Moms No Longer Needed

Chinese scientists have produced genetically-modified cattle capable of producing milk that is nearly identical to human breast milk, but sweeter. The experiment started in 2003 and there are now some 300 genetically-modified cattle delivering calves weekly. The company behind the project hopes to have product on the market within three years.

China recently suffered a rash of scandals involving tainted milk powder that affected over 300,000 young children and killed at least six. At least one person was executed.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

White Baby Born to Black Parents

When Nmachi Ihegboro was born, her 44-year-old father, Ben, asked the doctors if they were sure he was her father. That's because he, his wife Angela, and the Ihegboro's other two children, are black; Nmachi Ihegboro is white -- with blue eyes, and full head of blonde curls! Even more astonishing, doctors have ruled-out albinoism. "She's my kid," Ben said, "I just don't know why she's blonde!" 35-year-old Angela called Nmachi "a miracle baby."

Ben and Angela Ihegboro are from Nigeria, but both now live in South London, where Nmachi was born. Nigeria's population has very little racial mixing, and the only way a baby like Nmachi would ever be born is if both parents had "some white ancestry," according to Professor Bryan Sykes, Britain's leading genetics expert. Neither has a mixed-race family history. Even if Angela had cheated on Ben with a white man, the child would not look like little Nmachi.

Professor Sykes called the birth "extraordinary" and noted that "Even many blonde children don't have blonde hair like this at birth." Five years ago, Kylie Hodgson of Nottingham gave birth to twin daughters, one of which was black, the other, white. Even though Kylie and her partner, Remi Horder, were a mixed couple, the odds of that happening were estimated at a million to one.

"Nmachi" means "Beauty of God."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Boned-Up

Dan Aziere suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE), or Osteochondroma, which causes benign tumors, made of bone and cartilage, to grow from the surface of his bones, resulting in more "bones" than the 206 most adults have. In Dan Aziere's case, approximately 50 more bones!

Aziere has had 19 surgeries to remove 42 bones since age five. He has extra bones in his leg, ankles, knees, hips, arms, wrists, back, chest, almost all of his fingers, and elsewhere. These bones range in size from about that of a pencil eraser to 4" long x 2" wide x 1" high. Dan's father also suffers from MHE, though his case is thankfully far milder. His late brother also had the condition and two of his three children have MHE. Luckily, neither child has suffered any problems from the disorder as of yet.

For Dan Aziere though, MHE has been debilitating. During an operation he underwent as a teenager, the doctor severed the sensory nerves in his leg, resulting in partial paralysis (foot drop) and a loss of feeling in the top of his leg. He has also battled with depression, though he says he had an epiphany one day which changed his attitude for the better, and he now strives to maintain that. "My motto in life is that things can always be worse," Dan Aziere told reporters.

Aziere's physician, Dr. John Dunleavy -- an orthopedic surgeon from the Danbury Orthopedic Associates in Danbury, CT -- said MHE affects 1-2 in 100,000 and that he has seen fewer than five cases over the last seven or eight years. Chele Zelina, president of the MHE Coalition in Ohio, said "1600 families in 57 countries... are registered with us as having MHE. Fourteen of those families live in Connecticut."

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Coincidence or Fate?: Twin Tales

Twins have often been said to possess innate similarities which go much deeper than physical appearance.  So it was with two twins who had been given-up for adoption to different families some 40 years before they met:

Each had been named "James;" each had been in law enforcement; both enjoyed drafting and carpentry as hobbies; each married women named "Linda;" divorced those chicks and married women named "Betty."  Both had sons by their first wife; the sons' names were James Alan and James Allan.  Both enjoyed vacationing at the same Florida beach.

And both had owned dogs named "Toy."

Source

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Joseph Mengele's Evil Twins

The strange case of the small, Brazilian village of Candido Godol has some investigators seriously considering that Nazi doctor, Joseph Mengele (who escaped to Brazil), may well have continued his experiments after WWII. Candido Godol's incidence of twins is well above the world average - about 1000% above! Of the 80 households in the 1-mile village, 38 have twins!

And before you go thinking this is just some weird conspiracy theory, you should know the investigators involved are from none other than National Geographic. Others says the lack of diversity in the gene pool is to blame, but the insanely high rate of blond[e]-haired, blue eyed twins does seem to hint at something slightly more sinister.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Designer Baby Clinic Backs Down... For Now

The Fertility Institute's director, Dr. Jeff Steinberg, has backed-down for now. In a statement posted on the clinic's website, Steinberg said the clinic "remain[s] sensitive to public perception and feel that any benefit the diagnostic studies may offer are far outweighed by the apparent negative societal impacts involved."

Steinberg had recently announced his clinic was going to offer parents the ability to choose various physical traits for their child, using a process known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. The process is already used to test babies for disease, and has been for years. But many insist the science Steinberg suggests is still years away. Dr. Steinberg himself had said he could not guarantee the children would have the traits parents choose but, using the process, he could dramatically increase the chance. "I can't say with 100 percent certainty that parents will be able to choose something like eye color - more like 80 percent certainty," he was quoted.

Others have said, "Nobody can do this..."

Steinberg's California clinic is known for offering gender selection.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Polydactyl has 24 Digits

A California boy was born with an extra digit on each hand and foot, giving him 24 digits in total. The condition is called Polydactylism and is rare, but Kamani Hubbard's condition is extremely rare - possibly unique!

While pediatricians missed the child's extra fingers and toes on the ultrasounds, his father knew to look for them; Polydactylism is genetic and runs in the family. But the father added no one had ever been so blessed.

While the condition is sometimes seen as a deformity - specifically in cases where the extra digit(s) is not fully-formed - Kamani appears to have full use of all his many fine extremities. "Imagine what sort of a pianist a 12-fingered person would be. Imagine what sort of flamenco guitarist. Think of [his] typing skills," one doctor mused.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Gender Selection Growing

According to a new article from the BBC, not only is gender selection possible (through IVF and a method called Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis, or PGD), many couples - mothers, especially - are going out of the country to have it done.

Gender selection is generally illegal in much of the Western world, unless there is a medical necessity (such as a genetic predisposition for disease in one sex). While many mothers find places to have it done by searching online, they are rarely certain if it is actually legal where they have it done... and many clinics are profiting off this by offering the services in countries and areas where it is illegal.

The article is a captivating expose on the growing phenomena and I refer you there to learn more.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Korea Claims First Dog Clones... Again

A firm in South Korea claims to be the first to successfully clone canines.

An American from California ponied-up $50,000 to have her dead dog cloned.  The clones were unveiled at a press conference in Seoul today.  One of the scientists involved was also on the team which claimed to have cloned the very first dog in 2005.

While cloning canines is possible, the process is known to be difficult and risky.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

UPDATE:  This story has been tampered with; some text, and the links were removed.  Link was replaced, though it may not match the original intent of the article. - 2018

Yeti Hair Analysis Inconclusive

According to experts at England's Oxford Brookes University, hairs donated by passionate mande barung believer and cryptozoologist, Dipu Marak, match no known indigenous species.

The mande barung is India's Bigfoot. Standing approximately 10' tall and weighing-in at somewhere near 650-700 lbs., the creature has been spotted by eyewitnesses for decades in the heavily-forested East, West, and South Garo Hills. It is thought to be herbivorous and its hair is said to be black and gray. According to one analyst, the mande barung also suffers from split-ends.

Marak secured the hair samples from a jungle sighting in 2003. The experts, which include microscopy analysts and a primatologist, have concluded they are not from a boar, bear, or macaque (a local, Indian monkey). DNA analysis will be performed on the hairs to determine more information, but they note they are very similar to hairs produced by Sir Edmund Hillary. He claimed those were hairs of the yeti, or abominable snowman.

"Mande barung" translates to "forest man."

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Oh Deer - It's a Unicorn!

Someone taped a one-horned deer in a wildlife preserve in Italy and the media is making much of it's being a "unicorn."

Of course, the media is not literally proposing this tape proves the existence of the mythical creature of lore; it is simply a teaser to get you to read the story. Experts believe the deer has some sort of genetic flaw which resulted in only one horn where there should have been two.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

You're an ANIMAL!

We just got one step closer to the world of comics and RPGs.

Scientists at Newcastle University have created the world's first part-human, part-animal embryos. While they only survived for up to three days, the hopes are that they will be useful in understanding, possibly even curing, a range of illnesses, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The Catholic Church called the advancement "monstrous."

The scientists created embryos from cows' eggs because human eggs are in short supply. They say the embryos would never be allowed to develop beyond two weeks, at which point they are still only about the size of a pinhead. Researchers want to extract stem cells from the embryos for further testing.

Of course, the Catholic Church considers the entire concept "immoral" and sinful, but who really cares what a bunch of poncing, aged queens think? Sadly, if the cures for any diseases come from this type of research, the Catholic flock will gladly avail themselves of said treatment; poetic justice would be a thinning of the herd by Papal Decree -- when it is adjudicated that Catholics who use such treatments are Sinners who must face a slow, agonizing, and painful death.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

UPDATE:  Not only was this post tampered with and the links removed, the source links online have been tampered with and/or removed.  One was accessed as recently as January 12. - 2018

Hobbits Get No Respect

A team from Australia has posited that the "Hobbit" remains found on Flores are actually modern humans who suffered from malnutrition, which led to their diminutive size.   The caveat is that none of the members of the team have ever seen the remains, nor have any experience with fossilized hominids!

The "new" theory made headline news internationally, but it is not new at all; this theory has been forwarded since the remains were uncovered in a cave in Indonesia.   Speculation surrounding the remains has been rife and the remains themselves have suffered modern human DNA contamination, due to their poor handling.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

Albinos Unsafe in Africa

There are nearly 300,000 albinos in Tanzania and they are under attack from the barbaric, uneducated populace. According to popular thought in the region, albinos are believed to be cursed, practitioners of witchcraft, or some kind of ghost-like creature. Further, witchdoctors believe their limbs to be useful in potions which can bring their users great wealth.

There have been four albino deaths in the past three months in the region and albino women have been targeted in the past, but this is the first time albinos have been the target of ritual killings. Fear has gripped the albino community and the Tanzanian Albino Society says these backward beliefs are the cause of these murders and must be wiped-out. A teacher was recently arrested for killing his own albino child, but the TAS is calling for police to do more, including arresting the witchdoctors.

Best Not to Say It Pt. 2 - James Watson and the Origin of Species

James Watson, Nobel Laureate, has resigned his post at the American-based Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, amidst allegations that he suggested African descendants were less intelligent than Europeans.

Okay, here's the thing about that:

If scientists truly wish to further this idea of Evolution -- an idea even Darwin himself rejected at the time of his death -- in opposition to any sort of higher power's involvement (I think all of us outside the Southern Baptist sect can agree that "Divine Creation" as set forth in the Bible is unacceptable as our true origin) as the only "logical" solution as to how we modern humans came to be, then we have to accept, largely (according to what Science claims to know now), that we naturally evolved from some kind of ape-like stock.

Africans bear large, wide noses -- not unlike a certain, closely-related, genus often forwarded as our most likely "cousin" on the Evolutionary chart. They possess sloped foreheads, prominent lips, coarse hair, and dark skin. Apes, monkeys, gorillas, chimps -- all indigenous to Africa.

But wait! Before you go all "Jena 6" on me, let me add a little more information, just so you know I am truly not being "racist" (as to how such a thing could even exist in such a discussion is beyond me, though I have to admit, it is not an Americanism):

The gorilla was said not to have existed and those who claimed to have seen it were ridiculed - in fact, it drove more than one notable scientist out of science altogether (and most likely mad) - until it was "discovered" in @1908. Darwin's Origin of Species was first published in, or around, 1860 (though he had been working on it for a long time prior to that date - at least a decade or more - and another scientist had actually "scooped" him).

When the British Colonists "invaded" Africa under the reign of Queen Victoria, they pitied the Africans and sought to "educate" and "modernize" them in what has come to be known as "White Guilt." A truly misguided effort which actually bore all the earmarks of a sincere attempt at goodwill, but regrettable, nonetheless.

What Watson was actually suggesting, insofar as I discerned, was that Africans could very well be the "Missing Link" so often discussed in Evolutionary theory.

It's just too bad he was working in America when he dared postulate on such a "radical" idea.

America has yet to learn that it cannot have its cake and eat it, too; just can't have it both ways, no matter how hard it tries - no matter how it rails against God, life, and reality - America has set itself up for failure and continues to tell everyone who gets in its way that they "got what they deserve," yet refuses to accept its own fate.

America cannot live up to its own "standards" because no one can, and until America not only understands that but actually owns it, all we Americans are as oppressed as the rest of the huddled masses we are spending our tax dollars "protecting."

I, for one, would like to applaud Dr. James Watson for his integrity and initiative! Perhaps he is wrong - who knows yet? - but at least one scientist had the balls to stand up for the actual process of Getting On With It and said what needs to be said:

Life is ugly and messy and we cannot change that, no matter how hard we try.

Did Neanderthals Speak?

New research has scientists theorizing that Neanderthals may have been capable of complex speech as are we. They say that the primitive human ancestor possessed the FOXP2 gene, linked to speech.

My question though is whether or not the Neanderthal possessed the physical components needed for this type of communication. I know that many animals, whether or not they possess this gene, are said to be smart enough to communicate in various ways (including some kind of speech - squeals, cries, etc.) but lack the physical abilities to actually communicate in complex ways. Especially since it is noted that many animals do possess this gene, from mice to orangutans.

However, the Neanderthal had a FOXP2 gene very similar to that of modern humans, which is slightly different from those other species and genus (geni?) possess.

Scientists made this discovery after they secured nuclear DNA from a well-preserved Neanderthal skeleton recently found in Spain.

"Hobbit" Species "Proven"

Several years ago, researchers found at least one skeleton of what they claimed was a new species of the Homo genus - Homo floresiensis, aka "the Hobbit." But many scientists doubted the claim, suggesting the remains were simply of a pygmy who suffered from a kind of Dwarfism, a brain defect known as microcephaly. But now researchers claim they have proof that the Hobbit is actually its own species:

New research shows that the wrists of the remains are different from that of both humans and their nearest possible ancestor, the Neanderthal. According to the new research, the Hobbit basically has the same kind of wrist found in Homo habilis and Australopithicus, as well as chimps and gorillas today.

The 18,000-year old bones were found on the Indonesian island of Flores some time ago. They found one near-complete skeleton of a female and the remains of about eight other individuals. Further research on the species' brain case confirms their individual species status.

Possible Missing Links Found in Dmanisi, Georgia

A team of researchers working in Dmanisi, Georgia uncovered the remains of four human-like creatures dating back to about 1.8 million years. The bones possess both primitive and advanced features, leading them to think they may be some kind of missing link and among some of the first human ancestors. Many of the features resemble Homo Erectus, with human-like spines and lower limbs and high arches, but a difference in size between the genders places them in the Homo Sapien realm.

However, their relatively small brains and short upper limbs place them in the Homo habilis species, as well as the even more primitive Australopithicus -- the most famous specimen of which is "Lucy." Researchers found that they had ape-like hands and their proportions were not completely human-like.

They believe these may be the oldest remains found at any site more than 300,000 years old.

Left-Handed Gene Found

Scientists have discovered a gene which may lead to left-handedness. Strangely, they also seem to think this gene may increase the odds of Schizophrenia. Now, all we righties know that lefties are essentially mentally-flawed, but the research also told me some things I did not know.

For instance, did you know that left-handed peoples’ brains are generally “flipped”? In most (normal) people, the right side is the creative side which handles emotions and the like and the left side controls speech and logical thinking; according to this information, the opposite is often true in lefties’ brains.

About 10% of people are left-handed, and thus, obviously “not right.”

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Malaria

Scientists have been working on a strain of genetically-modified mosquitoes in the US. After nine generations, up to 70% of the mosquitoes have survived feeding on Malaria-infected mice. Scientists hope to release these new mosquitoes into the wild so they will take over the population. The mosquitoes laid more eggs and had a higher survival rate.

Africa has up to 90% of all Malaria-related deaths. A child dies of Malaria in Africa every 30 seconds. I had no idea! Poor Africa has the most disease-related deaths of any country, do they not? AIDS, Malaria - a lot of diseases that are largely preventable and hardly even present in most of the rest of the world. I understand that it is a poor country, but some may not realize that Africa has a history of denying help from other countries and resisting change.