Clipmarks | hitchhiker08's clips

Can the brain be rebooted to stop Drug addiction?

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:43:56 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Will be vital...

Can the Brain Be Rebooted to Stop Drug Addiction?

Scientists for the first time have identified long-term changes in mice brains that may shed light on why addicts get hooked on drugs—in this case methamphetamines—and have such a tough time kicking the habit. The findings, reported in the journal Neuron, could set the stage for new ways to block cravings—and help addicts dry out.

Researchers, using fluorescent tracer dye, discovered that mice given methamphetamines for 10 days (roughly equivalent to a human using it for two years) had suppressed activity in a certain area of their brains. Much to their surprise, normal function did not return even when the drug was stopped, but did when they administered a single dose of it again after the mice had been in withdrawal.

Bamford says that if researchers can pinpoint the resetting mechanism, it would enable them to design nonaddictive drugs to trigger it.

Tags: research, brain, methamphetamines, drug addiction, neurons, cravings, rehab, drug abuse

New York in LEGO bricks

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:37:05 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: thecontaminated.com

New York In Lego Bricks

Good job, cool idea and once again Lego make it real. Take a look at those pictures of the New York city made in Lego bricks world.

Tags: new york, lego, architecture, game, skyline, skyscrapers

$100 for cat dung coffee!

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:09:00 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: I'll pass ...on what the civet 'passed'!

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

$100 a shot for cat dung coffee

Peter Jones department store in London selling coffee shots for $100 each

Blend is a combination of Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kupi Luwak

Kupi Luwak coffee beans are harvested from the dung of Indonesian jungle cat

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A London department store has started selling coffee for $100 a shot.

If the price sounds unappealing, shoppers also have to overcome the unusual method of cultivation, which sees the coffee beans harvested from the feces of an Indonesian jungle cat.

Even so, the Peter Jones store says the luxury blend -- called Caffé Raro -- is one of the world's rarest and most premium coffees.

Made by the Italian company De Longhi, Caffé Raro combines Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kupi Luwak, two extremely rare coffees.

"It's not exactly flying off the shelves -- it's very expensive, after all -- but customers are buying it," Barkhuzen said.

The proceeds from the coffee sales will go to charity. E-mail to a friend

Tags: cat, civet, coffee, cafe raro, jamaica, kupi luwak

Sorry state of illegal immigrants - Myanmar

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:03:53 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Shocking!

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

Deaths highlight plight of Myanmar migrants

Myanmar refugees sit at a communal area in a refugee camp in Malaysia.

Story Highlights
More than 100 migrant workers from Myanmar inside truck freezer
Of the 67 survivors, some were hospitalized, some were taken to Thai jails
Myanmar and other regional countries supply Thailand with cheap labor
Next Article in World »

RANONG, Thailand (AP) -- Villagers who discovered a truck abandoned by its driver in the sweltering heat found evidence of the brutal cost of human trafficking: 121 illegal immigrants from Myanmar jammed inside, almost half of them dead.

Prosperous Thailand is a magnet for millions of migrants from its poorer neighbors -- illegal workers who lack legal protection and are often ruthlessly exploited. The economic refugees from Cambodia, Laos and especially Myanmar take menial and dangerous jobs shunned by Thais.

Tags: myanmar, burma, thailand, cambodia, laos, immigrants, refugees

Fake Ferrari racket busted

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:45:50 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Of what I hear, am sure its not just the genuine Ferrari's engine growling!

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

Counterfeiters zoom in on fake Ferraris

A fake Ferrari so authentic even experts were impressed

LONDON, England (CNN) -- If a vintage Ferrari for $30,000 sounds too good to be true, that's probably because it is.

But when a counterfeit classic is so good that even the experts are impressed, some buyers just can't resist the object of their desire at a knockdown price.

For a fraction of the $130,000 a real 328 GTB costs, buyers could get their hands on a copy that looks authentic down to the owner's documents.

Even Ferrari owner, Cesare Costantini was impressed: "Well done, really well done. From one meter, two meters, you cannot even see the difference. The same tail lights, the same fenders, also the exhaust is the same. Very well done," he said of the fakes.

So, for now, Ferrari will have to rely on the fact there is something about a real sports car that shoddy engines cannot reproduce -- the unmistakable Ferrari growl. E-mail to a friend

Tags: ferrari, crime, fake, counterfeit, automobile, italy

Drinking stories from history that put yours to shame!

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:56:20 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Alas, so much to learn from history...hic!

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

Drinking stories that put yours to shame

She is not moving that fast. This is what the waitress would look like if you drank everything on her tray.

(Mental Floss) -- Turns out, the best drinking stories in history are actually, well, historical. So raise a glass to your forefathers and marvel at these tales.

Story Highlights

History full of drinking stories that are hard to swallow

Bartenders in canoe dipped drinks from alcohol fountain

Brew-nami of 1.3 million gallons of beer killed 9 people

Sailors drank vat of rum preserving dead body of Adm. Nelson

1. Admiral Edward Russell's 17th-Century throwdown

2. The London Brew-nami of 1814

3. New York state of mind: The Dutch ingratiate themselves to the natives

4. The worst aftertaste in history

5. Indian elephants raid the liquor cabinet

Tags: partying, humor, drinking, london, admiral edward russell, ny state, admniral horatio nelson

7 US presidents nobody remembers

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:43:10 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Tyler had a nickname, 'His Accidency' - they were pretty cruel back then, as well?!

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

Seven presidents nobody remembers

Former presidents Chester Arthur, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes

Herbert Hoover (President #31, 1929--1933)

Martin Van Buren (President #8, 1837--1841)

Warren Harding (President #29, 1921--1923)

Chester Arthur (President #21, 1881--1885)

Millard Fillmore (President #13, 1850--1853)

Rutherford B. Hayes (President #19, 1877--1881)

John Tyler (President #10, 1841--1845)

Let's put it this way: When your nicknames include "His Accidency," you're not destined to make a splash.

Tags: white house, us presidency, usa

Brazilian dwarf soccer team a big hit

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:17:49 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: ...more important how you play the game

Clip Source: www.sportsbybrooks.com

Dwarf Soccer Team Becoming A Big Hit In Brazil

A little soccer team in the largest country in South America is proving to be a big sensation with the football-frenzied populace. And we do mean little.

And the team name they’ve given themselves? Gigantes del Norte. Translation: “Giants of the North.” Oh, the irony!

Yet, the pint-sized pitchmen are becoming a huge hit with Brazilian fans, with their games against under-13 opponents “drawing massive crowds” in their home base of the city of Belem.

So, was the team put together as some sort of small joke? Not at all:

Managed by professional coach Carlos Lucena, the Giants were put together in an effort to raise the profile of dwarves in Brazilian society and challenge ’sizeist’ attitudes.

And it’s definitely a lot less demeaning than dwarf tossing or dwarf bowling.

Tags: soccer, brazil, belem, midgets, game, footbal