A Ton of Crap (127 page)

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
An induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) is an adult cell that is reprogrammed into an embryonic cell-like state with the use of viruses. This is done by forcing the cell to express factors and genes that are important for keeping the important properties of embryonic stem cells. Scientists do not know if embryonic stem cells and iPSCs differ in any important ways. Use of iPSCs has been very important in developing drugs and modeling diseases. Scientists hope to use iPSCs with transplantations. Using the viruses to change the adult cells needs further studying, however. Scientists have noticed that introduction of the viruses can cause cancers.

SPIRITUALISM, MEDIUMS, AND TALKING TO THE DEAD

Houdini’s Quest
Famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini made it a lifetime goal of his to debunk mediums and show the world that they were fraudulent. He would attend several séances dressed in disguise and expose their tricks to reporters and policemen. He even hired researchers to learn about the psychics in the audience of his performances, so that when it was show time, he would invite them to the stage and outsmart them. Houdini began to include in his own performances the how-to process of creating a séance. Before Houdini died, he told his wife that if it was possible to communicate to the dead, he would pass a code on to her. On the tenth anniversary of his death, Houdini’s wife held a séance on the radio. After none of the mediums could break the code (though they claimed to), Harry’s wife said that Houdini did not come through and that it was finished.

Y2K

Errors from Y2K
Though the crisis was averted, there were some errors that occurred on January 1, 2000. A webpage on the national weather forecasting system of France showed a map with the date 01/01/19100. On the website of the U.S. Naval Observatory (where the official time of the country is kept), the date was reported as Jan. 1, 19100. In Japan, equipment that monitored radiation stopped working at midnight and an alarm went off at a nuclear power plant. In two states of Australia, machines used for validating bus tickets stopped working.

JOSEPH PULITZER

Pulitzer Prize
Joseph Pulitzer died at the age of sixty-four in 1911. In Pulitzer’s will, he made very specific provisions for the creation of a prize; however, he allowed for changes to occur. The prizes would be four awards in journalism, four awards in letters and drama, four scholarships, and one award in education. The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in 1917. The Board of the Pulitzer Prize has since made additional awards, including categories like music, online journalism, and multimedia. The Pulitzer Prize has even been given to cartoonists.

PRIME NUMBERS

Prime Gaps
When there is a sequence of numbers and there are no prime numbers that show up, it is called a prime gap. Another way to think of prime gaps is it is the difference between two successive numbers that are prime. For example:

Primes: 2 3 5 7 11 13 17…

Gaps: 1 2 2 4 2 4….

Mathematically, this is written as:
g
_n
=
P
<sub>n
+ 1</sub>
–
P
_n

In this formula,
g
_n
is the
n
th prime gap and
P
_n
represents the
n
th prime number.

STEM CELLS

Uses of Stem Cells
Stem cells can be used for a wide variety of things. Human stem cells can be used when testing drugs. For example, stem cells are currently used for screening anti-tumor drugs. Perhaps the most impressive way stem cells can be used, however, is for cell-based therapies. Stem cells offer the possibility of renewing and replacing cells and even generating tissues. This would allow treatment of ailments and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, stroke, heart disease, burns, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis by healing destroyed tissue.

SPIRITUALISM, MEDIUMS, AND TALKING TO THE DEAD

How to Conduct a Séance

Step 1.
Gather your participants (there should be at least three people) around a round table. The table makes a symbolic circle that is needed.

Step 2.
Choose your medium. It can be a person among your group or someone who has had experience talking with the dead.

Step 3.
Place a simple, natural food that is aromatic at the center of the table and light candles (at least three—the more the better) and dim the lights.

Step 4.
Sit around the table and join hands.

Step 5.
To summon the spirit, the medium must say: “Our beloved [name of the spirit], we bring you gifts from life into death. Commune with us, [name of the spirit], and move among us.” Wait for something to happen. If nothing happens, repeat Step 5.

Step 6.
When there is communication, have your medium ask simple questions with yes or no answers (one noise for yes, two noises for no).

Step 7.
If the situation gets out of control and you need to end the séance, break the circle, put out the candles, and turn on the lights. If not out of control and you have finished your questions, thank the spirit, tell them to go in peace, break the circle, put out the candles, and turn on the lights.

1. Y2K was a problem because computers would interpret the year 2000 as:
   

   1. The Year 0
      
   2. The Year 1000
      
   3. The Year 1900
      
   4. The Year 100
      

2. What was the purpose of the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act?
   

   1. To establish a system that monitored Internet activity
      
   2. To promote the sharing of information related to the Y2K problem from the private sector
      
   3. To assemble the other countries of the world and discuss Y2K
      
   4. To put an end to the private sector
      

3. Pulitzer made the
   New York World
   focus on scandals, sensationalized stories, and:
   

   1. Economics
      
   2. Poverty
      
   3. Sports
      
   4. Human-interest pieces
      

4. Yellow Kid was the first:
   

   1. Investigative journalist
      
   2. Comic strip character published in newspapers
      
   3. Newspaper Joseph Pulitzer purchased
      
   4. Book awarded the Pulitzer Prize
      

5. What is important about Euclid’s theorem?
   

   1. It provided a formula that would only find prime numbers.
      
   2. It found the largest known prime.
      
   3. It created trial division.
      
   4. It proved that there is an infinite amount of prime numbers.
      

6. To use trial division, you have to:
   

   1. Divide by all of the prime numbers
      
   2. Multiply by all of the prime numbers
      
   3. Divide by all of the numbers that are not prime
      
   4. Multiply by all of the numbers that are not prime
      

7. Which of the following is a property of a stem cell?
   

   1. The ability to divide and renew itself over a long period of time
      
   2. Not having a specialization
      
   3. The ability to create a specialized cell
      
   4. All of the above
      

8. What is differentiation?
   

   1. The process of creating a specialized cell from an unspecialized cell
      
   2. The process of creating an unspecialized cell from a specialized cell
      
   3. The process of turning an adult cell into an embryonic cell
      
   4. The process of turning an embryonic cell into an adult cell
      

9. What is clairsentience?
   

   1. Seeing the spirit
      
   2. Hearing the spirit
      
   3. Sensing the thoughts and presence of the spirit
      
   4. Having your body overcome by the spirit
      

10. What is clairvoyance?
    

    1. Seeing the spirit
       
    2. Hearing the spirit
       
    3. Sensing the thoughts and presence of the spirit
       
    4. Having your body overcome by the spirit