  The virus has also spread to 8 confirmed people living in California and Texas.  

Day 132

Eight is Enough....

especially after already giving birth to six children.  In Whittier, California, Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets on Friday. That's a lot of babies. I look at my girlfriends and family members with their children and see how hard it is to juggle everything and can't imagine what it would be like to manage 14 children.  Good luck to you, Nadya.

Day 126

Day 124

Stem Cell Research

The Food and Drug Administration is in the news again as it approves the world's first study on embryonic stem cell therapy.  Geron Corp., a California based biotech will start clinical trials to regrow nerve tissue in spinal cord injury patients.  

The article mentions the vast difference in support for stem cell research between the Bush and Obama administrations.  I think it marks how significant and how quickly the pervading ideology of our leadership can affect policy- Obama has been in office for three days.

Who knows what the new research will accomplish. At bare minimum, at least the microscopic images of stem cell have some visual appeal. 

                     

Melamine Breakdown

I haven't thought about the molecular structure of anything since I nearly failed out of Chem 6A my freshman year of undergrad.  Above is the molecular breakdown of Melamine, the substance involved in the Chinese milk scandal.  The structure is beautiful as is and absolutely destructive when put in the wrong hands.  

Super Physics

Lots of things going on in the world today. Sometimes I feel like I just can't wrap my head around everything. Maybe most things just aren't made to make sense.  

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/24/finland.school.shooting/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/24/lhc_downed_until_after_xmas/

I found this beautiful image of the LHC....

and this one about CERN members and CERN observers...