Corn byproduct fuels cancer growth

That’s the main finding of a new research, as reported by Raw Story:

Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same.

Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found.

They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.

"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.

Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.

Politicians, regulators, health experts and the industry have debated whether high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients have been helping make Americans fatter and less healthy.

Too much sugar of any kind not only adds pounds, but is also a key culprit in diabetes, heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.

Several states, including New York and California, have weighed a tax on sweetened soft drinks to defray the cost of treating obesity-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The American Beverage Association, whose members include Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods have strongly, and successfully, opposed efforts to tax soda.

The industry has also argued that sugar is sugar.

Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.

Tumor cells thrive on sugar but they used the fructose to proliferate. "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different," Heaney's team wrote.

After many health related concerns were raised about trans fats in foods, enough people started paying attention to labels and demanding the removal of such unhealthy substances by the food industry, which in the end was forced to comply.

High fructose corn syrup is the next item on the list of food ingredients that has got to go.  We always try to purchase foods that don’t contain it, but it’s not always possible.  Fortunately our soda intake plummeted a few years back, but I’d much rather drink or eat real sugar than a chemical substitute.

Beware of what you eat.

2182 – Doomsday (?)

Scientists have identified a fairly large asteroid that has a pretty good chance to hit our planet in 2182, causing widespread destruction even mass extinctions:

A massive asteroid might crash into Earth in the year 2182, scientists have warned.

The asteroid, called 1999 RQ36, has a 1-in-1,000 chance of actually hitting the Earth at some point before the year 2200, but is most likely to hit us on 24th September 2182.

It was first discovered in 1999 and is more than 1,800 feet across. If an asteroid of this size hit the Earth it would cause widespread devastation and possible mass extinction.

And scientists say that any attempt to try and divert the asteroid will have to take place more than 100 years before it is due to hit to have any chance of success.

If the asteroid had not been spotted until after 2080 it would be impossible to divert it from its target, they warned in a new research paper.

While the odds may seem long, they are far shorter than that of the asteroid Apophis, which currently has a 1 in 250,000 chance of striking Earth in 2036.

Asteroid 1999 RQ36 is part of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA) group, which all have the possibility of hitting the Earth due to their orbits and are all considered likely to cause damage.

Even though the asteroid’s orbit is well-known thanks to 290 different observations by telescopes and 13 radar measurements there is uncertainty about its path because of the so-called Yarkovsky effect.

This effect, first discovered in 2003 and named after a Russian engineer, is produced by the way an asteroid absorbs energy from the sun and re-radiates it into space as heat. This can subtly alter the asteroid’s flight path.

Sansaturio said: ‘The consequence of this complex dynamic is not just the likelihood of a comparatively large impact, but also that a realistic deflection procedure (path deviation) could only be made before the impact in 2080, and more easily, before 2060.'

She added: ‘If this object had been discovered after 2080, the deflection would require a technology that is not currently available.

‘Therefore, this example suggests that impact monitoring, which up to date does not cover more than 80 or 100 years, may need to encompass more than one century.

‘Thus, the efforts to deviate this type of objects could be conducted with moderate resources, from a technological and financial point of view.’

So although the odds seem low, it has a fairly good chance of hitting and we only have about 70 years to make an attempt at altering its path.  But given the lack of worldwide cooperation on such issues (or any issues for that matter) nothing is likely to get done.

Likely, poorer countries will expect richer ones to do what needs to be done, while rich countries will bicker about how much each one should invest in the venture, with smaller countries opining that given their physical size, larger countries, which are more likely to get a direct hit than say Belgium, should invest more regardless of their total wealth.

May the Gods (?) help our little, defenseless blue home.

Mistaken identity

This poor baby humpback whale mistook a buoy for his mother and didn’t leaving its side until it died of starvation:

A baby humpback whale died and washed up on a British beach after tragically mistaking a marker buoy for its mum.

The whale died alone in St Ives Bay, Cornwall, after confusing the ocean marker for its mother after being separated from her.

The whale had earlier became caught in the winch line for the power cable being laid as part of a new green power generating scheme called the Wave Hub.  

The firm laying the cable had sent a boat out to try and free the animal and tow it out to sea, away from the work.

All alone, the sea-creature was trying to suckle from the buoy which made a noise similar to its mum's blow.  

Dave Jarvis, BDMLR coordinator for Cornwall, said: 'It seemed to be attracted to the buoy as if it thought it was its mother.  

'We went out every few hours in our boat to monitor it and noticed that the wave action on the buoy caused a sound a bit like a whale's blow when it exhales air and wondered if the baby thought that was another whale.  

'It was nuzzling the buoy like it was trying to feed from it. It was very thin and lethargic.' 

Baby humpbacks are highly dependent on their mothers and it seems that once separated this young whale died of starvation.

So sad.

Paranormal Activity

An unforeseen hit from 2007, Paranormal Activity seems to have as many fans as detractors who complain about its resemblance to 1999’s very impressive The Blair Witch Project, another sleeper hit that you either love or hate.  I happen to love Blair Witch for its originality, its ability to deeply scare you, which is the goal of a horror movie, and its brilliant marketing campaign that never made clear whether the footage was real or just a movie.

Paranormal Activity doesn’t really have much in common with Blair Witch except for the bare bones cast and the jumpy camera work shot from the perspective of the two protagonists, which are all plusses for what I’m concerned.  Paranormal Activity is also quite original in terms of where and what the paranormal is coming from.

The two main actors do a fair job, especially considering the scant script they have to work with, and the low tech visual effects enhance the whole experience and the anxiety level.  Oftentimes, less gore allows you to achieve far more terrifying effects than what you’d get in a modern, over-remade Hollywood franchise like the Nightmare on Elm Street or the Saw movies.

I read that the director changed the ending of the movie after getting some advice from the venerable Steven Spielberg and the DVD actually contains both endings.  I think the theatrical version works, but can be annoying with its sequel-setup final scene, while the alternate ending, supposedly the director’s original idea, works more in terms of a parting shock.  Personally, I’d go for a mix of the two, keeping the first part of the theatrical release ending and the second part of the alternate ending.

Overall, a good horror movie, especially for the tension it’s able to create on such a low budget.

Grade: 7

Yossi and Jagger

This very short gay film is definitely better than most in terms of both script and acting.

The quite unconventional story follows two young men in love with each other who are soldiers in a small Israeli unit that is always ready for combat.

Given the very short length, I don’t want to give away anything, but Yossi and Jagger is ultimately a very serious and sweet portrayal of the potential dangers that gay men who opt to join the military face daily.  Their struggles also largely reflect those of gays in general in a society that is still mostly opposed to romantic love between men.

I would recommend the vision to every gay cinephile.

Grade: 7

Despicable Me

Judging from the first offering by new animation studio Illumination Entertainment, there’s a valuable new player at the table.  In fact, Despicable Me is a greatly enjoyable movie based on a rather brilliant and original concept: competing bad guys.

This movie, in fact, showcases precious few “good” characters.  Not only that, but there is no classical “hero” at all.  The story centers on Gru, an aging baddie who feels threatened in his “professional ranking” by a younger and upcoming villain who is so bad that he makes Gru’s heists pale in comparison.

I won’t spend any time discussing the famous voices behind the different characters, as they never represent a reason to go see these movies for me, since I don’t really think about who’s doing what voice.  On the contrary, I find the hiring of famous actors to do the voices of animated characters a missed opportunity to throw some work in the direction of all the worthy but unemployed actors circling the outskirts of Hollywood.

I do however want to point out that the animation is impeccable and the 3D used to good effect.

A very good movie that’s sure to be on the shortlist for next year’s Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Grade: 8

Inception

What a wonderful new creation from the great Christopher Nolan, the director who brought us such great fare as Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight.

With Inception Nolan once again creates a very good movie that showcases great performances paired with an original and witty screenplay.  The story deals with dreams and secrets and a band of very sophisticated thieves who use the former to steal the latter.  Naturally, complications are the norm in such a delicate environment as a dream, where one’s memories and emotions can alter the landscape suddenly and unexpectedly.

This is clearly a vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio but the rest of the cast shines as well.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, and Marion Cotillard all bring their A game.  Hardy especially is a revelation, and Michael Caine, in what’s virtually a cameo, is understated but great.

The score by Hans Zimmer is subtle but perfectly underscores the action, and there’s even a masterfully hidden queue inspired by the Edith Piaf song used by our group of robbers.

Finally, a note on the visual effects which are striking and seamlessly embedded in the beautiful tapestry created by Nolan.

Inception is a movie that dazzles you with great visual effects and action sequences while at the same time keeping your brain not only engaged, but on overdrive in order to keep up with what happens on the screen.  In fact, Inception is the typical movie that not only benefits but practically requires multiple viewings.

A must see.

Grade: 9

Gay signs

As in ‘protest’ signs:

Too funny.

WWII on Facebook

This is absolutely hysterical (via CollegeHumor).

The life of the Plastic Bag

This must be the best mockumentary I’ve ever seen.  Via Towleroad:

Another delay for equality

The Ninth Circuit Court decided to stay Judge Walker’s historical decision striking down the vile Proposition 8, but it’s not all bad news.  From Ari Ezra Waldman at Towleroad:

The three judge panel specifically asked the parties to address the standing issue on appeal and while such specific instruction does happen, it is certainly not the default in most circuit courts of appeal.  It means that this issue is front and center on the judges' radar. This panel -- while not necessarily the panel that will hear the merits of the appeal -- is curious as to how a party not covered or affected by an order could have the right to appeal such an order, i.e., having "standing" to appeal. Certain legal experts see this focus as a victory for the advocates of marriage equality. If the Prop 8 proponents do not have standing to appeal, the case is virtually over and Judge Walker's opinion will bring a second dawn of marriage equality in California.  That's great!

But, if that is where this case ends, marriage equality will extend no farther than California. The state would be added to the list of states granting gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, but the case's precedential weight would be limited. Judge Walker's decision would have no effect on Washington State and Oregon and the other states in the Ninth Circuit territory. However, if the Ninth Circuit accepted standing for the Prop 8 proponents, an appellate decision affirming Judge Walker's order could impact the entire Ninth Circuit.  It would also weigh heavily on judges throughout the country as more persuasive. A district court decision, no matter how well-reasoned and air tight, is not as much of an influence to other federal courts addressing this issue than an appellate court decision.

Here are a few ways this can go (there are many others):

- Ninth Circuit denies standing to the Prop 8 proponents.  Marriage equality for California!

- Ninth Circuit accepts standing, hears the merits on appeal.  Affirms Judge Walker's opinion.  Marriage equality for California and, perhaps, the entire Ninth Circuit territory.

- Ninth Circuit accepts standing, hears the merits on appeal.  Vacates (overturns or sends back or says, "No way!") Judge Walker's opinion, Prop 8 and its ban on same-sex marriage stands.

I really can’t decided whether I’d prefer the defendants to be found without standing, which would limit Judge Walker’s ruling to California, or for the Circuit Court to take the case and possibly widen Walker’s judgment to the entire Ninth District, which would engulf a huge portion of the United States, since it could also happen that they rule against us and we lose our big victory.

Let’s wait and see what happens.

Barbra Streisand

One of the greatest singers of all time and an accomplished actress and director:

I love her voice, her charisma, and her gravitas.

She’s unique and almost magical.

Prop 8 follow up

Yesterday came this bit of good news:

Judge Says California Ban on Gay Marriage Can End on Aug. 18

Just a week after ruling that Proposition 8 - a 2008 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage – was unconstitutional, Judge Vaughn R. Walker, the chief judge of the Federal District Court of the Northern District of California, lifted a stay on his decision, opening the door for untold numbers of gay couples to marry in the nation's most populous state. But he delayed implementation of the order to lift his stay until Aug. 18.

He gave the Court of Appeals what is considered to be the standard time to decide if they want to put a stay on his ruling or not.  It’s unfortunate that gays and lesbians have to wait another week, but the important thing is that he turned down the request of the Prop 8 supporters to put a stay on his ruling.

What it means is that he doesn’t share in their belief that they’ll likely prevail on appeal and also noted that they might not even have legal standing in appealing the decision to begin with, since they weren’t specifically ordered to do anything and couldn’t show that they’d be severely harmed by the ruling going into effect.

Let’s hope the Appeals Court shares judge Walker’s opinion both on not granting a stay and on the overall decision.

Resident Evil

I’ve bought one of the Resident Evil games for my Wii, although I haven’t really played it yet, and so I decided to take a look at the (first) movie based on this videogame.

The premise, the sudden release of a deadly virus, is not new, but otherwise the whole setup is pretty original and it certainly achieves the goal of being entertaining, thanks to the relentless action and intense suspense.  Furthermore, the willingness to kill off what can be perceived as main characters gives it a certain edge and the mainframe’s shrewdness makes for a considerable villain.

Milla Jovovich is good in the role of kick-ass heroine and Michelle Rodriguez perfectly compliments her in that arena.  The gorgeous Eric Mabius and James Purefoy meanwhile, play supporting roles that do little more than help get our girls from point A to point B in the plot.

Both Jovovich and Rodriguez play what can be considered pigeonhole-roles as Jovovich played the kick-ass girl in The Fifth Element and Rodriguez played the tough-bitch-with-no-time-for-bullshit in TV’s great Lost.

All things considered, the movie is enjoyable, although it doesn’t go much beyond that.

Grade: 6

Elena Kagan joins the SCOTUS

Elena Kagan was confirmed yesterday by the US Senate in a partisan vote of 63 to 37.

She replaces Justice John Paul Stevens, the retiring leader of the court’s liberal bloc.

Hopefully she’ll be a strong voice for the people that live in rather than the corporations that run this country.

She is President Barack Obama’s second SCOTUS appointment in a year after Justice Sonia Sotomayor replaced Justice David Souter almost exactly a year ago.

The liberal bloc is now dominated by women, since Kagan joins Justices Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

This is a good appointment in light of the upcoming big fight over gay marriage.

Hopefully Justice Anthony Kennedy will once again be on our side, like he has in the past, but I would feel that much better if one of the unnamed 4 bigoted boneheads on the conservative bloc suffered cardiac arrest or massive heart failure…

More here.

Gulf Spill data

The latest figures from government experts have been released, and they look terrifying:

The extent of the spill was confirmed on Monday as US government experts announced the rate the oil had been pouring out was 62,000 barrels a day -- more than 12 times faster than BP originally admitted.

This was higher than any previous official estimate and meant 4.9 million barrels of crude -- more than 205 million gallons -- had spewed into the Gulf in the 87 days it took to cap it, making it the biggest accident spill ever.

If BP is found guilty of negligence, the flow rate means it could face up to 17.6 billion dollars in fines. The firm has also set up a 20 billion dollar fund to pay claims from individuals and businesses hit by the disaster.

I bet BP is going to buy up anyone they have to to make sure they aren’t found negligent and if they are, they’ll declare bankruptcy in the US to avoid paying any fines and reduce to peanuts the amount it will actually have to pay out to the people affected, while they go on making billions selling oil in other countries.

The undoing of Prop 8: Step 1 – Check!

Yesterday Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state after its Supreme Court had made it legal, violates both the due process and equal protection guarantees of the US Constitution and is therefore struck down!!

From Raw Story:

In his ruling, US District Judge Vaughn Walker said, "The evidence shows that Prop. 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution, the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples. ... Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians and because Prop. 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes the Prop. 8 is unconstitutional.”

[…]

Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California declared Wednesday that the amendment to the California Constitution barring same-sex marriage, adopted in November 2008 as Proposition 8, violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.

Freedom to Marry, the national nonprofit fighting for same-sex marriage equality, issued a statement praising the decision.

"Today's federal ruling strikes down a cruel and unfair constitutional amendment that should never have become law and affirms that the freedom to marry belongs to every American," the group said in a statement. "As the first court to strike down race restrictions on marriage said in 1948, 'the essence of the right to marry is freedom to join in marriage with the person of one's choice.'"

"There is no gay exception in the Constitution to personal choice and the right to marry, and there is no good reason to continue excluding same-sex couples from marriage," the group added. "Judge Walker's decision will be appealed and litigation will continue, but what we witnessed in the clear light of his courtroom cannot be erased. The witnesses, evidence, and arguments all demonstrated what we've long known: exclusion from marriage harms committed same-sex couples and their families, while helping no one, and the unjustified and unfair denial of marriage to same-sex couples violates the United States Constitution. The judge's ruling reflects the growing consensus in courtrooms and legislatures across the country, and around the world, that there is simply no good reason to exclude same-sex couples from marriage."

From Yahoo! News:

A judge struck down California's same-sex marriage ban as an unconstitutional violation of gay couples' civil rights, but a pending appeal of the landmark ruling could prevent gay weddings from resuming in the state any time soon.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker overturned the voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8 Wednesday, declaring that limiting marriage to a man and a woman serves no legitimate purpose and is an "artifact" rooted in "unfounded stereotypes and prejudices."

"Rather than being different, same-sex and opposite-sex unions are, for all purposes relevant to California law, exactly the same," Walker wrote in an unequivocal and strongly worded 136-page ruling. "The evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples."

While the ruling affects only California, the appeal will go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states. The outcome there eventually could force the U.S. Supreme Court to confront the question of whether gays have a constitutional right to wed.

[…]

But in declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional, Walker accepted every argument advanced by the plaintiffs and methodically rejected every claim made by the defense. Preventing gays from marrying does nothing to strengthen heterosexual unions or serve any purpose that justifies its discriminatory effect, but harms children with same-sex parents and "the state's interest in equality," he wrote.

"To characterize plaintiffs objective as 'the right to same-sex marriage' would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy — namely, marriage," Walker said. "Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages."

Describing the defense case as "a rather limited factual presentation," he also said its proponents offered little evidence that they were motivated by anything other than animus toward gays — beginning with their campaign to pass the ban, which included claims of wanting to protect children from learning about same-sex marriage in school.

"Proposition 8 played on the fear that exposure to homosexuality would turn children into homosexuals and that parents should dread having children who are not heterosexual," Walker wrote.

Naturally, the ruling has already been appealed by the anti-equality bigots that looked like clowns during the trial, because they had no legal basis to stand on, and Judge Walker will soon decide whether to stay his ruling until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals takes it on or make it take effect right away.

My hope is that he decides against waiting, but this is such a hot button issue that he’ll likely be forced to stay his own ruling.  It’s also possible that a judge on the 9th Circuit Court might be asked to intervene and stay the ruling if Walker doesn’t do so himself.

Either way, this is a historic ruling and the first of 3 steps until gays and lesbians will finally be treated like all other citizens in this country.

Cause for celebration indeed.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The latest installment in the X-Men franchise, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a pleasant surprise.  I had feared it would be an overblown bore, but it turned out to be a fun ride, full of action, good visual effects, and a decent emotional payback.

Hugh Jackman, for the fourth time, plays Wolverine with the usual mix of strength, animal instincts, and human emotions.  In what has become the norm for a movie from the X-Men universe, a sprawling cast of characters surrounds our hero.  Unfortunately, these many new faces, again in keeping with X-Men tradition, aren’t always given enough time or space to develop.

That’s a pity, because these new characters all possess cool new powers that any fan of the franchise would love to see more of, but it’s also understandable that the constraints of the medium limit the time available for every plot line’s expansion.

The script tells us where Wolverine comes from, what his life experience has been like, and how he turned into the mutant we  know from the previous three X-Men movies.  It was actually quite cool to see how the script brought into focus the blurred backstory set up in the franchise’s other chapters with regards to Wolverine -- like how he got recruited into the military program that gave him an Adamantium skeleton or how he came to suffer from amnesia when he’s enrolled by Professor Xavier to fight Magneto’s evil schemes.

Liev Schreiber plays Sabretooth, Wolverine’s brother, and is excellent in the part of the mutant who cynically gives in to his wild nature because that’s who he was born to be.  Ryan Reynolds plays Wade/Deadpool with panache and grave inevitability respectively.  And Danny Huston plays Col. Stryker with a terrifying determination to rid the world of all mutants.

Virtually all the other mutants’ abilities are cool and attention grabbing, but they barely get a chance to display them.  It’s also a little puzzling to get introduced to a young Cyclops, whom we’ve already seen plenty of in the X-Men trilogy, when this isn’t his origin story.  Why waste his appearance?  Yes, they needed his powers for Deadpool, but still, it feels like a missed opportunity.

Anyway, overall the movie is good and the story solid, so I would recommend it to all fans and to whoever is looking for a good action movie.

Grade: 8

New Nightmare

After watching (and liking) 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, the movie that introduced Freddy Krueger to the world, I sat through several of the sequels that drove the franchise into the ground, although I skipped the latest installments (including this year’s attempted reboot).  Now a friend spoke quite highly about New Nightmare, a 1994 sequel by Wes Craven, the director of the original, so I decided to give it a try.

The concept is quite ingenious: a movie within a movie.  Wes Craven is writing a script for a new Nightmare movie, and while he does, weird things start to happen that seem to follow the script he’s writing to the letter.

The movie stars Wes Craven, Robert Englund, and Heather Langenkamp as themselves as Craven tries to convince Langenkamp to play her character once again.  The problem is that this time around Freddy is much more than a simple movie villain.

While the concept sounds good on paper, once fleshed out into a real script and then a full length movie, it looses some steam.  The visual effects are good, but the acting is below par, especially Langenkamp’s, who, not surprisingly, doesn’t seem to have had much of a career outside of the Nightmare franchise.

I would recommend this movie only to hard core Nightmare fans, since it doesn’t inspire too many original thrills, but they’d appreciate seeing the old team reunited once more.

Grade: 5