Modern cloning techniques don't have a fantastic success rate (~10% last time I checked; 30% from TFA). Even then, there doesn't seem to be an excess of surrogate mothers (African elephants, in this case.) Even harvesting the necessary eggs from the African elephants is tricky -- it's an invasive procedure, and operating on something the size of the elephant is no easy task.
Even assuming that all goes well, cloned animals are known to suffer from compromised immune function and generally short lifespans. Many of these problems are an effect of the cloning process and any offspring will not suffer the effects (as we've seen with some sheep). However, given the size of the Mammoth, I can imagine it taking no less than a decade to reach sexual maturity (as with African elephants). Even then, to avoid some of the detrimental effects of the cloning process, you'd also need a Mammoth of the opposite sex...
In short: While it's cool and technically in the realm of possibility, there are still a tremendous number of sizable hurdles in the way.
I had a great time playing Galactic Civilizations II. The experience was certainly enhanced by interacting with the game's creators on their forums. These folks were pretty good about releasing major updates for a good while after the release date, so suggestions actually made it in to the game. If nothing else it was nice to feel like someone was listening for once.
In short, responsive/interactive game developers can enhance the experience both in and outside of the game; taking every suggestion doesn't matter.
It seems that all too many posters are ignoring the fact (or ignorant to the fact) that the non-English speaking students being referred to are almost certainly international students. These students come from other countries, in many of which English is not a primary language, to attend reputable universities and obtain a degree (often in a technical subject). They must have some understanding of the English language to survive, but it is understandable that they would need to look up some words. The goal of the phsyics exam here isn't to test their knowledge of English so much as the mastery of the concepts discussed.
These aren't unintelligent kids who somehow wiggled their way in to a university. These are intelligent people with a lot of potential who may not, at the moment, be masters of the English language.
Actually, in many classes in many universities, it is a contest.
Exams for technical classes are often curved due to the difficulty of the material. If some bozo aces it by cheating, it can screw a lot of people who worked hard but didn't have complete mastery of the material. So while it's real nice to say "they're only hurting themselves," the reality is that they could be hurting plenty of other people in the class.
Influenza is a fickle virus, able to alter its hemagglutinin and neuraminidase proteins very quickly. Although the link is very light on details, it sounds like they're hoping for a hemagglutinin-binding protein. While this would be a "proof of concept" for the usefulness of Foldit, don't hold your breath on this being any sort of flu cure.
The prize for winning is "free entry to the next week's event." So I'm assuming that there is a cost associated with entry, presumably enough so that unless you're a real coke friend, it wont work out in your favor. And even if it does, who wants to drink with the guy who comes to screw over the bar and mess up the challenge every week?;)
BRCA1 is a known proto-oncogene with the potential to become an oncogene. That is, there are known, relatively common mutations that can occur on BRCA1 that will cause it to malfunction and cause/support cancer.
However, in it's normal working function, BRCA1 is actually a tumor suppressor. So there is the distinct possibility that by knocking out BRCA that other, unintended consequences will result...
Certainly CO2 levels can effect plant growth, however, in many (or most that I can think of) it's not the primary limiting factor.
I can think of scores of examples where, say, nitrogen, light, or water would be the limiting factor far before CO2 levels come in play.
I would imagine that farmers are supplying fertilizers, ensuring correct light levels that would shift this balance. Certainly, if you supply a plant with everything else that it needs, CO2 will become a limiting factor. All I can really say to that is "Duh."
As for C4 / CAM plants utilize their methods TO get carbon, but BECAUSE water is a limiting factor. Yes, carbon is required for photosynthesis, but additional carbon does not suddenly make an environment hospitable for all given communities- there's just too many other limiting factors.
And even if all of what I say is bullshit, the fact remains that greater biomass does not mean that dumping carbon is good, flushing chemical ferts in to watersheds is good, or that communities are benefiting. So what if there's more invasive weeds? Are the majority of populations doing better for it?
An excellent example of taking raw data and jumping to a conclusion. Certainly, if the numbers show that plant biomass is up, then biomass could very well be up, but is that a good thing?
This does not take in to account bioDIVERSITY. While we may be increasing crop density, causing giant algol blooms, is monoculture something that we really want?
You can introduce an exotic species of grass to populations in the Moaje desert which are extremely prone to burning, but will grow back from the ground. All of the native plants, which are not accustomed to fires die off. What you're left with is an exotic grass that any number of animal species may need be able to utilize. Destroy biodiversity at the bottom and everything above it falls apart.
Same goes for giant algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico due to high nitrogen runoff from agriculture. Sure there's a metric fuck-ton of algae growing there, but at what cost? If the death of every other living thing (or nigh on) in the surrounding area is good, then... great!
Furthurmore, last time I checked, Carbon was not exactly a limiting factor in plant growth. I've seen plants die from pH, salt poisoning, incorrect water levels, heat, cold, you name it. However, I don't think I've ever seen a plant suffer from lack of CO2.
In short: To say that plant biomass alone accounts for a healthy ecosystem and that increased carbon levels confers from magical "nutrients" to plants is far-fetched at best.
Plants in the genus Nepenthes have been known to catch the odd large-animal from time to time. Notably, Nepenthes raja which have been observed to grow individual pitchers that are capable of containing volumes of fluid up to ~3.5 litres. You can find pictures strewn across the internet of a Nepenthes or other carnivorous plant having caught a rat, a bird, a bat, a toad, a shrew, but these are not the normal constituents of carnivorous plant diets. Generally larger fauna caught by carnivorous plants are suspected of simply looking for a drink and being sick or near death anyway. Often times, due to the inability of the plant to digest these creatures the pitcher will often suffer rather than benefit the plant as a whole.
Some awesome, yet very unusual examples:
A bat was caught by a Nepenthes and discovered during the North Eastern Carnivorous Plant Society meeting in 2007. Note that the bat (though it stunk to high-hell) is largely in tact, a testament to the fact that these plants aren't made for eating larger creatures.
http://terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110338
A treefrog caught by a venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) caught and successfully digested- all but the skeleton, of course!
http://terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93070&highlight=frog
While a new species of carnivorous plant is always welcome, until enzymes produced by the pitcher, or a symbiotic relationship between bacteria and plant is found which specifically targets rats or other mammals, I call BS to the claim of it being a rat-eater.
The result is the world's first true blue rose - no word about whether it'll be commercially available or not.
"Commercial availability
Florigene has already successfully created blue carnations using gene technology and these have been available in Australia since 1996.
It will be at least 3 years before blue roses will be commercially available in Australia, pending approval from the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator for their commercial release."
From the bottom of the first site.:-)
www.faxwar.com Go there, it's a respectable site run by Tom Martino (that is to say, he pays to make it look that way), and they pay you cash when you send in your faxes to them. You can even fax your faxes to them (Can anyone say, irony?).
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Modern cloning techniques don't have a fantastic success rate (~10% last time I checked; 30% from TFA). Even then, there doesn't seem to be an excess of surrogate mothers (African elephants, in this case.) Even harvesting the necessary eggs from the African elephants is tricky -- it's an invasive procedure, and operating on something the size of the elephant is no easy task.
Even assuming that all goes well, cloned animals are known to suffer from compromised immune function and generally short lifespans. Many of these problems are an effect of the cloning process and any offspring will not suffer the effects (as we've seen with some sheep). However, given the size of the Mammoth, I can imagine it taking no less than a decade to reach sexual maturity (as with African elephants). Even then, to avoid some of the detrimental effects of the cloning process, you'd also need a Mammoth of the opposite sex...
In short: While it's cool and technically in the realm of possibility, there are still a tremendous number of sizable hurdles in the way.
I had a great time playing Galactic Civilizations II. The experience was certainly enhanced by interacting with the game's creators on their forums. These folks were pretty good about releasing major updates for a good while after the release date, so suggestions actually made it in to the game. If nothing else it was nice to feel like someone was listening for once.
In short, responsive/interactive game developers can enhance the experience both in and outside of the game; taking every suggestion doesn't matter.
It seems that all too many posters are ignoring the fact (or ignorant to the fact) that the non-English speaking students being referred to are almost certainly international students. These students come from other countries, in many of which English is not a primary language, to attend reputable universities and obtain a degree (often in a technical subject). They must have some understanding of the English language to survive, but it is understandable that they would need to look up some words. The goal of the phsyics exam here isn't to test their knowledge of English so much as the mastery of the concepts discussed.
These aren't unintelligent kids who somehow wiggled their way in to a university. These are intelligent people with a lot of potential who may not, at the moment, be masters of the English language.
Actually, in many classes in many universities, it is a contest. Exams for technical classes are often curved due to the difficulty of the material. If some bozo aces it by cheating, it can screw a lot of people who worked hard but didn't have complete mastery of the material. So while it's real nice to say "they're only hurting themselves," the reality is that they could be hurting plenty of other people in the class.
Influenza is a fickle virus, able to alter its hemagglutinin and neuraminidase proteins very quickly. Although the link is very light on details, it sounds like they're hoping for a hemagglutinin-binding protein. While this would be a "proof of concept" for the usefulness of Foldit, don't hold your breath on this being any sort of flu cure.
The prize for winning is "free entry to the next week's event." So I'm assuming that there is a cost associated with entry, presumably enough so that unless you're a real coke friend, it wont work out in your favor. And even if it does, who wants to drink with the guy who comes to screw over the bar and mess up the challenge every week? ;)
BRCA1 is a known proto-oncogene with the potential to become an oncogene. That is, there are known, relatively common mutations that can occur on BRCA1 that will cause it to malfunction and cause/support cancer. However, in it's normal working function, BRCA1 is actually a tumor suppressor. So there is the distinct possibility that by knocking out BRCA that other, unintended consequences will result...
All I'm claiming is my own observations.
Certainly CO2 levels can effect plant growth, however, in many (or most that I can think of) it's not the primary limiting factor.
I can think of scores of examples where, say, nitrogen, light, or water would be the limiting factor far before CO2 levels come in play.
I would imagine that farmers are supplying fertilizers, ensuring correct light levels that would shift this balance. Certainly, if you supply a plant with everything else that it needs, CO2 will become a limiting factor. All I can really say to that is "Duh."
As for C4 / CAM plants utilize their methods TO get carbon, but BECAUSE water is a limiting factor. Yes, carbon is required for photosynthesis, but additional carbon does not suddenly make an environment hospitable for all given communities- there's just too many other limiting factors.
And even if all of what I say is bullshit, the fact remains that greater biomass does not mean that dumping carbon is good, flushing chemical ferts in to watersheds is good, or that communities are benefiting. So what if there's more invasive weeds? Are the majority of populations doing better for it?
An excellent example of taking raw data and jumping to a conclusion. Certainly, if the numbers show that plant biomass is up, then biomass could very well be up, but is that a good thing?
This does not take in to account bioDIVERSITY. While we may be increasing crop density, causing giant algol blooms, is monoculture something that we really want?
You can introduce an exotic species of grass to populations in the Moaje desert which are extremely prone to burning, but will grow back from the ground. All of the native plants, which are not accustomed to fires die off. What you're left with is an exotic grass that any number of animal species may need be able to utilize. Destroy biodiversity at the bottom and everything above it falls apart.
Same goes for giant algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico due to high nitrogen runoff from agriculture. Sure there's a metric fuck-ton of algae growing there, but at what cost? If the death of every other living thing (or nigh on) in the surrounding area is good, then... great!
Furthurmore, last time I checked, Carbon was not exactly a limiting factor in plant growth. I've seen plants die from pH, salt poisoning, incorrect water levels, heat, cold, you name it. However, I don't think I've ever seen a plant suffer from lack of CO2.
In short: To say that plant biomass alone accounts for a healthy ecosystem and that increased carbon levels confers from magical "nutrients" to plants is far-fetched at best.
Plants in the genus Nepenthes have been known to catch the odd large-animal from time to time. Notably, Nepenthes raja which have been observed to grow individual pitchers that are capable of containing volumes of fluid up to ~3.5 litres. You can find pictures strewn across the internet of a Nepenthes or other carnivorous plant having caught a rat, a bird, a bat, a toad, a shrew, but these are not the normal constituents of carnivorous plant diets. Generally larger fauna caught by carnivorous plants are suspected of simply looking for a drink and being sick or near death anyway. Often times, due to the inability of the plant to digest these creatures the pitcher will often suffer rather than benefit the plant as a whole.
Some awesome, yet very unusual examples:
A bat was caught by a Nepenthes and discovered during the North Eastern Carnivorous Plant Society meeting in 2007. Note that the bat (though it stunk to high-hell) is largely in tact, a testament to the fact that these plants aren't made for eating larger creatures. http://terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110338
A treefrog caught by a venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) caught and successfully digested- all but the skeleton, of course! http://terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93070&highlight=frog While a new species of carnivorous plant is always welcome, until enzymes produced by the pitcher, or a symbiotic relationship between bacteria and plant is found which specifically targets rats or other mammals, I call BS to the claim of it being a rat-eater.
The result is the world's first true blue rose - no word about whether it'll be commercially available or not. "Commercial availability Florigene has already successfully created blue carnations using gene technology and these have been available in Australia since 1996. It will be at least 3 years before blue roses will be commercially available in Australia, pending approval from the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator for their commercial release." From the bottom of the first site. :-)
www.faxwar.com Go there, it's a respectable site run by Tom Martino (that is to say, he pays to make it look that way), and they pay you cash when you send in your faxes to them. You can even fax your faxes to them (Can anyone say, irony?).