4/30/08
4/29/08
TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR HAIR
1. Sage: Excellent for weak hair. 2. Rosemary: Enhances dark hair 3. Chamomile: Promotes healthy hair growth. 4. Catnip: Promotes hair growth. 5. Burdock Root: Promotes hair growth and reduces hair from falling out
Hair Loss
Hair is a growth consisting of dead skin cells that are filled with a protein called keratin. (which is the main ingredient in your fingernails.) Each hair is encased and nourished by a follicle buried under the skin.
Loss or absence of hair, also known as alopecia is a hereditary and unavoidable condition. In some men it can be a side effect of medication, a dietary deficiency or hormonal imbalance.
You can help reduce the effects of hair loss from stress, trauma, shock or illness by increasing your intake of vitamin C found in fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus fruit and juices, parsley, broccoli, green peppers and black currants.
Take a vitamin B complex everyday or brewers yeast. Increase your intake of protein found in meat, fish, liver, wheat germ, dried cooked beans and peas, tofu, cheese, milk and eggs.
The Chinese believe that hair is nourished by the blood, and therefore influenced by the kidney & liver. Treatment is aimed at these organs using fleeceflower root, wolfberry fruit or mulberry fruit. Here are some great shampoos you may want to make:
HERBAL SHAMPOO - great for dandruff
4 tablespoons dried thyme boiled for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Strain and let cool before massaging onto clean damp hair. Leave on for 1 hour then rinse in warm water.
Second recipe:
2 egg yolks beaten in a half cup of water, massage onto hair and scalp for 5 minutes. Rinse well with water and then rinse with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and water.
Hair Loss
Hair is a growth consisting of dead skin cells that are filled with a protein called keratin. (which is the main ingredient in your fingernails.) Each hair is encased and nourished by a follicle buried under the skin.
Loss or absence of hair, also known as alopecia is a hereditary and unavoidable condition. In some men it can be a side effect of medication, a dietary deficiency or hormonal imbalance.
You can help reduce the effects of hair loss from stress, trauma, shock or illness by increasing your intake of vitamin C found in fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus fruit and juices, parsley, broccoli, green peppers and black currants.
Take a vitamin B complex everyday or brewers yeast. Increase your intake of protein found in meat, fish, liver, wheat germ, dried cooked beans and peas, tofu, cheese, milk and eggs.
The Chinese believe that hair is nourished by the blood, and therefore influenced by the kidney & liver. Treatment is aimed at these organs using fleeceflower root, wolfberry fruit or mulberry fruit. Here are some great shampoos you may want to make:
HERBAL SHAMPOO - great for dandruff
4 tablespoons dried thyme boiled for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Strain and let cool before massaging onto clean damp hair. Leave on for 1 hour then rinse in warm water.
Second recipe:
2 egg yolks beaten in a half cup of water, massage onto hair and scalp for 5 minutes. Rinse well with water and then rinse with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and water.
IS YOUR MULTIVITAMIN HURTING YOU ?
Do you take antioxidants or a regular multivitamin? Turns out you might not need to, according to new research in the Cochrane Review that refutes the long-held belief that antioxidants prevent disease or cancer.Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of existing studies, pertaining to more than 200,000 people, and found that antioxidant supplements--vitamins A, C, and E; beta-carotene; and selenium--do not prevent heart disease or cancer, do not forestall death, and may even increase mortality risk slightly. But the phrase "may increase mortality risk slightly" is important to put any risk in context. Given the large pool of people analyzed, researchers would have noticed right away if there was any significant risk of death associated with the supplements. So if all we have is a hint of modest harm, the risk is clearly quite small.This finding is disappointing and counter-intuitive. How can antioxidant supplements fail to help us and maybe even harm us slightly?There are several likely answers. First, we may have the doses wrong. Just because some of a thing is good does not mean more is better. Second, maybe we have the wrong combinations. Antioxidants in foods come packaged with many other nutrients, and they all work together. When we separate that harmony, we may wind up with sour notes. Third, the participants in most of these trials were already ill. Perhaps antioxidants have different effects before chronic disease begins. They might even help prevent disease if taken earlier.In general, my advice about a supplement is to remember it's not a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle. Use supplements thoughtfully. Talk to your doctor to be sure there is a sound reason, tailored to your health, for each one you take. Don’t assume that just because a clever ad makes a supplement sound good that it truly is.I take an Omega-3 fish oil supplement every day, and recommend the same for most of my patients. I believe a multivitamin or mineral supplement is a good idea for many of us, despite a lack of research that shows a clear benefit. (I also like a supplement called Juice Plus, which compresses the nutrients from fruits and vegetables into capsule form, while preserving their native proportions.)Based on the science we have at present, there is no reason to fear any antioxidant supplements you may have been taking--the potential for harm is minimal. But remember: No pill bottle holds an alternative for a healthy, active lifestyle.
by DAVID KATZ : ( Shine from Yahoo )
4/28/08
LOOKING FOR WATERY EARTH-LIKE PLANETS
Astronomers are looking to identify Earth-like watery worlds circling distant stars from a glint of light seen through an optical space telescope and a mathematical method developed by researchers at Penn State and the University of Hawaii.
"We are looking for Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of their star, a band not too hot nor too cold for life to exist," says Darren M. Williams, associate professor of physics and astronomy, Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. "We also want to know if there is water on these planets."
For life to exist, planets must have habitable temperatures throughout a period long enough for life to evolve. For life as we know it, the planet must have a significant amount of water.
Scientists already know how to determine the distance a planet orbits from its star, and analysis of light interacting with molecules in the atmosphere can indicate if water exists. However, Williams and Eric Gaidos, associate professor of geobiology, University of Hawaii, want to identify planets with water on their surfaces.
The researchers' method, reported in an upcoming issue of Icarus and currently available online, relies on the reflective properties of water.
"A planet like Venus, with a dense atmosphere, will scatter the sunlight in all directions," Williams says. "If you look at Venus in phases, when it is full, it is brightest and when it is crescent, it is faintest."
When a planet is full in respect to its sun with the whole disk illuminated, water would actually be darker than dirt. However, when a planet is in crescent, with the sun glancing off the watery surface, the reflection will be brightest.
The image of the Blue Marble, taken by Apollo 17 in December 1972, is striking because the Earth is 70 percent covered in water. The researchers believe that large enough amounts of water will provide a glint of light visible in the infrared and visible spectrum if they watch the planet for long enough.
"We are going to look at the planets for a long time," says Williams. "They reflect one billionth or one ten billionth of their sun. To gain enough light to see a dot requires observation over two weeks with the kinds of telescopes we are imagining. If we stare that long, unless the planet is rotating very slowly, different sides of the planet will come through our field of view. If the planet is a mix of water, we are going to see the mix travel around the planet."
The researchers want to monitor the light curve of a distant planet as the planet spins on its axis and moves around its star. By looking at the changes in brightness, correlated to the planet's phase, they should be able to tell if the planet has liquid oceans. If the temperatures are correct, the liquid is probably water.
While there are currently no telescopes capable of identifying watery planets, astronomers hope that a terrestrial planet finder telescope will orbit the earth in the next 10 to 20 years.
In the meantime, the Penn State researcher has arranged for the current Mars Express and Venus Express missions of the European Space Agency, to look back at the Earth occasionally from a great distance and observe what our watery planet looks like in various phases.
"Any time that the Earth is in a crescent phase as viewed by a distant space vehicle, we should take advantage of the situation and look back at the Earth," says Williams.
/Space Daily
"We are looking for Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of their star, a band not too hot nor too cold for life to exist," says Darren M. Williams, associate professor of physics and astronomy, Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. "We also want to know if there is water on these planets."
For life to exist, planets must have habitable temperatures throughout a period long enough for life to evolve. For life as we know it, the planet must have a significant amount of water.
Scientists already know how to determine the distance a planet orbits from its star, and analysis of light interacting with molecules in the atmosphere can indicate if water exists. However, Williams and Eric Gaidos, associate professor of geobiology, University of Hawaii, want to identify planets with water on their surfaces.
The researchers' method, reported in an upcoming issue of Icarus and currently available online, relies on the reflective properties of water.
"A planet like Venus, with a dense atmosphere, will scatter the sunlight in all directions," Williams says. "If you look at Venus in phases, when it is full, it is brightest and when it is crescent, it is faintest."
When a planet is full in respect to its sun with the whole disk illuminated, water would actually be darker than dirt. However, when a planet is in crescent, with the sun glancing off the watery surface, the reflection will be brightest.
The image of the Blue Marble, taken by Apollo 17 in December 1972, is striking because the Earth is 70 percent covered in water. The researchers believe that large enough amounts of water will provide a glint of light visible in the infrared and visible spectrum if they watch the planet for long enough.
"We are going to look at the planets for a long time," says Williams. "They reflect one billionth or one ten billionth of their sun. To gain enough light to see a dot requires observation over two weeks with the kinds of telescopes we are imagining. If we stare that long, unless the planet is rotating very slowly, different sides of the planet will come through our field of view. If the planet is a mix of water, we are going to see the mix travel around the planet."
The researchers want to monitor the light curve of a distant planet as the planet spins on its axis and moves around its star. By looking at the changes in brightness, correlated to the planet's phase, they should be able to tell if the planet has liquid oceans. If the temperatures are correct, the liquid is probably water.
While there are currently no telescopes capable of identifying watery planets, astronomers hope that a terrestrial planet finder telescope will orbit the earth in the next 10 to 20 years.
In the meantime, the Penn State researcher has arranged for the current Mars Express and Venus Express missions of the European Space Agency, to look back at the Earth occasionally from a great distance and observe what our watery planet looks like in various phases.
"Any time that the Earth is in a crescent phase as viewed by a distant space vehicle, we should take advantage of the situation and look back at the Earth," says Williams.
/Space Daily
4/27/08
4/26/08
COMMUNICATION FROM CAR TO CAR
A new mobile communications network between vehicles (car-to-car, or C2C for short) has been brought into operation at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Oberpfaffenhofen site. Scientists are using it to find out to what extent specially-equipped vehicles can 'inform' each other of their relative positions, state, and the traffic situation. The aim is totally new applications, leading to increased road safety and traffic-flow efficiency.
Information about the new technology and the DLR transport research programme will be presented from 14 - 17 April 2008 at an exhibition held at DLR in Cologne.
The possibilities offered by communication from car to car range from calculating the optimum driving speed in a zone with favourably-synchronised traffic lights, through co-operative driver-assistance systems, to management of a complex process such as co-ordinated convoy driving.
The 'C2x' communications technology (the x refers either to car-to-car communications or car-to-infrastructure, as appropriate), which DLR helped to develop, is an evolution of the WLAN communications technology, often used in private households. The new technology aims to open up the benefits of these communications networks for vehicles and ultimately lead to a self-organising network between vehicles and either other vehicles, or traffic infrastructure such as traffic lights.
Transport research networkDLR is driving the development of this new communication technology with various partners, principally in the automotive sector, within the framework of the Car-to-car Communications Consortium. Using CODAR technology (Co-operative Object Detection And Ranging), information gleaned from various sensors in the vehicles can be collated, evaluated and processed in line with the current traffic situation.
In this way, it is possible to warn a driver of a potentially dangerous situation, such as the end of a tail-back around the next bend or a vehicle approaching from a hidden side road. Another example is where vehicles on the road register a drop in the ambient temperature below freezing point: rain detected by a sensor on the windscreen wipers will then be interpreted as a warning of ice. Other control functions the DLR experts are working on include adaptive cruise control (ACC).
The subject of C2x is part of the DLR transport research programme relating to motorist assistance. That includes not just communications and navigation know-how, but also expertise on traffic behaviour and traffic flows.
In doing this, DLR is making a contribution to European traffic research projects, aiming not least to investigate the scalability of the new technology, so that it becomes possible to make claims about compatibility, reliability and user acceptance. At the same time, the possibility of using the technology for the benefit of traffic flows is being explored.
/ Space Mart
Information about the new technology and the DLR transport research programme will be presented from 14 - 17 April 2008 at an exhibition held at DLR in Cologne.
The possibilities offered by communication from car to car range from calculating the optimum driving speed in a zone with favourably-synchronised traffic lights, through co-operative driver-assistance systems, to management of a complex process such as co-ordinated convoy driving.
The 'C2x' communications technology (the x refers either to car-to-car communications or car-to-infrastructure, as appropriate), which DLR helped to develop, is an evolution of the WLAN communications technology, often used in private households. The new technology aims to open up the benefits of these communications networks for vehicles and ultimately lead to a self-organising network between vehicles and either other vehicles, or traffic infrastructure such as traffic lights.
Transport research networkDLR is driving the development of this new communication technology with various partners, principally in the automotive sector, within the framework of the Car-to-car Communications Consortium. Using CODAR technology (Co-operative Object Detection And Ranging), information gleaned from various sensors in the vehicles can be collated, evaluated and processed in line with the current traffic situation.
In this way, it is possible to warn a driver of a potentially dangerous situation, such as the end of a tail-back around the next bend or a vehicle approaching from a hidden side road. Another example is where vehicles on the road register a drop in the ambient temperature below freezing point: rain detected by a sensor on the windscreen wipers will then be interpreted as a warning of ice. Other control functions the DLR experts are working on include adaptive cruise control (ACC).
The subject of C2x is part of the DLR transport research programme relating to motorist assistance. That includes not just communications and navigation know-how, but also expertise on traffic behaviour and traffic flows.
In doing this, DLR is making a contribution to European traffic research projects, aiming not least to investigate the scalability of the new technology, so that it becomes possible to make claims about compatibility, reliability and user acceptance. At the same time, the possibility of using the technology for the benefit of traffic flows is being explored.
/ Space Mart
4/25/08
PHANTOM LIMB
It's estimated that about 80 percent of amputees experience sensations, including warmth, itching, pressure and pain, coming from the missing limb. People who experience this phenomenon, known as "phantom limb," feel sensations as if the missing limb were part of their bodies. One explanation says that the nerves area where the limb severed create new connections to the spinal cord and continue to send signals to the brain as if the missing limb was still there. Another possibility is that the brain is "hard-wired" to operate as if the body were fully intact - meaning the brain holds a blueprint of the body with all parts attached.
/ Live Science
4/24/08
Humans Show Innate Ability To Detect The Snake In The Grass
Adults and very young children apparently have an innate ability to very quickly detect the presence of a snake from among a variety of non-threatening objects and creatures such as a caterpillar, flower or toad, according to a new study by psychologists at the University of Virginia.
The study appears in the March 2008 issue of the journal Psychological Science. The paper is available for download here in pdf format.
"Our finding matches with the evolutionary theory that humans have a pre-disposition to quickly identify a snake," says Vanessa LoBue, a post-doctoral fellow in psychology at U.Va. "Throughout the course of human evolution, humans who could quickly visually detect the presence of snakes were able to survive and reproduce, thereby passing this capability on in the gene pool."
LoBue and her colleague Judy DeLoache, a U.Va. professor of psychology, showed three-year-old children and adults photographs of snakes and various flora and fauna on a touch-screen monitor to see how quickly they could distinguish the snake or snakes from the other creatures or natural objects. They found that both children and adults were very good at nearly immediately identifying a snake from among the non-threatening images, but clearly not as good at finding a non-threatening image from among several snake photographs.
"Unlike adults, three-year-old children don't have much experience with snakes - particularly negative experiences - but they can detect snakes very quickly, much more quickly than non-threatening objects," LoBue notes.
She and DeLoache also found that both children and adults who don't fear snakes are just as good at quickly identifying them as children and adults who do fear snakes, indicating that there may be a universal human ability to visually detect snakes whether there is or is not a fear factor based on a learned bias or experience.
LoBue and DeLoache emphasize that their study does not prove an innate fear of snakes, only that humans, including young children, seem to have an innate ability to quickly identify a snake from among other things. One of their previous studies indicated that humans also have a profound ability to identify spiders from among non-threatening flora and fauna. Lobue has also shown that people are very good at quickly detecting threats of many types, including aggressive facial expressions.
DeLoache and colleagues in her lab specialize in understanding cognitive development and how people, particularly children, process symbols.
The study appears in the March 2008 issue of the journal Psychological Science. The paper is available for download here in pdf format.
"Our finding matches with the evolutionary theory that humans have a pre-disposition to quickly identify a snake," says Vanessa LoBue, a post-doctoral fellow in psychology at U.Va. "Throughout the course of human evolution, humans who could quickly visually detect the presence of snakes were able to survive and reproduce, thereby passing this capability on in the gene pool."
LoBue and her colleague Judy DeLoache, a U.Va. professor of psychology, showed three-year-old children and adults photographs of snakes and various flora and fauna on a touch-screen monitor to see how quickly they could distinguish the snake or snakes from the other creatures or natural objects. They found that both children and adults were very good at nearly immediately identifying a snake from among the non-threatening images, but clearly not as good at finding a non-threatening image from among several snake photographs.
"Unlike adults, three-year-old children don't have much experience with snakes - particularly negative experiences - but they can detect snakes very quickly, much more quickly than non-threatening objects," LoBue notes.
She and DeLoache also found that both children and adults who don't fear snakes are just as good at quickly identifying them as children and adults who do fear snakes, indicating that there may be a universal human ability to visually detect snakes whether there is or is not a fear factor based on a learned bias or experience.
LoBue and DeLoache emphasize that their study does not prove an innate fear of snakes, only that humans, including young children, seem to have an innate ability to quickly identify a snake from among other things. One of their previous studies indicated that humans also have a profound ability to identify spiders from among non-threatening flora and fauna. Lobue has also shown that people are very good at quickly detecting threats of many types, including aggressive facial expressions.
DeLoache and colleagues in her lab specialize in understanding cognitive development and how people, particularly children, process symbols.
TERRA DAILY
4/23/08
Graphene used to create world's smallest Transistor
Researchers have used the world's thinnest material to create the world's smallest transistor, one atom thick and ten atoms wide. Reporting their peer-reviewed findings in the latest issue of the journal Science, Dr Kostya Novoselov and Professor Andre Geim from The School of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Manchester show that graphene can be carved into tiny electronic circuits with individual transistors having a size not much larger than that of a molecule.
(Space Daily Express)
Patients get heart valve without surgery
U.S. cardiologists say they've developed a transcatheter heart valve replacement procedure for congenital heart disease that eliminates open-chest surgery.
The interventional cardiologists from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago -- one of three sites participating in the study of minimally invasive pulmonic valve replacement -- said they successfully implanted the first three patients enrolled in the trial last Thursday.
"We were able to successfully implant the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve percutaneously in the first three patients treated in this trial," said Dr. Ziyad Hijazi, director of the Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease. "Patients with congenital right ventricular outflow tract problems typically face the burden of multiple open-heart surgeries throughout their lives, either to replace their 'native' diseased valves or, as they age, their bioprosthetic replacement valves."
Hijazi, Dr. Clifford Kavinsky and Dr. Zahid Amin used a bovine pericardial heart valve replacement in a procedure accomplished without requiring cardiopulmonary bypass or an open-chest incision.
The study of 30 patients at the three hospitals will enable the collection of safety and effectiveness data, ultimately in support of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration commercial approval application.
The interventional cardiologists from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago -- one of three sites participating in the study of minimally invasive pulmonic valve replacement -- said they successfully implanted the first three patients enrolled in the trial last Thursday.
"We were able to successfully implant the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve percutaneously in the first three patients treated in this trial," said Dr. Ziyad Hijazi, director of the Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease. "Patients with congenital right ventricular outflow tract problems typically face the burden of multiple open-heart surgeries throughout their lives, either to replace their 'native' diseased valves or, as they age, their bioprosthetic replacement valves."
Hijazi, Dr. Clifford Kavinsky and Dr. Zahid Amin used a bovine pericardial heart valve replacement in a procedure accomplished without requiring cardiopulmonary bypass or an open-chest incision.
The study of 30 patients at the three hospitals will enable the collection of safety and effectiveness data, ultimately in support of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration commercial approval application.
4/22/08
WHAT ARE DREAMS MADE OF ?
If you were to ask 10 people what dreams are made of, you'd probably get 10 different answers. That's because scientists are still unraveling this mystery. One possibility: Dreaming exercises brain by stimulating the trafficking of synapses between brain cells. Another theory is that people dream about tasks and emotions that they didn't take care of during the day, and that the process can help solidify thoughts and memories. In general, scientists agree that dreaming happens during your deepest sleep, called Rapid Eye Movement (REM).
Live Science
4/17/08
NASA refutes boy's asteroid calculations
NASA sets the record straight. It read like a space-age tale of David and Goliath. An enterprising 13-year-old German boy recalculates the likelihood of an asteroid hitting Earth, alerts NASA, and the big American space agency acknowledges he's right. Only problem? It's not true.
Officials from both NASA and the European Space Agency have refuted the account, which sped across the Web at the speed of light. The young man's asteroid-strike numbers were not correct and the U.S. space agency has not, repeat has not, changed its mind about the 1-in-45,000 chance that the hurtling hunk of rock will collide with our planet. (The student thought it was a 1-in-450 chance. Yikes!)
Unfortunately, all this came out after articles on the teen's statistical success soared in Buzz, and even made it to the Yahoo! front page. Lookups for "apophis," the asteroid in question, surged into the top hourly searches.
Officials from both NASA and the European Space Agency have refuted the account, which sped across the Web at the speed of light. The young man's asteroid-strike numbers were not correct and the U.S. space agency has not, repeat has not, changed its mind about the 1-in-45,000 chance that the hurtling hunk of rock will collide with our planet. (The student thought it was a 1-in-450 chance. Yikes!)
Unfortunately, all this came out after articles on the teen's statistical success soared in Buzz, and even made it to the Yahoo! front page. Lookups for "apophis," the asteroid in question, surged into the top hourly searches.
4/16/08
DO ANIMALS HAVE PERSONALITIES ?
Some veterinarians not only think animals have personalities, but that they can even suffer from depression or separation anxiety when they are left at home alone all day. Studies estimate that more than 10 million dogs in the U.S. suffer from separation anxiety [source: Booth].
In 2007, the FDA approved a chewable antidepressant for dogs developed by Eli Lilly, the company that makes Prozac. Reconcile, the dog friendly antidepressant, even has a beef flavor. Combined with therapy, the drug successfully treated a little more than 70 percent of depressed dogs [source: Booth].
Experts also say parrots suffer depression when they are left home alone. Romain Pizzi, a specialist in animal medicine, notes that parrots will actually harm themselves during bouts of depression and that liquid Prozac has helped to stop that behavior [source: Cleland].
In 2007, the FDA approved a chewable antidepressant for dogs developed by Eli Lilly, the company that makes Prozac. Reconcile, the dog friendly antidepressant, even has a beef flavor. Combined with therapy, the drug successfully treated a little more than 70 percent of depressed dogs [source: Booth].
Experts also say parrots suffer depression when they are left home alone. Romain Pizzi, a specialist in animal medicine, notes that parrots will actually harm themselves during bouts of depression and that liquid Prozac has helped to stop that behavior [source: Cleland].
