The construction of a fence along the southern border of the U.S. is controversial enough, but the PETA people - you know, those whacked out animal rights enthusiasts - want to use the fence as an opportunity to advertise. PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In other words, they are radically opposed to killing animals for food. Cool. But it doesn’t stop there.

PETA has managed to come up with a new spin on healthy eating. It’s no longer enough to tell people that killing animals and eating them is wrong. Now, the group wants to tell people it’s actually unhealthy to eat animals. In fact, according to PETA, they want to tell illegal immigrants crossing over into the U.S. that eating beans and rice is better for their bodies than eating burgers and and chicken, perhaps the healthiest of the meats in the U.S. Here it is in their own words:

The billboards, in English and Spanish, would offer the caution: “If the Border Patrol Doesn’t Get You, the Chicken and Burgers Will — Go Vegan.”

“We think that Mexicans and other immigrants should be warned if they cross into the U.S. they are putting their health at risk by leaving behind a healthier, staple diet of corn tortillas, beans, rice, fruits and vegetables,” said Lindsay Rajt, assistant manager of PETA’s vegan campaigns.

So beans and starch are more healthy than chicken? Granted, burgers might not be all that healthy if you eat them every day. The grease and fatty acids are surely bad. But I’m not sure that a steady diet of beans and rice, eaten every day, is much better. According to one website, overweight women who consume too much starch could be at risk of pancreatic cancer. On the other hand, eating chicken might reduce colon cancer risks.

PETAs advertising plan is just too funny. I can’t believe the Houston Chronicle is taking them seriously.

For years, the scientific community has been baffled by how the brain registers images and allows us to see color.

The human eye can distinguish approximately 10 million colors. That technology is available but limited. The robotic eye can only distinguish 1 million colors. So you see (no pun intended), the margin for improvement is quite large.

That margin has become considerably less with the latest scientifc breakthrough. New York University biologists have mapped the medulla circuitry in fruit flies, setting the stage for subsequent research on how color vision is processed.

Morante and Desplan reconstructed the neural network in Drosophila’s medulla–the brain structure where color photoreceptors project–focusing on neurons likely to be involved in processing color vision. In this endeavor, they identified the full complement of neurons in the medulla. They also developed highly specific analytical tools that will allow scientists to functionally manipulate the network and test both activity and behavior.

Eventually, the scientific community hopes to map the entire eye, optic nerve and brain to answer many questions. For more on this subject, click here.

Dennis Tito became the first person to pay for a ticket into space in 2001 when he paid $20 million for a ride on Soyuz TM-32. The trip was brokered by space tourist agency Space Adventures, Ltd. and the Soyuz left earth’s orbit on April 28, 2001. Tito spent 7 days, 22 hours, and 4 minutes in orbit. He is the first civilian to visit the International Space Station.

Tito was a scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory until 1972, when he left to start an international investment company, Wilshire Associates, which he still manages.

Now that the ice has been broken, how long will be before the rest of us get to take off?

News and Media Blog

WASHINGTON - A village of small houses that may have sheltered the builders of the mysterious Stonehenge — or people attending festivals there — has been found by archaeologists studying the stone circle in England. Eight of the houses, with central hearths, have been excavated, and there may be as many as 25 of them, Mike Parker Pearson said Tuesday at a briefing organized by the
National Geographic Society.

I’ve always been fascinated by Stonehenge. The village may be a very telling discovery and could reveal some insight into the nature and purpose of Stonehenge. The mystery that surrounds this ancient site’s original purpose has long been a subject of speculation by scientist and layman alike. We could be one step closer to unraveling the mystery and discovering something a little bit deeper about this marvelous collection of stones.

News and Media Blog

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt is fuming over a competition to choose the world’s “new seven wonders,” deriding it as a marketing stunt that demeans the pyramids of Giza, the only surviving ancient wonder.

We really don’t want to piss off the Egyptians. They might not let us do any more Antony and Cleopatra movies. Besides, what if the Pyramids lose the vote? I mean, they are the only original ancient wonder left. Shouldn’t they be “grandfathered” in?

Some things just don’t deserve a democratic vote: Ancient wonders, best apple pie, who marries a prince, Hillary Clinton. OK, the list is too long to print here but could you imagine what might happen if the Statue of Liberty beats out the Great Pyramids for New Wonder? We’ll never be able to defeat all those resurrected Pharaohs, I don’t care who General Petraeus thinks he is.

News and Media Blog

MANCHESTER, England - A British zoo announced Wednesday the virgin birth of five Komodo dragons, giving scientists new hope for the captive breeding of the endangered species.

Parthenogenesis — where eggs become embryos without male fertilization — had only been noted once before in a Komodo dragon. Genetic tests showed that Sungai, a resident of London Zoo, was the sole parent to offspring last April.

If the lizards don’t have genetic fathers, would that make them quasi-Komodos?

If a bad joke can give you bad karma, I guess a good chameleon can scale back a little. Will you show me the door, Gene? I mean, Mr. Netic.