OxyContin was first approved by the FDA in 1995 to treat severe chronic pain and was designed to be swallowed whole and digested over 12 hours. However, drug abusers crushed the drug or dissolved it in water and injected it to get all the effects at once, creating a heroin-like high. The drug's maker, Purdue Pharma LP, reformulated the product and is waiting for FDA approval. The reformulated product is designed to be harder to crush and more difficult to dissolve. The active ingredient is designed to form into a gel when dissolved in liquid, making it harder to inject or inhale through the nose.

UPDATE: FDA Panel Backs Reformulated OxyContin; Has Concerns  SEPTEMBER 24, 2009, 5:14 P.M. ET http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090924-714013.html

The team, from Cardiff, Bristol and Texas A&M Universities, spent weeks in the African bush in Tanzania to extract samples of tiny fossils that could reveal CO2 levels in the atmosphere 34 million years ago. [1] They discovered sediments of the right age near a traditional African village called Stakishari. By assembling a drilling rig and extracting hundreds of meters of samples from under the ground they were able to obtain exactly the piece of Earth's history they had been searching for. [2]

About 34 million years ago the Earth experienced a mysterious cooling trend. Glaciers and small ice sheets developed in Antarctica, sea levels fell and temperate forests began to displace tropical-type vegetation in many areas. [2]

[1] Scientists find CO2 link to Antarctic ice cap origin Reuters Sep 14, 2009
[2] New Carbon Dioxide Data Helps Unlock The Secrets Of Antarctic Formation ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2009)

Missing college student's body found inside wall

As news spread Sunday night that a body had been found at 10 Amistad St., the Yale building where Annie Le was last seen.  It’s really sad, and it’s also really terrifying for most people mentality because it was in a Yale building - gated building. You need a security card in order to get in the building!

Authorities investigating the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le have focused their efforts on a suspect who failed a lie detector test, sources told ABC News.  Police find body in wall of university building where Annie Le was last seen.

That suspect has what appear to be defensive wounds, a key piece of circumstantial evidence. In addition, the suspect, who authorities believe knew Le, failed a lie detector test, sources told ABC News. Sources also told ABC News that bloody clothing removed from the lab belonged to the likely killer. 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/evidence-annie-le-murder-lead-killer/story?id=8565647

Who murdered Annie Le? - A Co-worker? A Professor? A Friend? An Outsider? ????

Suicide accounts for more than half of all violent deaths in the world - more than all the deaths caused by war and murder combined. [3]

Anybody who is thinking of committing suicide, generally exhibits some form of alteration in their normal mental being, and if a friend or loved one can spot this change in time, they can take action to reduce the likelyhood of a suicide attempt. [1]

Research has shown that people feeling depressed may be more willing to discuss their problems with relative strangers rather than friends or family because they feel embarrassed about talking to someone they know. Some people really open up while they're having their hair cut - from the silly things to the most important things in their lives.[2]

Warning signs of suicide include:

-- A previous attempt;

-- Talk or plans of suicide;

-- A strong wish to die or preoccupation with death;

-- Giving away prized possessions;

-- Signs of depression such as moodiness, hopelessness or withdrawal;

-- Increased alcohol and/or drug use;

-- Hinting at not being around in the future. [4]

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) teaches people to recognize the signs that a person is at risk and how to intervene to prevent suicide. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has trained more than 100 teachers, health aides, licensed counselors and caregivers in the last year, expanding prevention resources in communities statewide. [3]

In UK, hairdressers and taxi drivers are being trained to help spot vulnerable people who might be contemplating taking their own lives. [2]

Statistics
Alaska's suicide rate - 19.6 per every 100,000 people - is twice the national average. In 2008, 165 Alaskans committed suicide. [3]....why?

Reference
[1] Committing Suicide is a Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem dbtechno.com September 11, 2009 [2] Mark Simpson Hairdressers to help prevent suicide BBC Ireland 10 September 2009 [3] Kate Burkhart My turn: Together communities can prevent suicide juneauempire.com September 11, 2009. [4] Michelle Dupler Group to walk for suicide prevention The News Tribune 09/11/09

Suddenly and without warning, the gigantic river of ice sped up, causing it to spit icebergs ever faster into the ocean off southeastern Greenland. [1]

Helheim Glacier nearly doubled its speed in just a few years, flowing through a rift in the barren coastal mountains at a stunning 100 feet (30 meters) per day. [1]

The speed of the other major glacier in Greenland, Kangerdlugssuaq, is even more dramatic. It moves some 38 metres a day or 14 kilometres a year. [2]

The two glaciers produce 10 percent of Greenland's ice output into the North Atlantic. Glaciers that shed their ice cause sea levels to rise. [2]

[1] Greenland's melt mystery unfolds, at glacial pace Associated Press Sep 10, 7:46 pm [2] Greenland glaciers melting faster than ever: NGO The News Thursday, September 10, 2009

In 1962, Lou Groen was desperate to save his floundering hamburger restaurant, the first McDonald's in the Cincinnati area.[1]

His problem: His clientele was heavily Roman Catholic. In those days, most Catholics abstained from meat every Friday, as well as during Lent, the 40-day period of repentance that begins this week with Ash Wednesday.[1]

His solution: He created the Filet-O-Fish — a sandwich that saved his restaurant and eventually would be consumed at a rate of 300 million a year. [1]

What makes up a Filet-O-Fish sandwich? An ugly creature from the sunless depths of the Pacific --- hoki, or whiptail, a bug-eyed specimen found far down in the waters around New Zealand. The hoki may be exceedingly unattractive, but when its flesh reaches the consumer it’s just fish — cut into filets and sticks or rolled into sushi — moist, slightly sweet and very tasty. [2]

[1] No fish story: Sandwich saved his McDonald's USA Today Updated 2/20/2007 3:37 PM ET
[2] From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch, The New York Times September 9, 2009

Chinese researchers have managed to create powerful stem cells from mouse skin and used these to generate fertile live mouse pups. They used induced pluripotent skin cells, or iPS cells -- cells that have been reprogrammed to look and act like embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old embryos, have the power to morph into any cell type and, in mice, can be implanted into a mother's womb to create living mouse pups. Thus, it is theoretically possible to clone someone using ordinary connective tissue cells found on the person's skin[1]

Almost at the same time, Stanford researchers discovered that the globs of human fat removed during liposuction contain versatile cells that can be coaxed into becoming pluripotent (iPS) stem cells more easily than the skin cells that are often used by researchers! [2]

[1] Chinese experts grow live mice from skin cells Reuters Thu Jul 23, 2009
[2] Making Stem Cells From Liposuction Leftovers Is Easier Say Researchers medicalnewstoday.com 09 Sep 2009

I eat foods that make me feel good.

I eat what I really want.

I enjoy my food.

But, what happens if these are not healthy foods?

【明報專訊】美國科學家利用基因轉換技術，成功為一隻患有粒線體基因變異的猴子媽媽「借卵」誕下4隻健康小猴。科學家指該技術將來可用在人類身上，避免有線粒體基因變異的母親將遺傳病傳至下一代。

實驗由俄勒岡國家靈長類動物研究中心進行，實驗中的猴子媽媽患有細胞線粒體缺陷，雖然有超過99%的細胞基因存在於細胞核中，只有小量在線粒體中，但下一代只要從母體裏遺傳小量的突變線粒體基因，就可引致嚴重疾病，包括失明、失聰和肌肉萎縮等。

研 究人員從這隻雌猴的卵子細胞核內抽出染色體，並把它們注入另一隻健康雌猴的卵子內，然後將混合的卵子與一隻雄猴的精子結合，最後把受精卵植回猴子媽媽體 內，成功繁殖出4隻健康小猴，包括兩隻是雙胞胎。經過檢測，4隻新生小猴都沒有遺傳到母親的缺陷線粒體基因，證明實驗很成功。

倫 敦國家醫學研究所的洛弗爾巴格（Robin Lovell-Badge）教授說：「該實驗採用的方法，證明（線粒體有缺陷的母親）可繁殖正常後代。」

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在"蛋先或雞先問題"上, 這亦可是"蛋先"的一間接證明ｏ 「這技術是可防止下一代遺傳線粒體缺陷疾病, 同時亦可創造新品種。」

有假設話人類根本就是創造者; 亦即是所謂"神"了 .

這是近幾年開始的"信仰" 用意是指人最終會創造萬物, 成為了創造者, 在太空科學, 時間亦可以指"距離",所以如果, 宇宙是自有的, 宇宙也是創造者, 而人類是宇宙不可分割的一部份, 而人類亦有創造力, 而間接認同了中國古代信仰"天地人合一"的理念~~~~所以我們要得"道". "道"是指通和明的意思...

凡是講證據, 我當然是乜都唔知啦, 仍然做返不可知論者