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Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?

Fri, 16 May 2008 12:16:51 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: The good news is that, like all debt, with some work, sleep debt can be repaid—though it won't happen in one extended snooze marathon. Tacking on an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up. For the chronically sleep deprived, take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern, says Lawrence J. Epstein, medical director of the Harvard-affiliated Sleep HealthCenters.
Go to bed when you are tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clock allowed). You may find yourself catatonic in the beginning of the recovery cycle: Expect to bank upward of ten hours shut-eye per night. As the days pass, however, the amount of time sleeping will gradually decrease.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get. It's a deficit that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly slumber. "People accumulate sleep debt surreptitiously," says psychiatrist William C. Dement, founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic. Studies show that such short-term sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, impaired driving, and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity, insulin resistance, and heart disease. And most Americans suffer from chronic deprivation.

on average, Americans sleep 6.9 hours per night—6.8 hours during the week and 7.4 hours on the weekends. Generally, experts recommend eight hours of sleep per night, although some people may require only six hours of sleep while others need ten. That means on average, we’re losing one hour of sleep each night—more than two full weeks of slumber every year.

Tags: sleep

Ancient church emerges from flooded valley for first time in 50 years

Thu, 15 May 2008 08:23:50 GMT

clipped by: michellezm

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

An ancient church has emerged from a flooded valley for the first time in 50 years as Spain's worst drought in decades forced the city of Barcelona to begin shipping in drinking water.

For the majority of the past four decades, all that has been visible of the village of Sant Roma has been the belltower of its stone church, peeping above the water beside forested hills from a valley flooded in the 1960s to provide water for the Catalonia region.

This year, receding waters have exposed the 11th-century church completely, attracting crowds of tourists who stand gazing around it on the dusty bed of the reservoir.

For much of the past four decades, all that has been visible of the village of Sant Roma has been the belltower of its stone church

Leonard Carcole, director-general of Aguas de Barcelona, the city's water company said: "It has been one of the driest years ever, and Barcelona has found itself in need of water."

Robo-geek or Super Soldier?

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:10:09 GMT

clipped by: ericw
clipper's remarks: This is actually for real, the project is currently under contract with the US Army.

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

Rex Jameson bikes and swims regularly, and plays tennis and skis when time allows. But the 5-foot-11, 180-pound software engineer is lucky if he presses 200 pounds—that is, until he steps into an "exoskeleton" of aluminum and electronics that multiplies his strength and endurance as many as 20 times.

With the outfit's claw-like metal hand extensions, he gripped a weight set's bar at a recent demonstration and knocked off hundreds of repetitions. Once, he did 500

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

Tags: the future, robocop, science, military

US confession: Weapons were not made in Iran after all

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:56:07 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.campaigniran.org

In a sharp reversal of its longstanding accusations against Iran arming militants in Iraq , the US military has made an unprecedented albeit quiet confession: the weapons they had recently found in Iraq were not made in Iran at all.

According to a report by the LA Times correspondent Tina Susman in Baghdad: “A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was canceled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran. A U.S. military spokesman attributed the confusion to a misunderstanding that emerged after an Iraqi Army general in Karbala erroneously reported the items were of Iranian origin. When U.S. explosives experts went to investigate, they discovered they were not Iranian after all.”

Tags: iran, united states, politics

Divers find oldest ever bust of Caesar in a river in France

Thu, 15 May 2008 08:28:20 GMT

clipped by: michellezm
clipper's remarks: A spokesman for France's culture ministry said: "It undoubtedly dates back to the creation of Arles, which Caesar founded in 46BC."

Culture minister Christine Albanel added: "The bust is exceptional - the oldest representation of the emperor known today."

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

A bust of Julius Caesar found at the bottom of a river in southern France has been described as the oldest representation of the Roman emperor yet known.

The life-sized depiction is more than 2,000 years old and shows Caesar in his 50s with a wrinkled and deeply-lined face.

He is also balding and has the stressed-out look of "a man with all the worries of the world on his shoulders", according to experts.

The marble bust dates from around 46BC - two years before Caesar was stabbed to death by former allies in the Roman senate.

It would have been made at a time when he was dealing with an increasingly fraught domestic situation, including civil wars, as well as conducting military campaigns in numerous parts of the world. It was almost certainly thrown into the Rhone soon after he was assassinated.

The bust was found by divers during archaelogical excavations at an underwater site in Arles.

Giant shrimp can see beyond the rainbow

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:27:23 GMT

clipped by: valann 47

Clip Source: uk.reuters.com

A giant shrimp living on Australia's Great Barrier Reef can see a world beyond the rainbow that is invisible to other animals, scientists said on Wednesday.

They view the world in up to 12 primary colors -- four times as many as humans -- and can measure six different kinds of light polarization, Swiss and Australian researchers reported.

polarization is the direction of oscillation in light waves.

Some of the animals they like to eat are transparent and quite hard to see in sea-water, except they're packed full of polarizing sugars. I suspect they light up like Christmas trees as far as these shrimp are concerned," said Andrew White of the University of Queensland.

And the shrimps probably use tiny changes in color and polarization to send sexual signals between males and females, the researchers believe.

Tags: shrimp, science, sight

Polar Bear now protected by Endangered Species Act

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:51:03 GMT

clipped by: kkcapricorn
clipper's remarks: Score one for the polar bears. But they still have much about with to worry

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The polar bear, whose Arctic hunting grounds have been greatly reduced by a warming climate, will be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced Wednesday.

the long-delayed decision to list the bear as a threatened species may prove less of an impediment to industries along the Alaskan coast than many environmentalists had hoped. While further protecting the polar bear from direct or immediate threats — like hunting — the Interior Department added stipulations, seldom invoked under the act, that will make it relatively easy for oil and gas exploration and development activities to proceed.

The decision builds on scientific evidence about the retreat of sea ice, which the bears use as a platform to hunt seals and as a pathway to the Arctic coasts where they den

the Endangered Species Act was “never meant to regulate global climate change” and that it would be “inappropriate” to use the polar bear listing that way

Tags: polar bear, endangered species

Hawaiian Volcanoes: Beauty & Terror

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:14:30 GMT

clipped by: astronkyttaron
clipper's remarks: !!!

Clip Source: www.darkroastedblend.com

Hawaiian Volcanoes: Beauty & Terror

The most active volcano on Earth is also the most visited

So book your ticket to enjoy the distinct possibility to be blown up 20 kilometers into the air :) - Kilauea volcano is one of the five shield-volcanoes that comprise the islands of Hawaii and it's anything but docile.

Stromboli's mixture of water & fire

Another volcano that spews flows of lava into the sea is Stromboli volcano in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily - second largest European volcano after Etna.

Tags: volcanoes

"Houston, We Have a (Crazy Ant) Problem"

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:32:51 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

A species of crazy ant has invaded Houston. Attracted to electrical equipment, the tiny insects are reproducing uncontrollably and heading towards NASA's Johnson Space Center. We feel the need to reassure you that the Daily Galaxy hasn't turned into an archive for rejected sci-fi scripts - this is actually happening.

When we say "crazy ants", that's not just journalistic-jazzing up of the facts, that's actually what they're called because of their highly erratic and unpredictable movement (compared to the army-like order of sane ants). More scientifically known as "paratrenicha species near pubens", the ants invaded Texas around 2002. They're usually found in the Caribbean, so heading for the Lone Star state suggests sinister off-world ambitions. Or at least, it would if this were The Outer Limits.

Tags: crazy ants, invasion, insects

Gay Marriage Ban Overturned By Cal Supreme Court

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:55:12 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA
)
)
) S147999
)
In re MARRIAGE CASES. ) Ct.App. 1/3 Nos. A110449,
) A110450, A110451, A110463,
[Six consolidated appeals.]1 ) A110651, A110652
)
) San Francisco County
) JCCP No. 4365
___________________________________ )
In Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1055
(Lockyer), this court concluded that public officials of the City and County of San
Francisco acted unlawfully by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the
absence of a judicial determination that the California statutes limiting marriage to
a union between a man and a woman are unconstitutional. Our decision in
Lockyer emphasized, however, that the substantive question of the constitutional
1 City and County of San Francisco v. State of California (A110449 [Super.validity of the California marriage statutes was not before this court in that
proceeding, and that our decision was not intended to reflect any view on that
issue. (Id. at

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban

Associate Justice Carlos R. Moreno, Associate Justice Joyce L. Kennard, Associate Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Associate Justice Ming W. Chin, Associate Justice Marvin R. Baxter, and Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan.

In a 4-3 ruling, the justices rule that state marriage laws are unconstitutional.

Breaking: CA Supreme Court Overturns State’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:55:58 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Justice triumphs!

Clip Source: www.crooksandliars.com

The California Supreme Court has overturned the state’s controversial ban on same-sex marriage (decision .pdf). As NBC’s Pete Williams states, there are already groups in California trying to put anti- same-sex marriage amendment initiative on the November ballot. This makes California the second state in the union to allow same-sex couples to marry along with Massachusetts. More from the San Francisco Chronicle:

The justices’ 4-3 decision Thursday says domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. Chief Justice Ron George wrote the opinion.

The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco’s monthlong same-sex wedding march.

The case before the court involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter-approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Read on…

Tags: liberty, equality, justice

Olbermann To Bush: "This War Is Not About You...Shut The Hell Up!"

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:47:08 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Well done Sir, well done!

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Tonight, Keith Olbermann unleashed what may well have been his angriest, most blistering Special Comment yet, aimed squarely at his favorite target: President Bush. Olbermann was responding to Bush's claim that he had given up golf in honor of the Iraq war — and his assertion that a Democratic president withdrawing from Iraq would "eventually lead to another attack on the United States" — a statement Olbermann called "ludicrous, infuriating, holier-than-thou and most importantly bone-headedly wrong." Olbermann continued in that vein for a full 12 minutes (or 2,000 words), frequently raising his voice and spitting out his words in disgust.

Mr. President, the war isn't about you -- or golf [MSNBC]

Tags: olbermann, truth, bush, war, lies, banality, evil