Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Speedlinking 5/23/07

Quote of the day:

"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."
~ Charles Bukowski

Image of the day:



BODY
~ Exercise Reverses Signs Of Ageing - "Scientists in Canada suggest that twice weekly sessions of resistance exercise training using standard gym equipment can reverse the signs of ageing in the skeletal muscles of the over 65s.You can read the full text of their article in the new Public Library of Science's international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication PLoS One."
~ Experimental Biology 2007 -- "Highlights of any science conference make great reading (lots and lots of short factoids that make you either the hit or the bore of your next dinner party) and this one is no exception. Read it for some instant smarts."
~ Some Vitamin Supplements Don't Protect Against Lung Cancer -- "A study of more than 75,000 adults found that taking supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C and E and folate do not decrease the risk of lung cancer. The findings were reported at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference."
~ Red Wine Protects The Prostate, From The Harvard Men's Health Watch -- "Researchers have found that men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine, reports the June 2007 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch. In addition, red wine appears particularly protective against advanced or aggressive cancers."
~ Avoiding Weight Loss Supplement Scams -- "With so many scams hitting us via media ads and spam email every day, it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of weight loss scams on the market today. Here are some tips to help you separate what is real from fiction when it comes to claims that a product will help you lose weight."
~ Fish oil plus exercise may banish body fat -- "People looking to shed body fat might want to follow their workouts with a few capsules of fish oil, if preliminary research is correct."
~ Light Drinking May Keep Dementia at Bay -- "People with mild cognitive impairment may slow their mental decline if they have up to one alcoholic drink a day, a new Italian study suggests."


PSYCHE
~ New Neurons in Old Brains Exhibit Babylike Plasticity -- "Researchers have identified a "critical period" during which new nerve cells in adult brains have the same capacity to learn as those in developing brains."
~ 71% Report Depression Decrease After Green Walk, 22% Report Depression Increase After Urban Walk -- "Leading mental health charity Mind today launches a groundbreaking new report (1) which sets a new green agenda for mental health. With a mass of new and growing evidence, Mind calls for ecotherapy to be recognised as a clinically-valid frontline treatment for mental health problems."
~ Slacker? You can change your personality -- "Can a Type-A overachiever become a slacker? How about the guy who can't hold down a job to save his life-could he transform into an adrenaline-pumping go-getter? A leading expert in personality psychology says yes: Personality can change."
~ Magnets may make the brain grow stronger -- "Stimulating the brain with a magnetic coil appears to promote growth of new neurons - possibly leading to treatments for brain diseases."
~ 6-Week Study In Adults With Major Depressive Disorder Evaluates Effectiveness Of Adjunctive Aripiprazole Therapy With Antidepressants -- "In adults with major depressive disorder, adding aripiprazole to antidepressant therapy (ADT) resulted in significant improvement in the primary endpoint, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) Total Score."
~ The story of your life -- "The New York Times has an interesting piece on an often neglected area of psychology that looks at the significance of the stories we use to explain our lives to ourselves and others. A small but active area of research called 'narrative psychology' has been examining how we make and use stories about our experiences for some years now."
~ Good Grief: Coping After Loss -- "Recovering from loss is an individual matter."
~ Yoga may help depresssion and anxiety -- "I've always preferred dancing to the stillness of yoga but the latest findings of Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital suggest Yoga is a safe and natural remedy for depression and anxiety. It may not cure moderate to severe depression and anxiety, but it could be helpful for anyone who wants to make lifestyle changes to reduce depression and anxiety."
~ Oprah confronts the limits of her self-help philosophy -- "The Secret, a wildly successful self-help book-turned-infomercial (or is it the other way around?), is the object of a severe critique by John Gravois in last week's Culturebox. Prodded by some recent backpedalling from Oprah (who had previously endorsed The Secret on her show), Gravois fanned the flames of a nascent backlash against this latest cultural fad."


CULTURE/POLITICS
~ Why the FDA stumbles on drug safety -- "How does a drug go from blockbuster to bust? How can big safety issues go undetected in medicines taken by millions of people for many years, as happened this week with the diabetes pill Avandia and a few years ago with the painkiller Vioxx?"
~ Youth's Attitudes About Women's Roles Influenced By Many Family Factors -- "By the time they are adults, men and women have distinctive attitudes about the roles women should play in society, but little is known about how these views develop. A Penn State study tracked youth's attitudes for most of the school age and adolescent years and found varying patterns of change according to gender, birth order, parent's influences and other factors."
~ The U.S. Seen Through Muslim Eyes -- "When it comes to renovating America's image in the greater Islamic world, the news is not getting any better."
~ Ban Kept for Gay Men Donating Blood -- "Gay men remain banned for life from donating blood, the government said Wednesday, leaving in place - for now - a 1983 prohibition meant to prevent the spread of HIV through transfusions." Shameful.
~ How to Save Soccer -- "David Beckham's nice but soccer needs a proper villain. Soccer needs Jose Mourinho."
~ The Notion: You Have The Power! -- "When are Democrats in Congress going to start acting like they're in the majority?"
~ Kucinich on ‘The Truth About Oil and Iraq’ -- "Congressman Dennis Kucinich commandeered the House floor for an hour Wednesday to discuss “in detail the Congressional and White House efforts to privatize the oil of Iraq.” Before he spoke, he announced the speech in a public e-mail. The talk is excerpted here."
~ An Evolving Debate about Evolution -- "Discussion of Darwin's theory moves to the national level."


HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ The Plastic Poisons That Surround Us -- "Plastics may indeed have been the "wave of the future" for industry some 40 years ago, but we're paying for it dearly with our health today, thanks to all the exposure our bodies endure from petroleum-based industrial chemicals contained in plastic from things most people take for granted like bottled water."
~ Intel Vows to Strip Lead From Processors -- "Intel Corp. says it is stripping out the tiny amount of lead still contained in its chips."
~ Hurricanes Complicated by Warming -- "The link between climate change and weather appears more complex than thought."
~ Hydrogen Breakthrough Could Open the Road to Carbon-Free Cars -- "UK scientists have developed a compound of the element lithium that may make it practical for hydrogen fuel cell cars to drive more than 300 miles before refuelling."
~ Japanese scientists explore pluripotency -- "Japanese scientists have discovered how pluripotency -- the ability of stem cells to differentiate into other cell types -- is regulated."
~ Michael Crichton: “Aliens Cause Global Warming” -- " Recently, my attention was directed to a speech by Michael Crichton, given at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, on January 17, 2003. I was told that, while this speech contained some of the usual fallacious skeptical arguments, there were also somewhat convincing ones. So, I’ve given it a read, and I’d like to address Crichton’s arguments."


INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ Dharma Talks online -- "San Francisco Zen Center's online library of Dharma Talks in MP3 format for download. Check it out."
~ Subjective Realism and Phenomenal Consciousness -- "I found this essay by Owen Flanagan on subjective realism and phenomenal consciousness today. I believe it is actually an excerpt from his book The Problem of the Soul. I was re-reading a section on subjective realism in that book the other night and this essay sounded like the same text."
~ What is expected, what is required? -- "When you recite the Bodhisattva vows, what is expected? What is required? I am going to put it right out there that you should not take my pondering of these questions at face value. If you really need an answer to this, please(!) seek out a Dharma teacher such as a Buddhist monk or priest."
~ BLOG: Meta-Genius: A Celebration of Ken’s Writings (Part 2) -- "Meta-Genius: A Celebration of Ken." Uh, yeah.
~ The MANY as the ONE -- Andrew Cohen -- "We just had an incredible weekend here in our home/21st-century ashram/evolutionary pressure cooker/rocket ship to the future."


1 comment:

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