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Single Gene cotnrols Body Fat

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:25:08 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Gene 'controls body fat levels'

A single gene can keep in check the tendency to pile on fat, scientists have shown.

Last Updated: Tuesday, 4 September 2007, 23:54 GMT 00:54 UK

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Gene 'controls body fat levels'

Obesity may be at least partly in the genes

A single gene can keep in check the tendency to pile on fat, scientists have shown.

The University of Texas team manipulated the gene, called adipose, to alter the amount of fat tissue laid down by fruit flies, worms and mice.

If the same effect could be achieved in humans, which also carry the gene, it is hoped it could lead to new ways to fight obesity and diabetes.

Health impact

Mice with experimentally increased adipose activity ate as much or more than normal mice.

However, they were leaner, had diabetes-resistant fat cells, and were better able to control insulin and blood-sugar metabolism.

In contrast, animals with reduced adipose activity were fatter and less healthy, and had diabetes.

Tags: fat, obesity, health, genetics

Butch Panda has Twins

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 07:34:25 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A panda once believed to be male and sent to Japan to breed with a female without success gave birth to twin cubs this week, state media reported on Thursday.

The panda, "Jinzhu", gave birth to two female cubs on Monday at the Wolong Nature Reserve in the mountainous southwestern province of Sichuan, 11 years after being declared male at birth in 1996, Xinhua news agency said.

"Jinzhu was believed to be male owing to her inconspicuous secondary sex characteristic and behavior," the agency quoted Wei Rongping, assistant director of the reserve's research center, as saying.

Jinzhu was sent to Japan in 2000 to mate with a female, the report said.

"When the pandas showed complete disinterest, experts decided to turn to artificial insemination, leading to the discovery that Jinzhu had no penis," it added.

Jinzhu subsequently mated with a male in March 2007 and gave birth 142 days later, Xinhua said.

Tags: panda, animals, funny

Ben Franklin Would Be Amused: Power from the Sky

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 07:27:38 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Could flying wind farms help beat global warming?

An artist's impression of what a Flying Electric Generator might look like

Taking the form of a giant H-shaped frame, the prototype FEG has four huge blades at the four points of the H, each blade 10.7 meters (35 feet) in diameter. These act like the rotors of a helicopter, lifting the FEG to the required height.

Once in place, the blades not only keep the FEG air-born, providing lift like the surface area of a kite, but also act as turbines, turning dynamos within the platform that generate electricity, which is transmitted back to earth through a vast aluminum tethering cable.

An in-built GPS (Global Positioning System) uses satellite technology to ensure that the FEG always remains in the same place, both vertically and horizontally.

According to Shepard, development is already at an advanced stage.

Tags: power, turbine, environment, global warming

The last time they did this, the CIA took out Sukarno

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:20:12 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.ft.com

Indonesia in arms and oil deals with Russia

Jakarta and Moscow are set to sign weapons, mining and oil deals valued at billions of dollars during the first visit to the country by Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, on Thursday.

Tags: geopolitics

Coach of 6-Year-Old Indian Marathoner Arrested for Torture

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:25:29 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

NEW DELHI — The coach of a 6-year-old boy who ran a marathon last year in an attempt to set a world record was arrested Monday and charged with torturing the child, police said.

Singh became an instant celebrity in record-crazy India when he ran 40 miles at the age of 4 — a feat that also drew immediate, widespread condemnation from medical officials and child rights activists.

The boy's mother, Sukanti Singh, had supported Das' efforts to train her son, but on Monday she alleged the man was severely mistreating the boy.

"Biranchi was beating him up regularly," Sukanti Singh told reporters outside the police station. "He even once tied Budhia up from a ceiling fan and threw hot water on his body." Budhia Singh had been living with the coach.

In 2006, Singh attempted to run a 43-mile marathon, sparking protests from child rights activists. Doctors stopped him after 40 miles, when he showed signs of extreme exhaustion.

They found the child to be undernourished, anemic and under cardiac stress

Tags: marathon, sports, child, abuse

1.5 marathons/day for 2 months and she's only 8 years old

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 08:57:15 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A Chinese girl has arrived in Beijing after running more than 3,550km (2,200 miles) from the southern province of Hainan in less than two months.

Zhang Huimin, eight, rose each day at 0230 and ran about 1.5 marathons (64km, 40 miles), Xinhua news agency said. Her father accompanied her on a bicycle.

He denied forcing her to run, but some experts have said it amounted to abuse.

Zhang and his wife have separated, mainly because she opposed his way of training their daughter, the newspaper reported.

Zhang Huimin, who is 1.22m (4ft) tall and weighs 21kg (46lb), is too young to compete in the 2008 Olympics but her father, Zhang Jianmin, believes she can compete in the 2016 games, when she will be 17.

Tags: marathon, olympics, child, run, sports

Chinese Military Hacked into Pentagon

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:55:16 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.ft.com

Chinese military hacked into Pentagon

The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American officials.

The Pentagon acknowledged shutting down part of a computer system serving the office of Robert Gates, defence secretary, but declined to say who it believed was behind the attack.

Current and former officials have told the Financial Times an internal investigation has revealed that the incursion came from the People’s Liberation Army.

Tags: hacking, security, pentagon

NASA's $23.4m Crapper Sucks

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:25:19 GMT

clipped by: missbossy
clipper's remarks: I wonder if the suction is adjustable for tough jobs?

Clip Source: discovermagazine.com

NASA recently spent $23.4 million designing a toilet for the Space Shuttle that would defy zero gravity with suction technology at 850 liters of airflow per minute. That’s a lot of money for a toilet that sucks.

Clip Source: lsda.jsc.nasa.gov

Tags: toilet, space

Warning: Don't Get Conned by Low Fat

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:57:02 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: bodywords.wordpress.com

“Often the fat-free version is not much lower in calories than the regular version. For example, each low-fat Oreo cookie has 50 calories. The regular version has just over three calories more”. - Brian Wansink (Author)

It turned out that those eating what they thought was low-fat granola ate 35 percent more, which translated into 192 more calories. When we offered them low-fat chocolate, they loaded up on 23 percent more calories.

Tags: fat, diet

Wide Stance: Don't Do It!

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:21:05 GMT

clipped by: missbossy
clipper's remarks: The internet is a perpetual source of education.

Clip Source: www.slate.com

Bathroom Sex FAQCruising signals, legal issues, and Larry Craig's "wide stance."

Is tapping your foot really code for public sex?

Yes. The signal has been around for decades in the United States and Europe. Generally, one person initiates contact by tapping his foot in a way that's visible beneath the stall divider.

Is it wise to use a "wide stance" when you go to the bathroom?

No. When you're sitting on the toilet, spreading your feet and leaning forward tightens the levator ani muscles that control defecation. If you're having trouble passing stools, you should take the opposite of a wide stance, and lean back.

Tags: sex, gay

Sagging Jeans? Go to Jail!

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:10:01 GMT

clipped by: missbossy
clipper's remarks: I'm glad to see that the law has its priorities right.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Are Your Jeans Sagging? Go Directly to Jail.

Starting in Louisiana, an intensifying push by lawmakers has determined pants worn low enough to expose underwear poses a threat to the public, and they have enacted indecency ordinances to stop it.

Tags: fashion, law, stupid

You Are Poor and Fat

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:54:49 GMT

clipped by: missbossy
clipper's remarks: Fast food companies are getting rich off the poor...

Clip Source: bodywords.wordpress.com

You Are Poor and Fat

30Aug07

The latest stats suggested a strong correlation between obesity and poverty.

Tags: obesity, economics

Thank God Someone Stopped this Kid

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:03:13 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.wnd.com

Youth suspended over sketch of gun

Officials say drawing by teen 'absolutely considered a threat'

A 13-year-old boy has been suspended for three days by an Arizona public school because he sketched a picture that resembled a gun, something school officials said they "absolutely" believed could pose a threat.

Tags: stupid, funny

Obesity Linked to Pinkeye Virus

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:11:11 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Study finds virus contributes to obesity

For several years, researchers have looked at a possible link between obesity and this common virus, called adenovirus-36, from a family of viruses that cause colds and pinkeye in people. They had already found that a higher percentage of fat people had been infected with the virus than nonfat people. They had exposed animals to the virus and got them to fatten up and even found a a gene in the virus that causes animals to get obese.

If a viral cause of obesity can be confirmed, a vaccine could be developed, maybe within five to 10 years, to prevent the virus from making some people fat, Dhurandhar said. However, it wouldn't help people already obese, he said.

Tags: obesity, health, medicine

New Alzheimer's Cure: Bugs up the Nose

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 04:33:14 GMT

clipped by: missbossy

Clip Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

New Approach To Delaying Onset Of Alzheimer's Disease

Scientists working on a cure for Alzheimer's disease find it hard to develop drugs that will pass through the highly selective blood-brain barrier. That may be why a Tel Aviv University researcher decided to take an alternate route -- through the nose.

Scientists widely agree that plaque formation is what causes the onslaught of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Administering a harmless bacterial virus known as a "filamentous phage" through nasal passages, Prof. Beka Solomon of the university's Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology Department sends her phages to the brain where they lock onto plaques associated with Alzheimer's.

Tags: health, medicine, alzheimers