News

[Scheherazade]

LONDON (Reuters) - Maybe Dracula had a point. The term Young Blood -- meaning an injection of youthful vigor -- could have a medical origin.

Scientists at Stanford University found that wiring up an old mouse to the blood stream of a young one gave a major boost to muscle recovery time in the older one.

By contrast, when old blood was pumped round the body of a young mouse, muscle recovery time became more prolonged, they said in the science journal Nature.

It was not just muscles that benefited. The same was true of the livers of older mice.

Researchers said the results suggested that the aging process lay less with the organs themselves than with the tired blood off which they fed.

(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ealth_blood_dc)

[Sitaram]

In the 1960's Herman Wouk wrote a popular novel entitled "Younblood Hawk" (Youngblood was a first name)

Youngblood is an Americanize form of the German name Jungbluth
German: nickname for a young or impetuous man, from Middle High German junc ‘young’ + bluot ‘blood’.

[mono]

Argh!!! This haunts me everywhere I look - on every website, on every forwarding e-mail:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6987134/

[Scheherazade]

An environmental activist in New Zealand who has been charged with indecent exposure continued his protest on Thursday by arriving at court naked. Simon Oosterman, 24, from Auckland, did however take the step of dressing before he entered the courtroom.

He was arrested during a naked bike ride last Sunday, which he organised to protest against society's dependence on the car.

Outside court, Mr Oosterman said public nudity differed from indecent exposure. "The purpose of the protest was to draw attention to the issue of transport emissions," the computer technician said, noting that the Kyoto protocol, which aims to curb air pollution, came into force on Wednesday.

"There has to be distinction between people flashing young girls and public nudity, which is benign."

Mr Oosterman said he decided to dress before his hearing, however, because he did not want to risk being charged with contempt of court.

A sergeant who saw him travelling naked up the courtroom's escalator "told me he was grateful I got dressed at the top".


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4274021.stm)

[mono]

How ironic . . .
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6995630/

[Scheherazade]

Art experts and historians are staging what has been described as a mock trial to examine the claims made in hit novel The Da Vinci Code.
The "trial" is being held in Vinci, Italy, and an opening statement was made by Alessandro Vezzosi, director of a Leonardo Da Vinci museum, on Friday.

"Leonardo is misrepresented and belittled," he said beforehand.

No-one will represent the book but many fans are expected to attend. The book has sold 7.5 million copies worldwide.

Many readers assume the story, linking Da Vinci with a secret society that has held the secret of the Holy Grail for centuries, is completely true.

'Absurd'

Author Dan Brown has said: "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact."

But the book has sparked heated debate among historians, many of whom have dismissed Mr Brown's version of events and his central claim that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail is their bloodline.

The "trial" is taking place at the Palazzina Uzielli in Vinci, near Florence, Da Vinci's hometown. The town's vicar, Monsignor Renato Bellini, said the book gave an inaccurate view of Catholic society Opus Dei.

"This book depicts the movement as a mysterious centre of political and economic power that tries to hide the historical truth on Jesus and Magdalene, which is absurd," he said.

'Misunderstood genius'

A representative of Opus Dei would take part in the mock tribunal, he added.

Mr Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo Da Vinci in the town, said he would produce documents and photographs to prove many of the claims about the legendary artist were false.

"His importance is misunderstood, he was a man full of fantasy, inventions and genius," he said.

As well as the original novel, published in 2003, another 10 books have been written to debunk its claims and a booming tourist industry has sprung up around its sites in France and the UK.

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...ts/4280383.stm)

[Dyrwen]

It never ceases to amaze me how inventive fiction can be construed as non fiction with the use of real figures and ideas of history. Quite frankly I'd say it says more about those defending their beliefs from a fictional story than it does about some guy's vision of a storyline, heh.

In other, unrelated, odd news

[kilted exile]

truly the end of an era

[mono]

I wanted to start a thread regarding this particular death (so close to another great writer's death - Arthur Miller), but when I read that this particlar author desired at least some privacy of the end of his life . . . well, it still saddens me.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7005168/

[Scheherazade]

SEOUL (Reuters) - Some South Korean homeless are dressing in style after the government gave away thousands of fake designer garments confiscated by customs agents.

The Korea Customs Service distributed more than 3,500 fake pieces in the southern city of Pusan this month with the permission of the fashion houses whose designs had been pirated.

A customs official declined to name the designers whose ripped-off creations are now being worn by the homeless but said both they and the state prosecutors had approved giving away the jackets, blouses, shirts and pants.

"We hope this will be of some help to the poor who need practical assistance in such hard times," the official said.

Customs agents removed the labels from the clothes before giving them to a welfare agency for distribution.

South Korea (news - web sites) has a vibrant illegal market in pirated designer clothing and customs officials said there would be more handouts.

"We will continue to look for useful ways to pass along the clothes -- it saves us the cost of destroying what we have confiscated," the Customs Service said in a statement.

One homeless man, who asked not to be identified, said he appreciated the fancy threads. "I don't care about the quality of the clothes, but these designs are quite trendy," the recipient said.


(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ea_homeless_dc)

[Scheherazade]

The 'Shrek effect' has been blamed for the increase in donkey imports
Hundreds of donkeys bought because of the film Shrek's popularity are being seriously neglected, vets have warned.
Peter Jinman, a former president of the British Veterinary Association, has likened the donkey craze to previous fads for llamas and ostriches.

He says owners often do not know how to look after them properly - or even realise donkeys now require passports.

Animal charity the Donkey Sanctuary has stressed that the animals need a lot of attention and can be expensive to keep.

Both the original Shrek film and the sequel, charting the adventures of a green ogre and his donkey friend, have proved extremely popular with children.

Practising vet Mr Jinman says he has been receiving an increasing amount of calls about donkeys over the past three years.

Peter Jinman

"It has certainly become apparent that there are a lot more donkeys appearing," he told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today.

He suggested this was due to people moving from the city to the country and buying houses with land attached.

He also said the "Shrek effect" could not be ignored.

Mr Jinman added that many of the animals are being imported when they are too young to be moved around.

"I would have a certain amount of concern as to what is going on with the trade and how it's being regulated," he said.

Eddie Murphy played Donkey

Tina Court, of the Devon-based Donkey Sanctuary, said the donkey "is quite a character" and makes a good pet.

But she warned potential owners need "a minimum of one acre grazing land, a farm or shelter, a good equine farrier, a vet, straw for bedding and a lot of time - because donkeys love attention".

For parents of Shrek-obsessed children who can't fulfil these requirements, there is an option to sponsor a donkey.

Claire Belton runs the New European Distressed Donkey Initiative (Neddi) in France and offers her animals for sponsorship.

She says: "It is slightly less tangible than keeping the animals as pets, but you can come and visit your donkey and pat it."

Both donkey groups and vets agree the biggest problem with keeping the animals is that they live for such a long time - upwards of 30 years.


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4291069.stm)

[mono]

Living in style:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ea_homeless_dc

[Scheherazade]

An elderly Thai monk who mistook a tube of superglue for eye drops can see again after doctors unglued one eye. Phra Kru Prapatworakhun, 81, had been unable to see for nearly a week after applying the superglue, which he found in his temple's medicine cabinet.

Doctors used acetone solvent to remove the glue from one eye and said it was unharmed, the Nation newspaper reports.

An operation on the second eye, which is still tightly sealed, is scheduled for Thursday.

Phra Kru Prapatworakhun, the abbot of a temple in Muang Angthong district, north of Bangkok, said he had a severe itch in his eyes on 17 February.

"I squeezed several drops on the floor and saw a clear liquid, so I put four drops into each eye. In about a minute, my eyes felt cold and then sealed closed," the monk told the Nation.

Another monk suggested he use thinners to get rid of the glue. But that only caused a searing pain, he said.


(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4289777.stm)

[mono]

*phone rings
"Hello?"
"Hello. Am I on the radio?"
"Yes."
"Oh, cool. Well, I robbed a bank once."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7019653/

[mono]

The newest of "prophecies," concerning the Pope:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7030925/