OK..I am coming out of the closet...

Well....I have something to tell you! I am....well......I am confused about.....about my.....well...I am confused about where my right is! YES! I am one of those persons that do not know their left from their right! Tell me to turn right....my body always wants to turn left! Tell me to turn left....well I will turn left! Sometimes I am totally convinced left is right! Does that make any sense? Is there a name for a condition like mine? Does that mean I have no right hemisphere? Well.....Bayblab dudes.....now you know! I am a leftie that knows nothing but left! It's like right does not exist....Seriously!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!!!!

I LOVE THE WEB....it's full of those little gems! Take for example these tow sites about the art of the Mandala...

The Mandala is truly a work of patience! It is a representation of the Universe....so many grains of sand! Look HERE first....and then HERE (choose Nanomandala at LACMA). I promise you the ride of your life - at nanoscale!

Bacteria as tools....

After you watch this....go to this amazing site:
WWW.TED.com

Tippi !!!

As much as I hate animal abuse and their abusers, I like to see animal-loving humans...almost makes me like the human race....Click HERE!

Mmmm....brain soup!

The microscopic world of protists is so diverse. From the cute and swift Paramecium caudatum to the diarrhea-causing Giardia lamblia. A colleague recently sent me an email with a story of the brain eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri....I had to investigate!

First, lets say that infection are rare but more common when heat waves are present....since these heat waves are likely to be longer and more prevalent, this story is of public interest. This interesting organism enters through the nose and makes its way to the central nervous system by crossing the olfactory neuroepithelium. From 1995 to 2004 only 23 infections have been documented but the recent death a of a 14 year-old boy sparked fear in Arizona.

When you look at the way this parasite travels, we find that the strategies are almost always the same: ENZYMES! How do you get into a cell...easy! First break the membrane with a specialized key known as a phospholipase (phospholipase A2). Then attack proteins with a specialized protease. By attacking the cellular cement holding the tissues together you end up liquifying them. The angry amoeba can then phagocytose the remaining fragments and voilà....you are history!

With only a few cases in the last decade chances are that you can die of many other things....and if you smoke...well....do not even bother about this story, your relative risks are virtually "0"!

For a list of publications on the infective mechanisms click HERE

Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Free-living_amebic_infections.png

YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!!!

I do not hate many things....but I do hate some things....I REALLY DO! I am sick and tired of animal cruelty. I am mad as hell! Tonight I came back home after teaching a late lab. Exhausted from a very busy day I sat down with a bowl of cereal at my kitchen table. The Oak Bay Newspaper is on the table...so I start to look at it, without really reading. But then THIS STORY.

The goose had been shot in the bay at close range through the back with a Tru-flite, hunting-grade practice arrow. Unable to fly, the adult bird was paddling close to the bay’s western rocks when Waddell caught up with it. She picked up the compliant bird and tucked it beside her into the kayak.

So someone shot a Canada goose with an arrow at close range in Oak Bay...the animal must have been left for dead. Who the hell does a thing like that? Do we need to kill geese right here? Do we need it for food? NO! This was done by a sick person that needs to see what suffering is. Just for the kick of it! This is a totally gratuitous and cowardly thing to do. WHY? WHY? WHY? What are you trying to prove? So you got a bow...and an arrow...hey....what not try a big bird...RIGHT? Does a stupid gesture like that make YOU a better person? Are you helping anyone with this? What are you trying to prove???

There was the highly publicized case of Michael Vick and dog fighting charges....wow...what an athlete! What a role model!

To all of you who are harming animals, and I am not talking about hunting for food, I am talking to those who take a sick pride in harming animals...YOU MAKE ME SICK...for all that is worth to you!