Dreams Of Noise

Are you ready for this shit:

Australian scientists have successfully revived and reactivated the genome of an extinct frog. The "Lazarus Project" team implanted cell nuclei from tissues collected in the 1970s and kept in a conventional deep freezer for 40 years into donor eggs from a distantly-related frog. Some of the eggs spontaneously began to divide and grow to early embryo stage with tests confirming the dividing cells contained genetic material from the extinct frog.

[...]

Although none of the embryos survived longer than a few days, the work is encouraging for others looking to clone a variety of currently-extinct animals, such as the woolly mammoth, dodo, Cuban red macaw and New Zealand’s giant moa.

[...]

“We’re increasingly confident that the hurdles ahead are technological and not biological and that we will succeed. Importantly, we’ve demonstrated already the great promise this technology has as a conservation tool when hundreds of the world’s amphibian species are in catastrophic decline.”

I bet none of these guys have ever even heard of Jurassic Park.

How freakin' cool is that?

Now that we've found it... what should we do with it? (Don't say "pairing it off with Zeetha". That's Bosun Higgs. Totally different. Mostly.)

See, this is what happens when I don't pay attention: DC Nation (on the Cartoon Network) starts cranking out quick episodes of Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld.

Let me repeat that: AMETHYST: PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD.

If, somehow, you never read this comic, let me say it again: AMETHYST: PRINCESS OF GEMWORLD.

Sometimes, the universe is very kind.

So. What's your favorite YA series of late?

No, really. Coolest comment for me:

... It isn't just numbers on a whiteboard or in a computer model - practical experiments are being planned by the scientists involved in the new research to see if warp bubbles can be created on a microscopic level using lasers. The fact that such experiments can even be designed, let alone whether or not they succeed, is a giant leap for mankind....

Cue "Uplift" and "Fire In The Sky".

Ooooooh.

So frickin' cool. More info at the official JPL site.

There are a bunch of videos out there, showing 39-44 seconds of Venus traveling past Sol the other night. Here, however, is the official NASA vid, just over three minutes:

... is a thing of beauty.

Sometime over the next several hours, you will hear the world's loudest SQUEEEEEE from out California way.

That's because our darling, seanan_mcguire, has been nominated for a Hugo award in the Best Novel category with her pseudonymous Feed (by "Mira Grant").

There are a number of our friends in there this year, including the Foglios, Howard Tayler, and Steven Silver. And, of course, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mike Resnick, Allan Steele, just a great year.

The full list is posted on the RenoVation site.

Your thoughts on the nominees?