Doctor Frankenstein's An Idiot

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Egg
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Doctor Frankenstein's An Idiot

Post by Egg » Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:29 pm

The genetic code of the germ that caused the Black Death has been reconstructed by scientists for the first time.

The researchers extracted DNA fragments of the ancient bacterium from the teeth of medieval corpses found in London.

They say the pathogen is the ancestor of all modern plagues.

The research, published in the journal Nature, suggests the 14th Century outbreak was also the first plague pandemic in history.

Humans have rarely encountered an enemy as devastating as the bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Between 1347 and 1351 it sparked the Black Death, an infection carried by fleas that spread rapidly across Europe killing around 50 million people.

Now scientists have uncovered some of the genetic secrets of the plague, thanks to DNA fragments drilled from the teeth of victims buried in a graveyard in London’s East Smithfield.

Professor Johannes Krause from the University of Tubingen, Germany, was a member of the research team. He said all current strains circulating in the world are directly related to the medieval bacterium.

“It turns out that this ancient Yersinia pestis strain is very close to the common ancestor of all modern strains that can infect humans,” he said.

“It’s the grandmother of all plague that’s around today.”



Rebuilding the genetic code of the bacterium from DNA fragments was not easy, say the scientists.

They removed teeth from skeletons found in an ancient graveyard in London located under what is now the Royal Mint.

Dr Kirsten Bos from McMaster University explained how the process worked.

“If you actually crack open an ancient tooth you see this dark black powdery material and that’s very likely to be dried up blood and other biological tissues.

“So what I did was I opened the tooth and opened the pulp chamber and with a drill bit made one pass through and I took out only about 30 milligrams of material, a very very small amount and that’s the material I used to do the DNA work.”

From the dental pulp the researchers were able to purify and enrich the pathogen’s DNA, and exclude material from human and fungal sources.

The researchers believe the techniques they have developed in this work can be used to study the genomes of many other ancient pathogens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15278366


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Mungodave
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Re: Doctor Frankenstein's An Idiot

Post by Mungodave » Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:51 am

The researchers believe the techniques they have developed in this work can be used to study the genomes of many other ancient pathogens.
And/or create a new biological weapon.

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lkwalker
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Re: Doctor Frankenstein's An Idiot

Post by lkwalker » Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:54 pm

And now a word from our sponsor...

Woman accused of calling ex 1,001 times in 3 months
By SUSAN CARROLL, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Updated 09:09 p.m., Wednesday, October 12, 2011

 
In the span of 24 hours, she allegedly called her ex-lover 146 times.

Police said she shattered several of the windows of his west Houston home, first with a tire iron, and then with a 5-foot sword.

She is accused of egging his house on several occasions, and posting pictures of herself bragging about it on her Facebook page.

Police say Toni Jo Silvey, 49, still reeling from a 2009 breakup with Houston leather artist Peter Main, also created an Internet persona - "woundedpo eticsoul" - that turned out to be very wounded indeed.

Silvey was arrested on Tuesday and charged with felony stalking. Court records show a magistrate set Silvey's bail at $25,000 and ordered her not to contact Main. She remained in Harris County Jail on Wednesday.

In June, Silvey started a blog that detailed the breakdown of their relationship and her post-breakup bad behavior in excruciating detail, calling him names and posting rambling rants about his relationship with a younger woman.

Silvey's criminal defense attorney, James Madison Ardoin III, declined comment Wednesday.

Main, 62, did not respond to a voicemail or an email seeking comment. Main told police officers he dated Silvey briefly in 2009 and has been reluctant to file charges against her because "he is afraid of angering (her) further."

Main told police that Silvey called him 1,001 times and sent him 712 emails over a span of less than three months, starting in mid-June. One day in August, she allegedly called him 146 times, investigators said.

According to the probable-cause affidavit in the case, Silvey started the blog in June, where she vacillated between name-calling, waxing philosophical about the end of their relationship and openly taunting Main.

The blog also includes excerpts of what appear to be emails between Main and another woman. Main reported that his email account was hacked in February.

Main told police he did not change his phone or email because he is self-employed and "it would be detrimental to his business."

He told police he saw Silvey shatter the leaded glass windows near his front door with a tire iron in July. He also said she smashed a kitchen window with a tire iron on Aug. 3, and then returned four days later and broke another kitchen window with a 5-foot sword.

Parked car rammed

That same day, Main told police, Silvey rammed her Chevy Blazer into his parked car, slamming it into the garage door and causing about $915 in damage.

Main also reported his house being "egged" several times by Silvey, and gave police a screen shot of Silvey allegedly bragging about it on her Facebook page.

In an interview with police, Silvey repeatedly told the officer to "read my blog, read my blog, it's all there."

The police officer reviewed the blog and online "and found numerous references to the damages to the complainant's property ... "

Last Friday, an officer with the Houston Police Department's Special Crimes Division called Silvey and warned her several times to leave Main alone, court records show. The officer explained to Silvey that she could face criminal charges if she didn't stop harassing him.

That afternoon, Main reported to police that Silvey was back, throwing eggs at his driveway.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 215226.php
"If you don't think to good, don't think too much." Yogi

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Egg
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Location: In Your Bedroom. Hi! :D

Re: Doctor Frankenstein's An Idiot

Post by Egg » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:43 pm

Nobody should be throwing eggs. Nobody. :x


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