Sunday News Post: 31/01/2016

Scientists get 'gene editing' go-ahead

It is the first time a country has considered the DNA-altering technique in embryos and approved it.

The research will take place at the Francis Crick Institute in London and aims to provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life.

It will be illegal for the scientists to implant the modified embryos into a woman.

But the field is attracting controversy over concerns it is opening the door to designer - or GM - babies.

DNA is the blueprint of life - the instructions for building the human body. Gene editing allows the precise manipulation of DNA.

In a world-first last year, scientists in China announced they had carried out gene editing in human embryos to correct a gene that causes a blood disorder.

Opinion:

This is an important step in human evolution, this kind of work will allow sufferer's of hereditary diseases to not pass on those same genes to their children. It is a cause for concern in another sense as in the future if this is to become a common thing it could allow people to design their baby and could create a whole industry much like dog breeding of attempting to create the perfect human, or even worse attempt to create certain traits that could confuse what it is to be Human.

Sunday News Post: 17/01/2016

Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan's first female president

Ms Tsai, 59, leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that wants independence from China.

In her victory speech, she vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan's democracy and both sides must ensure there are no provocations.

China sees the island as a breakaway province - which it has threatened to take back by force if necessary.

In her speech, Ms Tsai hailed a "new era" in Taiwan and pledged to co-operate with other political parties on major issues.

The will of the Taiwanese people would be the basis for relations with China, Ms Tsai said.

Opinions: 

Having won by a 3 million vote margin it is clear what the Taiwanese people want from this new government, however it will be difficult to push for complete independence as China is not likely to give up. Remaining on good terms with China is important, so it will be difficult to find a happy medium. 

W.O.W: Disney and Sony

   On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Both Marvel and Disney stated that the merger would not affect any pre-existing deals with other film studios for the time being, although Disney said they would distribute future Marvel projects with their own studios once the deals expired.


Discussions relating to the possibility of The Walt Disney Company purchasing Lucasfilm officially began in May 2011. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, as well as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock.



In 2006, Disney ultimately agreed to buy Pixar for approximately $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal. Following Pixar shareholder approval, the acquisition was completed May 5, 2006. The transaction catapulted Steve Jobs, who was the majority shareholder of Pixar with 50.1%, to Disney's largest individual shareholder with 7% and a new seat on its board of directors.

Sunday News Post: 10/01/2016

For the first time in 41 years, nobody made it to the summit of Mount Everest in 2015, in spite of record numbers trying.

For the first time since 1974, nobody climbed to the top of Mount Everest last year.

In spite of being the subject of a major movie, the world's tallest peak remained untouched by human beings, as a series of tragedies and avalanches led to the mountain being effectively shut off.

Commercial organisations were stopped from bringing expeditions to the mountain, in the aftermath of the horrific earthquake that killed thousands in Nepal in April 2015.

At least 24 people were killed on Everest that month in the aftermath of the earthquake, which in turned had caused a major avalanche on the mountain. It's the highest annual death toll amongst those tackling Everest.

As National Geographic reported, 359 people - a record number - gathered at base camp at the start of 2015's climbing season. Yet April's tragedy, a second earthquake that followed in May, and broken ladders, led to each of them abandoning their plans to reach the top.

Opinions:

Following the Nepal Earthquake in April it is no small wonder as to why it was closed for climbing despite the record number of people who were going to attempt it. It was the right move to halt climbers following the devastation, though it is a shame that the 41 year streak is broken.