Jan 06, 2009 – Go Long:

ARM – $3.27

EMKR – $1.21

CPE – $3.15

FED – $3.11

SRZ – $1.66

GGP – $1.45

THC – $1.19

KVA – $3.60

HUN – $4.40

I stumbled across that via this io9 post.

Update: more astounding artwork here.

Four days after being implanted, tests revealed that the graft was well vascularized and by one month was indistinguishable from the patient’s native airways.

Since the cells used to seed the matrix were the patient’s own, there was no need for any form of immunosuppression, as the cells present in the graft all expressed the right host antigens, meaning there was no danger of an immune reaction. The implanted graft successfully opened up the patient’s airway and saved her lung, so this study represents a major success for the bioengineering of replacement tissues.

It also appears that the bioengineered replacement airway was created without the use of controversial (in the United States, anyway) stem cells:

A biopsy was taken of the recipient’s lung tissue and bone marrow, and these samples were used to culture epithelial and chondrocytic cells respectively.

The link to the Lancet article seems to be dead at the moment, and my cursory search didn’t turn it up, so hopefully Ars will fix it.

I would add to those a couple phrases I hear almost daily that jangle my spine every time I hear them: “no-brainer” and “It’s my understanding that…”

While the markets around the world are in the shitter and everyone’s ready and waiting for the sun to explode, it seems that they’ve been enjoying a few beers on the way.  I must say that the Bud Light Lime is quite nice.  So I must admit to contributing to Bud’s bottom line.

Follow the link to Mark Perry’s site: http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/11/market-is-down-by-30-but-buds-up-by-30.html

The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) is the premiere undergraduate Synthetic Biology competition. Student teams are given a kit of biological parts at the beginning of the summer from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Working at their own schools over the summer, they use these parts and new parts of their own design to build biological systems and operate them in living cells.

I think there is huge potential for biological machines, something Craig Venter has been talking about for a while, now.

“We’ve invested $80 billion into subsidizing this activity,” he said, referring to tax breaks allowed for 401(k) contributions and savings.

Does it give anyone else pause that a man who believes a “tax break” is an actual investment by government is discussing how to manage “changes in the market”? Money they haven’t taken from you is money they’ve spent? This is Mad Hatter economics.

Wendy’s entire post is well worth the read.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn’t require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

…

Bloomberg News has requested details of the Fed lending under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 7 seeking to force disclosure.

Via Radley Balko.

Sorry for any inconvenience to everyone who took the time to write. Nothing personal. I just screwed up. I’ll be more careful in the future.

“Budget” might well be the dirtiest word in the financial language.

People hate budgets because budgets seem confining. Like diets, budgets are forever begun with grand intentions, only to be quickly ditched when spending restraints seem too much like a yoke preventing you from disbursing your money as you like.

But in today’s environment, where unemployment is on the rise and where consumers are hung over after a multi-year credit binge, a budget is the very tonic many households need. It doesn’t have to be painful if you understand one salient fact: You control your budget; it doesn’t control you.

Every month, you dictate how you spend your limited financial resources. Your budget has no control over that. You can choose to eat out every day, or you can choose to replace your wardrobe, or you can choose to pay off additional principal on your debt balances, or you can choose to afford a getaway over a long weekend. Whatever you want to do with your money, you can do it.

But here’s the catch: You can’t do everything.

That last paragraph is the key. In a word: prioritize. How to prioritize is explained in great detail in the rest of the article.

I don’t personally use a budget, but I’m pretty good about saving and setting money aside for regular large expenses such as taxes, insurance, unforeseen car repairs, etc. but I can certainly see the benefit of having a budget, er, spending plan.

Via LifeHacker.