Legal vs. Illegal is not really the point. This is more like something I would expect from the Stasi in a police state rather than something that is going on in a supposed Democracy with supposed constitutional protections. Yes Slashdot, there is something to see here, don't move along.

exactly, it is only being used to swell up a block of tissue that is going to be used for confocal microscopy. So they are just using the properties of sodium polyacrylate to swell the tissue block and hopefully retain the micro-architecture in order to see smaller details.

if you read the abstract, you would have seen that the e stands for electronic, as in electronic dura.

and you would be able to double the NASA budget and have plenty of money left over. The F35 comes to mind, but many other unneeded and excessively costly weapons systems could be cut back in order to boost NASA funding.

No, what was not printed by the WSJ was Lawrence Krauss' response to the WSJ piece, wherein Dr. Krauss refuted the claims made by Mr. Metaxas.

Title at Science Magazine where the video is posted: "'Disco clam' lights up to scare predators away". From the article "The clams, which live off Indonesia, flash twice as much when they spot predators". Somehow, the title does not seem inconsistent with the findings. Maybe folks should read the content before commenting on it.

No mention of Peace on Earth POE, OPE...

I've never been convinced by the Chicxulub-killed-the-dinosaurs theory, and have always preferred the more gradual theory that seems better in line with the evidence as you remind us. Many dinosaur lineages had been dying out in various locations for millions of years, and the climate was changing. There was a relatively short-lived finale, but that seems more in sync with the Deccan traps in terms of the timing, and began well before Chicxulub.

I chipped in for their funding campaign, and I am glad I did. So far the first 3 episodes are great. Mignogna and crew have really done a wonderful job on Star Trek Continues.

The Deccan traps have long been suspect, and the antipodal theory has been around for some time too. From the article: "The researchers suggest that the Deccan Traps eruptions and the meteorite impact near present-day Chicxulub, Mexico, need to be considered together when studying and modeling the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event."

That is not a rebuttal to what I said. How about offering something more pertinent? Are you suggesting there are no significant differences between living organisms and robots? Can you explain what makes a living organism different from a robot? I can describe huge numbers of differences, but I can't say why one is alive and the other isn't. But the differences have been apparent to humans since before we started writing stuff down. If we found the universe populated with machines, that would be the dominant technology in the universe, not the dominant life form.

"In what way is a self replicating robot distinct from life?" Answer: It is not alive.

Let me guess, science fiction movies? Boy are they going to be shocked when they find out that the dominant form of life in the Universe turns out to be microorganisms. Did anyone mention to these folks that robots are not life forms?

Almost everything you do has an effect on DNA histone methylation, acetylation and other histone modifications. In order for the transcriptional complexes required for gene activation and transcription to gain access to DNA segments for copying (making messenger RNA) the histone complexes that protect DNA from damage must be opened up. So exercise, hormones, fasting, and even drinking alcohol will result in epigenetic DNA histone modifications associated with gene transcription. This has been known for many years now. It is not even slightly surprising that exercise would result in gene transcription, which requires histone modification. This is not "changing your DNA", it is modifying the proteins that protect DNA from damage (histones).