Last Tuesday CDF announced their own discovery of the Omega_b baryon, a measurement which creates a controversy with the competing experiment at the Tevatron collider, DZERO. That is because DZERO had already claimed discovery for that particle, almost one year ago, and because the two measurements disagree wildly with each other. Just browse through my past few posts in this column and you will find all the information you need (how lazy can one be with links?).

HIV/AIDS has left its mark on mankind.   Millions of people have been lost to a disease that seems so uniquely designed to tear down our defenses and ruin us, the Barbarians to our Roman Empire. An almost unrivaled effort in the scientific community has been bent on cracking the code of HIV since the 1980’s, and although we have discovered much about the virus, and its action inside the body, we have yet to develop a vaccine or adequate long term treatment.

The difficulty with HIV is multifaceted, but there are a few that hinder our progress most significantly. HIV is a rapidly mutating virus, and therefore there are countless strains of HIV which makes one vaccine, with broad action protection, nearly impossible to formulate.

In exploring some of the biological issues surrounding selfishness and altruism, invariably the philosophical issue of selfishness surfaces. Ayn Rand has argued that selfishness is a virtue because it is the rational and principled concern with one’s own well-being and is necessary to lead a healthy, purposeful, and fulfilling life. It isn’t my intent to deal with Ayn Rand, but rather to examine the sense that many people have regarding these concepts.



The only problem with Ayn Rand’s definition is that the meaning of “selfishness” was manipulated to become “self-interest”. According to the dictionary definition, “selfishness” is “extreme or exclusive self-interest” which is also the commonly understood form of the word.

BARCELONA, Spain, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- German Medical Device Manufacturer AMG International GmbH announced the submission of its proprietary Itrix Stent Technology using its patented biodegradable drug coating.

Erik Weihenmayer wears sunglasses often. He was wearing them to protect his eyes when he reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1997. He had them on when he completed the 2003 Primal Quest, the world's toughest multi-sport adventure race. And, he put on a pair during a recent visit to the National Eye Institute (NEI).

But this last set is no ordinary pair of Oakley sunglasses. 

Weihenmayer looks through them, peering down at a white note card on a table. He silently moves his head back and forth, up and down. After a few moments, he says, "Is that a 12?"

MOSCOW, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Rail network uses IBM hardware and software to manage freight and passenger operations

Russian Railways, one of the largest railway operators in the world, is working with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to help optimize its IT infrastructure and is using new technologies to improve its freight and passenger management systems.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

SAN JOSE, California, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Gold Level (93%+ efficiency*) 1200-watt Redundant Power Supplies

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMCI), a leader in application-optimized, high-performance server solutions, today announced that its latest generation of enhanced, high-capacity storage chassis with Gold Level certified 1200-watt redundant power supplies are shipping in volume. These chassis feature Supermicro's advanced cooling subsystem designs to deliver optimal system efficiency and TCO by reducing customers' energy bills.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090521/AQ20895)

In 1988, Günter Wächtershäuser published a remarkable idea that excited tremendous interest, even being featured in a Scientific American article. It ran counter to prevailing ideas about the origin of life, and suggested new experimental approaches involving mineral interfaces. Wächtershäuser is a patent lawyer in Munich, Germany who enjoys fabricating intricate and novel approaches to the origin of life, then challenging others to test them. He is greatly influenced by the philosopher Karl Popper, who made the point that explanations are useless unless they are falsifiable.

HOUSTON, Texas, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Using AVEVA PDMS Technology, Company Fast Tracks World's Largest Energy Projects

AVEVA (LSE:AVV) today announced that a major client, Alliance Wood Group Engineering (Alliance) received FIATECH's 2008 Celebration of Engineering Technology Innovation (CETI) Award in the category of Automated Design. The company uses AVEVA's PDMS solution to plan and execute its ultra-deep water exploration projects.

Alliance is part of international energy services company John Wood Group PLC (Wood Group) a provider of engineering, procurement and construction management services for the energy industry.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Specialty Retailer Partners with Allurent for Greater Flexibility, Merchant Control and Customer Engagement

Allurent (http://www.allurent.com/), the market leader in powering superior online shopping experiences, today announced that Charlotte Russe (http://www.charlotterusse.com/)Holding, Inc., a specialty apparel and accessories retailer, will bring interactive merchandising to its e-commerce site with the Allurent on Demand (http://www.allurent.com/) platform. Allurent on Demand (AoD) is a hosted, software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering that increases customer satisfaction and site conversion by quickly and cost-effectively deploying merchant-controlled widgets to retailers' existing websites.