Toxins All around Us: Scientific American:
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Susan starts her day by jogging to the edge of town, cutting back through a cornfield for an herbal tea at the downtown Starbucks and heading home for a shower. It sounds like a healthy morning routine, but Susan is in fact exposing herself to a rogue’s gallery of chemicals: pesticides and herbicides on the corn, plasticizers in her tea cup, and the wide array of ingredients used to perfume her soap and enhance the performance of her shampoo and moisturizer. Most of these exposures are so low as to be considered trivial, but they are not trivial at all—especially considering that Susan is six weeks pregnant.
October 12, 2011
The Pill Sabotages Sex, Boosts Relationship Happiness
The Pill Sabotages Sex, Boosts Relationship Happiness | Fox News:
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Popping a birth-control pill could significantly impact your long-term relationship choices, new research suggests.
Comparing the relationships of women who were on the pill when they met their partner with those who weren't, researchers found that pill users were less sexually satisfied, but happier overall with their relationships than women not taking birth control when they first met their mate.
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Popping a birth-control pill could significantly impact your long-term relationship choices, new research suggests.
Comparing the relationships of women who were on the pill when they met their partner with those who weren't, researchers found that pill users were less sexually satisfied, but happier overall with their relationships than women not taking birth control when they first met their mate.
MIT: "New Universes are Being Constantly Created"
MIT: "New Universes are Being Constantly Created" (Today's Most Popular):
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Modern cosmology theory holds that our universe may be just one in a vast collection of universes known as the multiverse. MIT physicist Alan Guth has suggested that new universes (known as “pocket universes”) are constantly being created, but they cannot be seen from our universe.
In this view, “nature gets a lot of tries — the universe is an experiment that’s repeated over and over again, each time with slightly different physical laws, or even vastly different physical laws,” says Jaffe.
Some of these universes would collapse instants after forming; in others, the forces between particles would be so weak they could not give rise to atoms or molecules. However, if conditions were suitable, matter would coalesce into galaxies and planets, and if the right elements were present in those worlds, intelligent life could evolve.
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Modern cosmology theory holds that our universe may be just one in a vast collection of universes known as the multiverse. MIT physicist Alan Guth has suggested that new universes (known as “pocket universes”) are constantly being created, but they cannot be seen from our universe.
In this view, “nature gets a lot of tries — the universe is an experiment that’s repeated over and over again, each time with slightly different physical laws, or even vastly different physical laws,” says Jaffe.
Some of these universes would collapse instants after forming; in others, the forces between particles would be so weak they could not give rise to atoms or molecules. However, if conditions were suitable, matter would coalesce into galaxies and planets, and if the right elements were present in those worlds, intelligent life could evolve.
October 11, 2011
Vitamins A, C and E don't help you live longer
Vitamins A, C and E don't help you live longer - Health - Diet and nutrition - msnbc.com:
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Antioxidant vitamins, including A, E and C, don’t help you live longer, according to an analysis of dozens of studies of these popular supplements.
The new review showing no long-life benefit from those vitamins, plus beta carotene and selenium, adds to growing evidence questioning the value of these supplements.
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Antioxidant vitamins, including A, E and C, don’t help you live longer, according to an analysis of dozens of studies of these popular supplements.
The new review showing no long-life benefit from those vitamins, plus beta carotene and selenium, adds to growing evidence questioning the value of these supplements.
States Adding Drug Test as Hurdle for Welfare
States Adding Drug Test as Hurdle for Welfare - NYTimes.com:
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As more Americans turn to government programs for refuge from a merciless economy, a growing number are encountering a new price of admission to the social safety net: a urine sample.
Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing. Such laws, which proponents say ensure that tax dollars are not being misused and critics say reinforce stereotypes about the poor, have passed in states including Arizona, Indiana and Missouri.
'via Blog this'
As more Americans turn to government programs for refuge from a merciless economy, a growing number are encountering a new price of admission to the social safety net: a urine sample.
Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing. Such laws, which proponents say ensure that tax dollars are not being misused and critics say reinforce stereotypes about the poor, have passed in states including Arizona, Indiana and Missouri.
October 9, 2011
What's the Scientific Reason Women Have Orgasms?
What's the Scientific Reason Women Have Orgasms? | Sex & Relationships | AlterNet:
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Decades of research have failed to answer the question of why the female orgasm exists — and two recent conflicting studies on the subject have hardly changed that. Interestingly enough, though, both focus on a theory sure to anger some women: that their ability to climax is the mere byproduct of men’s orgasm, which has a clear evolutionary purpose. We may not have proof of this one way or another, but it’s worth exploring the potential cultural implications.
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Decades of research have failed to answer the question of why the female orgasm exists — and two recent conflicting studies on the subject have hardly changed that. Interestingly enough, though, both focus on a theory sure to anger some women: that their ability to climax is the mere byproduct of men’s orgasm, which has a clear evolutionary purpose. We may not have proof of this one way or another, but it’s worth exploring the potential cultural implications.
October 5, 2011
Researchers Create Functional Invisibility Cloak Using 'Mirage Effect'
Researchers Create Functional Invisibility Cloak Using 'Mirage Effect' | Fox News
Researchers have created a working invisibility cloak using one of nature’s common yet bizarre phenomena -- the “mirage effect.”
The new design from the University of Dallas was demoed on YouTube and even has an on and off switch -- and it's best used underwater.
"It is remarkable to see this cloaking device demonstrated in real life and on a workable scale. The array of applications that could arise from this device, besides cloaking, is a testament to the excellent work of the authors,” an Institute of Physics spokesperson said.
Researchers have created a working invisibility cloak using one of nature’s common yet bizarre phenomena -- the “mirage effect.”
The new design from the University of Dallas was demoed on YouTube and even has an on and off switch -- and it's best used underwater.
"It is remarkable to see this cloaking device demonstrated in real life and on a workable scale. The array of applications that could arise from this device, besides cloaking, is a testament to the excellent work of the authors,” an Institute of Physics spokesperson said.
Denmark adopts world's first-ever 'fat tax'
Denmark adopts world's first-ever 'fat tax' - Everydaymoney.ca is a daily business blog published by MSN Money:
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In this space, we’ve been tracking the idea of the so-called fat tax for years.
Of course, the initiative has been discussed in the public sphere long before Everydaymoney.ca, but it was first mentioned to much buzz here in October of 2009, when some 250 commenters chimed in that the suggested tax was either the best or worst cost-cutting proposal they’d heard.
Then, in March of 2010, we rehashed the topic with the soda tax, which was then being tossed around the New York state legislature. That followed by a news story in May of 2011 – this time, an Illinois Republican senator said, “Scrap the fat tax; tax the parents of obese kids, instead.”
'via Blog this'
In this space, we’ve been tracking the idea of the so-called fat tax for years.
Of course, the initiative has been discussed in the public sphere long before Everydaymoney.ca, but it was first mentioned to much buzz here in October of 2009, when some 250 commenters chimed in that the suggested tax was either the best or worst cost-cutting proposal they’d heard.
Then, in March of 2010, we rehashed the topic with the soda tax, which was then being tossed around the New York state legislature. That followed by a news story in May of 2011 – this time, an Illinois Republican senator said, “Scrap the fat tax; tax the parents of obese kids, instead.”
Alzheimer's may be transmissible, study says
Alzheimer's may be transmissible, study says - Health - Alzheimer's Disease - msnbc.com:
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In some cases, Alzheimer's disease may in fact be the result of an infection, and may be even be transmissible, a new study in mice suggests.
In the study, mice injected with human brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients developed Alzheimer's disease. The mice developed brain damage characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, and over time, the damage spread throughout their brains, the researchers said.
Mice injected with brain tissue from healthy humans showed no signs of the disease.
'via Blog this'
In some cases, Alzheimer's disease may in fact be the result of an infection, and may be even be transmissible, a new study in mice suggests.
In the study, mice injected with human brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients developed Alzheimer's disease. The mice developed brain damage characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, and over time, the damage spread throughout their brains, the researchers said.
Mice injected with brain tissue from healthy humans showed no signs of the disease.
Quantum life: The weirdness inside us
Quantum life: The weirdness inside us - life - 03 October 2011 - New Scientist: "orous molecule lodges in the pocket of a receptor, an electron can burrow right through that molecule from one side to the other, unleashing a cascade of signals on the other side that the brain interprets a"
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Ideas from the stranger side of physics could explain some long-standing mysteries of biology
EVER felt a little incoherent? Or maybe you've been in two minds about something, or even in a bit of delicate state. Well, here's your excuse: perhaps you are in thrall to the strange rules of quantum mechanics.
We tend to think that the interaction between quantum physics and biology stops with Schrödinger's cat. Not that Erwin Schrödinger intended his unfortunate feline - suspended thanks to quantum rules in a simultaneous state of being both dead and alive - to be anything more than a metaphor. Indeed, when he wrote his 1944 book What is Life?, he speculated that living organisms would do everything they could to block out the fuzziness of quantum physics.
'via Blog this'
Ideas from the stranger side of physics could explain some long-standing mysteries of biology
EVER felt a little incoherent? Or maybe you've been in two minds about something, or even in a bit of delicate state. Well, here's your excuse: perhaps you are in thrall to the strange rules of quantum mechanics.
We tend to think that the interaction between quantum physics and biology stops with Schrödinger's cat. Not that Erwin Schrödinger intended his unfortunate feline - suspended thanks to quantum rules in a simultaneous state of being both dead and alive - to be anything more than a metaphor. Indeed, when he wrote his 1944 book What is Life?, he speculated that living organisms would do everything they could to block out the fuzziness of quantum physics.
Traffic Pollution Could Lead To Smaller Babies, Study Finds
Traffic Pollution Could Lead To Smaller Babies, Study Finds | Fox News:
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An Australian study has found that mothers in areas moderately polluted by carbon monoxide gave birth to children who were an average two ounces lighter, the Herald Sun reported Wednesday.
Lead author Gavin Pereira said "there was a decrease in optimal birth weight of 0.49 percent," based on an expected baby weight of 7.7 pounds.
'via Blog this'
An Australian study has found that mothers in areas moderately polluted by carbon monoxide gave birth to children who were an average two ounces lighter, the Herald Sun reported Wednesday.
Lead author Gavin Pereira said "there was a decrease in optimal birth weight of 0.49 percent," based on an expected baby weight of 7.7 pounds.
October 4, 2011
A Reporter at Large: The Height Gap
A Reporter at Large: The Height Gap : The New Yorker:
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When Vincent van Gogh was thirty-one years old, in the fall of 1883, he travelled to the bleak moors of northern Holland and stayed at a tavern in the village of Stuifzand. The local countryside was hardly inhabited then—“Locus Deserta Atque ob Multos Paludes Invia,” an old map called it: “A deserted and impenetrable place of many swamps”—but a few farmers and former convicts had managed to carve a living from it. They dug peat, brewed illegal gin, and placed poles across the marshes to navigate by. Any squatter who could keep his chimney smoking for a full year earned title to the land he cleared.
There is little record of what happened to van Gogh in Stuifzand—whether he got lost in the marshes or traded sketches for shots at the bar. When I visited the village, the locals mentioned him merely to illustrate an even greater national obsession: height. At the old tavern, which is now a private home, I was shown the tiny alcove where the painter probably slept. “It looks like it would fit only a child,” J. W. Drukker, the current owner, told me. Then he and his wife, Joke (a common Dutch name, they explained, pronounced “Yoh-keh”), led me down the hall, to a sequence of pencil marks on a doorjamb. “My son, he is two metres,” Joke told me, pointing to the topmost mark, six and a half feet from the floor. “His feet”—she held her hands about eighteen inches apart—“for waterskiing.” Joke herself is six feet one, with blond tresses and shoulders like a Valkyrie. Drukker is six feet two.
'via Blog this'
When Vincent van Gogh was thirty-one years old, in the fall of 1883, he travelled to the bleak moors of northern Holland and stayed at a tavern in the village of Stuifzand. The local countryside was hardly inhabited then—“Locus Deserta Atque ob Multos Paludes Invia,” an old map called it: “A deserted and impenetrable place of many swamps”—but a few farmers and former convicts had managed to carve a living from it. They dug peat, brewed illegal gin, and placed poles across the marshes to navigate by. Any squatter who could keep his chimney smoking for a full year earned title to the land he cleared.
There is little record of what happened to van Gogh in Stuifzand—whether he got lost in the marshes or traded sketches for shots at the bar. When I visited the village, the locals mentioned him merely to illustrate an even greater national obsession: height. At the old tavern, which is now a private home, I was shown the tiny alcove where the painter probably slept. “It looks like it would fit only a child,” J. W. Drukker, the current owner, told me. Then he and his wife, Joke (a common Dutch name, they explained, pronounced “Yoh-keh”), led me down the hall, to a sequence of pencil marks on a doorjamb. “My son, he is two metres,” Joke told me, pointing to the topmost mark, six and a half feet from the floor. “His feet”—she held her hands about eighteen inches apart—“for waterskiing.” Joke herself is six feet one, with blond tresses and shoulders like a Valkyrie. Drukker is six feet two.
Would You Eat Raccoon? The Meat Choice Of The Recession
Would You Eat Raccoon? The Meat Choice Of The Recession - Strange News Tuesday by TeamDS/The Folks Behind DailyStrength: at DailyStrength Doctors and Advisors:
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Although there are still a few vegetarians around here and there, and health care practitioners continue to urge us to eat more fruits and vegetables, most of us eat and enjoy meat as part of our diets. However, it's one thing to buy packaged and prepped chicken at the store that's ready to go straight into the pan, and another to try game meat. And still another thing to eat a raccoon!
In some areas it's the most natural thing in the world to eat venison during deer hunting season. And who can forget that animals we think of as pets here, such as horses and dogs, are what's on the menu in some other counties. It may seem strange to those that live in rural settings, but many people, especially those living in urban areas, have never seen any meat except what's wrapped in plastic at the grocery store.
'via Blog this'
Although there are still a few vegetarians around here and there, and health care practitioners continue to urge us to eat more fruits and vegetables, most of us eat and enjoy meat as part of our diets. However, it's one thing to buy packaged and prepped chicken at the store that's ready to go straight into the pan, and another to try game meat. And still another thing to eat a raccoon!
In some areas it's the most natural thing in the world to eat venison during deer hunting season. And who can forget that animals we think of as pets here, such as horses and dogs, are what's on the menu in some other counties. It may seem strange to those that live in rural settings, but many people, especially those living in urban areas, have never seen any meat except what's wrapped in plastic at the grocery store.
Anesthesia in infancy tied to learning problems
Anesthesia in infancy tied to learning problems | Reuters:
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Infants who are given general anesthesia more than once are twice as likely to have learning disabilities later on than children never exposed to the drugs, a new study suggests.
The results add to mounting evidence -- from experiments in animals and observational studies in humans -- that anesthesia might injure young developing brains.
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Infants who are given general anesthesia more than once are twice as likely to have learning disabilities later on than children never exposed to the drugs, a new study suggests.
The results add to mounting evidence -- from experiments in animals and observational studies in humans -- that anesthesia might injure young developing brains.
Physicists move one step closer to quantum computer
Physicists move one step closer to quantum computer:
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Rice University physicists have created a tiny "electron superhighway" that could one day be useful for building a quantum computer, a new type of computer that will use quantum particles in place of the digital transistors found in today's microchips.
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Rice University physicists have created a tiny "electron superhighway" that could one day be useful for building a quantum computer, a new type of computer that will use quantum particles in place of the digital transistors found in today's microchips.
Monsanto, World's Largest Genetically Modified Food Producer, To Be Charged With Biopiracy In India
Monsanto, World's Largest Genetically Modified Food Producer, To Be Charged With Biopiracy In India (VIDEO):
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Add a new word to your lexicon: Biopiracy.
That’s what U.S.-based agribusiness giant Monsanto has been accused of in India, where the government is planning to charge the company with violating the country’s biodiversity laws over a genetically modified version of eggplant.
In doing so, India has placed itself at the focal point of the movement to challenge genetically modified crops, which opponents say are destroying traditional crops and threatening farmers’ livelihoods.
'via Blog this'
Add a new word to your lexicon: Biopiracy.
That’s what U.S.-based agribusiness giant Monsanto has been accused of in India, where the government is planning to charge the company with violating the country’s biodiversity laws over a genetically modified version of eggplant.
In doing so, India has placed itself at the focal point of the movement to challenge genetically modified crops, which opponents say are destroying traditional crops and threatening farmers’ livelihoods.
Contraception Increases Risk Of HIV Infection In Women
Contraception Increases Risk Of HIV Infection In Women | Fox News:
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Hormonal contraception may make it easier for HIV to spread between heterosexual sex partners, according to a new study conducted in Africa.
Women in the study who used hormonal contraception had double the risk of acquiring HIV or transmitting it to their male partners as those who did not use hormonal contraception.
'via Blog this'
Hormonal contraception may make it easier for HIV to spread between heterosexual sex partners, according to a new study conducted in Africa.
Women in the study who used hormonal contraception had double the risk of acquiring HIV or transmitting it to their male partners as those who did not use hormonal contraception.
Why Do People Have Foot Fetishes?
Why Do People Have Foot Fetishes? - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com:
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An Arkansas man identified as the "Toe Suck Fairy" was arrested Monday (Sept. 26) following a series of incidents in which he allegedly approached women in stores, commented on their feet and asked to suck their toes. According to Reuters, the culprit, Michael Robert Wyatt, 50, previously served a prison sentence for similar shenanigans. Last time, he even pretended to be a podiatrist in order to fondle and suck a woman's toes at a clothing store.
Long before Ramachandran began his work on phantom limb syndrome, it had been noted that the brain areas associated with genitalia and feet are adjacent to each other in the brain's body image map. But no one else had put 2 and 2 together and realized that foot fetishes could possibly result from cross-wiring in the brain between the foot and the genital parts.
'via Blog this'
An Arkansas man identified as the "Toe Suck Fairy" was arrested Monday (Sept. 26) following a series of incidents in which he allegedly approached women in stores, commented on their feet and asked to suck their toes. According to Reuters, the culprit, Michael Robert Wyatt, 50, previously served a prison sentence for similar shenanigans. Last time, he even pretended to be a podiatrist in order to fondle and suck a woman's toes at a clothing store.
Long before Ramachandran began his work on phantom limb syndrome, it had been noted that the brain areas associated with genitalia and feet are adjacent to each other in the brain's body image map. But no one else had put 2 and 2 together and realized that foot fetishes could possibly result from cross-wiring in the brain between the foot and the genital parts.
Depressed Patients May Process Hate Feelings Differently
Depressed Patients May Process Hate Feelings Differently - Yahoo! News:
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Feelings of hate may be different for those with depression, a new study suggests.
The results show depressed people have abnormalities in the brain's so-called "hate circuit." Normally, brain activity is synchronous across this circuit's three regions. But in depressed patients, activity in these regions is out of sync, said study researcher Jianfeng Feng, a professor in computer studies at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
These differing activity levels, which the researchers referred to as an "uncoupling" of the circuit, may explain why depressed people experience self-loathing, they said. Depressed people may not be able to deal appropriately with feelings of hate, and as a consequence, develop self-hatred and withdraw from social situations, the researchers said.
'via Blog this'
Feelings of hate may be different for those with depression, a new study suggests.
The results show depressed people have abnormalities in the brain's so-called "hate circuit." Normally, brain activity is synchronous across this circuit's three regions. But in depressed patients, activity in these regions is out of sync, said study researcher Jianfeng Feng, a professor in computer studies at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
These differing activity levels, which the researchers referred to as an "uncoupling" of the circuit, may explain why depressed people experience self-loathing, they said. Depressed people may not be able to deal appropriately with feelings of hate, and as a consequence, develop self-hatred and withdraw from social situations, the researchers said.
September 29, 2011
New Vaccine Could Turn HIV Into Minor Infection
New Vaccine Could Turn HIV Into Minor Infection | Fox News:
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A powerful new vaccine developed by Spanish scientists could turn HIV into a minor infection such as herpes, according to a study out Thursday.
In a trial involving 30 healthy volunteers, scientists found that 90 percent of those who were given the MVA-B vaccine developed an immunity against the virus and 85 percent maintained this for a year.
The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, works by training the immune system to detect HIV and learn how to combat the virus.
'via Blog this'
A powerful new vaccine developed by Spanish scientists could turn HIV into a minor infection such as herpes, according to a study out Thursday.
In a trial involving 30 healthy volunteers, scientists found that 90 percent of those who were given the MVA-B vaccine developed an immunity against the virus and 85 percent maintained this for a year.
The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, works by training the immune system to detect HIV and learn how to combat the virus.
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