MetaFilter posts tagged with blood

A Sucker Born Every Minute

ninazer0 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:37:57 -0800

Russia wants to lead the way in leech farming. Notorious for all kinds of medicinal uses (previously), they're also becoming popular in cosmetics. According to the International Medical Leech Centre, topical application of leech-based cosmetics will soften skin, reduce the depth of wrinkles and decelerate aging, amongst other things. (Translated list of references here). According to various proponents, leech therapy can "detoxify the blood", but other people think that Ms. Moore may be a little misguided. For completeness, obligatory Wikipedia link here.

That single-serving website sure is sweet

Asparagirl — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:20:15 -0800

Need to settle a dispute with a friend, but don't want to flip a coin? Try Diabetting, a new way to settle decisions using the most-recently-updated blood sugar readings of a Type I diabetic web developer.

Wait... No Pirate Vs. Ninja?!

Bageena — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:09:13 -0800

Haven't you always secretly wondered what would happen if a ninja accidentally stumbled into, say, Bill and Ted's time traveling Phone Booth and ended up somewhere around 7th century BC, only to come face-to-face with a feisty Spartan? Have you not pondered what would happen if you locked up an Apache with a Gladiator inside some sort of 21st century battle dome? Are you frustrated because you feel like there's nobody doing proper scientific studies to see what would happen when you pit two historically violent warriors that could have never actually met in real life? Worry no more people - I present to you Spike TV's newest offering - Deadliest Warrior! The show basically goes like this; you take two crazy fighters who, previous to the show, have only been pitted against one another in heated debates between young men in line for the midnight showing of the newest X-Men movie (or really awesome drunk people). The show's 'Host, Simulation Consultant, and Blogger', Max Geiger brings in experts representing each warrior. The experts bring in weapons that are historically accurate which are then tested on a variety of dummies that are stuffed with SCIENCE! The data from said SCIENCE! all goes into a computer simulation based on an unreleased commercial game engine by these guys. Not just the SCIENCE!, which is actually pretty cool (ballistics gel, pig carcasses, high speed photography), but also, as Max aptly put it: "The simulation's inputs include real world scientific data gathered by one of my co-hosts, Geoff Desmoulin, who is getting his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. Our number crunching is balanced out by Dr. Armand Dorian, an ER doctor who keeps our work firmly grounded in the actual trauma our tests cause." The reviews are in! Variety seems to feel it might be possibly the stupidest show ever, appealing only to the lowest common denominator! Newsarama was a little nicer, pointing out that there are some people on the show trying to make it as scientific as it can possibly be, while also having a great time. Either way, do you care? Don't you want to watch a Viking fight a Samurai? Or a Pirate against a Knight? You can apparently only watch the latest episode on the website, here. Also, looking forward on the Wikipedia, it does look like the show might slip-slide from whatever tenuous grasp they have on ideas for fights as they start doing shows about William Wallace versus Shaka Zulu or finally, the IRA versus the Taliban. I have only one thought. How could they have NOT had a Pirate versus Ninja episode? FAIL!

Blood Tide

Artw — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:15:27 -0800

Blood Falls - The iron rich red liquid gushing from a buried Antarctica lake shows how life may have existed on a snowball Earth, or on Europa.

Life Through the Lens

netbros — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:11 -0800

Microscope Imaging Station opens a door to the wonder of the microscopic world and allows the layman to explore it. They seek to recreate some of the excitement and wonder that the earliest biological researchers found. Features include cells with potential as well as bad oogy. The microscopic Galleries are inhabited by zygotes and organelles.

Zhang Peng’s photographic art

chiraena — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:23:43 -0800

Zhang Peng’s elaborate photographs have been called both "beautiful" and "disgusting". You can see some of them here and here.

Creepy Christmas carols

imposster — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:25:07 -0800

An antidote to the holly jolly malaise: Few Christmas carols contain as much blood and suffering as "Down in yon forest." It was first documented in England by Ralph Vaughan Williams, but John Jacob Niles found an even gorier version in North Carolina (Alfred Deller's rendition). Niles was also responsible for another creepy Christmas song: "I wonder as I wander" (audio). In fact, the mountain interior of the United States is a rich ground for such tunes, like "Lady Gay" (variant), "Fair Charlotte," and "Timbo fight." The English continue celebrating Christmas with the ritualized presentation and ingestion of a severed pig head (video). Beware of overindulgence, or be prepared to answer J.M. Gates' musical question, "Did you spend Christmas Day in jail?" (see also: "Death might be your Santa Claus"). Still having a blue Christmas? It will soon be over.

Fun for kids!

cjorgensen — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:08:39 -0800

'the plausible impossibility of death in the mind of cartoon characters' via Limited Edition Prints available. My favorite. Sort of Dexter meets Harvey Birdman

Not just another ghost story

shockingbluamp — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:09:10 -0800

Its Fall and a perfect time to make a road trip. Its more than just a hip movie location, Marfa, Texas is home to bizarre food options and of course the world famous Mystery Lights.

Mighty mouse conquers cancer

greatgefilte — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:49:32 -0800

1999: Researchers at Wake Forest University discover an incredible oddity: a mouse resistant to many forms of cancer. The resistance is found to be inherited (Pubmed link). 2006: They show that cancer resistance can be transferred (Pubmed link) to non-resistant mice. 2008: They've found that the resistance is mediated through blood cells called granulocytes, and that some humans potentially have the same ability to resist cancer. Now they need your help. Also: the discoverer, Zheng Cui, describes "The winding road to the discovery of the SR/CR mice". Just another instance of Asimov's famous quip, "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!', but 'That's funny...'" Makes you wonder why they haven't found the mutation that causes the resistance, though.

We've Replaced The Patient's Blood With PolyHeme. Let's See If They Notice.

scrump — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:54:31 -0800

The blood substitute PolyHeme has been previously discussed on MetaFilter, but new evidence shows that PolyHeme actually raises the chances of death by nearly 30%. PolyHeme was notable mostly for the reaction to its clinical trials, which, controversially, did not require patient consent.

Do you like bad boys?

msalt — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:51:12 -0800

Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies (on Pitchfork.TV for one week, until 5/2/08). Very, very NSFW. GG Allin previously, wiki

28 Days Later...more stem cells!

Asparagirl — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:32:43 -0800

Scientists have discovered that "endometrial regenerative cells" (ERC's) -- in other words, human menstrual blood -- contains stem cells. ERC-derived stem cells seem to have a number of superior traits to both bone marrow derived and umbilical cord derived stem cells, the previous gold standards: they can give rise to a variety of different cell lines without differentiation, they multiply more quickly than other stem cells, they are able to replicate more times without adversely mutating, and they apparently do not need to be closely genetically matched to the recipient. Now some women have even begun banking their menstrual blood to preserve their stem cells through a company called "C'Elle: Your Monthly Miracle" -- check out their FAQ and online video. This follows last May's announcement that menstrual blood derived cells can pretty much cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in mice, a disease for which there is no current therapeutic treatment available.

The gift that keeps on congealing...

crossoverman — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:44:46 -0800

Looking for a gift for someone special? Got everything you thought you'd ever need? Why not treat yourself to the blood of innocents?

Zed-neck

afx114 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:34:46 -0800

Zednik stable after carotid artery severed in Panthers-Sabres game. (NSF Hemophobes) In an awkward coincidence, the Sabres were involved the last time time this happened in an NHL game when Clint Malarchuk nearly bled out in his goalie crease in 1989.

Robot High School

nangsta — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:14:32 -0800

Bloody balls! Make sure to stick around for the surprise ending. Supposedly no significant computer generated effects were added.

Hammer Has Risen From The Grave!... er Rave!

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:23:39 -0800

Hammer films are back! ... The classic British horror film company has returned from the dead with the first new film in 20 years to be first broadcast in instalments via MySpace. This has allowed some news programs to camp it up just a little... See the trailer here. Behind the scenes. Time will tell if the latest venture will be up to the classics of the past such as... Draculawith Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (recently restored by the BFI), The Curse of Frankenstein (also with Lee and Cushing), The Mummy (Lee and Cushing again), The Hound of the Baskervilles (with yup, you've guess it, Lee and Cushing), She (with Lee, Cushing AND Ursula Andress), The Quatermass Xperiment (The Creeping Unknown in the US), the rather arty Vampire Circus, One Million Years B.C (with Raquel Welch in that fur bikini), The Devil Rides Out (with Lee playing a good guy for once), Countess Dracula (with Ingrid Pitt) and the 'Karnstein Trilogy' of The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire and Twins of Evil. (Which I was introduced to by the splendid Horror Double Bills the BBC used to run late night in the summers of the 1970s) Although best known for their classic horror films though they also produced films in other genres (they made a great deal of profit from horrifically bad film versions of the popular tv sitcoms of the time) Even though the popularity of the films faded Hammer continued into television (some of which may look rubbish now but frightened me to death as a kid.) Their style has been spoofed over years... but never better than here. Here's one lady who should be happy at least. (Some of those clips may be NSFW... or X-rated as we used to say)

Bleed for Public Safety.

Tacos Are Pretty Great — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:03:06 -0800

Bleed for Public Safety.

Bloody awful: How money and politics contaminated Arkansas's prison plasma program.

thisisdrew — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:45:32 -0800

Blood Money : A widow is fighting to open records on how tainted blood plasma from Arkansas prisoners entered the U.K. and led to the death of her husband.

What's it like to work in a Slaughterhouse?

homodigitalis — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:39:27 -0800

Slaughterhouse. A brutally honest look behind the scenes. Loads of blood, dead pigs and people inbetween. Recommended for the whole family for sunday dinner - if you like your sausages! [Google Video, NSFW, Not safe for veggies or PETA]

Luke Bream, Tour Champion

Chuckles — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:02:45 -0800

~~Vinokourov~~. ~~Rasmussen~~. Luke Bream?
Looks like he'll make it! [via]

The Polar Bears of Spitsbergen

jonson — Sat, 12 May 2007 21:58:39 -0800

The Polar Bears of Spitsbergen is an amazing and gruesome photo gallery posted by a photographer who stumbled across a bear & its cubs at feeding time & spent the next 45 minutes capturing the event. via

Planed by Gilbert & George

jack_mo — Tue, 08 May 2007 16:15:20 -0800

Planed - a new work by Gilbert & George, available for download until 11:35pm on the 10th of May.

Scientifically proven to benefit humanity

arcticwoman — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 08:40:38 -0800

What are you doing on May 3rd? Atheist Volunteers, in conjunction with The Rational Response Squad, want you to spend National Day of Prayer (or is the the National Day of Reason?)donating blood and signing up to be an organ donor. How are other people commemorating NDOP? Christians will be exercising their right to freedom of worship, the Presidential Prayer Team will be doing what their name implies, Bush will probably do what he did last year, and Larry Flint will be praying for the death of Bill O'Reilly.

Blood, sweat and tears

Brian B. — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 11:06:33 -0800

Is blood plasma salinity the same as seawater? No, but that proves evolution. "The answer is most definitely NOT that oceans were 1/3 as salty back then. It most definitely IS that the earliest vertebrates did evolve in salt water and then moved into fresh water....They have devised an extremely clever trick in kidney structure to allow salt transport pumps which really take salt back INTO the body from the urine but still manage to use them to produce urine much more concentrated that their body fluids and so excrete salt FROM the body."