A Massachusetts man who was rushed to hospital with a collapsed lung came home with an unusual diagnosis: a pea plant was growing in his lung.

Four verses about recombinant protein expression, NMR spectroscopy, X-ray Crystallography and Cryo-Electron Microscopy.   

Really, what more do you need to know?



H/T Paul Shin

Yes, a song you would probably never hear otherwise, "Bad Romance", by an artist you will never listen to, Lady Gaga (think Katy Perry, except with no talent) ... except made awesome because it is played on beakers in the lab.

Among the great disappointments of modern life is the fact that something as fun as a giant inflatable slide springing from the side of a massive flying machine exists—but may only be used in near-death situations, when one is least inclined to enjoy it.

I can't speak for any of you but the only thing worse than going to a coffee shop and not being able to find a seat because the mid-1990s fad of 'free Wi-Fi' in there made slackers hang out all day has been, in 2010, having them talk on their cell phones while we order the coffee to go.

Have you been to Spain?   You will get shot doing using a laptop and talking on a cell phone in a coffeeshop there.   Sitting in a Spanish cafe for two hours and drinking a tiny espresso while girl watching is a time-honored ritual and one of the only things we should emulate about Spain.  

Patrick Lockerby has been discussing the break-off of part of the Petermann shelf for a while and others have noticed.  A Daily Kos blogger has links to it and the BBC notes Patrick's article.

You remember Friendster, right?  No?  It is a social media cautionary tale about hubris and taking the money while it's good.    Friendster was one of the original social media networks, long before Facebook, and in 2003 they were offered $30 million in pre-IPO Google stock and in 2008, a year before it sold for under $30 million, Friendster turned down a $150 million buyout.   The Google stock would have been worth $200-800 million.  Basically, it was run stupidly.   When you get acquired by Kuala Lumpur-based MOL, a payment systems seller heard of nowhere outside Asia, you have fallen far.

I don't think this needs a lot of introduction - but if it does, they are talking about electro-surgery instead of old-fashioned scalpels.  Electro-surgery, which uses concentrated electric currents, has been around since 1914 but this is a new ... area of experimentation.

Who are the test subjects for this?  And why not use a laser?   You'll have to read to find out, but Dr. Tsai said no penises were harmed during the course of the experiment.

In case you are one of those people running out to buy a copy of Andrew Morton's new unauthorized (whatever that means) biography of Angelina Jolie and are unsure of the many subtexts that just have to exist in each event of her life because she is famous, Jen Chaney and Liz Kelly of the Washington Post are here to help guide you with meaningful questions to ask at the next Book Club meeting.   Take that, Oprah!

You can probably even relate the events to your own life to make it more interesting.  To wit:

Did you let your 14 year old daughter take over your bedroom and have her boyfriend move in with you?