Vitamin D Controls Blood Pressure - Sort Of

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

UV-B radiation in sunlight is the most important factor for the production of vitamin D, and that is why some people suffer from low levels of vitamin D during the winter months.

Many foods contain vitamin D, though not all have enough to make food an adequate supply. Some studies have indicated that low vitamin D levels are related to cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, along with other diseases such as diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases and even cancer.

Vitamin D deficiency leads to stiffening of the blood vessels

Black Widows Shake It To Attract Mates - Insert Obligatory Twerking Reference Here

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

Male black widow spiders on the prowl to mate (and sometimes be victims of black widow cannibalism by females, thus the name Latrodectus mactans) shake their abdomens to produce carefully pitched vibrations and avoid potential attacks by females – who otherwise may misinterpret the advances as the vibrations of prey.

They want her to know they are a male and not a meal. If you read this and know who Miley Cyrus is, they basically twerk.

The team recorded the vibrations made by male black widow spiders (Latrodectus hesperus), hobo spiders (Tegenaria agrestis) and prey insects.

Grog - Inspiring Fights In Nordic Countries Since 1500 BC

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

Scholars writing in the Danish Journal of Archaeology say that "grog" dates back a lot farther than previously believed; to perhaps 1500 B.C. and in an area stretching from northwest Denmark to the Swedish island of Gotland.

Like most things, somewhere along the way the British navy has tried to take credit for it, so you often see it called a rum drink. Instead of being rum-based, ancient grog was a hybrid beverage made from whatever local ingredients they could turn into alcohol, including honey, bog cranberry, lingonberry, bog myrtle, yarrow, juniper, birch tree resin, wheat, barley rye — and sometimes even from grape wine imported from southern or central Europe.

Woseribre Senebkay And The Tomb Of The Unknown Pharaoh

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

Archaeologists working at Abydos in southern Egypt have discovered the tomb of a previously unknown pharaoh named Woseribre Senebkay — and found the first material proof of a forgotten Abydos Dynasty from around 1650-1600 B.C.

The tomb of the previously unknown pharaoh Senebkay was discovered close to a larger royal tomb, recently identified as belonging to a king Sobekhotep, probably Sobekhotep I, circa. 1780 B.C. of the 13th Dynasty.

In England, 2 Million People Now Eligible For NHS Bariatric Surgery

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

While it's going to make government accountants cringe, 2,000,000 people in England could be eligible for weight loss surgery, according to a paper in JRSM Open.

That figure far exceeds previous estimates of eligibility in England for bariatric surgery. People fulfilling the national criteria were more likely to be women, retired, have lower educational qualifications and have lower socioeconomic status. But in fuzzy estimates, proponents say spending the money on bariatric surgery – a set of surgical procedures performed on obese people to decrease their stomach size – now can greatly reduce the likelihood of obesity-related diseases including type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary heart disease and eventual death due to those.

Colby Fire In Southern California Seen By MODIS

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

A wildfire started by three vagrants with drugs in their possession spread quickly in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles on January 16th, 2014. The plume of ash and smoke blanketed much of the metropolitan area and prompted air quality warnings, along with concerns about long-term effects to the climate.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites captured these images of the Colby fire just before (top) and just after noon on January 16. The morning image is clearer because the scene was centered under the satellite, while the afternoon image is fuzzy because the satellite was observing from an angle.

Upside To NSA Spying : It May Predict Disease Outbreak

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

U.S. President Barack Obama has been explaining the value of spying on the American public throughout history, as a way of deflecting concern about his administration and government overreach. Critics will dismiss his claims along the lines of 'why it was wrong when Bush did what I do but it is right for me to do it now' rationalization, so he should instead leverage the value spying has in public health.

Traditional surveillance methods for detecting infectious diseases such Dengue Fever and Influenza take weeks because it relies on doctors reporting cases. Today, people tend to Google for an online diagnosis before visiting a GP and a paper in Lancet Infectious Diseases says Internet-based surveillance can be a big help.

Temnothorax Pilagens: New Slave-Hunting Ant Loves To Pillage

Jan 17 2014 | comment(s)

A new slave-making ant species from the eastern USA quite literally means 'to pillage'. The listing in Zookeys tell us of the new ant Temnothorax pilagens – pilere is plunder in Latin.

Temnothorax pilagens is different from other slave-making ants, like the famous slave-hunting Amazon Ants whose campaigns may include up to 3000 warriors, the new slave-maker is minimalistic in expense, but most effective in result. The length of a “Pillage Ant” is only two and a half millimeters and the range of action of these slave-hunters restricts to a few square meters of forest floor.