Artificial Meat!

Posted February 2, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: cool things, research, science, strange

Tags: , ,

– – Eat your cruelty-free artificial meat…for once, no animals were harmed in its creation!

This isn’t that awful tofu, soy, or gluten stuff, either…nope, this artificial meat, also known as vitro meat or cultured meat is animal flesh that has never been part of a complete, living animal!  In vitro meat is laboratory-grown meat using animal stem cells that would be placed in a medium to grow and reproduce.  The result would mimic flesh and could be cooked and eaten.   Potentially, any animal’s muscle tissue could be grown through the in vitro process.

Some scientists say the technology is almost ready for commercial use and simply needs a company to back it.  Cultured meat is currently prohibitively expensive, but it is anticipated that the cost could be reduced to about twice as expensive as say, conventionally-produced chicken.  Some promising steps have been made towards the technology, but we’re still a few years away from having in vitro meat available to the general public.

PETA is offering a one million dollar reward to the first scientist to produce and bring in vitro meat to market…and the first generation products would most likely be minced meat.- -That’s right, think Spam, vienna sausages, etc…yummers! Meat grown in vats may be necessary, however, to feed the nine billion people who are expected to be alive by the year 2050…

Bomb-Sniffing Plants!

Posted January 31, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: Brilliant but twisted, science, strange

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– – Will bomb-sniffing plants guard the airports of the future?- -One can only hope so!- -Consider the possibilities!

Audrey II:- – Hold it, Towel-head the Terrorist!  You ain’t boardin’ that flight, not on my watch, no sir-eee!- -Feed me, Security!- -HAHAHA!

Achmed the Terrorist:- – By the beard of the Prophet, I am undone! –Aieee!

Normally on Foxsylvania, we consider fauna, not flora…but this is too cool to pass up!  Researchers at Colorado State University have manipulated a plant so that it turns white when it detects even trace amounts of TNT in the air.  The plant has been genetically rewired so that chlorophyll drains off from the plant, leaving it a stark white when specific materials are detected.  The redesigned plants are also 100 times more sensitive than a bomb-sniffing dog!

While the plant currently has a response time of several hours, it is hoped that this can be refined to a few minutes over the next several years, and that such plants could serve as sentinels at airports in the future…

Fur Wars…

Posted January 29, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, animals, movies

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– – Even the Dark Lord of the Sith is no match for the Power of the Fur!


Psychic Furries…

Posted January 27, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animals, furry, psychology

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– – About two-thirds of U.S. pet owners say that their animals have a sixth sense about bad weather, while 43 percent say that their pets can sense bad news.

An Associated Press-related poll shows that 72% of dog owners report weather warnings from their dogs, whereas 66% of cat owners relate the same.  The same poll relates that 47% of dog owners and 41% of cat owners say that they have gotten bad news alerts from their pets.

How do furry seers relate these things?  Sixty-four percent of those polled say that their pets hide, fifty-six percent say that their pets whine or cry, 52 percent say that they become hyperactive, erratic, or make unpredictable movements, and 36 percent say that their animals bark or meow persistently.

Don’t believe that animals have a sixth sense?- -Oh, Nostradalmatian knew that some humans were going to say that!

Life Imitates Art!

Posted January 25, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animals, scalies, strange happenings

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– – Those of you familiar with Peter Pan or the movie Hook may recall how a crocodile was Captain Hook’s nemesis, but his approach could be detected by the pirate owing to the ticking of an alarm clock swallowed by the reptile.  The presence of this foreign body did not otherwise adversely affect the croc outside of diminishing his chances of a pirate supper.

Well, Peter Pan was nowhere in sight, but life imitated art when a 14-year-old crocodile called Gena at an aquarium in the Ukraine indigested a cell phone dropped by a woman as she attempted to photograph the croc!  The Nokia phone started ringing afterwards inside of Gena’s stomach (now that’s quality!), and the croc has since been refusing food and acting listless.  Even worse, the croc hasn’t had a BM in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain since consuming the phone.

Hoping that all things will pass, doctors tried to feed Gena quail laced with vitamins and laxatives, but he didn’t take the bait.  The crocodile will be taken for an X-ray next week if he continues to refuse food.  Surgery is a last resort as incisions and stitches take at least three weeks to heal in reptiles, and the procedure is dangerous for both the animal and the vets.

The crocodile in Peter Pan, by the way, had bitten off one of Captain Hook’s hands and wanted to continue the banquet.- -Aren’t kiddie stories great?!


Canine CPR

Posted January 23, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, cool things, strange

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– – Say hello to “Casper,”  the dog in extreme distress…but don’t worry, he isn’t real!  The cadaverous-looking canine is a manikin or “simulator” used to teach handlers how to perform CPR on and revive a dog.

A top security dog can be valued at up to $35,000, so such courses are in demand among law enforcement,  military, and security professionals.  Commercially-available canine simulators for “mouth-to-snout” training range in price from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Weighing in at around seven pounds, the vinyl puppy Casper plays dead very well, and doesn’t mind when humans slobber on him…

“Being Human” Works!

Posted January 21, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: Brilliant but twisted, cool things, television

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– – Those fortunate enough to catch the Syfy Channel’s premiere of Being Human (“There Goes The Neighborhood,  Part I”) caught an appealing show with a promising furry character that I’ll most certainly follow.- -Hey, any show featuring a werewolf, vampire, and ghost as the central characters already has me captivated from the onset!

Josh the werewolf is certainly my favorite character, being a nervous, nerdy, and conflicted individual who hasn’t had sex in two years and wakes up naked following one transformation next to a partly-consumed deer.  He makes quite an impression in a floral print dress he steals from a clothesline to cover his nakedness following the episode.  Josh’s relationship with the vampiric character Aidan is enjoyable and strangely believable.  Add a novice ghost called Sally who’s still coming to terms with her status and capabilities, and you have roommates far more interesting than the old Three’s Company trio.

With drama, good characterization, and decent writing,  Being Human isn’t just your typical paranormal show…


Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing!

Posted January 19, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furry commercials, television

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– – It’s Ellie the Elephant, and this perky pachyderm swings out of the jungle in the newest GE Ecomagination commercial to a pulsing soundtrack of the Benny Goodman jazz standard, Sing, Sing, Sing.

Jiving past jet engines and electric car charging stations,  this baby’s got what it takes and she knows how to move it…and as a side benefit the hot licks accompanying her may just interest some of the younger audience in the best of swing jazz…

Every Picture Tells A Story…

Posted January 17, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry, furry stories, Off-topic

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The hunter grinned complacently with his trophy, unaware that the panther was soon to avenge the death of his friend, the elk…

…human cruelty was legendary, and it would go hard but the feline would better the instruction…

Cross-Eyed Heidi…

Posted January 15, 2011 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, anomalies, furry

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– – Not to be confused with Cross-Eyed Mary,  Heidi is a cross-eyed opossum who lives at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany.  Originally from Denmark, Heidi is both adorable and cross-eyed, a condition which would make her more vulnerable to predators in the wilderness.

Heidi is not in any danger at the zoo, however, and her optical flaw is painless while of unknown origin.  She follows in the legacy of other adored and well-known German animals that have recently included Paul the psychic octopus (RIP) and Knut the polar bear…

…Heidi should not be confused with cats that look like Hitler…