HoodedHawk

George Clooney is producing a miniseries for the SciFi Channel based on The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. Stephenson will be adapting his book into the screenplay. I’m really looking forward to this, since The Diamond Age is a great book (Hugo Winner!). yay.

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An article in a recent issue of Nature reports on two (female) Komodo dragons (in two separate British zoos) who have reproduced via parthenogenesis, i.e., without males. No mammals are known to reproduce in this way, and only a few vertebrate species can. These momma Komodos are definitely the largest animals to do so. It is speculated that this would allow a single female Komodo to colonize a new area, e.g., an island. However, since parthenogenesis in komodos only produces males, she’d eventually have to mate with one of her sons to perpetuate the colony. Researchers used genetic testing on the offspring to confirm only one parent. One of the mommas was subsequently introduced to a male Dragon, and she produced a clutch of eggs in the usual way.

A free summary is available at sciencenews.org.

A paper in a recent issue of the journal Nature (see the Nature News Report) reports an x-ray imaging study of the ~2100 year-old bronze Antikythera Mechanism used as an astronomical calendar.

What is remarkable is not only the fact that this is the oldest/most complex geared mechanism known (over 30 intricate bronze gears) – but that nothing as complex is known to exist for at least another 1000 years.

Also, it is quite interesting that such a sophisticated technology should just vanish. Why didn’t a civilization advanced enough to create such a device continue on, advancing in technology? Why did it just stagnate for 1000 years, and we don’t see another example of such tech until the Middle Ages in Europe?

It was found in a shipwreck off the coast of Greece, and is in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. It had been underwater for over 2000 years, so its condition is remarkable. The artifact is basically priceless, so it wasn’t allowed to leave the museum. So, over 12 tons of x-ray equipment were transported to Athens from the UK to image the device.

Read the Nature News report for a great background story. Also see the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project page for more info.

Google has a great new service: Google Patent Search. I tried “gene sequence” and got back over 1200 hits. This is disturbing on a couple of levels, for example: a patent on the Coding sequences of the human BRCA1 gene.

Two things are big issues here:

• How can the (idiotic?) US Patent office grant patents on what any normal person would call a work of Nature? Didn’t the courts shoot that down? They should. This isn’t an “invention”, it’s a discovery of something Nature has done.
• The above patent (and others like it) are also a concern, since mutations to the BRCA1 gene are linked to human ovarian and breast cancer. Thus, patenting the sequence prevents production of generic techniques for detecting such mutations. The patent does also include specific techniques for detecting mutations. I don’t have a problem with patenting certain techniques – but there is a fine line. Patenting the *sequence* crosses it, though.

Somebody needs to give the USPTO a wakeup call.

Spent a pleasant afternoon at Cascade Falls, Patapsco State Park in Ellicott City, MD at a Small Group Shoot directed by Christine Kent Bowles. She’s a great instructor, and I highly recommend her workshops (either at shoots or classroom).