The weekend begins and I search for news that you, my reader, may not have read or heard….enjoy.

USDA has approve meat for human consumption….lab grown meat.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time cleared a meat product grown from animal cells for human consumption, the agency announced on Wednesday.

UPSIDE Foods, a company that makes cell-cultured chicken by harvesting cells from live animals and using the cells to grow meat in stainless-steel tanks, will be able to bring its products to market once it has been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), said a release from the FDA.

The FDA said in documents released on Wednesday that it had reviewed data from the company and had no further questions about the company’s conclusion that its product is safe for humans to eat.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/lab-grown-meat-cleared-human-consumption-by-us-regulator-2022-11-16/

Will you jump on this trend?  I am too old to change.

Ever watched ‘Ancient Aliens’?

Ever wondered why we have not found those aliens?

In a paper that feels more like a call to action than its science fiction-esque premise would suggest, two NASA scientists have forwarded a heartbreaking explanation for why we haven’t yet met any other intelligent lifeforms.

The general idea? The aliens destroyed themselves before they could get to us. Behind the yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper are two NASA scientists at CalTech’s Jet Propulsion Lab, a student at a Catholic high school, and a Polish political science professor.

What resulted is a variation on the famous “Great Filter” theory: that other civilizations that may have existed in the duration of the universe’s history have likely “filtered” themselves out by blowing themselves up or otherwise destroying themselves. In an ominous twist, they point out that whatever terrible event has been weeding out aliens from the cosmos would logically strike before these civilizations made it off-world — meaning that if the argument applies to us, disaster would be poised to strike soon.

“We postulate that an existential disaster may lay in wait as our society advances exponentially towards space exploration,” the paper’s introduction reads, “acting as the Great Filter: a phenomenon that wipes out civilizations before they can encounter each other, which may explain the cosmic silence.”

https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-scientists-aliens-destroyed-themselves

Killed themselves?

If you look at this planet….I would say sounds like a good theory.

The research in the uses of those magic ‘shrooms…..micro doses could help depression and/or anxiety….and now news that it could help with spinal injuries….

In 2014, Jim Harris broke nine vertebrae and was paralyzed from the chest down following a snowkiting accident in Chile. After surgery and months of physical therapy, he recovered enough to hobble around with a walker, but he still couldn’t get his right hamstring to “wake up.” According to Rachel Mabe of Outside, that changed when a friend offered Harris a dose of “magic mushrooms” at a music festival. It was his first big outing since his injury, but his disability was bringing him down; he ate them just hoping to have a good time. Soon after—like many people who indulge in psilocybin, the active drug in ‘shrooms—he found himself enjoying a colorful sunset and cloud patterns more than usual. But he also noticed his right hamstring contracting for the first time since his injury.

It wasn’t a hallucination: The next day, the hamstring was still active, apparently the result of a “rewired” neuromuscular connection. Research in recent decades—including a landmark 2006 study by Roland Griffiths—suggests psilocybin is a powerful tool against depression and PTSD. But can it help repair a spine? Neurologists say it’s possible thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability adapt: psilocybin increases neurotransmitter activity, making healthy neurons more sensitive while promoting regeneration of neuronal pathways. Psilocybin advocates say more research is needed, and they have support from research institutions and venture capitalists alike. Several states have also decriminalized the psychedelic, including Harris’s home state of Colorado, where voters approved Proposition 122 last Tuesday.

As my regulars know I have a section known as ‘Can’t Fix Stupid’ file…well I found a good example of “Stupid”….

Last Thursday morning, a man in Houston decided to dance atop a moving 18-wheeler on the Eastex Freeway. Per ABC13, the man was knocked off the truck as it passed under the Tuam Street bridge. Paramedics responded quickly and rushed him to the Memorial Hermann Hospital, but he was later pronounced dead, according to a press release from the Houston PD. The man was 25 years old and may have been recording himself, but no other information about his identity or motive was provided, including how or where he managed to climb or jump onto the truck.

Per Houston Public Media, police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the truck driver had no idea the man was up there. The driver was questioned by police and released without charges, but the investigation is ongoing. “We haven’t had a case like this in quite some time,” Silva said. Witness video posted to a Facebook page and later picked up by news outlets shows the man dancing atop the cargo trailer of a Rapid Transport truck as it approaches an underpass. The video was shot from a vehicle behind the truck, and traffic appears to be moving slowly. The dancing man can be seen with his back to the bridge, apparently unaware of the impending danger. According to KHOU, he was knocked into oncoming traffic. He died of blunt force injuries, according to the Harris County coroner.

Like I said…..’Can’t Fix Stupid’.

I hope everyone has a good Saturday…be well and be safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”