Last February I posted on my blog the following musings on a manned mission to Mars. The central feature is a permanent space station that could leave Earth orbit and travel to Mars and other spots within a reasonable distance.
The space station (termed “Habitation Module”) would not move under its own power (except for maneuvering thrusters), but would be pushed by a second craft docked to the rear. The mission also involves a third craft, capable of landing on Mars, returning to the HM, and then landing on Earth.
Then there’s the matter of launching the “Interplanetary Launch Vehicle” and the lander. The latter would have to be launched from Earth every time a crew is sent up, obviously. Originally, I had the ILV leaving Earth every time there’s a mission; in retrospect, the feasibility of launching it only once and sending a “tanker” into orbit to fuel the ILV might be looked into.
So without any further ado…

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The Catholic Church came under fire recently when a BBC report quoted that “cardinals, bishops, priests and nuns in four continents of the church have been quoted as saying HIV can pass through tiny holes in condoms.”
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez appeared on the program stating, “The AIDS virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon…The spermatozoon can easily pass through the ‘net’ that is formed by the condom.”
Where did Lopez and others get this idea? Turn to Catholic.org’s apologetics section. Included in the page on Contraception is the following passage, taken from Briefing Paper No. 4, Bishops’ Conference of Scotland:

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…so feast yer eyes on the colorful Trifid Nebula.

Totally fascinating article by Tony Blankley about new Chinese advances in cloning. Blankley makes a point that may get him into trouble with his conservative brethren on many points:
[I]t is already known that the ASPM gene on human chromosome No. 1 regulates the number of times neuronal stem cells divide inside the embryonic brain about two weeks after conception, thus determining the number of neurons the adult brain will have. Assuming proper synapse, the more neurons, the higher the potential intelligence of the individual. Of course, environment also plays a measurable part in usable human intelligence — but if the genetic part can be manipulated upward on an “industrial” basis in a population — there will probably prove to be no reason why, within a few decades, a group of super intelligent people could not be formed. Moreover, bio-engineering may be able to physically improve man across the entire spectrum of our functions — yielding extraordinary economic as well as strategic advantages. (Neanderthal man was a magnificently successful early man. But when he met the more intelligent CroMagnon man, he quickly went extinct.)
Of course, mistakes will be made. Island of Dr. Moreau-like monsters may well be formed. God may punish a people who presume to tinker with his handiwork. But, as the Chinese push forward, hell-bent for industrial levels of genetic manipulation and cloning, supported by the massive bioengineering research they are now beginning to fund, American voters and congressmen will have to balance their strong ethical and religious revulsion of cloning against the danger of being surpassed by a gene-manipulated super-race. John Kennedy won the presidency in 1960 warning of a missile gap with the Soviets. Will some future president win on the warning of a brain gap with the Red Chinese?

Didja see this article about the sound that black holes make?
Evidently, it’s a low moaning noise, about 57 octaves below Middle C.
It’s a couple billion light years from Earth, more or less. It’s such a low tone, most people can’t even hear it.
I guess now we know what happened to Barry White.
Update: Upon further review:

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Jim Holtsorts through the evidence, or lack thereof, for multiple universes.

Skin-care products made with stem cells.
Expect much howling from the usual quarters.

Collin Levey on the Institute of Medicine’s new nutritional guidelines for women, whether expecting or not:
Pregnant women have become as defenseless as smokers, another group that has allowed itself to be pushed around by society without pushing back. This might seem a good thing, since the health of “our children” is at stake. But pushing back might serve a useful purpose: It would help bring out how flimsily based is the claim that many newly unpopular social habits are harmful to the unborn.
I use the word with deliberate irony: Apparently a woman has the right to do anything she wants with her body, except drink wine, smoke cigarettes or now have milk with her cereal. She can abort her unwanted child if she wants, but in the meantime the Institute of Medicine plans to strike whole food groups from the national menu in case she doesn’t.
Freedom for some but not for all. Now why does that sound familiar?

First SARS, now it looks like Canada has its first diagnosed case of mad-cow disease.An American ban on Canadian beef follows posthaste.
I would worry about that burger I ate at the Old Orchard Pub in Montreal, but I think I probably disinfected it with the copious quantities of alcohol I drank.