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Couch Potato Gene Identified In Fruit Flies

Pickens writes "University of Pennsylvania biologists have discovered a mutation in fruit flies aptly named the 'couch potato' gene that allows them to simply chill out — entering a mild state of quasi-hibernation known as diapause, when winter arrives. 'It's not like they're bears sleeping in a cave,' says Paul Schmidt. 'They just look like they're a little bit more sluggish.' The couch potato gene, first discovered in the early 1990s, got its nickname because flies with mutations in the gene became really sluggish and behaved abnormally. Little is known about the underlying evolutionary genetic architecture but in diapause, the slacking off is far less severe, the flies' bodily functions slow down, and they are better able to tolerate stress.

Vicar hospitalised with potato up his bum

A vicar claims a potato got stuck up his bottom after he fell on to the vegetable while hanging curtains in the nude.

A political hot potato gone cold

Had it been staged during Tony Blair's last days in Downing Street, when the cops were regularly calling round for a cosy chat, this drama about Labour Party funding and dodgy connections with the filthy rich would have seemed a very hot potato indeed.

Ig Nobels Salute Stranger Side Of Science

What do studies on potato chips, puzzle-solving slime mold and jumping fleas have in common? Each was awarded an Ig Nobel prize this year by the editors of the humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research.

Federal Circuit Kills Conflict Claim in IP Case

Thanks to the "thrust upon" exception to the so-called "hot potato gambit," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Thursday that Townsend and Townsend and Crew could not be disqualified from a patent case (pdf).

PlayStation 3 morphs gamers into developers

While the stereotype of a video game player is that of a couch potato staring blankly at a screen with two thumbs twiddling a controller, one games developer is taking a punt that there is more going on in the gamer’s grey matter than shoot-run-jump, shoot-run-jump.

To counter problems of global hunger, try spuds

A vendor lay smoking amid bags of potatoes in Shanxi Province, China, this month as he awaited customers. Potato production has risen sharply in China.

Mac Kernel Panic Strikes iPhone, PC Feels Vindicated

After being ridiculed for its stability problems and publicly scorned for the Blue Screen of Death by everyone, including—Mrs. Potato head—PC must be really happy today. Specially since this giant iPhone display stuck with a Mac OS X kernel panic was running in a AT&T shop, which abandoned their Windows-based iPhone promo screens for these models running Mac OS X. Or trying to. [MacSoda]

Rooftop farmers help cool down Tokyo

In the midst of the concrete jungle: (Above) Staff of NTT Facilities, Junko Kariu (L) and Masahiro Nagata (R), check the rooftop potato farm in Tokyo. (Right) Tomatoes are displayed at a vegetable plant in a demonstration room of the Pasona O2, a state-of-the-art farm located in Tokyo. Picture: AFP

Biological diversity: Pakistan to sign Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety convention

ISLAMABAD (November 22 2008): Pakistan is to ratify Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety convention on biological diversity after which it will be able to have modified products like BT cotton, bio-fertiliser, virus-free seed and potato etc. The issue had been placed before the cabinet a couple of weeks ago, which questioned the officials of Environment Ministry for proposing a pact, which has not even been signed by the United States.

Copyright documentary illuminates the issue

With the Conservative government engaged in a power struggle with the Liberals and NDP, the furthest thing from anyone's mind on Parliament Hill these days is copyright reform. The issue, which has clearly been the biggest political hot potato of the year when it comes to technology, isn't likely to get much attention until the government drama is settled, whenever that may happen.

Gethsemane by David Hare - review

Had it been staged during Tony Blair's last days in Downing Street, when the cops were regularly calling round for a cosy chat, this drama about Labour Party funding and dodgy connections with the filthy rich would have seemed a very hot potato indeed.

Nov 18, 2008 Amsterdam Museum to Present Van Gogh At Night Exhibit

The first exhibition to focus on Van Gogh’s twilight and nocturnal scenes will be on view in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam from Feb. 13 to June 7. Tickets went on sale on Nov. 15. The show will feature works such as “The Starry Night,� “Eugène Boch� and “The Potato Eaters.� This is the first show to be devoted exclusively to the evening and nighttime scenes by Vincent van Gogh, with the Van Gogh Museum being the only European venue for this unique exhibition concept. Twilight and the night is a prominent theme throughout Van Gogh’s oeuvre. Van Gogh viewed the evening and the night as a time for reflection and creativity, a time particularly suitable for mulling over the day’s events. Visitors from all over the world can buy tickets online for the exhibition Van Gogh and the colors of the night via www.

Why Poppies Have One Flower Per Stalk and Tomatoes Have Many

Why do poppies and sunflowers grow as a single flower per stalk while each stem of a tomato plant has several branches, each carrying flowers? Dr. Zachary Lippman and colleagues have identifed a genetic mechanism that determines the pattern of flower growth in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family of plants that includes tomato, potato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco, petunia, and deadly nightshades.

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