Monday, October 23, 2006

News of the Day 10-23-06

More on getting fruit flies drunk. Turns out that genes may modify their expression after alcohol exposure, which may affect metabolism, which may affect sensitivity/tolerance to alcohol, which may mean some people (fruit flies' cousins) are more genetically predisposed to alcoholism (and more susceptible to genetic treatment). TECHNOCORRECTIONS!!! . . . Speaking of drunk, some defense attorneys in NM are challenging the state's breath-testing system, which, due to the few real experts in the state, might effectively affect some cases. (Sorry, just have a picture in my head of fruit flies breathing into a tube . . .). . . And here, MA joins states trying to restrict sex offenders' proximityy even to school bus stops, which is, of course, the final nail in the offenders' being able to live anywhere near civilization if they decide to play it straight. Please understand--I agree that heinous sex offenders are not good people (we're not talking 18-year-olds with 15-year-old sweeties here). But these measures are so clearly counter-productive in their eventual results that MA and the other states will cause more horrible victimizations, not fewer. Please. Please. Talk to Kim English at the CO Statistical Analysis Center. There are better ways.

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