Stem cells heal damaged heart

Wired tells of a case where a young man. with a heart damaged by a nail shot from a nail gun, had two choices: an experimental stem-cell procedure or a heart transplant. He chose the former. He was given medicines to encourage his own blood to make stem cells. Those cells were filtered out and injected into his heart, where they repaired much of the damage.

Christian terrorist is on the loose

After sending another volley of threatening e-mails, Christian terrorist Michael Korn has sublet his apartment; his long-suffering wife has quit her job (one guess as to who’s supporting whom), and gone on the run. He’s been saying that university professors are child molesters for teaching about evolution.

“What can we say to a man who tells you that he would rather obey God than men, and that therefore he is sure to go to heaven for butchering you? Even the law is impotent against these attacks of rage; it is like reading a court decree to a raving maniac. These fellows are certain that the holy spirit with which they are filled is above the law, that their enthusiasm is the only law that they must obey.”
—Voltaire, 1764

Here’s a link to an earlier article with Korn’s picture.

First moon landing was 38 years ago

This is the 38th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon.

Thanks to the commenters at Pharyngula, here’s a link to “What we learned from the moon rocks.”

Friday cephalopod art: Octopus Car Wash

I found this rotating cephalopod adorning the entrance of a car wash in Madison, Wisconsin.