A 42-year-old in Germany, previously suffering from AIDS, has not had the disease detected in his system for nearly two years following a bone marrow transplant.  According to an article in The Wall Street Journal sent to us by fiveacez :

“… The breakthrough appears to be that Dr. Hütter, a soft-spoken hematologist who isn't an AIDS specialist, deliberately replaced the patient's bone marrow cells with those from a donor who has a naturally occurring genetic mutation that renders his cells immune to almost all strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.”

The mutation is rare, but not exceedingly so.  According to the report, about 1% of Europeans have a natural immunity to most strains of HIV.  On the downside, the transplant itself is also risky, with a mortality rate of 30%.  

Nonetheless, it’s an interesting potential breakthrough in the search for a cure to one of the world’s most deadly diseases.  Definitely give the WSJ article a read for some more details about it.

As you certainly know by now, Barack Obama has been elected as the 44th President of the United States. Above, the Senator from Illinois' acceptance speech from Chicago last night. What are your thoughts on the election? Sound off in the comments :)

Getting the mail usually sucks.  It’s mostly bills, junk, and more bills.  But it could be worse.  A new website lets people send out anonymous letters informing sexual partners that they have an STD.  According to an ABC News article sent to us by daenarys :

“A public health Web site called Inspot.org has put the trend of e-cards, e-mail, and e-vites to a unique purpose: the e-postcard that notifies you that a past sexual partner came down with a sexually transmitted disease or infection.

The sender can choose the STD, and whether to disclose their name, while Inspot.org will automatically send a list of local health resources to the recipient.”

It’s actually all electronic, but the idea of physically opening the mail paints a better picture.  Do you think this is a good way to spread STD awareness, or is it just a cop-out for people that are irresponsible?

Competitive eating has a new gold standard.  A Pennsylvania man put down a 15 pound burger last week in a promotion for a new restaurant.  According to the AP story sent to us by masivemaple:

“It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first person to eat a monstrosity called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds …

… When asked what possessed him to eat a burger that big, Sciullo said: "I wanted to see if I could…”

... The burger included a bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish, pub owner Dennis Liegey said.”

That should be enough calories for a year or two.  If you had to enter a competitive eating event, what type of food would you feast on?

In perhaps the ultimate sign of symbolism for the state of the US economy, the iconic national debt clock in New York City has run out of digits, as the total now surpasses $10 trillion ($10,000,000,000,000).  From the Newsday article sent to us by daenarys:

"The Times Square-area ticker needs two additional digits to track a national debt 100 times larger than the current $10.2 trillion.

As a short-term fix the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock has been switched to a number one - the "1" in $10 trillion. The Durst Organization says it plans to update the sign next year.

The late Manhattan real estate developer Seymour Durst put the sign up in 1989 to call attention to the then-national debt of $2.7 trillion. The clock was turned off during the 1990's when the debt decreased."

Will the US ever get back to a point where the clock can start removing digits? 

The animal rights group PETA thinks enough is enough.  Instead of using cows for the milk that makes ice cream, the group is urging Ben & Jerry’s to use nursing moms for milk … really.  According to an article sent to us by blueeyedtawni :

“People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the ice cream maker to begin using breast milk in its products instead of cow's milk, saying it would reduce the suffering of cows and calves and give ice cream lovers a healthier product.

The idea got a cool reception Thursday from Ben & Jerry's officials, the company's customers and even La Leche League International, the world's oldest breast-feeding support organization, which promotes the practice — for babies, anyway …

…Ashley Byrne, a campaign coordinator for PETA, acknowledged the implausibility of substituting breast milk for cow's milk, but said it's no stranger than humans consuming the milk of another species.”

Implausible is right.  According to the article, it takes 1 and a half gallons of milk to make one gallon of ice cream.  The ethical treatment of animals is generally a good cause, but, proposing silly moves that obviously won’t happen just makes PETA look like it isn’t a serious organization.  

A lot of us probably wish we could get a second chance at high school, but a Wisconsin woman has taken it to the extreme, stealing her daughter’s identity so she could re-enter high school and pursue a spot on the cheerleading team.  According to the AP:

"Wendy Brown, of Green Bay, faces a felony identity theft charge after enrolling in Ashwaubenon High School as her 15-year-old daughter, who lives in Nevada with Brown's mother.

According to the complaint, Brown wanted to get her high school degree and become a cheerleader because she didn't have a childhood and wanted to regain a part of her life that she'd missed …

… If convicted, she could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine."

Really, this story is pretty sad, but it does raise a fun question: if you could go back to high school (if you’re not still in it … legally!) what would you do differently?