Blood and Death cab

No more blood drives?

An American team has found a way to turn the parent cells of other types, human embryonic stem cells, into significant quantities of functional oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

Also, a song thats been stuck in my head

More Illini move overseas & US Basketball

It looks like Randle is going to play in Israel and Pruitt is going to the Czech Republic.

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/08/28/Sports/Randle.Signs.Contract.With.Israeli.Team-3406769.shtml

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/08/28/Sports/Pruitt.Follows.Wave.Across.Atlantic-3406751.shtml

The popularity of the game has opened up many new markets around the world. I watched pretty much every USA basketball game in the Olympics (besides US vs. Argentina, the one I really wanted to see, but it was during work). It seemed apparent that while other teams can compete with the US for a while, the pure athleticsm and depth of the US seems to dominate. That assumes that they play as a unit as well. Spain stayed with the US until the final minutes of the game so all of it wasn't a cake walk.
Other things to I noticed....

• Wade looked really good. Watch out for the Heat this year, Wade looks back to his NBA finals form.
• LeBron was a force. LeBron just dominated the game at times on both sides of the court. We stole the ball, blocked it passed it well, and muscled shots through. I saw one play where the opposing team just hacked him while he was shooting and he went on to muscle through it and make a shot. Not like Jordan did, when he would make a miracluous shot out of nothing, but he just lifted his arms up and shot it like no one had hacked him at all.
• International teams couldnt handle the athleticsm of our big men, particularly Dwight Howard.
• The US definitely took advantage of Intl rules, by taking shots off the rim and pressing their defense harder.
• Chris Paul looked good, but he wasn't able to penetrate as much as he does in the NBA.
• Carlos Boozer must have somehow wronged Coach K because he barely got in.
• How will this effect these players later on in the season? Will there be fatigue issues?

Australia Pic

Giant Spider Thursday

you'll have to check out the picture

http://edwardsvillejournal.stltoday.com/articles/2008/08/14/news/sj2tn20080813-0806edw-giantspider.ii1.txt

The spider just appeared one day, Akins said, hanging from a web.Not fearing the creature, Akins grabbed her camera and took a few pictures of the species.The spider has since disappeared, but Akins sent the photos of the spider to biologists at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

"It's either a pet that got away, or one that hitched a ride on a shipment of goods or produce, possibly from South America," Theodorakis said. "It was probably hidden."

Theodorakis said the wandering spider is a species with a bite that is dangerous to both humans and animals.

Happy Belated Birthday

This is to my friend (and huge Beatles fan) Nikki whose birthday was yesterday. Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday and since she's in Korea right now its two days late.

Foo Fighters

Miscanthus to the rescue?

Surprising Things That Affect Memory(Negatively)
Tofu
Carbohydrates
Hot Flashes
Smoking
Statins (Positively)
Thyroid Disorder
Depression, Anxiety
Chronic Pain
Marital Status (Positively)
Fish (Positively)

'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night

Illini greats to reunite for alumni basketball game

Members of the 2004-05 and 1988-89 Final Four teams are expected to be well-represented. Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head, James Augustine, Roger Powell, Kendall Gill, Stephen Bardo and Kenny Battle have all committed to participate. Others who have confirmed attendance are: Brian Cook, Kiwane Garris, Marcus Griffin, Sergio McClain, Victor Chukwudebe and Frank Williams.

Photo appears to show McCartney at Clear Lake Circle K

News Bits U Of I edition

New ethanol study shows grass outperforms corn

In the largest field trial of its kind in the U.S., researchers at the University of Illinois have determined that the giant perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus outperforms current biofuel sources, including corn and switchgrass, by a large margin. The researchers reported that using Miscanthus as a feedstock for ethanol production in the U.S. could significantly reduce the acreage dedicated to biofuels while still meeting government production goals.

Weber boots Jamar Smith off team, says he had 'no other recourse'

"Jamar's decision to violate the terms of our personal agreement for his potential return to our basketball program has left me with no other recourse but to rescind that opportunity," Weber said in a statement. "At this time, Jamar and his family need to focus their attention on the issues that have brought Jamar to this point.
"For the good of our program and players, we need to move forward and prepare for the 2008-09 season. While Jamar will always be a part of the Illinois basketball family, I have made the decision that he can no longer be a part of our team."


U of I Olympians
Williams' Olympic dreams now reality

Good luck to our Illini Olympians
Justin Spring for gymnastics, Emily Zurrer for soccer, Chris Robinson for baseball, Gakologelwang Masheto for track and field, Kevin Anderson for tennis and Deron Williams for basketball.

Sarah Castle, Patty Cisneros, Carlee Hoffman, Jennifer Ruddell, Emily Hoskins, Christina Ripp, Stephanie Wheeler, Steve Serio, Adam Lancia, Patrick Anderson, Tracey Ferguson, Edina Mueller and Grant Mizens for wheelchair basketball.

Adam Bleakney, Joshua George, Anjali Forber-Pratt, Jessica Galli, Amanda McGrory, Tony Iniguez and Tatyana McFadden for Paralympic track and field.

Kari Miller for sitting volleyball and Norm Lyduch for wheelchair rugby. GO ILLINI!

From Canada to Beijing: The journey of one Illini soccer player
Former Illini tennis star Anderson set to compete at Games