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Annalee Newitz, i09.com: Evolutionary changes are supposed to take place gradually and randomly, under pressure from natural selection. But a team of Princeton scientists investigating a group of proteins that help cells burn energy stumbled across evidence that this is not how evolution works.In fact, their discovery could revolutionize the way we understand evolutionary processes. They have evidence that organisms actually have the ability to control their own evolution.Let's get a few possible misconceptions out of the way first. The Princeton group, composed of researchers Raj Chakrabarti, Herschel Rabitz, Stacey Springs and George McLendon, haven't proven that intelligent design is a valid scientific theory. Nor are they claiming that DNA is making a set of conscious decisions about growing extra legs or wings (though that would admittedly be cool).What they are saying is that evolution is not entirely random, as Darwin believed.
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Canada Free Press: With all eyes on the Big O's Office of the President-elect, very few know that the Port of Los Angeles — the nation's largest — is now effectively under the control of the Peoples Republic of China.The Port has purchased with $1.7 million American tax dollars via a "port security grant" awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland security, a mobile X-ray scanning system, mounted on a Mack Truck chassis. The scanning system is owned by Nuctech Company Limited, owned outright by Hu Haifeng, the son of Chinese President Hu Jintao.Sated with their Obama victory, the mainstream media is asleep at the switch, but eagle eye Lou Dobbs is flagging the America public's attention:
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LA Times: With only 1,448 days left before the 2012 election, you-know-who is making plans to launch another long-shot campaign for the presidency. So much can happen Texas Representative and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul ponders another White House run in 2012 before Nov. 6, 2012: Hillary Clinton could be on the Supreme Court. Her husband could be getting $400,000 per speech.There'll be yet another James Bond actor. Shrek IX will be showing. And Harry Reid will be scowling. Still. Also, you can bet Rep. Ron Paul will be running for the White House again, probably as a Republican. Not so much to actually win, mind you; RP runs to make a point about less government and foreign intervention.And anyway by then, at age 77 Paul will be the second oldest guy to launch a losing presidential campaign, behind only Ralph.
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David Shiga, New Scientist: WANTED: Rocky planet outside of our solar system. Must not be too hot or too cold, but just the right temperature to support life.It sounds like a simple enough wish list, but finding a planet that fulfils all of these criteria has kept astronomers busy for decades. Until recently, it meant finding a planet in the "Goldilocks zone" - orbiting its star at just the right distance to keep surface water liquid rather than being boiled off or frozen solid.Now, though, it's becoming increasingly clear that the question of what makes a planet habitable is not as simple as finding it in just the right spot. Many other factors, including a planet's mass, atmosphere, composition and the way it orbits its nearest star, can all influence whether it can sustain liquid water, an essential ingredient for life as we know it. As astronomers explore newly discovered planets and create computer simulations of virtual worlds, they are discovering that water, and life, might exist on all manner of weird worlds where conditions are very different from those on Earth. And that means there could be vastly more habitable planets out there than we thought