Making Science More Better For You

News of the day 09/11

Have you ever tried to drive with your legs crossed?
Buzz Aldrin said a former astronaut charged with attempted kidnapping should be "admired" —but not excused—for her resolve in allegedly confronting a romantic rival, according to a published report.

“I think Nowak should be admired for traveling across the country at night and not getting out of her car to put in gas or go to the restroom. It is not excusable, but it is understandable for an achiever to fall into a trap." (CNN)
And you wondered why they called him Buzz.

Fowl Play?
Gifted Research Parrot Alex Found Dead
WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) - A gifted parrot that could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials has died after 30 years of helping researchers better understand the avian brain.

Researchers at Brandeis University say that Alex's advanced language and recognition skills revolutionized the understanding of the avian brain. He could count up to six, including zero, was able to express desires, including his frustration with the repetitive research. It’s reported that he also occasionally instructed two other parrots at the lab to "talk better" if they mumbled, though it wasn't clear if he was simply mimicking researchers.

Colonel Mustard in the aviary?




Does Ted Nugent know about this?
Fury over BBC plan to screen the slaughter of lambs and piglets
Lambs
Farmers and vegetarians have criticized the BBC's decision to show the slaughter of piglets, lambs and veal calves on TV. Their deaths will be screened as part of the series Kill It, Cook It, Eat It on BBC3.
On the show, a live studio audience watches the footage and gives an immediate reaction to the slaughter process. The BBC said the series would "reconnect" the public with meat's journey from farm to fork.

It’s the moment that Kerouac referred to as "the naked lunch."

Must have been that description of a subway ride in Tokyo that tipped them off.

Some experts say Crockett letter may be a fake

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)- Two experts in historical documents say they doubt the authenticity of a Davy Crockett letter that the Texas Historical Commission bought this week for nearly half a million dollars. Both questioned the handwriting, and one said the grammar was just too good to belong to the Alamo defender.

"The letter has better grammar, better punctuation than Davy Crockett had ever used," said Kevin MacDonnell, a seller of antique books in Austin.

Well, he was a congressman.

Yet another analysis of starving people by eggheads who aren't

Report says despite many challenges, world faces brighter future

(AFP News) Despite daunting challenges posed by global warming, water, energy, unemployment and terrorism, the world faces a brighter future with fewer wars, higher life expectancy and improved literacy, according to the 2007 State of the Future report published by the American Council for the Tokyo-based United Nations University, a global think tank.

"Although great human tragedies like Iraq and Darfur dominate the news, the vast majority of the world is living in peace, conflicts actually decreased over the past decade," says the 2007 State of the Future report published by the American Council for the Tokyo-based United Nations University, a global think tank.

It noted that the number of African conflicts fell from a peak of 16 in 2002 to five in 2005 and that the number of refugees around the world is falling.

HIV/AIDS in Africa has begun to level off and could begin to actually decrease over the next few years, although it continues to spread rapidly in Eastern Europe and in Central and South Asia, it said.

Among other global bright spots, the report cited higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality, increased literacy and increases in gross domestic products per capita and in the number of Internet users.

On the negative side, it pointed to hikes in CO2 emissions, terrorism, corruption, global warming and unemployment and a decrease in percentage of voting populations.

Persistent inequality was illustrated by figures showing that two percent of people own 50 percent of the world's wealth while the poorest 50 percent own only one percent.

The income of the richest 225 people in the world equals that of the poorest 2.7 billion or 40 percent of the global population, the report said.

Yeah, and all 225 came to New York for Fashion Week


Headline of the day
City puts bite in 'no barking' ordinance


MOUNT DORA, Florida - The city may put a leash on frequent dog-barking.

Under a proposed change in Mount Dora's noise ordinance, dogs won't be able to just keep barking and barking, creating a disturbance in a neighborhood. Mount Dora already prohibits dogs from barking for five minutes at a time. But under the revised ordinance, even if dogs bark for less than five minutes, their owners can be cited by the city if the dog barks for three periods in 24 hours. Currently, the ordinance says dogs can bark for at most five minutes at a time or intermittently for at least 30 minutes.
City staff starting changing the noise law after resident Monique Richardson told the council in August she was concerned about a new renter in her neighborhood that has a dog or dogs that bark at all hours. (DailyCommercial.com)

Gosh, an entire city where everyone has too much time on their hands.

It’s like this, the longer you live, the more milk you can buy
Vitamin D might be factor in longer life
Analysis of research hints moderate dose lowers risk of death
The findings, published yesterday in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, add to the growing medical literature about the benefits of what is sometimes called the "sunshine vitamin" because it is produced by the skin in response to sunlight. Recent studies have linked vitamin D deficiencies to higher risk of cancer, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. It could play a role in reducing heart disease and preventing pre-eclampsia in