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Telomerase gene therapy seems to have extended mice lifetimes and improved health and age related diseases. They applied the therapy to adult mice, not embryos, and they used a DNA modified virus to deliver the therapy. The first linked article mentions an average life extension of 24%. The original article (EMBO Molecular Medicine) is here.
posted by aleph at 11:59 PM PST - 41 comments

As part of his long-term Genesis project, Sebastião Salgado shares photographs of the nomadic Nenets of northern Siberia.
posted by rhapsodie at 10:40 PM PST - 16 comments

Mysterious monkey in posh miniature winter coat found alone at Toronto Ikea And, of course, now he's tweeting.
posted by davebush at 7:40 PM PST - 91 comments

Anyone who has spent any time at all on the Western side of San Francisco is familiar with the name Sutro. Being the 24th mayor of the City was actually one of his smaller and lesser-known accomplishments. Born in Prussia in 1830, he first made a name for himself with The Sutro Tunnel, which was used to drain water from underneath the Comstock Lode, improving working conditions and lowering the mine's operating costs. He sold his interest in the company he founded and left for San Francisco, where he built himself a mansion, among other things... [more inside]
posted by MattMangels at 7:32 PM PST - 24 comments

Both characters remained fully clothed and there were no genital shots. But this was still the most explicit sexual content Wildenborg had seen in a video game. “It was at this point I decided to release the patch to the public,” he says. “I tossed the name 'Hot Coffee' on the file, based on the fact that the girlfriends would ask CJ in for some 'coffee' as a euphemism for sex. Hot Coffee was the first modification for San Andreas.” - The history of Grand Theft Auto's infamous "Hot Coffee" mod.
posted by Artw at 7:31 PM PST - 37 comments

Ry Cooder and the Moula Banda Rhythm Aces - Let's Have A Ball, a film by Les Blanks
This is the complete show from the Catalyst in Santa Cruz in March 1987.   Via The Iwebender Channel

Love that Maria Elena.... [more inside]
posted by y2karl at 6:42 PM PST - 10 comments

AKIRA Fan Builds Kaneda’s Motorcycle and Rides for Charity
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:40 PM PST - 20 comments

Photorealism has been highlighted here on the blue, where 2D work is made to look 3 dimensional. But what about the opposite? Artist Alex Meade's live-model photographs look like paintings. [more inside]
posted by FirstMateKate at 5:05 PM PST - 16 comments

As the conversation about the state of games criticism continues, there is a site that acts as a platform for some of the best writing in the field by theorists, critics, and independent developers: Nightmare Mode dot net. [more inside]
posted by codacorolla at 4:48 PM PST - 12 comments

"There are certain novels that can shape a teenage boy's life. For some, it's Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged; for others it's Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. As a widely quoted internet meme says, the unrealistic fantasy world portrayed in one of those books can warp a young man's character forever; the other book is about orcs. But for me, of course, it was neither. My Book – the one that has stayed with me for four-and-a-half decades – is Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, written when Asimov was barely out of his teens himself. I didn't grow up wanting to be a square-jawed individualist or join a heroic quest; I grew up wanting to be Hari Seldon, using my understanding of the mathematics of human behaviour to save civilisation." [Paul Krugman: Asimov's Foundation novels grounded my economics]
posted by vidur at 3:52 PM PST - 79 comments

Four days after her 21st birthday, Amy Winehouse sang at the SWR3 New Pop Festival in Baden-Baden. [more inside]
posted by Egg Shen at 2:59 PM PST - 24 comments

Rites of Spring, Live at 9:30 Club, 1985: Hain's Point (and another 1985 version from BCC Comm. Center) [more inside]
posted by OmieWise at 2:12 PM PST - 12 comments

On December 2, the American Psychiatric Association's board of trustees voted on the latest revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, to be published as the fifth edition (DSM-5) in May 2013. The results of the vote have not been released publicly, and some have questioned the limited press coverage of decisions that will affect people worldwide who receive psychiatric diagnoses. Dr. Allen Francis, chair of the DSM-IV revision committee, says that the board "has given its final approval to a deeply flawed DSM 5". (The title of this post is also drawn from this link.) [more inside]
posted by catlet at 1:04 PM PST - 61 comments

Can the 'Swiss finishing school' be saved? The finishing-school tradition dates from the 1800s, when wealthy debutantes began coming to Switzerland, famed for its clean air, majestic mountains and multilingual population. Here, they would complete their education by acquiring the domestic and life skills needed to run a household – and to attract a suitable husband. The goal was to produce an ideal mate, someone refined and accomplished with impeccable manners. [more inside]
posted by modernnomad at 1:00 PM PST - 28 comments

Tony says to me, “Why don’t you try little Jon”. Well, all right, let’s try him. And after just the first few notes out of his mouth I said, “Yes! This is him. This is the one! This is the one who should sing it”. He had this cute little voice - he was still a kid, and his voice really hadn’t even come down in pitch yet. It was still a little high but he had a great feeling for it. And of course, we all know what this little kid went on to do – he became one of the biggest rock and roll stars of all time. Jon Bon Jovi's first professional recording: R2-D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas [more inside]
posted by klausman at 11:56 AM PST - 18 comments

A gallery of The Kingdom of Cipher: a breathtaking world in Minecraft miniature. [sl-imgur; Minecraft previously]
posted by MimeticHaHa at 11:27 AM PST - 28 comments

Long-time favorite usenet indexing site NzbMatrix has closed its site as part of a recent sweep of DMCA related takedowns on similar sites. Other recent shutdowns include Newzbin, Newzbin2, and NZBsRUS. [more inside]
posted by TomMelee at 10:40 AM PST - 50 comments

When sex means reproduction, certain proclivities may simply not be part of cultural models of sexuality: "Barry and Bonnie Hewlett had been studying the Aka and Ngandu people of central Africa for many years before they began to specifically study the groups' sexuality... [T]he Hewletts conclude, "Homosexuality and masturbation are rare or nonexistent [in these two cultures], not because they are frowned upon or punished, but because they are not part of the cultural models of sexuality in either ethnic group."" [more inside]
posted by flex at 8:07 AM PST - 89 comments

A tale of two shipping containers in photos.
posted by heatherann at 7:35 AM PST - 97 comments

Deciphering the Tools of Nature’s Zombies: The ability of parasites to alter the behaviour of their hosts fascinates both scientists and non-scientists alike. One reason that this topic resonates with so many is that it touches on core philosophical issues such as the existence of free will. If the mind is merely a machine, then it can be controlled by any entity that understands the code and has access to the machinery. This special issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology highlights some of the best-understood examples of parasite-induced changes in host brain and behaviour, encompassing both invertebrate and vertebrate hosts and micro- and macro-parasites. Full issue annotated inside: [more inside]
posted by Blasdelb at 7:21 AM PST - 13 comments

Patrick Moore (1923-2012). Gamesmaster, Xylophone player, RAF navigator, Astronomer extraordinaire, Patrick Moore has died from old age. Aged 89 the longest running presenter of any TV show in existence (The Sky at Night) inspired millions, taught everyone to look up, and leaves behind an educational legacy that has touched millions. [more inside]
posted by ewan at 5:53 AM PST - 62 comments

Why Privacy Matters, Even If You Have Nothing To Hide, by Daniel J. Solove

The nothing-to-hide argument pervades discussions about privacy. The data-security expert Bruce Schneier calls it the "most common retort against privacy advocates." ... To evaluate the nothing-to-hide argument, we should begin by looking at how its adherents understand privacy. Nearly every law or policy involving privacy depends upon a particular understanding of what privacy is. The way problems are conceived has a tremendous impact on the legal and policy solutions used to solve them.

[more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:27 AM PST - 67 comments

How do I empower someone without language, sign, or gesture? What is it like to experience aphasia, dysnomia, auditory and visual distortions, and variable physical sensations? At times I imagine that entering into my son's sensory world—his own particular neurocosm, perhaps I should say—is a bit like walking into Lewis Carroll's Wood With No Names ...

English professor Amy Leal wrote about her young son's son's unexplained regressions and loss of skills last year in Little Boy Lost. This year she returns with a beautiful and heartbreaking study of her son's condition in Dream Map to a Mind Seized.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:00 AM PST - 6 comments

Many of you Americans of a certain age (say, um, 40 to 60-somethings?) may find the Flickr set Museum of American Packaging (comprising 1,711 photos) to be a certain kind of stroll down a certain offshoot of the proverbial Memory Lane.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:52 AM PST - 50 comments