Swine Flu

I'm sure that by now, most people have heard repeatedly the outbreak of the swine flu. Already, 73 cases have been reported worldwide by WHO (the World Health Organization). Surprisingly, 40 of those cases were from the U.S. 

It think it's really scary how quickly this new virus is spreading. I mean I know this virus is not a huge threat and that people have been cured, but it's still uncomfortable to think about this virus becoming more dangerous. Unfortunately, people in Mexico are suffering more than us and some have even died. Hopefully, we will be able to find a cure to help the people in Mexico and also prevent this in becoming an epidemic.  

A First Step for Saudi Arabian Women

Suadia Arabian women have finally taken a step toward receiving equality and freedom. On Saturday, King Abdullah, appointed Norah Al-Faiz as the country's first deputy minister for women's education.

Though it's not positive that Norah Al-Faiz will have a lot of "real" power, it's still a huge improvement for women to be given such a position among the council. I hope that through Norah, other women in Saudia Arabia can have the courage to stand up for what they believe in despite their current status within the community.

12 is the new 10

On Friday, January 3o, I new baby boy was born. Of course, unlike most people, he was born with 12 fingers and 12 toes. This child was born with a condition known as polydactyly- extra digits. Many people believe that it's very unfortunate for a child to be born with polydactyly saying that the child would be teased, but I think that the people who think these things are just encouraging the idea of having polydactyly is an abnormal and horrible thing. I think that having extra fingers could really be an advantage for playing an instrument or even typing.

Naughty or Nice?

How would you feel to recieve a gift that doesn't exist? Or better yet, what would it be like to see a person's reaction as they open a present only to find there is nothing in there but a sign that taunts, "Gotcha!". The new GotchaBox, sold through The Onion, is basically an empty box advertising a fake gadget.

When I first read this article, I thought it was really funny and intresting a company would ever think about selling fake stuff for profit. The whole idea of the GotchaBox is amusing and I would probably be one of those people to pull a prank like this. Even though the fake present might not make the person's Christmas day a joyous one, if it makes your Christmas day worth it, then go for it!

to read more go to:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/12/16/gotcha.boxes.onion/index.html

Furby comes to life~!

Recently, scientists have rediscovered the existence of the pygmy tarsiers. For 8 decades, these creatures have long been considered extinct but scientists working in Lore Lindu National Park on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi accidently trapped one while trapping rats.

Many people have said that these species look similar to the Furby. The first time I saw this article, I was amazed and a little creeped out when I saw how similiar the pygmy tarsiers and the Furby looked. Even though I'm not a big fan of the Furby, I think it's really amazing that scientists were able to rediscover these creatures becuase now scientists can track where these creatures live and possibly help them to repopulate.

"designer babies"?

The idea of the "designer babies" have been lurking around the news for the past few weeks. The word "designer baby" is a term used by the media describing the new idea of human genetic alteration to create "select" babies. Meaning, parents can decide what they want their child to look like and what they want their child's personalities to be. Scientists are looking more into this new discovery.

Overall, I think this idea is morally wrong because I believe that humans shouldn't have the power to change what people look like or should look like. However, I think that this method could be beneficial in a sense that it could help parents to detect genes that could put the baby more at risk of a family disease and prevent that gene from being passed on to the baby. I know that in the future, more people are going to start to accept this idea and "designer babies" will become more common, but at this moment, I feel that, unless parents are willing to use this method solely to help prevent passing on disease genes, it should not be considered. But I know that that's not going to happen...

Fall

Lately, I've been really occupied with homework that i haven't realized the trees were starting to change colors. I only realized this yesterday as I was running around my neighborhood. The variety of colors that surrounded the scenery were so breathtaking, that i stopped running and just stared for 5 min.

I would say that Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. The aspects of Autumn that i love so much are the colors of the trees and the crispness and freshness of the air.