Take a closer look
Take a good look at this beautiful photograph of a girl with red hair.
www.juxtapoz.com
Now look closer. This isn’t a photograph at all. “OK,” you may be thinking, “it’s a painting. Or an image altered by PhotoShop. Maybe it’s entirely computer generated.”
But it’s not.
Instead, this image was drawn using eight different colors of ballpoint pen, according to Juxtapoz magazine. The guy who drew it isn’t even a full-time artist. Samuel Silva is an attorney in Portugal. Seems safe to say he probably draws better than any other lawyer there or here or anywhere.
To see a larger version, go here.
Did Jesus have a wife?
Several years back, Dan Brown struck gold with “The DaVinci Code,” a novel that hinged on the notion that Jesus was married and had children.
The story caused a fervor, but folks eventually calmed down.
Now Jesus’ marital status is back in the news.
This time it doesn’t involve a novelist. Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are nowhere in sight. Instead, today’s story focuses on a tiny scrap of damaged papyrus and the Harvard historian who translated it.
On Tuesday, historian Karen L. King spoke in Rome to reporters from The New York Times, the Boston Globe and Harvard magazine. King, an expert in Coptic literature, showed reporters the snippet of papyrus and announced that she had deciphered some provocative phrases, including: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife’” and “she will be able to be my disciple.”
The papyrus and the writing on it appear to be genuine. They may date back to the late 2nd century.
King said there is no other possible translation for the section that says “my wife.”
No other known texts from antiquity refer to Jesus being married, according to The Times. Similarly, the Bible makes no mention of a female disciple.
But don’t dust off that copy of “The DaVinci Code” yet. Although the document apparently is genuine, the text itself isn’t proof that the historical Jesus was married. As King told The Times:
“This fragment suggests that some early Christians had a tradition that Jesus was married. There was, we already know, a controversy in the second century over whether Jesus was married, caught up with a debate about whether Christians should marry and have sex.”
The full story can be found here.
Discovery could save millions of lives
Source: http://english.prolasa.org/malaria-prevention/
Malaria isn’t something most Oklahomans have to worry about, but it’s a major health concern for our neighbors in other parts of the world.
Now there may be a cure.
Steve Boyes of National Geographic Expeditions, who has had malaria twice, reports that scientists at theUniversityofCape TowninSouth Africathink they have found the solution: a one-dose pill that kills malaria parasites instantly.
Animal tests showed no adverse effects, Boyes reported. Clinical tests will begin late next year.
“If this tablet is approved in coming years,” Boyes wrote, “this achievement will surely usher in a new age for science inAfrica. It will save millions upon millions of lives on the continent, helping avoid at least 24 percent of child deaths in sub-SaharanAfrica. …
“This ‘super pill’ could potentially cure millions of people every year and save the lives of over one million people from around the world each year. This ‘cure” will most likely save health care systems throughout the developing world billions of dollars and open new areas for development and settlement.”
Humans generally are infected by mosquitoes carrying the malarial parasites, although it can also be passed from mother to unborn child and through blood transfusions. Symptoms include jaundice, high fevers, shaking and anemia. The ailment can lead to life-threatening complications, including organ failure and internal hemorrhages.
Currently it is treated with a combination of medicines, some of which are decreasing in effectiveness. A one-dose cure that kills the parasites immediately would save lives and alleviate suffering.
Boyes’ blog can be found at http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com.
