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« Science: November 2007 | Main | Science: January 2008 » ScienceRemoving Fear of a Natural Predator Here's a video of a mouse that's been genetically modified not to become panicked in the presence of a cat. Why are we trying to modify animals to not fear their natural predators? Is this a "Help the Predators" campaign? Are they having trouble hunting and trapping their prey? Have they become so weak and sickened that we need to bring the wonders of modern science in to rectify this terrible tragedy? Crazy scientists. Why don't you invent something i can use!! Damn you!!! By min | December 12, 2007, 2:17 PM | Science | Comments (1)| Link Not only are we still evolving. According to this article, we've been evolving faster in the last 5,000 years since we split with chimps 6 million years ago. It's all well and good that they've detected partial resistance to malaria in some African populations, but where the hell is my Northeast U.S. seasonal allergy resistance? Will all of us cubicle dwellers evolve lighter skin (and dairy tolerance for Chinese and Africans cube dwellers) because our decreased exposure to sunlight will require us to get vitamin D elsewhere? The downside? I have a feeling we're quickly evolving towards Mike Judge's Idiocracy more than anything else. By min | December 12, 2007, 1:40 PM | Science | Link Is sex possible in space? NASA's been wondering the same thing. Twenty positions were tested by computer simulation to obtain the best 10, he says. "Two guinea pigs then tested them in real zero-gravity conditions. The results were videotaped but are considered so sensitive that even Nasa was only given a censored version." Only four positions were found possible without "mechanical assistance". The other six needed a special elastic belt and inflatable tunnel, like an open-ended sleeping bag. Mr Kohler says: "One of the principal findings was that the classic so-called missionary position, which is so easy on earth when gravity pushes one downwards, is simply not possible." [emphasis mine] Two "guinea pigs," that is, cause i don't see them being able to direct actual rodents as to what positions they should be executing. Inflatable tunnel. *snicker* By min | December 5, 2007, 1:38 PM | Science | Link |