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Menthol Cigarette to Seduce New, Young Smoker

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:57:03 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: beware parents...more education for your kids so they won't smoke too early or , better yet not smoking at all

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Tobacco companies manipulate the amount of menthol in cigarettes to make those first few puffs more palatable to young smokers, U.S. researchers said

"Menthol stimulates the cooling receptors in the lung and oral pharynx," said Dr. Gregory Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health. "It makes smoking easier."

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people each year

Connolly said tobacco companies use mild menthol cigarettes to target younger smokers and stronger menthol flavors for established smokers

"Menthol helps the nicotine go down," Connolly said in a telephone interview but he added that too much menthol is hard for new smokers to tolerate

According to the American Lung Association, each day 4,000 children under 18 smoke their first cigarette and almost 1,100 of them will become regular smokers

Tags: smoking, corporation, tobacco, health

Cybercrime Mafia

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:39:34 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

Cybercrime, the harvesting and sale of credit card and other data for online fraud and theft, is a "shadow economy" that mimics the real business world in its practices and the mafia in its structure, according to a new report from security firm Finjan.

"The current cybercrime organizations bear an uncanny resemblance to organized crime organizations such as 'La Cosa Nostra,'" concludes Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center's Web Security Trends Report for the second-quarter of 2008 (survey required before downloading the 21-page report).

The business of cybercrime has evolved from auctioning vulnerabilities online to the highest bidder in 2006 to creation of "one-stop-Crimeware-shops" where hackers sell toolkits to less tech-savvy attackers in 2007. The toolkits have gotten more sophisticated and providers are even now offering "Crimeware-as-a-Service," ala the Web's software-as-a-service model, the report says.

Tags: cybercrime, crime, internet, mafia

A New Device for Helping Stroke Patients

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:43:29 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

A novel nonrobotic device called the Sensorimotor Active Rehabilitation Training (SMART) Arm can help stroke survivors with partial arm paralysis re-learn the task of reaching, a study shows.

Severe arm paralysis "is a major contributor to disability after stroke," note Dr. Ruth N. Barker and colleagues of University of Queensland, Australia note in the June issue of the journal Stroke.

"Our findings indicate that training of reaching using the SMART Arm can reduce impairment and improve activity in stroke survivors with severe and chronic upper limb paresis (partial motor paralysis), highlighting the benefits intensive task-oriented practice, even in the context of severe paresis," they write.

Barker and colleagues investigated the efficacy of the SMART Arm -- a low-cost arrangement of a pulley, weights and near-friction less linear track -- with or without electrical stimulation, to augment elbow extension in 42 stroke survivors with severe and chronic partial arm paralysis.

Tags: health, technology

Order Your Burgers With A BANG !!!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:48:27 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: Turn violence into profit...

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At "Buns and Guns" you can order a "Kalashnikov" sandwich from a bullet-shaped menu, prepared by chefs in military fatigues with the roar of explosions as background music.

This new fast food restaurant in Beirut's southern suburbs, where the Hezbollah movement holds sway, was the brainchild of co-owner Ali Hammoud. He said the war theme was a novel concept that had nothing to do with Lebanon's bloody recent history.

"It's just an idea I had, nothing more, nothing less. I could have put toys in place of the sandbags and teddy bears instead of guns. But it was just an idea," Hammoud told Reuters.

Guns, bullets and pictures of other weapons decorate the interior. The slogan "A sandwich can kill you," with a picture of a gun superimposed on a burger, is displayed outside.

Completing the war motif, sandbags surround the outdoor seating area. The menu features sandwiches and burgers with names such as "Terrorist meal" and "RPG," as well as "Kalashnikov."

Tags: middle east, food, restaurants

Green Tea Protects You !!!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:40:18 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Green tea protects against heart disease: study

LONDON (Reuters) - A few cups of green tea each day may help prevent heart disease, Greek researchers said on Wednesday.

The study showed that green tea improves blood flow and the ability of arteries to relax, said Charalambos Vlachopoulos, a cardiologist at the Athens Medical School in Greece who worked on the study.

Other studies have shown that black tea also has benefits for cardiovascular health.

The Greek team said they believed green tea might be even better because it had higher quantities of beneficial compounds called flavonoids -- some of which are lost in the oxidation process that black tea undergoes.

Flavonoids are also found in cocoa, tomatoes and grapes.

The researchers gave 14 healthy volunteers either green tea, diluted caffeine or hot water on three separate occasions and then measured the function of endothelial cells lining the circulatory system.

These cells help relax arteries and ease blood flow.

Tags: health, tea, heart

Ugliest Dog Award for A Good Cause

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:39:08 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A three-legged, one-eyed, cancer-afflicted dog named Gus has been crowned the World's Ugliest Dog at a fair in California

Gus, a Chinese Crested dog, beat allcomers to take the title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.

Owner Jeanenne Teed, from Florida, said she would spend the $1,600 prize on treatment for Gus's skin cancer

The competition has been running for 20 years, and is one of the fair's top attractions, organisers said.

Vicki DeArmon, marketing director of the fair, said that in the past few years, winners had been dogs that had been abandoned or neglected before being adopted by dog-lovers.

Tags: dogs, animal, health, awards

A Possible Cure for Human Allergies...Chiken Gene

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:35:53 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: Bravo for every scientist in the world...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Scientists have turned to chickens to help them understand why some people are struck down by severe allergies

The birds have a "fossilised" version of the key molecule responsible for severe allergic reactions in humans.

The molecule in birds, called IgY, appears to be an ancient forerunner of a similar human molecule called IgE - one of the culprits when the immune system goes into overdrive during asthma attacks or anaphylactic shock.

The King's team are trying to find out why IgE causes a problem, while IgY does not

Dr Alex Taylor, one of the researchers, said: "This molecule is like a living fossil - finding out that it has an ancient past is like turning up a coelacanth in your garden pond.

His colleague Dr Rosy Calvert said: "We know that part of the problem with IgE in humans is that it binds extremely tightly to white blood cells causing an over-reaction of the immune system and so we wanted to find out whether IgY does the same thing."

Tags: health, animal

Gay is in Your Gene

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:13:11 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The brains of gay men and women look like those found in straight people of the opposite sex, research suggests.

Scientists have noticed for some time that homosexual people of both sexes have differences in certain cognitive abilities, suggesting there may be subtle differences in their brain structure.

A group of 90 healthy gay and straight adults, men and women, were scanned by the Karolinska Institute scientists to measure the volume of both sides, or hemispheres, of their brain.

When these results were collected, it was found that lesbian women and straight men shared a particular "asymmetry" in their hemisphere size, while straight women and gay men had no difference between the size of the different halves of their brain.

In other words, structurally, at least, gay men were more like straight women, and gay women more like straight men.

Tags: science, life

Electro-cure For Alzheimer

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:43:17 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Electrical stimulation of areas deep within the brain could improve memory, early research suggests.

A team of doctors in Canada stumbled upon the finding while attempting to treat a morbidly obese man through deep brain stimulation (DBS).

The electrical stimulation caused the patient to experience vivid memories.

The findings, reported in the Annals of Neurology, potentially pave the way for electrical stimulation to treat disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

The technique involves implanting electrodes into the brain: in this case into an area in the limbic system called the hypothalamus, which is thought to control the appetite.

When the electrodes were stimulated by electrical impulses the patient began to experience feelings of deja vu.

Professor Lozano is now leading a pilot study into whether deep brain stimulation can help people with early Alzheimer's disease. They are initially testing six patients.

Tags: health, brain, alzheimer

Movie Inspired by The Destruction of Lebanon

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:33:52 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: Every war deserves its story told by a movie...in hope of avoiding another war and conflict

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Eighteen months after the outbreak of Israel's war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, filmmakers from both countries have brought movies conveying frustration over the conflict to the Sundance Film Festival.

Israel's "Strangers" and Lebanon's "Under the Bombs" are vying with 14 others for best world dramatic film at Sundance, the top U.S. independent movie festival and a growing influence on world filmmaking.

While "Under the Bombs" puts the conflict at the forefront of its story, with a woman searching for her son amid the rubble of southern Lebanon, the war is the backdrop of a love story between an Israeli and a Palestinian in "Strangers."

The Israeli directors were filming their love story during the 2006 World Cup soccer championship in Germany when they heard two Israeli soldiers had been kidnapped by Hezbollah.

For "Under the Bombs," Lebanese director Philippe Aractingi shot a day of footage of the bombings before evacuating from Beirut with his family on a French ship.

Tags: war, israel, lebanon, sundance

Gold's Price Won't Come Down Soon...

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:23:03 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: It's time to sell your gold when the price is still high, due to lack of supply from S. Africa...

Clip Source: english.aljazeera.net

South Africa's parliament is set to hold an emergency session as people prepare for a month of blackouts due to severe power shortages.

The energy crisis, which analysts fear could severely damage the economy, has prompted opposition parties to threaten to bring a motion of no confidence against Thabo Mbeki, the country's president.

Eskom, the country's largest electricity producer, is cutting electrictiy supplies by 4,000 megawatts for four weeks in an attempt to stabilise the power grid.

South Africa is the world's second biggest producer of gold, and most of the country's mines ground to a halt amid electricity rationing last Friday.

The situation has driven up the price of gold and economists have warned that it could ultimately slow down the entire economy.

Some analysts say that the cuts could slash South Africa's growth to below 3 per cent this year, the lowest level in 14 years.

Tags: gold, africa, power, electricity

Windows Mobile 7 is NEAR !!!

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:07:46 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha

Clip Source: www.mobiletopsoft.com

Big news today is about the Microsoft's development of Windows Mobile 7. According to them it will be the first revolutionary change to their mobile device operating system. As far as we know the first phones with Windows Mobile 7 will go on sale in 2009 but already now you can learn everything about it including that it will support multi-touch.

Windows Mobile 7 will use touch gestures, similar to how the iPhone does. You will be able to flick through lists, pan, swipe sideway, draw on the screen. A lot of emphasis has been put on making navigation easier and doing away with scrollbars, including a new scroll handle that allows for multiple ways of finding items extremely fast.

More information and high resolution screenshots you can obtain here.

Tags: windows, pda, windows mobile

Amsterdam Red Light Districts Will Be Shut Down

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 08:33:36 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: another step towards improving woman's dignity in this modern world. when there are lots of educated woman out there, the profession of prostitutes really degrading a woman's honor.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

The city of Amsterdam announced plans Monday to clean up its infamous "red light" district to fight human trafficking, money laundering and drug abuse and replace prostitutes' windows with upmarket boutiques.

Prostitutes have plied their wares in the narrow alleys of the old center of Amsterdam for centuries. While they used to attract sailors and merchants in the city's heyday as the heart of a global trading empire, they are now a huge tourist draw.

Deputy mayor Lodewijk Asscher said the city wants to restore a number of historic buildings and reverse the decline of a large central area where brothels, sex clubs and the coffee shops that sell marijuana line the city's canals.

They will be replaced by chic apartments, upmarket shops, galleries and high-quality hotels and restaurants, Asscher said, adding that young fashion designers already plan to display their clothes in the windows of one former brothel from January.

Tags: amsterdam, travel, morality

Borat is Dead !!! (just the character)

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:29:58 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: Borat the movie was quite entertaining, altough not very suitable for everybody...

Clip Source: www.variety.com

Sacha Baron Cohen tells The Daily Telegraph that he's retiring the clueless Kazakh journalist, as well as his alter ego, aspiring rapper Ali G.

"When I was being Ali G and Borat I was in character sometimes 14 hours a day and I came to love them, so admitting I am never going to play them again is quite a sad thing," the 36-year-old actor-comedian says in the British newspaper's Friday edition.

"It is like saying goodbye to a loved one. It is hard, and the problem with success, although it's fantastic, is that every new person who sees the Borat movie is one less person I `get' with Borat again, so it's a kind of self-defeating form, really."

Baron Cohen brought Borat Sagdiyev — an anti-Semitic buffoon in search of Pamela Anderson — to the masses last year with his smash comedy, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." He first introduced the character on "Da Ali G Show," which was carried in the U.S. on HBO.

Tags: comedy, actor, borat

Bamboo's PC from ASUS

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:41:39 GMT

clipped by: dme3ha
clipper's remarks: eco-friendly...but won't be cheap...

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and other computer makers went on to make advanced PCs in metal and plastic casings, but now Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc (2357.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) is finding potential beauty -- and sales -- in an eco-friendly notebook PC encased in another natural material: bamboo.

The Asus Eco Book, as it's dubbed, has a case made of laminated bamboo strips available in different shades.

Harvesting bamboo, an abundant, flexible, durable and fast-growing grass, is unlikely to harm the environment as processing wood from trees might, Asustek said, although glues and laminates for shaping and fortifying the material sometimes contain toxins.

The product is still in the prototype stage and engineers are checking to see if bamboo is suitable for laptops, which have to endure extreme conditions while allowing heat from microprocessors and monitors to escape.

Tags: computer, laptop, taiwan