‘Gene Drive’: Scientists Sound Alarm Over Supercharged GM Organisms Which Could Spread in the Wild and Cause Environmental Disasters

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A powerful new technique for generating “supercharged” genetically modified organisms that can spread rapidly in the wild has caused alarm among scientists who fear that it may be misused, accidentally or deliberately, and cause a health emergency or environmental disaster.

The development of so-called “gene drive” technology promises to revolutionise medicine and agriculture because it can in theory stop the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria and yellow fever, as well as eliminate crop pests and invasive species such as rats and cane toads.

However, scientists at the forefront of the development believe that in the wrong hands gene-drive technology poses a serious threat to the environment and human health if accidentally or deliberately released from a laboratory without adequate safeguards. Some believe it could even be used as a terrorist bio-weapon directed against people or livestock because gene drives – which enable GM genes to spread rapidly like a viral infection within a population – will eventually be easy and cheap to generate.

“Just as gene drives can make mosquitoes unfit for hosting and spreading the malaria parasite, they could conceivably be designed with gene drives carrying cargo for delivering lethal bacterial toxins to humans,” said David Gurwitz, a geneticist at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

A group of senior geneticists have called for international safeguards to apply to researchers who want to develop gene drives, with strict security measures placed on laboratories to prevent the accidental escape of “supercharged” GM organisms that are able to spread rapidly in the wild. (Read more from “‘Gene Drive’: Scientists Sound Alarm Over Supercharged GM Organisms Which Could Spread in the Wild and Cause Environmental Disasters” HERE)

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Canadian Hitchhiking Robot’s Cross-Country Trip Ends Prematurely in the City of Love

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The Canadian researchers who created hitchBOT as a social experiment told The Associated Press that someone in Philadelphia damaged the robot beyond repair on Saturday, ending its first American tour after about two weeks.

The kid-size robot set out to travel cross-country after successfully hitchhiking across Canada in 26 days last year and parts of Europe. It is immobile on its own so gets from place to place by relying on the kindness of strangers . . .

The creators were sent an image of the vandalized robot Saturday but cannot track its location because the battery is dead. They said they don’t know who destroyed it or why. But co-creator Frauke Zeller said many children who adored the robot are now heartbroken. (Read more from “Hitchhiking Robot’s Cross-Country Trip in US Ends Prematurely in Philly” HERE)

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Doomsday Scenarios? They’re Always Top of Mind

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Nicolas Miailhe can’t stop thinking about the robot that’s going to take your job. And it’s not just robots that concern him, it’s also the contractor working for the latest Uber-like disruptor that plans to take over your industry. He’s also contemplating what will happen to our genetic sequences when we hand them over to doctors who promise personalized medicine, and how that data could fuel a new age of eugenics if it lands in the wrong hands. But he, of course, realizes that all of this worry will be for naught if climate change makes Earth unlivable.

Miailhe isn’t some crazy on the fringe of society. He is a student at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and he belongs to just one of the serious groups around Boston that are devoting their brainpower to preparing for the technological crises of the future.

Elon Musk, founder of the electric car maker Tesla, is helping to fund such studies. Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist, was one of thousands of people to sign a letter published this week that warns of the dangers of autonomous weapons.

In case you’ve missed it, threats to civilization as we know it are a hot topic right now, as anyone who’s been to a bookstore or a movie theater knows. But real-world scientists are thinking apocalyptically, too. Many believe that humans — sometime between inventing agriculture and reshaping the global climate — have created a new geological epoch. This age, informally called the anthropocene, will be the subject of a new section at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The display will be set among the dinosaurs — perhaps as a reminder of just how precarious life for humans has become.

So it’s only natural that Boston and Cambridge, hubs for both technology and serious thinking, are sprouting groups that address doomsday anxieties. (Read more from “Doomsday Scenarios? They’re Always Top of Mind” HERE)

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Sign of the Times: Satan’s Statue Rises Proudly Near Detroit River

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A Satanic organization unveiled a controversial bronze Baphomet sculpture in Detroit just before midnight on Saturday, after trying in vain to have it installed near a Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma.

Due to planned demonstrations, the group, which is opposed to Bible-themed displays on government land, kept the location of the unveiling of its 9-foot-tall monument secret until the last moment, when it emailed the information to ticket holders.

The Satanic Temple unveiled the one-ton statue at an industrial building near the Detroit River just before 11:30 p.m. local time as supporters cheered, “Hail Satan.” Some of the hundreds in attendance rushed to pose for photos.

The statue of a winged Baphomet with a human body and a goat’s head resembled a design the group previously released. Statues of a boy and a girl stood in poses of adoration on either side.

Jex Blackmore, director of the Satanic Temple Detroit chapter, said temple members planned to transport the sculpture to Arkansas, where earlier this year the governor signed a bill authorizing a Ten Commandments monument on the State Capitol’s grounds. (Read more from “Sign of the Times: Satan’s Statue Rises Proudly Near Detroit River” HERE)

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Dude’s Rattlesnake Selfie Ends With $153,000 Bill

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A San Diego man who was nearly killed while trying to take a selfie with a rattlesnake racked up a killer $153,000 hospital bill instead.

By far the largest bite listed on the itemized bill is $83,341.25 for “pharmacy.” That’s because Fassler’s lifesaving treatment depleted the anti-venom supplies at two local hospitals, KGTV reported.

It’s not clear whether Fassler has insurance — and whether these are dollar amounts that he will in fact have to pay out of pocket. But the confusion over health-care pricing is common for Americans who receive bills and can’t be sure where the numbers come from.

There’s currently only one commercially available anti-venom for treating venomous snakebites in the United States — CroFab, manufactured by U.K.-based BTG. And with a stable market of 7,000 to 8,000 snakebite victims per year and no competitors, business is pretty good. BTG’s latest annual report shows CroFab sales topped out at close $98 million dollars last fiscal year.

The antivenin costs hospitals roughly $2,300 per vial, with a typical dose requiring four to six vials. In some cases multiple doses are needed, according to CroFab’s promotional Web site. Fassler required multiple dosings over a five day period. (Read more from “Dude’s Rattlesnake Selfie Ends With $153,000 Bill” HERE)

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San Francisco Combats the Stench of Urine With Pee-Repellent Paint

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Don’t get into a pissing match with walls in San Francisco.

The city’s Public Works agency is testing a pee-repellant paint on walls in areas that have been saturated with urine. Anyone urinating on the specially treated walls will get the spray splashed back onto them.

San Francisco’s director of public works, Mohammed Nuru – whose Twitter handle is @MrCleanSF – got the idea when he read on social media about the use of the paint in Hamburg, Germany’s nightclub district to stop beer drinkers from relieving themselves in the street.

The paint, called Ultra-Ever Dry, is sold by Ultratech International Inc and is billed as a superhydrophobic coating that will repel most liquids.

“The urine will bounce back on the guys pants and shoes. The idea is they will think twice next time about urinating in public,” said Rachel Gordon, a Public Works Department spokeswoman. She said the super-hard coating made the “bounce back” effect much stronger than when peeing on a regular wall. (Read more from “San Francisco Combats the Stench of Urine With Pee-Repellent Paint” HERE)

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Animal-Rights Activists Arrested in Multi-State Crime Spree

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Two animal-rights activists were arrested Friday and charged with terrorizing the fur industry during cross-country road trips which they released about 5,740 mink from farms and vandalized homes and businesses of industry, the FBI said.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Joseph Brian Buddenberg, 31, and Nicole Juanita Kissane, 28, both of Oakland, California. They both were charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

A federal grand jury indictment unsealed Friday said the two caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages during 40,000 miles of cross-country trips over the summer and into the fall of 2013.

“Whatever your feelings about the fur industry, there are legal ways to make your opinions known,” U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said in a statement. “The conduct alleged here, sneaking around at night, stealing property and vandalizing homes and businesses with acid, glue, and chemicals, is a form of domestic terrorism and can’t be permitted to continue.”

Buddenberg and Kissane are accused of sneaking onto farms in Idaho, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota to free mink. They also allegedly destroyed breeding records as well. In one case, they released a bobcat from a farm in Montana, according to the FBI. (Read more from “Animal-Rights Activists Arrested in Multi-State Crime Spree” HERE)

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Elusive ‘Snowbird Bandit’ Is Former LAPD Detective, Authorities Say

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A retired Los Angeles Police Department detective is the so-called Snowbird Bandit who’s responsible for a string of bank robberies across Orange County, authorities say.

Randolph Bruce Adair, 70, was arrested Wednesday in Rancho Santa Margarita in connection with five robberies this year . . .

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department says Adair’s family members contacted deputies alerting them that they had information about the robberies.

Adair robbed the First Citizens Bank in Rancho Santa Margarita Tuesday for the second time in a two-month span, according to City News Service. Adair reportedly used a weapon to threaten the tellers.

During some of his robberies, Adair had displayed a revolver as he demanded cash. During a robbery at a Wells Fargo in Mission Viejo in early June, he was seen carrying a white pouch with the word “medic” on it. Adair was also named in robberies in Monarch Beach and Ladera Ranch. (Read more from “Elusive ‘Snowbird Bandit’ Is Former LAPD Detective, Authorities Say” HERE)

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20% of This City Uses This Site to Cheat on Spouses; Hackers Promise to Release Cheaters’ Names

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By Rob Quinn. Ottawa, best known as the capital of Canada, also features the National Gallery of Canada, the annual Bluesfest, winter skating on the Rideau Canal—and, perhaps, a staggering amount of illicit sex.

Recently hacked affair hookup site Ashley Madison has 189,810 Ottawans on its books, which is roughly 20% of the city’s population and the highest sign-up rate for the site in Canada and possibly the world, according to Reuters.

“My G_d, my phones will be busy,” a private investigator told the Ottawa Sun after hackers calling themselves the “Impact Team” threatened to put details of the site’s 37 million users online. (Read more from “20% of This City Reportedly Has an Account on This Site That Allows You to Cheat on Spouses” HERE)

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Identities Now Revealed in Ashley Madison Attack

By Joe Kovacks. The odds were 37 million to 1, but a Massachusetts man is the first unlucky person to be publicly identified in connection with the recent hack on the popular online adultery site Ashley Madison, whose slogan is, “Life is short. Have an affair.”

According to the Enterprise in Brockton, Massachusetts, the local resident’s name, profile ID, home address, email address and a “list of fantasies” were included in a manifesto message as an example of the information hackers had learned.

The information revealed is “intensely personal.”

“I have only two personal interests on this site,” the man’s profile reads. “Making sure that you are comfortable with me should I be so fortunate to hold your attention and making sure I take the role of discretion to an artform. I mean isn’t this why we are here, to be as discreet as possible?”

WBZ-TV in Boston reports, “Among the data released about the Brockton client of Ashley Madison: His user ID is ‘Heavy73′; he listed himself as ‘married/attached’; he joined the site the day after Valentine’s Day, 2014; he likes ‘cuddling & hugging’ and is into ‘discretion & secrecy.’” (Read more from this story, “Encouraging People to Cheat on Spouses” HERE)

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Franklin Graham Weighs in on ‘Ashley Madison’

Franklin Graham’s Facebook post reads:

The Bible says, “be sure your sin will find you out.” Ashley Madison, the website for people who want to cheat on their spouses was hacked this weekend. Their slogan is: “Life is short. Have an affair.” Hackers threatened to reveal personal data related to 37 million users. I have news for all those worried cheaters out there wringing their hands—God already knew! His holy Word says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Times may have changed, but God’s laws and standards never change—all sin has a price. The New York Daily News calls this an “‪#‎adultery‬ website.” Isn’t it a shame that immorality is such big business?

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Pope Francis to Be Tried by Sanhedrin

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A re-established and self declared Israeli Sanhedrin, the religious High Court composed of 71 sages, has declared that it is putting Pope Francis on trial unless he retracts his statement that the Jews have no right to the land of Israel or to Jerusalem.

In February 2013, the Vatican officially recognized the “State of Palestine” but more significantly, the Vatican signed a treaty in June with “Palestine” in which the Holy See switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the “State of Palestine”. This treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and as such, constitutes an official recognition.

The trial and judgment will be on September 20th, 2015. If Pope Francis chooses to ignore the summons, he will be judged in absentia.

The Sanhedrin sent a letter to Pope Francis in reaction to the Vatican’s recent support of the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral moves to declare themselves a nation, reported the Hebrew magazine Matzav Haruach on June 24.

The letter stated:

“Because the Vatican recognized the organization known as the Palestinian Authority as a nation, and has begun to refer to it as a nation in its documents. His honor has named the head of said authority as an ‘Angel of Peace’, as was explained by a spokesman for the Vatican, that his intention was to encourage Abu Mazen to advance towards peace. These actions, to our great dismay, are consistent with a long series of actions and stances that are as in the days of the Roman Catholic Religion, that swore to persecute Israel because we refused to accept their Messiah as the Messiah of Israel, and to renounce our faith. The recent announcements and actions of the Vatican are a rebuke to the Jewish Nation and to the Bible, which you use to interpret the prophecies, as if God has abandoned his original Nation of Israel. Reality has proven the opposite to be true.”

“We require from you an apology for your recognizing as a nation those who stole the land, those who are known as the Palestinian Authority, and we are informing the Vatican that the sole God given right to the land of Israel is to the Nation of Israel. If His Honor the Pope, and the Vatican, do not apologize within two weeks of receiving this letter, and if he does not change his ways, we shall judge these actions in the Court of Mount Zion, in a court of 71 Jewish elders of Zion, and enact the prophecy of ‘The liberators will rise up upon Mount Zion, to judge the Mountain of Esau and the kingdom shall be God’s’ (Obadiah 1:21). The court shall judge the Vatican in its presence or in absentia, and it is possible that the Vatican will be found guilty of anti-Semitism, as has been known to be done several times throughout history, and to place responsibility upon the Vatican for all of the outcomes of its actions.”

(Read more from “Pope Francis to Be Tried by Sanhedrin” HERE)

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