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 Calorie Restriction and Life ExtensionCalorie restriction (CR), a diet known by many names, is the practice of limiting dietary energy intake with the intention of improving overall health and slowing the aging process. While caloric intake among practitioners is limited, care is taken to ensure that dieters receive adequate vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. CR has been shown to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting glucose in human subjects. What are some of the criticisms of this diet? More... |
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 Beijing Controls Weather with RocketsMore than 100 people and 3 aircraft will be on standby during the Beijing Olympics to manipulate the weather should storms threaten the Games’ opening ceremony. Officials have been developing an advanced system to protect spectators at this summer’s games from the elements and will employ a weather controlling system that will, ideally, drain the humidity from the clouds before they reach Beijing. Rockets and cannons will be used to shoot silver iodide, which is highly insoluble in water and can concentrate moisture, at approaching clouds in an effort to make them rain before reaching the roofless stadium. More on the subject... |
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 Ice Cream Stick Viking Ship Sets SailUS-born stuntman Robert McDonald, his son, and more than 5,000 children took part in the assembly of a 50-foot (15-meter) long Viking ship made entirely of recycled ice cream sticks. The project required 15 million of the wooden dessert sticks and created a seaworthy vessel that set sail for England from the Netherlands on Tuesday. The ship, named for the Norse god Thor, is laden with a cargo of children’s toys that will be distributed to sick children in London’s hospitals. McDonald says he undertook the project to teach children that anything is possible if you dream it. More on the subject... |
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 AstrobiologyAstrobiology, also called exobiology, combines aspects of astronomy, biology, and geology in an interdisciplinary study of life in space. According to astrobiologists, the search for extraterrestrial life throughout the universe is governed by 6 basic parameters that determine whether an environment can support life: temperature, pressure, salinity, acidity, water availability, and oxygen content. Which 3 planetary bodies, located within our solar system, are best equipped to sustain life? More... |
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 Having a Husband Means Extra HouseworkIn 1976, women performed an average of 26 hours of housework a week, while men averaged a mere 6. Household roles have since evolved, yet a new study has found that marital status significantly affects the amount of housework women do each week—and not necessarily for the better. Young single women take it easy, performing only 12 hours of household chores each week, but being married adds another 7 hours to the load. Married men, meanwhile, save an hour of housework each week. The situation worsens as women have children, with mothers of three spending an average of 28 hours a week washing, cooking, and cleaning. More on the subject... |
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 Weightless Wonders"Vomit Comet" is a nickname for any airplane that briefly provides passengers with a nearly weightless environment by following a parabolic vertical flight path. The aircraft mimics the trajectory of an object in free-fall and therefore does not exert any g-force on its contents. As a result, passengers have zero apparent weight relative to the aircraft. According to the director of the Reduced Gravity Research Program, what percentage of passengers on zero-g flights becomes violently ill? More... |
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 Two-Faced Baby Born in IndiaA baby girl born one month ago in northern India is being hailed as the reincarnation of Durga, the three-eyed Hindu goddess of valor. She was born with a rare congenital disorder known as craniofacial duplication, a condition in which the facial features are duplicated. In baby Lali’s case, two complete faces are set between her two ears—she has two noses, two pairs of lips, and two pairs of eyes. According to medical reports, Lali can drink from both of her mouths and opens and shuts all four eyes at the same time. Hundreds of pilgrims flock to Lali’s rural hometown of Saini Sunpura each day to touch the infant’s feet, offer money, and receive blessings. More on the subject... |
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 Binge Drinking Damages Developing BrainsPrevious studies have shown that binge drinking can impair a person’s memories of past events, and now a new study is showing that teens who binge drink continue to be forgetful and absent-minded days after consuming large quantities of alcohol. Researchers in the UK observed 60 students aged 17 to 19—a period during which the brain is still developing—testing the participants 3 to 4 days after a drinking session. The teens were asked to memorize a list of actions they would witness in a short video. After the video ended, the binge drinkers recalled up to one-third less items than their non-binging counterparts. More on the subject... |
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 A Coffee a Day Keeps the Doctor AwayResearchers studying the effects of caffeine on the blood-brain barrier—a membrane that prevents chemicals in the bloodstream from entering brain tissue—have found that the bitter alkaloid can protect the brain from the damaging effects of cholesterol. Previous studies have shown that cholesterol can make the barrier "leaky," and Alzheimer's researchers suggest that this condition may make the brain vulnerable to damage that can contribute to dementia. The study found that rabbits fed a high-cholesterol diet and given the daily caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee had more intact blood-brain barriers than their non caffeine-consuming counterparts. More on the subject... |
