Clipmarks | Kelika's clips

Sharpie Art

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:51:57 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.justineashbee.com

Tags: art

Creepy Old Ads

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:48:04 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: weirdynews.blogspot.com

Tags: humor

Air Pollution May Increase Risk Of Appendicitis

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:20:33 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Dr. Kaplan and his colleagues identified more than 5,000 adults who were hospitalized for appendicitis in Calgary between 1999 and 2006. The team used data from Environment Canada's National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) monitors that collect hourly levels of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter of varying sizes. Regression analysis was used to evaluate whether short-term daily changes in air pollution levels were related to the development of appendicitis.

When researchers compared the 5-day average of ozone concentrations prior to admission to the hospital, patients were approximately 15 percent more likely to be hospitalized for appendicitis on days of highest ozone concentrations compared to days of lowest ozone concentrations. Similar findings were seen for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter, though with lower effect.

Tags: health

Impact Of Geology On The U.S. Civil War: War From The Ground Up

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:18:43 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: Whisonant and Ehlen also studied the terrain at Antietam, the site of the bloodiest battle in the Civil War, where on 17 September 1862 up to 23,100 soldiers were killed, wounded, or declared missing. "What's so striking at Antietam," says Whisonant, is that "two geologic units underlie [that area]. One is a very, very pure limestone that as it erodes it literally melts. Mostly what you get with that is a very even, level, open surface -- there just aren't a lot of deep holes and high hills that give soldiers a place to hide." On one area of this flat surface, known as Miller's Cornfield, "armies just shot each other to pieces until absolute exhaustion set in."

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Whisonant and Ehlen examined the geomorphology of several battlefields and compared the terrain to known casualties for each day of fighting. The question, says Whisonant, is whether a correlation exists between the geology of the battlefield and casualties taken there. For some battles in the Civil War, the story told by the shape of the land is clear: soldiers were at greater risk in some areas because the underlying geology created a more dangerous terrain.

"Gettysburg is a good example where the Union had the high ground, but one disadvantage was the hard rock that forms that high ground is so close to the surface that the soldiers couldn’t dig trenches." They were open targets for artillery assault by the Confederates. But the disadvantage didn’t just go one way: "Those Confederate soldiers had to go up an open slope formed on more erodible rock with nothing to get behind when they finally had to attack."

Tags: civil war, geology

Antisocial Behavior May Be Caused By Low Stress Hormone Levels

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:27:58 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: "The differences between participants with severe antisocial behaviour and those without were most marked under stressful conditions. While the average adolescents showed large increases in the amount of cortisol during the frustrating situation, cortisol levels actually went down in those with severe antisocial behaviour.

These results suggest that antisocial behaviour may be more biologically-based than previously considered, just as some individuals are more vulnerable to depression or anxiety due to their biological make-up."

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Levels of cortisol in the body usually increase when people undergo a stressful experience, such as public speaking, sitting an exam, or having surgery. It enhances memory formation and is thought to make people behave more cautiously and to help them regulate their emotions, particularly their temper and violent impulses.

The new research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, shows that adolescents with severe antisocial behaviour do not exhibit the same increase in cortisol levels when under stress as those without antisocial behaviour. These findings suggest that antisocial behaviour, at least in some cases, may be seen as a form of mental illness that is linked to physiological symptoms (involving a chemical imbalance of cortisol in the brain and body).

Reduced levels of the 'stress hormone' cortisol has been linked to antisocial behaviour in male adolescents. (Credit: iStockphoto)

Tags: stress, mental health

Sled Dogs - How do they keep running?

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:25:10 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: Magnificent animals!

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Lead dogs heading out of Willow at the start of Iditarod 2007. It is unclear how these racing dogs can keep running, despite heavy blizzards, temperatures as low as –40°F, and winds up to 60 mph. No other animal has been found to come close to the physiological attributes these dogs display. (Credit: iStockphoto/Matt Cooper)

Rapid Adaptation to Exercise and Endurance

Enormous Aerobic Capacity

Using A High-Fat Diet to Fuel Exercise

The mechanisms that make these four-legged athletes premiere in performance is still unknown. Dr. Davis theorizes that it may involve the regulation of extremely thin membranes in the muscle fibers and changes in the cells that are responsible for the body’s energy production. “These are one-of-a-kind athletes. What we learn from them will undoubtedly tell us a lot about human performance as well.”

Tags: dogs

British commander says war in Afghanistan cannot be won

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:22:34 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.newsdaily.com

LONDON, Oct. 5, 2008 (Reuters) — Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.

"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.

But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.

Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.

Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Breast Cancer Cells Recycle To Escape Death By Hormonal Therapy

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:20:27 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: "She'll now look for ways to block macroautophagy in an animal model, including using chloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria. "We know patients can take it with few side effects," she says. If it works in animals, the drug, in combination with an antiestrogen, could move relatively quickly into human testing."

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

About 70 percent of breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormone estrogen, which acts as a nutrient and stimulates their growth. Patients typically get an antiestrogen such as tamoxifen for five years to try to starve them to death

"About 50 to 60 percent of these women really benefit from hormonal therapy," says Dr. Schoenlein. Why others don't has been asked for at least two decades.

One reason may be breast cancer cells switch into a survival mode that normal cells also use when faced with starvation,

It's called macroautophagy – autophagy means "self eating" – and within a week, breast cancer cells can reorganize component parts, degrade non-essentials and live in this state until antiestrogen therapy is stopped or the cells mutate and resume proliferation in the presence of tamoxifen.

Tags: cancer

TED Prize for Documenting Images of War, Disease and Political Unrest

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:00:18 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: "Nachtwey: One of the purposes of journalism is to create awareness. If we're not aware of something, we can't deal with it. Tuberculosis has a cure. If you take action on TB, you will get results."

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Last year, acclaimed war photographer James Nachtwey was honored with the 2007 Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Prize for his work documenting images of war, disease and political unrest across the globe for over 25 years.

James' wish was to share an underreported worldwide story, prove the power of news photography in the digital age and raise awareness about a global health issue that has the potential to become a worldwide pandemic — Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB).

Clip Source: www.wired.com

The conditions of poverty are a breeding ground for TB. If your immune system becomes lowered, TB is like a predator. It remains latent until the immune system is depressed. And it attacks the weak. Even if the medication exists in certain places, people have to get to the medication, or the medication has to get to them.

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Tags: tb, poverty, disease

Colbert for President

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:26:55 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Here's the good news: Stephen Colbert is running for president in the Marvel Universe. And, according to Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, the unhinged television superstar is gaining serious momentum.

Here's the bad news: He's not doing the same in the real world. Mark Waid, The Amazing Spider-Man writer who assimilated the faux newscaster/White House wannabe into issue No. 573 of the comic book, thinks we could use a Colbert presidency more than we could use a Palin vice presidency.

"Despite what a frightening number of red-staters seem to think," Waid said, "as impressive as it is, being able to field-dress a moose is not a superpower."

Truthiness, on the other hand, might be. Wired.com caught up with the two comics rascals, long before they had their morning coffee, to talk Colbert, Spidey, the 2008 election and why Quesada won't work blue. The Colbert issue of Amazing Spider-Man hits streets Oct. 15.

Beauty in Decay

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:33:46 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.darkroastedblend.com

Desolate places with a soul

Mystery Cage at an abandoned Asylum. "I don't know what was the cage was originally for, but a tree has grown up through the middle of it, and ivy surrounds it." -

Tags: photos

Now this is a Rose Garden!

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:00:50 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

A tour of florist Jacob Maarse's 3-acre rose garden

Now he has between 3,000 and 3,500 bushes and significantly less lawn.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Tags: flowers, gardens

NRA ramps up ad campaign against Obama

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:53:40 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: "The pro-gun group is claiming that Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history. But in the view of many Californians, his stand might not be such a bad thing. The state has led efforts to restrict military-style semiautomatic weapons, large magazines and the sale of cheap handguns most often used in robberies."

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

The National Rifle Assn. is turning up the volume in its campaign against Barack Obama, airing more ads about his record on guns. Starting as early as Sunday, new spots will air in battlegrounds including Ohio, Virginia and Florida.

The NRA already has spots in Colorado, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. Some use Obama's line, uttered at a San Francisco fundraiser, about "bitter" people clinging to their guns. Obama's attorneys sent letters asking that television stations cease airing the ads, but they continue to be shown on cable.

The NRA has set up a website attacking Obama and so far has disclosed spending $2.2 million on its independent expenditure campaign against the Democratic nominee, Federal Election Commission records show.

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "Obama has always believed that the 2nd Amendment protects the individual right to own a firearm."

"I don't believe we'll be spending money in California," Arulanandam said.

Palin questions McCain's Michigan concession

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:52:01 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

SAN ANTONIO -- Sarah Palin questioned Republican presidential candidate John McCain's decision to abandon efforts to win Michigan, a campaign move she only learned about Friday morning when she read it in the newspapers.

In an interview with Fox News Channel Friday, the Alaska governor said she was disappointed that the McCain campaign decided to stop competing in Michigan. In an indication that the vice presidential candidate had not been part of the decision, she said she had "read that this morning and I fired off a quick e-mail" questioning the move.

Word of the McCain campaign's decision to move staff out of Michigan and stop advertising in the state broke around midday Thursday -- the same day as Palin's vice presidential debate against Democrat Joe Biden. The campaign had decided Wednesday night that the $1 million a week it was spending in Michigan wasn't worth it with internal polls showing Democratic nominee Barack Obama approaching a double-digit lead.

Islam and the West

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:47:43 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.starbulletin.com

The relationship between Islam and the West has been depicted as one of confrontation and indifference, but there is more to Islam and its relation with the West than violence and confrontation.

Historical and theological facts easily repudiate the claim that Islam is intolerant of Christianity and Judaism. Muhammad signed treaties of peace with the Christians and Jews. In the year 631, he received a delegation of 60 Christians from Najran, about 450 miles south of Medina in present-day Saudi Arabia, who were received in the prophet's mosque, and they were allowed to pray in the mosque.

The Islamic civilization has in the past proved capable of, for the times, astonishing feats of tolerance and acceptance. Under the Muslims, medieval Spain became a haven for diverse religions and sects. Following the Christian re-conquest, the Inquisition eliminated all dissent.

Tags: islam, tolerance