A spiny seahorse (hippocampus guttulatus) in Studland Bay, Dorset. Photograph: Steve Trewhella

From The Guardian:

Sightings of Britain's two indigenous species of seahorse – the spiny and short-snouted seahorses – are on the increase. But an argument is brewing between conservationists over how to protect the creatures that just a decade ago were extremely rare.

This may be old news to some, but my friend in BC informed me tonight that the police in various parts of Canada have begun issuing blood tests to drivers suspected of being high. Such blood tests also reveal past drug use, of course, not just impairment while driving. If you refuse to surrender your bodily fluids to the state, you'll pay a $1,000 fine.

This is already taking place in Quebec and British Columbia, but since it's federal law, I'm sure it will gradually spread nation-wide.

Scientists are about to create life from non-living matter. How can anybody still believe in creationism?

"We've made more progress on how the membrane of a protocell could grow and divide," Szostak said in a phone interview. "What we can do now is copy a limited set of simple [genetic] sequences, but we need to be able to copy arbitrary sequences so that sequences could evolve that do something useful."

By doing "something useful" for the cell, these genes would launch the new form of life down the Darwinian evolutionary path similar to the one that our oldest living ancestors must have traveled. Though where selective pressure will lead the new form of life is impossible to know.

A cosmetic treatment that has become increasingly popular in recent times and with the increase of various celebrities with sparkling perfect smiles most of us feel motivated or even compelled to get a similar sparkling pearly white smile. With the demand on the increase for teeth whitening procedures there has.

There are various dental treatments available to correct uneven teeth structure. Dental science extends full support to treat any disorder of your teeth. Dental science has ready solutions to all problems related to impeded smile. Porcelain veneers are one of the biggest achievements in the field of dentistry. Porcelain veneers .

In connection with the growing competition in the market netbooków, Eee PC 901 it costs less and less. At this time, its price is 500 dollars in the west, 1250 gold with us.

Asus Eee PC 901 is equipped with a 8.9-inch screen resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, Intel Atom N270 timing 1.6 GHz, 1024 MB RAM and disk storage capacity SSD of 12 GB. In addition, has an integrated graphics GMA 900, WiFi, Bluetooth, three USB 2.0 ports, memory card reader and the SD and MMC preinstalled Windows XP operating system. Yes configured netbooka can already buy gold for 1239.

As we go into the fourth and final phase (after the Pre-Primary, Primary, and Post-Primary/Pre-Convention phases) of this election, the Debate/Pre-Election phase -- WAIT, I have to turn off the television. McCain is speaking and I don't want his lies to eat the good still left in my soul....OK, phew, that was close. Normally, I can watch him without a cold shudder that evil is lurking in the room. Just not while I'm blogging. -- it's time to reassess the playing field because, yes - to use the oft(ahem, over)used phrase: Palin was a frickin' game-changer.

 
Scientists will apparently be running tests on a future experiment to recreate the big bang tomorrow in an
effort to further understand dark matter, among other fiddly stuff. Here's an
article about it courtesy of the BBC:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7567926.stm>

Nothing wrong with that, of course, except it just might mean the end of
life, the universe and everything. Now, we're sure the odds are against it
becoming an experiment in Armageddon, but here are a few snippets from the
above article that we find particularly intriguing (alarming bold print
inserted by us entirely without the author's permission): 

An international team of scientists that includes University of British Columbia astronomer Brett Gladman has found an unusual object whose backward and tilted orbit around the Sun may clarify the origins of certain comets.

In the first discovery of its kind, researchers from Canada, France and the United States have discovered an object that orbits around the Sun backwards, and tilted at an angle of 104 degrees – almost perpendicular to the orbits of the planets.

Here are a number of quick new items that I have found interesting; hopefully readers will think likewise about at least some of the following.

Time's Michael Kinsley has a good article on "Sarah Palin's Alaskanomics" that challenges how much experience she has with fiscal conservatism, even besides her early support for the "bridge to nowhere."  The economy of the state has more to do with Alaska's natural resources than with Governor Palin, but the details are nonetheless interesting. 

Well, tomorrow they fire up the big guns!

The new Large Hadron Collider (LHC) goes on line for its first big run.  It will not be a full power run -- those are planned for the end of the month.  Still, there ought to be some good particle smashing going on!