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Ask Your Doctor
Relaxed and Turned On
Jackpot!
I guess cartoonists don't get the concept of parts per billion. Not to mention where that water's been to pick up some of those drugs.
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 12 2008, 10:16 PM) 
I guess cartoonists don't get the concept of parts per billion. Not to mention where that water's been to pick up some of those drugs.
AP probe finds drugs in drinking water
QUOTE
And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.
Another issue: There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.
Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.
Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life — such as earth worms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.
There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs — or combinations of drugs — may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.
Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.
However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.
"These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations.
Another issue: There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.
Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.
Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life — such as earth worms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.
There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs — or combinations of drugs — may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.
Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.
However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.
"These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations.
Cat carried woman's antibiotic-resistant infection
Well that's not good...
QUOTE
BOSTON (Reuters) - Pets can harbor virulent antibiotic-resistant infections and spread them to humans, German researchers reported on Wednesday.
The warning is based on the case of a woman who had deep abscesses caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Her husband and two children showed evidence of infection, too, but it disappeared with treatment even as the woman's abscesses festered.
So Dr. Andreas Sing of the Bavarian Food and Health Safety Authority and colleagues examined the woman's three apparently healthy cats. One turned out to have the same strain.
Only after the cat was treated with antibiotics did the woman's abscesses clear up.
Researchers already know that people can pick up such infections from dogs.
"It remains unclear whether the cat was the source of the patient's infection or vice versa," the researchers note -- but said the strain was rare in humans.
"This case illustrates that MRSA transmission also occurs between humans and cats," they added in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.
"We conclude that pets should be considered as possible household reservoirs of MRSA that can cause infection or reinfection in humans."
The warning is based on the case of a woman who had deep abscesses caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Her husband and two children showed evidence of infection, too, but it disappeared with treatment even as the woman's abscesses festered.
So Dr. Andreas Sing of the Bavarian Food and Health Safety Authority and colleagues examined the woman's three apparently healthy cats. One turned out to have the same strain.
Only after the cat was treated with antibiotics did the woman's abscesses clear up.
Researchers already know that people can pick up such infections from dogs.
"It remains unclear whether the cat was the source of the patient's infection or vice versa," the researchers note -- but said the strain was rare in humans.
"This case illustrates that MRSA transmission also occurs between humans and cats," they added in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.
"We conclude that pets should be considered as possible household reservoirs of MRSA that can cause infection or reinfection in humans."
Well that's not good...
Space Rocks Brought Life's Raw Material
QUOTE
Nobody knows how life on Earth began, but the primordial soup likely got a lot of its ingredients from space.
Scientists have discovered concentrations of amino acids in two meteorites that are more than ten times higher than levels previously measured in other similar meteorites.
Amino acids are organic molecules that form the backbone of proteins, which in turn build many of the structures and drive many of the chemical reactions inside living cells. The production of proteins is believed to constitute one of the first steps in the emergence of life. Meanwhile, meteorites found on Earth are typically chunks of material created in the solar system's youth.
So the finding suggests that the early solar system was far richer in the organic building blocks of life than scientists had thought. The researchers speculate that rocks from space may have spiked Earth's primordial broth.
It's an argument that's been made before. But the prevalence of amino acids strengthens the reasoning.
"The amino acids probably formed within the parent body before it broke up," said Conel Alexander of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution. "For instance, ammonia and other chemical precursors from the solar nebula, or even the interstellar medium, could have combined in the presence of water to make the amino acids. Then, after the break up, some of the fragments could have showered down onto the Earth and the other terrestrial planets. These same precursors are likely to have been present in other primitive bodies, such as comets, that were also raining material onto the early Earth."
The study will be detailed in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
Scientists have discovered concentrations of amino acids in two meteorites that are more than ten times higher than levels previously measured in other similar meteorites.
Amino acids are organic molecules that form the backbone of proteins, which in turn build many of the structures and drive many of the chemical reactions inside living cells. The production of proteins is believed to constitute one of the first steps in the emergence of life. Meanwhile, meteorites found on Earth are typically chunks of material created in the solar system's youth.
So the finding suggests that the early solar system was far richer in the organic building blocks of life than scientists had thought. The researchers speculate that rocks from space may have spiked Earth's primordial broth.
It's an argument that's been made before. But the prevalence of amino acids strengthens the reasoning.
"The amino acids probably formed within the parent body before it broke up," said Conel Alexander of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution. "For instance, ammonia and other chemical precursors from the solar nebula, or even the interstellar medium, could have combined in the presence of water to make the amino acids. Then, after the break up, some of the fragments could have showered down onto the Earth and the other terrestrial planets. These same precursors are likely to have been present in other primitive bodies, such as comets, that were also raining material onto the early Earth."
The study will be detailed in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
Indian DNA links to 6 'founding mothers'
QUOTE
NEW YORK - Nearly all of today's Native Americans in North, Central and South America can trace part of their ancestry to six women whose descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA study suggests.
Those women left a particular DNA legacy that persists to today in about about 95 percent of Native Americans, researchers said.
The finding does not mean that only these six women gave rise to the migrants who crossed into North America from Asia in the initial populating of the continent, said study co-author Ugo Perego.
The women lived between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago, though not necessarily at exactly the same time, he said.
This DNA is found in the mitochondria, the power plants of cells. Unlike the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed along only by the mother. So it follows a lineage that connects a person to his or her mother, then the mother's mother, and so on.
The researchers created a "family tree" that traces the different mitochondrial DNA lineages found in today's Native Americans. By noting mutations in each branch and applying a formula for how often such mutations arise, they calculated how old each branch was. That indicated when each branch arose in a single woman.
The six "founding mothers" apparently did not live in Asia because the DNA signatures they left behind aren't found there, Perego said. They probably lived in Beringia, the now-submerged land bridge that stetched to North America, he said.
Those women left a particular DNA legacy that persists to today in about about 95 percent of Native Americans, researchers said.
The finding does not mean that only these six women gave rise to the migrants who crossed into North America from Asia in the initial populating of the continent, said study co-author Ugo Perego.
The women lived between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago, though not necessarily at exactly the same time, he said.
This DNA is found in the mitochondria, the power plants of cells. Unlike the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is passed along only by the mother. So it follows a lineage that connects a person to his or her mother, then the mother's mother, and so on.
The researchers created a "family tree" that traces the different mitochondrial DNA lineages found in today's Native Americans. By noting mutations in each branch and applying a formula for how often such mutations arise, they calculated how old each branch was. That indicated when each branch arose in a single woman.
The six "founding mothers" apparently did not live in Asia because the DNA signatures they left behind aren't found there, Perego said. They probably lived in Beringia, the now-submerged land bridge that stetched to North America, he said.
Scientists discover gene that controls fruit shape
Thu Mar 13, 4:49 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US scientists have discovered and cloned a gene that controls the shape of tomatoes, a find which could help unravel the morphological mysteries of the plant world, a study released Thursday said.
The gene known as SUN, the second ever found to play a key role in the formation of elongated tomato varieties, could provide vital new insight into how edible plants develop, said Esther van der Knaap, lead researcher of the study published in the journal Science.
Tomatoes, among the most varied crops in terms of size and shape, evolved from a small, round ancestral wild fruit to the many varieties grown today. But little is known about the genetic principles for such transformations in tomatoes or other fruits and vegetables.
"Tomatoes are the model in this emerging field of fruit morphology studies," said van der Knaap, an assistant professor of horticulture and crop science at Ohio State University.
"We are trying to understand what kind of genes caused the enormous increase in fruit size and variation in fruit shape as tomatoes were domesticated," she added.
"Once we know all the genes that were selected during that process, we will be able to piece together how domestication shaped the tomato fruit -- and gain a better understanding of what controls the shape of other very diverse crops, such as peppers, cucumbers and gourds."
She also said that SUN, which takes its name from the oval shaped and pointy "SUN 1642" tomato variety in which the gene was found, does not show exactly how the fruit-shape phenotype gets changed.
"But what we do know is that turning the gene on is very critical to result in elongated fruit," she said.
The objective now, van ker Knaap said, is to determine whether the same gene, or one closely related, controls morphology in other fruit and vegetable crops.
The SUN gene affects fruit shape after pollination and fertilization, whereas the only other fruit-shape gene previously identified -- known as OVATE -- affects the shape of fruit before flowering, the report said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080313/sc_afp/usgeneticsfarm
Thu Mar 13, 4:49 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US scientists have discovered and cloned a gene that controls the shape of tomatoes, a find which could help unravel the morphological mysteries of the plant world, a study released Thursday said.
The gene known as SUN, the second ever found to play a key role in the formation of elongated tomato varieties, could provide vital new insight into how edible plants develop, said Esther van der Knaap, lead researcher of the study published in the journal Science.
Tomatoes, among the most varied crops in terms of size and shape, evolved from a small, round ancestral wild fruit to the many varieties grown today. But little is known about the genetic principles for such transformations in tomatoes or other fruits and vegetables.
"Tomatoes are the model in this emerging field of fruit morphology studies," said van der Knaap, an assistant professor of horticulture and crop science at Ohio State University.
"We are trying to understand what kind of genes caused the enormous increase in fruit size and variation in fruit shape as tomatoes were domesticated," she added.
"Once we know all the genes that were selected during that process, we will be able to piece together how domestication shaped the tomato fruit -- and gain a better understanding of what controls the shape of other very diverse crops, such as peppers, cucumbers and gourds."
She also said that SUN, which takes its name from the oval shaped and pointy "SUN 1642" tomato variety in which the gene was found, does not show exactly how the fruit-shape phenotype gets changed.
"But what we do know is that turning the gene on is very critical to result in elongated fruit," she said.
The objective now, van ker Knaap said, is to determine whether the same gene, or one closely related, controls morphology in other fruit and vegetable crops.
The SUN gene affects fruit shape after pollination and fertilization, whereas the only other fruit-shape gene previously identified -- known as OVATE -- affects the shape of fruit before flowering, the report said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080313/sc_afp/usgeneticsfarm
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 12 2008, 07:31 PM)
And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.
So wildlife is using our drinking water?
Maybe we need to cut medicare so people won't be using so many pharmaceuticals.
The animals will feel good and maybe not catch colds.
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 13 2008, 11:55 PM)
So wildlife is using our drinking water?
Of course - we all get water from the same sources, and then return it to the same sources with added contaminants.
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 13 2008, 11:55 PM)
Maybe we need to cut medicare so people won't be using so many pharmaceuticals.
I suppose you could do that if you wished, but pharmaceuticals, used correctly, add greatly to our health and longevity, so I wouldn't recommend it. Rather, I'd recommend cleaning the water of contaminants before releasing back into the wild, or recycling it for human use.
Creatures Clone Selves in Face of Danger
QUOTE
If there's something strange in the neighborhood ... clone yourself. That's the philosophy of sand dollar larvae, which copy themselves when they sense predators are near.
Scientists exposed 4-day-old sand dollar larvae to fish mucus, a sign that danger is close. They found that the larvae created clones of themselves within 24 hours.
"It's the first time we've seen anything clone itself in response to cues that predators are near," said researcher Dawn Vaughn, a biology doctoral student at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories.
After being exposed to fish mucus, the larvae formed embryo-like buds that eventually detached and developed into new, genetically-identical larvae that were much smaller than the originals. The parent larvae were left smaller, too, measuring about half their beginning size.
Larvae that were not exposed to the fish mucus did not clone themselves.
The scientists think cloning may provide a double benefit to larvae facing danger. By doubling themselves, they have a second chance to ensure their genetic information survives even if one larva gets eaten.
Additionally, being smaller may be beneficial to larvae trying to hide from fish.
Cloning had previously been observed in sand dollar larvae in response to a greater availability of food or favorable temperatures, but never in response to danger.
Scientists exposed 4-day-old sand dollar larvae to fish mucus, a sign that danger is close. They found that the larvae created clones of themselves within 24 hours.
"It's the first time we've seen anything clone itself in response to cues that predators are near," said researcher Dawn Vaughn, a biology doctoral student at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories.
After being exposed to fish mucus, the larvae formed embryo-like buds that eventually detached and developed into new, genetically-identical larvae that were much smaller than the originals. The parent larvae were left smaller, too, measuring about half their beginning size.
Larvae that were not exposed to the fish mucus did not clone themselves.
The scientists think cloning may provide a double benefit to larvae facing danger. By doubling themselves, they have a second chance to ensure their genetic information survives even if one larva gets eaten.
Additionally, being smaller may be beneficial to larvae trying to hide from fish.
Cloning had previously been observed in sand dollar larvae in response to a greater availability of food or favorable temperatures, but never in response to danger.
Nerve-tapping neckband used in 'telepathic' chat
Here is a demonstration of the "telepathic phone" in use:
YouTube Video: Wireless neckband allows first voiceless phone call
QUOTE
A neckband that translates thought into speech by picking up nerve signals has been used to demonstrate a "voiceless" phone call for the first time.
With careful training a person can send nerve signals to their vocal cords without making a sound. These signals are picked up by the neckband and relayed wirelessly to a computer that converts them into words spoken by a computerised voice.
A video (right) shows the system being used to place the first public voiceless phone call on stage at a recent conference held by microchip manufacturer Texas Instruments. Michael Callahan, co-founder of Ambient Corporation, which developed the neckband, demonstrates the device, called the Audeo.
Users needn't worry about that the system voicing their inner thoughts though. Callahan says producing signals for the Audeo to decipher requires "a level above thinking". Users must think specifically about voicing words for them to be picked up by the equipment.
The Audeo has previously been used to let people control wheelchairs using their thoughts. Watch a video demonstrating thought control of wheelchairs
"I can still talk verbally at the same time," Callahan told New Scientist. "We can differentiate between when you want to talk silently, and when you want to talk out loud." That could be useful in certain situations, he says, for example when making a private call while out in public.
The system demonstrated at the TI conference can recognise only a limited set of about 150 words and phrases, says Callahan, who likens this to the early days of speech recognition software.
With careful training a person can send nerve signals to their vocal cords without making a sound. These signals are picked up by the neckband and relayed wirelessly to a computer that converts them into words spoken by a computerised voice.
A video (right) shows the system being used to place the first public voiceless phone call on stage at a recent conference held by microchip manufacturer Texas Instruments. Michael Callahan, co-founder of Ambient Corporation, which developed the neckband, demonstrates the device, called the Audeo.
Users needn't worry about that the system voicing their inner thoughts though. Callahan says producing signals for the Audeo to decipher requires "a level above thinking". Users must think specifically about voicing words for them to be picked up by the equipment.
The Audeo has previously been used to let people control wheelchairs using their thoughts. Watch a video demonstrating thought control of wheelchairs
"I can still talk verbally at the same time," Callahan told New Scientist. "We can differentiate between when you want to talk silently, and when you want to talk out loud." That could be useful in certain situations, he says, for example when making a private call while out in public.
The system demonstrated at the TI conference can recognise only a limited set of about 150 words and phrases, says Callahan, who likens this to the early days of speech recognition software.
Here is a demonstration of the "telepathic phone" in use:
YouTube Video: Wireless neckband allows first voiceless phone call
Video: Luxim's tiny but powerful plasma lightbulb
Silicon Valley's Luxim has developed a lightbulb the size of a Tic Tac that gives off as much light as a streetlight. CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos talks to the company about its technology and its plans to expand into various markets.
http://www.news.com/1606-2-6234653.html?tag=ne.fd.mnbc
Wow.
Kewl. 104 lumens per watt, as opposed to say 6 lumens per watt incandescent.
Damned bright for such a little feller. 
Dinosaur Mummy
Workers uncovering mummified dinosaur
QUOTE
BISMARCK, N.D. - Using tiny brushes and chisels, workers picking at a big greenish-black rock in the basement of North Dakota's state museum are meticulously uncovering something amazing: a nearly complete dinosaur, skin and all.
Unlike almost every other dinosaur fossil ever found, the Edmontosaurus named Dakota, a duckbilled dinosaur unearthed in southwestern North Dakota in 2004, is covered by fossilized skin that is hard as iron. It's among just a few mummified dinosaurs in the world, say the researchers who are slowly freeing it from a 65-million-year-old rock tomb.
Stephen Begin, a Michigan consultant on the project, said this is the fifth dinosaur mummy ever found that is "of any significance."
"It may turn out to be one of the best mummies, because of the quality of the skin that we're finding and the extent of the skin that's on the specimen," he said Tuesday.
Unlike almost every other dinosaur fossil ever found, the Edmontosaurus named Dakota, a duckbilled dinosaur unearthed in southwestern North Dakota in 2004, is covered by fossilized skin that is hard as iron. It's among just a few mummified dinosaurs in the world, say the researchers who are slowly freeing it from a 65-million-year-old rock tomb.
Stephen Begin, a Michigan consultant on the project, said this is the fifth dinosaur mummy ever found that is "of any significance."
"It may turn out to be one of the best mummies, because of the quality of the skin that we're finding and the extent of the skin that's on the specimen," he said Tuesday.
I read about that. Some other accounts said it was found and reported about in 2004. I seem to remember it. It's the second time around for this story. Not sure why.
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 19 2008, 09:57 PM)
Science, Bible agree: Giving is better
QUOTE
WASHINGTON - The Bible counsels misers that it's better to give than to receive. Science agrees. People who made gifts to others or to charities reported they were happier than folks who didn't share, according to a report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
While previous studies have shown that having more money can increase happiness, the researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University wondered if the way people spent their money made any difference.
Turns out, it does.
Lead researcher Elizabeth W. Dunn, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, said she wasn't surprised that doing something for others made people happy.
But she was struck by how big the effect was and that how people spent money was more important than how much money they had.
And, she added, "there's nothing special about money," giving can involve time or special skills to help other people.
The report didn't surprise Sue Citro, senior digital membership manager for the Nature Conservancy:
"We do hear from our members and our supporters that the do get a real feeling of satisfaction from knowing their giving is doing good," she said.
Andrea Koslow, director of advertising at the American Red Cross, said: "The act of helping has its own profound effect."
"People need a humanitarian outlet ... feeling that they make a difference ... that's very motivating," Koslow said.
The good feeling associated with giving is why workplace charity opportunities can engage employees and lift morale, added Kristine Templin, director of corporate partnerships at the American Red Cross.
A separate study published in 2006 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the same parts of the brain that produce the good feeling when a person receives a reward also respond when they give to someone else.
Indeed, researchers led by Jordan Grafman at the National Institutes of Health found the reward areas were more active when giving a gift than when receiving one.
While previous studies have shown that having more money can increase happiness, the researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University wondered if the way people spent their money made any difference.
Turns out, it does.
Lead researcher Elizabeth W. Dunn, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, said she wasn't surprised that doing something for others made people happy.
But she was struck by how big the effect was and that how people spent money was more important than how much money they had.
And, she added, "there's nothing special about money," giving can involve time or special skills to help other people.
The report didn't surprise Sue Citro, senior digital membership manager for the Nature Conservancy:
"We do hear from our members and our supporters that the do get a real feeling of satisfaction from knowing their giving is doing good," she said.
Andrea Koslow, director of advertising at the American Red Cross, said: "The act of helping has its own profound effect."
"People need a humanitarian outlet ... feeling that they make a difference ... that's very motivating," Koslow said.
The good feeling associated with giving is why workplace charity opportunities can engage employees and lift morale, added Kristine Templin, director of corporate partnerships at the American Red Cross.
A separate study published in 2006 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the same parts of the brain that produce the good feeling when a person receives a reward also respond when they give to someone else.
Indeed, researchers led by Jordan Grafman at the National Institutes of Health found the reward areas were more active when giving a gift than when receiving one.
Does Money Buy Happiness? If you give it away.
Key to Happiness: Give Away Money
QUOTE
Those incoming federal tax-rebate checks could do more than boost the economy. They might also boost your mood, with one caveat: You must spend the cash on others, not yourself.
New research reveals that when individuals dole out money for gifts for friends or charitable donations, they get a boost in happiness while those who spend on themselves get no such cheery lift.
New research reveals that when individuals dole out money for gifts for friends or charitable donations, they get a boost in happiness while those who spend on themselves get no such cheery lift.
How to regain your Soul
Money buys happiness -if you spend on someone else
QUOTE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else, researchers reported on Thursday.
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found.
Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found.
The urge to do good (empathy and alturism) is built right into our genes, as are other less than desirable attributes.
Crook to Black Widow: Money can't buy happiness.
Black Widow to Crook: Happiness can't buy money. - (Batman & Robin)
V^V^V^V
What's the use of happiness? It can't buy you money. - (Henny Youngman)
V^V^V^V
Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery - (Spike Milligan)
V^V^V^V
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." - (Benjamin Franklin)
It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed. - Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930)
V^V^V^V
Happiness is merely a remission of pain. - (Anonymous)
Black Widow to Crook: Happiness can't buy money. - (Batman & Robin)
V^V^V^V
What's the use of happiness? It can't buy you money. - (Henny Youngman)
V^V^V^V
Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery - (Spike Milligan)
V^V^V^V
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." - (Benjamin Franklin)
It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed. - Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930)
V^V^V^V
Happiness is merely a remission of pain. - (Anonymous)
Newly Found Martian Salt Deposits Suggest Ancient Life
Basically they have found another promising place to look for evidence of life on Mars.
QUOTE
For the first time, satellite imagery reveals thick Martian salt deposits scattered across the planet's southern surface, which one planetary scientist claims could be sites of ancient life.
The mats of sodium chloride — the same taste-enhancing mineral found on your kitchen table — serve as more evidence of Mars' watery past, and researchers think the briney pools that made them could have been hospitable to life.
"If you're trying to find life on Mars, the more and different places that exist, the better the chances are that one of them is going to have the right conditions," said Phil Christensen, a planetary geologist at Arizona State University. "It takes a lot of water to form salt, so this is another place to look."
He added that some of the oldest organisms ever discovered on Earth have been found locked away in salt crystals, and that there may be Martian life forms entombed in the new crumbly flats that are about 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) thick.
"Salt is a fantastically good preserver, so maybe there's not only life but also organic compounds preserved there," Christensen told SPACE.com. "We need to send a rover to these places. I hope some day we will explore these salt sites on the ground."
The mats of sodium chloride — the same taste-enhancing mineral found on your kitchen table — serve as more evidence of Mars' watery past, and researchers think the briney pools that made them could have been hospitable to life.
"If you're trying to find life on Mars, the more and different places that exist, the better the chances are that one of them is going to have the right conditions," said Phil Christensen, a planetary geologist at Arizona State University. "It takes a lot of water to form salt, so this is another place to look."
He added that some of the oldest organisms ever discovered on Earth have been found locked away in salt crystals, and that there may be Martian life forms entombed in the new crumbly flats that are about 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) thick.
"Salt is a fantastically good preserver, so maybe there's not only life but also organic compounds preserved there," Christensen told SPACE.com. "We need to send a rover to these places. I hope some day we will explore these salt sites on the ground."
Basically they have found another promising place to look for evidence of life on Mars.
Clueless Guys Can't Read Women
I'd love to see a study that explored whether or not gay men have the same limitations. I'm guessing not. Whether to avoid danger, or to find a partner in a sea of unavailable heterosexuals, the subtleties of non-verbal cues figure highly in daily gay life, IMHO. Also, we always hear how heterosexual men don't understand women. We don't appear to have any difficulties understanding women generally.
QUOTE
More often than not, guys interpret even friendly cues, such as a subtle smile from a gal, as a sexual come-on, and a new study discovers why: Guys are clueless.
More precisely, they are somewhat oblivious to the emotional subtleties of non-verbal cues, according to a new study of college students.
"Young men just find it difficult to tell the difference between women who are being friendly and women who are interested in something more," said lead researcher Coreen Farris of Indiana University's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
This "lost in translation" phenomenon plays out in the real world, with about 70 percent of college women reporting an experience in which a guy mistook her friendliness for a sexual come-on, Farris said.
Some might think the results come down to "boys being boys," and so even the slightest female interest sparks sexual fantasy. But the study, to be detailed in the April issue of the journal Psychological Science, also found that it goes both ways for guys - they mistake females' sexual signals as friendly ones. The researchers suggest guys have trouble noticing and interpreting the subtleties of non-verbal cues, in either direction.
The study's funding came from the National Institutes of Mental Health and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
More surprising, the researchers found guys were also confused by sexual cues. When images of gals meant to show allure flashed onto the screen, male students mistook the allure as amicable signals.
Rather than seeing the world through sex-colored glasses, men seemed just to have blurry vision of sorts, overall.
More precisely, they are somewhat oblivious to the emotional subtleties of non-verbal cues, according to a new study of college students.
"Young men just find it difficult to tell the difference between women who are being friendly and women who are interested in something more," said lead researcher Coreen Farris of Indiana University's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
This "lost in translation" phenomenon plays out in the real world, with about 70 percent of college women reporting an experience in which a guy mistook her friendliness for a sexual come-on, Farris said.
Some might think the results come down to "boys being boys," and so even the slightest female interest sparks sexual fantasy. But the study, to be detailed in the April issue of the journal Psychological Science, also found that it goes both ways for guys - they mistake females' sexual signals as friendly ones. The researchers suggest guys have trouble noticing and interpreting the subtleties of non-verbal cues, in either direction.
The study's funding came from the National Institutes of Mental Health and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
More surprising, the researchers found guys were also confused by sexual cues. When images of gals meant to show allure flashed onto the screen, male students mistook the allure as amicable signals.
Rather than seeing the world through sex-colored glasses, men seemed just to have blurry vision of sorts, overall.
I'd love to see a study that explored whether or not gay men have the same limitations. I'm guessing not. Whether to avoid danger, or to find a partner in a sea of unavailable heterosexuals, the subtleties of non-verbal cues figure highly in daily gay life, IMHO. Also, we always hear how heterosexual men don't understand women. We don't appear to have any difficulties understanding women generally.
If they'd just wave their hand under the stall we'd be set.
Apparently that is just a mistake. I can't imagine anyone sliding their hand on any surface in a public restroom. The thought creeps me out.
QUOTE
Also, we always hear how heterosexual men don't understand women. We don't appear to have any difficulties understanding women generally.
We always hear a lot of bullshit. And, most of it is actually, well, bullshit.
Heterosexual men have no problem understanding women who are not potential sexual objects or who are not their wives or co-habiting significant others.
I understand my mother and sisters just fine. I also understand the current g/f quite well, give or take a few instances.
All of these generalizing studies are a bunch of nonsense, especially as they are interpreted in the popular press.
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 20 2008, 08:11 PM)
If they'd just wave their hand under the stall we'd be set.
I presume you mean women (waving their hand under the stall).
I never understood the whole "bathroom sex" thing. It seems to affect closeted people who don't have other outlets. Perhaps that is the main issue - repression leads to less than honorable modes of expression.
QUOTE (Nomarchy @ Mar 20 2008, 08:15 PM)
We always hear a lot of bullshit. And, most of it is actually, well, bullshit.
Heterosexual men have no problem understanding women who are not potential sexual objects or who are not their wives or co-habiting significant others.
Heterosexual men have no problem understanding women who are not potential sexual objects or who are not their wives or co-habiting significant others.
Maybe that's it. Since there is no sexual tension, there is no barrier to communication. On the other hand, there doesn't appear to be much of a barrier in communication between gay men who have a sexual interest in each other. Hard to say. I'd love to see the study repeated with gay men.
X Prize Announces New Challenge: A 'Green' Car
QUOTE
And they're off! A new challenge to build an eco-friendly, efficient car (for a $10 million purse) will begin today with an announcement of the details of the Automotive X Prize at the New York Auto Show.
The latest X Prize Foundation challenge for aspiring innovators is to design a "viable, clean and super-efficient" car that people actually want to buy and that will "help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change," according to the Foundation.
So far, 60 international teams have signed up for the challenge, sponsored by Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. Their rolling inventions will compete for a $10 million purse in the culmination of the challenge: two long-distance stage races to be held in 2009 - the Qualifying Race and the Grand Prize Final.
In the races, the cars will have to hit a minimum speed and achieve a fuel efficiency of at least 100 miles per gallon of gasoline energy equivalent. They must also be ready for production on the market. No flashy concept cars, please.
Previous competitions run by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based nonprofit X Prize Foundation have included the $10 million Ansari X Prize to create the world's first private vehicle to space, the $10 million Archon X Prize for rapid human genome sequencing and the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize for sending a robot to the moon.
The latest X Prize Foundation challenge for aspiring innovators is to design a "viable, clean and super-efficient" car that people actually want to buy and that will "help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change," according to the Foundation.
So far, 60 international teams have signed up for the challenge, sponsored by Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. Their rolling inventions will compete for a $10 million purse in the culmination of the challenge: two long-distance stage races to be held in 2009 - the Qualifying Race and the Grand Prize Final.
In the races, the cars will have to hit a minimum speed and achieve a fuel efficiency of at least 100 miles per gallon of gasoline energy equivalent. They must also be ready for production on the market. No flashy concept cars, please.
Previous competitions run by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based nonprofit X Prize Foundation have included the $10 million Ansari X Prize to create the world's first private vehicle to space, the $10 million Archon X Prize for rapid human genome sequencing and the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize for sending a robot to the moon.
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 20 2008, 05:29 PM)
I presume you mean women (waving their hand under the stall).
I never understood the whole "bathroom sex" thing. It seems to affect closeted people who don't have other outlets. Perhaps that is the main issue - repression leads to less than honorable modes of expression.
I never understood the whole "bathroom sex" thing. It seems to affect closeted people who don't have other outlets. Perhaps that is the main issue - repression leads to less than honorable modes of expression.
It's hard to imagine a less honorable mode of expression than sucking cock...
QUOTE (Repub_Bub @ Mar 20 2008, 05:54 PM)
It's hard to imagine a less honorable mode of expression than sucking cock...
but you somehow pull it off
QUOTE (Repub_Bub @ Mar 20 2008, 08:54 PM)
It's hard to imagine a less honorable mode of expression than sucking cock...
Your poor wife.
touche'
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 20 2008, 06:47 PM)
Your poor wife.
Score one for your side.
and none for yours
negative points if you let her read this
better get used to humpin legs
negative points if you let her read this
better get used to humpin legs
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 20 2008, 05:29 PM)
I presume you mean women (waving their hand under the stall).
I never understood the whole "bathroom sex" thing. It seems to affect closeted people who don't have other outlets. Perhaps that is the main issue - repression leads to less than honorable modes of expression.
I never understood the whole "bathroom sex" thing. It seems to affect closeted people who don't have other outlets. Perhaps that is the main issue - repression leads to less than honorable modes of expression.
They could wave their hand anywhere. Takes out the guess work. The only thing I know about public bathroom sex comes from observing a few oddballs hanging around the park restroom at the park. Probably cops.
working stiffs
I don't know if they were working or stiff, and I wasn't going to stick around and find out.
Cosmic blast 7.5 billion years old, seen with naked eye
Rare galactic fireworks mark the death of the great Sci-Fi science writer Arthur C. Clarke. A cosmically fitting send off for the great man and author.
QUOTE
WASHINGTON (AFP) - NASA has detected the brightest cosmic explosion ever recorded -- a massive burst of energy 7.5 billion light years away that could be seen with the naked eye from Earth, the US space agency said Thursday.
The explosion, a gamma ray burst older than Earth itself, was monitored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Swift satellite and shattered the record for the most distant object seen without visual aid.
NASA measured the explosion as having occured 7.5 billion years ago, before Earth was formed and more than halfway across the visible universe.
The explosion seen Wednesday "blows away every gamma ray burst we've seen so far," said Neil Gehrels of Goddard Space Flight Center.
Gamma ray bursts occur when huge stars use up all their fuel and their core collapses, forming black holes or neutron stars that release bursts of gamma rays, ejecting particles into space at nearly the speed of light and generating afterglows.
The burst, named GRB 080319B, was among a record four bursts detected by Swift on Wednesday, the same day of the death of prolific science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke who wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey."
"Coincidentally, the passing of Arthur C. Clarke seems to have set the universe ablaze with gamma ray bursts," said Swift team member Judith Racusin of Penn State University.[/b]
The explosion, a gamma ray burst older than Earth itself, was monitored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Swift satellite and shattered the record for the most distant object seen without visual aid.
NASA measured the explosion as having occured 7.5 billion years ago, before Earth was formed and more than halfway across the visible universe.
The explosion seen Wednesday "blows away every gamma ray burst we've seen so far," said Neil Gehrels of Goddard Space Flight Center.
Gamma ray bursts occur when huge stars use up all their fuel and their core collapses, forming black holes or neutron stars that release bursts of gamma rays, ejecting particles into space at nearly the speed of light and generating afterglows.
The burst, named GRB 080319B, was among a record four bursts detected by Swift on Wednesday, the same day of the death of prolific science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke who wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey."
"Coincidentally, the passing of Arthur C. Clarke seems to have set the universe ablaze with gamma ray bursts," said Swift team member Judith Racusin of Penn State University.[/b]
Rare galactic fireworks mark the death of the great Sci-Fi science writer Arthur C. Clarke. A cosmically fitting send off for the great man and author.
Gamma rays? Oh no, not again.
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 21 2008, 02:30 PM)
Cosmic blast 7.5 billion years old, seen with naked eye
Rare galactic fireworks mark the death of the great Sci-Fi science writer Arthur C. Clarke. A cosmically fitting send off for the great man and author.
Rare galactic fireworks mark the death of the great Sci-Fi science writer Arthur C. Clarke. A cosmically fitting send off for the great man and author.
Dennis Miller was talking about him the other day. Said he was a smart guy that moved to Sri Lanka and "went Blofeld" on us. Maybe he had some sort of death ray and we should be worried.
Whoops. The Fantastic Four was mutated by cosmic rays. The Hulk was mutated by a gamma radiation bomb.
And just in time for Easter:
Fossil of Oldest Rabbit Relative Found
Granted, the Easter/rabbit connection is a pagan hangover, but it's been so intimately integrated into the Christian Easter experience for so long as to become a legitimate element of the celebration. Most Christian holidays have significant pagan elements that were integrated into the Christian holidays thousands of years ago, and have persisted. Christianity didn’t eliminate pagan traditions and concepts so much as it absorbed them and assisted in the historical persistence of pagan traditions and concepts.
Fossil of Oldest Rabbit Relative Found
QUOTE
Just in time for Easter, the oldest rabbit relation is bounding onto the scientific scene.
Tiny foot bones from a 53 million-year-old rabbit ancestor represent the oldest known record of hippity-hoppity mammals and their closest evolutionary relations, according to a new study.
The ankle and heel bones were discovered in a coal mine in Gujarat, in west-central India, and recently found by a team of paleontologists to belong to the Lagomorpha, a classification of mammals that includes modern-day rabbits, hares and pikas (pikas are hamster-sized rabbit cousins).
"This is 35 million years older than anything that's ever been called a lagomorph on India, totally unexpected," said lead researcher Kenneth Rose, a professor in the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Undoubtedly it's a new species; undoubtedly it's a new genus; it could even be a new family."
The pipsqueak would have been much smaller than the classic Easter bunny, about the size of a hamster, weighing well under a half pound (less than 100 grams). The bones were found embedded in material deposited in land once covered with swamps and bays near a shore, suggesting the animal may have lived in some sort of near-shore environment.
Rose's team found the bones, which are four to five times smaller than those of modern-day jackrabbits, resemble pikas in some of their primitive features. But unlike pikas, which don't hop, the bones showed some advanced features that would've made this rabbit-like animal quite a hopper. In fact, the bones showed similar, yet more advanced, features to previously unreported Chinese rabbit fossils that date to the Middle Eocene epoch, about 48 million years ago.
Tiny foot bones from a 53 million-year-old rabbit ancestor represent the oldest known record of hippity-hoppity mammals and their closest evolutionary relations, according to a new study.
The ankle and heel bones were discovered in a coal mine in Gujarat, in west-central India, and recently found by a team of paleontologists to belong to the Lagomorpha, a classification of mammals that includes modern-day rabbits, hares and pikas (pikas are hamster-sized rabbit cousins).
"This is 35 million years older than anything that's ever been called a lagomorph on India, totally unexpected," said lead researcher Kenneth Rose, a professor in the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Undoubtedly it's a new species; undoubtedly it's a new genus; it could even be a new family."
The pipsqueak would have been much smaller than the classic Easter bunny, about the size of a hamster, weighing well under a half pound (less than 100 grams). The bones were found embedded in material deposited in land once covered with swamps and bays near a shore, suggesting the animal may have lived in some sort of near-shore environment.
Rose's team found the bones, which are four to five times smaller than those of modern-day jackrabbits, resemble pikas in some of their primitive features. But unlike pikas, which don't hop, the bones showed some advanced features that would've made this rabbit-like animal quite a hopper. In fact, the bones showed similar, yet more advanced, features to previously unreported Chinese rabbit fossils that date to the Middle Eocene epoch, about 48 million years ago.
Granted, the Easter/rabbit connection is a pagan hangover, but it's been so intimately integrated into the Christian Easter experience for so long as to become a legitimate element of the celebration. Most Christian holidays have significant pagan elements that were integrated into the Christian holidays thousands of years ago, and have persisted. Christianity didn’t eliminate pagan traditions and concepts so much as it absorbed them and assisted in the historical persistence of pagan traditions and concepts.
mmmm.... I haven't had rabbit in years.
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 21 2008, 05:40 PM)
Dennis Miller was talking about him the other day. Said he was a smart guy that moved to Sri Lanka and "went Blofeld" on us.
I wonder what that means. Any ideas?
Dennis Miller seems to have been "off his meds" the last few years (metaphorically speaking). Now-a-days he sounds like he would fit well in the "angry white male" demographic that gained electoral significance an election cycle or two back.
I found the galactic fireworks coinciding with Clark's death to be rather poetic.
QUOTE (Innocent @ Mar 21 2008, 03:09 PM)
I wonder what that means. Any ideas?
Dennis Miller seems to have been "off his meds" the last few years (metaphorically speaking). Now-a-days he sounds like he would fit well in the "angry white male" demographic that gained electoral significance an election cycle or two back.
Dennis Miller seems to have been "off his meds" the last few years (metaphorically speaking). Now-a-days he sounds like he would fit well in the "angry white male" demographic that gained electoral significance an election cycle or two back.
That's funny because I listen sometimes and he's always calm up to the point of somnambulism. Of course leave the liberal plantation and they will act as if you've gone insane. Now Ferarro is accused of being the angry white woman. If anyone's angry it's code pink and Rev Wright.
In the part of the world where I grew up, the animal that is associated with Easter is the lamb. After the 40 days of Lent (Tessarakosti), during which time no meat is to be consumed, the lambs' innards are used (after being cleaned of course) to make an after midnight mass consome. Then red-colored eggs are 'smashed' against each other as a 'game' and then eaten. On Easter day, lambs are roasted on spits and a regular feast ensues.
QUOTE (Nomarchy @ Mar 21 2008, 03:14 PM)
In the part of the world where I grew up, the animal that is associated with Easter is the lamb. After the 40 days of Lent (Tessarakosti), during which time no meat is to be consumed, the lambs' innards are used (after being cleaned of course) to make an after midnight mass consome. Then red-colored eggs are 'smashed' against each other as a 'game' and then eaten. On Easter day, lambs are roasted on spits and a regular feast ensues.
They had lamb recipes on the local show today, sounded good, except I kept thinking of little lambs held like veal
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 21 2008, 03:12 PM)
That's funny because I listen sometimes and he's always calm up to the point of somnambulism. Of course leave the liberal plantation and they will act as if you've gone insane. Now Ferarro is accused of being the angry white woman. If anyone's angry it's code pink and Rev Wright.
I never thought of Dennis Miller as the equivalent of a sleep-walker. His references are often obscure although equally as often quite cogent. He's quite brights, certainly brighter than Bill Maher. All in all, I find him a bit annoying but so what, I am sure a lot of people find other 'comedians' annoying, as well.
QUOTE (Arturo_Vandelay @ Mar 21 2008, 03:16 PM)
They had lamb recipes on the local show today, sounded good, except I kept thinking of little lambs held like veal
No need to eat 'little lambs'. In fact, eating 'little lambs' (the equivalent of veal, a term which is used a bit too liberally in American parlance, I think) on Easter is surely a sign of conspicuous consumption. It is a decidedly irrational choice from the point of view of husbanding one's animal resources.
QUOTE (Nomarchy @ Mar 21 2008, 03:16 PM)
I never thought of Dennis Miller as the equivalent of a sleep-walker. His references are often obscure although equally as often quite cogent. He's quite brights, certainly brighter than Bill Maher. All in all, I find him a bit annoying but so what, I am sure a lot of people find other 'comedians' annoying, as well.
I can take him in little bits, but he has the most varied guests. Dana Carvey just kills me. The bit about Arnold and his "billion gun" cracks me up.
QUOTE
It is a decidedly irrational choice from the point of view of husbanding one's animal resources.
If Banquet doesn't make it, I probably don't get any.
I'm off to tennis, later.
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