Scientists ready to create a real life Jurassic world

We could all get the chance to dodge the gigantic jaws of a Tyrannosaurus rex if a group of Russian scientists is successful.

Extreme arctic conditions may hold the key to resurrecting the dinosaurs.

Using a vast laboratory full of preserved genetic samples, scientists at the Mammoth Museum of the Institute of Applied Ecology, in the Russian city of Yakutsk, are hoping to clone pre-historic animals.

Their aim – to create a “real-life Jurassic Park”

,The Siberian permafrost is filled with preserved pre-historic life and samples at the Yakutsk lab include a 12,400-year-old mummified puppy and 4500-year-old horse4

If Jurassic Park‘s mathematician Dr Ian Malcolm (better known as Jeff Goldblum) were around, he would likely utter “Don’t you mean they’re extinct?”

The answer, it is hoped, is not for much longer.

Is it possible?

There are mixed opinions on the prospect of bringing dinosaurs back from the dead.

Paleontologist Jack Horner was an advisor on the most recent dinosaur epic Jurassic World.

    

If Jurassic Park is anything to go by, bringing back dinosaurs would only mean constant fitness tests.Photo: Getty

He believes the technology to give life to the extinct animals exists – in theory at least.

“What we’re trying to do is find ancestral genes in birds that are turned off and turn them back on again so that we can make an animal look like a dinosaur,” Horner.

“I think we will have what we call a ‘dino-chicken’, a bird with a long tail, that has arms, that has hands instead of wings, a snout with teeth definitely in the next 10 years.”

But others are more dubious.

Flinders University Strategic Professor in Palaeontology John Long said it was nearly impossible to recreate the genetic make-up of an animal once it was lost.

Although relatives of pre-historic dinosaurs still walk the Earth, their DNA is so different much of it would have to be synthetically recreated.

“The complex nature of DNA makes it impossible to ever reconstruct the exact DNA of an extinct animal using small fragments, especially when patched up using more than 99 per cent of another distant relatives DNA,” he said in an article for the conversation

The ethical question

Even if it were possible, is it ethical to recreate massive creatures that would oust humanity from the top of the food chain?

Part of Horner’s work involves altering the genetic make-up of the chicken to recreate dinosaurs.

Along with a team of researchers from Harvard and Yale universities, they are focusing on four major differences between dinosaurs and birds – the mouths, hands, arms and tails.

Scientists extracted DNA from the leg of a well-preserved woolly mammoth in March. Photo: YouTube

In an earlier study, Harvard researchers successfully inserted preserved mammoth genes into those of the Asian elephant.

But Prof Long questions what recreating a dinosaur might achieve.

“As in Jurassic Park, the ethical question we need to ask is: why would we ever want to bring back dinosaurs to today’s world? Would they have any purpose, or just be odd curiosities?” he said.

“Even a seasoned palaeontologist like myself can’t see any real need to ever do it apart from curiosity’s sake.”

Even if it isn’t possible to bring back the animals wiped out of existence millions of years ago, the good news is it is still possible to hang out with prehistoric creatures.

Australia’s echidna was around about 20 and 50 million years ago, while bees are believed to have evolved 146 to 74 million years ago.

Although it is not currently possible to play with the colossal animals depicted in Hollywood’s dramatic dinosaur epics, T-Rex could again walk the Earth – albeit in the form of a chicken.

Source 》 the new daily

Politicians and pastors preach false gospel

© (Madelene Cronje, M&G) Politicians and pastors preach a false gospel

Pastors and politicians will continue to feed off the desperation of the poor, until their material and spiritual needs are met, and oppression ends.

The French existentialist philosopher and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre pointed to the dilemma of God and belief. “That God does not exist, I cannot deny. That my whole being cries out for God, I cannot forget.”

Belief is not the sole province of believers. There are circumstances that propel a whole people to cling to belief with all their might because the alternative is far worse to contemplate.

Right now, South Africa is in the grip of a deep social, political, economic and ethical malaise. It’s not new; it’s only that it has reached a breaking point. The nation needs a messiah – any messiah – who can step forward, perish on the cross and save us from the agony of the hopeless existence we face.

The mushrooming of evangelical churches with their promise of salvation through manufactured miracles is a product of a social, economic and political dislocation. The promise of salvation is the promise of material sustenance: the pastor who makes us eat rats or drink petrol or dip our hands in boiling water is not about a better life in the hereafter. They say: “Vaka imali uzobona [Show us the money and you will be sanctified].”

Salvation through a better life right here on Earth, right now, is exemplified in the life of the pastor himself, who drives into dusty townships in a convoy of flashy cars. The exaggerated wealth of the pastor is evidence that he has been blessed. You, too, can be blessed, if only you can believe, offer sacrifices and buy the anointed candles, holy water and soap. These items are bought at your nearest supermarket, but are now sold to you at triple the price because the pastor has blessed them.

To be authentic, the pastor must perform miracles and undergo some kind of a test, from tax problems to other legal challenges. His sermons must be able to induce hysteria and hold the audience spellbound for hours. He must speak to the lack of work, love and luck. The acoustics must be of the right kind too. A little help from technology hastens the process of belief.

Thousands of the wretched of the Earth flock to church services every day of the week and reach the zenith at Sunday sermons. However poor you are, you bring something to offer because you believe. The conventional churches can no longer serve the spiritual needs of those who know subconsciously that their spiritual poverty is merely an expression of their material want. The desperate need earthly deliverance.

The smart politician has been observing the pastor. If the pastor can fill stadiums on the promise of something intangible, how can the politician use the same method to garner votes and be in on the political junket? So the more enterprising politicians convert themselves into the high priests of poverty and desperation. They promise to fight and bring economic freedom and other goodies in “our lifetime”.

The political rally is nothing but an evangelical crusade replete with shrieks and stomping of feet. Enemies are conjured, promises of their obliteration follow the same tempo as the defeat of evil promised by pastors peddling holy water.

The political faithful, no matter how poor, are obliged by party doctrine that emphasises loyalty first and foremost to the supreme leader, the secular pastor. This means they must buy the mandatory articles of worship, otherwise known as party regalia. No self-respecting party member is without party uniform. Like the holy candle, the party has the sole rights to sell party paraphernalia. This is how the party makes its first cash before the donors come flocking, attracted by the numbers in uniform. After all, in politics as in church, numbers are everything.

This existential crisis has been stalking Africa without a pause for the past four decades of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s structural-adjustment programmes, which have destroyed the state as the symbolic entity that provides against poverty and hunger.

When the state abandoned its role as a provider, the people had to find a new one – and the Pentecostal church stepped in.

South Africa has been undergoing “home-made structural adjustment” for almost two decades. Things are getting more and more desperate and, in tandem, the desperate seek salvation from the miracle of the pastor and the politician.

This madness was long identified by the Martiniquean psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, who attributes it to the cowardice of the colonised people. Fanon suggests that when colonised people resolve not to fight the colonialist, they turn towards the occult and towards themselves.

The poor and excluded, who are not yet ready to fight to change their desperate conditions, outsource the responsibility of changing their circumstances to religious, spiritual or political messiahs.

This process happens before they come to self-awareness and take responsibility to change things, instead of hoping the leader, pastor or sangoma will be their saviour.

According to Fanon, the cowardice of the natives at the initial stages, before they become authors of their own destiny, results in the creation of phantom monsters who are bigger and scarier than the coloniser. The popularity of the Daily Sun among the poor is because it feeds them stories of zombies and tokoloshes that are scarier than the white man who stole their land.

These scary, otherworldly creatures can only be held at bay by the pastor or the hysteria-inducing political rally of thousands. Exorcism, not revolutionary confrontation, is preferred at this stage.

We can substitute the colonialists in Fanon’s theory with white capital and its black defenders, for in our country decolonisation is a question of land and economy.

The people are desperate and frightened because they lack access to both land and the economy, which are locked up in the hands of the white owners of capital.

Fanon tells us, at this moment of avoiding battle with the colonialist, the native conjures up mythical things: “Maleficent spirits, which intervene every time a step is taken in the wrong direction, leopard-men, serpent-men, six-legged dogs, zombies – a whole series of tiny animals or giants which create around the native a world of prohibitions, of barriers and of inhibitions far more terrifying than the world of the settler.”

Source》Mail&Guardian andile mngx itama

Sony buys late pop star Jackson's music venture stake

Sony said Tuesday it will pay Michael Jackson's estate $750 million for the late pop star's share of a music venture that owns the rights to songs by some of the biggest names in music history.

The deal will see the Japanese firm pick up Jackson's 50 percent stake in Sony ATV Music Publishing, which owns several million titles including those written by the Beatles, Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan.

Sony will now control all the of the company, whose catalogue also includes hits by pop star Taylor Swift, rapper Kanye West, Sam Smith and Lady Gaga.

Sony ATV Music Publishing was formed in 1995 by the Japanese electronics giant and the late "King of Pop", who transformed music with iconic hits including "Thriller" and "Beat it".

Jackson died in 2009 at the age of 50. His estate said it will still own his master recordings and the publishing company that owns all the songs he penned. It will also keep its stake in EMI Music.

The singer, a notoriously profligate spender, turned to music publishing rights at the height of his stardom as he looked for a place to invest his burgeoning fortune.

The proceeds from the catalogue offered vital revenue for the star later in his life as he struggled to pay his expenses and released little new material.

Jackson said he first learned of the music publishing business from former Beatle Paul McCartney, who bought the copyright to songs by Buddy Holly and other classic artists.

The Beatles did not show the same business acumen early in their career, however, losing control of their catalogue under the company Northern Songs -- which eventually came under ATV.
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- 'Smartest investment in music history' -

Jackson bought ATV Music Publishing in 1985 for $47.5 million, or about $105 million at 2016 value, from the brash South African-born Australian tycoon Robert Holmes a Court.

The deal "is considered one of the smartest investments in music history", Jackson's estate executors said Tuesday.

In the negotiations, the businessman insisted on excluding a song from the deal so he could give it as a present to his teenage daughter.

Catherine Holmes a Court was given the copyright to the song "Penny Lane," which she continues to own today, one of the few Beatles' tracks not part of ATV.

McCartney was friendly with Jackson, collaborating on the track "The Girl is Mine" off "Thriller," but was unsuccessful in bids to wrest control of the Beatles catalog.

Jackson sold half of the stake in ATV to Sony in 1991 for a reported $100 million.

His will called for his mother Katherine and his three children -- Prince, Paris and Blanket -- to be supported, although not his father Joe Jackson, whom he had accused of abuse.

On Tuesday, Sony said the deal underscored a focus on its entertainment division, which includes a music label and Hollywood studio.

The company has been leaning on movies, music and soaring sales of the PlayStation video game console in its bid to scrap years of eye-watering losses linked to the consumer electronics that built its global brand.

"The entertainment businesses have long been a core part of Sony and are a key driver of our future growth," Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai said.

Source》 Relaxnews

Michael Jackson's estate sued

Michael Jackson's estate is being sued for over $200,000 by a law firm. London-based Atkins Thomson Solicitors have filed a claim for breach of contract in relation for work they did for the late King of Pop - who died of acute Propofol intoxication in June 2007 - in the two years before his death. The firm's attorney, Stanton L. Stein, wrote in their complaint:

"Defendants have failed to honor Jackson's obligations under, and has materially breached, the agreement with Atkins, and any implied covenants therein, by failing to make the payments as required."

The company claim it provided legal and other services to the 

'Thriller' hitmaker and in the months leading up to his death, business for the singer - who was preparing for a 50-date London residency - ramped up and the firm "provided hundreds of hours of services to Jackson across nearly a dozen matters." The legal submission comes after the company filed a creditors claim for $204,204.36, but had the invoice rejected by the estate in writing in December 2015.

How arduous Weitzman, attorney for the estate, said: "The Estate doesn't believe the attorney's claim for work allegedly done for Michael Jackson is valid and we intend to contest this lawsuit." Atkins wants the amount originally invoiced, plus interest and the costs of the lawsuit.

The claim comes a few days after it was reported Michael's three children, Prince, 19, Paris, 17, and Blanket, 14, stand to lose most of their inheritance due to debts and tax bills.

Meet dominique lesbirel a woman who marries her pet dog

Dominique Lesbirel was with her last husband - her cat Doerack - for 16 years and says it's too soon yet but she will wed her cat Travi

Marriage: Dominque Lesbirel was married to her cat and will marry her dog when time is right.

Dominique's first husband Doerack was her CAT – and her new found love is with her dog travis.

Dominique Lesbirel was devastated after the death of her husband from kidney failure.

They had been together for 16 years and did everything together.

Happily she has now found love again – but still believes it is too soon to marry, remaining loyal to her first love Doerack.

It is a predicament many people can relate to – except for a couple of small details.

Happy: Dominique and Travis plan to wed

She wed her soul-mate, pet cat Doreack, eight years ago, but sadly he had to be put down at the age of 19.

"Putting Doerack to sleep was horrible, I've had him since he was three, but I feel lucky to have had 16 lovely years with him," she said,

"It sounds strange but I wouldn't marry Travis just yet," she said. "It's still too soon after the death of Doerack.

"I've had Travis for years. He was a stray I rescued when I lived in Greece.

"He would come down to the beach I swam at every day and eat from the bins or scrabble in the sand for old bits of crab.

"I'd leave him food and water so he didn't have to drink from the sea. At first he would hide in the bushes but eventually he got brave enough to come over to me for cuddles.

"He'd steal my shoes and bag while I was swimming and, with it, he stole my heart."

When Travis was struck with a life-threatening virus, Dominique, 41, decided to take him in full time and the pair have been together ever since.

Doerak PA Real Life

Former partner: Doerak the cat was married to his owner

The upcoming ceremony will be done through Marryyourpet.com , a website Dominique set up in 2003.

The site boasts several thousand visitors a day and Dominique, who lives in Holland, pronounces several couples a month lawfully wedded pet and owner.

                   After their applications to marry are approved, each couple is taken to a virtual chapel on screen, where they exchange vows.

Travis PA Real Life

Rescue: Travis was saved by his owner and now is to be a husband

The happy couple then click a button to say 'I do' and Dominique, who became ordained online, sends them a certificate.

She said she encourages people to see the ceremony as a normal wedding, planning in advance, inviting friends and throwing lavish parties to celebrate.

"Not all applications get approved," she said. "There are rules, as with any marriage.

"I'm happy to conduct same sex marriages, or to let people marry more than one pet. I only marry domestic animals, though. In some parts of the world, you hear of people keeping lions and tigers as pets – I wouldn't marry people to them.

"I also need to be sure they truly love and respect their pet."

Marryyourpet.com'sden rule is that divorce is not an option.

"The difference between a church ceremony and my online chapel is that I don't allow divorce. I don't want to let anybody abandon their pet," said Dominique.

Dominique and Doerak PA Real Life

Dominique: Had a special bond with her late cat Doerak

Although most people understand the light-hearted and loveable tone of the site, a small handful have not seen the funny side.

Dominique claims to have received hate mail and even death threats in the past.

"I had people emailing me telling me I was cruel," she said.

"They said I was basically promoting animal cruelty. Some were horrified and thought I was condoning bestiality, which was awful and certainly not the case.

"I would never condone such terrible acts of cruelty to animals. My site is all about making a commitment to pets to show your dedication to them and promise that you will always look after them.

Travis PA Real Life

Travis

Dominique was inspired to set up the site after her cat Zeus was tragically run over and killed.

"I felt really depressed and nobody seemed to get it," she said. "People just kept saying, 'Come on, it's just a cat,' but it wasn't to me.

"We have such a strong bond with our pets, but if you tell people you'd rather go home to your cat than go out, they look at you like you're insane.

"With a human, you can point to a ring to show you're committed to each other but with pets, there's no one moment of joy to mark that bond.

"Pets are loyal and adoring so I wanted to create something to celebrate that.

"We all need that unconditional love, but it can be hard to find with a person, especially when everyone withdraws behind their phone or laptop screens, so why not look to a pet instead?"

Dominique 's site also offers advice for couples in crisis.

"So what if kitty's having an affair with your neighbour or Fido's too busy on eBay to give you quality time," it reads. "For better or worse, remember? Clearly it's time to put the spice back into your marriage."

The section includes recommendations of pet therapists as well as ideas of treats for furry friends should any owners find themselves in the dog house.

Couples also keep in touch with the Marryyourpet.com team to update them on married life as they rack up anniversaries.

"We'd be lost without those happy little faces at our windows, so I'll do anything I can to remind people to treat animals with love, kindness and respect.

"That's why I'm planning to marry Travis. He's given me so much happiness and unconditional love. I just want to celebrate that bond."

ENUGU BASED HERBALIST SURVIVES GUN ATTACK

Unknown gunmen disguised as soldiers rain bullets on herbalist in Enugu

 Herbalist says they adopted another form of torture since he did not die

Expresses shock at the turn of eventsA herbalist, Emmanuel Udorji, an Enugu-based herbalist, who was shot and wounded by gunmen has shared his experience at the hands of the assailants.

Vanguard reports that trouble started recently in the town of Nsukka, Abbi, in Enugu state when the unidentified gunmen invaded the house of a herbalist and rained bullets on him in a bid to kill him.

Residents of the area scampered for safety, but the main target of the assault, although hit by several bullets, survived the attack.

Speaking at the Ascension Hospital, Nsukka, the herbalist explained how he survived the attack, terming it the most traumatic experience of his life.

He said: “My kinsmen convened a meeting of about 12 men and asked me to host it in my residence. I obliged. To my surprise, only three persons showed up for the meeting. But we decided to go on with the meeting as earlier planned. The meeting was earlier scheduled the previous week.

“Later I received a phone call that it had been canceled and rescheduled, unknown to me there was an unseen hand behind the arrangement. The three that attended the meeting were Hyacinth Uchu (aka Yoke), Pastor Nicholas Diara and one other person. We started the meeting around 4pm and closed around 5.30pm.

“I was seeing off my guests to the gate with my good friend Chike Ndubuisi when I noticed about eight vehicles with tinted glasses parked outside the gate of my compound. Immediately, about eight individuals dressed in army uniform alighted from one of the vehicles; another six in civilian dresses and three others in Fulani attire were also there.

“That was when it dawned on me that something was wrong. And before I could react, they suddenly pointed guns at me and started shooting at me. There was stampede in my house and those of my neighbours. It was confusion everywhere with my family members shouting for help on top of their voices. Many people ran into bushes. They tied my hands backwards.”

In spite of the gunshots, Udorji seemed untouched as the bullets could not penetrate his body. But how did he land in the hospital? He explained further how he was carried off and beaten up by the men when they made the discovery.

“When the unknown gunmen realised that their bullets could not kill me, they grabbed and beat me up mercilessly and tightly tied my hands backwards with rope and bundled me into one of the vehicles to an unknown destination. Along the way, my assailants who were discussing the incident, suddenly took pity on me.

“It was then they told me that we were going back to Nsukka and advised me to be careful of my people. I demanded to know what offence I had committed to warrant the unjust treatment but they did not tell me. They took me back to my house around 1pm. I had never seen any of them before and so cannot identify them,” he explained.

Speaking further, Udorji said: “I cannot say exactly whether the gunmen were military men. The only thing was that I was driven to to 82 Division Enugu, though I was not brought down from the vehicle and taken to any office at the army headquarters.“Only thorough investigations will unveil the circumstances surrounding the matter. When the gunmen had gone after bringing me back, my entire family broke down in tears.

“I have lodged a complaint with the police at Nsukka. I will definitely petition the Enugu State Commissioner of Police and the Human Rights Commission over the incident. My estate in my village was burnt, vandalised about two years ago. Now they are after my life.”

Confirming the incident, a senior police officer at the area command, Nsukka stated that the matter is being handled to avoid a break down of law and order, adding that police had begun an investigation into the incident.
Source 》 Naij

Reasons Why you should kiss.and Why kissing is important

What's in a kiss? A study by Oxford University researchers suggests kissing helps us size up potential partners and, once in a relationship, may be a way of getting a partner to stick around.

'Kissing in human sexual relationships is incredibly prevalent in various forms across just about every society and culture,' says Rafael Wlodarski, the DPhil student who carried out the research in the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. 'Kissing is seen in our closest primate relatives, chimps and bonobos, but it is much less intense and less commonly used.

'So here's a human courtship behaviour which is incredibly widespread and common and, in extent, is quite unique. And we are still not exactly sure why it is so widespread or what purpose it serves.'

                     

How the research was done

To understand more, Rafael Wlodarski and Professor Robin Dunbar set up an online questionnaire in which over 900 adults answered questions about the importance of kissing in both short-term and long-term relationships.

Rafael Wlodarski explains: 'There are three main theories about the role that kissing plays in sexual relationships: that it somehow helps assess the genetic quality of potential mates; that it is used to increase arousal (to initiate sex for example); and that it is useful in keeping relationships together. We wanted to see which of these theories held up under closer scrutiny.'

The researchers report their findings in two papers, one in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior and the second in the journal Human Nature. They were funded by the European Research Council.

The survey responses showed that women rated kissing as generally more important in relationships than men. Furthermore, men and women who rated themselves as being attractive, or who tended to have more short-term relationships and casual encounters, also rated kissing as being more important.

Women more selective

In humans, as in all mammals, females must invest more time than men in having offspring - pregnancy takes nine months and breast-feeding may take up to several years. Previous studies have shown women tend to be more selective when initially choosing a partner. 

Men and women who are more attractive, or have more casual sex partners, have also been found to be more selective in choosing potential mates. As it is these groups which tended to value kissing more in their survey responses, it suggests that kissing helps in assessing potential mates.

It has been suggested previously that kissing may allow people to subconsciously assess a potential partner through taste or smell, picking up on biological cues for compatibility, genetic fitness or general health.

'Mate choice and courtship in humans is complex,' says Professor Robin Dunbar. 'It involves a series of periods of assessments where people ask themselves "shall I carry on deeper into this relationship?" Initial attraction may include facial, body and social cues. Then assessments become more and more intimate as we go deeper into the courtship stages, and this is where kissing comes in.'

He adds: 'In choosing partners, we have to deal with the "Jane Austen problem": How long do you wait for Mr Darcy to come along when you can't wait forever and there may be lots of you waiting just for him? At what point do you have to compromise for the curate?

'What Jane Austen realised is that people are extremely good at assessing where they are in the "mating market" and pitch their demands accordingly. It depends what kind of poker hand you've been dealt. If you have a strong bidding hand, you can afford to be much more demanding and choosy when it comes to prospective mates.

'We see some of that coming out in the results of our survey, suggesting that kissing plays a role in assessing a potential partner,' Professor Dunbar explains.

The importance of kissing

Past research has also found that women place greater value on activities that strengthen long-term relationships (since raising offspring is made easier with two parents present).
In the current study, the team found that kissing's importance changed for people according to whether it was being done in long-term or short-term relationships. Particularly, it was rated by women as more important in long-term relationships, suggesting that kissing also plays an important role in mediating affection and attachment among established couples.
While high levels of arousal might be a consequence of kissing (particularly as a prelude to sex), the researchers say it does not appear to be a driving factor that explains why we kiss in romantic relationships.

Other findings included:
* In short relationships, survey participants said kissing was most important before sex, less so during sex, was less important again after sex and was least important at other times. In committed relationships, where forming and maintain a lasting bond is an important goal, kissing was equally important before sex and at times not-related to sex.
* More frequent kissing in a relationship was linked to the quality of a relationship, while this wasn't the case for having more sex. However, people's satisfaction with the amount of both kissing and sex did tally with the quality of that relationship.
* In a companion paper in the journal Human Nature, the researchers report that women's attitudes to romantic kissing also depend on where in their menstrual cycle and their relationship they are. Women valued kissing most at initial stages of a relationship when they were in the part of their cycle when they are most likely to conceive. Previous studies have shown that hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle can change a woman's preferences for a potential mate. When chances of conceiving are highest, women seem to prefer men who display supposed signals of underlying genetic fitness, such as masculinised faces, facial symmetry, social dominance, and genetic compatibility. It appears that kissing a romantic potential partner at this time helps women assess the genetic quality of a potential mate, the researchers say.

Source EurekAlert