Clipmarks | Live Clips

Genetic Protection against Sleep Deprivation

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:18:49 GMT

clipped by: chestnut501
clipper's remarks: Why the lack of sleep doesn't hurt some people as much as it does others.

Clip Source: www.scientificamerican.com

Numerous studies have shown that lack of sleep hurts—it can lead to weight gain, diseases, and of course weakened cognitive functioning. But a bad night’s sleep doesn’t hurt everyone equally. Unlike me, some people can think clearly no matter what. A study published June 24th in The Journal of Neuroscience helps explain why.

Scientists looked for a genetic marker called Period 3 known to predict the effects of sleep deprivation. People with short versions of the gene do okay when they lose sleep. But the longer gene leads to suffering with lack of sleep.

Researchers tested attention and cognition before and after both good and bad nights’ sleeps. Those with the long Period 3 had poor function in the part of the brain that would usually spring to life. Even after a decent night, the long-gene people had reduced brain activity towards the end of the day. But folks with the short gene did better, and their brains even pulled in extra assistance from surrounding brain areas.

Tags: science, genetics, genetic-marker, sleep-deprivation, neuroscience, brain, genes, cognitive-functioning

5 Very Weird URL Shorteners

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:51:33 GMT

clipped by: clip-on-tie
clipper's remarks: clipmarks.com with crispy bacon: http://bacn.me/8gt

Clip Source: mashable.com

DickensURL

Inspired by a comment from Reddit, DickensURL is probably the weirdest URL shortener we’ve seen. It turns URLs into (often lengthy) Charles Dickens quotes. Is it useful? No. Will it suddenly give you the urge to read Dickens? Maybe. Will it be treasured by hundreds of geeks to be used in that one situation where the Dickensian quote will fit perfectly as an uber-geeky meta-joke? Definitely.

ICanHaz

This service works pretty much the same as other URL shorteners. However, it uses lolcats language on the site.

Bacn.me

It’s just a regular URL shortener as far as functionality goes, but it’s…baconized. And that, my friends, is reason enough to use it.

Tinyarro.ws

By using Unicode, tinyarro.ws displays shortest possible URLs. They really are short, but they also look so weird that they’ll probably scare most people you send them to.

HugeURL

You want an enormously, inexplicably, flabbergastingly HUGE URL. You ask, and HugeURL delivers;

I’d paste one, but it would mess the entire page

Tags: urls, websites, fun, url shorteners

A lesson on "War Socialism" by peak oil analyst

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:23:32 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: His preference is for global cooperation to manage the declining resources. The alternative to global cooperation he calls the growing trend towards "war socialism." It's principles are described in the clip.

Clip Source: energybulletin.net

Hanson believes that the most likely

trajectory for humanity is a massive dieoff that will claim the lives of 90 percent of the human inhabitants of the Earth. Absent the kind of cooperation Hanson would like to see in managing the coming decline, the only rational strategy may be for one's own country to work to outcompete other countries.

he describes a form of governance which might become the only viable one in the coming age of scarcity unless we can muster unprecedented global cooperation to manage the decline

Here are the basic principles

Increase our fraction of global net energy

directly by military action

Reduce energy demand by reducing human population levels

Plant “Victory Gardens” throughout the country

Heavy funding for basic energy research

No more permits for fossil fuel power plants

Full-on conservation, local energy production to minimize grid vulnerabilities, and a crash alternate energy production program

Free mass transit

streamline permitting

for alternate energy

Tags: government, energy, war, socialism, scarcity

Obama in Cairo: Ich Bin Ein Muslimer

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:19:59 GMT

clipped by: Johanna_G

Clip Source: www.firstthings.com

Our empathy President is now our theologian-in-chief. He has gone to Cairo like President Kennedy went to Berlin, to make a political point about human solidarity. Kennedy, of course, was expressing solidarity with West Germany shortly after the Soviet backed communist regime in East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. Years later President Reagan went to Berlin to tell the Soviets, “Tear down this wall!” Obama has gone to Cairo with something more like a civis Romanus sum in mind rather than a challenge to a repressive regime. The new Roman order, however, is not led by any one country. It is founded in tolerance and understanding, beginning with tolerance for Muslims and understanding for their way of life. Obama went to Cairo to console, not challenge. Under Obama, the son of a Muslim, we are all Muslims now.

The first step in this remarkable analysis is to blame tensions between the United States and Muslims on colonialism and the Cold War.

Tags: obama, muslims

Tropical Rainfall Moving North

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:38:49 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: "We're talking about the most prominent rainfall feature on the planet, one that many people depend on as the source of their freshwater because there is no groundwater to speak of where they live," said Julian Sachs, associate professor of oceanography at the University of Washington and lead author of the paper. "In addition many other people who live in the tropics but farther afield from the Pacific could be affected because this band of rain shapes atmospheric circulation patterns throughout the world."

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

The band of heavy precipitation indicates the intertropical convergence zone. The new findings are based on sediment cores from lakes and lagoons on Palau, Washington, Christmas and Galapagos islands. Credit: University of Washington

Earth's most prominent rain band, near the equator, has been moving north at an average rate of almost a mile (1.4 km) a year for three centuries, likely because of a warming world, scientists say.

The band supplies fresh water to almost a billion people and affects climate elsewhere.

While water is increasingly becoming a hot commodity around the globe, there is no global water shortage. Human demand for water has tripled in the past 50 years, by some estimates. Yet Earth has essentially as much water now as ever — about 360 quintillion gallons.

Rather, human populations put ever more pressure on local and regional water resources, which in some cases

are dwindling with climate change. The water still exists, it just gets dumped elsewhere.

Tags: climate change

BNP Reduced to Begging for Cash

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:23:57 GMT

clipped by: foxyarse
clipper's remarks: One former BNP member, who chose to remain anonymous, exclusively revealed that Nick Griffin has even resorted to prostitution in a vain attempt to raise enough cash for his Fourth Reich dream. The source said, "Nick's been doing his best. He's been working round the back end of Plymouth's Union Street offering sexual favours. He was doing alright till that Nigerian ship's company 'pulled a train' on him. It left him with an arse like Blackwall Tunnel, and nearly put him out of business. Last I heard, he'd popped out his glass eye and was charging drunk sailors £5 for a wink".

Clip Source: www.thespoof.com

BNP Reduced to Begging for Cash

Documents leaked to me have revealed that the far-right British Nazi National Party are so desperately short of funds that they have resorted to begging.

BNP organisers have sent members emails with desperate pleas for small donations, and memos have been sent to all activists suggesting methods of raising cash to 'keep going towards our ultimate goal'.

The memo, which was leaked to me, advises BNP members on a number of options to raise cash, and has the following suggestions quoted below:

When mugging someone, make sure they're Asian or Jewish, They've normally got plenty of cash.

Busking can be a good way of raising small donations

When canvassing on the doorstep, remember to ask for donations. And if one isn't forthcoming, punch the coon-loving pinko in the face and take their car.

How about sponsored events? A sponsored walk,perhaps, or a sponsored cross burning. Perhaps shave your head? Oh, wait....

Tags: bnp, nazis

New flu may not spread like regular flu -studies

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:31:44 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: Tumpey's team found mutations that let the new H1N1 virus live in the small intestine -- something seasonal influenza cannot do. This may explain why so many swine flu patients have stomach upsets such as nausea and diarrhea, the researchers said.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - The new H1N1 influenza strain may be just a little less catching than seasonal flu, but seems a little better able to cause stomach upsets, researchers reported on Thursday.

Researchers in the Netherlands, meanwhile, found it lives very well in the nose and their findings suggest it has the ability to stay around for a long time -- and get worse.

Although flu season usually ends in April in the Northern Hemisphere, the new virus is still causing widespread illness and it is actively in the mix of seasonal flu viruses now circulating during the Southern Hemisphere's winter.

He said health officials should keep an eye out for it, as the change may signal the virus is gaining the ability to spread more quickly and easily than it already does. Researchers are also watching for signs the virus has developed mutations that allow it to resist antiviral drugs -- and have found two instances so far, one in Japan and one in Denmark.

Tags: diseases

Now you'll know when it's safe to pee during a movie

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:42:07 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: we've all been there. all you need is an iphone...

Clip Source: welovecrowds.com

Here’s the idea: you’re watching a movie in the theater and need to take a restroom break, but you don’t want to miss the best part. The RunPee iPhone app has a timer letting you know when it’s safe to take a break, and gives you a summary of what you missed upon your return.

Tags: iphone, movie, peeing

Jon Stewart Blasts Glenn Beck & Michael Scheuer For Promoting Slaughter Of Americans (VIDEO)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:34:45 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Beck, of course, has launched some campaign called the 9/12 Project, in which he beseeches Americans to start being the people they were on September 12th. I gather now that when Beck says that, he'd saying he'd like many of us to be like the people on September 12th who were scorched into ashes by Osama bin Laden.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Hey, you remember a couple of days ago when Michael Scheuer appeared on the "Glenn Beck Whirligig Of Freakjuice" to talk about border security, and he said that "the only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States." And then Glenn Beck was all up inside Osama bin Laden's head like he was the star of "CSI: Methamphetaminetown," gravely noting, "Which is why I was thinking this weekend if I were him, that would be the last thing I would do right now."

Remember that? Well, I think we can all say that reasoned discourse was perfected that day. I think the next time I see someone on the streets caught out in the rain, I'm just going to march up to them and yell, "What's it going to take, jerkface? Another HURRICANE KATRINA? Before you remember your fracking umbrella?"

Tags: glenn, chciken, little, beck, wants, to, nuke, america, talk-hate, media

PIX

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:00:48 GMT

clipped by: ofcapri

Clip Source: us.mc342.mail.yahoo.com

Tags: pix

Sea Ice Lowest in 800 Years

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:10:22 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

By LiveScience Staff

Sea ice levels are the lowest in 800 years. Credit: NASA/GSFC

A reconstruction of sea ice reveals the lowest levels in 800 years, according to new research published in the journal Climate Dynamics.

Researchers modeled sea ice levels between Greenland and Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of Europe, from the 13th century to present using data from a natural climate "archive" and from historic human records.

Sea ice melting and re-freezing is a complicated process that is influenced by a number of factors such as wind patterns, ocean currents, and how much ice has frozen or melted in recent years. The authors did not point to any causes for the changes in sea ice levels in their study.

The scientists noted that even though the 13th century was a relatively warm period and ice levels were low then, 20th century sea ice levels are still the lowest. The "Little Ice Age," from 1700 to 1800 had the greatest cover of sea ice, according to their data.

Biological 'Fountain Of Youth' Found In New World Bat Caves

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:51:32 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: more (at source): Asish and colleagues made their discovery by extracting proteins from the livers of two long-lived bat species (Tadarida brasiliensis and Myotis velifer) and young adult mice and exposed them to chemicals known to cause protein misfolding. After examining the proteins, the scientists found that the bat proteins exhibited less damage than those of the mice, indicating that bats have a mechanism for maintaining proper structure under extreme stress.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (July 1, 2009) — Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history—significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice.

"Ultimately we are trying to discover what underlying mechanisms allow for some animal species to live a very long time with the hope that we might be able to develop therapies that allow people to age more slowly," said Asish Chaudhuri, Professor of Biochemistry, VA Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas and the senior researcher involved in the work.

Tags: bats, 'fountain of youth'

Basilica of St. John Lateran

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:56:42 GMT

clipped by: Efrain Alvarado

Clip Source: cathcandy.wordpress.com

I almost forgot we were still in the middle of a series on the Archbasilicas! St John Lateran is the oldest of the four patriarchal basilicas in Rome, and the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the pope. It was consecrated in 324 by Pope Sylvester I. As the cathedral of Rome, it stands as the cathedral of the world, the seat of all Christianity. The faithful of Rome are very blessed to have it as their cathedral! It has been the site of five Ecumenical councils and was the home to every pope from Miltiades the African to the time of Clement V’s move to Avignon.

The cathedra (Lat. “throne, teacher’s chair”) of the cathedral, it is quite literally the seat of Christianity in the world.

A close look reveals that papal imagery is found everywhere in the Lateran Basilica:

A rare find, a bearded angel:

St. Bartholomew holds up his skin, peeled off at his martyrdom:

Tags: church, cathedral

The Coming Insurrection - A leftist call to arms

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:36:32 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: I'm telling you..these people are nuts. Fascists, Communists, Progressives..whatever. They are the same thing and they are twisted idiots. More from article: Hot-wired to the movement of '77 in Italy, its preferred historical reference point, The Coming Insurrection formulates an ethics that takes as its starting point theft, sabotage, the refusal to work, and the elaboration of collective, self-organized forms-of-life. It is a philosophical statement that addresses the growing number of those"in France, in the United States, and elsewhere"who refuse the idea that theory, politics, and life are separate realms.

Clip Source: mitpress.mit.edu

Thirty years of "crisis," mass unemployment, and flagging growth, and they still want us to believe in the economy. . . . We have to see that the economy is itself the crisis. It's not that there's not enough work, it's that there is too much of it.

—from The Coming Insurrection

The Coming Insurrection is an eloquent call to arms arising from the recent waves of social contestation in France and Europe. Written by the anonymous Invisible Committee in the vein of Guy Debord—and with comparable elegance—it has been proclaimed a manual for terrorism by the French government (who recently arrested its alleged authors). One of its members more adequately described the group as "the name given to a collective voice bent on denouncing contemporary cynicism and reality." The Coming Insurrection is a strategic prescription for an emergent war-machine to "spread anarchy and live communism."

Understanding does not diminish Awe

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:52:50 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: "The religious experience is, at best, a stunted variety of this feeling. Awe without understanding, or at least the desire for understanding, degenerates into mysticism: viewing a mystery not as a challenge to be solved, but something to be worshipped for its own sake. Mysticism states that ignorance is a desirable condition, a state we should glory in. This attitude only keeps us frightened and ignorant, and worst of all, robs us of the deeper and more genuine awe that comes with comprehension. I say, let us explore. There may be problems too high or too deep for us, mysteries we cannot penetrate - but so far, we haven't found any, and if there are any, they will not need to be protected from our investigations."

Clip Source: www.daylightatheism.org

Moving Beyond Awe

The nineteenth-century German theologian Rudolf Otto, in his book The Idea of the Holy, popularized the term "numinous", an adjective describing the sense of mystery and wonder that purportedly stems from the presence of a deity. According to Otto, the sense of the numinous had two main characteristics: the mysterium tremendum, the sense of fear and trembling that comes from the presence of that which is wholly other, and the mysterium fascinas, the sense of fascination and curiosity that such an experience evokes.

Otto's theology concisely sums up the categories of religious experience. But the problem with his conception of the numinous is that it lacks one very important quality - understanding.

For Otto, as for many theists, the numinous is not something we should seek to comprehend.

there is no mention of penetrating the mystery

pulling back the curtain of our ignorance

what humanity has been doing throughout its history: piercing the mysteries that surround us

Tags: atheism, religion, understanding, awe