This is too unfocussed, but I like the colours.

More pictures of weird deep-sea squid, courtesy of National Geographic, via Art Black.

An alarming squidshot: a Vampyroteuthis infernalis (vampire squid from hell) turning itself inside out.

(Thanks to Art Black, YouTube and National Geographic)

My 2007 Snapshot was facilitated by Tansy Rayner Roberts. Darkest secrets revealed!

I, too, have been snapshot by Kathryn Linge.

I’ve been snapshot. Thx to Kathryn Linge.

From J Clin Pathol 2006;59:1116

We regret that there was an error in the August issue… On p784, lines 1–2, ‘‘bone marrow’’ should have been replaced by ‘‘point of care glucose test (BM)’’. We apologise for this error.

The World Fantasy Awards nomination list is out. Representing Australia whether they want to or not, Margo Lanagan has been nominated for her collection Red Spikes and Shaun Tan is on the artist list.

Yesterday the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) withdrew Prexige from Australia and ordered a national recall of the medication. The generic name of Prexige is lumiracoxib and it belongs in the same class as Vioxx, a drug that in 2004 was also precipitously removed from the world marketplace. Although they both belong to the class of COX-2 anti-inflammatory drugs, Vioxx was withdrawn for causing heart attacks while Prexige has been withdrawn for causing liver damage. The manufacturer, Novartis, has just flushed several hundred million research and marketing dollars. Novartis has supported the TGA, no doubt with clenched teeth and a sense of grim resignation, and reported the TGA’s decision to health administrations in sixty other nations.

(more…)

A moving, learning sculpture called the Octofungi:

Hat tip to Cat Sparks via Jeff Vandermeer.

(I know it’s Saturday here, but one of the great advantages of living on the Western rim of the Pacific Ocean is having an extra 20 hours to make deadlines.)