Regeneration Sans Stem Cells

Wired News reports on the possibility of regeneration without stem cells, using a process called dedifferentiation to make the adult cells time-warp back to a semi-stem-cell state, at least enough to regenerate!

"The dogma has always been that heart muscle cannot regenerate," Larsen said. "But it's possible in animals, and now we have drug candidates that may do the same thing in humans." He estimates human trials of the protein compounds will begin within the next few years.

That is HUGE news for medical advances as it allows all sorts of science-fiction ideas for advanced medical technology to become reality.

Elsewhere Wired also has one religious scientist's view on this new idea:

"I believe that dedifferentiation -- the direct conversion of a somatic cell into an embryonic stem cell -- is the holy grail for those seeking morally acceptable alternatives to the destructive embryo research now required to obtain (embryonic stem) cells," said Father Nicanor Austriaco, a molecular biologist and Catholic priest in Washington, D.C. "You would also be able to get immunocompatible (embryonic stem) cells from every patient by simply dedifferentiating his or her cells. This would be an amazing discovery."

It sort of takes the puff out of the push for more embryo research, which has some nasty moral complications involved. I imagine it also simplifies tissue rejection issues as you can use an adult's own cells to create the new tissue (would this lead to radioactive industries will start offering to store bits of workers' various organs in case of radiation overdose?).

Good News from Iraq

Sometimes you just want to read some good news, and there are some great articles on the USA's House Armed Services Committee - Building Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan page. This may not be the stuff that 'makes it' in our conventional news media, but it is nice to see for a change.

CafePress.com

Falkayn's Store is ticking along nicely at Cafepress.com with some moderate interest, mainly in the Serenity/Firefly themed gear I have up.

I received my first set of orders from them just before Christmas and found that the print quality was good, and the shirt quality adequate. One of the only annoying things left is that I can't get coloured T-shirts, like my favourite chocolate brown colour, on which to place funky designs.

The other annoying thing as a designer with a premium store is that it encourages you to apply one design to multiple items, even if that design really is optimised for one type of product (e.g T-shirts, mugs etc). I think I would like to come up with different versions of the one design that work in the different shape print areas.

Lots of Firefly/Serenity Designs

I've spent a fair bit of time in the last two days create a whole bunch of great Firefly/Serenity designs. The quotes from the TV show and movie are great additions to a cool T-shirt, so I've created my shot at the movie logo, and added some of the funnier quotes.



Feel free to request other designs if you have one that takes your fancy. I've done a couple of custom Traveller designs already.

Falkayn's Store: Sci-fi, IT geek and pirate gear!

I am proud to announce Falkayn's Store, a place where you can buy gear designed by me with sci-fi, IT geek and pirate themes.

Here is some of the designs:

One of Nine (well actually Eight)

Heh, this is nonsense ... but fun late night nonsense:

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Keeping Busy With Babies

Things have been a bit hectic in the McDonald household, we had a new addition to the family last week, a beautiful baby girl. My posting frequency has been a bit slow, but I am getting back in the saddle this week.

Our thanks to everyone who has given us such great support, gifts (pink of course!) and love during this time.

Angus McDonald