Stunning Kingfisher Dives Underwater to Catch Fish

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— This stunning shot of the colorful kingfisher shows that the bird's aim is so unerring that, even though a protective translucent membrane veils its eyes underwater, it can confidently catch fish to depths of two feet.

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.

"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.

Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a welder, just returned to Louisiana. She is white and he is black. She plans to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in minority politics.

"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."

Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples. Bardwell suggested the couple go to another justice of the peace in the parish who agreed to marry them.

"We are looking forward to having children," Humphrey said. "And all our friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this, we're typical happy newlyweds."

"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009," said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzmann. She said the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 "that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."

The ACLU sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and recommending "the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice."

"He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it," Schwartzmann said.

According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriage license must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a 72-hour waiting period. The applicants are asked if they have previously been married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended, such as divorce.

Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and Social Security card.

The license fee is $35, and the license must be signed by a Louisiana minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original is returned to the clerk's office.

"I've been a justice of the peace for 34 years and I don't think I've mistreated anybody," Bardwell said. "I've made some mistakes, but you have too. I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. I just told them I wouldn't do it."

(This version corrects the date of the Supreme Court ruling.))

45 Homemade Foods You Can Make Yourself (But Never Thought You Could)

Channel your inner pioneer and never run out of these common items again!

By Marye Audet
Lancaster, TX, USA |

Marye Audet

There are many food items that people regularly buy that they could make at home; healthier, cheaper, and tastier.

In days past people did not run to the store every time they needed catsup or baking powder, they made what they needed themselves from basic materials. You can do the same. How many of the following items have you made from scratch?

Items You Didn't Know You Could Make Homemade

Condiments and Ingredients

1. Baking Powder
2. Vanilla Extract
3. Homemade Vinegar and Flavored Vinegars
4. Mustard
5. Catsup or Ketchup
6. Mayonnaise
7. Grape Jelly
8. Dill Pickles
9. French Dressing
10. Peanut Butter
11. Nutella
12. Sweetened Condensed Milk

Meat and Proteins

13. Bacon
14. Tofu
15. Tempeh
16. Sausage

Dairy

17. Goat Milk Ricotta
18. Mascarpone
19. Mozzarella
20. Yogurt
21. Kefir

Spices and Herb Blends

22. Smoke Your Own Chipotle Peppers
23. Marinated Roasted Red Peppers
24. Harrissa
25. Herbes de Provence

Breads and Cereals

26. Sour Dough Starter
27. Brown and Serve Rolls
28. Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns
29. Homemade Corn Flakes
30. Pita Bread
31. Graham Crackers, Animal Crackers and Saltines
32. Whole Wheat Pasta Dough

Snacks

33. Homemade Thin Mints
34. Sea Salt Caramels
35. Chocolate Covered Cherries
36. Tie Dyed Tortilla Chips
37. Fudgesicles
38. Butterfingers
39. Peanut Butter Cups
40. Homemade Candy Corn
41. Fruit Roll Ups

Beverages

42. Flavored Vodka
43. Hard Cider
44. Roast Coffee Beans
45. Chai Mix

Many More

With the easy access to information on the Internet a couple of words typed in to Google can result in hundreds of recipes for everything from corned beef to homemade wine. Next time you run out of an ingredient check the web for information about making it yourself.

There is something very satisfying about being able to make your own ingredients.

9 year old scores greatest goal in Boston this season

By Greg Wyshynski

Oliver Wahlstrom's shootout attempt in the Boston Bruins "TD Bank Mini 1-on-1" competition begins as expected: Deliberate skating to the puck before picking up speed into the zone. But once he gets between the faceoff circles ... well, let's just say we wouldn't have been shocked to see him pull a rabbit out of his helmet before sawing a woman in half. This is hockey magic.

Not too shabby for a 9 year old, eh? Your heart has to go out to the goalie, though, who's probably still frozen in his crease as we speak.

Wahlstrom plays for the Portland Junior Pirate Pee-Wee Major 97s, a team of 12-year-old players based in Maine. The team told us this morning that Wahlstrom is just 9 years old, playing up with older competition. One look at this goal, and you can see why. It also doesn't hurt that his father, Joakim Wahlstrom, was a 10-year veteran of the Swedish Elite League.

According to NESN, that stunning tally came during the taping of the TD Bank Mini 1-on-1, a series that will debut during the first intermission of the Bruins' game against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 29. It's also shown in-game at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Heck of a goal by Wahlstrom. Wonder if it could have beaten a goalie of slightly larger stature? Not that we'd want to see Wahlstrom try that trick-shot on Bruins netminder Tim Thomas(notes), who'd probably skate out the crease and bulldog the lad if the puck flew by him.

Stick-tap to Total Pro Sports for the initial story.

I'm the Daughter of a Serial Killer

By Lemondrop Staff

By Melissa G. Moore, as told to Lemondrop Staff.

When I was 15, my mother asked my brother, sister and me to meet her at the end of the stairs. "Your father is in jail," she said. When my brother asked what for, my mom simply said, "Murder," and walked back up the stairs. Stunned, I ran to my room and sobbed. It was way too much to comprehend, and for weeks I went into a state of denial.

My father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, is the infamous "Happy Face" serial killer. The media coined the title due to the hand-drawn smiley face he'd include at the bottom of his letters that contained clues about his murders.

Between 1990 and 1995, my father killed eight women while living a double life. In March of 1995, he was incarcerated for the murder of my stepmother, Julie Winningham. My dad is serving three life terms in Oregon State Prison.

Growing up, I thought my dad loved me. He said he loved me.

Suspecting Something Wrong
My parents divorced in 1990 when I was 11, after my mother learned that my father had had an affair with a waitress in California. My mom was distant growing up, and when my father would return from his job as a long-haul truck driver, he'd often be the one parent to show us love by showering us with presents and going out of his way to make our time with him a blast. He spoiled us with expensive electronics and outdoor play equipment for Christmas gifts. He'd take us bike riding, bowling, hiking, camping -- he always wanted to make our days with him special. I mostly felt spoiled by his attention.

Despite his fun side, I never felt at ease or safe around my father. I'd get a sickening feeling that I couldn't explain. There was no logical reason at the time for my sense of discomfort, so I thought something was wrong with me.

When I was 12, my dad started giving me clues about the murders. I just figured he was reciting details from his detective novels and crime magazines. But he was actually telling me things he'd done! I remember him saying, "I know how to kill someone and get away with it." When I was 13, he told me that he would cut buttons off jeans so that there wouldn't be any fingerprints; at another visit he said he could drag a body under his truck to get rid of the teeth so they couldn't trace any dental records to the body.

Becoming Something Other Than My Father's Daughter
After I learned the truth about my dad, I was consumed with guilt and shame for his horrific actions. For years, I'd have nightmares of him showing up at my door.

In order to heal, I had to learn to move on. I tried to focus on how I could make myself a better person. I met and married a wonderful man and started a family. I concentrated on being a wife and mother and stopped wasting precious energy thinking about my father. I had no control over what he did, and I realized that there was nothing I could do to change it.

Fortunately, I've learned to replace grief and pain with the joy I experience as a mother. Being a mother to my two children, Aspen, 8, and Jake, 5, has been therapy for me. My love for my children helps to keep me positive and looking toward the future.

Looking to the Future
One day in the spring of 2008, my daughter came home from school and asked w here my dad was. I was frozen with fear that I might give the wrong answer. Then I answered, "In Salem," realizing that I could tell her where he lived without saying who he was. It was a turning point for me. As I watched my daughter run off to play on the swings in our backyard, I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to handle such questions in the future. I knew I had to find a way to confront what happened in my life, and I found help through therapy, journal writing and other healthy relationships in my life.

While I dread the day when I have to tell my children about their grandfather, I'm no longer haunted by my own past. I've learned that we are not a product of our circumstances in life. We are free to decide our own future.

Melissa G. Moore is author of "Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter."

Megan Fox: Transformers Actress Replaces Victoria Beckham as face of Emporio Armani

By Michelle Halpern

The saucy sex symbol will replace Victoria Beckham for next year's ad campaign

Last week we lamented over David Beckham's discontinuing stint as the model for Armani underwear. This week, however, the brand brings a new female hottie onto the team to replace VBecks; perhaps David plans on featuring the wifey as a model for an upcoming female underwear line under his name as well? *Wishful thinking*

So, with Posh out of the picture, there was really only one logical successor; none other than "It" sex symbol of the moment Megan Fox. Starting in the spring/summer 2010 season, Fox will become the official spokesmodel for not only Emporio Armani but Armani Jeans as well. So, the question is, will new men's underwear model replacement, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Megan Fox be cozying up in front of the lens Beckham family style? According to WWD, the likelihood is doubtful, but we're optimistic people...only time will tell...

Bill Murray Still Not Sold On ‘Ghostbusters 3′

Posted by Paul Sileo

Oh, Bill. When I think I can’t love you any more, you go and say exactly what most of us have been thinking (And no, I don’t mean about Ghostbusters 2, though we have probably been thinking that for years as well).

Speaking with Britain’s Absolute Radio at the premiere for Fantastic Mr. Fox, Peter Venkman himself laid the skeptic’s gauntlet down on the rumors of a complete cast thumbs-up for the long-awaited third film in the Ghostbusters franchise. Though most of us have simultaneously felt elation and tentative fear over the announcement that this movie was seriously-really-for-sure-happenin’-I-swear-it, Mr. Murray comes right out and says it: There is no script. He isn’t completely onboard. And when there is a script, he will read it, and it must be good, or there will be none of his comedic mojo within.

Just days after Ivan Reitman confirmed his involvement in the film (though he says he doesn’t know if that will include directing or not), Bill drops this bomb on the production. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suspect the folks behind the scenes can’t be happy right now, since they have been attempting to crank up the hype machine for a few years now. But it is nice to get Bill’s opinion on it, because, let’s be honest, he is the one ghostbuster we all hoped would sign off and reprise his role. Don’t get me wrong, I want everyone to come back, but a movie without Bill Murray is a much harder sell to fans of the franchise, in my opinion.

Check out the full interview here:

So, there you have it. The script must rock or Dr. Peter Venkman ain’t bustin’. No matter how good it makes him feel.

Will e-bikes be the new 'commuter cool'?

By Steve Almasy

(CNN) -- Keith Felch is admittedly a big guy, but more than a few super-fit cyclists in Southern California have been left wondering how that dude just went flying by.

Keith Felch calls his electric bike a "hill eraser" because he can ride it to work without breaking a sweat.

And then his wife, Mary, comes motoring past.

He and his spouse Mary Felch have cut their driving in half by using "e-bikes."

"They stare, like how can a girl go past me," she says, laughing. It takes the other riders a few seconds but then they figure it out.

They have electric motors.

The Felches, who live in Aliso Viejo, California, used to drive everywhere, except when they used their bikes for recreation.

That changed when they got their new e-bikes, made by a company called Optibike. Now, they ride to go shopping and to go to breakfast -- but mostly they ride to work.

Keith Felch says the couple has cut 50 percent of their car-use since they started electric biking.

And there are other benefits. Keith Felch dropped 30 pounds and his blood pressure fell 10 points in the first six months he owned the bike, he says.

E-bikes run on 1 horsepower motors, or good old-fashioned pedal-power.

The Felches don't exactly classify themselves as "environmentalists," although Mary said it is important to have a positive effect on the planet.

"I learned that the worst amount of smog that you put out [in an automobile] is in the first mile, so if we can make even some of those shorter trips on our bicycles, it makes a big difference," she says.

Who wants one?

Brent Meyers, director of sales for Ultra Motor US, says electric bikes attract different types of buyers.

Many are looking to make a green imprint.

Some are "active adults" who have ridden bicycles for years who -- as they get older -- are unable to do the same kind of riding they did when they were young.

Other buyers want to ride their bikes to work quickly -- and avoid a sweaty entrance into the office.

Oddly -- or perhaps not -- Ultra Motor US sees its strongest sales when the price of oil skyrockets, says Meyers.

Two wheels, a motor and 100 million riders

Electric bikes are still somewhat of a novelty in the United States, but in China they're everywhere.

In fact, Chinese electric bikes number more than 100 million -- which is about four times the number of Chinese private cars, according to Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports. The bikes are popular in Europe as well.

Sales figures for the United States are hard to pinpoint.

In the United States, about 200,000 electric bicycles were sold last year, said Ed Benjamin of the Light Electric Vehicle Association -- about twice the number sold in 2005.

But the industry has hit a bump in the road from the recession, as sales were down about 10 percent in 2009, he said.

E-bikes are mostly made by specialty companies, but the growing sales trend has been noticed by the big boys.

Trek, a worldwide leader in bike sales, has been making electric bikes for three years, but only introduced them in the United States in the past year.

Other well-known companies like Schwinn and Giant are increasing their presence in the e-bike field.

At Interbike, the biggest bicycle industry convention in the United States, there were more than 20 companies displaying e-bikes this year. Meyers said only a few years ago, it was about five.

Prices range from a few hundred dollars -- the E-Zip Trailz Hybrid costs $398 at Wal-Mart -- to more than $13,000 for OptiBike's top-end model.

Prices increase as battery technology and components get better.

Steve Roseman of The Electric Bike Network in San Francisco, California, said most buyers he sees don't balk at the price, which can be as much as a good road or mountain bike. They are mostly concerned with how far they can go on a battery charge and how fast.

What's an 'e-bike'?

By law, electric bikes must have no more than 1 horsepower and go no faster than 20 mph (on motor power alone).

Basically they are much like traditional bicycles with small motors that power the bike or assist a rider with pedaling. Many have gears like a regular bike.

"It's just adding the throttle aspect, other than that it handles like a regular bicycle," Keith Felch said. He says he uses the throttle all the time, choosing one of two modes -- eco [half power] or fast [full power].

He says he once tried a regular bike for his 4 ½-mile ride to one of his music studios where he teaches jazz improvisation.

But the hills nearly got him.

He calls his electric bike a "hill eraser."

It also makes the ride to his farthest studio -- 22 miles away -- seem much closer. He says he gets about 35 miles on his primary battery and has an additional one for long rides.

Shifting views

But as they tout the virtues of electric bikes, advocates also realize that there will have to be a shift in the way Americans view them before they become as popular as they are in Europe or China.

"There are two possible sides to the equation," Roseman said. "One would be a change in the way people view transportation. There are still a lot of SUVs out there. ... People still have a hard time thinking about riding a bicycle unless they are 10 years old, it seems. So there needs to be a little shift in mentality."

"But having said that, I think there is a growing awareness about health and transportation and environmental issues so it could be that we are just reaching a juncture where things will change [for e-bikes]."

Meyers says people also have a preconceived notion about electric bikes.

Some view them as expensive or poor quality or uncomfortable. And Meyers admits, e-bikes are not for everybody.

As Roseman says, people who live in Spandex will probably always prefer a really good road bike and hard-core city cyclists may well stick to their fixed-gear bikes.

Meyers says Ultra, which sells its bike for $2,700, isn't for those kinds of people.

"That's not our customer," he says. "Our customer is someone who wants some form of electric transportation, green transportation, that can get them from Point A to Point B comfortably."

The Felches say taking a test drive will change a skeptic's attitude.

"If you ride one, it will blow your mind," Keith Felch says. "When you get on one it's like being in a flying dream you've had. It's like everything you've dreamed your bicycle should do in your wildest dreams -- it's doing it."

1,700-year-old footprints discovered under Lod mosaic

1,700-year-old footprints discovered under Lod mosaic

By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
The ancient footprints of the artisans who built a 1,700-year-old mosaic floor in the city of Lod was discovered recently by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The mosaic floor is one of the biggest and most remarkable mosaics to be discovered in Israel. The mosaic, spanning 180 square meters, is composed of colorful and detailed depictions of animals, plants and boats.

The impressive mosaic, discovered in 1996, is believed to have decorated the home of a wealthy man during the Roman period.

Following the discovery of the mosaic, it was covered back up due to lack of the resources required to preserve and display it. It was recently uncovered again, with the aim of opening the site to the public, after the Antiquities Authority and the Lod municipality were able to raise the funds required for the endeavor.

While working on detaching the mosaic from the ground, Antiquities Authority workers discovered the footprints and sandal prints on the plaster bedding below. Experts believe the prints belong to the builders of the mosaic, and further speculate that they had used their feet to pack the plaster.

Sandal prints in sizes 34, 37, 42 and 44 were discovered.

"We were very excited," said Jacques Neguer, head of the IAA Art Conservation Branch. "It is fascinating to find 1,700-year-old personal evidence of people who, just like us, worked on this very mosaic. You can really feel the generational continuity."

EVERY KRAMER ENTRANCE FROM SEINFELD

Below is a montage of every single Kramer entrance from Seinfeld, via popwatch.

I tried to watch the whole thing, but I had a seizure and started hallucinating. Michael Richards appeared to me and said, “I will grant you one wish.” Then after I made my wish he said, “I’m not a genie, you shillelagh-hugger. You get nothing.” Then he disappeared in a puff of cigar smoke. Damn. Now who’s going to shoot the Black Eyed Peas into the sun for me?

Lawyer Passes Out During Interview

Lawyer Passes Out During Interview - Watch more Funny Videos

I love it when someone is passing out but they're still determined to finish their sentence before their head slams into the floor.

A Model Day At Disney Parks - Exclusive Tilt-Shift Video Featuring Magic Kingdom

See the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida from a whole new perspective. The exclusive video first featured on The Disney Parks Blog was created from a series of photos snapped inside the Magic Kingdom Park. Its a sunrise-to-sunset story told without words. But the message is clear — celebrate.

Video: iPhone App Remotely Drives a Chrysler Minivan

In the future, we'll all be able to drive without leaving home. Researchers in Berlin reworked their DARPA-spec autonomous minivan to be controllable by an iPhone app

By Mike Spinelli Posted 10.15.2009 at 10:50 am 3 Comments

A recent ad for Vodafone featured Formula One champ Lewis Hamilton piloting his F1 steed, as if it were an RC car, using a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone. Many were fooled, some were not, but really it was just a wishful-thinking play by clever ad people.

But one such convergence of smartphones and automobiles apparently is legit. Computer science researchers at Berlin's Free University worked up this Chrysler minivan that can be controlled remotely by an iPhone app.

The team developed its iDriver app to manage the highly modified "Spirit of Berlin" autonomous vehicle using WiFi and the smartphone's controls. The unit's accelerometer controls steering, accomplished at hand by turning the device, while screen buttons control braking and acceleration. The system also sends a live video stream of the road ahead to the iPhone screen.

The van can also drive itself, by way of technologies developed for the 2007 DARPA Urban Grand Challenge autonomous vehicle race (the van was their entry). Packed inside are a stack of IBM Blade servers, video cameras, 3D laser sensors and GPS for positioning, as well as the drive-by-wire system that enables the iDriver app's functionality. In one experiment, a team member reportedly sat on the roof rack and steered the vehicle from above.

[Team Berlin via Engadget]

Magic Malik Bouchenafa snowkite in Algeria -lift accident

For more video on MagicMalik visit:

http://www.hanglos.fr/news/EE645FF8-E...

14 Majestic Castles and Palaces Around the World

In medieval times, castles are built as homes and fortress of a noble and monarch. Did you know that the earliest castles were built from wood. By the 12th century, the majority of castles were built from stone. On this time, these structures serve as fortified and defensible homes of a member of the feudal nobility. Castles could supervise the surrounding territory and make sure it sees advances of any invasion attempts. Here now some incredible castles I compile. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Mont Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel is is a rocky tidal island located on the border between Normandy and Brittany. This majestic castle is one of the first sites to obtain UNESCO World Heritage listing.

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Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Bavarian palace on a rocky hill near Hohenschwangau in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The design of this castle is well in its decorated; from the the round arched portals, the arcade windows and towers to the the placement of columns and its bay windows and pinnacles.

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Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto Castle is one of the 4 castles in Japan to be listed as national treasures. Next to Himeji-jo, Matsumoto-jo, this was the next best existing castle donjon in Japan. Built by Ishikawa Kazumasa and his son Yasunaga in 1590.

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Castle of Coca
Castle of Coca was built in the 15th century for Archbishop Alonso de Fonseca I. It was onsidered as one of the best castles in Spain. The castle is a turreted structure of plaster and red brick, surrounded by a deep moat. Castle of Coca has been more of a palace than a castle.

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Isola di Loreto
Isola di Loreto with neogothic castle arround year 900 This castle was built on island L’isola di Loreto, the smallest island of the lake. This was located on the north side of Montisola, Italy.

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The Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located on the Red Hill of Lhasa, Tibet. It was riginally built by King Songtsen Gampo in the 17th century. The Potala Palace was the main residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama escaped to Dharamsala, India.

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Predjamski Castle
Predjamski Castle Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in southwestern Slovenia. It is located approximately 11 kilometres from Postojna.

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Hunyad Castle
Hunyad Castle was originally built as a fortress in 1212. Many believed that this castle is exactly the place where Dracula was held as a prisoner for 7 years after he was overthrown in 1462. The castle is situated in Hunedoara , Romania.

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Malbork Castle
The Malbork Castle’s construction began in 1275, along the river Nogat. This castle was made from red brick and became the world’s largest brick gothic castle. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997. Today, it is well-preserved medieval gothic castle and a museum.

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Prague Castle
Prague Castle is Prague’s premier tourist attraction. It was largest medieval castle complex in Europe and the ancient seat of Czech kings throughout the ages.

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Eltz Castle
Eltz Castle is a medieval castle stands in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. This castle was still owned by a branch of the same family(33 generations) that lived there in the 12th century.

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Palacio da Pena
Palacio da Pena is one of Europe’s most magnificent palace. The palace was built on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, Portugal.

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Löwenburg Castle
Löwenburg Castle was built around 1800 as a country residence for Count Wilhelm IX. This castle was intentionally designed to look like a medieval castle.

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Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle is a quadrangular castle located in East Sussex, England This castle was built in the late 14th century by a veteran of King Edward III’s wars with France.

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Stem Cells from Fat Used to Grow Teen's Missing Facial Bones

Surgeons report success in first human bone growth procedure using fat stem cells--with no culturing necessary

By Katherine Harmon

NEW BONE: A CT scan of the patient's skull after the stem cell treatment helped him regrow missing cheekbones
CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER

BEFORE TREATMENT: A CT scan shows the Treacher Collins syndrome patient, who was born without cheekbones, before the stem cell procedure
CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER

Stem cells so far have been used to mend tissues ranging from damaged hearts to collapsed tracheas. Now the multifaceted cells have proved successful at regrowing bone in humans. In the first procedure of its kind, doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center replaced a 14-year-old boy's missing cheekbones—in part by repurposing stem cells from his own body.

The technique, should it be approved for widespread use, could benefit some seven million people in the U.S. who need more bone—everyone from cancer patients to injured war veterans.

"This is sort of the holy grail for a number of different surgeons," says Jesse Taylor, a surgeon and researcher in the hospital's Division of Plastic Surgery and one of the procedure's lead physicians. The procedure could be used in plastic, orthopedic and neural surgeries, he notes. Some bone tissue had previously been generated from stem cells in the lab, but this marks hope for a surgical solution for those who need additional bone.

"We often find ourselves in the operating room saying, 'Man, I wish we had a little more bone,'" Taylor says. In adult patients plastic and metal have often subbed in, in the absence of bone, but as Taylor notes: "What happens if someone gets a fracture? It's another surgery." In contrast, a natural bone regrown from stem cells should heal on its own. Another alternative, bone transplants—either repurposed from the patient's body or from cadavers—have high rejection and absorption rates, leading to many unsuccessful attempts.

To create the new bones, which have become part of the patient's own skull structure and have remained securely in place for four and a half months, the medical team used a combination of fat-derived stem cells, donated bone scaffolds, growth protein, and bone-coating tissue.

No culturing required
After honing the bone-growth technique in laboratory pigs for more than two years, Taylor and his team were ready to attempt it in a person.

Their first patient was Brad Guilkey, who had been born with Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), a rare genetic defect, which in Guilkey's case resulted in the absence of some of his facial bones. Guilkey, who was 14 at the time of the surgery, had been born without either zygomatic bone—the two upper cheekbones that protect the eyes and form the normal cheek contours. "We were basically able to make new ones for Brad," says Taylor of the bones. Before the surgery, Guilkey's face sloped slightly inward—and his eyes downward—and a lack of protective bone left his eyes vulnerable, especially when he played his favorite sports, basketball and baseball.

Unlike many other stem cell treatments, such as heart patches, the procedure Taylor and his colleagues used did not require any advance culturing or growth in the lab. The intensive, daylong surgical procedure included every step—from the stem cell harvesting through liposuction to bone implantation.

The group chose fat stem cells over those from bone marrow largely because of the ease of access. "One of the neat things about adipose-derived stem cells is they're very easy to harvest," Taylor says. They also exist in just about the same proportion as bone marrow stem cells, which can be more difficult to obtain.

For the surgery, Taylor and his team shaped donor bone—from cadaver-donated femurs—to resemble zygomatic bones and act as a biological scaffold for the bone to grow on. Mesenchymal stem cells, harvested from Guilkey's fat, and growth-encouraging morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), were injected into holes drilled into the scaffolds. Before implanting the bone sections into Guilkey's face, Taylor and his team wrapped them in periosteum tissue, which covers bone surfaces and was harvested from Guilkey's leg. The surrounding material, especially the periosteum and the growth protein, helped to cue the stem cells to produce bone tissue.

New bones for all?
The new technique may have applications across the board for those who need bone regeneration, but it may not be as successful—or as simple—in every case.

Some of the procedure's effectiveness may be due to Guilkey's youth. "The periosteum, which is probably the most important component, changes as you get older," Taylor says. This membrane, which covers healthy bones, helps to supply bones with blood and nutrients, encouraging growth and healing. So new bone may not generate as quickly in a 70-year-old as someone in his or her teens, he notes. The team is performing tests on pigs of different ages to see how much of a role senescence plays in the growth and healing process.

Overcoming genetic diseases, such as Guilkey's TCS, can be challenging, Taylor notes, as repurposing that person's biological material does not eliminate the mutations that caused a lack of bone in the first place. Although Taylor gives Guilkey's procedure better than a 50–50 chance of long-term success, he remains cautious. "The real proof of the pudding of this concept will be whether it's there in five years," he says. If it is, "that will be really amazing." Other, more traditional bone grafts for similar patients often start to come loose within a few months of the procedure. But, he says, Guilkey's new bones remain "rock steady."

Using the procedure in cancer patients may prove to be the most difficult due to intensive scarring and the fact that the growth protein, BMP-2, is not approved for use in people with cancer. Traumatic injuries will likely be the easiest to fix, provided the patient can wait six months to a year for scars to heal, says Taylor.

Unknown mechanisms
The results from Guilkey's surgery show that culturing stem cells extensively before implanting them might not be the only path to take in developing new stem cell treatments. "We're thinking at this point that that might not be such a great idea—to induce them into becoming something [specific]. Maybe some of these cells need to become something else," Taylor says. To grow bone, the body also needs vascular cells, fat cells and others. So why, Taylor proposes, limit a stem cell implantation to only one kind of cultured, differentiated cell?

The procedure does highlight the vast amount of research that remains to be done. "There's so much we don't know," Taylor says. "And to pretend that we have control over everything is presumptuous." He favors using biological rather than artificial scaffolds. "I try to use as many natural cues and processes as possible," he says. "There's a lot we don't understand mechanistically," so he prefers "putting it in an environment that says, 'Become a bone.'"

Although the approach may sound overly simplistic for Guilkey and at least and two other patients who have undergone the procedure since, it appears to have been successful. "It's primitive, but it works," Taylor says. "Now the onus is on us to figure out why it works."

In the meantime, Taylor says, Guilkey, now 15, has become a lot more outgoing and has even cut his hair short for the first time in his life—rather than try to cover up his face with long locks. Taylor reports that the teen has been able to return to sports and is now dating.

CBC News - British Columbia - 2010 Olympic medal design unveiled

CBC News - British Columbia - 2010 Olympic medal design unveiled

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9 Weirdest-Looking Animals You Didn't Know Existed (PHOTOS)

9 Weirdest-Looking Animals You Didn't Know Existed (PHOTOS)

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Super Chameleon

The super chameleon shows his super camouflaging powers.

Music by YUKSEK - "Eat My Bear"

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Should you be able to “abhor” Facebook posts? Threadsy says yes

Kim-Mai Cutler |

Oh, “I bought new socks” status update. How I hate thee….

And now you literally can hate them.

Threadsy, which puts e-mail and social network updates together in one stream, is experimenting with an “abhor” button to flag lame Facebook posts.

Facebook, which adopted a “like” feature in January to let people voice approval for posts, has never offered any negative reinforcement to prevent boring updates. (However, Facebook lets you “hide” updates from users you don’t want to see without offending them.)

So San Francisco-based Threadsy’s barging in with its own more pointed feature. If a post has been abhorred, it will have a link that lands at a Threadsy page reading, “This Facebook status has been abhorred. Someone must’ve thought it was particularly lame.”

Scott Kendall, who leads product at Threadsy, said the “abhor” button probably won’t be anonymous to prevent blatant spamming.

“There’d be no accountability and no impact on your reputation — same as what you see happen with anonymous blog comments,” he wrote in an e-mail. “The way I envision it, abhors should be used sparingly, jokingly, and perhaps only with your closest friends.”

Plus anonymous “abhorring” would require a special “abhor” app for Facebook. Threadsy, which is backed by August Capital, is in private beta but you can get a special invite here.

So readers, do you “like” it or “abhor” it?

Hands-On with Western Digital's TV Live HD Media Player

by Norman Chan

Possibly the media pirate's perfect movie and music streamer

Yesterday, Western Digital officially announced the second generation of their WD TV HD media player. In our review of the original device, we loved its ability to play back almost any video we tossed at it, but lamented its inability to handle encrypted media files. Since then, Western Digital has issued a series of firmware updates that improve format compatibility (including DivX), but the new WD TV Live adds new hardware features as well. Most notable is the addition of an Ethernet port to connect the WD TV Live to your home network. That means you can not only stream movies from your desktop PC or NAS boxes to the WD TV Live, but also get video, music, and photo content from the internet. We received a retail sample of the new system, and tested it to see if these new features are worth the $50 price bump.

First, a quick briefing on how the WD TV Live and its previous iteration work. The WD TV system is a media player, but video and music files aren't stored on the device itself. You connect USB hard drives or flash keys to either of the two USB ports on the back and the top of the player, and the WD TV reads files off of those storage drives to play onto a connected television or monitor. The first WD TV launched with support for most standard video formats (MPEG, WMV, H.264), 1080p resolution and high-bitrate playback, and used HDMI or Composite video connections. Its support for community-adopted video containers, like MKV and H.264 AVI files, made it a popular alternative to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for media playback.

In addition, the firmware for the WD TV has been open source, which has led to 3rd-party firmware updates that have added neat functionality to the player, including USB optical drive and limited network adapter support. The WD TV Live utilizes new internal hardware, so it's unclear that existing 3rd-party firmware will run on it.

The WD TV Live's packaging is very similar to the original's. Included in the box is the player (which is about the size of a portal hard drive, only thicker), an IR remote, AAA batteries, power adapter, and video cables. The box includes both Composite and Component cables, though they're cables with 3.5mm jacks on one end to plug into the WD TV. Neither the first WD TV nor the WD TV Live include an HDMI cable, though everyone knows they're relatively cheap to buy from monoprice.com.

Also new is a warning sticker on the back of the WD TV Live, reminding you not to stack USB hard drives on top of the player. In our experience, the player gets pretty hot when playing back 1080p video, though we've never had one of these devices die on us from overheating. Still, it's a good idea to keep the player on its side during use, and avoid placing it on top of or around other hot gadgets.

Physically, the WD TV Live (on the left in the above photo) is exactly the same dimensions as the original. WD opted for a matte grey finish as opposed to the glossy black of the original, which was prone to greasy fingerprints. We still prefer the black finish. The HDMI logo has also been removed from the front face of the device.

On the rear of the player, you can see the new Ethernet port as well as the modified Composite and Component video out ports. If you choose to use the Component connection, you'll have to output audio from the Composite port (for stereo sound) or use the Optical port for 5.1 audio playback. The HDMI connection outputs both audio and video.

Here's a quick glance at the differing format support, as indicated from the packaging (WD TV Live on the right). The original WD TV box is a little out of date, since new firmware has expanded what type of files the WD TV can play, including a wide range of soft subtitles. DRM-protected files are stil not yet supported. But enough about specs -- let's turn this thing on!

System boot up on is a tad faster than the new player, but the thing we noticed most was how responsive the new menu is. Optimizations in hardware and the OS software have paid off, and navigating around the WD TV doesn't feel sluggish at all. This is a necessary improvement, since there are more menu categories to browse around this time around.

The actual menus aren't changed much from the first WD TV. Cosmetic changes like a darker blue background aren't a big deal -- you still navigate around the layered menus using the arrow keys. You can use the included remote to work the menu system, or pair the WD TV with a universal remote like the Logitech Harmony series.

The first thing you'll want to do is set up the Network configuration. The WD TV has an automated setup process that detects your router settings and DLNA network drives, including Home Servers and NAS boxes.

We ran the WDTV through the gamut of numerous video and audio files of varying size, bitrate, and formats, and the WD TV Live handled them all with ease. Everything from MP4s ripped from DVDs using Handbrake, 1080P WMV movies from Microsoft, or even MKV H.264 Blu-Ray rips with embedded subtitles and 5 audio channels played back without problems.

HD video stored on a Windows Home Server was instantly detected and flowed over a wired connection without any loss of quality. When we connected the WD TV Live to a hacked router that acts as a wi-fi bridge to try streaming video over 802.11g, video playback was a little more limited -- very high bitrate files occasionally stuttered. You definitely want to be on a 802.11n network to stream high def content. Western Digital plans on selling its own wireless Ethernet adapter for the WD TV Live, but there's no work on what wi-fi standards it'll support.

On to the new connected features. WD TV can tap into Youtube to play video, but browsing options are pretty limited. You can enter channels showing the newest, most popular, highest rated, or "featured" videos, but searching for specific content is a tedious process. Entering search terms is done with the arrow keys on your remote, and it took us at least 5 minutes to find specific movie and game trailers. However, you can log into your Youtube account to visit favorited channels and user subscriptions.

By default, Youtube will stream the Hi-Quality of HD version of a video if its available. You can turn this off if you're on a slow or shakey internet connection.

Online music streaming is actually a pleasure to use. Menu entries for Pandora and Live365 let you log into an account and access online radio feeds. The player experience replicates the features of those services you'd find on their respective sites, as well. We're not sure how many people actually want to stream online radio to their TV, but the option is there.

Finally, you can browse Flick's photo content with pre-configured feeds, such as the last week's worth of "interesting" photos. Again, this is more of a novelty feature than an actual practical one -- we don't envision many people rummaging through Flickr on their TVs out of boredom.

One disappointment is that most of the pictures we opened from the Flickr feed turned out to be the low-resolution photo, which then isn't stretched out to fill the screen.

From our early tests, the WD TV Live looks to be a worthy successor to the WD TV. It's most attractive features haven't changed -- video aficionados and media pirates alike will still be drawn to it for its wide file format support. The Ethernet connectivity and streaming feature, however, really makes this a true contender as the dominant media player in your home theater setup. The device's small profile, relatively low power usage, and whisper quiet operation makes it more ideal than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 for in-network media streaming. Whether that's worth $150 or adding another media player to your TV stand is up to you.

Note: As of the time of writing, Best Buy is selling the WD TV Live for $120 (may be backordered)