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Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:31:50 GMT

clipped by: fredondo

Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.

It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.

Second case of virgin birth found in sharks

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:11:48 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark.

In a study reported Friday in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female blacktip shark in a Virginia aquarium contained no genetic material from a male.

The first documented case of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha, Neb., zoo.

Air Pollution Pollutes Brains as Well!?

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:56:02 GMT

clipped by: nedhamson1
clipper's remarks: Heavy air pollution has and is endangering the future of your children and our society as well as others.

Clip Source: www.sciencenews.org

Mexico City’s air pollution may be undermining neural and mental functioning in some children

Mexico City wears a thick coat of air pollution that clogs lungs and takes a toll on hearts and blood vessels. But that’s just the beginning — the metropolis’s dirty air may have contributed to brain inflammation and intellectual deficits in at least some school-age children, a new study suggests.

Among healthy children aged 7 to 18, lifelong Mexico City residents scored lower than their peers from Polotitlán — a Mexican city with low levels of air pollution — on tests of memory, flexible thinking, novel problem-solving skill and the ability to monitor and change one’s behavior during challenging tasks, scientists report in an upcoming Brain and Cognition. These tests make up part of standard IQ measures for school children.

Tags: global warming, green, pollution, dumb and dumber

Admissions to mental wards for drugs and alcohol up a third

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:25:47 GMT

clipped by: Tri-City Psychology

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The number of patients admitted to mental health wards because of drug or alcohol abuse has risen by almost one third in three years, latest figures show.

The rise come despite a drop in the overall number of patients in psychiatric units, from a high of 214,000 in 1998 to just over 180,000 in 2006.

Official figures released earlier this year show that one in three British adults admits to having tried illegal drugs.

Doctors have warned that high strength types of cannabis are increasing mental health problems.

Earlier this year a study showed that people who use skunk cannabis, which can be up to 10 times stronger than other types of the drug, were 18 times more likely to develop psychosis than those who smoke milder forms.

"Mental health problems that are triggered by alcohol or drug problems have to be tackled at the source by improving the nation's public health. This is yet more evidence that drugs and alcohol have a significant and detrimental effect on the nation's well-being."

Tags: drugs, alcohol

The world's happiest man

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:23:56 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: very nice site, this!

Clip Source: www.gimundo.com

We're not just claiming that title based on the fact that Ricard is never seen without a smile, or that monks are generally a pretty beatific bunch – he's got science on his side, too. In 2004, researchers at University of Wisconsin conducted a study on the brain patterns of hundreds of volunteers from different walks of life. The bell curve of the MRI measurements fell between +0.3 (a Sylvia Plath acolyte, no doubt) to -0.3 (Richard Simmons, perhaps?). But Ricard alone achieved an astonishing score of -0.45 – a level of joy so far above the others that his score was nearly off the chart.

"The mind is malleable," Ricard told The Independent. "Our life can be greatly transformed by even a minimal change in how we manage our thoughts and perceive and interpret the world. Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time."

In his new book, Happiness, Ricard serves as your own personal cross-trainer in the art of happiness, with advice on meditative exercises

Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:33:55 GMT

clipped by: vk2yoc
clipper's remarks: It's only money, could be worse, we could lose our planet.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.

The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide

"It's not only greater but it's also continuous, it's been happening every year, year after year," he told BBC News.

"So whereas Wall Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the financial sector, $1-$1.5 trillion, the reality is that at today's rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year."

The greatest cost to western nations would initially come through losing a natural absorber of the most important greenhouse gas.

A number of nations, businesses and global organisations are beginning to direct funds into forest conservation, and there are signs of a trade in natural ecosystems developing, analogous to the carbon trade,

Scientists confirm shark's ‘virgin birth’

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:29:18 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Interesting anti-extinction ability.

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

RICHMOND, Va. - Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark.

In a study reported Friday in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female Atlantic blacktip shark in the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center contained no genetic material from a male.

The first documented case of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha, Neb., zoo.

"This first case was no fluke," Demian Chapman, a shark scientist and lead author of the second study, said in a statement. "It is quite possible that this is something female sharks of many species can do on occasion."

The aquarium sharks that reproduced without mates each carried only one pup, while some shark species can produce litters numbering in the dozen or more. The scientists cautioned that the rare asexual births should not be viewed as a possible solution to declining global shark populations.

Tags: nature

Retail sites still making rookie mistakes

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:22:15 GMT

clipped by: clipsaved

Clip Source: industry.bnet.com

Retail sites still making rookie mistakes — Only 3 percent of Web sites passed Forrester Research’s usability test during a recent study analyzing e-commerce. “The No. 1 failure, believe it or not, is text legibility,” Forrester Vice President Bruce Temkin said, adding that a positive customer experience is vital for online retailers. Inefficient checkout processes that force customers to complete too many steps are among other common pitfalls, he said. [Source: Internetretailer]

Holiday shoppers plan to seek bargains on the Web

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:17:31 GMT

clipped by: clipsaved

Clip Source: industry.bnet.com

Holiday shoppers plan to seek bargains on the Web — While predictions for holiday sales remain dire, Internet retailers who outfit their sites with discounts and special deals may find the silver lining of a gray economy, according to a recent study. Roughly 85 percent of online shoppers use Web tools to find sales and deals, according to research from Harris Interactive. Meanwhile, 37 percent of consumers plan to do their holiday shopping online, and 32 percent of Web shoppers turn to the Internet specifically looking for bargains. [Source: internetretailer]

Math Skills Suffer in U.S., Study Finds

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:14:15 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: The students with the motivation to improve themselves are usually too poor to stay at school, those who can stay have to cope with peer pressure and the children of the rich aim to be celebrities. The overall outcome of the deliberate neglect of education will be to decimate the middle class.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels, a new study asserts, and girls who do succeed in the field are almost all immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where mathematics is more highly valued.

The study suggests that while many girls have exceptional talent in math — the talent to become top math researchers, scientists and engineers — they are rarely identified in the United States. A major reason, according to the study, is that American culture does not highly value talent in math, and so discourages girls — and boys, for that matter — from excelling in the field. The study will be published Friday in Notices of the American Mathematical Society.

“We’re living in a culture that is telling girls you can’t do math — that’s telling everybody that only Asians and nerds do math,” said the study’s lead author, Janet E. Mertz,

For social reasons they’re not even trying.”

Tags: education

Turning Facts Into Speculation

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:41:14 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Let a bisexual woman say for once and all that all women are NOT bisexual. How silly to put up one picture of a man who looks like a player with bad hair and bad jewelry and a huge package swathed in purple and make a statement that all women are bisexual because they found the second picture of the woman to be more appealing. Bisexuality is very complex and most likely a variant. Does that mean there aren't a lot of women who are bisexual and closeted? Of course not. Is attraction based on more than just the image in the retina? YES, YES, YES.
Do I have to post a link to a video of PINK to forget all of this? DUH.

Clip Source: laconicreply.wordpress.com

It seems like every couple days another study is released. At that point the journalism machine spins into overdrive and starts turning facts into speculation, correlation into causation.

A recent example is the an article in the New York Times that summarizes a study on female bisexuality.

the journalist then speculates that all women are inherently bisexual, or at least significantly more so then men. This is a pretty big leap in my opinion.

Attraction is based on more than just the image on my retina.

Just because a select group of women were not as aroused by a certain photo of a naked man as they were by a certain photo of a naked woman does not instantly mean that all women are inherently bisexual.

It’s these sorts of extreme extrapolations that always bother me.

Help for Thunder-Phobic Dogs Veterinarians Show Consoling Dogs Does Not Relieve Their Panic

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:40:15 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Help for Thunder-Phobic Dogs
Veterinarians Show Consoling Dogs Does Not Relieve Their Panic

A new study shows that dogs can get very upset during thunderstorms, whether or not their owner holds them. The study measured the stress hormone cortisol to be up to three times normal levels while the dogs heard recordings of a thunderstorm. The company of other dogs did help, though vets say medications may be more effective.

PHILADELPHIA--Do thunderstorms make your dog tremble with fear with every rumble? Thunderstorm anxiety is common among dogs, sending frightened pooches shuddering under beds or even tearing up furniture. What's really behind this pet panic?

All it takes is one rumble from a thunderstorm and Patty Nordstrom's dog, Iko, is a nervous wreck.

"Iko starts shaking and panting and pacing and is very nervous and upset," Nordstrom says. Many sympathetic owners like her try comforting pooches with thunderstorm anxiety. Now, a new study shows consoling your pet may not help.

Tags: science

Toxic effects of depression on brain..proof.

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:31:59 GMT

clipped by: JackieDel

Clip Source: www.smh.com.au

Blues are killing your grey matter

DEPRESSION is toxic to the brain and reduces grey-matter volume in several key regions, scientists have established for the first time in a three-year follow-up examination of patients admitted to a psychiatric ward.

Dr Frodl took high-resolution images of the brains of 38 patients when they were first admitted to hospital with serious depression, and again one, two and three years later. He found those who remained ill experienced more grey-matter loss than those whose depression got better and 30 healthy people whose brains were also scanned.

Study leader Thomas Frodl said the findings meant early diagnosis of depression was critically important and treatment - with antidepressants or psychotherapy - should begin immediately after a person became ill. Prompt treatment might prevent permanent brain damage, he said.

Risk and reward compete in brain

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:43:47 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.brainmysteries.com

That familiar pull between the promise of victory and the dread of defeat - whether in money, love or sport - is rooted in the brain's architecture, according to a new imaging study.

Neuroscientists at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute have identified distinct brain regions with competing responses to risk.

Both regions are located in the prefrontal cortex, an area behind the forehead involved in analysis and planning.

By giving volunteers a task that measures risk tolerance and observing their reactions with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers found that activity in one region identified risk-averse volunteers, while activity in a different region was greater in those with an appetite for risk.

"We can see risk as a battle between two forces," said Antoine Bechara, professor of psychology at USC. "There is always a lure of reward. There's always a fear of failure. These are the two forces that are always battling each other."

Tags: neuroscience, behavior, emotions, risk, fear

DNA test proves it--baby shark has no father

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:41:23 GMT

clipped by: LisbethJ
clipper's remarks: This is wild!

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

updated 2:52 a.m. EDT, Fri October 10, 2008

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DNA test proves it -- baby shark has no father

Story Highlights
Pup carried by a female blacktip shark contains no male genetic material
Scientist: "This is something female sharks of many species can do on occasion."
Virgin birth has been proven in some bony fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds
Virginia aquarium case is nation's second; first was in Nebraska
Next Article in U.S. »

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark.

The first documented case of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha, Nebraska, zoo.

Tags: baby, asexual, shark

Clipmarks | Study Clips

Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

Second case of virgin birth found in sharks

Air Pollution Pollutes Brains as Well!?

Admissions to mental wards for drugs and alcohol up a third

The number of patients admitted to mental health wards because of drug or alcohol abuse has risen by almost one third in three years, latest figures show.

The world's happiest man

Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

Scientists confirm shark's ‘virgin birth’

Retail sites still making rookie mistakes

Holiday shoppers plan to seek bargains on the Web

Math Skills Suffer in U.S., Study Finds

Turning Facts Into Speculation

Help for Thunder-Phobic Dogs Veterinarians Show Consoling Dogs Does Not Relieve Their Panic

Help for Thunder-Phobic Dogs Veterinarians Show Consoling Dogs Does Not Relieve Their Panic

Toxic effects of depression on brain..proof.

Risk and reward compete in brain

DNA test proves it--baby shark has no father

Share this on:

DNA test proves it -- baby shark has no father

Help for Thunder-Phobic Dogs
Veterinarians Show Consoling Dogs Does Not Relieve Their Panic