Workers of the world, unite!: You have nothing to lose but your—pustules
Karl Marx may have erred in predicting the "withering away" of the state under communism, but he got one thing right: "The bourgeoisie will remember my carbuncles until their dying day," he wrote in an 1867 letter to his longtime collaborator Friedrich Engels, referring to painful boils on his rump and nether regions. In a paper slated for the January British Journal of Dermatology, dermatology professor Sam Shuster of the University of East Anglia concludes from Marx's correspondences that the radical 19th-century political theorist suffered from hidradenitis suppurativa, a blockage and chronic inflammation of the sweat glands in the armpits and groin that can cause painful boillike lumps, swelling and scarring. The unsightly pustules made it hard for Marx to work and may have contributed to the alienation and self-loathing expressed in his writings, Shuster told Reuters. The revolutionary consoled himself by noting that it was at least a "proletarian disease." (British Association of Dermatologists; Reuters; London Times)
Space station solar panels damaged
The International Space Station hit a snag on Tuesday—literally—when a solar panel being unfurled accordion-style apparently got caught on a guide wire and suffered a two and a half–foot gash and a smaller rip, forcing NASA to plan a daring spacewalk to repair it. The damage occurred as the commander of the shuttle Discovery was remotely extending the second of two panels after they had been moved in a folded configuration from the top to the far left of the station; this just days after the right-side array had to be locked in place after metal shavings were found in the right-hand joint that adjusts their orientation with the sun, according to news accounts. NASA announced that a crew member will be swung out within reach of the damaged panel on a 50-foot boom attached to the space station's robotic arm as early as Saturday to attempt a fix, to reduce the risk of further damage that would require the panel to be jettisoned, thereby reducing the growing station's power supply. (The New York Times)
Meow mix (of genes): Cat's genome sequenced
Researchers have finally cracked the genetic code of domestic cats, sequencing the genome of a red-furred four-year-old Abyssinian named Cinnamon. Based on the six other published mammalian genomes (human, chimpanzee, mouse, rat, dog and cow), the sequencers estimated that the feline genome contained some 20,000 genes. With over 250 inherited disorders, some similar to those that strike people, researchers say cats may have something to tell us about human disease, too. Cinnamon's genetic layout—published in Genome Research—has already helped pin down the faulty gene responsible for blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary disease that causes blindness in kitties and in one in of every 3,500 people. (press release)
Climate change spreads like wildfire
Wildfires do more than burn: Enormous wildfires such as those that recently raged in southern California can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a few weeks as a year's worth of traffic in some states, according to federally funded research at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Based on satellite monitoring and models that estimate the carbon released from burning vegetation (plus or minus 50 percent), the group reckons that U.S. fires produce 290 million metric tons of carbon per year, equal to about 5 percent of the nation's annual emissions from fossil fuels. (National Center for Atmospheric Research)
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Add CommentSam Shuster concludes from Marx's correspondences that the radical 19th-century political theorist suffered from hidradenitis suppurativa, a blockage and chronic inflammation of the sweat glands in the armpits and groin that can cause painful boillike lumps, swelling and scarring. The unsightly pustules made it hard for Marx to work and may have contributed to the alienation and self-loathing expressed in his writings, Shuster told Reuters.So It is very unfortunate to read it.
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