RTFA: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7711763.s…

Best-selling author Michael Crichton has died in Los Angeles aged 66 after a “courageous and private battle against cancer”, his family has said.

He penned Jurassic Park, as well as books like Congo and Disclosure, all of which were adapted into films.

His books have sold more than 150m copies. He also created the long-running US hospital TV drama ER.

RIP

RTFA: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/589…

Tobacco, which has a gained a reputation as a cause of cancer, may soon earn some praise rather than recrimination after being used by McCormick et al. to manufacture patient-specific vaccines against follicular B cell lymphoma see the figure 1.

Follicular lymphomas are a subtype of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States 2, and are a malignant disease of the lymphatic system that originates from cells of the immune system lymphocytes. The administration of a tobacco-derived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma vaccine a single-chain segment of an antibody protein in a human clinical trial resulted in immune responses in more than 70% of the patients. A majority of patients showed a cellular immune response, suggesting that the vaccine specifically directs the immune system to attack cancer cells. The study not only demonstrates the safety and efficacy of the plant-made protein, but represents the first time that such responses have been observed using a subcutaneously administered antibody-based vaccine in the absence of a carrier protein which typically boosts the immune response and has been used in all previous clinical studies. Bayer AG, a major pharmaceutical company, has acquired the supporting data from the new study, and very recently announced the opening of a production facility that will use tobacco to manufacture biopharmaceuticals, the first of which will be a candidate patient-specific antibody vaccine for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma therapy.

Now this is pure irony. And everyone likes cures for cancer! As for big business, the tobacco lobbyists can sleep well again.

RTFA: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-570043150…

Almost all of us have childhood dreams: for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center (etc.cmu.edu), of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams. This talk will discuss how I achieved my childhood dreams (being in zero gravity, designing theme park rides for Disney, and a few others), and will contain realistic advice on how *you* can live your life so that you can make your childhood dreams come true, too.

Oh boy – this is tricky… I have fond memories of ETC’s purple curtains – theirs was arguably the coolest, most surreal space on campus. I can’t watch this right now – it’s not a matter of time, but one of building up to it. I am posting this now for anyone else who needs to know.