‘Sticky Balls’ May Stop Cancer Spreading

Photo Credit: SPL

Photo Credit: SPL

The most dangerous and deadly stage of a tumour is when it spreads around the body.

Scientists at Cornell University, in the US, have designed nanoparticles that stay in the bloodstream and kill migrating cancer cells on contact.

They said the impact was “dramatic” but there was “a lot more work to be done”.

One of the biggest factors in life expectancy after being diagnosed with cancer is whether the tumour has spread to become a metastatic cancer.

“About 90% of cancer deaths are related to metastases,” said lead researcher Prof Michael King.

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Egyptian Puppet Allegedly Sending Coded Instructions to Islamist Terrorists (+video)

Photo Credit: New York Times

Photo Credit: New York Times

Egypt’s crackdown on support for the Muslim Brotherhood turned surreal this week as prosecutors agreed to investigate the allegation that a puppet that babbles nonsensically in an advertisement for a multinational phone company was in fact sending coded instructions to Islamist terrorists.

Prosecutors said in a statement that officials from Vodafone Egypt, the local branch of a phone company based in Britain, were summoned to respond to a complaint about the ad filed by a counterrevolutionary video-blogger and singer who calls himself Ahmed Spider. In an appearance on Egyptian television on Tuesday, the little-known blogger spent nearly an hour dissecting what he called the secret codes embedded in the ad, in which a puppet widow named Abla Fahita tries to reactivate the phone line used by her late husband.

The ad shows the Muppet-like Abla Fahita babbling to a friend on the phone while her daughter, Karkoura, looks for her dead father’s SIM card. The company explained in a statement that the ad, first broadcast and posted on YouTube last week, was part of a marketing campaign “aiming at explaining how to reactivate a Vodafone SIM card.” The blogger’s reading, the company said, was “irrational” and based on “mere imagination.”

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2014 Rings in the Weird: New Laws Cover Placentas, ‘Transgender’ Kids, Drones and More

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

You may have heard that Colorado residents will be able to legally buy pot next year.

But did you know that in Oregon, mothers will be able to take their placentas home after giving birth? And in Illinois, it will be illegal for police to use a surveillance drone in most cases without a warrant.

These are just a few of the thousands of new laws and regulations going into effect next year — mostly on Wednesday.

They cover everything from the minimum wage to tanning beds to drones, some a bit more unusual than others. But residents might want to brush up on the changes — state lawmakers approved nearly 40,000 bills and resolutions this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The placenta measure in Oregon was approved this past May.

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Coming in 2014: Extremely Smart Watches and Wearable TVs

Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

For technological innovation, 2013 was a remarkably boring year. Apple, often the hotbed of “new,” mostly just updated familiar devices in different colors and with crisper screens. Social media companies fought over who had better photo filters. And Silicon Valley start-ups offered more of less, with slight iterations on existing products.

But 2014 has a lot of promise.

Predicting the future is a lot more difficult than evaluating the past, but you could wake up on Jan. 1, 2015, in a different digital winter wonderland.

No, you won’t lie in bed while your humanoid robot helper makes you bacon and eggs and walks the dog — which is also possibly a robot, made by Google. That’s more of a 2035 prediction. But you might wake up to the call of a watch on your wrist — not your cellphone on your night table. This year we’ve seen some efforts at smartwatches, like those made by Pebble; next year, these gadgets could look a lot better.

“Smartwatches, which connect to your smartphone, are going to create an entirely new category of computing in the coming year,” said Sarah Rotman Epps, a former Forrester analyst who specializes in wearable computing. She noted that the long-awaited Apple smartwatch, which is expected to be announced in 2014, could change the way we engage with our wrist in the same way Apple changed the cellphone industry in 2007.

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Scientists Create the World’s First Glow-In-the-Dark PIGS After Injecting Them with Jellyfish DNA (+video)

Photo Credit: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Photo Credit: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Chinese scientists have created the world’s first glow-in-the-dark pigs that emit a fluorescent green light.

The piglets acquired their bizarre ability to glow under ‘black’ or UVA light after their embryos were injected with DNA from a jellyfish.

Experts claim that the 10 young animals should live as long as any other pig and that the findings could help develop cheaper drugs for humans.

In a video accompanying the research, the pigs grunt when the lights are turned off and after a short while begin to squeal, perhaps hinting that they are a little scared of the dark.

The green tint indicates that the fluorescent genetic material injected into the pig embryos has been incorporated into the animal’s natural make-up.

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Sharks Use Twitter to Warn Swimmers

Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

Sharks in Western Australia swimming close to popular beaches are using Twitter to send warning messages to surfers and swimmers.

The unique project means beach goers can make an informed decision about whether to go in the water knowing a shark is nearby.

Scientists have attached transmitters to more than 320 sharks, including great whites, which monitor their movements up and down the coast.

When a tagged shark swims within about a half mile of a beach, it triggers an alert which is picked up by computer. That computer then instantly turns the shark’s signal into a short message on Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s (SLSWA) Twitter feed.

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Bizarre Radio Meltdown During NSA Interview (+video)

Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

Aaron Klein’s WABC Radio show experienced what the host called a “tech meltdown” while he was conducting a live, on-air interview with the lawyer who won an injunction against the National Security Agency’s collection of phone records.

Software used by the radio station dropped the guest, Larry Klayman, and listeners who had called in to ask Klayman questions were cut off in mid-sentence. Other callers could not be put on the air due to technical difficulties at the radio station.

Audio clips saved on an independent system played at the wrong time.

Klein’s headphones had massive feedback that could be heard on the air.

At one point, the WABC call screener said, “We lost control of the software. It’s all going nuts.”

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Soros Claims Broken Leg, Wants Delay in Court Tiff with Ex

Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

Due to a broken leg, George Soros has asked for a delay in giving a deposition in his long-running legal battle with his former Brazilian girlfriend.

The billionaire investor’s lawyers were in court Tuesday to seek a postponement in the case brought by Adriana Ferreyr, the former actress who is suing Soros for $50 million, claiming he reneged on a promise to buy her a $1.9 million apartment on the Upper East Side. ­

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Jimmy Kimmel Pokes Fun at LA News Outlets Reporting ‘Arctic’ Conditions in the City (+video)

Screen shot 2013-12-15 at 2.30.40 AMA high of 50 degrees is just too low for local NBC, Fox and CBS affiliates

Jimmy Kimmel spent a good portion of his childhood in New York, so he knows cold. On [a recent broadcast], however, the late-night comedian reminded his audiences that many local Los Angeles news reporters do not.

In the wake of the cold front moving through Southern California this week, labeled “arctic” by some outlets, Kimmel compiled a cut of the reporters racing to cover the weather.

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Deaf Interpreter at Mandela Event a Phony

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

As one world leader after another paid homage to Nelson Mandela at a memorial service, the man standing at arm’s length from them appeared to interpret their words in sign language. But advocates for the deaf say he was a faker.

The incident, which outraged deaf people and sign-language interpreters watching the service broadcast around the globe, raised questions of how the unidentified man managed to crash a supposedly secure event attended by scores of heads of state, including President Barack Obama.

It also was another example of the problems plaguing Tuesday’s memorial, including public transportation breakdowns that hindered mourners going to the soccer stadium and a faulty audio system that made the speeches inaudible for many. Police also failed to search the first wave of crowds who rushed into the stadium after the gates were opened just after dawn.

The man, who stood about a yard (one meter) from Obama and other leaders, “was moving his hands around, but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for,” Bruno Druchen, national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

When South African Deputy President Cyril Rampaphosa told the crowd that former South African President F.W. de Klerk was among the guests, the man at his side used a strange pushing motion unknown in sign language that did not identify de Klerk or say anything about his presence, said Ingrid Parkin, principal of the St. Vincent School for the Deaf in Johannesburg.

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