Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate in Pakistan, says he woke up last weekend with a glass light bulb in his anus.
On Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object.
"Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort. Today, I had my breakfast. I was just drinking water, nothing else," Mohammad, a grey-beared man in his mid-40s, told Reuters from a hospital bed in the southern central city of Multan.
"We had to take it out intact," said Dr. Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it would be a very very complicated situation."
Mohammad, who is serving a four-year sentence for making liquor, prohibited for Muslims, said he was shocked when he was first told the cause of his discomfort. He swears he didn't know the bulb was there.
"When I woke up I felt a pain in my lower abdomen, but later in hospital, they told me this," Mohammad said.
"I don't know who did this to me. Police or other prisoners."
The doctor treating Mohammad said he'd never encountered anything like it before, and doubted the felon's story that someone had drugged him and inserted the bulb while he was comatose.
28 jun 2006
Woman in auctions herself with her Ferrari
A woman living in Germany is auctioning off her red Ferrari Enzo sports car and including a little extra in the package -- herself.
The 26-year-old has invited bids on Internet auction site ebay starting at 1.25 million euros (860 thousand pounds). She said she was rich herself, liked her car and was looking for a man who could foot the bill for such a luxury.
"Only a millionaire could afford such a car," said the woman, who gave her name as Leila and said she once worked as a singer in Syria. "I want a man who doesn't like me just for my money."
Leila said she would meet with interested bidders but would need to see the bidder's passport and proof of capital. No bids have been made yet in the auction which ends in a week.
9 may 2006
Vatican astronomer denounces Creationism as "paganism"
The Vatican Astronomer has denounced Creationism and the idea that the universe was created in seven days as "superstition" and "paganism" at a speech at the Glasgow Science Centre. He also called Papal Infallability a "PR disaster."
He described creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a "kind of paganism" because it harked back to the days of "nature gods" who were responsible for natural events.
Brother Consolmagno argued that the Christian God was a supernatural one, a belief that had led the clergy in the past to become involved in science to seek natural reasons for phenomena such as thunder and lightning, which had been previously attributed to vengeful gods. "Knowledge is dangerous, but so is ignorance. That's why science and religion need to talk to each other," he said.
"Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god. And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do."
He described creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a "kind of paganism" because it harked back to the days of "nature gods" who were responsible for natural events.
Brother Consolmagno argued that the Christian God was a supernatural one, a belief that had led the clergy in the past to become involved in science to seek natural reasons for phenomena such as thunder and lightning, which had been previously attributed to vengeful gods. "Knowledge is dangerous, but so is ignorance. That's why science and religion need to talk to each other," he said.
"Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god. And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do."
3 may 2006
X-Men may be closer than you think
Small damages to sequences in the human genome are causing evolutionary changes in our DNA, according to a group of Japanese geneticists.
Their recent findings prove that a common form of DNA damage caused by oxidation (called 8-oxoG) is a primary cause of mutagenesis, damage to DNA during the genome replication process that causes mutations in the resulting DNA molecules.
Succinctly, the human race is genetically mutating, and we now may know how and why--at least in part.
Japanese geneticist Yusaku Nakabeppu of Kyushu University and his team released their findings Monday in Genome Research.
"Our findings suggest that 8-oxoG is one of the main causes of frequent recombinations and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the human genome, which largely contribute to the genomic diversity in human beings," the researchers concluded in their Genome Research journal article.
DNA is made up of four nucleobases: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Combinations of these four bases make up the human genome. Among the four bases, guanine is the nucleotide most susceptible to oxidation, and the most common oxidation product of guanine is known as 8-oxoG (8-oxoguanine). It is this prevalent substance that is thought to cause SNPs.
SNPs are subtle changes in chemical pairings found in the DNA sequence. SNPs and frequent recombination of code result in genetic mutation.
These changes in chemical pairings sometimes cluster in one area of the DNA sequence but, until recently, scientists were unsure of why. Nakabeppu and his team have found a causal link between 8-oxoG and clusters of sequence variations in the human genome.
While the specific environmental factors causing the mutation were not part of the research, the study established that the change is not happening in a closed system. The scientists agree with previous studies that have seen exposure to ionizing radiation and other environmental causes as genetic threats, according to their article.
Previously, SNPs were thought to be natural occurrences caused by internal byproduct releases from chemical reactions.
The Japanese researchers used genetic material from two healthy men and two healthy women (all unrelated genetically) in the study.
Scientific American originally disclosed Genome Research's release of the findings.
Their recent findings prove that a common form of DNA damage caused by oxidation (called 8-oxoG) is a primary cause of mutagenesis, damage to DNA during the genome replication process that causes mutations in the resulting DNA molecules.
Succinctly, the human race is genetically mutating, and we now may know how and why--at least in part.
Japanese geneticist Yusaku Nakabeppu of Kyushu University and his team released their findings Monday in Genome Research.
"Our findings suggest that 8-oxoG is one of the main causes of frequent recombinations and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the human genome, which largely contribute to the genomic diversity in human beings," the researchers concluded in their Genome Research journal article.
DNA is made up of four nucleobases: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Combinations of these four bases make up the human genome. Among the four bases, guanine is the nucleotide most susceptible to oxidation, and the most common oxidation product of guanine is known as 8-oxoG (8-oxoguanine). It is this prevalent substance that is thought to cause SNPs.
SNPs are subtle changes in chemical pairings found in the DNA sequence. SNPs and frequent recombination of code result in genetic mutation.
These changes in chemical pairings sometimes cluster in one area of the DNA sequence but, until recently, scientists were unsure of why. Nakabeppu and his team have found a causal link between 8-oxoG and clusters of sequence variations in the human genome.
While the specific environmental factors causing the mutation were not part of the research, the study established that the change is not happening in a closed system. The scientists agree with previous studies that have seen exposure to ionizing radiation and other environmental causes as genetic threats, according to their article.
Previously, SNPs were thought to be natural occurrences caused by internal byproduct releases from chemical reactions.
The Japanese researchers used genetic material from two healthy men and two healthy women (all unrelated genetically) in the study.
Scientific American originally disclosed Genome Research's release of the findings.
6 mar 2006
Detectan en la constelación de Pegaso una colisión intergaláctica | elmundo.es
El telescopio terrestre de Calar Alto, en Almería, y el observatorio espacial 'Spitzer' de la NASA han detectado la colisión de cinco galaxias en la constelación Pegaso, informó el Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro (JPL) de la agencia aeroespacial de EEUU.
La enorme onda expansiva de la colisión, a unos 300 millones de años luz de la Tierra y mucho más grande que nuestra Vía Láctea, fue detectada por el telescopio de Calar Alto mediante luz visible y consiste principalmente de hidrógeno candente.
El Observatorio Astronómico hispano-alemán de Calar Alto, en la sierra de los Filabres, cuenta con cuatro telescopios y desde que fue inaugurado en 1980 ha participado en importantes proyectos y es considerado el más importante en la Europa continental.
Un comunicado del JPL indicó que, por su parte, el 'Spitzer' utilizó para las observaciones su espectrógrafo infrarrojo, un instrumento que separa la luz en sus elementos básicos.
Añadió que las imágenes proporcionadas por el observatorio espacial mostraron en el llamado 'Quinteto de Esteban', formado por las cinco galaxias, una explosión "increíblemente turbulenta" de gases formados por moléculas de hidrógeno.
Este tipo de moléculas, a diferencia del hidrógeno atómico, se desprenden de su energía a través de vibraciones detectadas en el espectro infrarrojo.
"Este gas de enorme expansión es el hidrógeno molecular más turbulento que se haya detectado jamás", indicó el JPL, que no aclaró cuándo ocurrió el descubrimiento.
Añadió que los astrónomos quedaron sorprendidos no sólo por la turbulencia del gas, sino también por la enorme fuerza de la emisión.
27 feb 2006
Descubren en El Cairo un templo con estatuas del faraón Ramses II
Un equipo de arqueólogos egipcios ha descubierto en un barrio de El Cairo los vestigios de un templo de la época del Imperio Medio y Nuevo que estaba decorado con estatuas del faraón Ramsés II (1304 a.C-1237 a.C).
El templo, que fue hallado en el populoso barrio de Ein Shams, forma parte del conjunto de templos que fueron dedicados al culto del Sol en la zona, según informaron fuentes del Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades (CSA).
"En el lugar se encontraron tres estatuas con las facciones del faraón Ramsés II, entre ellas una esculpida en granito rosa, con un peso de entre cinco y seis toneladas y una altura de tres a cuatro metros", dijo Rida Suleimán, uno de los expertos del CSA.
Suleimán indicó que las otras dos esculturas de Ramsés II corresponden a un busto, también en granito rosado, de 2,5 toneladas de peso, y una estatua sedente esculpida en piedra arenisca, en cuya espalda se grabaron jeroglíficos.
La cuarta pieza, esculpida en granito rosa y que pesa entre una y dos toneladas, representa al faraón Sesostris I, perteneciente a la XII dinastía del Imperio Medio, que gobernó Egipto entre los años 2040 y 1777 antes de Cristo, agregó Suleiman.
El experto del CSA informó de que también se descubrió un conjunto de pequeñas figuras en piedra caliza que datan del rey Amenofis IV, de su esposa Nefertiti, y su suegra Titi, que datan de la XVII dinastía.
Donde ahora se encuentra Ein Shams, se hallaba el santuario de "Un", el centro de culto solar más importante del dios solar Ra en la era predinástica. "También "Un" se destacó porque sus sacerdotes inventaron el primer calendario solar, y porque acogió la primera universidad del mundo que enseñó la ciencia de la astronomía.
El templo, que fue hallado en el populoso barrio de Ein Shams, forma parte del conjunto de templos que fueron dedicados al culto del Sol en la zona, según informaron fuentes del Consejo Supremo de Antigüedades (CSA).
"En el lugar se encontraron tres estatuas con las facciones del faraón Ramsés II, entre ellas una esculpida en granito rosa, con un peso de entre cinco y seis toneladas y una altura de tres a cuatro metros", dijo Rida Suleimán, uno de los expertos del CSA.
Suleimán indicó que las otras dos esculturas de Ramsés II corresponden a un busto, también en granito rosado, de 2,5 toneladas de peso, y una estatua sedente esculpida en piedra arenisca, en cuya espalda se grabaron jeroglíficos.
La cuarta pieza, esculpida en granito rosa y que pesa entre una y dos toneladas, representa al faraón Sesostris I, perteneciente a la XII dinastía del Imperio Medio, que gobernó Egipto entre los años 2040 y 1777 antes de Cristo, agregó Suleiman.
El experto del CSA informó de que también se descubrió un conjunto de pequeñas figuras en piedra caliza que datan del rey Amenofis IV, de su esposa Nefertiti, y su suegra Titi, que datan de la XVII dinastía.
Donde ahora se encuentra Ein Shams, se hallaba el santuario de "Un", el centro de culto solar más importante del dios solar Ra en la era predinástica. "También "Un" se destacó porque sus sacerdotes inventaron el primer calendario solar, y porque acogió la primera universidad del mundo que enseñó la ciencia de la astronomía.
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