Wheezing megabats, Batman! An analysis into the evolutionary history of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has opened up significant revelations as to where the virus could have originated, and this time it isn't from our scientifically linked branch swinging, banana loving cousins. In fact, scientists think that SARS may have originated from bats. Let's head over to the full story for more enlightenment, before y'all go saying, "I thought it was them cats."

Scientists from Stanford University and Jennerex Biotherapeutics have further modified the cancer killing vaccinia virus (JX-963) to make it even more potent. The researchers have found a way to allow this strain to stimulate its host to create cancer-fighting white blood cells.

Ever since it was first developed, virus therapies have had limited success in eliminating all the cancer cells in the body. This new method calls upon the body's own defenses to help defend itself against cancer. The modifications on the virus has it producing a substance called granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a protein that stimulates the production of white blood cells.

Dr. Stephen Thorne, Co-author of the study and professor of surgical oncology at the University of Pittsburgh, spoke about their experiments saying that "The results are very encouraging. I would envisage clinical trials starting next year." His optimism is shared by other scientists such as Dr. Antonio Chiocca, a professor from Ohio State University, who said that "This is a very powerful and potent approach. You can think of each of these viruses as a new drug."

Before people get excited about the potential of this new virus, we have to remember that there is a risk in using these viruses since they could mutate into a deadlier form. Hopefully, the scientists find a way to get around that problem and finally develop a cure for cancer.

Even after thousands of years the earth have existed, there are still undiscovered lifeforms. They could be hiding in Antarctic waters, or just afraid of human contact. Either way, it would probably take forever to catch 'em all (good thing Pokemon aren't that difficult to collect).

Recently, a new species of sea anemone was discovered. Of course, of all places, it was found living in a dead whale deep down  Canada's ocean floor. It was named Anthosactics pearseae, after Vicki Pearse who found and collected it while cruising.

It took quite a long process to acquire the specimen, using remotely operated vehicles equipped with underwater cameras. The white anemone with uniform length tentacles was found in a whale fall where sea anemone aren't supposed to be. The whale carcasses are good for nutrients (and it's a better place than some coral reefs), sure, but this is the first time anemone was found among other deep sea creatures that inhabit the place.

The newly described specimen, along with 9 others, were sent to Ohio State University's Meg Daly, an anemone specialist. Even she was surprised at this discovery. "These creatures were so cool simply because we knew that no sea anemone had ever been found on a whale fall," she said.

Sooo thish exshplains why I breeshed through college with a verrry goods GPA. Hic! Schientshts at Ohio State University have dishcovered that feeding rats their equivalent of two drinks of beer for us people improves their memories. Hic!

Says researcher Matthew During, "We saw a noticeable change on the surface of certain neurons in rats that were given alcohol. This change may have something to do with the positive effects of alcohol on memory." He and partner Margaret Kalev-Zylinska of the University of Auckland in Middle Earth New Zealand presented these findings to the Annual Society for Neuroscience conference in Atlanta.

Of course, higher dosages of the good stuff will still kill brain cells and destroy livers. So that's still bad. But the moderate-drinking rats performed better in memory testing than both the non-drinking rats and the obvioushly drunk rats. Low levels of beer alcohol triggered expression of a particular receptor, NR1, in the rats brains. The researchers think that NR1 is connected to good memory and learning in people's.

Ironically, "People who drink to forget bad memories may actually be doing the opposite by reinforcing the neural circuits that control negative emotional memory," says During. He says these findings will have implications for brain diseases like Alzheimer's. Now if you will excuse me, my hangover and the last three bottles of good ol' Johnnie Walker's giving my gut merry hell, I must acquaint myself with the commode. (Runs to the bathroom to barf)

QJ.net editors start conferring with one another. "THAT'S IT! That's the last time we let Chris L. write after a night at the bloody pub!"

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is an incurable form of chronic leukemia more common to older people, aged 50 or more. This year, an estimated number of 10,000 Americans will develop the disease and 4,600 of them, sadly, will die. There's a known drug for CLL, though, called fludarabine. Unfortunately, the disease often becomes tolerant and even resistant to the drug.

According to cancer researchers in Columbus, Ohio, the lack of animal model has greatly hampered the development of new treatments, as well as research into its causes and the changes that drive drug resistance.

Luckily, a new strain of mice can possibly fill this void. The TCL-1 transgenic mouse develops a malignancy that closely mimics human CLL. According to John C. Byrd, professor of Internal Medicine and a specialist in CLL at the Ohio State University, “The strain should be extremely valuable for the development and testing of both conventional drugs and those aimed at molecular targets for CLL.”

CLL causes the proliferation of lymphocytes (white blood cells). Other known effects include severe anemia and a high risk of infection caused by virus, bacteria and fungi. The average survival after diagnosis is around 8 to 12 years.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered well over 2,000 planet-forming discs surrounding young stars in the Orion Nebula. These were observed indirectly using infrared photography, which detects the temperature variations indicating the existence of the discs.

The Orion Nebula is 1,450 light years from Earth, and is about 240 light years across. The image of Orion was released yesterday, and shows objects smaller than our own Sun in that region for the first time. Thomas Megeath of the University of Toledo said, "This is the most complete census of young stars with discs in the Orion cloud complex...basically, we have a census of potential solar systems, and we want to know how many are born in the cities, how many in small towns, and how many out in the countryside."

Three-fifths of the stars that had discs were found in large clusters. One fourth of them were solitary, with the remainder belonging to small clusters. This has caused astronomers to rethink their earlier belief that 90% of all stars are born in clusters. The researchers estimate that the number of stars with proto-planetary discs in Orion may run as high as 70%. "It is an interesting question why this number isn't 100%," Megeath stated. "Eventually, we may be able to understand why some stars don't have discs."

Click on the above left image to see the Spitzer image in all its glory.

Can you imagine an object so huge that while its front end is touching the surface of the earth, its back end is about 35,000 feet in the air? That's the size of the meteor that collided with our planet 65 million years ago killing the dinosaurs and causing the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history. Now, can you imagine an object even bigger than that? Planetary scientists have found evidence of a killer meteor in Antartica that outsized the dinosaur mass-murderer.

The 300-mile-wide crater lies hidden more than a mile under East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Gravity measurements place it at about 250 million years old coinciding with the Permian-Triassic extinction. This was the period when almost all animal life on Earth died out paving the way for the Age of the Dinosaurs. The location of the impact also suggests it could have been responsible for the breakup of Gondwana, the supercontinent from which all continents today came from, by creating the tectonic rift that pushed Australia northward.

The Wilkes Land crater could be up to 30 miles wide, four or five times wider than the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan peninsula. "This Wilkes Land impact is much bigger than the impact that killed the dinosaurs, and probably would have caused catastrophic damage at the time," according to Ralph von Frese, a professor of geological sciences at Ohio State University. Von Freese and colleague Laramie Potts led the team that discovered the crater.