Cosmos Magazine
Using a robot to explore the inside of the reactor at Chernobyl, scientist came across a black fungus that was able to live inside the abandoned facility where the radiation level is 500 times the background level. Many fungi are pretty resistant to radiation, so that's not the extraordinary part. Scientist think that the fungus is actually converting radioactive energy into biological energy it can use to grow. The reason the fungus is black is due to a large amount of melanin which scientists believe is being used in a similar way as chlorophyll is used in plants to convert solar energy into biological energy.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Terrible Terrible Ideas
BBC
With the 2010 World Cup coming to South Africa, politicians are trying to come up with ways to encourage soccer fans to come and enjoy themselves. Most of the issues are pretty evident, reduce the horrendous crime rate, clean up the cities, improve the infrastructure, etc. However, this idea seems a bit out there. After seeing the "success" of the German sex industry during the 2006 World Cup, some politicians think it's a good idea to legalize prostitution during the 2010 World Cup.
Some people might balk at this idea because actually the German brothels did relatively poorly during the 2006 World Cup. Most articles I can find on the subject from during and after the 2006 World Cup, show only lukewarm business. Most people going to World Cup games aren't going for the prostitutes or come in a group and can't just go to a brothel when they please.
Of course, what I hope most people think about is HIV. It is believed that nearly 11% of South Africans have HIV. I imagine that for people looking to engage in sexual activities, Sub-Saharan Africa is pretty low on their places to go. Assuming that South Africa puts in safeguards to make sure that the prostitutes don't have HIV, where are they going to find them? I'm guessing prostitutes could be brought down from other countries, but hopefully not from the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. This then begs the question, which prostitutes, assuming they have choice, are willing to risk working in a country with such a high prevalence of HIV?
It really just seems like a bad deal all around. Soccer fans are not going to flood brothels. Most potential customers will likely be scared off by the high HIV prevalence. Most potential prostitutes would also be scared off for the same reason. So in the end no one would win with legalized prostitution in South Africa.
With the 2010 World Cup coming to South Africa, politicians are trying to come up with ways to encourage soccer fans to come and enjoy themselves. Most of the issues are pretty evident, reduce the horrendous crime rate, clean up the cities, improve the infrastructure, etc. However, this idea seems a bit out there. After seeing the "success" of the German sex industry during the 2006 World Cup, some politicians think it's a good idea to legalize prostitution during the 2010 World Cup.
Some people might balk at this idea because actually the German brothels did relatively poorly during the 2006 World Cup. Most articles I can find on the subject from during and after the 2006 World Cup, show only lukewarm business. Most people going to World Cup games aren't going for the prostitutes or come in a group and can't just go to a brothel when they please.
Of course, what I hope most people think about is HIV. It is believed that nearly 11% of South Africans have HIV. I imagine that for people looking to engage in sexual activities, Sub-Saharan Africa is pretty low on their places to go. Assuming that South Africa puts in safeguards to make sure that the prostitutes don't have HIV, where are they going to find them? I'm guessing prostitutes could be brought down from other countries, but hopefully not from the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. This then begs the question, which prostitutes, assuming they have choice, are willing to risk working in a country with such a high prevalence of HIV?
It really just seems like a bad deal all around. Soccer fans are not going to flood brothels. Most potential customers will likely be scared off by the high HIV prevalence. Most potential prostitutes would also be scared off for the same reason. So in the end no one would win with legalized prostitution in South Africa.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Metropolis Extended
The Local
Several years ago, I was back home from NCSSM. Flipping through the channels I found out that the film "Metropolis" would be showing on TCM late at night. I had heard much about film and it was something I really wanted to see, so here was my chance. I was completely enthralled by the movie. One of the most memorable things about the movie was the blank spots. Much of the film had been lost and all that was left was a description of what had taken place in the lost scenes. This air of mystery has kept me interested in the film ever since.
Recently a museum in Argentina has discovered that the copy of "Metropolis" in its archives was longer than the current version available. It's highly likely that this is an original copy, maintaining all the unedited scenes. I can't wait for it to be fully restored.
Several years ago, I was back home from NCSSM. Flipping through the channels I found out that the film "Metropolis" would be showing on TCM late at night. I had heard much about film and it was something I really wanted to see, so here was my chance. I was completely enthralled by the movie. One of the most memorable things about the movie was the blank spots. Much of the film had been lost and all that was left was a description of what had taken place in the lost scenes. This air of mystery has kept me interested in the film ever since.
Recently a museum in Argentina has discovered that the copy of "Metropolis" in its archives was longer than the current version available. It's highly likely that this is an original copy, maintaining all the unedited scenes. I can't wait for it to be fully restored.
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