With the last presidential election a distant, fading memory that only a few old-timers can still manage to recall, we turn our attention to 2012.  Strap yourself in, folks, because according to the polls, the Republican presidential race is already the kind of fierce battle that, in 3 and a half years, we’re all going to be sick of.

According to Rasmussen, When Republicans were asked who they’d vote for in 2012, the numbers broke down like this:

Mitt Romney – 25%
Sarah Palin – 24%
Mike Huckabee – 22%
Newt Gingrich – 14%

Among Republicans who say economic issues are the most important, Romney holds a strong lead with 34%.

75% of those polled say that it’s possible that Obama will be defeated by the GOP candidate in 2012, with 41% believing it’s very likely.

Time will tell.

-Robert Laurie

Here are the illustrious first families of The United States and Italy, as they appear when arranged by height.

For the record, from tallest to shortest, it’s Michelle, Barack, Giorgio, and, last but not least, Clio.

Now, if anyone ever asks you “who’s taller, Barack Obama or Giorgio Napolitano?” you’ll know.

- Robert Laurie

Calling it a major “breakthrough,” English scientists have created human sperm from stem cells.

Professor Karim Nayernia, who led the research team admits that the engineered sperm has not yet been perfected but will, within ten years, be capable of creating sustainable life.  “This is very amazing and very exciting,” he said. ”They have heads, they have tails and they move. The shape is not quite normal nor the movement, but they contain the proteins for egg activation.”

It’s a scientific first that will have a massive impact on fertility treatment, allowing infertile couples to have children that are genetically their own. 

Of course, it also paves the way for a world where men are unnecessary.  This fact was acknowledged by Professor Nayernia in a statement that sounds like it came straight from “Mad Scientist Quarterly.”

“You can use all technology in the right way or the wrong way,” he said. “This is the case in all new technology. Nuclear power can be used for electricity or the bomb for example.”

“This should be decided not by scientists but by the law which is not our responsibility.”

Already, the work has it’s critics. England’s director of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, Josephine Quintavalle, “This is man at his maddest.  I think that sometimes we have to stop meddling and accept infertility. Science must be totally ethical and totally safe – this is neither.”

Other experts doubt the method will even work, claiming that the artificial sperm lack certain characteristics to create life.  Still, most of doubters agree it will eventually be possible.  Dr Allen Pacey of the University of Sheffield, said “It potentially could be a breakthrough, and I hope it is, but for me the jury is still out.”

You can read more about the research, and our nightmarish, dystopian future, in the New England Journal Of “Because We Can.”

-Robert Laurie