Knowledge Era

Mount Fuji, Japan

2011-09-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, standing an imposing 3,776.24 meters (12,389 feet) tall. It is considered an active volcano, with its last eruption in the early 1700s.

5 top richest people in Congress

2011-09-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

McCaul’s wealth exploded in 2010, making him the richest member of Congress by tens of millions of dollars.

McCaul reported a minimum net worth of $73.8 million in 2009. The huge climb in his fortune can be partly attributed to several assets — mostly family trusts and companies — that McCaul estimated were worth a minimum of $50 million each. Furthermore, “certain assets owned by spouse were acquired via a gift from spouse’s parents,” according to McCaul’s 2010 financial disclosure report, although it’s unclear which assets were gifts from the congressman’s in-laws.

Most of the four-term House Republican’s wealth comes from his relatives: father-in-law Lowry Mays founded one of the country’s most profitable radio broadcasting companies, Clear Channel Communications. All of the lawmaker’s assets are either attributed to his spouse, Linda, or a dependent child, according to his 2010 financial disclosure form.

Linda McCaul also has an interest in Laguna Water Company, a water distribution company, and a real estate partnership, both based in San Antonio, Texas, and both worth at least $100,000.

McCaul reported no liabilities for 2010.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman has always been one of the richest members of Congress, but his wealth shot up in 2010 by almost $60 million.

The rise in Issa’s fortune can be explained by his creation at the end of 2010 of several limited partnerships that received commercial properties from DEI LLC, a commercial property management company in Vista, Calif. Many of those new companies are worth at least $5 million each, and helped b
oost the value of his assets.

Issa founded Directed Electronics, the nation’s biggest manufacturer of car security systems.

Issa reported two massive liabilities in 2010: a debt with Greene Properties worth at least $50 million and another liability with DEI valued at least $25 million.

Kerry no longer holds the crown of richest member of Congress, but he still was able to increase his wealth by nearly $5 million in 2010.

That spike can be attributed mostly to Kerry reducing his liabilities. The senator reported he had more than $39 million of debt in 2010, compared to more than $44 million in 2009. The worth of his assets remained relatively the same, at the $232 million mark.

Kerry’s second wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is the widow of the late ketchup heir and former Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.). Several of the Massachusetts Democrat’s assets that are attributed to Heinz Kerry are listed as “over $1,000,000” in value, which is in line with ethics rules but obscures how wealthy the couple really is.

The West Virginia senator’s wealth fell by more than $2 million this year, down from $83.7 million in 2009, due to some of his assets losing value.

Family trusts make up the bulk of Rockefeller’s wealth — his largest asset is a trust at JPMorgan Chase worth at least $50 million. Another trust, held at Wachovia Bank, is worth at least $25 million. His wife, Sharon Percy, also holds more than $1 million in stock at PepsiCo Inc., where is she is a board director.

Much of Rockefeller’s fortune stems from the money made by his great-grandfather, John D. Rockefeller. His company, Standard Oil, made the family name synonymous with wealth. Some estimate he was the wealthiest man in history.

Warner’s fortune climbed by more than $6 million in 2010.

The increase in the Virginia Democrat’s wealth can be partly attributed to Warner paring down his debts. While the senator had more than $1 million in liabilities in 2009, he greatly reduced that debt to just one liability: a loan guarantee with Virginia Commerce Bank, worth at least $15,000.

Before entering public service, Warner was an early investor in Nextel and dabbled in venture capital for tech companies. He still has several assets tied to one investment firm, Columbia Capital Corp., some worth at least $5 million each.

Written by : The Hill's Staff

Source: The Hill, Globeedia

Amazing Friendship!

2011-09-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Source: Interesting Planet , Globeedia

Random Facts!

2011-03-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.

Similar Genes, Different Personalities

2011-02-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

By LISA BELKIN

I had an NPR driveway moment earlier this week, listening to a piece by Alix Spiegel about why siblings are so different.

After all, she points out, you are far more likely to share physical characteristics with a sibling than you are with someone randomly chosen from the population. This is dramatically true of cognitive abilities as well.
But personality? Studies have found that when it comes to things like extroversion or conscientiousness, siblings are similar only 20 percent of the time, which is only the slightest bit higher than a comparison to a random stranger.

At first that sounds impossible. Wouldn’t people who share genes and parents and a childhood home be likely to turn out alike?

Then I thought of my own family. My brother and sister and I do look alike, and (though we would not have conceded this when we were much younger) we are all similar in intelligence. But in so many other ways we are opposites. Get the three of us together and at least someone in the room can be described as garrulous or taciturn, cheap or indulgent, meticulous or sloppy, dramatic or cool. A Venn diagram would have some overlap, but not much. How is this possible?

There are three theories, Spiegel reports. The first, known as “divergence,” postulates that children are competing for their parents’ “time, love and attention,” and, as Darwin pointed out, organisms tend to “diverge” and specialize to minimize direct competition. “So if one child in a family seems to excel at academics,” Spiegel says, “the other child — consciously or unconsciously — will specialize in a different area, like socializing.”

The second theory, that of a nonshared environment, argues that we only seem to be “growing up in the same family as our siblings,” when in fact we are being raised in measurably different households. We experience the same events at different ages; we have different numbers of older and younger siblings; we are born to different parents — older or younger, wealthier or struggling, happier or less so, more experienced, less energetic.

And, finally, there is the theory of “exaggeration.” It is similar in result to “divergence,” though different in its cause. A child who might be considered outgoing and social in a family of introverts, becomes the “quiet one” in a family of extroverts. She then thinks of herself that way, chooses quieter friends and gradually becomes somewhat quieter. (As parents we are supposed to make sure this doesn’t happen — that we don’t compare our children. That is, of course, impossible. But it’s the reason I’m not mentioning my own children in this post. Exaggeration and divergence may be the natural order of things, but declaring in print that one child is vanilla and the other is chocolate is still a bad idea.)

NPR is spending the week looking at siblings. Apt timing. As Spiegel said:
…as you eat your turkey, look across the table. There, you may see a brother, a sister, a step-sibling, a twin. And maybe they’re your friend, and maybe they’re your enemy, but one thing is for certain: Their very existence has had a profound influence on your life.

Women prefer men in red, study shows

2011-02-15T03:11:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Men on the prowl for a date may want to add red to their wardrobe.
A new multicultural study shows red is no longer just a sexy color for women. Men in red are considered just as appealing.

Women in China, the United States, England and Germany said they found men pictured wearing red, or surrounded by the color, more sexually attractive.

Women consider men in red as higher in status and more likely to climb the social ladder, according to Andrew Elliot, the lead author and professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.
The perception of high status is what leads to the attraction, he says.

Despite the cultural differences among women surveyed, the results were consistent, according to the study.
However, researchers said, the color only enhanced perceptions of status and romance, but not did not make the man seem more likable and kind.

"Women's romantic preferences are of great interest ... and although the popular media often portrays female sexuality as a mystery, scientific research has revealed several factors that influence women's attraction to men," the study says.

Authors attributed the color's appeal to its historic use as a symbol of wealth and status. It is used in bold body paintings and necklaces in rituals and ceremonies in various cultures, including the Masai in east Africa.

"In primitive societies, sacred objects were painted or coated in red to enhance their potency and convey a sense of great importance," the study says.

"In ancient China, Japan, and sub-Saharan Africa, red was viewed as a symbol of prosperity and high status. Classical Romans called the most powerful men ' "the ones who wear red.' "
The red effect was limited to women's perception of men. Color did not make a difference when men rated the appeal of another male.

Authors conducted seven experiments, including the effect of red and white on a man's attractiveness.
The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

The different types of tropical storms

2011-02-15T02:54:00.000-08:00

A storm at sea can be spectacular – seen from a safe distance. As the wind passes over the water’s surface it creates waves. But if the force of the wind is strong, powerful waves are generated, gathering momentum until a barrier in their path causes then to break will full force.

Not all winds are of equal height. This is partly because the wind seldom blows at a constant speed. When the wind dies down, wave length is maintained but wave height decreases gradually. Where there is no barriers in their path, waves crests may carry over vast distances. When waves created in different places come together, they produce a confused sea state. Boats may be completely overwhelmed by a storm at sea – getting swamped, smashed, or both, by the huge quantity of water falling on them.

The full force of a wave is not realized until it reaches the shore. As it sweeps in towards land, contact with the sea-bed slows down the lower part, but the wind keeps the top moving on. The wave becomes steeper, begins to overhang, and finally crashes down. On steep shores, waves do not have time to slow down. Suddenly, their way is barred and they smash against the rocks with tremendous force – 100 tonnes per square metre is not unusual.

Spinning destruction

Winds exceeding Force 12 (over 117km/h) can devastate anything that lies in their path. They are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic, typhoons in the North Pacific and cyclones in the Indian Ocean and around Australia. These great storms start when scattered cloud clusters of tropical thunderstorms are gathered together into a whirling spiral by the Earth’s rotation. At the centre of the spiral is a column lo low pressure – the eye.

Because of the low pressure, air is sucked into the spiral with great force, resulting in violent winds. These set up huge waves at sea, which have devastating effects. Hurricanes may persist for up to ten days, and although the path they will follow can be predicted to some extent, unexpected twists and turns are common.

A water spout is another example of the sea being whipped up. This is rather like a liquid tornado. Warm air rising from the sea creates a central column of low pressure which draws up a swirling rising wall of water. When a low pressure system – depression – passes quickly across the sea, the water level suddenly drops, then rises. A great swell is created, knows as a storm surge, which can flood huge areas as it hits land.

Tsunamis

Just as terrifying as rough seas, are tsunamis, caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the ocean. Small earthquakes occur along the ocean ridges, where the Earth’s crust in thin and hot. The largest ones are along the lines of collision of the plates.

The quake lifts the ocean floor, which buckles and collapses, and the shock tremors suddenly move the whole mass of water above, right from the ocean floor to the surface. As the tremors radiant outwards, the tsunami sweeps across the ocean at a terrifying speed of up to 720 km/h. At first, tsunamis are very small and may not be noticed in the open sea. However, as they come to shallower water, they are slowed down by the drag of the sea-bed and the waves build into a vast wall of water with an awesome power for destruction. They hit the coastline with a tremendous force. Boats are thrown high up on the shore, land is filled with sea water and houses destroyed.

Source :Helium.com

Quotation of the Day!

2011-02-14T03:08:00.000-08:00

Never underestimate a child’s ability to get into more trouble.
- Martin Mull

7 Types Of Guys Women Can't Resist

2011-02-14T00:12:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered why some guys have all the luck when it comes to women? It's no secret that certain archetypal males have been proven over and over to be irresistible to women -- and it's not simply because of their good looks or a well-defined six pack.

The truth is that women tend to be attracted to certain personality traits and so, naturally, they flock to the men who possess them.

Below are seven of these "ideal types" of guys that women are drawn to, and an explanation as to why these guys are so appealing. But don't freak out or permanently alter your personality if you don't fit into any of these categories exactly -- women will see right through that.

Ideally, you should exude some traits from each of these different categories; in fact, you probably already do. With a quick perusal of the list below, you should be in much better shape to understand what women are looking for, and most importantly, to make sure that you fit the bill.

1. The Romantic Guy

He believes in classic romance. He is constantly bringing her flowers and chocolate and lighting candles during dinner. He calls her often to let her know he is thinking about her and looks into her eyes and tells her how he feels.

Why he is so irresistible: A woman loves to feel appreciated, and the romantic guy makes this happen. He uses romantic gestures to show her he is thinking about her. As an added bonus, she feels free to reciprocate and act on her own romantic tendencies.

2. The Confident Guy

He is totally secure and sure of himself. He is assertive in public and gives off an aura of power and control (within reason of course, as the "cocky guy" is not on this list). In a relationship, he doesn't get jealous of other men; he doesn't feel threatened by his girlfriend's male friends or coworkers.

Why he is so irresistible: Women are attracted to confident men. Consider this: If you think you are great, she will probably be influenced to think the same. The confident man doesn't seek approval from women, and this makes them want him even more.

3. The Artistic Guy

The artistic guy is spontaneous and lives for the moment. Often, he will use his creativity to woo her, such as with a song he has written about her or a painting he has made for her.

Why he is so irresistible: Every woman wants to feel unique and special. There is no better way to make her feel this way than to use her as your muse or your source of inspiration. She is intrigued by the artistic guy's creative mind and especially by the way he incorporates her into his art.

Charismatic, rebellious, smart, and considerate guys all get the girl... Next Page >>

4. The Foreign Guy

He comes from a faraway exotic country; he might have a cute accent or a unique way of seeing the world. His social customs and everyday behavior can be a little quirky, but he always manages to come off as uniquely charming. Note that you don't have to actually be foreign to fit into this category. If you are well-traveled or speak many languages, you might be able to pull off the charm as well as any sweet-talking foreigner.

Why he is so irresistible: Charisma, charisma and charisma. There's not much more I can say about this one; it's just that mysterious je ne sais quoi that is so alluring. Women often choose this kind of guy if they are curious about the world, but most of the appeal comes down to a fascination with dating someone from another culture.

5. The Free Spirit Guy (aka the Bad Boy)

The free spirit guy goes where the wind takes him -- and the wind usually takes him on some kind of wacky adventure. He might ride a motorcycle, or he might skip work to take her on a last-minute road trip, but this guy doesn't worry too much about the consequences; he just sees where his own devices take him.

Why he is so irresistible: Every woman wants a bit of a rebel (within reason, of course). She loves his carefree attitude and hopes that it will rub off on her too. The bad boy spirit adds an element of youthfulness to the relationship and she loves to try taming him -- although she knows she'll never actually succeed.

6. The Intelligent/Witty Guy

He instigates conversations that are intellectually stimulating and listens to what she has to say in response. He makes her laugh with his clever sense of humor and has an uncanny ability to make politics interesting. He can shoot the breeze with her for hours and it will never get boring.

Why he is so irresistible: As time goes on, your hairline may recede and your buff body may soften, but if you can keep her interested, you've won half the battle. An intellectual connection is a big part of what sustains a relationship and if you can show her that you've got that, she'll be hooked pretty quickly.

7. The Considerate Guy

He holds open her car door and pulls out her chair. He foots the bill for dinner and makes sure to offer her dessert. He always asks her out with reasonable notice and picks her up at her door. He is generally sensitive to how she is feeling and when she is ready to go home.

Why he is so irresistible: Surprised? You probably think that nice, considerate guys never get the woman, but consider this: Once a woman has gone through her share of the bad guy, the rude guy and the not-calling-her-back guy, she will likely reevaluate her priorities. It takes a bit of maturity on her part to realize this, but eventually most girls come around and realize that they want a guy who will treat them well in the long run.
a word of caution

Don't take any of these character types to the extreme or try to be someone you're not -- it will be way too obvious.

The key to success here is to keep in mind why women like the character traits outlined above and what kind of gestures they appreciate. Then, mix them up and see which of these traits and gestures you are most comfortable with. With just a little bit of effort, you'll be able to find more than a few irresistible qualities within yourself -- and accordingly, she'll be easily wooed by your newfound individuality.

5 Chinese eating habits explained

2011-02-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

Why shouldn't you stick your chopsticks in the rice? How do you politely snip off noodles? Myths and superstitions of Chinese dining unraveled here

No doubt you once thought that as soon as your skills were honed, you’d become the chopstick-wielding version of Edward Scissorhands, embarking on a masterful two-pronged exploration of China’s culinary culture.

Well, not quite.
Chinese dining etiquette is built on tradition, not dexterity.

We asked Lawrence Lo, founder of LHY Etiquette Consultancy Limited, to explain the enigmatic cultural origins of some common table manners, just in time for your Chinese New Year banquet.

1. Do not rest chopsticks vertically in rice

While it may minimize the transition time between the voracious gobbling of food and intermittent sipping of a Tsingtao or cup of cha, stowing chopsticks in this way is neither prudent nor polite.
Meaning: It’s a harbinger of death.

Just as the number four, si (四), is considered inauspicious for its homophonous relation to the word si (死), meaning death, the sight of two upright chopsticks in a bowl is reminiscent of the incense sticks that the Chinese traditionally burn in veneration of deceased loved ones.

More on CNNGo: Chopstick removed from man's stomach after 28 years
But you can easily avoid unwittingly displaying this dark omen.

“In restaurants there are always chopstick stands,” says Lo. “So it’s natural to put your chopsticks there.”
If in a tiny mom and pop establishment lacking the niceties, resting your chopsticks on the edge of your bowl instead will not incense those around you.

2. Never turn over the fish

In Chinese restaurants, the standard is for a fish to be served whole.

After working your way through the tender top side, it may seem logical to simply flip the fish and continue. Unfortunately, doing so has an unforeseen consequence.
Meaning: You’ve capsized the boat.

According to Lo, this is of more concern in regions that rely strongly on fishing or are located along the coast.
“The fish symbolizes the boat,” he explains. By turning it over, you’re casting the hapless fishermen into Davy Jones’ locker.

But you don’t have to resign yourself to picking and prodding.
Using your chopsticks, pick up the backbone at a point near the tail and gently pull upward until you’ve dislodged the bone from the meat beneath. Then simply slide the “boat” to the side of the plate, and continue eating.

3. Birthday noodles

Chinese tradition calls for a birthday girl or boy to slurp a bowl of noodles as a celebration of the many years ahead. And as “Lady and the Tramp” so aptly demonstrated, that one long noodle can be a great thing.
Meaning: It symbolizes longevity.

In this case, that long strip of noodle is a metaphor for the long walk of life. Yet this tradition comes with an addendum: do not cut the noodles.

“That symbolizes cutting your life off,” says Lo. It's not a very positive message on the day of one’s birth.

Thankfully, cutting applies mainly to severing with a knife or with chopsticks. Biting is a practical and, Lo says, acceptable way of ensuring you don't look like a hamster with filled cheek pouches.
“You should slurp your noodles,” Lo adds. “That means it tastes good. It’s like swishing wine in your mouth so that it mixes with oxygen -- it’s the same idea.”

4. Tea tapping is a must

A tea cup should never be allowed to run dry.
Your host, or members of your dinner party, will regularly refill the cups of those around them, who tap the table in response. Go ahead and follow suit.
Meaning: It’s a show of thanks.

According to legend, there was once an emperor who regularly impersonated a commoner in order to get acquainted with his people.

One night, while at a teahouse, the emperor poured tea for his accompanying servant.
“Traditionally, the servant would have kneeled down to show respect, but that would have betrayed the emperor’s identity,” explains Lo. “So he tapped the table instead.”
Two fingers, two knees.

“There’s a stronger tea-drinking culture in southeast China,” says Lo, adding that the habit may be more prevalent in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Regardless, saying “thank you” is just as permissible, so don’t fret if this custom isn’t second nature to you.

5. Always order an even number of dishes

When out with a sizable crowd, you want to ensure you order enough food. A rule of thumb is to order dishes equivalent to the number of people in your party, plus one. But if you’re an even-numbered crowd, this will put you at odds -- in numbers and in fortune.

“For regular meals, you’d always order an even number of dishes, because an odd number is usually only ordered at a funeral meal,” says Lo.

This has nothing to do with homonyms, but rather with qi.

According to Chinese belief, odd numbers are associated with yin qi rather than yang. In the yin-yang equation of balance, yin is cold, yang is hot -- dark and light, death and life, respectively.
Lo adds a qualifier: “This applies more to banquets and formal events, and is mostly related to the first-round order. You can add dishes as you need them afterward.”

Thankfully, Lo assures us that in informal settings among friends, no one’s likely to be counting.

Source:CNN go

Quote of the Day!

2011-02-12T03:10:00.000-08:00

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.

—Daniel J. Boorstin

Did you know

2011-02-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

An elephant can be pregnant for up to two years.

Fish as Good as College Students in Numbers Test

2011-02-10T04:28:00.000-08:00

Mosquitofish can "count" to a hundred but have trouble with ratios, study finds.
Are you as smart as a mosquitofish?

According to a new study, college students showed roughly the same numerical skills as the small fish when presented with a laboratory test.

Mosquitofish, freshwater fish with a taste for mosquito larvae, are highly social. When a mosquitofish finds itself alone, its top priority becomes finding others. A previous study showed that the fish can, in fact, "count"—differentiating between numerical quantities in a lab experiment.

The new study shows that the fish can not only tell the difference between small numbers such as 4 and 8, but they can also differentiate between quantities as large as 100 and 200.

"You just don't expect interesting results like this when dealing with animals like fish," said study leader Christian Agrillo of the University of Padova in Italy. "We thought this was really incredible."
But numerical skills break down for the fish when the ratios between two numbers change—an effect that was also seen among human volunteers.
Fish That Can "Count" to a Hundred
For the initial experiment, lone fish were trained in the lab to associate a door bearing a certain number of geometric shapes with the path to rejoining a larger group.

The fish were then placed in tanks where they had to chose between one of two identical doors bearing different numbers of symbols. For example, four shapes might be associated with door A and eight shapes with door B.

At the beginning of the test, the fish did not know where to go, and they chose randomly. Over time, however, the fish started to chose the correct door more often than by chance alone.

The new study repeated this experiment—but then the researchers started using bigger numbers of shapes on the doors.

"It was kind of funny, most of them appeared to be surprised when we switched from small numbers to hundreds. They swam inside the tank for a while, looking at the new stimuli as if they were trying to understand what was going on," Agrillo said.

"However, after a short while they started to solve the task as well."

Ratios Boggle Fish and Humans

As the researchers tinkered with the amounts on the doors, they found that when the sets of shapes were closer in number, the fish were less successful.

For example, when the ratio between the shapes on the two doors was 1:2 (8 versus 16) or 2:3 (8 versus 12), the fish chose the correct door more often than by chance. But when the ratio became 3:4 (9 versus 12), the fish showed no indication that they could detect a difference.

Keen to see how the numerical skills of fish compare to those of humans, the researchers asked a group of 25 undergraduate students to engage in a test that presented them with the same types of challenges.
The test forced the students to determine the difference bet

While humans were universally more accurate than fish, they showed the same degraded ability to judge number differences as ratios shifted from 2:3 to 3:4.

According to Agrillo and colleagues, the results add to evidence that humans, fish, and other vertebrates share the same abilities for processing numbers as a distant but common ancestor.

5 Famous Scientists Dismissed as Morons in Their Time

2011-02-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

Every nutjob in the world with some out-there theory thinks he's Galileo, rejected for daring to think different. Virtually all of them are, in fact, simply insane.

Yet, there have been brilliant rebels who put their own world-changing ideas on the line, only to end up like Doc Brown in his alternate timeline: humiliated, ridiculed, ignored and/or straight driven to insanity.

Gregor Mendel

You probably know Mendel as the guy who pioneered the science of genetics, and for keeping eighth-graders busy while science teachers watch porn at their desks. Anybody with a high school diploma has filled out those dominant/recessive trait Punnett squares ...
... though astute readers are probably wondering why that technique is called a Punnett square if it predicts patterns Mendel discovered.

What you probably didn't know was that before making his revolutionary discovery, Gregor Mendel flunked his ass out of school and resigned himself to a quiet life as the abbot of a monastery. It had an extensive experimental garden and there Mendel patiently spent the next seven years of his life breeding and cross-breeding peas.

He carefully documented his work and developed what would eventually be known as Mendel's Laws of Inheritance. Then he wrote it up and got it published in an lesser-known journal, the Journal of the Brno Natural History Society in 1866.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...
A quiet life of complete anonymity. Mendel's work was read by about zero people, even after he took it upon himself to contact the highest minds of his time by personally sending them copies of his theory. It turns out he would have been better off writing it on a paper bag filled with dog shit and leaving the whole flaming mess on porches.

Why did they ignore him? Because the greatest minds of his time couldn't understand him. It wasn't until 16 years after his death that three independent botanists rediscover Mendel's work and started the genetics ball rolling.

Ignaz Semmelweis

We've brought up poor old Semmelweis once before, but just in case you don't have a running loop of Cracked articles going through your head, here's the recap: Back in 1847, Semmelweis found himself in charge of two maternity clinics. The first clinic was a teaching school, with medical students learning birthing, autopsying and everything in between. The second clinic was intended for women who couldn't afford health care and was serviced by midwives, not actual doctors or students.

Yet it was the second clinic that women of all social statuses begged to get into. Why? Because if they went to the first clinic they'd have a 10 percent chance of dying of puerperal fever, a six percent greater rate of death than in the midwife-run hospital. Women literally had a better chance of surviving a birth on the street than in the first clinic. After an exhaustive study, Semmelweis figured out that medical students were smothered in disease cooties from cadavers, and that maybe, just maybe, they should wash their hands in between the autopsy room and the birthing rooms.

He insisted students perform a simple chlorine wash after handling dead guys and immediately got the death rate down to one to two percent. With numbers like that, you'd think the whole continent of Europe, much less the medical community, would have crowned him "king of live babies" or something.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...
First dementia, then a beatdown at an insane asylum, then death, by virtually the same disease he had eradicated in his own hospital.

Semmelweis didn't just have the disregard of his contemporaries, he had their flat-out scorn. Maybe it was because he didn't get around to explaining himself on paper right away, so no one understood what hand-washing had to do with keeping people alive. Some doctors were actually insulted that he was accusing Viennese medical students being dirty enough to kill people.
Within 14 years of his groundbreaking discovery, Semmelweis just stopped giving a fuck. He got drunk all the time and called all his detractors "ignoramuses" and "murderers." He started chilling with prostitutes and lashing out at family. That last part proved to be a bad move, because in 1865 they had him committed to an insane asylum, where he was promptly beat up and stuck in a dark cellar.

He died two weeks later. It took another 20 years and Louis Pasteur's germ theory for the rest of the world to come around to the concept of washing your hands to keep from getting sick.

George Zweig

The year 1964 was a watershed year by any measure. The Beatles arrived, the Civil Rights Act was passed, Nicolas Cage was born and in two separate parts of the world, two separate scientists proposed the existence of quarks, the teeny-tiny subatomic particles that combine to form matter. If you've been paying attention, you know one of these guys is about to get screwed. (Hint: It's George Zweig.)

Zweig had three things going against him in 1964. One, he was a young graduate student, unpublished and unproven. Two, he was working at a particle research center in Geneva. You'd think that would be an advantage, but it turns out his institute had a stringent model for publication, and his paper on quarks, which he called "aces," didn't meet its standards (even though he had come up with a much cooler name for the particle). And three, an older scientist from his grad school proposed the exact same theory at the exact same time and because of his stature was able to publish that exact same theory with the exact same publication that rejected Zweig's.
At first, both men were called crazy for their insane notions of invisible particles. They had no model of behavior for the buggers and no methods of ever actually looking at them. But eventually the science world came around, and by 1969, Zweig's rival was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work. As for Zweig.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...
Being blackballed by a major university and accusations of being a "charlatan."

It wasn't until the 1970s that anyone could actually prove the existence of quarks, and by that time, the Nobel Prize committee felt it had already given the little particles enough attention, so it was reluctant to revisit the subject. Nevertheless, in 1977, Zweig and his rival were both nominated, but neither won. Zweig ended up changing his field of study to neurobiology, presumably believing that if he made a seminal contribution to every area of science, he'd eventually get credit for something.

Albert Einstein

Trying to convince you that Albert Einstein was rejected in any way during his lifetime let alone a moron is a hard sell, considering that he was one of the most famous men on the planet at the time. But buried deep in a lifetime of utter brilliance, Einstein was saddled with one big mistake. One that it turned out wasn't a mistake at all.

To understand, you have to know a little bit about Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Not a whole lot, just the fact that it didn't allow for a static universe. Einstein believed the universe had to be static, or else the forces of gravity would cause the whole universe to contract onto itself, which it apparently wasn't doing. So, to make up for this weird conundrum, he invented something called thecosmological constant, an unknown, unchanging force that allowed him to have his cake (General Theory of Relativity) and eat it, too (stand by a static-universe model).

But not too long after Einstein came up with the cosmological constant, Edwin Hubble burst his little unmoving universe bubble by finding evidence that the whole shebang was expanding. Einstein called the cosmological constant his "biggest blunder" and went to his grave thinking he was an idiot for having proposed it. And so did everyone else. For a while.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

Einstein didn't get heaped with scorn like some of the other geniuses on this list, so he got off with a little self-deprecation with a side of regret. And he also dropped the whole idea of the cosmological constant. But here's the thing -- it turns out he may have been right all along. Not about the universe being static, of course, but that this mysterious, unknown entity existed in the first place.
In the 1990s, scientists discovered that the universe was expanding faster than they had previously thought and that the rate of expansion was being fueled by a mysterious, unknown entity. There are several contenders up for consideration as the cause, but everyone's favorite? You guessed it: Einstein's cosmological constant. His math of the constant magically fit the bill. Also because you never go wrong when you bet on Einstein.

Ludwig Boltzmann

Ludwig Boltzmann had the unfortunate luck of being born with a genius brain at the wrong time. Back in the 19th century, there was a huge debate over the nature of matter. Boltzmann not only had the audacity to presuppose the existence of atoms at a time when the atomic model was still controversial among scientists, but also built every one of his brilliant theories as if there was no debate at all. How brilliant? Hang on to your test tubes, because thing are about to get sciencey.

For one, he pioneered the study of statistical thermodynamics, which is a field of physics that provides a framework for predicting how a large number of particles will behave in a system. So, let's say you're camping and you start a fire. Boltzmann was the guy who tried to figure out what the crap was going on in those logs on a molecular level that allowed the fire to kindle, and he used fancy math formulas to figure it out. His work ultimately paved the way for the field of quantum mechanics, which eventually paved the way for the greatest time travel show ever.

His Genius Was Rewarded By ...

Death. He got death.
Back then, defending the existence of atoms was akin to defending creationist version of the origins of man today. Boltzmann wasn't just forced to defend something that would be accepted as fact within a few years, he was shamed for his stubborn refusal to yield and for his so-called materialist beliefs.
Nobody ever told scientists that nonmaterial science is already called philosophy. A long series of uneven debates left nearly every other supporter of atoms silent, leaving Boltzmann as their chief defender. Even colleagues who originally agreed with him began to question atoms' existence when his work seemingly undermined previously understood laws of physics.

The emotional burden of being the only right guy in the world, coupled with what was probably undiagnosed bipolar disorder, proved too much for Boltzmann to handle, and he hung himself in 1906, only three years before another scientist proved the undeniable existence of atoms. Nice job, science.

Woman's cellphone swallowed by crocodile ringing

2011-02-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

Here's something strange that shows how sturdy some Nokia phones can be. There can be crocodile resistant!

A crocodile named Gena at an aquarium in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine swallowed the mobile phone nearly a month back when a visitor, Rimma Golovko trying to photograph the reptile dropped it in the water, according to several media reports.

The zoo authorities did not believe the woman that the 14-year-old toothy reptile ate her Nokia phone until they called it and heard it ringing inside the croc's stomach.

An aquarium employee Alexandra was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “The phone started ringing and the sound was coming from inside our Gena's stomach, and we understood s[he] wasn't lying."
Surprisingly, the device survived the amphibious reptile's teeth and acids in stomach.

Despite being the leader of the group, Gena has not been playing with other fellow African crocodiles. Apparently he is depressed and in pain after swallowing the device.

Croc in pain?

Though the phone has not been damaged, Gena has been unwell. Since the incident, the crocodile has refused to eat food, and has become silent.

The doctors have tried feeding him live quail, which was injected with vitamins and a laxative, but Gena did not eat it.

Alexandra added, "His behavior has changed. He moves very little and swims much less than he used to.”
Despite being the leader of the group, Gena has not been playing with other fellow African crocodiles. Apparently he is depressed and in pain after swallowing the device.

According to Eduard Manukyan, aquarium's representative, the crocodile's condition has been worsening day by day.

Gena may undergo operation

If the croc continues refusing to eat, he will be taken for an X-ray next week.
Currently, the authorities are trying to warm up the air and water to speed up Gena's digestion.

Removing the cellphone through operation will be the last resort, as a surgery in reptiles usually take around three weeks to heal. Also, the move can prove dangerous both for the Gena and the vets.
Dnipropetrovsk chief veterinarian Oleksandr Shushlenko stated that whether the crocodile will undergo surgery or not will depend on where the celephone is located.

He added, "We don't have much experience working with such large animals."

The zoo administrators stated, “We have ordered special transport to bring Gena to the vet.
"We pray only that he survived the operation. We are so worried about him.”

Meanwhile Golovko is only worried about her cellphone and wants to get it back, as it has her contacts and memorable photographs.

Picture of the Day!

2011-02-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

What do you think of this picture ??????

Did you Know!!!

2011-02-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

There are approximately 7,000 feathers on an eagle.

Diabetics could soon 'grow their own insulin'

2011-02-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

Scientists may have found a way of curing diabetes - at least in men.

They have used tiny slivers of testicular tissue to make millions of healthy replacements for the faulty cells behind the condition.

In experiments on mice, grafts of the lab-grown pancreatic cells produced enough insulin to control blood sugar levels in diabetic mice.

Although the work is at an early stage, the American researchers believe it could lead to a cure for men and boys with type 1 diabetes in perhaps just five years.

However, British experts have urged caution, saying that any cure is still many years away.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin, a hormone key to the conversion of sugar into energy, or the insulin that is made does not work properly.

The 250,000 Britons with type1, or childhood, diabetes do not make any insulin at all and so need to take regular injections to stop blood sugar levels from fluctuating wildly.
In the latest study, immature cells that would normally go on to form sperm were turned into healthy insulin-producing cells.

The researchers, from Georgetown University Medical Centre, in Washington DC, started with tiny samples of tissue from human testicles.

Using a cocktail of vitamins and growth factors, they transformed them first into stem, or ‘master, cells, and then into the beta islet cells that produce insulin in the pancreas.
The process took around five weeks, the American Society of Cell Biology’s annual conference heard.
Layers of pancreatic cells were then grafted onto diabetic mice, where they produced enough insulin to control blood sugar levels for a week.

While this might not seem long, the researchers say it should be possible to make the cells work for much longer - and for them to produce enough insulin to benefit human diabetics.
Researcher Dr Ian Gallicano believes the testicular cells, or spermatogonial stem cells, could succeed whether other potential diabetes cures have failed.

He said: ‘No stem cells, adult or embryonic, have been induced to secrete enough insulin yet to cure diabetes in humans, but we know that spermatogonial stem cells have the potential to do what we want them to do, and we know how to improve their yield.’

Using a man’s own cells as the source of the treatment would sidestep any chance of the tissue being rejected by the body.
They hope to test the technique on men for the first time within months. If large-scale trials show it to be safe and effective, the transplant technique could be in widespread us in as little as five years.
Adapting the technique to eggs instead of sperm could allow female diabetics to eventually benefit too, the researchers believe.
Although the work is focused on type 1 diabetes, the technique may also be applicable to some cases of type 2 diabetes, the more common form of the condition.

This type of diabetes tends to affect people over 40 and occurs when not enough insulin is produced, or the insulin that is made doesn't work properly.
Chris Mason, professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, welcomed the breakthrough but cautioned it may be many years before patients can benefit.

He said: ‘Yet again, a world-class team of scientists has suggested another novel cell-based therapy for diabetes.
‘The question is how to turn such great discoveries into safe effective cures for people with diabetes - a process that has a high failure rate and takes years. It is time for less hype and more pragmatism.’
The charity Diabetes UK was more blunt, describing the research as ‘a tiny, incremental advance’ in the search for a cure for diabetes.

Source:

5 Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise

2011-01-31T02:43:00.000-08:00

Think exercise is all about toned abs and weight loss? It also makes you happier and smarter.

Maybe you exercise to tone your thighs, build your biceps, or flatten your belly. Or maybe you work out to ward off the big killers like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. But how about sweating to improve your mind? "Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning," says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John Ratey, author of the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. "Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain." If you need a little extra incentive to lace up those sneakers, here are five ways that exercise can enhance your brainpower:

1. It reverses the detrimental effects of stress.

Jumping on the treadmill or cross trainer for 30 minutes can be an instant way to blow off tension by boosting levels of "soothing" brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. What's fascinating, though, is that exercise may actually work on a cellular level to reverse stress's toll on our aging process, according to a June study from the University of California at San Francisco.

The researchers found that stressed-out women who exercised vigorously for an average of 45 minutes over a three-day period had cells that showed fewer signs of aging compared to women who were stressed and not active. Working out also helps keep us from ruminating "by altering blood flow to those areas in the brain involved in triggering us to relive these stressful thoughts again and again," says study coauthor Elissa Epel, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCSF.

2. It lifts depression.

Research suggests that burning off 350 calories three times a week through sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants. That may be because exercise has been found to stimulate the growth of neurons in certain brain regions damaged during depression. What's more, animal studies have found that getting active boosts the production of brain molecules that improve connections between nerve cells, thereby acting as a natural antidepressant.

3. It improves learning.

Exercise increases the level of brain chemicals called growth factors that help make new brain cells and establish new connections between brain cells to help us learn. Interestingly, complicated activities, like playing tennis or taking a dance class, provide the biggest brain boost. "You're challenging your brain even more when you have to think about coordination," explains Ratey. "Like muscles, you have to stress your brain cells to get them to grow." Complicated activities also improve our capacity to learn by enhancing our attention and concentration skills, according to German researchers who found that high school students scored better on high-attention tasks after doing 10 minutes of a complicated fitness routine compared to 10 minutes of regular activity. (Those who hadn't exercised at all scored the worst.)

4. It builds self-esteem and improves body image.

You don't need to radically change your body shape to get a confidence surge from exercise. Studies suggest that simply seeing fitness improvements, like running a faster mile or lifting more weight than before, can improve your self-esteem and body image.

5. It leaves you feeling euphoric.

Yes, that "runner's high" really does exist if you're willing to shift into high-intensity mode. Ratey recommends sprint bursts through interval training. Run, bike, or swim as fast as you can for 30 to 40 seconds and then reduce your speed to a gentle pace for five minutes before sprinting again. Repeat four times for a total of five sprints. "You'll feel really sparkly for the rest of the day."

Are Tomatoes and Cucumbers Vegetables?

2011-01-30T02:05:00.000-08:00

Neither tomatoes nor cucumbers are vegetables — they're fruits. The debate about whether a tomato is a fruit or not actually made it to the Supreme Court in 1883 in Nix v Hedden. The tomato was declared to be botanically a fruit but for all other purposes a vegetable.

More on fruits and vegetables:

The biggest difference between fruits and vegetables is the presence of seeds. Tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and peppers all have seeds, so they are all technically fruits.

The strawberry is actually not a berry. It is closely related to the rose family, and the edible berry part is actually what is known as a "false fruit." The true berry of the strawberry is the little black specks that contain the seeds.

Eggplants and avocados are technically classified as berries.

Which Occupations Have the Highest Divorce Rates?

2011-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

Most people think that policemen have the highest divorce rates, but actually, it's not true. In fact, law enforcement officers are about three times less likely to divorce than dancers and choreographers, bartenders andmassage therapists. According to the U.S. census, only about 15% of law enforcement officers are divorced, but almost half of all dancers, bartenders and massage therapists are. The law enforcement positions with the highest divorce rate are, surprisingly, fish and game wardens.

Other facts on divorce and occupation:

Other occupations with high divorce rates include casino workers, telephone operators and nurses. Though it's not certain, it is thought that the stress of such jobs leads to a higher divorce rate.
The occupations with the lowest divorce rates are agricultural and nuclear engineers, clergy and optometrists.
Married couples working in the same occupation are more likely to divorce than those working in different professions.

The 'Ark' Eco Building of the Future can be built on land or sea.

2011-01-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

The housing of the future as anticipated by Russian architect Alexander Remizov might be built quickly, resist environmental failures, and space 10,000 people at a time. No longer unhealthy if you don't thoughts residing in a place that looks eerily very similar to a hamster Habitrail. The eco-friendly dome, 'The Ark,' is designed to withstand biblical flood ranges and can be built on land or sea.

Clear roof allows for plants to develop inside.The Ark will additionally be built to flow on water, and will face up to rising tides and floods of biblical proportion.Then the framework of metal cables is added. The housing can be constructed in earthquake zones. Its structure of ropes and arches distributes pressure from temblors across the development

10 Foods That Can Help You Sleep

2011-01-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Trying to get more shut-eye? Take a look at your diet. Eating the right foods in the hours before you hit the hay may help you fall asleep faster, say experts, and even improve the quality of your sleep. Keep reading for your get-sleepy grocery list, and remember to stop noshing two hours before bedtime to give your body enough time to properly digest.

Almonds

“Almonds are a winner,” says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, medical director of the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers, and author of the bestselling book From Fatigued to Fantastic! “They contain magnesium which promotes both sleep and muscle relaxation,” he says. “And they have the added benefit of supplying proteins that can help maintain a stable blood sugar level while sleeping, and help promote sleep by switching you from your alert adrenaline cycle to your rest-and-digest cycle.” Try this bedtime snack: Have a tablespoon of almond butter or a 1-ounce portion of almonds to help your body relax. Photo: Shutterstock

Tea

Yes, avoiding all caffeine in the evening hours is key, but some decaf varieties can help get you into sleep mode, says Dr. Teitelbaum. “Chamomile tea is a very helpful and safe sleep aid,” he says, adding that green tea is another good choice. “Green tea contains theanine, which helps promote sleep. Just be sure you get a decaf green tea if drinking it at bedtime.” Experts recommend trying a 1-cup serving of the hot stuff. Photo: Thinkstock

Miso Soup

You love to order this comforting, broth-based soup in Japanese restaurants, but keeping a few 8-ounce packs of instant miso soup at home may be key when you’re having trouble falling asleep, says Stella Metsovas, CN, a nutritionist in Laguna Beach, California. Here’s why: Miso contains amino acids that may boost the production of melatonin, a natural hormone that can help induce the yawns. Bonus: Research shows that warm liquids like soup and tea may also relieve cold symptoms, helping you sleep better when you're feeling under the weather. Photo: Shutterstock

Banana

Worried about falling asleep tonight? Have a banana before bed, says Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD, an internist and the author of Set Free to Live Free: Breaking Through the 7 Lies Women Tell Themselves. “Bananas are an excellent source of magnesium and potassium, which help to relax overstressed muscles. They also contain tryptophan, which convert to serotonin and melatonin, the brain’s key calming hormones." Try this tasty and incredibly simple bedtime smoothie: Blend one banana with one cup of milk or soy milk (and ice, if desired). Pour and enjoy!Photo: Shutterstock

Dairy

Yogurt, milk and cheese do contain tryptophan, notes Dr. Dalton-Smith, but also have a surprising sleep-inducing nutrient: “Calcium is effective in stress reduction and stabilization of nerve fibers, including those in the brain." That means a serving of your favorite Greek yogurt before bed can not only help you sleep, but also help you stop worrying about the weird thing your boss said earlier at work. Photo: Thinkstock

Oatmeal

You eat it for breakfast, but could a bowl of warm oatmeal help you get more rest? Yes, says Stephan Dorlandt, a clinical nutritionist based in Southern California. “Think about it,” he says. “Oatmeal is warm,soft, soothing, easy to prepare, inexpensive and nourishing. It’s rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon and potassium—the who's who of nutrients known to support sleep.” But go easy on the sweeteners; too much sugar before bed can have an anti-calming effect. Instead, consider topping your bowl with fruit, like bananas (see above). Photo: Shutterstock

Hard-Cooked Egg

If you have trouble staying asleep at night, it may be because you didn’t eat a pre-bedtime snack high in protein, or perhaps your snack was too high in simple, high-sugar carbohydrates, like cake and candy. “The problem with simple carbs is that they can put you on a ‘sugar roller coaster’ and drop your blood sugar while you're sleeping, causing you to wake at 2 or 3 in the morning,” says Dr. Teitelbaum. A better bet? “Eat an egg, cheese, nuts or other protein-rich snack instead,” he says, “so you can not only fall asleep, but stay asleep.” Photo: Shutterstock

Edamame

Craving a salty snack before bed? Turn to lightly salted edamame, says Dr. Dalton-Smith—especially if you’re dealing with menopause-related symptoms. “The natural estrogen-like compounds found in soy-based products can be very beneficial in controlling those nighttime hot flashes that can disturb your sleep,” she says. If it’s crackers and dip you’re craving, try making this easy edamame recipe: In a food processor, blend together 2 cups of shelled, cooked edamame with 1 tsp salt, a drizzle of olive oil and 1 clove garlic (optional) until smooth. Photo: Thinkstock

Cherries

Oddly, a glass of cherry juice may be an effective way to fall asleep faster, says a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Rochester. In their study, they found that cherries, particularly tart cherries, naturally boosted the body’s supply of melatonin, which helped people with insomnia. While the jury is still out on how much juice or how many cherries are needed to make you sleepy, experts say sipping a glass of cherry juice (available at most natural foods stores) or having a serving of fresh, frozen or dried cherries before bedtime couldn’t hurt. Photo: Thinkstock

Cereal

There’s no need to feel guilty about having a small bowl of cereal before bed, especially if it’s a low-sugar, whole-grain cereal. Not only is it a healthy snack (make sure you top it with milk to give your body the protein it needs), but it may also help you snooze. “Complex carbohydrate–rich foods increase the availability of tryptophan in the bloodstream, increasing the sleep-inducing effects,” says Dr. Dalton-Smith. Bonus: Top your bowl with a sprinkling of dried cherries (see above) for extra help catching your zzz's.

Source: Shine magazine

Blue whales can eat half a million calories in a single mouthful

2011-01-24T02:21:00.000-08:00

The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. Ironically, it sustains its massive bulk by eating some of the smallest creatures in the ocean – krill. A foraging whale lunges into a swarm of these shrimp-like animals, accelerating to high speed with its mouth open at a right angle. Pushed back by the rush of water, its mouth expands and its tongue (itself the size of an elephant) inverts to create more room.

The whale engulfs up to 110 tonnes of water and any krill within is filtered out and swallowed.

There’s every reason to think that filtering out small prey is an incredibly efficient way of feeding. The largest fish, both living (the whale shark and basking shark) and extinct (Leedsichthys), are all filter-feeders.

And the biggest of the whales – the blue and fin – both use this technique. But no one has ever put the reputed efficiency of filter-feeding to the test, by calculating how much energy a blue whale spends on its lunges and how much it gets in return. Jeremy Goldbogen at the University of British Columbia is the first.

Goldbogen tagged 265 blue whales off the coast of California and Mexico, attaching recording devices to their backs when they surface. The data-loggers recorded the whales’ position, their acceleration, and the noise and pressure of the surrounding water. The noise was important – by measuring the sound of water rushing past the animal, Goldbergen could work out how fast it was travelling.

In total, he managed to record over 650 feeding lunges. On each one, the whale accelerates to a top speed of 8 miles per hour in less than a minute. If that seems low, bear in mind that this is an animal that weighs 180 tonnes; for comparison, Michael Phelps swam the 100m butterfly at a measly 4.4mph. Every attempt costs a huge amount of energy, around 770 to 1900 calories. Worse still, the water that rushes into the whale’s mouth produces so much drag that it grinds to a virtual halt. To lunge again, the whale needs to build up speed from a standstill, and it will do so around three or four times on a single ten-minute dive.

Nonetheless, when Goldbogen plugged the data from his recorders into a simulation of a feeding whale, he found that the lunge is staggeringly efficient. Despite the massive outlay in energy, the whale easily recoups anywhere from 6 to 240 times that amount, depending on how big it is and how tightly packed its krill targets are.
If a big whale attacks a particularly dense swarm, it can swallow up to 500 kilograms of krill, eating 457,000 calories in a single monster mouthful and getting back almost 200 times the amount it burned in the attempt. A smaller whale lunging at a sparse collection of krill would only get around 8,000 calories, but that’s still 8 times more than what it burned. Even when Goldbogen accounted for the energy needed to dive in search of prey, the whales still regained 3 to 90 times as much energy as they spent.

For comparison, sea otters get around 4 calories for every one they burn, and Weddell seals get around 10. If blue whales happen across a particularly thick glut of prey, their feeding efficiency is about ten times greater than for any other sea-going mammal.

All of these record-breaking numbers are probably a pale shadow of the true efficiency of a hunting whale, because he was being fairly conservative about the krill in his simulations. Photographs of krill suggest that these animals can gather in swarms a hundred (or even a thousand) times greater than those that Goldbogen used. If a whale swam into one of these swarms with mouth agape, it might even recover 1000 times more energy than it spent.

An efficient lifestyle is a big boon to the blue whale. Every year, it migrates from rich feeding areas close to the pole to relatively poorer mating areas towards the equator. If it’s to survive, it needs to feed as effectively as it can during the summer to build up a thick layer of blubbery reserves to fuel it through the harsh food-starved winter.

Reference: Journal of Experimental Biology

What Is the World's Largest City?

2011-01-24T01:55:00.000-08:00

The world's largest city by surface area is Hulunbuir, China, which is more than 100,000 square miles (about 250,000 square km) in area. To put it in perspective, that's bigger than 42 out of 50 American states. This is almost double the size of the next largest city of Jiuquan, also in China. The largest city outside of China is Altamira, Brazil, which is about 60,000 square miles (about 160,000 square km) in area.

More facts on super-sized cities:

The cities with the largest populations are Shanghai, Mumbai, Karachi, Delhi and Istanbul, all of which have populations of about 13 million people.

There are many contenders for the smallest city in the world, but most agree that it's either Hun, Croatia, with a population of 23; or Vatican City, which measures less than a fifth of a square mile (about a third of a square km).

The largest city in the U.S. by area is Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska, which is about 10,000 square miles (about 25,000 square km) in area. It is the eighth-largest city in the world by area. The largest U.S. city by population is New York, which has a population of about 8 million people.

Why don't children's shoes fit?

2011-01-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

Four million children are wearing the wrong-size shoes, according to new research. Why?

It's a common part of childhood, the trip to the shoe shop and your feet being measured. But according to new research conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University, there are still four million children in shoes that don't fit them.

Parents who squeeze their child's feet into the wrong-sized shoes could be condemning them to a lifetime of problems. From blisters, pressure sores and in growing toe nails in the short-term, to feet deformities like hammer toe and knee and posture problems in the long-term. The list goes on.

People need to take as much care of their children's feet as they do with their teeth, say podiatry professionals. If that's the case, why are so many children in shoes that don't fit?
Neglect, budget constraints, convenience and fashion are all to blame, says Dr Gordon Watt, lecturer in podiatry at Glasgow Caledonian University.

"People think of feet as smelly," he says. "They often just forget about them, when they should actually take much more of an interest."

Children's feet tend to grow rapidly in the first four years of their life, but it can take up to 18 years for the foot's bones, muscles and ligaments to harden into adult form. So teenage feet need to be looked after as well as those of smaller children.
According to the research, one in 10 parents say their children have continued to wear shoes that are too small for them. Half admit to only buying new shoes when their children complain their feet are hurting.

Podiatry experts say many people neglect their children's feet because they simply don't understand the problems an ill-fitting pair of shoes can cause. Only 40% of parents interviewed as part of the research took into account whether the shoes on their offspring's feet were well fitting and supportive.

False economy

Another issue is money. Two fifths of parents admitted to buying shoes that were too big so their children could grow into them over time, saving money. When it came to actually purchasing footwear, a quarter of parents said they based their decision on the cost.
The rise of cheaper shoes, sold without expert advice and proper fitting in stores and supermarkets, has also had an impact. Not only do they cost less, but they are often more convenient to buy than taking a child to a proper shoe shop for a fitting.
But it's a false economy in more ways than one, says Bob Hardy, a leading expert on shoe fitting and fellow of the Society of Shoe Fitters.
"Not only are the health of their child's feet at risk, cheaper shoes often fall apart and people end up going back two or three times for a new pair. They end up paying the same as they would have for well-made, properly-fitted shoes.
"Also, these shoe often don't come in half sizes or different widths, both of which are important if you want a shoe to fit properly."
Fashion trends also sway one in ten parents. This is a particular problem among older children and teenagers.
"Often fashionable shoes offer very little support," says Dr Watt.

Specialist training

"Take the current trend for ballet pumps among girls. They offer no support and are very flat. If you have an active child running around in them it could lead to Achilles [tendon] problems in the future."

There are checks that parents can do at home to make sure their child's shoe fits properly, says Mr Hardy.
A part of BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer questions behind the headlines

There should be no more than a 14mm gap between the big toe and end of a shoe in a new pair. Anything less than 8mm and it's time to visit the shoe shop and get another pair. When it comes to width, the shoe should be supporting the foot, not squeezing it.

It is worth going to a shoe shop because proper shoe fitters will have undergone specialist training, either through their employer or with the Society of Shoe Fitters.

What parents should also remember is there are variations in shoe sizing due to factors like the place they are made, says Mr Hardy. German shoes, for example, are wider than Italian.

Because of this a child's foot should be measured every time they get new shoes and parents should not rely on the size printed inside the shoe, he says.

Finally, make sure both feet are measured, as one can be larger than the other.

Source: BBC.com

Clever and Creative Tea Packaging

2011-01-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

Cigarette Tea Bags

Cigarettea are creative tea bags that look just like real cigarettes.

Tea Forté

Tall polyhedral infuser tea packs by Peter Hewitt, each with a disarmingly natural-looking leaf/sprout tag.

Tea Stick

Cool tea bags designed for people who do not make their tea in a kitchen: gardeners, builders and campers.

Lighting Tea Bag

Cool lighting concept by Wonsik Chae imitates the form of a tea bag

Hanger Tea

Creative tea bags by Soon Mo Kang are shaped like T-shirts with a hanger that hangs on the tea cup

Origami Tea Bags

Creative tea bags designed by Natalia Ponomareva from Russia.

Smoking cigarettes damages 323 different human genes

2011-01-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

It's not exactly news that smoking cigarettes is bad for you, but this latest danger is a doozy: smoking damages your genome. The largest genetic study of smoking ever has identified over 300 genes that are negatively affected by cigarettes.

The study looked at white blood cells from over a thousand people in the hopes of isolating specific genes whose expression was altered by smoking cigarettes. It's just one of many studies being undertaken as part of the San Antonio Family Heart Study, which has spent years examining health issues in the Texas city's Mexican American community, but this particular test is probably the most ambitious.

Research leader Jac Charlesworth explains what they found and why it's significant:

'Previous studies of gene expression as influenced by smoking have been seriously limited in size with the largest of the in vivo studies including only 42 smokers and 43 non-smokers. We studied 1,240 individuals, including 297 current smokers. Never before has such a clear link between smoking and transcriptomics [effects on gene expression] been revealed, and the scale at which exposure to cigarette smoke appears to influence the expression levels of our genes is sobering.'

The genetic effects observed fit into a variety of categories that correlate well with the known physical effects of smoking, such as decreased immune response, cell death, increased risk of cancer, metabolism of foreign particles, and natural killer cell signaling. Taken as a whole, the study points out just how deep the damage of smoking goes.

As Charlesworth puts it: 'Our results indicate that not only individual genes but entire networks of gene interaction are influenced by cigarette smoking. It is likely that this observed effect of smoking on transcription has larger implications for human disease risk, especially in relation to the increased risk of a wide variety of cancers throughout the body as a result of cigarette smoke exposure'

Source:Amazing news blog

Microneedles may make getting flu shots easier

2011-01-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

One day your annual flu shot could come in the mail. At least that's the hope of researchers developing a new method of vaccine delivery that people could even use at home: a patch with microneedles.

Microneedles? That's right, tiny little needles so small you don't even feel them. Attached to a patch like a Band-Aid, the little needles barely penetrate the skin before they dissolve and release their vaccine.

Researchers led by Mark Prausnitz of Georgia Institute of Technology reported their research on microneedles in Sunday's edition of Nature Medicine.

The business side of the patch feels like fine sandpaper, he said. In tests of microneedles without vaccine, people rated the discomfort at one-tenth to one-twentieth that of getting a standard injection, he said. Nearly everyone said it was painless.

Some medications are already delivered by patches, such as nicotine patches for people trying to quit smoking. That's simply absorbed through the skin. But attempts to develop patches with the flu vaccine absorbed through the skin have not been successful so far.

In the Georgia Tech work, the vaccine is still injected.
But the needles are so small that they don't hurt and it doesn't take any special training to use this kind of patch.

So two problems are solved right away — fear of needles, and disposal of leftover hypodermic needles.
"The goal has been a means to administer the vaccine that is patient friendly," Mark R. Prausnitz of Georgia Tech said in a telephone interview.

That means "not only not hurting or looking scary, but that patients could self-administer," he said, and people would be more likely to get the flu vaccine.
By developing needles that dissolve, there are no leftover sharp needles, especially important for people who might give themselves the vaccine at home, he said.

The patch, which has been tested on mice, was developed in collaboration by researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University, Prausnitz said. The researchers are now seeking funds to begin tests in people and, if all goes well, the patch could be in use in five years, he said.

Flu vaccination is recommended for nearly everyone, every year, and that's a big burden on the public health network, Prausnitz noted. Many people don't get the shot because it's inconvenient, but if they could get in the mail or at the pharmacy they might do so, he said.

The patch is placed on the skin and left for 5 minutes to 15 minutes, he said. It can remain longer without doing any damage, he said. In tests on mice, the miocroneedles delivered a correct dose of the flu vaccine.
The little needles are 650 microns (three-hundredths of an inch) in length and there are 100 on the patch used in the mouse study.

Asked if the term "microneedle" might still frighten some folks averse to shots, Prausnitz said he was confident that marketers would come up with a better term before any sales began.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Source :arab news.com

Breastfeeding boosts schoolboys' brains, not girls'

2011-01-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

Breastfeeding improves later academic performance in boys but appears to have no such effect in girls.
Wendy Oddy at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Subiaco, Western Australia, and colleagues, examined whether having been breastfed affected the test scores of over 1000 10-year-olds.
Studies have suggested that children who were breastfed have higher IQs than those who were not, but few separated out boys and girls. Mothers who breastfeed are on average wealthier and more educated, so Oddy's team accounted for these factors.

Boys who were mainly breastfed for at least six months scored 9 per cent higher in mathematics and writing tests, 7 per cent higher in spelling and 6 per cent higher in reading, compared with boys fed with formula milk or breastfed for shorter periods. There were no significant differences in results for girls.

"We know that breast milk contains the optimal nutrients for development of the brain and central nervous system," says Oddy, but the gender differences were surprising.

Hormone link

Oddy points out that other studies have suggested boys are more vulnerable to stress and adversity during critical periods of brain development. She speculates this could be because girls seem to be protected by higher levels of oestrogen during childhood. She says the improved academic performance of boys could be explained by oestrogen in breast milk having similar neuro-protective effects.

Some studies have suggested that fatty acids uniquely present in breast milk explain research showing that it can help babies become more intelligent. Whether or not these fatty acids help in boosting IQ may be linked to the presence of certain gene variants involved in their processing.

A large randomised trial conducted by Michael Kramer at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, concluded that prolonged breastfeeding was linked tohigher IQ and academic ratings by teachers in Belarussian children at age 6, but found no sex differences.

"These results add to the evidence that longer and exclusive breastfeeding is beneficial for cognitive development," says Kramer.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months, and states that failing to do so impairs intellectual and social development.

Source: newscientist.com

Quotations!!

2011-01-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

The intuituive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

-Albert Einstein

How Many People in China are Over 65?

2011-01-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

By 2015, there will be more than 100 million people in China who are more than 65 years old. By 2050, that population will raise to 300 million. At that time, a full one-fourth of the Chinese population will be older than 65.

More facts on aging populations:

Globally, by 2018, there will be more people older than 65 than those younger than 5. This will be the first time this age discrepancy will have occurred.

Though Japan had one of the youngest populations in the 1950s, the median age now is more than 40 years. By 2050, the median age of the Japanese population will exceed 50 years.
The two areas of the world that are aging the most rapidly are East Asia and Western Europe. Though the United States is still subject to the trend of aging, the immigration of many younger Latin Americans to the U.S. is keeping the population's average age down.

Source:Wise Geek.com

The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries

2011-01-12T23:24:00.000-08:00

1-Abbey Library St. Gall in Saint Gallen, Switzerland

2-The Astronomy Library of the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands

3-Bristol Central Library

4-The British Library reading room at the centre of the Great Court of the British Museum in London, England.

5-Central Library of Vancouver in Vancouver, Canada

6-Delft University Library in The Netherlands

7-José Vasconcelos Library

8-Klementinum National Library in the Czech Republic

9-The Library of Melk Abbey, in Melk, Austria

10-Library of Parliament (reading room), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

11-The Los Angeles Central Library in Los Angeles, California

12-Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (The Austrian National Library) in Vienna, Austria

13-Philology Library of the University Berlin in Russia

14-Royal Library El Escorial in Spain

15-City Library of Stockholm in Sweden

16-The Suzzallo library of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington

Source: The Great Geek Manual .com

The teenager who sleeps for 10 days

2011-01-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

While most teenagers struggle to get out of bed in a morning, Louisa Ball might take 10 days to fully wake from her slumber, due to a very rare neurological disorder. So what's it like living with Kleine-Levin Syndrome?

Louisa has slept through holidays, friends' birthdays and half of her GCSEs.

In 2008, aged 14, she had been suffering from flu-like symptoms. She was at her school in Sussex when she started nodding off in class and behaving strangely.

"I didn't know what I was doing, what I was saying, everyone thought 'hey this isn't right,'" she recalls.
"I was hallucinating and after that I don't remember anything. All of a sudden it just went blank and I just slept for 10 days. I woke up and I was fine again."

Her parents Rick and Lottie watched their daughter becoming fidgety and with unusual facial expressions as she sank into sleep. The first time was a frightening experience for them, although Louisa herself says she wasn't scared by the episode, more puzzled.

"It was really weird, no one knew what was wrong, we just thought it wasn't going to happen again. And then four weeks later it happened again."

She was finally diagnosed with Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS). There is no known cause or cure but Louisa says it was good to know what it was and that it wasn't life threatening.

The average time it takes to diagnose the condition is four years, because there is no test and so it requires a process of elimination of other disorders.

The disease was named after Willi Kleine, a neurologist from Frankfurt, and Max Levin, a psychiatrist from New York, who identified patients with similar symptoms in 1925 and 1936.

Louisa is unusual as KLS usually affects teenage boys, who can also exhibit hypersexuality and inappropriate behaviour.
As well as excessive sleeping, symptoms include behaviour changes, irritability, feeling in a dream-like state and binge eating, symptoms that can be mistaken for normal teenage behaviour. There are no drugs that have conclusively shown to alleviate symptoms.

'No dreams'

People with the sleep disorder narcolepsy fall asleep immediately, but people with KLS might sleep more and more over a number of days before falling into sleep mode.

Louisa says she remembers very little when she wakes up from an episode: "It's just blank - no dreams. Now I'll remember a lot more that's gone on. Before I wouldn't remember anything at all. My dad thinks my brain is learning to cope with it more."

So how do you deal with a disorder that takes over your life so much?

It nearly ruined Louisa's career ambitions, because she slept through most of her GCSEs but her college allowed her to enrol and she is studying sport performance and excellence, with dreams of being a dancer.
At first, her school teachers didn't understand, she says. "They'd give work to my brother for me to do and when I went back to school they expected me to have done it but I'd have slept for 10 days."

Some people with KLS have complained they have lost their friends because they suddenly disappear for weeks on end but Louisa has a close knit group of girlfriends. Some even visit her when she's sleeping, just to check she's ok.

When she wakes up, it takes her a few days to fully come round, and her body is quite stiff so her dancing is affected for while.

"I've never really got upset about it but I sometimes do think 'why me', because I've always been a normal healthy person. But all of a sudden it happened and there's no reason why it happened and that sometimes frustrates me.

"But I've got used to it now and learnt to live with it. I'm a special kid."
The change in behaviour before and during a sleep episode is one of the most upsetting things for Louisa's parents, who take it in turns to remain with her. Doctors have told the family it's crucial to wake Louisa once a day to feed her and get her to the bathroom.

But Lottie admits it can take a while to get her to come round. "I've tried before to literally force her to wake up but she just starts swearing and gets so agitated and aggressive."
After watching a video the family made of her while sleeping, Louisa says: "I look scary, it doesn't look like me, it's like I'm on drugs."

Frustrated by the lack of information in the UK, Louisa was taken by her parents to the Hospital Pitié-Salpétrière in Paris, where researchers are looking into whether it is caused by a defective gene.

Many sufferers have abnormalities in their temporal lobe, the area of the brain involved in behaviour and memory. A scan of Louisa's brain function revealed she does have abnormalities in her frontal lobe but there are no signs that this has affected her behaviour or memory.
The good news is the disease can also disappear just as suddenly as it came on. This normally happens after 10 to 15 years.

But Louisa is currently going through a good period. She was out doing Christmas shopping with her best friend this week and has not had an episode in 13 weeks. A few weeks ago she won yet another dance competition.

"It's almost as if I've forgotten about it because I haven't had one in so long."
Louisa's parents, however, are still watching her constantly for signs she could be heading into a sleep state.
"It's weird - now I've left school I haven't actually had an episode, they probably think I was faking it," she jokes.

What is Kleine-Levin Syndrome?

KLS is a disease of adolescence, and sometimes will begin after infection or illness, says Tom Rico of the Center for Narcolepsy & KLS Research at Stanford University, California.
"An individual with KLS will have sleep episodes, typically lasting between one and three weeks, with coinciding cognitive disturbance in the few hours of wakefulness.
"During this time period, a patient will sleep anywhere between 16 to 22 hours a day, every day, until the conclusion of the episode."
But the excessive sleeping is only half the problem, he says, because when awake during the episode, patients experience what they describe as a "dream-like state".

Source: Frances CroninBBC News

Top 10 unusual winter sports

2011-01-11T02:10:00.000-08:00

There is more to winter travel than skiing and snowboarding. Nontraditional winter sports and activities have sprouted up all over the world, catering to adventurers who crave new ways to get their adrenaline pumping.
Here are our ten favourite out-of-the-ordinary outdoor sports for your next winter vacation.

1. Polar bear swimming in Korea

Each January in Busan, thrill-seeking locals jump into the freezing cold water of the Korea Strait in nothing but their bikinis and swim trunks. The Polar Bear Swim competition has taken place at Haeundae Beach every year since 1988. It is the Korean way of welcoming good health in the new year. Get ready to run 10 meters across the sand, leap into the icy water, and then swim 80 meters toward the finish line. Even though it is technically a race, the Korean Tourism Organization (www.visitkorea.or.kr) points out that the Polar Bear Swim is less about competition and more about spreading good cheer.

2. Ski biking in Colorado

If bicycling in the snow sounds like trouble, try riding a bike outfitted with skis instead of wheels down snowy slopes in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. Durango Mountain Resort (www.durangomountainresort.com) has long offered ski biking as one of its winter activities. The ski resort holds an international ski bike festival once a year for participants and spectators alike. Be sure to take a lesson or two before going out on the slopes for the first time; it is not as easy as the YouTube videos make it look.

3. Ice karting in Finland

What could be more fun than go-kart racing on ice? In Kuusamo, Finland, give reckless driving a try on a frozen lake. Race against a few friends or strangers at Ruka Adventures (www.rukaadventures.fi/en) with the chance to win a medal. After the adrenaline rush, relax with some complimentary coffee, tea, sweets and sausages.

4. Dog sledding in Alaska

Dog sledding, or mushing, is Alaska's official sport. Enjoy the ride while a team of adorable huskies pulls you along for either a short sprint or a long journey. Dog sled rides can last anywhere from minutes to days, depending on your interests. Alaska Best Wilderness (www.alaskabestwilderness.com), based in Tanana, has 11-day backpacking expeditions that combine mushing, trekking and rafting. If you just want an afternoon with the beautiful sled dogs, Sun Dog Express (www.mosquitonet.com/~sleddog) in Fairbanks offers guided tours starting from just half a mile long.

5. Skijoring in Minnesota

For a snowy adventure with your own dogs, try skijoring in Minnesota. Skijoring is a combination of cross country skiing and dog sledding in which a person on skis is pulled along by his or her pups. The Midwest Skijorers Club (www.skijor.org) holds skijoring events around the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

6. Snow tubing in Canada

Snow lovers who do not ski or snowboard will love snow tubing. Basically sledding in a tube, snowtubing is easy, cheap and incredibly fun. Rock Ridge Recreation Park (www.rockridgetubing.com) in Ontario is especially dedicated to the sport and features six tubing runs. Attach a few tubes together to go down the slopes with your friends or family. Rock Ridge's season this year begins the day after Christmas.

7. Ice climbing in Chile

True exhilaration can be found just outside of Santiago, Chile in Cajón del Maipo. There, the awe-inspiring El Morado Glacier sets the scene for a simultaneously magnificent, terrifying and thrilling ice climbing trip. Trek out to the southwest side of Cerro El Morado where the most adventurous of adventurers climb the hanging glacier. The sights are spectacular, so remember to bring a camera.

8. Ice sailing in Poland

Feel the blustery wind rush over you as you sail across Poland's Great Masurian Lakes when they freeze over in the winter. With no waves to slow you down, the sport brings new meaning to the term "smooth sailing". Iceboats can reach very high speeds, so racing should only be attempted after you get the hang of basic sailing.

9. Snowkiting in Utah

While many snowkite enthusiasts use a board or skis, all you really need to go snowkiting is a power kite and an appetite for excitement. Glide down the slopes in snowy Utah and let the wind pull you up into the air. Lessons can be found at the Utah Kite Addiction (www.utahkiteaddiction.com) snowkiting school in the Ogden Valley. Beginners should take a class to learn the basics about snowkiting safety.

10. Shark ice fishing in Greenland

The Greenland Shark Challenge (www.greenland-guide.gl/sharkchallenge) is anything but your average fishing trip. Battle icy waters to catch Greenland's largest fish, the Greenland shark. These sharks can get reach 21 feet and 2,200 pounds, so reeling one in is a feat worthy of bragging rights. The Challenge takes place in the beautiful town of Uummannaq which boasts stunning views of glaciers and mountains. Book a fixed week-long fishing tour or arrange for an individual angling trip with a local fisherman.

Source: World Tour Guide

Pythagoras, a math genius? Not by Babylonian standards

2011-01-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

Over 1,000 years before Pythagoras was calculating the length of a hypotenuse, sophisticated scribes in Mesopotamia were working with the same theory to calculate the area of their farmland.

Working on clay tablets, students would "write" out their math problems in cuneiform script, a method that involved making wedge-shaped impressions in the clay with a blunt reed.

These tablets bear evidence of practical as well as more advanced theoretical math and show just how sophisticated the ancient Babylonians were with numbers -- more than a millennium before Pythagoras and Euclid were doing the same in ancient Greece.

"They are the most sophisticated mathematics from anywhere in the world at that time," said Alexander Jones, a Professor of the History of the Exact Sciences in Antiquity at New York University.

He is co-curator of "Before Pythagoras: The Culture of Old Babylonian Mathematics," an exhibition at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in New York.

"This is nearly 4,000 years ago and there's no other ancient culture at that time that we know of that is doing anything like that level of work. It seems to be going beyond anything that daily life needs," he said.

Many scribes were trained in the ancient city of Nippur in what is now southern Iraq, where a large number of tablets were discovered between the mid-19th century and the 1920s.

Typical problems they worked on involved calculating the area of a given field, or the width of a trench.
These problems, says Jones, required the kind of math training taught to American Grade 10 students, but not in a format we would now recognize.

"It's not like algebra, it's all written out in words and numerals but no symbols and no times signs or equals or anything like that," he said.

This system, and the lack of recognizable Western mathematical symbols such as x and y, meant that it was several years before historians and archaeologists understood just what was represented on these tablets.
It took a young Austrian mathematician in the 1920s, named Otto Neugebauer, to crack the mathematical system and work out what the ancient Babylonians were calculating. But despite his advances, it is only recently that interest in Babylonian math has started to take hold.

"I think that before Neugebauer and even after Neugebauer, there wasn't a lot of attention placed on mathematical training in Babylon even though we have this rich cuneiform history with the tablets," said Jennifer Chi, Associate Director for Exhibitions and Public Programs at Institute for the Study of the Ancient World.

When we think of ancient mathematics, the first names that come to mind are Pythagoras and Euclid. That shouldn't be the case.

One of the aims of the institute, she says, is to find interconnections between ancient cultures as well as look at what the institute sees as under-represented ancient cultures -- and the culture of ancient Babylonian math, she says, is ripe for popular revision.

"When we think of ancient mathematics, the first names that come to mind are Pythagoras and Euclid," she said, but that "this shouldn't be the case."
And though ancient Babylonia is often referred to in popular culture as a "lost" world, in fact much more evidence of mathematical learning from the period exists than from ancient Greece, said Chi.

Jones of New York University believes that there is much more that could be excavated but that, of course, current conditions in Iraq are not favorable. Still, there are enough tablets in collections across the world for mathematical historians to get stuck into.

For non-mathematicians, these tablets are a fascinating document of life in Mesopotamia. Most of the problems displayed are grounded in the everyday needs of ancient Babylonians.

But some tablets show the students engaging in what Jones calls "recreational math" -- math for math's sake.
"The only point of learning to do this kind of thing is really as a mental exercise, as a way of showing how smart you are," he said.

And it seems there is still more to learn from the Babylonians. Duncan Melville is a Professor of Mathematics at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, whose special interest is Mesopotamian mathematics.
According to Melville, teachers can continue to learn a thing or two about the way math was taught in Mesopotamia.

"You look at the way they set up their sequences of problems and it's all very carefully graduated, from simple problems to more complicated problems," he said.

"As a teacher of mathematics, it's very interesting to see how they organized their material," he continued. "There's still interesting things to learn from cutting-edge pedagogy 4,000 years ago."

With research continuing into this strand of ancient history, it remains to be seen whether Pythagoras's theorem will come to bear the name of an old Babylonian scribe instead.

Indian village bans mobiles for unwed women

2011-01-07T00:53:00.000-08:00

LUCKNOW - A northern Indian village has banned unmarried women from using cell phones for fear they will arrange forbidden marriages that are often punished by death, a local official said Wednesday.

The Lank village council decided unmarried boys could use mobile phones, but only under parental supervision, council member Satish Tyagi said. Local women's rights group criticized the measure as backward and unfair.

Marriages between members of the same clan are forbidden under Hindu custom in some parts of north India, where unions are traditionally arranged by families. In conservative rural areas, families sometimes mete out extreme punishments, including so-called honor killings, for those who violate marriage taboos. In some cases, village councils themselves have ordered the punishments, though police often intervene to stop them.

The Lank village council feared young men and women were secretly calling one another to arrange forbidden elopements.

Last month, 34 couples eloped in Muzaffarnagar district, where Lank is located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, police said. Among the couples who eloped, eight honor killings have been reported in the last month, police said.

"Three girls were beheaded by the male members of their family after they eloped" with boys from their same clan, said police assistant director general Brij Lal in the state capital of Lucknow.

Rulings by village councils — called panchayats and comprised of village elders selected by the community — are not legally binding in India, but are seen as the will of the local community, and those who flout them risk being ostracized. In Uttar Pradesh, panchayats are particularly powerful and have declared that boys and girls of the same clan are essentially siblings.

The cell phone ban for unmarried women is part of a wider, regional effort to curb intraclan marriage among the 3 million population of western Uttar Pradesh, Tyagi said. The Lank council ruling, which applies to around 50,000 people, is being considered by councils in the nearby villages.

"The village council members feel that cell phones helped in elopement of young couples," he said by cell phone from Muzaffarnagar.

The conflict is relatively new for the Indian region, where most marriages are still arranged by the parents, sometimes without the couple meeting before the wedding.

But young people are mingling more these days, with more women in schools and offices and increased access to the Internet, cybercafes and social networking sites. They are also watching more Western TV shows that focus on independence and individuality, sociologists say.

Cell phones, meanwhile, have become so common and affordable that even city slum dwellers, rural day laborers and children have them. Across the nation of 1.2 billion, there were more than 670 million cell phone connections as of August, with the number growing by nearly 20 million a month, according to government figures.

The local women's rights group Disha said banning cell phone use over sexual politics demonstrated the councils' archaic mindset, and warned it could put girls at a disadvantage in other areas of life.

"These help in easy communication, which in turn help these youth to get jobs. One cannot discriminate use of these contraptions on basis of sex," Disha president K.N. Tiwari said.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior
written authority of The Associated Press.

Candle Quote!

2011-01-07T00:39:00.000-08:00

It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

~ Chinese proverb

Genes give clue to early puberty

2011-01-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

At least 30 genes appear to play a role in the age at which girls reach puberty, according to an international group of scientists.

The team scanned the genetic code of more than 100,000 women, reporting their findings in the journal Nature Genetics.

In the UK, girls as young as 10 are now showing the first signs of puberty.

A specialist said early puberty was linked to an increased risk of female cancers later in life.
The reasons why girls are going through puberty several years earlier than a century ago are not well understood by scientists.

Some have suggested a relationship between early puberty and obesity, and the latest research, carried out by the Reprogen consortium of scientists from the US, Europe and Australia, supports this idea.
Among the 30 genes highlighted by their genome research were some already linked to fat metabolism and weight regulation.

However, it is still not clear whether being obese or overweight in childhood is itself the cause of early puberty, or just another consequence of a different mechanism.

In addition, the study does not show how much of the risk is due to genes, and how much other environmental factors such as diet and upbringing are responsible.

Fat stores

One author, Dr Ken Ong, from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, said: "We know that girls who are overweight are more likely to go through puberty at young ages.
You need to be aware that you may be laying down your future risk from childhood”
Professor Anthony Swerdlow,Institute of Cancer Research

"If rates of childhood obesity continue to rise we will see many more girls with puberty at young ages."
Dr Anna Murray, another of the researchers from Exeter University, suggested that holding larger stores of fat might signal to the brain that it had the resources to start a woman's reproductive life.

She said: "We found that the timing of puberty is related to fatty acid metabolic pathways - there is evidence that the brain can sense these types of body fats."
Aside from the confusion experienced by young children entering puberty, it carries other health risks in the longer term.

Professor Anthony Swerdlow, from the Institute of Cancer Research, said that early puberty meant a higher risk of female cancers, particularly breast cancer.
This was possibly due to a higher lifetime exposure to sex hormones such as oestrogen.

He said that good diet and exercise, or the lack of it, in early childhood might be crucial to health many decades later.
He said: "What we increasingly believe is that, at least for breast cancer, the risk starts very, very young, even before puberty.

"If you are to prevent it, you need to be aware that you may be laying down your future risk from childhood."

Eating Disorders Strike Younger and Younger

2010-12-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

"I always wanted to be the good girl. Good girls are skinny and happy. The bad girls are the fat ones."
That was the explanation a recent visitor to the Alliance for Eating DisordersAwareness in West Palm Beach, Fla. gave when asked why she starved herself to the point of hospitalization. She was eleven years old.

Anorexia and its sister-disorder, bulimia,have historically been thought of as striking white, middle to upper class teenage girls. But a recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics warns doctors that eating disorders arehappening to younger girls -- and boys -- at an alarming rate.

"People tend to have this idea of who gets eating disorders, but an eating disorder doesn't discriminate between age, gender, race, or class," says Johanna Kandel, founder and director of the alliance.

"Some research says that as much as ten percent of those with eating disorders are under the age of ten. What I'm finding at the alliance is that the number of parents seeking help for their 7-, 8-, 9-year-olds is escalating rapidly," she says.

A 2009 analysis found that in the last decade, hospitalizations for eating disorders more than doubled among children under twelve and now account for four percent of all such hospitalizations.

"Pediatricians need to be aware of the early symptoms of eating disorders because they are the medical professional that a child is mostly likely to see in any given year," says Dr. Jim Lock, director of the Eating Disorder Program at Packard Children's Hospital. "They are the gatekeepers."

It used to be that the onset of an eating disorder tended to be around mid-adolescence, around age fifteen or around the time of first menses at about age thirteen. So why are there a growing number of girls who are showing signs of bingeing and purging as young as eight?

When Kids are Weight-Obsessed

It could be hormonal, he says, as the onset of puberty has been occurring earlier over time, but a big trigger might be the dropping psychological onset of puberty as opposed to the physiological one. In terms of interest in appearance, clothing, social behavior and sexualization, girls at twelve are experiencing what girls at fourteen were experiencing just a decade ago, Lock says. Culturally, the cues to be concerned with appearance are being delivered to girls at younger and younger ages.
Part of the growth of anorexia may have to do with the growing focus on educating kids about obesity, Kandel says.

"There's been so much emphasis onchildhood obesity, all these programs to ameliorate the situation and in a way we're actually potentiating eating disorders. That's a very thin line we need to walk and make sure the dialogue is one of a healthy attitude towards food," she says.

How to Read the Signs

In many ways, an anorexic ten-year-old may not behave very differently from a fourteen-year-old one, experts say, but because of their age, parents and doctors may be less likely to recognize the signs of an eating disorder.

"What you look for is the same -- they stop eating, they start to restrict food intake or binge," says Dr. Carol Bernstein, associate professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine. Unreasonable amounts of exercise and an obsession with food or weight are also signs that would be similar across the age group.

But because children do not have the mental or emotional maturity of their teen counterparts, Lock warns that they might not even be able to articulate that they are doing these things to lose weight. "Older girls might be able to say, I feel like I'm losing control or I feel scared that I'll gain weight, but like with any child psychiatric issue, you have to look at their behavior," he says.

A depressed child will often not recognize that they are sad but will have an unexplained stomach ache or be unable to sleep, he adds, so you have to watch the behavior. Parents should watch to see if their child may be displaying behaviors of an eating disorder even if they don't seem weight-obsessed.

The personality traits that tend to accompany eating disorders in older patients are also seen in children: anxiety, perfectionism and obsessive tendencies.

Weight loss doesn't necessarily have to be a symptom either, experts warn, because children under twelve are supposed to be putting on weight continually so even a child that is trying not to gain any weight could be doing his or herself harm.

Pediatricians, First Line of Defense

The American Academy of Pediatrics report, published Monday, suggests that pediatricians screen for eating disorders as part of annual checkups or during pre-participation sports exams. If an eating disorder is suspected, a more thorough history and physical exam should be ordered and possibly assessment for psychological problems.

It's essential to catch these behaviors at an early stage, Kandel says, "because you don't want this behavior to become any more entrenched than it already is."
For parents who are worried that their child might be at risk for developing an eating disorder, experts recommend teaching by doing.

"They observe and follow us," Bernstein says, so parents should set a good example and be careful not to obsess over food or their own weight in front of their children.

Encourage healthy eating in the home and stay away from using food as a punishment or reward, Kandel says, because this sets up an unhealthy relationship with food. Also stay away from talking about certain foods as categorically "good" or "bad" because this might lead to bingeing, she says

Source: ABC news

No-Guessing, Only Clear Punching

2010-12-30T10:46:00.000-08:00

The Transparent Punch allows you to see where exactly you will be punching the hole in a paper. The red ring guides your placement and saves you from doing a shoddy job.

Designers: Kisang Yoon and Kyubok Lee

Source: Yanko design

Proboscis Monkey

2010-12-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

The Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus), known as the bekantan in Malay, or simply the Long-nosed Monkey. It is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey that is endemic to the south-east Asian island of Borneo. It belongs in the monotypic genus Nasalis, although the Pig-tailed Langur has traditionally also been included in this genus - a treatment still preferred by some.

The monkey also goes by the Malay name monyet belanda 'Dutch monkey', or even Orang Belanda 'Dutchman', as Indonesians remarked that the Dutchcolonisers often had a similarly large belly and nose.

Appearance

A distinctive trait of this monkey is the male's large protruding nose, from which it takes its name. The big nose is thought to be used to attract females and is a characteristic of the males, reaching up to 7 inches in length. The females also have big noses compared to other monkey species, but not as big as the males. Besides attracting mates, the nose serves as a resonating chamber, amplifying their warning calls. When the animal becomes agitated its nose swells with blood, making warning calls louder and more intense.

Proboscis Monkeys belong to the order of Primates, from the family Cercopithecidae and subfamily Colobinae (Bennett & Gomber, 1993). According to Bennett & Gomber (1993), in the Old World, these monkeys are divided into two groups known as cercopithecines and colobines. Proboscis Monkeys are colobines. Males are much larger than females, weighing up to 24 kg (53 pounds) and reaching 72 cm (28 inches) in length, with a tail of up to 75 cm in length. Females are up to 60 cm long, weighing up to 12 kg (26 lb). This large sexual dimorphic difference is greater than in any other primate.

The adult Proboscis Monkey is mainly reddish-brown, with grayish limbs (Bennett & Gombek, 1993). According to Burnie (2001), young Proboscis Monkeys have a blue face, blackish fur and a relatively normal sized nose at birth. As they grow older, fur coloration changes and the nose grows. Adult males have a large and fleshy nose which overhangs its mouth, but the female Proboscis Monkey does not have a large nose in comparison to the male.

Ecology and habitat

The Proboscis Monkey is endemic to Borneo's low elevation mangrove forests, swamps, and lowland riparian forests.One of the largest populations is found in the Danau Sentarum National Park. It lives in small groups of 10 to 32 animals. Group membership is very flexible, and animals are known to move from group to group quite often.

The Proboscis Monkey's lifestyle is both arboreal and amphibious, with its mangrove swamp and riverine environment containing forest, dry land, shallow water allowing wading, and deep water requiring swimming. Like other similar monkeys, the Proboscis Monkey climbs well. It is also a proficient swimmer, often swimming from island to island, and has been picked up by fishing boats in open ocean a mile from shore. While wading, the monkey uses an upright posture, with the females carrying infants on their hip. Troops have been filmed continuing to walk upright, in single file, along forest trails when they emerge on land, the only non-human mammal, with the exception of gibbons and giant pangolins, known to use this form of locomotion for any length of time.

Proboscis Monkeys usually lives in a harem which comprises one adult male, several females, and their offspring, but sometimes the male and female Proboscis Monkeys move between social group. The Proboscis Monkey is mostly arboreal, but sometimes the animals migrate downriver into the mangrove forest to feed.

The monkey also has a large belly, a result of its diet[citation needed] Its digestive system is divided into compartments, with bacteria that digest cellulose and neutralize toxins from certain leaves. This lets the monkey eat leaves and remain in the forest canopy. The contents of their stomach weigh in at about a quarter of their whole body. The diet consists mainly of seeds, leaves, fruits, and mangrove shoots.

Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Is a potato-only diet good for you?

2010-12-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

A man in the US has eaten nothing but 20 potatoes a day for the past two months. So, the Magazine asks, what does such a diet do to the body?

Chris Voigt's reason for eating potatoes, potatoes and nothing but potatoes is as plain and simple as his diet has been for the past two months.

As executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, he's trying to debunk perceptions that potatoes are unhealthy and instead are a good source of fibre, potassium and vitamin C.

To that end, he's eaten nothing but 20 potatoes a day - no cheese toppings, no butter and milk for mashing - since 1 October. He's had them baked, chipped, boiled, steamed, mashed, fried - and for Thanksgiving last Thursday, he feasted on mashed potato formed into a turkey shape, and pumpkin pie made with - you guessed it - mashed potato with pumpkin pie flavouring added.

Nutritionist Fiona Hunter agrees that potatoes have a bad rep. "Although many people think potatoes are nothing more than starch carbs, they are a surprising source of several vitamins and minerals. However, eating just potatoes will not provide all the nutrients needed for good health."

Critics had warned Mr Voigt it would lead to weight gain, loss of energy and worryingly high blood sugar levels from all the carbohydrates.

But in the course of his two-month diet, Mr Voigt himself says he has lost 18 pounds. His previously borderline-high cholesterol has dropped - down 52 points at the half-way mark. And the family food bill is down as he can feed himself for $15 (£9.40) a week.

"Physically I feel great. Lots of energy, sleep good at night, no strange side-effects," says Mr Voigt from his office in Moses Lake, Washington state. "I'm not encouraging anyone to go on this crazy diet, nor would my doctor. This diet was just a bold statement to remind people that there is a lot of nutrition in a potato.

"My doctor is interested to see the final results, and he suspected I would be just fine at the end of 60 days."
While nutritionist Sue Todd wouldn't recommend such a diet, she says it has more going for it than some - especially if he was in reasonably good health to start with, and doesn't continue beyond 60 days.

"Sailors on long sea voyages used to get scurvy, because they ate mainly starches from grain, which contained no vitamin C. Potatoes are a decent source of vitamin C, although they are not high in it.

"Depending on how you restrict your diet, missing out on some vitamins affects you more than others. Variety is really important to get the nutrients our bodies need."

It is an eating regime that's low in fat, which she approves of, and by eating a good proportion of his potatoes with the skin on, the fibre Mr Voigt consumes cuts the risk of one-side effect associated with restricted diets - constipation.

But a potato-only diet provides none of the calcium and omega three - an essential fatty acid crucial for brain and heart function - needed for good health, says Ms Hunter.

"The body needs 40 nutrients to function and no single food will provide all of these, which is why the nutrition guidelines from groups like the Department of Health stress that we need to eat a variety of food.

"A diet of just potatoes will be deficient in vitamins A, E and K, the minerals calcium and selenium, essential fatty acids, protein and dietary fibre. Although they may provide enough iron for a man, they will not provide enough iron for women.

"One way of addressing the vitamin shortfall would be to substitute white potatoes with sweet potatoes, which have more vitamin E and A."

Mr Voigt did not take any multivitamins - something she says would help anyone undergoing this kind of regime.

And when his diet ends, what will that do to his body? Ms Todd warns of possible digestive discomfort as his system readjusts.

"He should ease himself out of it and not eat too much meat too soon, as it takes longer to digest."

So what is Mr Voigt planning to eat once freed from his self-imposed diet?

"I think my first meal is going to be a spicy beef taco, a glass of milk, a crunchy apple, and yes… roasted potatoes."

Source: BBC magazine

Time!

2010-12-24T05:27:00.000-08:00

Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the
same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can't buy more
hours. Scientists can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time
to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and
forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still
have an entire tomorrow.

(Denis Waitely)

Stop Food Cravings Through Imaginary Eating?

2010-12-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Imaginary chewing and swallowing can reduce cravings, study says.

Fighting an M&M's craving this holiday season? Let that milk chocolate melt in your mind—not in your mouth.

According to new research, imagining eating a specific food reduces your interest in that food, so you eat less of it.

This reaction to repeated exposure to food is called habituation, and it's well known to occur while eating. A "tenth bite of chocolate, for example, is desired less than the first bite," the study authors note.

But the new research is the first to show that habituation can occur solely via the power of the mind.

"A lot of people who diet try to avoid thinking about stimuli they crave. This research suggests that may not be the best strategy," said study leader Carey Morewedge, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

"If you just think about the food itself—how it tastes, smells, and looks—[that will] increase your appetite," Morewedge said.

"This research suggests that it might be better, actually, to force yourself to repeatedly think about tasting, swallowing, and chewing the food you crave to reduce your cravings."

What's more, the technique works with only the food you've imagined, he added. For instance, imagining eating chocolate wouldn't prevent you from gorging on cheese.

Mind Over Chocolate

Morewedge and colleagues conducted five experiments, all of which revealed that people who repeatedly imagined eating chocolate or cheese would eat less of that food than people who pictured eating the food fewer times, eating a different food, or not eating at all.

In one experiment, for instance, 51 subjects were divided into 3 groups. One group was asked to imagine inserting 30 quarters into a laundry machine—which requires the same motor skills as eating M&M's, the study says—and then eating three M&M's.

Another group was asked to imagine inserting three quarters into a laundry machine and then eating 30 M&M's. Lastly, a control group imagined just inserting 33 quarters into a laundry machine—no M&M's.

All participants then ate freely from bowls containing 1.5 ounces (40 grams) of M&M's each. When the subjects said they were done, the bowls were taken away and weighed.

The results showed that the group that imagined eating 30 M&M's each ate fewer of the chocolates than both the control group and the group that imagined eating 3 M&M's.

New Anti-OvereatingTechnique?

The study is part of a new area of research looking into the triggers that make us overeat, Morewedge noted.
Physical, digestive cues—that full-belly feeling—are only parts of what tells us that we're finished a meal. Recent research suggests that psychological factors, such as habituation or the size of a plate, also influence how much a person eats.

Such experiments are important as obesity rates climb—in the United States, for instance, nearly 30 percent of adults were obese in 2009, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity increases chances of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other ailments.

The new study, Morewedge said, may lead to new behavioral techniques for people looking to control overeating or other addictive behaviors such as smoking.

Source:National Geographic

Scam: 'See who viewed your Facebook profile'!

2010-12-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

Many of us are quite curious to know who viewed our Facebook profile. However, unfortunately scammers too are aware of this, and use the lure of such functionality as a way to trick users.

And, one such scam is again prowling on Facebook having claimed thousands of victims. The rogue application is spreading virally among Facebook users pretending to offer them a way of seeing who has viewed their profile.

According to security firm Sophos, "Messages spreading rapidly across the Facebook social network right now say: OMG OMG OMG... I can't believe this actually works! Now you really can see who viewed your profile!"

In fact, so far there is no application or way to find out who viewed your facebook profile. This means all those applications that promise you to show who has viewed your Facebook profile pages are actually scams.

Sophos warns that scams like these are used to earn commission for the mischief makers behind them, who have no qualms about using your Facebook profile to spread their spammy links even further.

However, in case, you've already fallen to the scam like this, remove references to it from your newsfeed, and revoke the right of rogue applications to access your profile via Account/ Privacy Settings/ Applications and Websites.

Does reading a book make us happier?

2010-12-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

Public libraries face an uncertain future but the value of reading is irreplaceable, says Joan Bakewell in her A Point of View column.

I was returning a library book last week. It had been important in some research I was doing so I sought to renew it. "No, I'm afraid it's in demand by someone else," came the reply.

A book first published in 1964 was still needed. I'm not surprised. Many books last a lifetime and go on being read. Then, on the library counter, I noticed printouts from our local newspaper. The headline was a question - Libraries slashed? - it asked.

I recall a Latin grammar construction defined as "expecting the answer 'yes'". I felt this applied to the headline. We in the London borough where I live know there will be massive council cuts. In London as a whole there are fears that 130 libraries could go.

And things are bad across the country. Buckinghamshire is said to be considering closing among others the Great Missenden library, inspiration for Roald Dahl's Matilda, who read library books. He would be appalled.

Another book event. Last week I helped celebrate the publication of probably the definitive account of the life and art of the painter LS Lowry, by Dr Tom Rosenthal. It was held in the gorgeous setting of Christies sales rooms, where a fine array of Lowry's work graced the walls.

I'm rather in awe of Point of View as it was once held by Alistair Cooke. It has a halo of significance. He was such an exemplar of the broadcast essay.

I'm interested in the way people use words and the way people talk about… having betrayed or broken promises and the nature of compromise.

In four decades (of journalism) I've been in touch with a great diversity of what people think and how they express themselves. I haven't spent a lifetime in studios and offices - I've been out there.

The Heart of the Matter tackled moral issues about current affairs. It tried to get people not to be of the left or of the right, but to think for themselves.
Later in the week some 20 of his paintings sold there for nearly £5.2m. There was an irony in seeing Lowry's bleak depictions of the Lancashire poor going for such high prices. Here they were, the huddled masses, hurrying from the factory, to the football match, crowding round a street accident, or spending their unsmiling leisure still fully clad on Lancashire's beaches.

Lowry's work divides people There are those who admire his bleak vision of the world he knew in the 30s and 40s, and those who demean it as nothing more than a host of matchstick men. I am of the former persuasion.

My reason is more than aesthetic, I have a local connection. My own great aunt lived in Salford at Crescent View, just such a row of terrace houses as Lowry painted. I knew the feel of Salford's streets, its little picket fences, and I loved the smell of Nana's stuffy kitchen, full of cooking and drying clothes.

The meaning of books came to me from just such a background. From the age of seven my father attended what was then called Chetham's Hospital in Manchester, a charity school for 40 poor boys founded in the 17th Century as the legacy of Humphrey Chetham. He was a wily old wool merchant whose motto "Quod tuum tene" - hold on to what is yours - just about sums up the industrial revolution that was to engulf the city and make it rich and make it poor.

But Chetham was a philanthropist and left provision not only for a school, but for a library within the same building. That library survives in its original glory - theology, law, local records, leather bound, beautifully preserved. Its Jacobean setting is one of the unsung treasures of Manchester, part of what is now the illustrious Chethams Music School.

The schoolboys in my father's day didn't read such books of course, they had their noses into Rider Haggard and Harrison Ainsworth. But my father - and his brothers - held the library in awe, acknowledging as everyone then did that learning and scholarship are among man's highest pursuits.

In the poverty that was then Salford, libraries were cherished. They were seen as the resource for the poor, where they could learn and begin to understand about the world beyond those Lowry streets.

The book I was returning to my local library is subtitled A Study in Protest. It is in fact an account by Christopher Driver of the rise of the anti-nuclear bomb campaigns of the late 50s and early 60s. Then as now, unruly groups grabbed the headlines. They always do.

But the book tells of concerted and sustained action to bring pressure on world powers to abandon nuclear weapons. We know they failed, but along the way they influenced public and world opinion to an extent that perhaps contributed to the test-ban treaties that were to be signed in the 1960s, in the years after the Cuba crisis.

The young have again been out on the streets in their thousands and students are meeting and plotting more protests even now. Will those of us who love libraries be able to make our voices heard? It would be hard to combat allegations of middle-class elitism, and indeed there is a case to answer.

If the pressure on finances is so great, at least as far as the coalition believe, then the availability of free books for all will need its defenders.

My defence should not be seen as the attempt merely to rescue a small building in a particular borough, or any other particular places threatened with closure. Rather it is a rallying call for the concept of free libraries. In our culture the library stands as tall and as significant as a parish church or the finest cathedral.

It goes back to the times when ideas first began to circulate in the known world. I worry where wisdom will come from.

I am a major consumer of information on the internet. I know that academics and students access information there more quickly and more specifically than they can faced with a shelf load of books. But it's not that relationship I'm concerned about.

I offer you two scenarios. I am on a train going north, the scenery beyond York is glorious and in the slanting light of a winter afternoon has a magical quality not to miss.

So I put down the paperback to enjoy it, then I resume my read. Again, on holiday, deck chair beside a blue swimming pool, a landscape of rolling hills and green pastures unfolds before me. I set aside the paperback to enjoy the view, and then return to the pages.

I live with the tensions between the world out there I want to see and even contemplate, and the inner world to which the book gives me access. It is the inner rewards of reading a book in a private and concentrated way that lead you into realms of your own imagination and thought that no other process offers.

Something happens between the words and the brain that is unique to the moment and to your own sensibilities.

It is why, at such moments, it is so awful to be interrupted - and why I am frequently late at meetings because I find it hard to tear myself away. Any society that doesn't value the richness of this encounter with ideas and the imagination will impoverish its citizens.

Of course, there are loads of books around. You can pick up a paperback for a few pounds that will last many years (my shelves are full of ageing paperbacks whose yellowing pages crack when I open them - only hardbacks last forever). Publishers think books are worth publishing, supermarkets think they are worth stacking on their shelves.

But these are market transactions. The free public library service is the only way for everyone to have access for free to objects that carry the world's wisdom.

Soon we will all be asked to tell the state what makes us happy, what increases our well-being. No doubt someone will come up with measurements of stress and depression.

We might be asked about our sense of neighbourliness or degrees of family closeness. Whether we are hungry or cold or neglected.

There are clearly data about social conditions that are worth collecting, but happiness is a dangerous word. It embraces all the subjectivity of our emotions and inner serenity.

It is a reflection of our character, the degree we are wracked by ambition or resentment, by envy or greed. It embraces what might be called spiritual well-being, the sort that might be underpinned by a happy marriage, a satisfying career, deep religious conviction.

Already television vox pops have asked people in the street what makes them happy and had replies that range from their children's laughter, to the music of Beethoven.

I think there might be many who consider one kind of happiness to be a deep armchair, a warm fire and a favourite book.

Facts about Barack Obama!

2010-12-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

1. Barack Hussein Obama is named after his father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936-1982). “Barack” means “blessing/blessed/to bless” in Swahili and Semitic languages, and “Hussein” is a Semitic word meaning “good” or “beautiful.” Swahili was Obama Sr.’s native language.

2. Obama (who was often called “Barry” or “Bar”) was born on August 4, 1961, at the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii.

3. With the help of Ann’s parents, Obama received a scholarship to Punahou, a prestigious prep school in Hawaii. He graduated in 1979 with honours.

4. Obama's mother died in 1995 of ovarian and uterine cancer. Obama and his sister, Maya, spread her ashes in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.g On December 23, 2008, Obama spread his grandmother’s ashes in the same spot.

5. Obama was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991.

5. Obama worked at Baskin-Robbins as a teenager and now dislikes ice cream. He also has worked in construction.

6. In high school, playing basketball offered him some companionship, though he often felt he didn’t completely belong with his peers. To try to fit in, he also tried drinking, smoking pot, and experimenting with cocaine.

7. In 1995, Obama published his autobiography, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. He won a Grammy award for the audio version of the book. His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts of Reclaiming the American Dream, was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and became a best seller. Its title was derived from a sermon by Obama’s former pastor and controversial figure, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

8 Obama is a Christian and a former member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He has never been a Muslim.

9. Barack met his wife Michelle Robinson, a South Side Chicago native, while he was interning at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. She was his mentor and was not initially attracted to him--but after a two-year courtship, they were married in the fall of 1992 at the Trinity United Church of Christ. Reverend Wright presided and would also later baptize their two daughters, Malia Ann (born July 4,1998) and Natasha (“Sasha”) (June 10, 2001).

10. Obama achieved celebrity status after his speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, launching what has been called “Obamamania.”

11. Obama was the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor.

12. Obama’s youthful appeal, his social networking on the Internet, and even his texting both promoted awareness of his campaign and created a loyal following. His historic use of the Internet will likely act as a template for future presidential elections.

13. Obama once said the three men he admired the most were Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr.d

Source: randomfact.com

Stem cells turned injured rodents into mighty mice

2010-12-17T01:02:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - Injecting stem cells into injured mice made their muscles grow back twice as big in a matter of days, creating mighty mice with bulky muscles that stayed big and strong for the rest of their lives, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

If the same applies to humans, the findings could lead to new treatments for diseases that cause muscles to deteriorate, such as muscular dystrophy.

It may even help people resist the gradual erosion of muscle strength that comes with age, Bradley Olwin, of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and colleagues reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
"This was a very exciting and unexpected result," Olwin, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
"We found that the transplanted stem cells are permanently altered and reduce the aging of the transplanted muscle, maintaining strength and mass."

Olwin's team experimented on young mice with leg injuries, injecting them with muscle stem cells taken from young donor mice.

Stem cells are unique in that they can constantly renew themselves, and form the basis of other specialized cells.

These cells not only repaired the injury, but they caused the treated muscle to increase in size by 170 percent.
Olwin's team had thought the changes would be temporary, but they lasted through the lifetime of the mice, which was about two years.

"When the muscles were examined two years later, we found the procedure permanently changed the transplanted cells, making them resistant to the aging process in the muscle," Olwin said in a statement.
Olwin and colleagues said when they injected the cells into a healthy leg, they did not get the same effect, suggesting there is something important about injecting the cells into an injured muscle that triggers growth.

"The environment that the stem cells are injected into is very important, because when it tells the cells there is an injury, they respond in a unique way," he said.

The team hopes eventually to find drugs or combinations of drugs that mimic the behavior of transplanted cells," Olwin said.

The findings are encouraging for human research, but Olwin cautions that putting stem cells from young mice into other young mice is not the same thing as making old muscles young again.
And the study is in mice, not people.

But team is starting experiments to see if transplanting muscle stem cells from people or large animals into mice would have the same effects.

If they work, that would mean that transplanting human muscle stem cells might work.

The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and Vicki Allen)

How the Cell Phone Is Changing the World

2010-12-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

The impact of the ubiquitous device extends from politics to business, medicine, and war.
The modern mobile-phone era dates back only to the 1970s. In just 40 years, in the West, they’ve gone from suitcase-size novelty to ubiquity. And they’re no longer just luxury goods. More than 4 billion of the 6 billion people on earth now have a cell phone, with a quarter of those owners getting one in just the last two years. And many are using them, in a giant global experiment, to change the way life is lived, from Manhattan to Ouagadougou.

The phones now allow Masai tribesmen in Kenya to bank the proceeds from selling cattle; Iranian protesters to organize in secret; North Koreans to communicate with the outside world; Afghan villagers to alert Coalition soldiers to Taliban forces; insurgents to blow up roadside bombs in Iraq; and charities to see, in real time, when HIV drugs run out in the middle of Malawi.

“I was actually sitting around with a bunch of Ethiopian farmers recently,” says Duncan Green, research director for the charity Oxfam, “when I noticed that none of them had light or running water, but each family had a mobile phone.” The reasons are simpler than we think, he says. “Before, these farmers, if they wanted to check on a sick relative elsewhere, had to walk three hours in each direction. Now they just make a call.” That convenience, he says, drives their eager embrace of the phones. But the phones’ growing ubiquity—“they’re a technological Coca-Cola,” Green says—has other uses, too. Here are five ways they’re changing the world.

Exposing Secrets

On the Chinese border with North Korea, human-rights activists have a mission. They aim to persuade the few North Koreans allowed to travel outside the country to smuggle cell phones back in, and help open the most closed society in the world. (Mobile phones are officially allowed, but are strictly limited in range and closely monitored.) If discovered with their smuggled phones, the spies risk imprisonment and death, all in an effort to report on everything from pets to famine, and the swirl of story and counter-story that manages to penetrate dictator Kim Jong-il’s wall of silence. One such person, The New York Times reports, was executed by firing squad when authorities discovered his cell phone.

Advancing Democracy

Cell phones present a problem for oppressive regimes everywhere. So many Iranians were using text
messages to secretly organize protests against last year’s flawed elections thatthe government eventually shut down service entirely. The Finnish company Nokia Siemens was criticized by the European Parliament for providing the government the equipment to do so. China presumably has its own capability: when prominent democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, messages containing the Chinese characters for his name failed to send, reported the Associated Press. Unbowed, his supporters continue to make their voices heard in the West. By cell phone, of course. In Africa, Green says, people are able to report violent incidents and government oppression in a way they couldn't before. “It’s kind of the first time they’ve had bottom-up democracy,” he says.

Enabling Commerce

In Tanzania, reports the BBC, only 5 percent of people have a bank account. In Kenya, there is one bank branch per 100,000 people. It’s a situation that is repeated in many developing countries, including such potential powerhouses as India. The solution, for some, has come through the cell phone.

In Uganda, where villages often have one top-up phone run by a trusted operator, a basic system helps store and transfer money. In a TED talk in 2007, Jan Fishman, an analyst for Frog Design, a global innovation firm, outlined a common method of banking using a cell phone where there are no banks.

A villager, working hundreds of miles away from home, buys a cell-phone refill card with his earnings. To send his money back to the village, he calls the operator, who tops up the phone using the card. The operator, having taken a commission, then hands cash on to whoever has been authorized.

In India, the systemhas been formalized and is supported by the Bank of India. In Kenya, the main service, M-Pesa, moves millions of dollars per day by text message. In the East African nation, the ability to SMS means that Masai farmers can bank the money from the sale of a cow instead of carrying the cash. One minor difficulty, says Green, is that the same farmer will sometimes spend money he should be using for food on a shiny new phone. “But that’s just people,” he says.

Distributing Medicine

Stock-outs—which is what it’s called when isolated clinics in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia run out of antimalaria medicine, zinc tablets, penicillin, HIV and AIDS drugs, and diarrhea treatments—are potentially deadly, even as their occurrence often is denied by local governments.

A new project, Stop Stock-Outs, aims to use cell phones to solve the problem. Activists send a simple text message to a central number reporting which drugs are out of stock. The information is collated in a virtually real-time map, on which bright red dots signify a dangerous shortage.

Waging War

In Afghanistan, The Wall Street Journal reports, the Taliban have forced local cell-phone-service providers to shut down their towers at night. The move is designed to stop locals reporting Taliban movements to Coalition forces. NATO troops, meanwhile, also black out entire areas of cell coverage before an offensive to prevent insurgents from remotely detonating roadside bombs, says one official who did not want to be named discussing operational details. Suppressing the devices will become harder and harder for both sides—cell phones are one of the few economic bright spots in the country. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans now have one.

Source:Newsweek

Strange and Funny Laws

2010-12-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

Many of these laws were established during the end of the 1800s and early 1900s, when the United States was rapidly changing from an agricultural to industrial nation. Some of the laws went out of date or were repealed. Many are still on the books but not enforced.

-In Mohave County, Arizona, if anyone is caught stealing soap, he must wash himself with it until the soap is gone.

-A woman in Memphis, Tennessee, is not allowed to drive a car unless man is in front of the car waving a red flag to warn people and other cars.

-In Kalispell, Montana, children must have a doctor’s note if they want to buy a lollipop.

-It’s illegal in St. Louis, Missouri, for a fireman to rescue a woman wearing a nightgown. If she wants to be rescued, she must be fully clothed.

-In Arizona, a man may legally beat his wife once a month, but no more.

-According to an Atlanta, Georgia, ordinance, “smelly people” are not allowed to ride public streetcars.

Source:http://facts.randomhistory.com/

True Facts

2010-12-10T00:47:00.000-08:00

-The Pentagon in Washington, D. C. has five sides, five stories, and five acres in the middle.

-Newborn babies are given to the wrong mother in the hospital 12 times a day worldwide.

-In 1998, more fast-food employees were murdered on the job than police officers.

-Two very popular and common objects have the same function, but one has thousands of moving parts, while the other has absolutely no moving parts - an hourglass and a sundial.

-One out of three employees who received a promotion use a coffee mug with the company logo on it.

-If you know a (male) millionaire who happens to be married, The most likely profession of his wife is a teacher.

-An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

- 1 pound of lemons contain more sugar than 1 pound of strawberries.

-60% of all US potato products originate in Idaho.

-A flamingo can eat only when its head is upside down.

-The Weddell seal can travel underwater for seven miles without surfacing for air.

-The longest words in the English language with only one syllable are the nine-letter "screeched" and "strengths".

-A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find a mate.

-A snail can have about 25,000 teeth.

-A snail can also sleep for three years.

-A starfish can turn its stomach inside out.

Modern Rugs, Carpets, and Doormats

2010-12-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

While I was surfing some sites , I happen upon these modern and unique rugs ; therefore I wanted to share it with all of you .
the source: http://www.toxel.com

- Bedside Slippers Rug

Bedside rug with porthole cut outs for your matching slippers.

- Bar-code Doormat

After the robot uprising, place this stylish doormat in front of your house to show you are open and happy to be included in the first generation of capitulators.

- Woody Wood Rug

Creative rug by YL design is a is a print of cross-section of a tree.

- Moss Carpet

Creative bathroom carpet designed by Nguyen La Chanh.

- Modern Rugs by Madeleine and Dudley

Creative rug designs by incredible artists Madeleine & Dudley.

- Breakfast Eggs Rug

Sunny Side Up Shag Rug by Designer Valentina Audrito.

- Steel Doormat

Beautiful modern doormat made from high-grade steel.

- Top Floor Ethereal Rug

An organic floral pattern reaches into the whitespace on this rug, yet this pattern is more than grooves and layers. Designer Esti Barnes has cut these layers right through the rug itself, exposing the bare wood below.

- Black River Stone Doormat

Washed and polished river rocks are hand-applied with strong adhesive to a durable backing of indoor-outdoor carpet

Foods to ward off garlic breath

2010-12-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Garlic is one of those ingredients that I always have on hand: there’s a bulb on kitchen counter and a jar of minced garlic in my fridge. I love it because not only does garlic add flavor and aroma to any dish, but it offers health benefits too. Studies show garlic may lower breast, colon, stomach, throat and skin cancer risks. It’s heart-healthy, too, as it’s been shown to prevent clotting. The secret to all these health benefits? Sulfides.

(Cooks take note: the way garlic is treated in the kitchen can affect its health benefits. Those beneficial sulfides aren’t released unless the garlic is crushed or chopped and left to sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes before eating or cooking. Garlic purchased already chopped offers the same benefits, but whole roasted garlic, while delicious, may not yield such perks.)

Unfortunately, those same good-for-you sulfide compounds leave you with dragon-breath aftereffects that can last days. If you’re that person who saves the parsley garnish to chew on after a garlicky meal, good for you—because new research (reported by Amy Paturel in EatingWell’s November issue) suggests certain foods may offer a remedy.

Apples, spinach, basil, parsley: Studies show these and other phenolic-rich foods help kick garlic breath. The polyphenols (compounds that act like antioxidants) break down the smelly sulfur compounds in garlic. “But only when they’re mixed with garlic,” says Sheryl Barringer, Ph.D., professor of food science and technology at Ohio State. For the biggest benefit, combine garlic and one of these foods in the same dish; eating them in different dishes at the same meal might help too.

Milk: A new study suggests that milk is perhaps even more effective at banishing garlic breath—particularly if you drink it before or during a garlicky meal. Researchers found that milk offered greater odor-reducing effects for garlic breath than other foods previously tested—prunes, basil, burdock, eggplant and mushrooms. “The water [in milk] rinses the mouth,” says Barringer, “but it’s not just the water; it’s the fat.” That’s why whole milk was more effective than skim.

Green tea: Can’t stomach the idea of milk with your Asian stir-fry? Drinking green tea before or during a meal may also mitigate garlic breath, as the polyphenols reduce volatile sulfur compounds.

So the next time you go heavy on the garlic, be sure to have one of these items on hand.

Source:Shine Magazine

Fascinating Facts About Benjamin Franklin

2010-12-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

True, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin is on our $100 bill, but contrary to what many people believe, he was never president of the United States. He was far too busy to take on a job like that.

We’ve always been amazed by this man of many talents, and in honor of this weekend’s Independence Day, we wanted to honor his contribution to creating the U.S. Constitution—and so much else. As a scientist, writer, printer, philosopher, musician, politician, and inventor (we’ve probably forgotten a few things),

Franklin did more in a day than many people do in a lifetime. Here are some of our favorite Franklin facts.
He was a high school dropout. Franklin proved that you don’t need a fancy degree to succeed in life—due to family financial problems, he never graduated from high school. (But were he around today, he’d probably have more honorary PhDs than he could shake a stick at.)

He created America’s first library. In 1732, Franklin convinced a group of fellow intellectuals to create a library of their personal books, and then added a subscription service, in which funds would be used to purchase new books for all to read. The Library Company of Philadelphia, as it was called, still exists today, and has over five hundred thousand rare books.

He followed a strict daily schedule. It began with the question, “What good shall I do this day?”

He invented the first bifocal glasses, odometer, urinary catheter, lightning rod, and many other devices, yet never filed for a patent. Though any one of Franklin’s inventions could have made him a tremendous fortune, he wasn’t greedy about them.
He believed that his work was for the common good, and “as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously,” he wrote in his autobiography. We bet he’d be a big fan of Creative Commons.

He created a phonetic alphabet. Franklin’s alphabet got rid of six letters he thought were redundant, and added six new letters for other sounds. As you can probably tell, it never caught on.

As a young man, Franklin created a list of thirteen virtues, and worked on obeying them throughout his life.

Here is the list; you may find it helpful too:

Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversations.

Order: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, waste nothing.

Industry: Lose not time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly; speak accordingly.

Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

Moderation: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think you deserve.

Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation.

Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles or accidents common or unavoidable.

Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

By Kathryn Hawkins for Gimundo

What is your Caption!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

Electric current to the brain 'boosts maths ability

2010-11-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

Applying a tiny electrical current to the brain could make you better at learning maths, according to Oxford University scientists.

They found that targeting a part of the brain called the parietal lobe improved the ability of volunteers to solve numerical problems.

They hope the discovery could help people with dyscalculia, who may struggle with numbers.
Another expert said effects on other brain functions would need checking.

The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.

Some studies have suggested that up to one in five people have trouble with maths, affecting not just their ability to complete problems but also to manage everyday activities such as telling the time and managing money.

Neuroscientists believe that activity within the parietal lobe plays a crucial role in this ability, or the lack of it.
When magnetic fields were used in earlier research to disrupt electrical activity in this part of the brain, previously numerate volunteers temporarily developed discalculia, finding it much harder to solve maths problems.

Persistent benefits

The latest research goes a step further, using a one milliamp current to stimulate the parietal lobe of a small number of students.

The current could not be felt, and had no measurable effect on other brain functions.

As it was turned on, the volunteers tried to learn a puzzle which involved substituting numbers for symbols.

Those given the current from right to left across the parietal lobe did significantly better when given, compared to those who were given no electrical stimulation.

The direction of the current was important - those given stimulation running in the opposite direction, left to right, did markedly worse at these puzzles than those given no current, with their ability matching that of an average six-year-old.

The effects were not short-lived, either. When the volunteers whose performance improved was re-tested six months later, the benefits appear to have persisted.

There was no wider effect on general maths ability in either group, just on the ability to complete the puzzles learned as the current was applied.

Dr Cohen Kadosh, who led the study, said: "We are not advising people to go around giving themselves electric shocks, but we are extremely excited by the potential of our findings and are now looking into the underlying brain changes.

"We've shown before that we can induce dyscalculia, and now it seems we might be able to make someone better at maths, so we really want to see if we can help people with dyscalculia.

"Electrical stimulation is unlikely to turn you into the next Einstein, but if we're lucky it might be able to help some people to cope better with maths."

Dr Christopher Chambers, from the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, said that the results were "intriguing", and offered the prospect not just of improving numerical skills, but having an impact on a wider range of conditions.

He said: "The ability to tweak activity in parts of the brain, turning it slightly 'up' or 'down' at will, opens the door to treating a range of psychiatric and neurological problems, like compulsive gambling or visual impairments following stroke."
However, he said that the study did not prove that the learning of maths skills was improved, just that the volunteers were better at linking arbitrary numbers and symbols, and he warned that researchers needed to make sure other parts of the brain were unaffected.

"This is still an exciting new piece of research, but if we don't know how selective the effects of brain stimulation are then we don't know what other brain systems could also be affected, either positively or negatively."

Sue Flohr, from the British Dyslexia Association, which also provides support for people with dyscalculia, said the research was welcome.

She said: "It's certainly an under-recognised condition, but it can ruin lives.
"It makes it very hard to do everyday things like shopping or budgeting - you can go into a shop and find you've spent your month's money without realising it."

Source:BBC

6 New Stress Management Strategies That Work

2010-11-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

Everything You Think You Know About Beating Stress Is Wrong
Read on for six smart new stress relief strategies to start now

If deep breaths, weekly yoga classes, and venting to your friends aren't helping you to stop stressing out and relax, you have plenty of company--and it's not your fault. New studies show that these supposedly tried-and-true anxiety busters are often just... well, a bust. Read on for the surprising truth about what really helps manage stress--and what doesn't--when it comes to relieving chronically fried nerves.

1. Yesterday's wisdom: Never go to bed angry
Today's smart stress strategy: Just get some sleep already

When you're mid-dustup and about to wring your husband's neck, the last thing you feel like doing is curling up in bed beside him. But deep down, many of us worry that going to bed angry just tempts fate. So we bargain, cajole, and then fight some more in an effort to resolve the dispute, thinking all will be well by the morning if we can just reach a resolution.

2. Yesterday's wisdom: Control your temper
Today's smart stress strategy: Throw a tantrum now and then

From the time we're little girls, we're taught to control our tempers, and as adults--especially women--we still believe that venting anger is unhealthy (not to mention unladylike). In fact, the opposite now appears to be true. According to a study published in Biological Psychiatry that looked at the effect of facial expressions of emotions, such as fear and indignation, on our stress responses, displaying your anger may actually cause your brain to release less cortisol, the stress hormone associated with obesity, bone loss, and heart disease.

And while experts know that chronic anger contributes to hypertension and coronary disease, they've also found that expressing irritation in response to a short-term and unfair frustration, such as being cut off in traffic, can actually dampen the nasty effects of stress. That's because anger confers feelings of control, counteracting the helplessness and frustration we often feel in response to perceived insults and injustices, says lead study author Jennifer Lerner, PhD.

The fact is, forcing a discussion by bedtime can actually make things worse, says Andrea K. Wittenborn, PhD, an assistant professor in the marriage and family therapy program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. When you're upset, a part of the brain called the amygdala cues the fight-or-flight response, limiting your ability to have a calm, rational discussion. So it's a good idea to hold off on any showdown until you cool off.

"Taking a time-out or even a night off is critical, because once you've activated the fight-or-flight system, you can't simply tell it to turn off," says Ronald Potter-Efron, PhD, author of Rage: A Step-by-Step Guide to Overcoming Explosive Anger. "If you're already angry or frustrated, you become emotionally flooded and unable to think clearly." Plus, sleep is a powerful antidote to stress, says Russell Rosenberg, PhD, director of the Atlanta Sleep Medicine Clinic and vice chairman of the National Sleep Foundation.

Instead, agree to call a truce until morning, and make sure to actually talk things out the next day. "Completely dropping issues that really bug you can be damaging to your relationship and contribute to increased stress," warns Dr. Wittenborn.

3. Yesterday's wisdom: Turn to family and friends for support
Today's smart stress strategy: Cuddle up with your pet

Hanging out with loved ones has long been touted as an instant mood-booster, but according to new scientific evidence, when it comes to managing stress, the calming effects of spending time with a furry friend trump those obtained by hanging out with friends and family. "Having your pet, whether a cat or a dog, with you during a stressful event turns out to be more soothing than a best friend or a spouse," says James J. Blascovich, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Blascovich and colleagues asked volunteers to perform difficult math problems while in the company of their spouse, a friend, or their pet. Using heart rate and blood pressure as measures of stress, the researchers found that people strained the least and performed the best when in the company of their cat or dog. While spending time with a friend or spouse can be a great way to relax, sidle up to your pet when the pressure's on.

4. Yesterday's wisdom: Express your feelings
Today's smart stress strategy: Keep it to yourself

In our tell-all, Oprah-fied culture, we've come to believe that sharing our feelings is the only way to deal with life's struggles. But just the opposite is often true. "We've long thought that talking about problems is always better, but there's also evidence suggesting that this coping style doesn't work for everybody," explains Karin Coifman, PhD, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at Kent State University.

Dr. Coifman and colleagues looked at how people whose spouse or child had just died coped with their loss. They learned that many of the subjects who avoided thinking or talking about their sadness--a style psychologists call repressive coping--had fewer short-term health problems, such as sore throats, diarrhea, and shortness of breath, as well as a lower incidence of long-term psychological problems. What's more, they returned to their everyday lives more quickly than those who dwelled upon their grief.

"There's a lot to be said for getting on with the business of living," says Dr. Coifman. "People who talk endlessly about their problems are actually the ones at greater risk of depression." In fact, researchers at the University of Missouri, Columbia, found that participants who repeatedly expressed their sadness or disappointment were more likely to develop depression and anxiety.

That doesn't mean you should just suck it up when something bad happens. While you shouldn't deny yourself natural grieving moments, learning to direct your attention away from the stressor is a powerful coping mechanism. So after experiencing that initial burst of tears, turn to something positive--check in on a friend or rearrange your furniture. It's an important skill to look beyond the bad--we wouldn't survive as a species otherwise, Dr. Coifman adds.

5. Yesterday's wisdom: Never soothe yourself with food
Today's smart stress strategy: Treat yourself to chocolate

We've been warned that bingeing on cookies and ice cream is a poor way to ease a worried state of mind and can actually create more anxiety. But here's a sweet exception to the rule: Indulging in a little chocolate can actually help. According to new findings published in the Journal of Proteome Research, eating a few pieces of dark chocolate when you're feeling on edge can help calm your nerves. (Unfortunately for you milk chocolate lovers, the researchers believe the flavonoids in dark chocolate are responsible for this soothing effect.) In the study, stressed-out participants who ate 1½ ounces of dark chocolate a day for 2 weeks had reduced levels of stress hormones. We can't think of a better way to treat yourself to some dessert, guilt- and stress-free!

6. Yesterday's wisdom: "Om" your way to calmness
Today's smart stress strategy: Do something you love

For some people, meditation is the secret to serenity, but for others, it's a fast track to frayed nerves. In fact, in a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54% of participants reported feeling anxious while meditating! "There is no evidence that meditation 'cools off' the body's stress response better than any other type of stress reduction technique, so you have to find what works for you," insists Jonathan C. Smith, PhD, director of the Stress Institute at Roosevelt University.

Anything that allows you to disengage from your thoughts can help you relax. One way meditation works is by breaking the chain of everyday thoughts, which are often tied to our to-do lists and other stressors, according to Herb Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and author of Relaxation Revolution. While chanting a mantra certainly helps to quiet your mind, if meditating is not your thing, any repetitive activity that keeps your attention in the present moment, including jogging, swimming, painting, walking, knitting, or praying, will work just as well, he says.

Source:Prevention Magazine

Quotations!!!!

2010-11-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward…
My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice ...to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.

Socrates

Kitten Gets Really Wild Purr-tection

2010-11-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

Recently the extraordinary scene appeared in a zoo of the

Indonesia

. A wild monkey has stunned animal fans after becoming very purr-tective of his new furry friend.

Sources:http://www.atautocar.com

Did you know!

2010-11-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously

Hazards: Work Stress Raises Women’s Heart Risk, Study Says

2010-11-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Women who are stressed at work are more likely than other working women to have a heart attack or other forms of heart disease, a new study suggests.

The findings, presented Nov. 15 at anAmerican Heart Association meeting in Chicago, were based on data from 17,415 otherwise healthy middle-aged women who took part in the Women’s Health Study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The researchers found that women who reported high job strain faced a 40 percent increase in cardiovascular disease over all, and an 88 percent increase in risk for heart attacks alone. (“Strain” was defined as demanding work with little decision-making authority or ability to use one’s creativity and skills.)

Women who worried about losing a job did not experience an increase in heart ailments, but they were more likely than women with high job security to be overweight or to havehigh blood pressure or high cholesterol, risk factors for heart disease.

Earlier studies on chronic job stress and heart disease in women have had mixed results, though studies of mostly male subjects have found a clear association between the two, said the study’s senior author, Dr. Michelle A. Albert, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

“You can’t get rid of stress, but you can manage it,” she said

Source :The New York Times

Flamingos Apply "Makeup" to Impress Mates

2010-11-26T06:53:00.000-08:00

Birds daub pink-producing oil onto feathers during mating season.

There's a reason why flamingos are so pretty in pink: The birds apply "makeup" to impress mates, a new study says.

Scientists had long assumed that flamingo feathers change color only when the plumage becomes faded by the sun or unintentionally stained by organic materials.

But while studying greater flamingos at the Doñana Biological Research Stationin Spain, ornithologist Juan Amat realized that something else was going on.

"We noticed that immediately after chicks were hatching, [adult] flamingos lost their pink color," he said.

Adults later regained their famous pink plumage, "yet they were not moulting, so we wondered if there was something cosmetic to consider."

Flamingos: Beyond the Pale

To examine this hypothesis, the researchers studied seasonal variations in flamingo color at three wetlands in Spain. The team also monitored the birds' breeding, feather maintenance, and courtship activities.

Using telescopes, the scientists assigned each flamingo a color value based on a scale of one to three, ranging from very pale to vibrant pink.

The team found that the color values dropped from an average of 1.7 in February—the height of the mating season—to an average of 1.0 in May, June, July, August, and September, when the birds were looking after hatchlings. In October the values leapt up again, to 1.6.

Flamingos, like all birds, produce oil in glands near their tails. Birds daub this oil onto their feathers with their beaks.

The oil is well known to improve the longevity of feathers and keep them waterproof. But Amat suspected that the flamingos might also be using the substance for coloration.

Flamingos get their color from compounds called carotenoids, which the birds absorb from their diets of algae and small crustaceans.

Flamingo feathers already contain some carotenoids. But, based on samples collected from captive flamingos, Amat and colleagues found that the oil is especially rich in the compounds.

Flamingos In Fine Feather

Both male and female birds increased their oil-daubing behavior during the mating season, the team noted.
In general, the deeper the pink, the more attractive the bird—so the flamingos were likely applying the oil like makeup to make themselves more desirable, he said.

"We were so excited to discover this," Amat said.

"Other birds, like the bearded vulture, are known to take mud baths that leave their feathers tinged with color. We now need to go and look at these species to see if they are applying cosmetics just like the flamingos do."

The flamingo-makeup study appeared online October 23 in the journalBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

Source: National Geographic News

Night owls vs. morning people: Who's smarter?

2010-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

New York – Recent evidence shows that people who thrive at night have higher IQs. Early risers beg to differ
Are you the type who stays up late to finish your work, or do you get up early to make a fresh start on the day? If it's the former, you may be pleased to learn new research has found that those with higher IQs tend to be nocturnal night-owls. But if it's the latter, you might have good reason to distrust the claim. Here's an instant guide:

Is there solid science behind this finding?

Sleep researchers tend to divide people into two groups, explains zoologist Robert Alison in the Winnipeg Free Press, based on whether they exhibit "morningness" or "eveningness." A recent study claims that eveningness is an evolutionary advancement that marks out "more intelligent individuals," while "those with lower IQs tend to restrict their activities primarily to daytime."

How can that be?

Researchers from the London School of Economics say that human beings used to all be day-oriented, and that eveningness is an "evolutionarily novel preference" made by people with "a higher level of cognitive complexity." Basically, smart people evolve to stay up later.

I want to get more intelligent. Can I just start staying up late?

It isn't that simple. Several studies have shown that your sleep preferences are at least 50 percent genetic, and that your chronotype — that is, the time of day you are at your physical and mental peak — changes with your age. Generally speaking, "eveningness" peaks in the late teens and early 20s.

Are there any downsides to "eveningness"?

Night owls tend to be less reliable, more emotionally unstable, and more likely to have problems with addictions and eating disorders, according to a 2008 study by psychologist Marina Giamnietro. They are also more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, says Dutch psychiatrist Walter van den Broek at his Dr. Shock blog. Another study found that undergrad "evening types" had lower GPAs than those who awake early in the morning.

Is there any advantage to being a morning person?

Early risers tend to be more conscientious, persistent, and apt to cooperate, says van den Broek, a self-described morning person. They also "cope better with academic requirements and receive better grades." And when you think about it, adds Ace Burpee in the Winnipeg Free Press, "there are no sayings about late birds getting some sort of way better tasting worm."

Which am I?

If you're unsure, this test will tell you where you fit on the morningness-eveningness spectrum.

Sources: Winnipeg Free Press (2), Disinformation, Dr. Shock, ScienceDaily
View this article on TheWeek.com