EXISTENTIALISM
/////////////For instance, feeling kinship with our relatives is undoubtedly an adaptive trait that was selected for in our evolutionary past, but it can also be turned into tribalism that leads to wars and conflicts that are clearly non-adaptive and unhealthy.
How are conflicts and wars non-adaptive and unhealthy, as far as natural selection is concerned? In animals, conflicts over mating rights is clearly adaptive and healthy for the species. Territorial disputes are also adaptive and healthy for the species.
Maybe in humans, one could argue, wars kill so indiscriminately that it has the chance to kill off highly "fit" individuals, but the "fittest" are the ones who survive the battle.
Posted by: wank | March 4, 2009 9:02 AM
/////////////////////
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
CDS 040309-PHOS KORTE CHHEDO NA
//////////////Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.
—attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer
//////////////Low-Income Countries Bear Biggest Burden of Stroke
A new analysis of global surveillance data shows that rates of stroke mortality and burden vary between countries, but lower-income countries appear to be most affected.
Medscape Medical News 2009
//////////////////////////////Study: Sodium, potassium ratio affects heart health
A team of researchers has found that consuming twice as much potassium as sodium may halve a person's risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
///////////////////The Northwestern researchers measured brainstem processing of three acoustic correlates (pitch, timing and timbre) in musicians and non-musicians to a scientifically validated emotion sound. The musicians, who learn to use all their senses to practice and perform a musical piece, were found to have "finely tuned" auditory systems.
This fine-tuning appears to lend broad perceptual advantages to musicians. "Previous research has indicated that musicians demonstrate greater sensitivity to the nuances of emotion in speech," says Ashley, who explores the link between emotion perception and musical experience. One of his recent studies indicated that musicians might even be able to sense emotion in sounds after hearing them for only 50 milliseconds.
/////////////////////////The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.
Posted: 04 Mar 2009 03:00 AM PST
~ Oprah winfrey
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Statins Lower Stroke Severity, Improve Recovery (March 4, 2009) -- Researchers have shown that patients who were taking statins before a stroke experienced better outcomes and recovery than patients who weren't on the drug -- even when their cholesterol levels were ideal. ... > full storyStatins Lower Stroke Severity, Improve Recovery (March 4, 2009) -- Researchers have shown that patients who were taking statins before a stroke experienced better outcomes and recovery than patients who weren't on the drug -- even when their cholesterol levels were ideal. ... > full story
//////////////////////////////////Causes Of Rheumatic Heart Disease Discovered
ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2009) — Each year, around 15 million children fall ill with rheumatic heart disease worldwide; half a million of them die as a consequence. At the beginning of the medical cases of these children stands a simple throat infection with streptococcus – spherical bacteria responsible for causing a range of different infections. However, it is only certain streptococcal strains that trigger a whole chain of reactions in the body that culminates in the life-threatening rheumatic heart disease. These bacteria carry a special protein sequence, the so-called PARF motif, on their surface.
Singh Chhatwal and his colleague Patric Nitsche-Schmitz of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig illustrate the role played by PARF in the development of rheumatic heart disease. With this knowledge they are developing a test system that is able to recognise and prevent the disease at an early stage.
"PARF means 'peptide associated with rheumatic fever'," explains Nitsche-Schmitz. "It is a small section from a bacterial surface protein , which is used by the streptococcus to adhere to our cells and cause disease." Rheumatic fever develops from harmless sore throats amongst children in India, Australia and Africa in particular. The reason: inadequate medical treatment.
///////Rh F-parf
//////////////TV Viewing Before The Age Of 2 Has No Cognitive Benefit, Study Finds (March 2, 2009) -- In the first longitudinal study of its kind, researchers show that TV viewing before the age of two does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills. The findings suggest that maternal, child and household characteristics are more influential in a child's brain development. ... > full story
/////////////////////////////
///////////////////CAMUSCAMUS
—attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer
//////////////Low-Income Countries Bear Biggest Burden of Stroke
A new analysis of global surveillance data shows that rates of stroke mortality and burden vary between countries, but lower-income countries appear to be most affected.
Medscape Medical News 2009
//////////////////////////////Study: Sodium, potassium ratio affects heart health
A team of researchers has found that consuming twice as much potassium as sodium may halve a person's risk of dying from cardiovascular disease
///////////////////The Northwestern researchers measured brainstem processing of three acoustic correlates (pitch, timing and timbre) in musicians and non-musicians to a scientifically validated emotion sound. The musicians, who learn to use all their senses to practice and perform a musical piece, were found to have "finely tuned" auditory systems.
This fine-tuning appears to lend broad perceptual advantages to musicians. "Previous research has indicated that musicians demonstrate greater sensitivity to the nuances of emotion in speech," says Ashley, who explores the link between emotion perception and musical experience. One of his recent studies indicated that musicians might even be able to sense emotion in sounds after hearing them for only 50 milliseconds.
/////////////////////////The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.
Posted: 04 Mar 2009 03:00 AM PST
~ Oprah winfrey
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Statins Lower Stroke Severity, Improve Recovery (March 4, 2009) -- Researchers have shown that patients who were taking statins before a stroke experienced better outcomes and recovery than patients who weren't on the drug -- even when their cholesterol levels were ideal. ... > full storyStatins Lower Stroke Severity, Improve Recovery (March 4, 2009) -- Researchers have shown that patients who were taking statins before a stroke experienced better outcomes and recovery than patients who weren't on the drug -- even when their cholesterol levels were ideal. ... > full story
//////////////////////////////////Causes Of Rheumatic Heart Disease Discovered
ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2009) — Each year, around 15 million children fall ill with rheumatic heart disease worldwide; half a million of them die as a consequence. At the beginning of the medical cases of these children stands a simple throat infection with streptococcus – spherical bacteria responsible for causing a range of different infections. However, it is only certain streptococcal strains that trigger a whole chain of reactions in the body that culminates in the life-threatening rheumatic heart disease. These bacteria carry a special protein sequence, the so-called PARF motif, on their surface.
Singh Chhatwal and his colleague Patric Nitsche-Schmitz of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig illustrate the role played by PARF in the development of rheumatic heart disease. With this knowledge they are developing a test system that is able to recognise and prevent the disease at an early stage.
"PARF means 'peptide associated with rheumatic fever'," explains Nitsche-Schmitz. "It is a small section from a bacterial surface protein , which is used by the streptococcus to adhere to our cells and cause disease." Rheumatic fever develops from harmless sore throats amongst children in India, Australia and Africa in particular. The reason: inadequate medical treatment.
///////Rh F-parf
//////////////TV Viewing Before The Age Of 2 Has No Cognitive Benefit, Study Finds (March 2, 2009) -- In the first longitudinal study of its kind, researchers show that TV viewing before the age of two does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills. The findings suggest that maternal, child and household characteristics are more influential in a child's brain development. ... > full story
/////////////////////////////
///////////////////CAMUSCAMUS
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
SWEET SLUMBER
"A few hours? mountain climbing turns a rogue and a saint into two
roughly equal creatures. Weariness is the shortest path to equality
and fraternity ? and liberty is finally added by sleep." (Nietzsche)
/////////////////////Watching, Knowing, and Wheezing: Television and Child Health
Watching television in infancy has no apparent effect on short-term cognitive development, but it is associated with childhood asthma, according to two studies.
The first, published in Pediatrics, measured TV viewing in some 900 children from 6 months to 2 years of age. At age 3, the children underwent cognitive testing, and the researchers found TV "neither beneficial nor deleterious" to their performance.
Researchers in the second study, released online by Thorax, examined the viewing habits of some 3100 children at age 3.5 years (none of the children had wheezing then). TV viewing was used as a proxy for sedentary behavior. By follow-up at age 11.5, children who watched more than 2 hours per day were almost twice as likely as those watching 1 to 2 hours to have been diagnosed with asthma.
[Editor's note: Although Thorax has released this article from embargo, it has not posted the article on its website. Rather than delay coverage while awaiting that posting, we have provided a link to Thorax's early-release page, where the article will eventually appear.]
Pediatrics article (Free)
Thorax early-release page (Free)
///////////////Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it."
– William C. Durant
/////////////////Countenance (verb)
Pronunciation: ['kæwn-tê-nêns]
Definition: Tolerate; sanction (positively), put up with, favor.
Usage: It is odd that the verb "countenance" means "tolerate" while the noun means "expression on the face." However, at one time "to keep one's countenance" meant to remain normal or neutral in behavior, not to show any emotional response. So both terms originally referred to the control of behavior (as expressed by the face), then the verb's meaning developed into remaining neutral and from there, by a short hop, to showing toleration or favor. Even the noun "countenance" when used alone implies a positive expression on the face. There is a negative verb, discountenance "to disfavor, not tolerate."
////////////////The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
~Nicolas Chamfort~
////////////////////////IND NOT SHNING
//////////////SASIA RAPIDLY BCOMING TOMALIA
/////////////////
"I can move into calmness and peace simply by being aware of my breath."
////////////////In everyday language, people sometimes say that immoral behaviours "leave a bad taste in your mouth". But this may be more than a metaphor according to new scientific evidence from the University of Toronto that shows a link between moral disgust and more primitive forms of disgust related to poison and disease.
"Morality is often pointed to as the pinnacle of human evolution and development," says lead author Hanah Chapman, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology. "However, disgust is an ancient and rather primitive emotion which played a key evolutionary role in survival. Our research shows the involvement of disgust in morality, suggesting that moral judgment may depend as much on simple emotional processes as on complex thought." The research is being published in Science on February 27, 2009.
In the study, the scientists examined facial movements when participants tasted unpleasant liquids and looked at photographs of disgusting objects such as dirty toilets or injuries. They compared these to their facial movements when they were subjected to unfair treatment in a laboratory game. The U of T team found that people make similar facial movements in response to both primitive forms of disgust and moral disgust.
The research employed electromyography, a technique that uses small electrodes placed on the face to detect electrical activation that occurs when the facial muscles contract. In particular, they focused on movement of the levator labii muscle, which acts to raise the upper lip and wrinkle the nose, movements that are thought to be characteristic of the facial expression of disgust.
////////////////////////////////"Confidence is a resolute state of mind by which you believe nothing is impossible." ~ Dr. John Eliot from Overachievement
///////////////////Entropy (noun)
Pronunciation: ['en-trê-pi]
Definition: (1) The measure of energy unavailable for work in a closed system, generally taken to be the degree of systemic disorder; (2) the tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to degenerate and become inert, inactive; (3) the steady deterioration of any system.
Usage: The adjective for today's word is "entropic" and the adverb, "entropically." "Entropy" is a lack of energy while "apathy" is a lack of interest—mental entropy, if you will. Today's word is used mostly by scientists, especially physicists, who assign it very specific meanings. However, its basic sense is a loss of energy which leads to dissipation, degeneration or that state itself.
////////////////It's Square Root Day!
by rvannoorden
Posted on behalf of Roberta Kwok
Pop the champagne, everyone: Today is March 3, 2009 (or 3/3/09), and that means that some math-related partying is in order.
If you're tempted to suppress your inner geek, just remember that Square Root Day only happens nine times a century. The last one was Feb. 2, 2004, and the next one won't be until April 4, 2016.
"These days are like calendar comets," says Ron Gordon, a teacher in Redwood City, California [AP]. "You wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day - and poof - they're gone."
/////////////////The world’s oldest brain
by dcressey
The oldest brain ever found was officially unveiled this week, in the journal PNAS.
Researchers at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility were using X-rays to image the inside of an ancient fish skull fossil when they discovered what they call “a strikingly brain-shaped structure” (press release, research paper - link live soon). They suggest the 300 million year old brain of the iniopterygian fish was mineralised due to microbes.
//////////////PLACK=The world’s oldest brain
by dcressey
The oldest brain ever found was officially unveiled this week, in the journal PNAS.
Researchers at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility were using X-rays to image the inside of an ancient fish skull fossil when they discovered what they call “a strikingly brain-shaped structure” (press release, research paper - link live soon). They suggest the 300 million year old brain of the iniopterygian fish was mineralised due to microbes.
////////////
roughly equal creatures. Weariness is the shortest path to equality
and fraternity ? and liberty is finally added by sleep." (Nietzsche)
/////////////////////Watching, Knowing, and Wheezing: Television and Child Health
Watching television in infancy has no apparent effect on short-term cognitive development, but it is associated with childhood asthma, according to two studies.
The first, published in Pediatrics, measured TV viewing in some 900 children from 6 months to 2 years of age. At age 3, the children underwent cognitive testing, and the researchers found TV "neither beneficial nor deleterious" to their performance.
Researchers in the second study, released online by Thorax, examined the viewing habits of some 3100 children at age 3.5 years (none of the children had wheezing then). TV viewing was used as a proxy for sedentary behavior. By follow-up at age 11.5, children who watched more than 2 hours per day were almost twice as likely as those watching 1 to 2 hours to have been diagnosed with asthma.
[Editor's note: Although Thorax has released this article from embargo, it has not posted the article on its website. Rather than delay coverage while awaiting that posting, we have provided a link to Thorax's early-release page, where the article will eventually appear.]
Pediatrics article (Free)
Thorax early-release page (Free)
///////////////Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it."
– William C. Durant
/////////////////Countenance (verb)
Pronunciation: ['kæwn-tê-nêns]
Definition: Tolerate; sanction (positively), put up with, favor.
Usage: It is odd that the verb "countenance" means "tolerate" while the noun means "expression on the face." However, at one time "to keep one's countenance" meant to remain normal or neutral in behavior, not to show any emotional response. So both terms originally referred to the control of behavior (as expressed by the face), then the verb's meaning developed into remaining neutral and from there, by a short hop, to showing toleration or favor. Even the noun "countenance" when used alone implies a positive expression on the face. There is a negative verb, discountenance "to disfavor, not tolerate."
////////////////The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
~Nicolas Chamfort~
////////////////////////IND NOT SHNING
//////////////SASIA RAPIDLY BCOMING TOMALIA
/////////////////
"I can move into calmness and peace simply by being aware of my breath."
////////////////In everyday language, people sometimes say that immoral behaviours "leave a bad taste in your mouth". But this may be more than a metaphor according to new scientific evidence from the University of Toronto that shows a link between moral disgust and more primitive forms of disgust related to poison and disease.
"Morality is often pointed to as the pinnacle of human evolution and development," says lead author Hanah Chapman, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology. "However, disgust is an ancient and rather primitive emotion which played a key evolutionary role in survival. Our research shows the involvement of disgust in morality, suggesting that moral judgment may depend as much on simple emotional processes as on complex thought." The research is being published in Science on February 27, 2009.
In the study, the scientists examined facial movements when participants tasted unpleasant liquids and looked at photographs of disgusting objects such as dirty toilets or injuries. They compared these to their facial movements when they were subjected to unfair treatment in a laboratory game. The U of T team found that people make similar facial movements in response to both primitive forms of disgust and moral disgust.
The research employed electromyography, a technique that uses small electrodes placed on the face to detect electrical activation that occurs when the facial muscles contract. In particular, they focused on movement of the levator labii muscle, which acts to raise the upper lip and wrinkle the nose, movements that are thought to be characteristic of the facial expression of disgust.
////////////////////////////////"Confidence is a resolute state of mind by which you believe nothing is impossible." ~ Dr. John Eliot from Overachievement
///////////////////Entropy (noun)
Pronunciation: ['en-trê-pi]
Definition: (1) The measure of energy unavailable for work in a closed system, generally taken to be the degree of systemic disorder; (2) the tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to degenerate and become inert, inactive; (3) the steady deterioration of any system.
Usage: The adjective for today's word is "entropic" and the adverb, "entropically." "Entropy" is a lack of energy while "apathy" is a lack of interest—mental entropy, if you will. Today's word is used mostly by scientists, especially physicists, who assign it very specific meanings. However, its basic sense is a loss of energy which leads to dissipation, degeneration or that state itself.
////////////////It's Square Root Day!
by rvannoorden
Posted on behalf of Roberta Kwok
Pop the champagne, everyone: Today is March 3, 2009 (or 3/3/09), and that means that some math-related partying is in order.
If you're tempted to suppress your inner geek, just remember that Square Root Day only happens nine times a century. The last one was Feb. 2, 2004, and the next one won't be until April 4, 2016.
"These days are like calendar comets," says Ron Gordon, a teacher in Redwood City, California [AP]. "You wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day - and poof - they're gone."
/////////////////The world’s oldest brain
by dcressey
The oldest brain ever found was officially unveiled this week, in the journal PNAS.
Researchers at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility were using X-rays to image the inside of an ancient fish skull fossil when they discovered what they call “a strikingly brain-shaped structure” (press release, research paper - link live soon). They suggest the 300 million year old brain of the iniopterygian fish was mineralised due to microbes.
//////////////PLACK=The world’s oldest brain
by dcressey
The oldest brain ever found was officially unveiled this week, in the journal PNAS.
Researchers at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility were using X-rays to image the inside of an ancient fish skull fossil when they discovered what they call “a strikingly brain-shaped structure” (press release, research paper - link live soon). They suggest the 300 million year old brain of the iniopterygian fish was mineralised due to microbes.
////////////
CDS 030309-LL PRSSR CRSS-PHOS KORE EMAIL LIKHECHHI
//////////////////NO MAL INTENT
////////////////RCNT CRTCSMS-OMR CRSS-UVC CRSS-AEDF CRSS-NOW LL OBS CRSS
///////////////OVRWKD? HNG AWAY ON 1/2 DAYS
///////////////BTKAT-126 +
///////////////
////////////////RCNT CRTCSMS-OMR CRSS-UVC CRSS-AEDF CRSS-NOW LL OBS CRSS
///////////////OVRWKD? HNG AWAY ON 1/2 DAYS
///////////////BTKAT-126 +
///////////////
Monday, 2 March 2009
CDS 020309-DTH TRMNL SEDN-MORPHN MDZLM
//////////////Style is the perfection of a point of view.
—Richard Eberhart
//////////////////Sufficient to each day are the duties to be done and the trials to be endured.
T. L. Gayler
///////////////Excessive Sleepiness Predicts Death
Energy is the backbone of life and a new study makes this perfectly clear. A group of 9294 individuals, age 65 at the start of study, was followed for six years. Those with excessive daytime sleepiness had a 49% increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 33% increased risk of dying from any cause
///////////////////////"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."
– Virginia Satir
//////////////////////////////
—Richard Eberhart
//////////////////Sufficient to each day are the duties to be done and the trials to be endured.
T. L. Gayler
///////////////Excessive Sleepiness Predicts Death
Energy is the backbone of life and a new study makes this perfectly clear. A group of 9294 individuals, age 65 at the start of study, was followed for six years. Those with excessive daytime sleepiness had a 49% increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 33% increased risk of dying from any cause
///////////////////////"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."
– Virginia Satir
//////////////////////////////
Sunday, 1 March 2009
FREE MKT RLTY SHOW
////////////No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
/////////////SQUARE WATERMELON
/////////////COCONUT
///////////////BBCD
//////////////////Bob Marley: A Life by Garry Steckles
by geoffreyphilp101@gmail.com (http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/)
One of the twentieth century’s most revered cultural figures, Bob Marley was responsible for carrying reggae music far beyond the Caribbean and establishing it as an international force. He set attendance records that still stand in Europe and his 1977 Exodus album was hailed by Time magazine as the greatest of the 20th Century, but Marley was no mere pop star: His combination of politically and socially conscious lyrics, unforgettable melodies, uncompromising Rastafarian beliefs and fierce hostility to the injustices of "Babylon" made his music the voice of the poor and dispossessed all over the globe.
In this new biography, Garry Steckles tells Marley’s story from his birth in rural Jamaica to his tragically early death in 1981, by which time he’d overcome poverty and prejudice to become the Third World’s first superstar.
Steckles, who has been intimately involved with reggae for more than three decades as a writer, concert promoter, broadcaster and fan, transports you into the smoky Kingston studios where Marley made his first recordings, documents his often turbulent relationships with reggae legends like studio pioneer Clement "Coxson" Dodd, fellow Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the wildly eccentric producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, introduces you to behind-the-scenes legends like Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and the volatile PR genius Charles Comer, and takes you on the Rasta roller-coaster that carried Marley to the cover of the Rolling Stone and global adulation.
////////////////////Sensory Integration - The more senses you can use in learning something the easier it is to remember. If you can listen to a lecture, watch a video, and touch and feel something you want to learn you will remember far more easily than when using a single sensory input. Experiments have even shown that replicating the smells that were present when something was learned improves memories. You can remember the plot of a movie you saw in the theater better when the smell of popcorn is surrounding you.
Exploration - Our brains are wired to learn by exploring. Creating an environment that allows the use of creativity is powerful. Google’s practice of letting people spend 20% of their time pursuing projects that come from employee’s own curiosity is one example of this.
//////////////////Flu Was Not the Real Killer in the 1918 Pandemic
by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Strep infections, rather than the flu virus itself, may have killed most people during the 1918 influenza pandemic. This suggests that some of the most dire predictions about a potential new pandemic could be exaggerated. Scientists looked at the available information regarding the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed anywhere between 50 million and 100 million people globally in the space of about 18 months. Some research has shown that on average it took a week to 11 days for people to die, which fits in more with the known pattern of a bacterial infection than a viral infection. People with influenza often get what is known as a "superinfection" with a bacterial agent. In 1918 it appears to have been Streptococcus pneumoniae. Many projections for a new pandemic have been based on a worst-case 1918 scenario, in which tens of millions of people would die globally. However, since strep is much easier to treat than the flu using modern medicine, a new pandemic might be much less dire than it was in the early 20th century.
/////////////////////Why Getting Dirty Will Do You a World of Good
by Bean Jones
Wake up and smell the dirt! You'll feel better if you spend some time outdoors.
A study published in the journal Neuroscience may very well boost the popularity of gardening.
Scientists discovered that bacteria found in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, increases the brain's serotonin production in the part of the brain that controls moods. Serotonin is likewise credited for strengthening immune function.
Surprisingly, the study also reveals that a lack of exposure to the friendly bacteria found in soil has been known to increase a person's vulnerability to asthma and allergy.
In this light, the experts advise: "If you want to feel happy and healthy, do some gardening, eat root crops (such as potatoes and carrots), and spend some time outdoors."
Knowing this now, I am reminded of my grandfather's unwavering defense of my boyhood antics. You see, my mother threw a fit each time I got muddy from playing outside. He'd say, "Oh, stop it! It's good for the boy to get some dirt on him." I don't think my grandpa actually knew the scientific data detailing dirt's good side, but, hey, he was right after all.
This just goes to prove that while cleanliness may be next to godliness, a little dirt certainly wouldn't hurt either.
/////////////////////
Military to use new gel that stops bullets
A new "bullet-busting" shock-absorbent gel is set to save the lives of British soldiers by substantially reinforcing their helmets.
By Thomas Harding Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:34PM GMT 27 Feb 2009
d3O gel: New gel to stop bullets
Richard Palmer invented the D3O shock absorbing material that locks instantly into a solidified form when it is hit at high impact Photo: REUTERS
The Ministry of Defence has awarded £100,000 to a small company that has developed a special substance that hardens immediately on impact.
It is hoped that the shock-absorbing substance will soon be fitted onto the inside of soldiers' helmets reducing in half the kinetic energy of a bullet or piece of shrapnel and hopefully making them impenetrable.
The gel, called d3O locks instantly into a solidified form when it is hit at high impact.
"When moved slowly, the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid," said Richard Palmer, who invented the gel. "In doing so they absorb energy."
The d3O gel has already expanded into a range of sporting goods and is found in ski gloves, shin guards, ballet shoe pointes and horse-riding equipment. The substance relies on "intelligent molecules" that "shock lock" together to absorb energy and create a solid pad. Once the pressure has gone they return to their normal flexible state.
The gel is stitched into clothing or equipment that is supple until it stiffens into a protective barrier on impact.
If the product is taken on by defence contractors it could be used to reduce the current bulky and restrictive armour used by troops in on the frontline with gel pads inserted into key protective areas.
Mr Palmer said it was the equivalent to comparing "cumbersome" RoboCop to Spiderman with the latter's protection "nimble covert and flexible".
//////////////////But with his latest film, Gran Torino, Eastwood makes his repentance explicit. He plays Walt Kowalski, a cussed old widow and Korean war vet living alone in a neighbourhood that is increasingly populated by immigrants. Walt could be Harry Callahan in retirement: he curses the "babbling gooks" who move in next door and clings to his fat guns.
But one day, Walt sees a gang attacking his Hmong-immigrant neighbours, as they stumble on to his lawn – and he scares them off with a gun. The Hmong family begin to shower him with gifts and affection, as the gang circles every closer. It becomes clear that Walt is broken by the violence he committed more than fifty years ago in Korea. "You want to know what it's like to kill a man?" he asks. "It's gooddam awful and the only thing worse is being given a medal of honour for killing a guy who just wants to live."
Yet it becomes clear that Walt will fight back against the gang to defend his neighbours – and it seems like progress from Dirty Harry, but not much. Yes, liberal vigilantism is better than illiberal vigilantism, but only by inches.
//////////////////
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
/////////////SQUARE WATERMELON
/////////////COCONUT
///////////////BBCD
//////////////////Bob Marley: A Life by Garry Steckles
by geoffreyphilp101@gmail.com (http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/)
One of the twentieth century’s most revered cultural figures, Bob Marley was responsible for carrying reggae music far beyond the Caribbean and establishing it as an international force. He set attendance records that still stand in Europe and his 1977 Exodus album was hailed by Time magazine as the greatest of the 20th Century, but Marley was no mere pop star: His combination of politically and socially conscious lyrics, unforgettable melodies, uncompromising Rastafarian beliefs and fierce hostility to the injustices of "Babylon" made his music the voice of the poor and dispossessed all over the globe.
In this new biography, Garry Steckles tells Marley’s story from his birth in rural Jamaica to his tragically early death in 1981, by which time he’d overcome poverty and prejudice to become the Third World’s first superstar.
Steckles, who has been intimately involved with reggae for more than three decades as a writer, concert promoter, broadcaster and fan, transports you into the smoky Kingston studios where Marley made his first recordings, documents his often turbulent relationships with reggae legends like studio pioneer Clement "Coxson" Dodd, fellow Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the wildly eccentric producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, introduces you to behind-the-scenes legends like Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and the volatile PR genius Charles Comer, and takes you on the Rasta roller-coaster that carried Marley to the cover of the Rolling Stone and global adulation.
////////////////////Sensory Integration - The more senses you can use in learning something the easier it is to remember. If you can listen to a lecture, watch a video, and touch and feel something you want to learn you will remember far more easily than when using a single sensory input. Experiments have even shown that replicating the smells that were present when something was learned improves memories. You can remember the plot of a movie you saw in the theater better when the smell of popcorn is surrounding you.
Exploration - Our brains are wired to learn by exploring. Creating an environment that allows the use of creativity is powerful. Google’s practice of letting people spend 20% of their time pursuing projects that come from employee’s own curiosity is one example of this.
//////////////////Flu Was Not the Real Killer in the 1918 Pandemic
by Dr. Joseph Mercola
Strep infections, rather than the flu virus itself, may have killed most people during the 1918 influenza pandemic. This suggests that some of the most dire predictions about a potential new pandemic could be exaggerated. Scientists looked at the available information regarding the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed anywhere between 50 million and 100 million people globally in the space of about 18 months. Some research has shown that on average it took a week to 11 days for people to die, which fits in more with the known pattern of a bacterial infection than a viral infection. People with influenza often get what is known as a "superinfection" with a bacterial agent. In 1918 it appears to have been Streptococcus pneumoniae. Many projections for a new pandemic have been based on a worst-case 1918 scenario, in which tens of millions of people would die globally. However, since strep is much easier to treat than the flu using modern medicine, a new pandemic might be much less dire than it was in the early 20th century.
/////////////////////Why Getting Dirty Will Do You a World of Good
by Bean Jones
Wake up and smell the dirt! You'll feel better if you spend some time outdoors.
A study published in the journal Neuroscience may very well boost the popularity of gardening.
Scientists discovered that bacteria found in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, increases the brain's serotonin production in the part of the brain that controls moods. Serotonin is likewise credited for strengthening immune function.
Surprisingly, the study also reveals that a lack of exposure to the friendly bacteria found in soil has been known to increase a person's vulnerability to asthma and allergy.
In this light, the experts advise: "If you want to feel happy and healthy, do some gardening, eat root crops (such as potatoes and carrots), and spend some time outdoors."
Knowing this now, I am reminded of my grandfather's unwavering defense of my boyhood antics. You see, my mother threw a fit each time I got muddy from playing outside. He'd say, "Oh, stop it! It's good for the boy to get some dirt on him." I don't think my grandpa actually knew the scientific data detailing dirt's good side, but, hey, he was right after all.
This just goes to prove that while cleanliness may be next to godliness, a little dirt certainly wouldn't hurt either.
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Military to use new gel that stops bullets
A new "bullet-busting" shock-absorbent gel is set to save the lives of British soldiers by substantially reinforcing their helmets.
By Thomas Harding Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:34PM GMT 27 Feb 2009
d3O gel: New gel to stop bullets
Richard Palmer invented the D3O shock absorbing material that locks instantly into a solidified form when it is hit at high impact Photo: REUTERS
The Ministry of Defence has awarded £100,000 to a small company that has developed a special substance that hardens immediately on impact.
It is hoped that the shock-absorbing substance will soon be fitted onto the inside of soldiers' helmets reducing in half the kinetic energy of a bullet or piece of shrapnel and hopefully making them impenetrable.
The gel, called d3O locks instantly into a solidified form when it is hit at high impact.
"When moved slowly, the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid," said Richard Palmer, who invented the gel. "In doing so they absorb energy."
The d3O gel has already expanded into a range of sporting goods and is found in ski gloves, shin guards, ballet shoe pointes and horse-riding equipment. The substance relies on "intelligent molecules" that "shock lock" together to absorb energy and create a solid pad. Once the pressure has gone they return to their normal flexible state.
The gel is stitched into clothing or equipment that is supple until it stiffens into a protective barrier on impact.
If the product is taken on by defence contractors it could be used to reduce the current bulky and restrictive armour used by troops in on the frontline with gel pads inserted into key protective areas.
Mr Palmer said it was the equivalent to comparing "cumbersome" RoboCop to Spiderman with the latter's protection "nimble covert and flexible".
//////////////////But with his latest film, Gran Torino, Eastwood makes his repentance explicit. He plays Walt Kowalski, a cussed old widow and Korean war vet living alone in a neighbourhood that is increasingly populated by immigrants. Walt could be Harry Callahan in retirement: he curses the "babbling gooks" who move in next door and clings to his fat guns.
But one day, Walt sees a gang attacking his Hmong-immigrant neighbours, as they stumble on to his lawn – and he scares them off with a gun. The Hmong family begin to shower him with gifts and affection, as the gang circles every closer. It becomes clear that Walt is broken by the violence he committed more than fifty years ago in Korea. "You want to know what it's like to kill a man?" he asks. "It's gooddam awful and the only thing worse is being given a medal of honour for killing a guy who just wants to live."
Yet it becomes clear that Walt will fight back against the gang to defend his neighbours – and it seems like progress from Dirty Harry, but not much. Yes, liberal vigilantism is better than illiberal vigilantism, but only by inches.
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