« Monkeys have a sense of morality, say scientists | Home | Recent Comments | Categories | Copying the Wrong Thing »
Pirate Bay Claims Partial Victory
[Quote:]
On the second day of the major file-sharing trial, Pirate Bay supporters are hailing a partial victory.
Prosecuter Håkan Roswall has decided not to press on with the charge of aiding the copying of material but to soften it to simply reproducing torrent files.
Defence lawyer Per E Samuelson says that this development is amazing – and that this means that the defence has already achieved half their aims.
Monkeys have a sense of morality, say scientists
[Quote:]
MONKEYS and apes have a sense of morality and the rudimentary ability to tell right from wrong, according to new research.
In a series of studies scientists have found that monkeys and apes can make judgments about fairness, offer altruistic help and empathise when a fellow animal is ill or in difficulties. They even appear to have consciences and the ability to remember obligations.
The research implies that morality is not a uniquely human quality and suggests it arose through evolution. That could mean the strength of our consciences is partly determined by our genes.
The article goes on to say that “Such findings are likely to antagonise fundamentalist religious groups.”
No shit, sherlock…
Draconian DRM Revealed In Windows 7
[Quote:]
That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to ‘allow everyone’ was disabled!
In other words – you no longer own the computer you install windows 7 on. It is shared property of all the media companies, Microsoft, and all virus authors, who will probably abuse this even before legit companies do so.
|
If a virus could cure cancer, would you get infected?
[Quote:]
In the background behind attention-grabbing headlines about famous (and wannabe-famous) cancer patients, a quiet revolution may be on the brink of changing oncology.
Targeted cancer therapy and gene therapy have been mentioned in the blue before, but oncolytic viruses are the hot young thing. For consideration in cancer treatment, an virus must replicate in and kill a high number of exclusively cancer cells, while sparing healthy tissue. A Philadelphia-based company called Neotropix has won awards for its research into a prime contender – the Seneca Valley Virus. It has been the subject of Phase I adult clinical trials, with Phase II adult and Phase I pediatric clinical trials to start this year. SVV has advantages over some other contenders in that it is a naturally occurring (lest we create a race of mutant zombies) organism and studies so far suggest it is not harmful to healthy human cells. While a number of other oncolytic viruses are being examined, NTX-010 seems able to treat a very wide range of common and rare forms of cancer, some of which are now considered uniformly fatal. In addition, unlike some other tested viruses, it can travel through the bloodstream to treat metastatic and not just local disease. Compared to the side-effects and late effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, and because many of the cancers ideal for treatment with an oncolytic virus have no surgical options, this may be the next big breakthrough.
Cartoons
Feuding iPhone fart-makers raise legal stink
[Quote:]
The developer behind the iPhone’s top digital fart generator wants the American legal system to declare that using the phrase “pull my finger” does not run afoul of a rival’s trademark.
Infomedia, maker the immensely popular iFart Mobile app, is taking Pull My Finger developer Air-O-Matic to Colorado court seeking a declaratory judgment and additional “relief.”
I would attribute this to “extelligence” and not neccessarily the genes.
But fundamentalist religious groups shouldn’t get mad about these findings, but embrace them as the ultimate proof that every creation of God has the promise of Eden in it. There were a ton of stories in the medieval times where animals helped saints and such.
So a clever creationist or intelligent design group can pick it up as further proof on the existence of God.