WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Geese force-fed and then slaughtered for their livers may get their final revenge on people who favor the delicacy known as foie gras: It may transmit a little-known disease known as amyloidosis, researchers reported on Monday.
The new planet is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. The new "super-Earth" is called Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581, a diminutive red dwarf star located 20.5 light-years away that is about one-third as massive as the Sun.
Because it lies within its star's habitable zone and is relatively close to Earth, Gliese 581 C could be a very important target for future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life, said study team member Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France.
Computer models predict Gliese 581 C is either a rocky planet like Earth or a waterworld covered entirely by oceans.
"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid," study leader Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland said.
The scientists discovered the new world using the HARP instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Sille, Chile. They employed the so-called radial velocity, or "wobble," technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on small perturbations it induces in its parent star's orbit via gravity.
Udry said there was a fair amount of time between the calculation of Gliese 581 C's size and the realization it was within its star's habitable zone. "That came at the end," Udry said.
A gigantic bird-like dinosaur weighing as much as a car towered over its relatives about 70 million years ago, a new finding suggests.
The unearthed beaked dinosaur was not full-grown, yet it tipped the scales at more than 3,000 pounds. Paleontologists who discovered its remains estimate the behemoth was just 11 years old when it perished.
Chinese scientists unearthed the skeletal remains of the dinosaur, now named Gigantoraptor erlianensis, in the Erlian Basin of Inner Mongolia, China.
I've been itching to take the family for a break for a while now. Hubby and I have been both exhausted from work and parenting. A good exhausted but still, nevertheless, exhausted. I begged the hubby to take a few days off next month for a nice celebration but he said his bosses need him to work. Alors.
Anyhow, year-end we definitely have a wedding to attend overseas. But the Europe holiday we have been planning (sometime during our lifetime) is still out of reach. I do regret not stopping by Amsterdam while I was working for a Finnish game company and travelling to Finland fairly often. I did buy back a block of cheese on transit though.
We will have to visit London sometime before our friend Greg leaves so that we can stay at his place although it would be nice to stay at the Radisson-Edwardian! It would be lovely to bring Jack to see the quaint curiosity shops and old bookstores I adore.
Since I was a kid, I have always wanted a telescope. There is something almost spiritual about looking into space, at the stars and planets out there. Actually I didn't just want to look at the stars, I wanted to go there.
It looks like it isn't going to happen in my lifetime. But thanks to Ben Bova and his amazing Grand Tour novels, I have visited the planets of our Solar System, and thanks to Gregory Benford, I have seen Pluto, in a space suit no less.
Now with a telescope, you may not be able to see everything (planetary alignment, distance of light, etc), but with meade my sky (full name: Meade My Sky Personal Video Planetarium), you can explore space virtually as well as control a Meade computerised telescope.
Jack simply refused to nap today, playing basketball, football, and stair climbing. When he got home, he crashed and I thought it would be the perfect time to finally get a DVD into my laptop and watch a movie.
Dang Windows Media Player and the other one I downloaded, Video LAN played it poorly - very choppy - and I spent an hour trying to fix it.
A headache, backache, and neckache later, I gave up and decided to use the 7" portable DVD player my brother lent me to watch it instead. No dice. It kept loading but never played.
Hence I am back online for some actualisation before I sleep... :)
Since I have started loitering on Amazon.com a lot more, I stopped by Couponchief.com to get some promo codes for free shipping and other free stuff and discounts.
It pays as always to surf for coupons first. Always always do this before shopping online - you can save a bundle on almost everything you buy! Don't forget.
Two days ago someone peed and pooed on my slippers. Then there was poo outside the poo box scattered like discarded dolls in lieu of new ones around the boxes and in the cat house.
Today Buffy and Kaku did not have their supper. Buffy had a slight fever, dry nose, pale pink tongue, and was decidedly listless and in need of comfort as she lay on my chair. Kaku hid from us and hissed when I tried to go near.
Their Dad suspects a flu, but I also worry it could be from food contamination as we have Natural Balance (although we have not fed them the recalled ones - those are put away to be returned) can food or from the salmon and chicken combo I fed them today - too much fat in the salmon?
I checked online but could not find anything definitive. Their Dad couldn't find anything in our copy of Cornell's too. There was no distention in her tummy so it can't be a gassy thing. Both girls are moving fine, so it can't be musculoskeletal. There are some brown spots on the edges of Buffy's ear but then those could have been there before. No runny nose...
We've moved them to the kitchen where I can check on them more often. The boys seem in good spirits, chomping up the extra food I gave them. Buffy refused the kibble, even from my hand, and Kaku just stared at it and ran off to hide.
What could my girls have? Their Dad says we should observe them tomorrow and see how things go.
I have decided, regardless of the potential inconvenience, we will let them back into the house to spend more time with them. Boy is already 15 and although in good shape, has only 5 more years with us according to average lifespan. And things could go downhill very quickly. Buffy and Kaku's bout of illness (well not sure if Kaku is sick or just disturbed because her Dad was talking very loudly on the phone when he went to feed them) also worries me. This way they are close to me and I can see what is happening in their lives too.
Let's hope they are better tomorrow... Can't sleep now though.
"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness." -- Bertrand Russell
"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."
-- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1890)
A woman's romance with motherhood, green living, finance, and this heady thing called life.
