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We are sicker than ever and prevalence of all major illnesses are growing

Here is just some scientific data:More premature babies surviving than ever. Over half of the premature babies that survived experienced serious health problems. A UK study of premature births, called EPICure, found children born very early often had learning difficulties as well as physical problems such as cerebral palsy, blindness or deafness. Researchers at the Oxford Centre for Health Economics estimate the cost of an average preterm baby is one and a half times more than a baby born full term. Professor Neil Marlow, who has been running the EPICure studies, said: "Even with better survival rates, the rate of morbidity, meaning problems that the babies have, is still very high.

Data from 10 regional registries of birth defects show that the incidence of Down syndrome among U.S. children increased by 31 percent between 1979 and 2003, from 9.0 to 11.8 per 100,000 live births.

Recent headlines from China are revealing a growing public health crisis: birth defects are up 40% since 2001

According to the March of Dimes, one in 33 babies born in the US have a birth defect -- about twice as many as China.

In the US, the total number of cancer cases has increased since cancer statistics have been kept. 12,769 deaths in 1900 (3% of total deaths), 158,335 cancer deaths on 1940 (11,3% of deaths), 553,768 in 2001 (23 of deaths)

Alzheimer's: The annual number of incident cases is expected to more than double by the midpoint of the twenty-first century: from 377,000 (95% confidence interval = 159,000-595,000) in 1995 to 959,000 (95% confidence interval = 140,000-1,778,000) in 2050. The proportion of new onset casess who are age 85 or older will increase from 40% in 1995 to 62% in 2050 when the youngest of the baby boomers will attain that age

Parkinson's disease is a growing national health problem. There are over 20 new cases diagnosed per 100,000 people annually ( Bernstein, 1995b). Most victims are over 40 years
old, although this disease has a form that can strike teenagers. Incidence of PD increase with the increase of longevity.

Multiple Sclerosis: M.S. affects 400,000 in the United States and 2 and half million people around the world. The overall prevalence estimate was 85/100,000 population, or approximately 211,000 (±20,000) persons. A 50% increase was observed in the number of women reporting MS for 1991 through 1994 vs 1982 through 1986. The observed trend in higher numbers of self-reported MS among women is consistent with recent observations of higher prevalence and incidence.

Prevalence of Genetic Conditions / Birth Defects
http://www.kumc.edu/gec/prof/prevalnc.html

As for intellectually, American grades are lower than ever.

Hoover Institution, Stanford University: "A science and math, American students trail those in other advanced democracies. The longer students are in school, the worse things get. Among fourth graders, U.S. students rank high on the International Test of Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Despite this head start, by eighth grade, American adolescents have slipped to the midpoint on the TIMSS; by age 17, their scores trail all but those in a few developing countries.

The United States is living on its past. Among the oldest group in the study (those aged 56–65), U.S. prose skills rose to second place. For those attending school in the 1950s, SAT scores reached an all-time high.

As the years go by, the United States slips down the list. Americans educated in the sixties captured a Bronze Medal in literacy, those schooled in the seventies got 5th place in the race. But those schooled in the nineties ranked 14th.

You'd be AMAZED at how far you could over-subscribe data connections if there were no multi-media files flying around. Funnel the music & video thru "approved" delivery channels and edge cache them at the mega-ISPs and you'll find that the rest of the Internet hums along nicely at 20-50:1 oversubscribed endpoints.

Look at hard drive usage. Take your average PC, remove any music, video and installed games and they'll probably have less than 2 Gb of total data. Probably FAR less. The same thing goes for network bandwidth. Get rid of a lot of the media flying around and EVERYONE can have a 100 Mbps link. Mostly because no one ever honestly USES a 100 Mbps link for more than a few seconds of burst.

Yes, there are exceptions. Think of the Bell Curve model. The vast bulk are in the middle, not on the far ends.

http://classes.kumc.edu/sah/resources/sensory_processing/learning_opportunities/sensory_profile/bell_curve.htm

Not the first time; see this press release from 2006: http://www.kumc.edu/news/publish/article_00818.sht ml

Second Life: Educational Possibilities
http://www2.kumc.edu/netlearning/SLEDUCAUSESW2005/ SLPresentationOutline.htm

It's likely one of the easiest and most affordable options.

Actually, I have to admit that the first thought that came to mind when you mentioned hair in the context of growing teeth was that of a dermoid cyst, which then led me to thinking about what might happen if, say, the programming of the stem cell were to have been a little "buggy". I mean really - tinkering with totipotential cells and having them implanted in your mouth? What if it turns into some kind of giant tumorous megatooth? You'd have to drink thousands of litres of cola to kill it...

Is it April 1st already?

*** The problem with making Linux not just a clone of Windows is that it's always (from the X perspective) been a clone of Windows. Motif was designed to offer the functionality of the HP VUE system and the visual elegance of Windows 3.1. I kid you not. Motif still remains as the single biggest influence on Linux desktops today. QT 1.x offered just two styles - Windows and Motif, Motif being a clone of Windows. GTK was always a blatant Motif clone.

Actually you are wrong. Motif was developed in 1989 and windows 3.0 actually didn't come out until 1990. So there!

History of Motif

History of Computers

In fact, just the opposite is true, MS Windows blatantly took all it's ideas from this OSF initiative.