Painted Art On Nuts

They're nut bad! Inventive artist creates celebrities by painting on PEANUTS Inch-tall monkey nuts and their shells are turned into works of art Artist Steve Casino, from Ohio, has created nut versions of the stars They include Alfred Hitchcock, James Brown and Johnny Cash By Leon Watson What a nutter! Artist Steve Casino's bizarre paintings of celebrities on the side of monkey nuts are worth more than just peanuts after they become salt-after work. The inch-tall shells might look like a normal nut from the back but Mr Casino's works of art on the other side are leading to punters to shell out hundreds of pounds for them. Mr Casino has created nut versions of Alfred Hitchcock, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Frankenstein's monster and Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols. It's peanut's world: James Brown getting on the good foot Live long and pistachio: Spock and Captain Kirk from the Star Trek Time nut: Matt Smith's Doctor Who has regenerated as a peanut, and there's a peanut Dalek too

A Baby Has Been Cured of HIV

It may sound hard to believe, but doctors from Mississippi are saying that for the first time, an infant has been cured of an HIV infection. The New York Times relays reports from doctors who say the infant had tested positive for HIV on five separate occasions and now, at age two and a half and off drugs for an entire year, the child shows no signs of the virus in its body.

Shortly after its birth to an HIV-positive woman, the child had been treated with antiretroviral drugs just 30 hours after its birth, an uncommon practice. The thought is that this aggressive treatment contributed in large part to the apparent annihilation of the virus by crippling the virus before it could cripple the immune system.

From the New York Times:

If further study shows this works in other babies, it will almost certainly change the way newborns of infected mothers are treated all over the world. The United Nations estimates that 330,000 babies were newly infected in 2011, the most recent year for which there is data, and that more than 3 million children globally are living with H. I. V,

If the report is confirmed, the child born in Mississippi would be only the second well-documented case of a cure in the world, giving a boost to research aimed at a cure, something that only a few years ago was thought to be virtually impossible.

There are, of course, caveats. Outside experts have not yet been able to completely verify the claims. And while it seems clear that the child no longer tests positive for HIV, there's yet to be rock-solid confirmation that it ever was HIV positive in the first place. But Dr. Deborah Persaud, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and lead author of the report on the baby and other outside scientists say they are certain the child was in fact infected. "It's proof of principle that we can cure H.I.V. infection if we can replicate this case," she said, announcing the discovery.

Studies are already being planned to see if similarly aggressive treatment can work in other HIV-positive infants, and if this cure can be widely verified, understood, and replicated, it stands as a huge step forward in the fight against HIV and AIDS in children, and eventually, the fight against HIV and AIDS on the whole. For the moment, it's an instance of an individual child being functionally cured, not "a cure" per se, but it's a step in the right direction. [The New York Times]

Playful Penguins

Come on in... the water's freezing! Adorable penguins leap into icy ocean in Antarctica Stunning photographs capture the antics of playful penguins leaping into the sea from rocks in Antarctica Photographer tracked gentoo and king penguins over several days on islands of Cuverville and Wiencke A leaping penguin takes the plunge into icy waters in Antarctica as its companions prepare to follow suit in this incredible image. The playful penguins were captured leaping from rock to rock and jumping into the sea off Cuverville Island. Photographer Paul Souders, from Seattle, U.S., spent several days documenting the antics of gentoo and king penguins in freezing temperatures on Antarctic islands, capturing breathtaking scenes that resemble a real-life version of the hit animated film Happy Feet. After you: The penguins were captured flinging themselves into the ocean from the rocky shoreline of Cuverville Island in Antarctica by wildlife photographer Paul Souders Taking the lead: The penguin's companions gather around on the rocks as the creature skims over the icy water in Antarctica One photograph captures a gentoo in mid-air above the ocean, leaving a trail of droplets in its wake. Gentoo penguins reach a height of 30 inches and weigh around 12lbs when fully grown. Like other breeds of penguin, gentoos can appear awkward waddling around on land, but the creatures are quite at home in the water. Their streamlined bodies and paddle-shaped flippers can propel them to speeds of up to 22 miles an hour under water - faster than any other diving bird. Happy feet: The penguins were spotted splashing around and leaping out of the water along the shore

Amazing Portraits Made out of Junk by Zac Freeman

American artist Zac Freeman forms unique portraits out of all kinds of small and used materials. Each of his objects comes from scraps of trash that are leftover from the things that we regularly consume. From colored buttons and plastic bottle caps to metal tabs from soda cans, Freeman puts all of the unused and unwanted objects to use in a fresh new way.

To build each portrait, Freeman glues the pieces together on a wooden canvas, compiling all of these unwanted pieces into a stunning representation of a person's face. From up close, viewers can enjoy the unique significance of the individual pieces, while from a distance, the objects all blend together into one realistic portrait.

Freeman uses actual garbage in his pieces because he says, "I feel the junk is more powerful being present. It is an actual thing to be reckoned with that existed in this time and place and carries energy in and of itself. The result is a time capsule of objects that reflects our culture."

Tailor-made... Feito א medida

Tailor-made... Feito א medida 

45 Rare Historical Photos With Descriptions (45 photos)

45 Rare Historical Photos With Descriptions (45 photos) Rare and very interesting photos. Alan Shepard, America's first man in space, puts on his Navy Mark IV spacesuit. Charles Godefroy taking his Nieuport 11 "Bébé" through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on August 7th, 1919. Construction of the Eiffel tower in July, 1888. Construction of Brasilia city, which would later become the capital of Brazil. 1960.