Explanation: How Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter

Neuroscientists once believed that you were born with a set level of intelligence, and that was that. Fortunately, we now know better. Empowering information about the brain’s ability to change in response to the right challenges and stimuli have come to light.

Just this year, three articles that showed the benefits of cognitive training with Lumosity—the online leader in brain training—were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. These articles demonstrate that Lumosity training can engage your innate neuroplasticity and help make you smarter.

Stanford School of Medicine, cancer survivors used Lumosity’s training program to help them recover from cancer-related cognitive problems. Participants showed significantly improved performance on tests of processing speed, cognitive flexibility, and memory—all categories available for brain training on Lumosity.com. In addition, Dr. Kesler used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to visually demonstrate enhanced activation in the prefrontal cortex of participants’ brains.


Source: howlifeworks.com

Deadliness of Loneliness

New research has shown direct links between loneliness and ill health. It is the social contact that can stop the negative impacts that are sent inside body when a person is lonely. Others should also remind the person to take care of himself or herself.
Loneliness can harden the arteries causing high blood pressure. Loneliness can cause the inflammation of body and memory problems. Same phenomenon was seen in the fruit flies. Isolated ones die sooner.
     
In one study, Cacioppo and Steve Cole of UCLA examined how the immune system changed over time in people who were socially isolated. They observed a change in the kinds of genes that lonely people's immune systems were expressing. Genes overexpressed in the loneliest individuals included many involved in immune system activation and inflammation. In addition, several key gene sets were underexpressed, including those involved in antiviral responses and antibody production. The result is that a lonely person's body has let its defenses down to viral and other invaders.

Scientists Noticed Ferroelectricity In Mammals, Common In TVs & Computer Memory

 The heart’s inner workings are mysterious, perhaps even more so with a new finding. Engineers at the University of Washington have discovered an electrical property in arteries not seen before in mammalian tissues.
The researchers found that the wall of the aorta, the largest blood vessel carrying blood from the heart, exhibits ferroelectricity, a response to an electric field known to exist in inorganic and synthetic materials. The findings are being published in an upcoming issue of the journal “Physical Review Letters”.
“The result is exciting for scientific reasons, but it could also have biomedical implications”, said lead author Jiangyu Li, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering.
A ferroelectric material is an electrically polar molecule with one side positively charged and the other negatively charged, whose polarity can be reversed by applying an electrical field. Ferroelectricity is common in synthetic materials and used for displays, TVs, computer memory , and sensors.
he team is investigating the interactions between ferroelectricity and charged glucose molecules, in hopes of better understanding sugar’s effect on the mechanical properties of the aortic walls.
Read More:etechmag.com

A New Way to Look at Plants

Students of Assistant Professor of Biology Jonathan Wilson are getting the chance to look at plants in a whole new way thanks to a grant that has helped him add an advanced piece equipment to his lab. In October, Wilson, a biologist whose research uses fossil plants to reconstruct environmental history, was awarded a $49,000 matching grant from the Li-Cor Bioscience Environmental Education Fund to buy a portable infrared gas analyzer, which measures rates of photosynthesis.

“It is particularly impressive that Jon applied for this grant while still unpacking boxes in his new lab,” says Karl Johnson, professor and chair of the biology department. Johnson says the machine will be a valuable tool for students in the Bio 300 course, also known as Superlab, and in the photosynthesis class Wilson introduced for the spring semester.

“Haverford hasn’t had anything like this before,” says Wilson who joined the faculty at the start of the current academic year to help build the new Tri-College Environmental Studies Program. “It’s a pretty standard piece of equipment for plant physiologists, and for big agriculture companies that need to know how their corn, or soy beans, or grapes are doing.” But the system is not often part of the inventory at a small liberal arts college.

The infrared gas analyzer (or, IRGA) has two parts. One is a sensor that clips onto a leaf and measures how much carbon dioxide the leaf is taking up, as well as other parameters like temperature and relative humidity. The other part is essentially a metal box that houses pumps, a chamber and a computer that does the calculations. “It’s possible to learn all of this information in other ways,” says Wilson. “But they’re a lot more labor intensive and therefore can leave the door open to errors or mistakes.”

“What’s also nice about the system is that conditions can be adjusted in real time,” he says. “You can flood the leaf with CO2 and see photosynthetic rates go up. You can lower the light on the leaf and watch the rate go down.”

With help from the Arboretum staff, four Haverford biology majors are utilizing the system in their senior thesis project research, Wilson reports. Rebecca Tobet, is looking at a class of primitive ferns, called horsetails, that first appeared in eastern North America 300 million years ago, to learn the source of structural support in their extinct tree-sized relatives. Anna Rayne is doing growth chamber experiments, to explore how plants function under long-term drought conditions with high CO2 levels. Emily Dutrow is examining how plants respond to simulated grazing, to answer questions about destructive over grazing. And Kelsey Capron is studying the comparative physiology of leafless ferns.

“This is all stuff that will help us think about the future of a world with much higher CO2 levels as well as changes in water and rainfall,” says Wilson. “Figuring out how plants solve problems is important work, and it is really helpful to have a piece of equipment that is so easy to use and gives you a lot of data for not a lot of effort.” —Eils Lotozo

Original source here.

World Bank calls for university autonomy

A major World Bank report on China has called for universities to be given more autonomy by the state. This is key if they are to make a substantial contribution to innovation that would drive economic growth and enable China to leap the difficult hurdle from being a middle-income to a high-income country by 2030.

Innovation would be key to future growth as the rapid economic growth of the past few decades begins to slow, said the report China 2030:
Building a modern, harmonious and creative high-income society, published last week.

To this end China must improve the quality of research in its universities, give institutions more autonomy and link up researchers in national and international R&D networks.

It must also allow in more international branch campuses in collaboration with domestic universities, in order to develop international standards of management of universities, the report said, suggesting that international institutions could help impart such standards.

The report, seen as a groundbreaking overview of the Chinese economy and a blueprint for its future direction, was drawn up by the World Bank in collaboration with the Development Research Centre.

Read more here.

Sarah Lowery ’02 Improves Economy and Environment in Developing Countries

As manager of an assessment of environmental threats in Russia, Sarah Lowery ’02 focused on the country’s slow progress in energy efficiency and its vulnerability to climate change. She wrote the report’s biodiversity chapter. She has also analyzed energy sectors in four nations for clean energy proposals for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

As a senior associate at the international development firm ECODIT LLC, based in Washington, D.C., Lowery manages the firm’s environmental projects.

“I am passionate about environmentally sustainable economic development,” says Lowery, who earned an MBA from Yale School of Management and a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2010. “I want to enable people in developing countries to provide for their families and to conserve valuable natural resources, which will sustain development in the long term.”

A career in environmental protection is a far cry from her original goal of making millions as a stockbroker—a plan diverted when she saw how applied economics can be used to improve the lives of the poor through an EXCEL Scholars project as a Lafayette student.

Lowery collaborated with Gladstone Hutchinson, associate professor of economics, to document examples of applied non-Keynesian economic theory and to analyze public expenditures of the Jamaican government. In April 2001, she and Harsh Agrawal ’01 traveled to Jamaica with Hutchinson to present their research to senior government officials.

Because of her collaboration with her faculty mentor, she imagined greater possibilities for her future.

“Dr. Hutchinson inspired me, challenged me, and believed in me, and thus, I believed in myself,” she says. “He really had a profound impact on me, both professionally and personally.”

Lowery, who majored in economics & business and Japanese studies, also studied abroad in Australia and went to China and Japan as a Marquis Scholar. “My time at Lafayette opened up a world of possibilities, especially to travel,” she says.


Sarah Lowery '02 in Belize

So, upon graduation, Lowery headed to Belize as a Peace Corps volunteer.

While there, she worked with the Belize Audubon Society, which managed a protected area near her village. She collaborated with the organization on outreach programs that trained villagers to be tour guides, which increased their incomes and reduced the need to poach plants and animals from the park.

“[That was when] I realized my interest and passion for environmental conservation could actually be a career,” says Lowery.

“I saw that economic development needed to take into account environmental concerns and, perhaps more important, that development and conservation goals are not mutually exclusive,” she says. “For example, ecotourism is a great way to increase income for local people and conserve the environment, if it’s done right.”

The Peace Corps also required her to expand her personal boundaries.

For example, when Lowery first arrived in Belize, she was uncomfortable speaking Spanish. So she made a conscious effort to interact and speak in Spanish with local villagers. She now is fluent in the language.

“At first, I didn’t know what to talk about. I had to force myself to make small talk about the weather or food,” she says. “I made friends by asking people to teach me how to make Belizean dishes. Once quite shy, I became more outgoing and comfortable talking to almost anyone.”

Her social lessons paid huge dividends, not only for Lowery but also for the people of that country.

Modeling the mentoring relationship she found with Hutchinson, Lowery showed the young women in Belize a path to greater possibilities. For example, by helping one woman improve her computer and typing skills, Lowery aided her in obtaining a highly coveted government job. She also tutored another girl who wanted to be a nurse in science.

Lowery believes that it was the gift of her time—more than her knowledge—that made the real difference for these women.

“My presence as an educated, unmarried female who had the time to help these women was one of the most important things I could give them—a different example of who they could be,” she says. “I showed them that they could choose to pursue education, for example, instead of, or in addition to, a family.”

Original source here.

UC Berkeley Student, In Coma After Falling From Side Of Frat House

A student at the University of California, Berkeley is in a coma and listed in critical condition after falling nearly three stories off of the side of a fraternity house.

Andrew Crowley, a UC Berkeley freshmen, fell off the Phi Gamma Delta house -- more commonly known as Fiji -- as he was trying to scale a drain pipe that ran vertical up the side of the house, according to theDaily Californian. He almost made it to the third floor of the building before the pipe separated from the building and he fell backwards. Police found Crowley shortly before midnight on Saturday unconscious with "obvious head trauma and a lot of bleeding."

Sgt. Mary Kusmiss with the Berkeley Police Department said Crowley showed signs of alcohol intoxication and there appeared to be no signs of foul play.

Crowley is a member of the school's crew team. He is not a member of the Fiji fraternity.

There were no events being held at Fiji on Saturday and frat brothers say few of their members were home at the time.

"Absent the opportunity to interview the young man," Kusmiss said, "it is not known why he was climbing the pipe."

Read article at the original source here.

Saint John's University Students Cataloging His Grandfather's Work

The first few times he walked around the College of Saint Benedict campus, Brian Thavis would stop in his tracks when he saw Joe O’Connell’s artwork.

He admired O’Connell’s “Madonna and Child” in Mary Commons, and the six prints that hang in the fireside lounge of Clemens Library. It is hard to miss the impressive “Petters Door” in the lobby of the Benedicta Arts Center, or the sculptures in the Gathering Space of Saint Benedict’s Monastery Chapel.

“It would be like, ‘Wow, this is right here. I wonder how many people actually stop and look at this?’ ” said Thavis, a first-year student at Saint John’s University. “After a while, you kind of get used to it. Every now and then, I still make a point to stop and look at his work.”

Thavis might also have said, “That’s my grandfather’s work.”

These days, Thavis is admiring more than his grandfather’s art. He is helping catalog items in the Joe O’Connell Collection at CSB Archives. There are thousands of items cataloged in the collection, including books, documents, photos, slides, molds, plates, sketches and tools.

“I’m privileged to do this,” Thavis said. “I really see (the job) as a privilege, because not only am I here and making money and doing a job, but I’m learning about history, about art history, about an artist who is my grandfather and his work.”

O’Connell was a sculptor, print maker, photographer, artist-in-residence and teacher at CSB and SJU from 1962 until his death in 1995 (he taught for two years at SJU in the 1950s and from 1957-62).

“He (O’Connell) created his own style, and then he didn’t depart from that just because there were new trends,” said S. Colman O’Connell, OSB, former president of CSB and senior development officer for Institutional Advancement at CSB. “It (his style) kept developing into more complex things.”

While she was president, O’Connell – no relation to the artist – often took guests to see Joe O’Connell at work in his studio courtyard of the BAC.

“In my humble opinion – and I hope this isn’t an insult to all the other (artists who work on campus) – he’s the best we’ve ever had,” added O’Connell, who edited a book on Joe O’Connell’s work, “Divine Favor: The Art of Joseph O’Connell,” which included essays from J.F. Powers and Garrison Keillor.

Thavis’ recollections of his grandfather are few. Fortunately for him, his parents, Lauren (a CSB graduate) and John (an SJU graduate who recently retired from covering the Vatican as the bureau chief for Catholic News Service) paid yearly visits to the O’Connell home in Collegeville.

It was during those visits that Brian and his siblings annually renewed friendships with the children of Peggy Landwehr Roske, CSB and SJU archivist, who lived just up the road. Her husband, Michael, grew up as a neighbor to the O’Connell family.

“When I found out Brian was going to come to school here, a little light bulb went off in my head – Brian could work on Joe’s collection,” Roske said.

“One of the things I especially wanted to have him do was identify Joe’s photos,” Roske said. “He can ask his mom or grandma about who is in a picture. He whipped out his cell phone and took pictures of a whole bunch of pictures that needed details, took them home and showed them to his mom and grandma, and found out a little more about them.

“It’s been wonderful to have him doing that. And, I think it has been fun for him as well,” Roske added.

“It’s definitely a neat thing to see. I feel like I missed out on a lot of this stuff, because I was so young and I don’t remember,” said Thavis, who was 4 years old when his grandfather died. “In a certain way, I’m kind of atoning for not knowing these people, not knowing this stuff in the first place.”

One of the things Thavis discovered about his grandfather was that he was a prolific photographer.

“He loved taking pictures. I confirmed that with my mom. He would go out and drive down to the Twin Cities and just take pictures. When I got here, I saw there were hundreds of pictures from the 1970s that he took of anything, or pictures of people he found interesting,” Thavis said. “I didn’t know that at all.”

Roske noted that faculty in the CSB/SJU art department bring students to the collection to give them an introduction to O’Connell’s work. “They look at his sketch books, and then go around campus and look at the sculptures that resulted from his initial sketches,” Roske said.

“I think it’s relatively rare for an artist’s life and work to be as carefully documented as we have done with Joe,” Roske said. “Joe was famous, but not world-wide or nationally. He certainly had lots of admirers in Minnesota and elsewhere, but it’s a name that not everybody would recognize.

“There is a treasure trove of information here, especially for anyone who’s interested in Joe and his art. It would be wonderful to have people come down and sink their teeth into the collection and really use it,” said Roske, adding she would love to see someone use the collection for a master’s thesis.

Read article at the original source here.

World Without End by Ken Follett

From the Publisher:
In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed -- "it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you" (Chicago Tribune) -- and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel.

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas -- about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race -- the Black Death.

Three years in the writing, and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End breathes new life into the epic historical novel and once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.

Moshi Monsters signs Sony Music record deal

Moshi Monsters, the popular British children’s gaming website run from east London’s so-called "Silicon Roundabout", has signed a record deal with Sony Music as it seeks to become a major children’s brand.

Mind Candy, the company behind the game played by 60m children aged between six and 12, has signed an agreement with the record label to release a series of albums.


The debut 12-track album, Moshi Monsters, Music Rox, features songs from popular characters such as Dr Strangeglove, Big Bad Bill and Sweettooth.


Jason Perry, head of Moshi Music and a former producer for McFly and The Pussycat Dolls, told The Sunday Telegraph: “Moshi Monsters has never released an album before so this is a big opportunity. The thinking behind it is that we don’t want the company to just be a computer brand. We want to turn it into the number one children’s brand.”

Sony will handle the production, sales and distribution aspects of Moshi Monster’s forthcoming music releases. The first CD will go on sale in shops and be available on iTunes from April 2.

Perry said that Mind Candy decided to form a partnership with Sony because it has past experience of transforming reality stars from shows such as The X Factor into major music stars.

Pakistan Sends Call For Proposals To Filter Internet Access

Pakistani government has now stepped forward to take a greater control over Internet by imposing harsh censorship. In a tender published on the Website of Information and Communications Technology Ministry’s Research and Development Fund the local government has asked for proposal from interested national and international parties dealing with the “development, deployment and operation of a national-level URL filtering and blocking system.”

Pakistan has reserved $10 million to work with interested company(ies) on Internet filtering technology.

The online proposal reads “The system would have a central database of undesirable URL’s that would be loaded on the distributed hardware boxes at each POP and updated on daily basis.” 

Websense, which has what Pakistan wants at the moment is the company based in San Diego responded saying that it would not seek such contract. Websense has been involved in similar practice in Yemen to filter the Internet upon the request of local government before it withdrew after criticism certain groups backing freedom of speech dictum.

This is not the first time that Pakistan has censored the Internet access. Facebook, YouTube, and few other Websites faced a temporary ban by PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) in the past. Such moves emerge on and off to safeguard the national interests, to protect human rights, and to diminish the blasphemy related cases.

Source:etechmag.com

Fruit extract can help you lose weight, lower cholesterol and prevent diabetes

Fruit extract loved by tea drinkers for the aromatic flavour it lends to Earl Grey tea could help you lose weight, lower cholesterol and protect against diabetes.

The bergamot orange, grown in the Mediterranean, is being hailed as ‘nature’s statin’. It contains chemicals called citrus polyphenols that appear to block production of blood fats, boost metabolism and prevent cholesterol absorption in the gut.
Doctors who gave the extract to heart patients and diabetics claim dramatic benefits. Some of their patients have avoided taking statins, which may have side-effects.
Research on more than 200 patients with high levels of blood fats, carried out by the University of Cantanzaro in Italy, found ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) reduced by 39 per cent after a month of taking the extract. It also reduced blood sugars by 22 per cent and raised ‘good’ cholesterol by 41 per cent.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2109601/A-cup-Earl-Grey-doctor-away-Fruit-extract-help-lose-weight-lower-cholesterol-prevent-diabetes.html#ixzz1o9SaAs4q

Smoking, drinking teens are the unhappiest of all.... and fruit and veg is the secret to a good life

Teenagers who smoke, drink alcohol and eat junk food are significantly more likely to be unhappy than their clean- living counterparts, a study has found.
About 5,000 children were questioned on their appearance, family, friends, school and life as a whole, and had their happiness levels rated.
Researchers discovered that those who never drank alcohol were between four and six times more likely to have higher levels of happiness than those who did, while those who shunned cigarettes were about five times more likely to have high happiness scores than young smokers.
Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables, and less eating of crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks, was associated with high happiness levels. Also, the children who played a lot of sport were deemed happier.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2109572/Smoking-drinking-teens-unhappiest---fruit-veg-secret-good-life.html#ixzz1o9URXjQL

ENJOY LOW BUDGET HOLIDAYS IN BRAZIL

Brazil is fast growing to a world class country and a major tourist destination. With the world cup of 2014 having been set to take place in this country, travel agents, resorts and restaurants are fast adjusting their pricing upwards. However, you need to search thoroughly in order to enjoy low budget holidays in Brazil. The following are some of the top destinations in the region.

Sao PauloThis is the best destination for lovers of culture. At Alberta, the first floor is preserved for artwork and drinks, while the basement is for lovers of rock'n'roll. For live performances by Samba bands, visit O do Borogodo bar. Another amazing place to visit is Mercearia Sao Pedro, where artists gather to showcase their works. You will meet fashion designers, actresses, directors, writer and artists in this restaurant cum bar. If you are on a low budget holiday trip in Brazil, you can enjoy free Brazilian music at Studio SP every weekend. This offer is only available for early evening shows, so keep time. If you are a veggie, you are welcome for hearty treats at Z Carnieria.

Rio de JaneiroThis is the best destination for adventure tourists. It has amazing nightlife too. The most fascinating scenes are the Sugar Loaf and Guanabara, which can be viewed from the Maze Inn B&B. Jazz is the music of the day for those who love art. Spending a night here will cost you less than 38 dollars for a double room. At Palaphita Kitch, you will be able to view the statue of Christ the Redeemer and Corcovado Mountain. Brazilian fruits are in plenty so you can have your fill. You can take a helicopter tour for 60 minutes, at a cost of 219.99 dollars per head. If you like walking, the tour will take you 4 hours at a cost of only 52.99 dollars per head. This place also has the most amazing beach life.

Fernando de NoronhaThis is the best discount holidays destination for people out to share love. Even though Brazil does not celebrate Valentine's Day, you can take your partner over here for splendin honeymoon or for romantic experience. There are plenty of hammocks so you can use this chance to make up for lost love on a hammock at the Pousada Ze Maria. You will also have the chance to view the beaches and enjoy sleeping on comfortable hardwood beds.

BuziosCulinary tourists can have an exciting experience in this charming village with many restaurants. Since it is a fishing village you can watch the fishermen catch fish, learn to fish, or even help them fish. Regardless of who caught the fish, you will always take it fresh from the water. Book a room at the Pousada Casas Brancas hotel and experience the culinary taste of Brazil.

Ilha GrandeIf you are seeking sun, then Ilha Grande is the perfect destination. There are plenty of beaches here, and a wide range of outdoor activities such as hiking in the mountain jungles. It is located at the Brazilian tropical Island, and so the weather is always pleasant. You can book a room at the Pousada da Cachoeira, or Pousada Naturalia.

Smokey Robinson visits Duke Ellington students

WASHINGTON (AP) — Music legend Smokey Robinson reached out to a new generation of performing artists Friday, telling them they were starting out as he did: "with a love for doing something creative."

Robinson, 72, visited Duke Ellington School of the Arts, named for the jazz great whose music Robinson said was the first he heard in his life because it was always playing in his Detroit home.

With students standing nearby, Robinson said any of them could follow him as a singing sensation, because "everybody starts with a love for doing something creative."

"If you see somebody and they are 15 and you say 'Oh, there's a new artist.' No, they've been doing it since they were 6. Everybody starts with that love, so of course, some of these kids will do that," Robinson said.

Robinson said he started singing the day he was born "according to my mom." He sang in various bands in high school, including The Miracles. Just after high school, he connected with Berry Gordy, with whom he would later form the Motown label. The label's first hit was Robinson's "Shop Around."
He went on to make hits such as "Cruisin'," ''You've Really Got a Hold On Me," ''Tracks of My Tears" and "Tears of A Clown."
"I thank God for my life because as a baby when I was 3, and 4 and 5 years old I wanted to be a singer, but I grew up in the 'hood in Detroit and I didn't know if that was possible, so I am living my wildest childhood dream right now," he said.

Robinson said he is working on a Christmas song and plans another in Spanish. Edward Ellington, son of Duke Ellington, said Robinson told him after they left the school that he is learning Spanish.

A news conference and appearance before a student assembly are part of the Ellington school's 5-year-old Performance Series of Legends program.
Robinson also planned to perform on Saturday at a sold-out benefit concert for the school at the Kennedy Arts Center.
"I think it's a shame that many of our schools have had to cut our arts programs and especially the inner-city schools," said Robinson.
Previous legends program artists who have given benefit concerts for the school are comedian David Chapelle, a Duke Ellington school alumnus; mezzo soprano Denyce Graves; singer/musician Stevie Wonder and soul/funk band Earth, Wind and Fire.
Together they have raised $2 million for the school, which is about 80 percent African American, 12 percent white and 6 percent Latino, said Rory Pullens, the school's chief executive. It has an annual budget of about $5.8 million.
Cornelius Williams, 17, was one of a handful of students who performed a song while Robinson waited to enter the news conference. He said he belongs to the school's show choir, which has a "Smokey Robinson/Miracles-kind of group."
"I feel like he definitely is an inspiration to me to keep doing what I'm doing, to keep learning," Williams said.
Students shrieked and cheered when Robinson appeared onstage and the enthusiasm didn't die down when he lectured them to make sure they didn't neglect their other studies for their art or give in to peer pressure.

Robinson said he grew up in a house of 11 kids and was raised by his sister after his mother died. Some of his close friends were "gangsters," he said. But he said he refused to join them, when they asked him to help rob a gas station.

(Source: yahoo.com)

Study: Older People Sleep Better

A new study from the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania has found that aging is not a factor in poor sleep. The study surveyed more than 150,000 Americans about the quality of their sleep and found that the quality actually improves over time. The fewest complaints of poor sleep came from people in their 80's. It was a popular belief that older adults wake up more frequently in the night than young adults This old notion has now been turned on its head.
First of all, the researchers found that health problems and depressions were associated with poor sleep. Also, women reported more sleep disturbances and daytime tiredness than men.
Then they noticed a slight uptick in sleep problems during middle age (more in women than men). After this, sleep quality continually improved into their elderly years.
"Even if sleep among older Americans is actually worse than in younger adults, feelings about it still improve with age," said Michael Grandner, PhD, lead author of the study. "Once you factor out things like illness and depression, older people should be reporting better sleep. If they're not, they need to talk to their doctor. They shouldn't just ignore it."

Source:enn.com

25,000,000,000!

Apple has announced that there has been 25 billion downloads from the App Store to date. The countdown to 25,000,000,000 apps began on February 17th when Apple said it would give away a $10K gift card to the person who downloaded the app — or filed a claim in its non-purchase form — that broke the record .

A notice on Apple’s website acknowledges the record being broken. It notes that a winner will be revealed on the homepage later

Apple has run similar promotions like this in the past, celebrating 10 billion App Store downloads a year ago and 10 billion iTunes Music Store downloads in 2010. There have also been markers at the 1B song and 100M song milestones.

Original source here.

E.T: The Extra -Terrestrial (1982)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. It tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

The concept for E.T. was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents' divorce in 1960. In 1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled science fiction/horror film project Night Skies. The film was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$10.5 million. Unlike most motion pictures, the film was shot in roughly chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast.

Released by Universal Pictures, E.T. was a blockbuster, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time, a record it held for 11 years. Critics acclaimed it as a timeless story of friendship, and it ranks as the greatest science fiction film ever made in a Rotten Tomatoes survey. The film was re-released in 1985, and then again in 2002 to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, with altered shots and additional scenes.

Exorcism murder

Two people have been found guilty in the exorcism murder two years ago of a 15-year-old boy. The pair accused Kristy Bamu of practicing witchcraft and being possessed by demons.

Eric Bikubi, 28, and Magalie Bamu, aged 29, from Newham, east London, had denied killing Bamu's 15-year-old brother, Kristy. Kristy drowned in a bath on Christmas Day in 2010, during torture to produce exorcism, an Old Bailey jury heard. During the trial, jurors heard Kristy was in such pain after three days of attacks by Bikubi and Bamu, who used knives, sticks, metal bars, and a hammer and chisel, that he "begged to die," before slipping under the water. Kristy had been killed while he and his siblings were visiting Bikubi and Bamu for Christmas, the court was told. During the stay, Bikubi turned on them, accusing them of bringing "kindoki" -- or witchcraft -- into his home.

Both defendants and the victim were from the African country Democratic Republic of Congo, where belief in magic and demons is widespread; in fact a 2010 Gallup poll found that over half of Africans in sub-Saharan Africa believe in witchcraft.

Audi Engineer Creates A Stunner With OLED Tech

Audi is prestigious automobile manufacturing brand that has a number of hit car models to its name. Stephan Berlitz who heads the Lighting and Electronics technology division at Audi in Germany has created a masterpiece using OLED technology in the R8 and Q7 vehicles. Berlitz explains “These are individual points of light that need additional optical devices – reflectors, optical conductors or scatter optics. OLED surfaces are themselves the source of light, and the thin plates also look attractive. They weigh little, light up extremely fast, develop only a small amount of heat, last for several tens of thousand hours and don’t consume any more energy than conventional light-emitting diodes."

Source:etechmag.com

Can Anger and Stress Kill?

Andrew Breitbart, a prominent conservative commentator, died yesterday of a suspected heart attack, at only 43 years old. Could the high stress nature of his work and his angry, bombastic persona that made him famous have played a key role in his untimely death? 
Increasing evidence shows that chronic stress can be damaging to our health. However, emotional stress is a normal part of everyone's lives, so doctors and researchers are trying to figure out how and why stress leads to cardiovascular disease for some people. The data suggest that people who struggle to deal with stress in healthy ways are at a higher risk for heart problems. Unhealthy ways to deal with stress include smoking, overeating and anger, according to WebMd.

High levels of anger in young men are linked to developing premature cardiovascular disease. (Symptoms are considered premature if they are diagnosed before age 55.) The exact mechanisms for how anger can lead to cardic disease is unclear, but data suggests that angry people have increased levels of chemicals called catecholamines, as well as elevated heart rates and blood pressure. Research shows that high levels of catecholamines can contribute to the build up of heart- and arter- clogging deposits.

Source:Discovery

Indiana Tornado Kills More Than 30 People

A string of violent storms demolished small towns in Indiana and cut off rural communities in Kentucky as an early season tornado outbreak killed more than 30 people, and the death toll rose as daylight broke on Saturday's search for survivors.

Massive thunderstorms, predicted by forecasters for days, threw off dozens of tornadoes as they raced Friday from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. Twisters crushed blocks of homes, knocked out cellphones and landlines, ripped power lines from broken poles and tossed cars, school buses and tractor-trailers onto roads made impassable by debris.

Read more at Huffington Post.

Biofuels of the future

Finding a truly renewable energy source is a task scientists the world over are faced with. Transforming plants into "biofuels" was once a great hope, but the process requires energy and so may actually contribute to global warming. France24 explored whether a new generation of biofuels could succeed where the previous one failed.
A team of scientists working on creating biofuels out of seaweed in Scotland are transforming Scotch whisky by-products into a green source of fuel.
And in the south west of France, farmers are managing to turn leftover fat from cooking duck into a fuel to power their farm equipment.

Educational consequences in the Middle East unrest

In Egypt, nationwide demonstrations and repeated confrontations between demonstrators and military policemen forced several schools and educational institutions to close, while parents complained that their children were attacked by thugs on their way to school. Some rights groups said criminals used arms to take money from schoolchildren.
The unrest in the region set back the likelihood that many countries would achieve the Millennium Development Goals for education by 2015. 
In Yemen, hundreds of thousands of children stayed at home because their schools were either housing displaced people or being used as army barracks.
In the Syrian city of Homs a school came under attack.
On the positive side, the children of displaced Syrians in Lebanon were able to enrol in public schools in northern Lebanon.

Tallest horse being trained for Queen's Jubilee Celebrations

The tallest horse of Britain is being trained to be a Drum Horse at Queen's Jubilee parade. The horse is 8 years old and measures close to 9 feet. The horse will be with the Household Cavalry in Hyde Park Barracks.He's very docile and well behaved. The giant Clydesdale eats up to four stones of food per day and guzzles 25 gallons of water.

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment officer Alex Owen said :

"It is hoped he will be able to take part in the Jubilee celebrations, however, he needs to put on more weight to be able to carry the silver drums."

It takes 18 months to train a Drum Horse and once they pass out they will be given the name of a Greek God.

Researcher Develop Pasta Shaped Radio Waves For Infinite Bandwidth Possibility

A team of researchers have developed twisted radio waves with infinite number of channels to broadcast your multiple messages at the same time.
Dr Fabrizio Tamburini who is one of the researchers says “In a three-dimensional perspective, this phase twist looks like a fusillli-pasta-shaped beam. Each of these twisted beams can be independently generated, propagated and detected even in the very same frequency band, behaving as independent communication channels.”
The whole process is done with twisting the radio waves to about their axis as they travel.
The researchers have demoed the technique in Venice to transmit two twisted radio waves over a distance of 442 meters in the 2.4GHz band. This is not the end, you can add more waves to add more channels resulting to send increased signals simultaneously.

MDX Student Designs World’s First Smartphone Made Of Bamboo Tree

We are heading towards the catastrophe caused by increasing temperature of our planet and one core reason behind this disaster to come is our industrial concerns that have vanished much of planet’s greenery. But there are some activists who are working hard not only to create awareness about green technology also to introduce environment friendly products. Kieron-Scott Woodhouse, a 24 years old at Middlesex University London is the student of Product and Design has designed the world’s first smart phone made of tree, named ADzero. A

Dzero is made of Chinese bamboo tree whose casing it totally recyclable. It will use Google’s Android technology and Adaos operating system that has been especially engineered.

Woodhouse says that it weighs less than iPhone. Another cool feature of ADzero is its flash which is around the rear camera unlike other phones in the market that have a flash right next to cameras. This flash design increases the possibility to capture a shadow less image. With the soft looking design and built material of ADzero Woodhouse claims that the phone will earn people attention all over the world and he is not hopping to hit the mainstream market with this design as he wants to stay unique.
ADzero will be launched at the end of this year in UK.

Source: etechmag.com

Driver's Ed: Study Finds That 1 In 5 Teens Gets License Without Completing Program

Most of us associate getting a driver's license with the completion of a driver's education program, but a new study reports that not as many teens are receiving driver's ed as one might assume. The report, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, has found that more than one in five U.S. teens never took driver's education before getting their licenses.
The research team behind the study surveyed more than 1,700 high school students from 34 states, 25 of which have a driver-education requirement. The states that did not have a driver's ed requirement resulted in lower rates of teens going through driver's education.

Oxygen Discovery Raises Hopes for Saturn Moon Life

Two years ago, when NASA's Cassini Solstice spacecraft flew past the moon Dione, it noticed something familiar. Oxygen was present in Saturn's third-largest moon's exosphere (it's extended, tenuous atmosphere), and Cassini's hi-tech "nose" had sniffed it.
Obviously, the first thing that springs to mind when discussing oxygen is that it's a pretty important component for life on Earth. But Dione, a barren and icy world, possesses few attributes that would make it suitable for life as we know it.
Although it is known to be composed of significant quantities of water ice, there is no indication -- unlike sister Saturn moon Enceladus -- that there is any sub-surface aquifer of liquid water. Liquid water is key to the evolution of life.
So why is the discovery of oxygen in Dione's exosphere important? If Dione's got it, then perhaps its sibling moons also have it, giving us a tantalizing clue as to the possibility of life on the natural satellites around Saturn and Jupiter.
"Some of the other moons have liquid oceans and so it is worth looking more closely at them for signs of life," Andrew Coates, of University College London and lead scientist of the study, told BBC News.
It is thought the oxygen is being produced via interactions between Saturn's powerful radiation belts and Dione's water ice. The radiation breaks the water molecules down, liberating oxygen into the moon's exosphere.
This most recent discovery will no doubt give a boost to scientists lobbying for sending missions to the gas giant's satellites to search for alien life as, like the presence of liquid water, the presence oxygen could support microscopic lifeforms on other, more habitable moons.
The Cassini research has been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Source:Dnews

Apple Proclaims To Have Created 514,000 Jobs In 50 States

We all know the importance and value of Apple in US tech industry and in its overall economy as well. The company has recently updated its website and cites about 514,000 jobs creation in the US directly or in a support by Apple.
Out of this total of 514,000 approximately 45%, that is 210,000, individuals have directly employed by Apple for application development for iOS platform for App Store. The number of persons employed ranging job from engineering to transportation to manufacturing is cited 304,000. Out of which 47,000 work at Apple and 257,000 are recruited to other companies like Corning, UPS, and FedEx.
The site reads, “Throughout our history, Apple has created entirely new products and entirely new industries by focusing on innovation. As a result, we’ve created or supported more than 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers: from the engineer who helped invent the iPad to the delivery person who brings it to your door.”

New Facebook Privacy Row

Last week, facebook was criticized as third party content moderators in the developing world for $1/hour. It was exposed that the social network shares more personal information with moderators than it has so far acknowledged.

Facebook responded saying: “No user information beyond the content in question and the source of the report is shared.”


However, new evidence seen by The Telegraph, shows that these moderators, who have to deal with the distressing images and messages which are reported every day, and are clearly able to see the names of the person who uploaded the ‘offensive’ content, the subject of the image or person tagged in a photo - in addition to the person who has reported the content.


Moreover, there are currently no security measures in place stopping these moderators taking screen shots of people's personal photos, videos and posts.

The Quiet Girl by Peter Høeg

From the Publisher:
Set in Denmark in the here and now, The Quiet Girl centers around Kaspar Krone, a world-renowned circus clown with a deep love for the music of Johan Sebastian Bach, and an even deeper gambling debt. Wanted for tax evasion and on the verge of extradition, Krone is drafted into the service of a mysterious order of nuns who promise him reprieve from the international authorities in return for his help safeguarding a group of children with mystical abilities--abilities that Krone also shares. When one of the children goes missing, Krone sets off to find the young girl and bring her back, making a shocking series of discoveries along the way about her identity and the true intentions of his young wards. The result is a fast-paced, philosophical thriller blending social realism with the literary fantastic and pitting art and spirituality against corporate interests and nothing less than the will to war by the industrialized world. The Quiet Girl is a masterful, inventive novel that marks the triumphal return of one of the great writers of the international literary world.

Modern musician - Denison University Promotions

The college recently announced that four members of the faculty have been awarded tenure by the Board of Trustees and will be promoted to the rank of associate professor. This is the third in a four-part series highlighting the faculty earning tenure this year: Brenda Boyle, English; HyeKyung Lee, music; Jonathan Walley, cinema; and Lina Yoo, biology.

HyeKyung Lee is fascinated by new things, whether she discovers them or creates them herself. The assistant professor of music is a prolific composer and pianist, and delights in writing music for choirs, pianos, wind instruments, symphonic bands, string quartets, orchestras, brass quintets, fixed media, toy pianos and a litany of other instruments.

Her Romanza piece, written for piano and violin, was debuted recently by fellow faculty member Damien Mahiet and guest artist Angela Early at Burke Recital Hall. Now Lee is completing a new piece, A-ri-A-rang, commissioned by the Avion Saxophone Quartet. It will premier at The World Saxophone Congress XVI, in St. Andrews, Scotland in July. She also is composing the film music for the movie “We Could Be Your Parents” by Charlie Anderson, to be released this summer.

Growing up in Incheon, South Korea, Lee began piano lessons in elementary school and continued her musical interest at Yae Won Middle School and Seoul High School of Arts and Music, a three-hour commute each way for her every day. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Yon Sei University in 1983.

She came to the United States in 1986, where she earned a Master of Music in Composition in 1988 and a Certificate in Piano Performance at the University of Austin in 1992. Lee says her study there taught her to discover each note, make it different from the others, and give it the depth needed for her to become a successful composer. In 1998, she was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at the University of Texas.

Before joining Denison’s faculty in 2006, Lee was a visiting assistant professor at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Bowling Green State University and Ohio Wesleyan University. She also was composer-in-residence at Interlochen Arts Academy, University of Florida, Murray State University and University of Houston. She says she has found the perfect place at Denison with students who are creative, enthusiastic and interested in electronic as well as acoustic music.

Lee teaches courses in music theory, composition, conducting and orchestration and gives private lessons. Among her recent awards are the Renee B. Fisher Composers Award, the Uncaged Toy Piano Competition, the Athena Chamber Music Composers Competition and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composition Prize. Her compositions have been recorded by MSR Classics, Innova Recordings, Vienna Modern Masters, VoxNovus, Equilibrium and Capstone Records.

She also has contributed to Denison’s musical history, writing Fanfares for Brass Quintet for the Classes of 2011, 2012 and 2014; Awakening for the Denison University Orchestra; and Gust of Embers for violin, clarinet and piano for Associate Professor of Music Andy Carlson and former assistant professor Nicolas del Grazia.

Original source here.

Earlham College Women on the Ascent

“I was inspired to start a women’s climbing group because the open climbs are run by men, and there’s a lot of 'boy energy' circulating,” says junior Sarah Johnson. “That can be really intimidating and scary for a woman who is new to climbing or one who would like to try climbing for the first time.”

While rock climbing is largely a male dominated sport, Johnson says it is an activity that benefits women as well. Many women feel that they lack the upper body strength to climb rocks, but Johnson explains that climbing is not all about arm strength.

“There’s strength in flexibility, footwork and balance,” she says. “It’s a huge mental challenge as well. Rock climbing is a great way to build upper body strength and until that strength is developed there are techniques to overcome this.”

Rosa Freidrichs (l) and Sarah Johnson co-founded the women's rock climbing team.Johnson approached sophomore Rosa Friedrichs about starting the team, and the result is a group of 21 women who began meeting in January to build confidence and skills in a fun, safe and supportive atmosphere.

The group meets three times each week for two hours at Earlham’s Solomon Climbing Wall in the Athletics and Wellness Center. The women work to improve the technical skills associated with different kinds of climbing, and they do body strengthening and training exercises. The Team hopes to travel to and compete at area climbing walls later this semester. Competitions are based on completions of pre-designed routes.

During one Saturday session, lively music projected from the climbing room while onlookers and overflow watched the women scale routes known as Lucifer’s Inner Thigh and Mount Crumpit. On one end of the wall, two women were learning to belay, a safety technique where a person on the ground uses a harness and a locking device where the rope passes through to prevent the climber from falling very far on the wall.

“We have all abilities, but we have set some goals that we are intentionally working to reach together,” Johnson says. “Rock climbing is challenging for everyone whether you are muscular and fit or not. Through rock climbing, you can get to know the possibilities and limitations of your body really well, and you are often surprised by how far you can push yourself.”

Friedrichs says climbing has improved her fitness and confidence.

“Rock climbing is good for me because you have to have a lot of self determination, and it helps me practice perseverance,” she says. “It is very exciting. Rock climbing can be scary because the holds are slippery and small. Climbing is so personal. When it comes down to it, you have to make yourself believe you can do it.”

Johnson says a semester pass to the wall costs $25, and includes all the necessary equipment.

Read article at the original source here.

NTU Ph.D. Student Determined to Swim for National Team at London Olympics

Joey Chen, a Ph.D. student in the Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, is not just a serious scientist but a record-breaking Taiwanese swimmer determined to be chosen for Taiwan’s national team at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Chen, who set a record in Taiwan for the 200-meter breaststroke, represented Taiwan at the 2004 Olympics and the 2010 Asian Games.

Chen joined his school’s swimming team in the third grade because he thought it was fun. Gradually, he became a dedicated swimmer who even passed up the opportunity to attend one of Taiwan’s most prestigious high schools to continue his training at a school closer to home. During that time, he competed constantly in swim meets and worked with virtually every swimming coach in Taiwan.

Having trained six hours a day during high school, Chen admits he had a lot of catching up to do academically when he entered NTU as an undergraduate. Since then, he has divided his life into two parts--academics and swimming. Despite his sacrifices, Chen has no regrets. He says that as long as your goals are clear and you understand what is most important to you, everything will be all right. He is also fortunate to have the support and encouragement of his advisor Prof. Hsueh-fen Juan, who makes sure he finds time to hit the pool.

Chen manages to squeeze in only two hours of training per day these days. Still, his determination allowed him to win the gold medal in the 50-meter breaststroke at the 2011 National Games, and will be the key to his competing at the 2012 Olympics.

Read article at the original source here.

Students to Launch Campus Food Truck

Taking a cue from a culinary trend sweeping through cities across the country, three Bowdoin students will soon open a food truck on campus to feed late-night bookworms and revelers.

"Food trucks are making a big splash in New York City right now," Steve Borukhin '14 said. "It's the latest craze."

Borukhin, an economics major, is partnering with Eric Edelman '13, an economics and history major, and Isaac Brower '13, a psychology major, to open CampusFoodTrucks, Inc. by early March. All three students have a keen interest in food: Borukhin has worked in the restaurant business; Edelman says he likes experimenting with recipes; and Brower, who's from Camden, Maine, already owns his own successful food cart in Rockland, Maine.


They also share an interest in making CampusFoodTrucks take off at Bowdoin, and then expanding their business to other schools. "The business model is easily replicated on other campuses," Edelman said. He added, too, that they were inspired by the call President Barry Mill made for entrepreneurship in his Baccalaureate address last spring. "That resonated with us and it seemed that the administration would support us," he said.

CampusFoodTrucks will be open 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the Farley Field House parking lot, and could at some point be stationed in the Smith Union parking lot for special occasions. Edelman says he's confident students will make the trek to the truck to satisfy late-night cravings. "There's a complaint from students, both who drink and don't drink, that there aren't enough things to do late at night. We feel like we can fill a void," he said.

Brower said he believes the truck could become a Bowdoin institution. "My hopes are that it's profitable and becomes embedded into campus life and becomes a big part of the school," he said.

The three co-owners plan to hire student employees to help cook and run the register.

After applying for local and state permits and getting the go-ahead from the college administration, the trio this winter turned to the challenge of getting the truck onto campus, hooking it up to a power source, and setting up the kitchen. The truck belongs to Brower, who with a friend has operated Duo's Takeout in Rockland for the last three summers. Duo's Takeout caters to tourists and sells seafood, such as fried haddock, lobster rolls, and fish n' chips. Because Brower supplied the truck, Edelman and Borukhin took on the responsibility of rounding up venture capital, mostly from family and friends, Edelman explained.

Following the truck's arrival in mid-February, Edelman and Borukhin began testing recipes. Brower will be studying abroad this semester in Australia, leaving the management and cooking to his partners. The menu so far includes burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, a Caesar wrap, french fries, onion rings, grilled cheese, falafel, grilled chicken and CampusFoodTrucks's signature sandwich, the CFT, a grilled cheese stuffed with chicken tenders and bacon. Occasional specials might include fried Oreos and poutine, Edelman said.

The plan is to break even by the end of this semester, Edelman said. "We're not doing this because we want to be profitable or make money from our friends. We want to create a successful business — something that we can be proud of and Bowdoin can be proud of."

Read article at the university website here.