I picked this article because of how the Olympics are going on right now. Everyone know most athletes will do almost anything to perform better even if its involving their genes. Gene doping is the idea creating a replica of a gene found in people with common physical traits such as running fast or unable to gain weight and injecting them into other people so they can also posses the gene. Although I fin this article every interesting I do agree with it being very dangerous. They say how they fear how deadly it can be with humans because once the injection of the gene it its unclear on how to stop a gene once it had begun.

click here for the full article!

'Exciting' advance reported in peanut allergy therapy

This article is told if people who are allergic to peanuts over time take small amounts every two weeks can someday make themselves able to tolerate the peanuts to eat many more at a time. I find this article interesting but a hard concept to follow. It defiantly makes sense in getting the person who is allergic use to peanuts in small accruements, but how come that happens? I would like to know the deeper reasons of how someone can tolerate a little at a time and over time be able to eat up to 12 or 52 peanuts at a time. What I still wonder is what goes on inside the human body for them to adapt to eating the peanuts without an allergic reaction.

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LGBTF? Pesticide Turns Male Frogs into Females

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/03/02/pesticide-turns-male-frogs-females/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fscitech+%2528Text+-+SciTech%2529
I found it interesting that a simple pesticide could change the sex of an animal. There are people who go through years of injections of testosterone or estrogen, while there are male frogs who are simply exposed to a specific pesticide and are turning into females.

Ant queens are more devious then previously thought

When an ant colony starts its more productive to have multiple queens to produce more workers. After they become successful surplus queens are executed by worker ants until only one remains. Queens can expect to know when there time is up and conserve energy to protect themselves. The Copenhagen team found that queens which were fertile had stronger chemical signals, and were also more likely to be spared execution by workers. Workers therefore appear to be selecting the fertile queen as their ruler based on smell.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2010/02/25/plotting_and_treachery_in_ant_royal_families.html

Greenwich Village School Unveils Plans for New Rooftop Eco Lab Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20100302/manhattan/greenwich-village-school-unveils-

Eco-friendly science lab is to be built on the roof an elementary school in Greenwich Village. P.S. 41 unveiled these new designs Tuesday at the West 11^th Street School. This project will cost $1.7 million for the “Environmental Literacy Lab”. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer stated that “this will set a precedent for what is possible” he also stated that “learning shouldn’t be limited to the classroom, so I’m thrilled to be able to support a project that moves lessons off the blackboard and onto the rooftop.” The lab will be called the Greenroof Environmental Literacy Laboratory. The facility will feature an assortment of exhibits including plants, insects, among other wildlife from a mix of habitats. There will also be learning to teach lessons in urban sustainability, farm-to-table agriculture and environmental stewardship.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn stated at the event “I’m hoping this will end the rumor that urban centers are not environmental hubs” she also stated that “This new roof is going to create so many more scientists.”This project will add an estimated 15,000 square feet of green space to the Village. The roof will be split up in two sections the eastern section will include a fenced-in observational learning space while the western section will house the wildlife habitats. The construction for this project is to begin this spring. Kelly Shannon the principal of P.S. 41 stated “It will teach children to never stop questioning the world around them.” Vicki Sando who began a gardening program in the spring of 2003 is credited with this project along with the school alumnus and parent Christopher Hayes. Vicki Sando stated “Kids today think vegetables come out of shrink-wrap packages instead of the ground” she also stated “They need to get their hands in the dirt.”

"The project’s costs have been underwritten by the offices of Stringer, Quinn and State Senator Thomas Duane, along with donations from foundations and the school community.P.S. 41, a kindergarten through fifth-grade school, is still seeking additional funds. Contact the school to donate."

http://www.dnainfo.com/20100302/manhattan/greenwich-village-school-unveils-plans-for-new-rooftop-eco-lab

LONG TERM POT SMOKING AND BRAIN DISORDERS

http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=240062

A recent study in Australia is now trying to link smoking pot with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, and hallucinations. Researchers polled 3,800 people born between the years of 1981 and 1984 (so they are still very young), and questioned if they have ever smoked pot, if they smoked it regularly, and how long they have been smoking pot. They broke it down into three groups, people who have smoked pot for less than three years, people who have smoked between four and five years, and then people who have smoked six years and up. The number of people with psychotic disorders was twice the amount of the average than of the people in the other brackets. They are still doing research and need more evidence, but I guess in their case this is a good start. I believe that smoking pot can cause damage to your brain. It is a chemical that you put in your body and it changes the functions in your brain on how you view things, just like any other drug, although it is not nearly as harmful as other drugs. I doubt that smoking pot will make you "crazy", but I'm sure doing it every day for quite some time will do some kind of damage, but what doesn't do damage to your body these days ??

Osteoporosis Drug May Fight Several Diseases

Study Shows Lasofoxifene Cuts Risk of Breast Cancer, Heart Attack, and Stroke
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDFeb. 24, 2010 -- A new entry in a popular class of osteoporosis drugs may help postmenopausal women reduce their risk of broken bones as well as fight breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Lasofoxifene is a part of a class of drugs known as nonsteroidal selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs). It has already been shown to decrease the bone loss and weakening associated with osteoporosis, like other SERMs, including tamoxifen and raloxifene. But until now its effect on other health conditions commonly experienced by postmenopausal women was unknown.

A new study shows that postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who took a 0.5-milligram daily dose of lasofoxifene had a 42% lower risk of vertebral (spinal) fractures and a 24% lower risk of non-vertebral fractures than those who took a placebo treatment.

The women who took lasofoxifene also had an 81% lower risk of estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, a 32% lower risk of heart-related events like heart attack, and a 36% lower risk of stroke.

"This is the first SERM that reduces the risk of all of these conditions at once," researcher Steven Cummings, MD, of the San Francisco Coordinating Center at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, says in a news release. "Not only did it reduce vertebral fractures, which was not unexpected, it also reduced the risk of non-vertebral fractures -- injuries to the arms, legs, ribs, hips -- that are the most common injuries to people with osteoporosis and the main causes of disability."
Source: http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/news/20100224/osteoporosis-drug-may-fight-several-diseases

this article is very relevent as we have discussed how importaint it is for women to have a high calcium/ vitaminD intake to fight ostioperosis. As well as doing this women that are high risk for this condition must take preventative medication like the one in the article. Particularly this medicine is a good choice because it prevents many other fatal conditions asosiated with aging women. I find it odd the FDA did not yet approve the drug, but thats the US, leave it to the government to decide which medicine is safe for you to take.