XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Thursday 1 September 2011

Man arrested streaking at NASCAR event had wild raccoon in car... -

Man arrested streaking at NASCAR event had wild raccoon in car... - 


Tennessee police said they got a shock on Saturday when they discovered a wild raccoon in the car of a Parkersburg man arrested for streaking at a NASCAR event.
Joshua Greene, 27, was naked when officers arrested him in a local subdivision in Bristol, Tenn., said Bristol Police Capt. Matt Austin.
Multiple witnesses called police after Greene went streaking through Pit Row Market, where concerts were being held for the weekend's races, Austin said.


During the investigation, officers were surprised when they saw that Greene was keeping a live raccoon confined in the backseat of his car, Austin said.
"He had it in a large plastic tote with some holes in it so it could breathe," he said. "I wouldn't let officers open the tote until the Wildlife Agency got there to tell us what to do with it."
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was called out to safely remove the wild animal.
Greene and his girlfriend found the raccoon in nearby Warriors' Path State Park and chased it into their car, Austin said.

Read more -
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201108310861#.Tl-5c4EPKbZ.twitter

Study touts new blood clot pill - exceeded high expectations for millions of people with atrial fibrillation -

Study touts new blood clot pill - exceeded high expectations for millions of people with atrial fibrillation - 


An experimental pill to prevent blood clots exceeded already high expectations as a better therapy for millions of people with atrial fibrillation, according to final results of a worldwide study released Sunday.
The study was featured at the European Society of Cardiology in Paris and simultaneously published on the website of The New England Journal of Medicine.
"It's a remarkable achievement," said Dr. Valentin Fuster, a past president of American and world heart associations, who was not involved with the trial. "This is one of the most significant advances in cardiovascular medicine in the last five years, no question."
The twice-daily pill, to be called Eliquis, prevented 21 percent more strokes than the blood thinner warfarin, a standard treatment for heart arrhythmia, and resulted in 31 percent fewer incidents of major bleeding over an average of 1.8 years in the study.
Eliquis also reduced total deaths by 11 percent, a mortality benefit its makers, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer, plan to trumpet in a marketing campaign, assuming the Food and Drug Administration approves the drug this year.
Newer anticoagulant drugs that act on clotting enzymes are not without disadvantages. They cost much more than generic warfarin, roughly $8 a day instead of $1 or less. And they wear off much faster if users miss a dose, raising the risk of stroke. Eliquis and another new product, Pradaxa, require two pills a day, in the morning and evening, instead of the once-daily, longer-acting warfarin.
The study included 18,201 people in 1,034 clinical sites in 39 countries and was consistent worldwide, the sponsors said. Although the study was financed by the drugmakers, which raises the issue of bias, it was a randomized, double-blinded trial in which doctors and patients did not know who took which pill until the end.
More than 2.6 million people have atrial fibrillation in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 12 million people will have it by 2020 because of an aging population with longer life expectancy. The arrhythmia in the left upper chamber of the heart can cause slow blood flow and clots, raising the risk of stroke by four to six times on average, the government says.


Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/article_1aff0b2a-872e-52ff-bee5-4b8e7df1029d.html#ixzz1WiTtrOO6

Slaughter-Free Stem Cell Meat Sausage Coming Soon - mmmm yummy - Stem Cell Meat Sausage -

Slaughter-Free Stem Cell Meat Sausage Coming Soon - mmmm yummy - Stem Cell Meat Sausage - 


Scientists are on the verge of growing artificial meat in laboratories without the need for animal slaughter, according to a report cited Thursday by The Herald Sun -- with one expert predicting a stem cell sausage might be just six months away.
Researchers say the advent of "pain-free" meat produced from stem cells could save millions of animals from the abattoir and help the environment through substantially reduced energy, land and water use.
Dutch researcher Dr. Mark Post, of Maastricht University, predicts the first synthetic sausage could be just six months away.
"I'm hopeful we can have a hamburger in a year," he told New Scientist.
But a major stumbling block will be turning cultured meat into a tasty, textured and nutritious option that could make mouths water in supermarkets and restaurants. The time and cost involved are also major hurdles.
Post said the meat -- pig cells fed with horse fetal serum -- he had grown did not look appetizing because it was white.
"It's white because there's no blood in it, and very little myoglobin, the iron-bearing protein," he said. "We are looking at ways to build up the myoglobin content to give it color."
Farmers do not feel threatened by the new technology, according to the Herald Sun. A Cattle Council of Australia spokesman said the development would not threaten farmers given the difficulty in creating a protein-rich substance, and the sheer amount that would need to be produced.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/09/01/slaughter-free-stem-cell-meat-sausage-coming-soon/?test=latestnews