Mousy Mittens

For both all of my loyal readers...

A gift, handmade by Ms. Ether.

Keep those paws warm!!

Revenge of the Rodents

From arkansasmatters.com:

Mice Start Deadly Fire That Kills 100 Cats at Shelter

Reported by: RNS

Saturday, Dec 20, 2008 @11:25am CST

Canadian authorities say mice were responsible for starting a fire that killed about 100 cats at an animal shelter.

The "Toronto Star" reports the 250-thousand-dollar blaze is still under investigation, but preliminary reports suggest it began from mice chewing through electrical wires.

Several rabbits and rodents also died in the fire but firefighters were able to save nine dogs.

While many flooded the shelter's website with donations, some are questioning why the animals were left unattended overnight.

According to the shelter's manager, it can't afford an overnight staff.

The eternal struggle

Man's inhumanity to mouse, or what to do with too much time (and technology) on your hands.

http://www.baynesolutions.net/mouse/FirstContact.aspx

Note: Contains some four-letter words and depictions of violence against mice.

Gourmet Mice

Police have seized 2,010 rounds of Parmigiano-Reggiano valued at over $1,000,000 from a warehouse in Parma, Italy. The cheese, nearly 80 tons of it, is being evaluated to determine if it is fit for human consumption after an infestation of mice was discovered. At least 29 of the cheeses had mouse tooth marks.

Grate that on your pasta and eat it.

Sources: here, here, and here.

Glow in the Dark Mice

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to scientists who took a fluorescent protein from jellyfish and developed a technique to tag proteins with it, "shedding light," so to speak, on countless biological processes. One of those scientists, Osamu Shimomura, writes here about the early days of that research, cutting up jellyfish and extracting the protein.

And here is an example of an application of that technique, with some surprising findings about stem cells:

Happy Birthday Mickey!

The most famous mouse of all made his debut on November 18, 1928, in Steamboat Willie.

Walt Disney, who provided Mickey's first voice, had originally intended to call him Mortimer.

Imagine the theme song:

M-O-R-T Tea and scones anyone?
I-M-E-R Are you sure?

Page 56 Meme

Thanks to QuakerDave, I finally have a meme I can do.

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions on your blog (or Facebook wall).
* Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here's mine:

"Stereocilia increase the surface area of the epithelium for absorption."

Oh, what a fascinating life I lead...

Tag, you're it.