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Be Happy And You May Avoid Heart Disease

Be Happy And You May Avoid Heart Disease

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy, according to a purely observational study that needs to be confirmed with clinical research.

Over a period of ten years, researchers followed 1,739 healthy adults (862 men and 877 women) who were participating in the 1995 Nova Scotia Health Survey. At the start of the study, published in the European Heart Journal, trained nurses assessed the participants' risk of heart disease and, with both self-reporting and clinical assessment, they measured symptoms of depression, hostility, anxiety and the degree of expression of positive emotions, which is known as "positive affect".
Forgetting Is Key To Learning (For Flies), Study Finds

Forgetting Is Key To Learning (For Flies), Study Finds

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

Scientists have known that newly acquired, short-term memories are often fleeting, but a new study of Drosophila in Cell suggests that there is a good reason for that kind of forgetfulness. An active process of erasing memories may be as important as the ability to lay down new memories.

"Learning activates the biochemical formation of memory," says Yi Zhong of Tsinghua University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "But you need to remove memories for new information to come in. We've found that forgetting is an active process to remove memory."
Dolphins May Be Ideal Model For Studying Cervical Cancer

Dolphins May Be Ideal Model For Studying Cervical Cancer

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

A recent study of marine mammals by University of Florida aquatic animal health experts has revealed that dolphins may be the ideal model for studying cervical cancer in humans.

"We discovered that dolphins get multiple infections of apillomaviruses, which are known to be linked with cervical cancer in women," said Hendrik Nollens, a marine mammal biologist and clinical assistant professor at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine today (Feb. 18) at the annual meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. "Dolphins are the only species besides humans that we know of that can harbor coinfections, or infections of multiple papillomavirus types, in the genital mucosa."
Fungal Fumes Clear Out Destructive Wheat Pests

Fungal Fumes Clear Out Destructive Wheat Pests

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

 Scientists searching for alternatives to synthetic pesticides say volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by the fungus Muscodor albus may offer a biologically based way to rid certain crops of destructive pests. Reseachers from the USDA's Agriculture Research Service laboratories put the idea to the test in three different studies by pitting Muscodor against potato tuber moths, apple codling moths and Tilletia fungi that cause bunt diseases in wheat.
Ship Steam Helps Researchers Model Effects Of Geoengineering

Ship Steam Helps Researchers Model Effects Of Geoengineering

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

Ships blowing off steam are aiding researchers who are studying how manmade particles might help mitigate climate change. New results from modeling clouds like those seen in shipping lanes reveal the complex interplay between aerosols, the prevailing weather and even the time of day the aerosol particles hit the air, according to research to be presented Saturday morning at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting.
Do You 'Exist' Every Moment In Your Existence? - Ayad Gharbawi

Do You 'Exist' Every Moment In Your Existence? - Ayad Gharbawi

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)



DO YOU ‘EXIST’ EVERY MOMENT IN YOUR EXISTENCE?

Ayad Gharbawi

February 17, 2010 – Damascus, Syria


Let me get straight to the point here.
We all assume that we are either ‘alive’ or ‘dead’.
Fine, but the question irresistibly resurfaces, and that is: what do you mean by yourself being ‘alive’? Yes, biological, physiologically, you are functioning, but the question that is concerning my mind here, is wether your own mind is functioning all the time?
A century ago, biofuels (wood, dung and crop residues) provided the great majority of household energy worldwide

A century ago, biofuels (wood, dung and crop residues) provided the great majority of household energy worldwide

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

A century ago, biofuels (wood, dung and crop residues) provided the great majority of household energy worldwide. With the advent of fuels such as oil and gas, and the more widespread availability of electricity, the share of household energy from bio-fuels has fallen to around 15%. However, this small percentage hides the fact that around half of the world's population (rising to three-quarters of people in developing countries) still rely on bio-mass energy. This is more so in poor household uses very much less fuel than each wealthy one.
Sci-Fi Writer David Brin Reveals His Secrets

Sci-Fi Writer David Brin Reveals His Secrets

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

David Brin (author of The Postman) is interviewed this week as part of Nature's ongoing series of interviews with science writers:

Brin got his PhD in physics and then left research to write science fiction:

For every Steven King, there are a dozen guys like me who make a good living. For every David Brin, there are a dozen authors who have managed to make it their day job. For each of them, there are a dozen more for whom writing is a terrific supplement.



His thoughts on getting the science right:
Internet school bus

Internet school bus

Feb 18 2010 | comment(s)

Last week, the New York Times published an item about putting wireless Internet on a school bus. Using a $200 router and $60/month for Internet service, a school district in Arizona has equipped a bus, and is allowing students to use the Internet connection on the way to and from school. It’s working wonderfully, not only giving the students a chance to use the dead time, but also making the bus ride more serene:

Cure Governmental Financial Crisis By Using More Holograms

Cure Governmental Financial Crisis By Using More Holograms

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

This is a science site and not a political or economics one and therefore we have poor grasp of things we know nothing about, like how missing cigarette tax revenue can possibly be responsible for bloated governments being unable to pay their bills.

But apparently it is and a new method of securing cigarette tax stamps from counterfeiting and falsification could save nations otherwise losing more than $50 billion annually - which, like 'jobs saved' is a number you can believe if you want, because someone said it - that's all according to a group of companies that make holograms designed to ... prevent counterfeit cigarette tax stamps.

Media Credibility Saved By New Cosmetic Surgery Journalism Prize

Media Credibility Saved By New Cosmetic Surgery Journalism Prize

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

The New Cosmetic Surgery Journalism Prize will be awarded by DDr. Heinrich for outstanding reporting on New Cosmetic Surgery techniques.

That's right, journalists. You can win a prize from a cosmetic surgery company if you simply write about the techniques used by their cosmetic surgery company.   Sure, it's like being a public relations flack but since it's a prize rather than a paid puff piece you won't feel dirty.


They want your contribution to be be well-researched and include general legal disclaimers and information, like that cosmetic surgery is not actually taught in public hospitals for a reason.

Boring Science Produces Awesome Results

Boring Science Produces Awesome Results

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

Boring Science Produces Awesome results


The simple scientific observation that you can't use the same energy twice is absolutely awesome!

This is a further article in my occasional series about coal, engines and energy, heat and thermodynamics.


What is 'hot'; what is 'heat'?
Science Reporting: Bad Because It's Cheap

Science Reporting: Bad Because It's Cheap

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

In a column in Nature, Colin Macilwain suggests that bad science reporting is due in part to its relatively low cost:

Propped up by the specious authority of their jargon and, most of all, by their cheapness to report — which stands in stark contrast to proper investigations of issues such as public corruption, corporate maleficence or industrial health and safety — essentially silly stories about science continue to fill newspapers and news broadcasts.


Bad science stories basically write themselves, because the research has already been written up, published, and packaged into a university press release.

The result is
Awesome New Lightboxes

Awesome New Lightboxes

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

If you had ever clicked 'Friends' and then 'Remove Friend' to take someone off your friend list (and you probably didn't - the list of cool features in here no one actually uses is so long it can be seen from space) you may have laughed at what a mess it was.  Or not.

I won't even describe it because it doesn't matter now - they have all been replaced with elegant new 'lightboxes' and that includes the comment tracker, which presumably people do use.
What Do You Believe?

What Do You Believe?

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

Usually when the word "belief" comes up, the first thought is religion, but the general occurrence of beliefs is actually a much broader concept.

Beliefs may be religious, supernatural, philosophical, etc.  In short, we all have beliefs that define how we think the world works and how we should interact with it.  Beliefs bridge the gap between what we "know" and what we "assume" in order to function in the world and make decisions.    
Jellies & Ants

Jellies & Ants

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

About once a week, my legges taken me (in a Middle English sort of way) over to lunch in the common room of our Department of Agriculture, where a kindly member of staff leaves copies of journals for us to read.  One that has taken my interest recently is the June 2009 issue of Trends in Ecology and Evolution, in which I have read two reviews whose contents I will summarize.  The first of these is:

The jellyfish joyride: causes, consequences and management responses to a more gelatinous future

by Anthony J. Richardson, Andrew Bakun, Graeme C. Hays and Mark J. Gibbons http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.01.010 

History Of Dermatology, Vitiligo And Leprosy

History Of Dermatology, Vitiligo And Leprosy

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)


Hypomelanosis conditions are known since ancient times. The most ancient names to describe these pictures were "Shwetakustha" and "Suitra".
Is Your Government Making You Fat?

Is Your Government Making You Fat?

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

An investigative piece so explosive, no book company marketing hyperbole can be left out.

"After reading BIG FAT LIES you will never trust the government again - Dr John Briffa"

Hannah Sutter says she has used the analytical eyes of a lawyer to look at the facts and myths of obesity, health and diet and says the proportion of men and women classed as obese has risen steeply in recent years, though there has been no particular increase in the number of people who are overweight, and calorie intake has generally decreased. So we are eating less but obesity has increased. What's going on?

What’s In A Name? Genetic Overlap Between Major Psychiatric Disorders

What’s In A Name? Genetic Overlap Between Major Psychiatric Disorders

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

The criteria used to assign patients to specific psychiatric disease categories are set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association. (There is also a World Health Organisation equivalent, the International Classification of Disease). Every so often, these criteria are revised to reflect new research and changing concepts of disease. The APA has just released a draft of preliminary revisions to the current diagnostic criteria (available at http://www.dsm5.org/) as part of the preparations for the fifth release (DSM-5), due out in 2013.
Save Your Money: Leadership Training Courses Don't Work

Save Your Money: Leadership Training Courses Don't Work

Feb 17 2010 | comment(s)

You may think this is an odd claim from Think Training Development Limited, a company that specializes in Leadership Training, but it got them on a site with a million readers so, like a magician exposing trade secrets in a tell-all book, it may just work out.

Picture the scene: your company is not doing as well as it could, your people need some direction; some motivation and you're the person to deliver it. If only you knew how.

You need some help, so you book yourself on to an expensive Leadership Training Course.