Swisters, Space Walk, Diabetes AGM

A pretty incredible story on the news today about two women who have discovered, 56 years later, that they were switched at birth. There had been some suspicions at the time which were laid to rest, but both daughters say they never quite felt they belonged. If you would like to read the story click here and see how easily it can happen when a hospital doesn't take sufficient precautions. Did you realise that right now, whilst I am writing this, two astronauts are doing a space walk to repair the Hubble telescope. The walk will last up to seven hours - think about it, seven hours with no food, no drink and certainly no bathroom breaks. I certainly couldn't cope with that, LOL. It is also, apparently, a pretty dangerous job because there is so much space junk up there - I gather there was a near miss today. I don't know about anything else, I think they should figure out how and then send a mission to clear up all this stuff we have left floating around in space. I recently read a couple of books about space aliens who destroyed their world and left a mess wherever they went. I thought "horrid aliens" now I wonder if the author, Peter Hamilton, actually was backhandedly referring to us - I guess I am slow on the uptake. We are beginning to clean up our mess on earth, now we need to clean up our mess in space before we go any further. Our weather here is pretty bleak at the moment, the rain has been bucketing down for hours and its blowing a gale out there. Luckily although its shopping day, we can go from our garage to the underground parking at the mall. I am kind of waiting for the superintendent though, the lights on the stove top which show whether an element is on or off have stopped working on one side and this could be very dangerous especially as Matt has been known to leave empty pots on hot elements anyway - I have lost more plastic colanders that way!!! We went to the diabetes Annual General Meeting last night as I mentioned. The speaker, Dr. Hardy, a research professor, was very informative. One thing which particularly interested me was stem cell research which is being done as part of attempting to reverse diabetes. Dr. Hardy was careful to point out that not all stem cells come from foetuses which is a subject of some controversy. Apparently stem cells can be "persuaded" to generate other kinds of cells such as the beta cells needed to inject into the body of a diabetic. It is still fairly early days yet I gather. Another research they are carrying out is on weight (weight helps with diabetic predisposition) with some young people being helped with advice, some with a trainer and exercising half an hour a day and some on Metformin as well as exercise. One quarter into the study, it seems the young people on Metformin (a diabetic drug) are reducing their BMIs better than either of the other two groups (Body Mass Index) however, it is intended to be a two year study. It also seems underweight birth babies can be at high risk in later life possibly because they are "fattened" up too quickly by use of formula. This was only a possibility though. Here's a nice sounding recipe for one of my favourite foods. Ginger Asparagus Salad Ontario Asparagus Grower's Marketing Board 1 lb Ontario asparagus, trimmed 1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar 1 tbsp granulated sugar 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbsp minced sushi ginger 2 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander 2 oz mesclun salad mix 1 small head radicchio, separated 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted Steam or simmer asparagus until tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Place in colander and refresh under cold running water; drain well and pat dry with paper towels. (Asparagus may be cooked several hours in advance.) Arange in shallow dish large enough to hold it in single layer. In small bowl, whisk together vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add garlic and ginger; combine well. Slowly whisk in sesame and canola oils and soy sauce; whisk in coriander. (Dressing may be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Pour over the asparagus and turn gently to coat well. Line serving platter with mesclun; arrange radicchio leaves round edge. Pile asparagus over top. Drizzle with any dressing left in dish. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve within 30 minutes or asparagus will discolour. Yield: Serves 4 Have a great day.

Saving Hubble, Virus, Ancestral Fossils

Last night I watched Nova which is a science programme shown on PBS or the Public Broadcasting System. One segment was on the Hubble Telescope and how they have to effect a very complicated repair to its main camera. If you would like to see the programme, it will be shown on this website beginning some time today at Saving Hubble the repair was compared to a man on a wobbly overextended ladder wearing boxing gloves changing a light bulb in a delicate chandelier. It is all being practiced underwater, that being the nearest thing to weightlessness which can be achieved on earth. The whole programme was fascinating to watch. Apparently the Hubble is the same size and weight as a school bus but a lot more cool. NASA had decided not to spend any more money on repairing the telescope as it is a very dangerous undertaking. However, there was a public outcry and the government overturned their decision. Hubble has sent back such wonderful images and information and has told us things about space which we never new. For instance, confirming the existence of black holes which was previously only a theory. The picture on the left is called Pillars of Creation and is one of the best known pictures from Hubble showing stars being formed in the Eagle Nebula. If you are interested in pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope, the internet is full of them. It is because of all the wonderful pictures and information obtained by the telescope that the astronauts are fully prepared to risk their lives to achieve a repair. Very brave men. There was another segment on a virus which was picked up in Iraq and which is called Baumannii, it is resistant to all current antibiotics and is quite a frightening little thing. It can multiply into billions in a day. It has been brought back to the States with wounded soldiers who are having more trouble surviving it than the wounds they sustained. The segment stated facts on other illnesses at the end of various wars which were horrifying. They didn't mention the Spanish Lady, which was a flu pandemic at the end of World War I which killed off between forty and fifty million people in a few short weeks. A third segment was the discovery of fossilized bones of an almost mouse-like creature which has been found to have existed in the "gap" between the extinction of dinosaurs and the appearance of monkeys and other mammals. Another segment you can follow up by clicking here. It is the first known example of 'grasping' hands and feet. This is also going to be shown from today. I must say I think Nova is a very good programme and I really don't know why I don't watch it on a regular basis. They don't overwhelm you with scientific jargon so it is easy to understand what they are talking about. Our weather the last few days has been pretty hot and humid, I couldn't breathe outside the other day. However, we had a storm Wednesday night which seems to have cleared the air somewhat. We also had idiots setting off fireworks at 2:30 and 3:00 a.m. There was another bang last night around 10:30 p.m. but I didn't hear anything else. Here is another recipe obtained from my on line cooking group. I haven't tried the recipe myself but one of the group thought it good enough to send it to the rest of us. The picture just shows a glazed pork tenderloin. Pork Suzette RecitopiaUK Servings: 2 Ingredients: Pork tenderloin cut into one inch thick medallions and then beaten to half their original thickness Small piece of butter Generous glug of Grand Marnier Zest and juice a lemon (add more if your lemon is a bit dry) Juice of two oranges Heaped tablespoon soft brown sugar Salt and pepper for seasoning Instructions: In a large frying pan (skillet) fry the pork in the butter until well browned on both sides. Flambé with the Grand Marnier, season with salt and pepper and then add the lemon zest, juice, orange juice and sugar. Cook for three of four minutes, remove meat with a slotted spoon and keep warm while you reduce the liquid in the pan to a syrupy consistency. Serve the meat and spoon over the sauce. Have a great day.