The Illuminated Donkey

It's Thursday morning all across this wonderful country of ours more or less, and that can mean only one thing: it's time for my sister to fill up some space on this here blog with another startling edition of Nancy Goldstein's Monkeys, Donkeys, and Junkies: a regular foray into the latest headlines concerning three of our favorite things!

And here's a little bit of news for those of us who think that the monkeys are secretly plotting, in some sort of monkey language, to destroy us all.

Study: Monkey's Protein Prevents HIV.

CAMBRIDGE, MASS: Scientists say they've discovered how some monkeys resist infection with the AIDS virus, a finding that might lead to a treatment that blocks HIV in people. Researchers found that once HIV enters monkey cells, it encounters a protein that stifles its attempts to replicate. That stops the virus from spreading in the animal. "This is really important because it will help build a basis for hammering the virus before it gets started," said Paul Luciw, a University of California at Davis microbiologist who specializes in AIDS research.

Yeah, it's about friggin' time that those monkeys helped us out, after all we've done for them! Let's stay in the world of science and hope that there isn't any substantial difference between donkeys and mules!

Three Cloned Mules Said Healthy, Normal.

SEATTLE - Three young mules who are the first members of the horse family to be cloned are all healthy, normal and energetically enjoying life, say researchers who put them on display here Sunday.

Idaho Gem, born May 4, 2003, was the first successful cloning of an equine. He was followed by siblings Utah Pioneer on June 9 and Idaho Star on July 27. The clonings were a project of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.

Cool, it's nice to see that my old home Seattle is still carrying on important donkey-related work. And for the final stop on the MD&J tour we head to one of our favorite locations: the public toilets of Edinburgh.

Junkies Beaten by New Blue Loo.

Blue lighting in a court's toilets has stopped junkies from shooting up. Addicts were sneaking into the public loos and injecting drugs under the noses of sheriffs and lawyers. But the blue lights installed at Edinburgh Sheriff Court's toilets stop addicts from seeing their veins clearly enough to inject.

Be sure to check back soon for another globe-spanning edition of Nancy Goldstein's Monkeys, Donkeys, and Junkies!