Cool Stories Not Worth Their Own Thread II - Coolness In Measured Dosage

[Synobun]

Recipes inside the article.

http://www.examiner.com/review/why-shampoo-is-bad-for-you-and-homemade-shampoo-recipe?CID=obinsite

Oh I like this. Definitely bookmarking it.

 

[Monsterzuma]

Real-Life ‘Love Pills' That Save Marriages 'Could Soon Be A Reality'

Oxford University researchers believe real-life 'love pills' - that solve common marital woes and keep the passion alive - could soon be making their way into a marriage counselling session near you.

Despite the fact that marriage is having a comeback after 40 years of decline – we’re still 200 more likely to file for divorce than a century ago.

According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), recession-hit couples do try and stick together, but marital disharmony (caused by the pressures of job losses, uncertainty about the future and rising debt) often gets the better of them, causing divorce numbers to soar.

And with weekly reminders about high-profile unions, such as loved-up (and extremely wealthy) Heidi Klum and Seal hitting the rocks, combined with the worrying fact that one in three men don't marry for love - is it any wonder we struggle to keep the love alive?

But before you give up on love altogether, consider this – could the solution lie in a simple pill?

Not that pill (the contraceptive type that apparently alters a woman’s love for her partner) but a drug that is a potent concoction of essential neurohormones that make us fall – and stay – giddy in love.

According to a team of neuroethnicists, who have written an in-depth paper about the possibilities of a psychopharmaceutical ‘love drug’ - this could well be the future of marriage counselling.

Yes, soon you’ll be able to cut out the middle-man (the Relate counsellor) and get a prescription for love. Perhaps.

In Neuroenhancement of Love and Marriage: The Chemicals Between Us, Oxford University researchers Julian Savulescu and Anders Sandberg claim that scientists may soon be able to interfere with the biology of human attraction with the help of chemical blockers and enhancers.

To do this, they would have to create a pill that contains the “modulators of love”, which could potentially help us stay together longer, increase attractiveness and decrease infidelity.

The essential ‘ingredients’ of the pill are:

Pheromones
These are odourless chemicals that trigger emotion responses, mainly sexual and attractiveness, between the opposite sex. If this was popped into a pill, it could potentially help people maintain the attraction they first felt for their partner.

Oxytocin and Vasopressin
Also known as the ‘bonding chemicals’, oxytocin and vasaopressin are hormones released in the body that promote physical bonding. The brain releases a high amount of these hormones during the early, romantic stages of a relationship. If these hormones were present in a pill, they could strengthen the sense of togetherness and bonds between couples.

Testosterone
High levels of testosterone increase the amount of sexual desire between the opposite sex. A testosterone-induced pill could aid flagging libidos.

CRH
Although this hormone (corticotropin-releasing hormone) can sometimes cause depression and anxiety, it also creates the fear of separation, which can help deepen the bond between two people.

Entactogens
This drug (found in MDMA pills like ecstasy) creates the feeling of openness and the desire for emotional closeness, claims the paper. This could increase the connection and sociability between people if it was present in a pill.

Would you give it a go?

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/01/pill-that-saves-marriage-reality_n_1466943.html

 

[Monsterzuma]

When You Eat Matters, Not Just What You Eat

ScienceDaily (May 17, 2012) — When it comes to weight gain, when you eat might be at least as important as what you eat. That's the conclusion of a study reported in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism published early online on May 17th.

When mice on a high-fat diet are restricted to eating for eight hours per day, they eat just as much as those who can eat around the clock, yet they are protected against obesity and other metabolic ills, the new study shows. The discovery suggests that the health consequences of a poor diet might result in part from a mismatch between our body clocks and our eating schedules.
"Every organ has a clock," said lead author of the study Satchidananda Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. That means there are times that our livers, intestines, muscles, and other organs will work at peak efficiency and other times when they are -- more or less -- sleeping.

Those metabolic cycles are critical for processes from cholesterol breakdown to glucose production, and they should be primed to turn on when we eat and back off when we don't, or vice versa. When mice or people eat frequently throughout the day and night, it can throw off those normal metabolic cycles.
"When we eat randomly, those genes aren't on completely or off completely," Panda said. The principle is just like it is with sleep and waking, he explained. If we don't sleep well at night, we aren't completely awake during the day, and we work less efficiently as a consequence.

...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120517132057.htm

 

[asbestos]

Love pills in the hands of an abusive spouse... sounds like trouble.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I am very skeptical of those love pills. It messes with interdependencies which it seems one can only grasp in very vague abstractions and I can already see the inflated commercials which exploit the need of people which feel helpless, just as I can see how envisioned profit margins will overshadow legit concerns. Of which such a complex matter will know enough of.
On the other hand, after decades of net harm maybe we grow experienced and informed enough that such will prove to be beneficial

 

[Monsterzuma]

Humanoid Robot Works Side by Side With People

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2012) — The first robots reached the world of industry over 60 years ago. Since then, for security reasons, they have performed their work isolated in cages, and that prevented collaboration between workers and machines. The research centre Tecnalia Research & Innovation is embarking on a new era by incorporating into European industry the first robot capable of working shoulder to shoulder with people. There are two aims: to improve the capacities of the workers in conditions of safety; and to increase the competitiveness of the factories in international markets. For this it has the robot Hiro, Japan's most closely guarded secret in recent years in the sphere of industrial robotics.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...atest+Science+News)&utm_content=Google+Reader

 

[Monsterzuma]

Severe Nuclear Reactor Accidents Likely Every 10 to 20 Years, European Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2012) — Western Europe has the worldwide highest risk of radioactive contamination caused by major reactor accidents.

Catastrophic nuclear accidents such as the core meltdowns in Chernobyl and Fukushima are more likely to happen than previously assumed. Based on the operating hours of all civil nuclear reactors and the number of nuclear meltdowns that have occurred, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz have calculated that such events may occur once every 10 to 20 years (based on the current number of reactors) -- some 200 times more often than estimated in the past. The researchers also determined that, in the event of such a major accident, half of the radioactive caesium-137 would be spread over an area of more than 1,000 kilometres away from the nuclear reactor. Their results show that Western Europe is likely to be contaminated about once in 50 years by more than 40 kilobecquerel of caesium-137 per square meter. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, an area is defined as being contaminated with radiation from this amount onwards. In view of their findings, the researchers call for an in-depth analysis and reassessment of the risks associated with nuclear power plants.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...atest+Science+News)&utm_content=Google+Reader

ok, this scares me.

 

[Monsterzuma]

More Physical Education in Schools Leads to Better Grades, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (May 23, 2012) — More physical education in schools leads to better motor skills and it can also sharpen students' learning ability. This is shown by Assistant Professor Ingegerd Ericsson at Malmö University in a unique study where she followed more than two hundred schoolchildren for nine years in Malmö in southern Sweden. The differences are especially clear among boys.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120523114728.htm

 

[Terxpahseyton]

ok, this scares me.

And it is IMO quit thread-worthy.

 

[Monsterzuma]

Relationship Between Social Status and Wound-Healing in Wild Baboons

The researchers examined 27 years of data on naturally-occurring illnesses and injuries in wild male baboons. They investigated how differences in age, physical condition, stress, reproductive effort and testosterone levels contribute to status-related differences in immune function.
Previous research found that high testosterone levels and intense reproductive efforts can suppress immune function and are highest among high-ranking males.
However, Archie and colleagues found that high-ranking males were less likely to become ill and recovered faster from injuries and illnesses than low-ranking males.
The authors suggest that chronic stress, old age and poor physical condition associated with low rank may suppress immune function in low-ranking males.
"The complex interplay among social context, physiology and immune system-mediated health costs and benefits illustrates the power of interdisciplinary research," says Carolyn Ehardt, program director in NSF's biological anthropology program.
"This research begins to tease apart the trade-offs in both high- and low-status in primates--including ourselves--which may lead to a new understanding of the effects of social status on death and disease."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120524123211.htm

 

[Monsterzuma]

Iowa Police Recently Arrested A Drunk Driver With A Zebra And Parrot In His Front Seat

http://www.businessinsider.com/iowa...h-a-zebra-and-parrot-in-his-front-seat-2012-5

 

[madviking]

Nap Saves UVA Student from Stray Bullet

 

[mangxema]

I thought this one was worth a chuckle:

Unprotected Sects: When it comes to computer viruses, you’re now more likely to catch one visiting a church website than surfing for porn.

 

[Monsterzuma]

MEET XIAO SA: The Stray Dog Who Joined A Group Of Cyclists And Ran 1,000 Miles To Tibet

A homeless dog who befriended a group of traveling college graduates on their epic ride from China to Tibet is now an online sensation.
The dog's name is Xiao Sa, and she has remarkable story.
According to ITN News, she started following the cyclists after they threw her some food when she was on the side of the highway early in their journey.

She trotted after them, and didn't go away. During the 24-day journey, she ran 50-60 kilometers a day. She also ran over 10 mountains and endured harsh weather.

Eventually the cyclists decided to care for the dog. They put her in a crate on the back of the bike when they were flying down steep hills.

One of the cyclists theorized that the dog has been living and running on the road from China to Lhasa, Tibet for awhile. He told China Daily: "She followed us for three days, running behind our team but sometimes leading us. She's very smart and knows the route, because she never got lost even when we passed through mountains."

The cyclists also told China Daily that they hope to keep her now that the journey is over.

More pics inside:

http://www.businessinsider.com/xiao-sa-dog-2012-5

 

[strijder20]

Aww, that's cute

 

[Monsterzuma]

Sesame Street Songs Prove To Be Worse Than Waterboarding On Afghan Prisoners

If you ever thought the mind numbing quality of children's TV shows was a real and tangible thing, you may have been right as Sesame Street songs have been used since 2003 to "break" prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay, Al Jazeera reports.
Prisoners were attached to chairs, left alone with the music blaring through headphones for up to days on end, Human Rights researcher Thomas Keenan elaborated.
A former detainee at Bagram and Gitmo, Moazzam Begg, told Al Jazeera that the educational children's music was played piercingly loud and said "it was probably some of the worst torture that they faced."
The fact that former detainees place the audial barrage among waterboarding and advanced sleep deprivation as some of the worst torture at Gitmo weighs particularly heavily on the conscience of Christopher Cerf, the musician who composed much of it.
Cerf sought to understand how his life's work — which included such relevant tracks as "I'm Gonna Get to You," "Don't Touch Me," and (at least for Omar Khadr) "How Hard It Is To Be 15" — could be used for torture.
Cerf composed more than 200 songs over 40 years at Sesame Street, written with the original intent of musical reading education.
That his work was used for gulag-style re-education does not sit well with Cerf, who made the film Songs of War in an attempt to understand why the music was so efficient at breaking the spirit of prisoners.

http://www.businessinsider.com/sesame-street-music-used-to-torture-guantanamo-bay-prisoners-2012-5

 

[strijder20]

Everything gets mind-breaking if you hear it enough, I guess. I wouldn't like to listen non-stop to any music, especially if it has a bit of repetition and high-pitched voices in it.

 

[Monsterzuma]

Everyone Is Passing Around This List Of Signs That The Zombiepocalypse Has Begun
The case of the allegedly drug-crazed man in Florida who ripped all his clothes off and chewed off another man's face isn't the first strange event this month.
A Reddit user posted a list of strange events from the past month, many of which have occured in Florida. "Well, time to open my zombie survival kit..." user slevenznero said yesterday.
Here's his list of strange events that point to a Zombie apocalypse:
5/16: McArthur High School HazMat Situation: Students, Teachers Decontaminated After Breaking Out In Rash
5/19: No confirmation on chemical at Fort Lauderdale International Airport
5/21: Police: Man bites woman in Westchester
5/23: I-285 reopens after hazmat incident
5/23: Man Bites Cousin's Nose Off
5/24: Second Broward school reports mystery rash
5/25: Hazmat Called After Kids Exposed To Pesticide On Bus: Hazmat, EMS Respond To Lake County, FL School
5/25: 'Disoriented' passenger subdued on flight in Miami
5/26: Naked Man Allegedly Eating Victim's Face Shot And Killed By Miami Police
5/26: Florida Doctor Spits Blood at Highway Patrolmen After DUI Arrest
5/27: Georgia contractor bites Lowe's employees, resists arrest
All separate incidents, but all in Florida...OH MY GOD IT'S THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Lots of links in the article:

http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/everyone-passing-around-list-events-150500038.html

 

[Monsterzuma]

This Dutch Company Is Planning To Establish A Human Settlement On Mars In 2023


Link to video.

It sounds pretty outlandish to us — wannabe martians will not only have to spend 7 months traveling to Mars, they'll have to live there for the rest of their life.

Regardless, founder Bas Lansdorp is on Reddit answering queries about the project, and he's sounding fairly convincing (to a layperson at least). The idea clearly has some scientific backing.

Landsdorp says that the event will be all privately funded. How will he get hold of that money? By creating the "biggest media event ever", he says.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mars-one-bas-lansdorp-2023-2012-5

 

[Synobun]

While I am glad they're being optimistic, the most they can do is build a base. Colonization would involve terraforming which we are simply incapable of at this time (also money).