Dali Lama Honours Tintin

The Dalai Lama will present the International Campaign for Tibet's Light of Truth award to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Hergé Foundation, a non-profit association in the memory of the creator of comic book character Tintin, during the Tibetan leader's visit to Brussels in June 2006. The Light of Truth award honors individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to the public understanding of Tibet.

The awards ceremony on 1 June takes place during the Dalai Lama's high-profile nine-day visit to Brussels from 29 May - 6 June 2006.

Tsering Jampa, Executive Director of ICT Europe, said: "We are particularly proud to honor Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Hergé Foundation for their longstanding support for Tibetan culture and the Tibetan people. For many, Hergé's depiction of Tibet was their introduction to the awe-inspiring landscape and culture of Tibet...”

Story HERE. Thanks to The Comics Reporter for the tip.

WATCH THE INTRO TO THE TINITIN SHOW:

Atomic Mutation Over 1500 Generations

Rice University biologists, using an ingenious experiment that forced bacteria to compete in a head-to-head contest for evolutionary dominance, today offer the first glimpse of how individual genetic-level adaptations play out as Darwinian natural selection in large populations.

"One of our most surprising findings is that an estimated 20 million point mutations gave rise to just six populations that were capable of vying for dominance," said lead researcher Yousif Shamoo.

Rice's study involved the heat-loving bacteria G. stearothermophilus, which thrives at up to 73 degrees Celsius (163 F). They grew the bacteria for one month in fermentor, raising the temperature a half degree Celsius each day.

Over a span of 1,500 generations, the percentage of mutant strains inside the fermentor ebbed and flowed as the single-celled microbes competed for dominance. Eventually, one strain squeezed out almost all the competition by virtue of its ability to most efficiently metabolize food at high temperature.

The first of the six, dubbed Q199R, arose almost immediately, and was the dominant strain through the 500th generation. Around 62 degrees Celsius, the Q199R was unable to further cope with the rising temperature, and a new round of mutations occurred. Five new varieties – themselves mutant forms of Q199R – vied for final domination of the fermentor. Three of the five were driven to extinction within a couple of days, and the final two fought it out over the remaining three weeks of the test.

Shamoo said this strongly shows the dynamic nature of evolution at the molecular and atomic level.

The paper will be published in the May 19th issue of Molecular Cell.

Read the full story HERE.

Trailer for The Blob (1988):

The Science of Sci-Fi Movie Posters

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Coming Attractions! 80 Years of Cinematic Science: Movie Posters from Around the World
May 5, 2006 - Jun 30, 2006
The New York Academy of Sciences

An exhibition in the NY Science Academy's Gallery of Art & Science through June 30, brings together posters for more than 25 movies, including examples from such countries as Argentina, Germany, Japan, Russia, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, and the U.S., among others.

The exhibit includes a British poster for the re-release of Fritz Lang's Metropolis; one from France for the American eco-drama, Soylent Green; and an Argentinean poster for the Italian film, Mission Stardust. Also represented will be posters for such true-to-life dramas as Inherit the Wind, the thinly disguised rendition of the 1925 Scopes "monkey trial," and a poster for the glossy American tribute to the medical profession, Not as a Stranger.

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Ever since science gave birth to the cinema more than a century ago, the link between the two has been often intimate and exciting—and sometimes rather disturbing. Sort of like the relationship between Dr. Frankenstein and his creation. Countless movies have featured aspects of science and technology, both credible (or almost so) and fantastic (mostly). Just as fanciful is the varied collection of absurdly mad or strangely saintly scientist "heroes" that have populated the movies over the years.

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All works in the exhibition come from Posteritati Movie Posters, a New York gallery specializing in international movie art.

Watch the trialer for The Green Slime!:

Roald Dahl's Gremlins

Link Gremlins on a Plane by Gustaf Tenggren.

A watercolor illustration (above) for “What Every Pilot Knows,” by Quentin Reynolds for Collier’s magazine (October 31, 1942).



The Gremlins is the story of Gus, a British World War II fighter pilot, who during the Battle of Britain turned to look out on the wing of his plane only to see an amazing sight: a little man, no more than six inches tall with horns growing from his head, drilling a hole in the plane's wing.

The Gremlins was first published in 1943 and has long been unavailable. Dark Horse Books is reprinting this landmark book from the author of such beloved tales as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda.

Originally bought by Walt Disney to be produced as an animated motion picture (and considered to be the first story featuring the mythical airplane-sabotaging creatures known as Gremlins), the project was ultimately shelved and is reprinted here for the first time in over sixty years.

From the Cartoon Brew:

the cover of the original book was done by Mary Blair. The interiors were done by Bill Justice and Al Dempster, two longtime Disney artists. In fact, Bill was responsible for some of the gremlin designs and worked closely with Dahl.

Watch Bugs Bunny vs. The Gremlin in this 1943 Merry Melodie by Bob Clampett entitled "Falling Hare":

Llamas, Coffee & Monty Python

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Nervous consumers who are addicted to the taste of coffee but desperate to cut down on their caffeine will welcome the development on offer from a team of US chemists: a molecule, extracted from llamas, that can easily detect caffeine in a hot or cold drink.

The molecule should be easily utilized, say the team, so that the reaction with caffeine triggers a simple colour-change on a dipstick. Then drinkers could check that their friendly barista really has given them the decaf they ordered.

Although described as the world's most popular psychoactive drug for its alertness-boosting powers, many people dislike caffeine's side effects, which can include insomnia, paranoia and high blood pressure.

Link is here:Llamas help to spot fake decaf.

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Kepler's Harmonice Mundi

Link. More on Sidney Harris

Published on this day in 1618, Johannes Kepler's five-volume work Harmonice Mundi. Kepler explored analogies between the solar system and the ratios found in musical tones, an extension of what Pythagoras had described as the "harmony of the spheres". Link

More on Kepler HERE

The Origin of the Cactus Life-Form

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The cactus form is often heralded as a striking example of the tight relationship between form and function in plants. A succulent, long-lived photosynthetic system allows cacti to survive periods of extreme drought while maintaining well-hydrated tissues.

Recent molecular phylogenetic work has confirmed that Pereskia, a genus that consists of 17 species of leafy shrubs and trees, is where the earliest cactus lineages began. Using field studies and environmental modeling, Drs. Edwards and Donoghue found that the Pereskia species already showed water use patterns that are similar to the leafless, stem-succulent cacti.

"[Our] analyses suggest that several key elements of cactus ecological function were established prior to the evolution of the cactus life form," explain the authors. "Such a sequence may be common in evolution, but it has rarely been documented as few studies have incorporated physiological, ecological, anatomical, and phylogenetic data."

Pereskia and the Origin of the Cactus Life-Form. 2006. Erika J. Edwards and Michael J. Donoghue. The American Naturalist, volume 167.