Quoted: GFP is different. Once a cell produces it, some of the amino acids that make up the core of the protein undergo a series of spontaneous reactions that require only oxygen. This ultimately produces a structure in the protein that can absorb ultraviolet light and emit a bright shade of green in response. Because only oxygen is required for this reaction, any cell that can produce GFP, from bacteria to humans, can potentially glow green. Because no extra processing is needed, even living cells can be imaged using GFP.

Quoted: On Tuesday, Microsoft said it would co-fund an initiative with several universities in order to find scientific evidence that supports the use of games as a learning tool.

Quoted: As I write this, the dow is down 430 points, below 10,000 for the first time in four years. Tyler Cowen has published his list of what went wrong, with which I largely concur. Another way to think about it is as a series of cognitive errors that afflicted everyone: investors, home buyers, lenders, regulators. They're standard cognitive errors that so far, no one has a very good way of eradicating:

Quoted: The judge said there was no evidence the detainees, who have been held at Guantanamo for nearly seven years, were "enemy combatants" or a security risk, and that the U.S. Constitution prohibits indefinite detention without cause.

Quoted: But what about Palin? Can you imagine the reaction of the press corps if Clinton had given the audience a hi-ya-sailor wink? Can you imagine the feverish blogging across the political spectrum if Clinton had claimed credit for stopping a bridge that, in fact, had set her heart aflutter? What if she showed she didn't know squat about the Constitution, if she could not tell Katie Couric what newspapers or magazines she reads or if she claimed intimacy with foreign relations based on sighting Russia through binoculars?

I only counted 8, but oh well.

Quoted: If, as Paul Valéry put it, “the artist’s whole business is to make something out of nothing,” then, unable to meet this demand, he will find himself wandering alone among the shadows cast by the world he forsook in order to salvage his freedom and creativity.

This map shows electoral college results all the way back to George Washington

Quoted: Interactive map for the upcoming 2008 presidential election. Use it to predict which candidate will reach the necessary 270 electoral votes. The road map to 270 lets you see all remaining combinations. Historical maps and state facts provide a history of all prior elections.

Quoted: I'm a fan of Thatcher; I revere her; she saved my native country; she didn't just break a glass ceiling, she pulverized it into a million little pieces. And she did this, whatever you think of her policies, by always being accountable, always available, always engaged, always eager for an argument on the toughest of grounds, armed with facts and figures and passion. Democracies allow citizens as well as the press to question their potential leaders - rudely, aggressively, relentlessly. The exchange above was one of her lowest points, and she had many high ones. The reason I'm posting this is to remind American voters what a real democracy sounds like.
The horrifying sequestering of Sarah Palin from a press conference and anything like this kind of public interrogation is a scandal. Thatcher was already prime minister, about to be re-elected in a landslide when this debate happened. And she was happy to be subjected to this from an average citizen. This is what feminism looks like in action - from citizen to leader. It's important to remember how deep a decline in female political equality Sarah Palin represents.