ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <html> <body> <head> <title>Larry Winfield.com: Sundown Lounge - Maproom Archives: Shows 196 - 210</title> </head> <BODY bgcolor="#000000" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#000000" VLINK="#000000"> <!-- navbar for black background pages--> <TABLE width="100%" valign=top border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TR width="30%" align=left> <a href="index.html"><img src="header_b.jpg" border="0"></a><br> </TR> <TR width="100%" align=center valign=bottom> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/sundownlounge.htm"><img src="navbar_b1.jpg" alt="podcast" title="podcast" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/banjostrings.htm"><img src="navbar_b2.jpg" alt="book" title="book" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/maproom.htm"><img src="navbar_b3.jpg" alt="maproom" title="maproom" border="0"></a> <a href="http://thepatio.podomatic.com/"><img src="navbar_b7.jpg" alt="patio" title="patio" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/tvroom.htm"><img src="navbar_b8.jpg" alt="tv room" title="tv room" border="0"></a> </TR> </TABLE> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif"> <center><img src="map_banner_s.jpg"></center> <BR> <table width=100% border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td width=60% valign=top> <FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size=4> <BR> <center> Map Room Archive: Shows 196 - 210 </center> <br> <br> <br> <br> <center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6327504390827928"; google_alternate_color = "9999FF"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; google_ad_type = "image"; google_ad_channel =""; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 210</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Literary Death Match at Columbia College<br> The Future of Love<br> Horrorfind Weekend in Sept<br> Los Angeles Times Festival of Books<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>From Chicagopoetry.com: Literary Death Match at Columbia College</b> <br><br> </center> <p align=justify> <a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1395&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0"><img src="210_toddzuniga.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a> <text follows> On Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at 7 PM, Columbia College Chicago will present Literary Death Match, an off-the-wall literary extravaganza and competition co-sponsored by Opium Magazine. The event will be held at the Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash, 1st Fl, and is free and open to the public. Literary Death Match is described as a marriage between Def Poetry Jam and American Idol. Four writers will perform their work before a live audience and a panel of four judges: Lindsay Hunter, Robbie Q. Telfer, Jason Bredle, and Chris Bower. After each pair of readings, the judges focused on literary merit, performance and intangibles will take turns spouting off about the writing and then they will select their favorite to advance to the finals. The two finalists then compete in the Literary Death Match finale, which trades in the show s literary sensibility for an absurd and comical climax to determine who takes home the Literary Death Match crown. <br><br> The event will also feature the high-energy, comedic word performance group, Speak Easy Ensemble, featuring Dan Sully, Joel Chmara, Molly Meacham, and Robbie Q. Telfer. Earlier in the day, at 2 PM, Todd Zuniga, president of Opium for the Arts will host the Workshop: "How to start a literary publication and Literary Death Match," in the Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash, 8th Fl. This day of events is produced by Silver Tongue, Columbia College s word based reading series, and the Student Programming Board. All events are free. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>From Saul Williams: The Future of Love Teleseminar Series</b> <br><br><br> <a href="http://futureofloveteleseries.com/"><img src="210_love.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> In times of crisis like these, perhaps Love has never been more important than it is today. It's for this reason that I'm delighted and honored to share with you that I will be participating in an extraordinary teleseminar series on The Future of Love starting April 17th.<br><br> During this 25-week series, we'll engage and explore the biggest topic relevant to all human beings on the planet Love!<br><br> Join me and over 20 of the world's leading visionaries, spiritual teachers, thinkers and leaders dedicated to unfolding a new spirituality--including Ken Wilber, Deepak Chopra, Jean Houston, Warren Farrell, Traleg Rinpoche, John Gray, Lama Surya Das, Sally Kempton, Marilyn Schlitz, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Gabriel Cousens, Cynthia Bourgeault, Tami Simon, Robert Kegan, Sofia Diaz, Saul Williams, Eddie Kowalczyk, Dr. Marc Gafni, Diane Musho Hamilton, and others for this unprecedented conversation. <br><br> This is a complimentary event, our gift to you! There is no charge to participate. You can participate live, or listen to the recordings later at any time, from anywhere in the world.<br><br> Together we'll address some of the most important questions facing us today, such as:<br><br> " What is Love?<br> " How do we find it, nurture and sustain it?<br> " Does Love mean the same thing today that it did a thousand years ago when so many of the great religious traditions developed their views about Love?<br> " How can we help Love evolve through our own development and transformation?<br> " What are the structural patterns in the evolution of Love?<br> " How does our conscious participation change the evolution of Love?<br> " What are the evolutionary Integral skills of Love and relationship that have the power to deepen our realization and to liberate our true and unique self?<br> " What new gifts for the world can emerge from this evolution?<br> <br><br> Each week, you'll have the opportunity to listen in as well as interact with visionary leaders committed to helping evolve the future of love. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Horrorfind Weekend #12</b> <br><br><br> <a href="http://www.horrorfindweekend.com"><img src="210_hw.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> We have a new expanded location just a few miles over the Maryland line in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. With two hotels, nice bar and restaurants and a real movie theater complex we have room to grow and that is exactly what we are doing. <br><br><br> <a href="http://www.horrorfindweekend.com/celebrities.html"><img src="210_hw2.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Celebrities, Bruce Campbell and others provide a great start to what will be an INCREDIBLE list of celebrity guests. <br><br><br> <a href="http://www.horrorfindweekend.com/filmfest.html"><img src="210_hw3.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Horrorfind Weekend Film Festival: has been added to the convention making a perfect place for filmmakers to get their film in front of many many horror fans. We are pleased to welcome JOE RIPPLE of Timewarp Films as Film Festival Director.<br><br> See the Film Festival Page for more info on submitting your film. </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/"><img src="210_fest.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br><br> The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 with a simple goal: to bring together the people who create books with the people who love to read them. The festival was an immediate success and has become the largest and most prestigious book festival in the country, attracting more than 130,000 book lovers each year. <br><br> Saturday & Sunday, April 24-25, 2010 at UCLA </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Late Entry Plugger</b> <br><br> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/210_stars.htm"><img src="210_sgd.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>New Era of Designer Babies with Three Parents and No Hereditary Diseases</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/15/new-era-of-designer-babies-with-three-parents-and-no-hereditary-diseases/"><img src="210_baby.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Dozens of human embryos with three parents have been created by British scientists, ushering in an era of designer babies. The embryos  which effectively have two mothers and one father  have been genetically engineered to be free from incurable muscle, brain, heart and digestive illnesses, some of which kill within hours of being born. <BR><BR> The Newcastle University researchers say that within three years, it could allow women whose families are blighted by disease the chance of bringing a healthy child into the world. <BR><BR> But critics say the breakthrough is a step towards human cloning and erodes the sanctity of human life. <BR><BR> The research centres on mitochondria  powerhouses inside cells which turn food into energy to be used by the brain and body. <BR><BR> Each mitochondrion has its own DNA and is passed down from mother to child. <BR><BR> Serious defects in this DNA affect one in 6,500 babies and cause around 50 genetic diseases, some of which kill in infancy. <BR><BR> With no cure for the conditions, which include some forms of diabetes, blindness and heart problems, women carrying diseased mitochondria often face the heartbreaking choice of whether it would be kinder to remain childless. <BR><BR> The scientists have found a way of swapping the diseased DNA with healthy genetic material, creating embryos free of mitochondrial disease. <BR><BR> The  transplant technique, which is described in the journal Nature, involves using IVF techniques to fertilise an egg from a healthy donor. <BR><BR> When the resulting embryo is just a few hours old, the nuclear DNA, or genes, from the sperm and egg are removed, leaving the healthy mitochondria behind. <BR><BR> The would-be mother s egg is then fertilised with her partner s sperm and the nuclear DNA removed and put into the donor egg. <BR><BR> This creates an egg where the genetic material comes overwhelmingly from the prospective parents and the mitochondria are healthy. <BR><BR> If the method is successful, the disease should be eradicated from future generations of the family. <BR><BR> Professor Alison Murdoch, head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre, whose patients donated eggs for the study, said:  It would be hype to say we are going to get rid of mitochondrial disease but I think it s realistic to say you could get rid of it in an individual family. <BR><BR> Eighty embryos were created in the Newcastle labs, each effectively with three parents  two mothers and a father. <BR><BR> A fourth parent  the man whose sperm was used to fertilise the donor egg  was involved, but none of his DNA was passed on. <BR><BR> Some of the embryos lived for six days, before they were destroyed to comply with fertility laws, which also forbid such embryos from being implanted in a woman. <BR><BR> But updated fertility laws which came into effect last year leave the door open for the legislation to be amended quickly. <BR><BR> Lead researcher Professor Doug Turnbull said if this happened, the first babies could be born in as little as three years. <BR><BR> He said:  This is a very exciting development with immense potential to help families at risk from mitochondrial diseases. <BR><BR> But Josephine Quintavalle, of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the technique was a step towards human cloning. <BR><BR> She added:  We know very little about the beginning of life and it is extraordinary how willing we are to break down one of the most obvious barriers, which is that it takes a sperm and an egg to create an embryo. We have got to find better ways to cure these diseases. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Student in Kenya Invents Solar Powered Forest Fire Detector</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/16/student-in-kenya-invents-solar-powered-forest-fire-detector/"><img src="210_fire.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Efforts to curb forest loss around the world as a means of cutting carbon emissions just got a boost: A Kenyan student has invented a device to automatically detect forest fire outbreaks. <BR><BR> The technology, produced by Pascal Katana, a 24-year-old University of Nairobi engineering student, uses heat sensors to detect a fire, then automatically relays the information to a forest station through mobile phone technology. <BR><BR>  The heat sensors are programmed to detect temperatures which are over 45 degrees Celsius, said the soft-spoken inventor.  Temperature from the sun does not go beyond this level in terms of heating and that is why it will be easy to tell that a fire could have been ignited. <BR><BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> In a demonstration at the University of Nairobi, Katana altered sensor levels to detect body temperate and then touched the sensor with his finger. That immediately triggered a call to his mobile phone. <BR><BR>  This is how the system is expected to work, he said.  Once the forest station receives the alert, the rangers can then marshal reinforcements from the nearby fire station to put out the fire. <BR><BR> DEVICE WORKS ON SOLAR POWER <BR><BR> The system is suitable in areas where there is no electricity supply because it can be powered by a simple solar panel that generates five volts of energy, he said. <BR><BR>  It is a simple technology because one does not have to be literate to operate it, the electrical and electronics engineering student said, calling it a  plug and play device. <BR><BR> The device still has to go through a vetting and trial process before it can be granted patent protection, according to Hussein Said of Kenya s National Council for Science and Technology. But it may offer significant benefits in Kenya, which suffered widespread forest fires last year as a result of prolonged drought. <BR><BR>  2009 was the worst period for us in terms of fire outbreaks because it was preceded by a prolonged drought, said Samuel Tokole, an official of the Kenya Wildlife Service, a government agency that protects and conserves the country s biodiversity, and struggled to find enough resources to cope with last year s fires. <BR><BR>  What is most frustrating is that I can t really say we have what we need in terms of technology and equipment to fight forest fires, he said. <BR><BR> Fires in Kenya last year destroyed 11,370 hectares of bush and forest land. Thirty-five percent of the already heavily deforested Mau Forest Complex was lost to fire, according to Noor Hassan Noor, an administrator in Kenya s Rift Valley province. <BR><BR> Noor called the new fire reporting device a potentially useful part of Kenya s effort to keep forest fires in check. <BR><BR>  This is an interesting invention which the government should support given the damage forest fires do to our ecosystems, he said. <BR> <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>16 Year Old High School Student Discovers Microbe That Eats Plastic</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/21/16-year-old-high-school-student-discovers-microbe-that-eats-plastic/"><img src="210_plas.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> It s not your average science fair when the 16-year-old winner manages to solve a global waste crisis. But such was the case at last May s Canadian Science Fair in Waterloo, Ontario, where Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, presented his research on microorganisms that can rapidly biodegrade plastic. <BR><BR> NOTE: There are TWO high school students who discovered plastic-consuming microorganisms. The first was Daniel Burd. The second was Tseng I-Ching (last month), a high school student in Taiwan. <BR><BR> Daniel had a thought it seems even the most esteemed PhDs hadn t considered. Plastic, one of the most indestructible of manufactured materials, does in fact eventually decompose. It takes 1,000 years but decompose it does, which means there must be microorganisms out there to do the decomposing. <BR><BR> Could those microorganisms be bred to do the job faster? That was Daniel s question, and he put to the test with a very simple and clever process of immersing ground plastic in a yeast solution that encourages microbial growth, and then isolating the most productive organisms. <BR><BR> The preliminary results were encouraging, so he kept at it, selecting out the most effective strains and interbreeding them. After several weeks of tweaking and optimizing temperatures Burd was achieved a 43 percent degradation of plastic in six weeks, an almost inconceivable accomplishment. <BR><BR> With 500 billion plastic bags manufactured each year and a Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch that grows more expansive by the day, a low-cost and nontoxic method for degrading plastic is the stuff of environmentalists dreams and, I would hazard a guess, a pretty good start-up company as well. <BR><BR> NOTE: There are certainly methods for decomposing plastic, but most are chemical in nature not organic, requiring high temperatures and chemical additives to cause the plasticizers to vaporize, for instance this patent on PVC extraction. There have been several successful bacteria-based solutions developed at the Department of Biotechnology in Tottori, Japan as well as the Department of Microbiology at the National University of Ireland, but both apply only to styrene compounds. <BR><BR> It goes without saying that these discoveries need to be tested to ensure, for instance, that the byproducts of organic decomposition are not carcinogenic (as in the case with mammalian metabolism of styrene and benzene). The processing of plastics by these methods would also have to be contained in highly controlled environments. So, no, we re not talking about a magic panacea or a plastic-free paradise, but the innovative application of microorganisms to break down our most troublesome waste products is nevertheless a major scientific breakthrough. <BR><BR> NOTE: One of the readers pointed out a very interesting study in 2004 at the University of Wisconsin that isolated a fungus capable of biodegrading phenol-formaldehyde polymers previously thought to be non-biodegradable. Phenol polymers are produced at an annual rate of 2.2 million metric tons per year in the United States for many industrial and commercial applications including durable plastics. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6327504390827928"; google_alternate_color = "9999FF"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; google_ad_type = "image"; google_ad_channel =""; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 209</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Cram Volume 8<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <b>From Chicagopoetry.com: Cram Volume 8</b> <br><br> <center> <a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1191"><img src="209_cram.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> 32 poets have been selected for inclusion in Cram Volume 8,<br> a publication that will be given away free to the public <br> at the Poetry Fest at Harold Washington Library on April 24. </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Magnets Shown to Manipulate Morality</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/10/magnets-can-manipulate-morality/"><img src="209_mag.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Magnets can alter a person s sense of morality, according to a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. <BR> <BR> Using a powerful magnetic field, scientists from MIT, Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are able to scramble the moral center of the brain, making it more difficult for people to separate innocent intentions from harmful outcomes. The research could have big implications for not only neuroscientists, but also for judges and juries. <BR> <BR>  It s one thing to  know that we ll find morality in the brain, said Liane Young, a scientist at MIT and co-author of the article.  It s another to  knock out that brain area and change people s moral judgments. <BR> <BR> Before the scientists could alter the brain s moral center, they first had to find it. <BR> <BR> Young and her colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging to locate an area of the brain known as the right temporo-parietal junction (RTPJ) which other studies had previously related to moral judgments. While muscle movement, language and even memory are found in the same place in each individual, the RTPJ, located behind and above the ear, resides in a slightly different location in each person. <BR> <BR> For their experiment, the scientists had 20 subjects read several dozen different stories about people with good or bad intentions that resulted in a variety of outcomes. <BR> <BR> One typical story was about a boyfriend who leads his girlfriend across a bridge. In some versions, the boyfriend harmlessly walked his girlfriend across the bridge with no ill effect. In other cases, the boyfriend intentionally led the girlfriend along so she would break her ankle. The subjects used a seven point scale  one being forbidden and seven completely permissible  to record whether they thought the situation was morally acceptable or not. <BR> <BR> While the subjects read the story, the scientists applied a magnetic field using a method known as transcranial magnetic stimulation. The magnetic fields created confusion in the neurons that make up the RTPJ, said Young, causing them to fire off electrical pulses chaotically. <BR> <BR> The confusion in the brain made it harder for subjects to interpret the boyfriend s intent, said Young, and instead made the subjects focus solely on the situation s outcome. The effect was temporary and safe. <BR> <BR> When no magnetic field was applied, the subjects focused more on the boyfriend s good intentions, rather than a bad outcome. When a magnetic field was applied to the RTPJ, the subjects consistently focused on a bad outcome, rather than the intention, and rated the story as more morally objectionable. <BR> <BR> The scientists didn t permanently remove the subjects moral sensibilities. On the scientists seven point scale, the difference was about one point and averaged out to about a 15 percent change. It s not much, said Young,  but it s still striking to see such a change in such high level behavior as moral decision-making. Young also points out that the study was correlation; their work only links the the RTJP, morality and magnetic fields, but doesn t definitively prove that one causes another. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>The Future of the College Classroom</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/12/the-future-of-the-college-classroom/"><img src="209_col.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Picture the experience in most of today s college classrooms: a vast amphitheater where a wizened professor drones through a long lecture about what he knows. Three weeks later, students remember only a tenth of what they learned. Bored students and executives hungry for talented young leaders know this is not the way to produce the next generation of innovators. <BR> <BR> In 2020 we will see an end to the classroom as we know it. The lone professor will be replaced by a team of coaches from vastly different fields. Tidy lectures will be supplanted by messy real-world challenges. Instead of parking themselves in a lecture hall for hours, students will work in collaborative spaces, where future doctors, lawyers, business leaders, engineers, journalists and artists learn to integrate their different approaches to problem solving and innovate together. <BR> <BR> In schools around the world this transformation is already underway. At the National Institute of Design in India students learn to understand customer needs by working closely with companies like Hewlett Packard and Autodesk. In Toronto, students at the Rotman School of Management take classes at DesignWorks, an experimental workspace where students work on projects like reinventing the retail banking experience. <BR> <BR> Here at Stanford s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design known on campus as the  d.school  students from engineering, medicine, business, law and the arts come together to tackle real-world projects. They ve worked on everything from reinventing the morning radio experience for a century-old station in New York City to helping JetBlue serve customers during massive weather delays. Students develop empathy for those who will be using their solutions, collaborate with teammates who have vastly different problem-solving approaches and understand what it takes to make new ideas viable. Along the way they learn a methodology that equips them to tackle major, complex challenges far beyond the classroom. <BR> <BR> Students have used these projects as a springboard for entrepreneurial leadership. Embrace, a company that makes warming devices for premature infants in the developing world, started as a class project at the d.school. The team an MBA, two engineers and a computer scientist worked with a nongovernmental organization that wanted to make cheaper incubators for rural developing countries like Nepal, where thousands of premature babies die each year. The team started by getting direct experience with mothers and doctors in Nepal. They discovered that mothers are rarely able to make the long, expensive journey to a hospital, so cheaper hospital incubators wouldn t solve the problem. Instead they developed a small, portable warming device women can use in their homes. Its costs is 1% that of a traditional incubator. <BR> <BR> That s a learning experience you can t get in a traditional classroom. And the shift toward these kinds of hands-on experiences is happening far beyond universities. <BR> <BR> Educators have long seen a paradox: Children enter school with innate creativity but rarely leave that way. Sir Ken Robinson, a British researcher, illustrates this with a study of 1,600 children between the ages of 3 and 5. Tested on their ability to think divergently generating ideas by exploring many possible solutions, a key to innovation 98% scored at genius level. Ten years later the same children were given the same test; only 10% scored at genius level. <BR> <BR> Schools around the country are moving aggressively to rethink their memorize-and-test approach. At a charter school in one of the Bay Area s poorest and most violent neighborhoods, teacher Melissa Pelochino took what she learned at a d.school workshop back to her classroom and saw measurable leaps in literacy and critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, the Henry Ford Learning Institute is scaling models developed at a successful small high school, removing the boundaries between learning and the real world. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> For executives, the increasing pace of information is making the ability to keep learning more imperative than their expertise. To keep pace they will remain students of innovation throughout their careers. John Keefe, executive producer for WNYC radio station in New York, came to the d.school to develop his own process for innovation. He went back to his station and used it to tackle their most vexing problem: During breaking news events, stale and inaccurate information was making it s way onto the air, although no one was sure exactly why. He ran a short simulation with his staff, using Post-It notes to represent what information each person had and how it moved. The breakdowns quickly became obvious, and with a few tweaks the team was ready to get the freshest news on air when a plane crashed in the city the next day. <BR> <BR> Keefe s diagnosis of information breakdowns was a successful innovation something companies are increasingly hungry for as the pace of global change accelerates. But what s really valuable is his transformation into an innovator who can continually produce great ideas and turn them into reality again and again. In an era of global competition, these shifts in education will be key to developing the next generation of leaders. <BR> <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>ProDigits  Individual Prosthetic Fingers Can Replace Any or All Fingers on a Hand</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/13/prodigits-individual-prosthetic-fingers-can-replace-any-or-all-fingers-on-a-hand/"><img src="209_dig.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Eric Jones sat in a middle seat on a recent flight from the New York area to Florida, but he wasn t complaining. Instead, he was quietly enjoying actions that many other people might take for granted, like taking a cup of coffee from the flight attendant or changing the channel on his video monitor. <BR> <BR> These simple movements were lost to Mr. Jones when the fingers and thumb on his right hand were amputated three years ago. But now he has a prosthetic replacement: a set of motorized digits that can clasp cans, flimsy plastic water bottles or even thin slips of paper. <BR> <BR>  Pouring a can of soda into a cup  that is a mundane daily action for most people, but to me it is a very big deal, said Mr. Jones, who lives with his family in Mamaroneck, N.Y.  I slip my bionic fingers on like a glove, and then I have five moveable fingers to grasp things. It s wonderful to have regained these functions. <BR> <BR> Mr. Jones s prosthesis, called ProDigits, is made by Touch Bionics in Livingston, Scotland. The device can replace any or all fingers on a hand; each replacement digit has a tiny motor and gear box mounted at the base. Movement is controlled by a computer chip in the prosthesis. <BR> <BR> ProDigits was released commercially last December, said Stuart Mead, the chief executive of Touch Bionics. About 60 patients have been fitted worldwide, he said, and some have been wearing it for three or four years. The cost is $60,000 to $75,000, including fitting and occupational therapy. <BR> <BR> The technology used by Touch Bionics is based on prostheses that the National Health Service in Scotland developed for children there who suffered effects of the drug thalidomide, he said. The company, founded in 2003 as a spin-off from the health service, adapted the technology from custom prostheses into ones that could be produced commercially. It had funding from investors including Archangel Informal Investment and the Scottish Co-investment Fund. <BR> <BR> The company s first product, released two and a half years ago, was the i-Limb Hand, an entire hand that opens and closes and can grasp objects. It has been a success, Mr. Mead said, with more than 1,200 patients fitted with it in 40 countries. <BR> <BR> The company then turned to creating ProDigits.  We decided to develop the technology to mechanize not just a hand, but individual fingers, he said.  We always knew that it would be the bigger market  more people lose individual digits than lose entire hands  but also the most challenging technically. <BR> <BR> The individual, motorized fingers are a new and promising development in the field, made possible in part by miniaturization of components, said John Miguelez, founder and president of Advanced Arm Dynamics of Redondo Beach, Calif. The company specializes in prosthetics for hands and arms for, among others, soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington.  More voltage and current can be applied to the motors, he said,  creating increased speed and force. <BR> <BR> Dr. Douglas G. Smith, a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, agreed.  Motors are getting stronger and smaller, and the batteries are thinner and smaller, too, he said, making it possible to fit mechanical components into the space formerly occupied by a finger. <BR> <BR> Eric Jones has been wearing a ProDigits prosthetic for 18 months. The artificial fingers are slightly larger than the originals, but that is not a problem, he said.  The fingers look cool, he said. A switch on the side turns the power on and off, and he charges the digits overnight, as he would a cellphone <BR> <BR> Mr. Jones starts the action by flexing or relaxing a muscle in the palm of his hand. Sensors built into the prosthesis pick up the signals sent by the muscles and send the message to the computer chip that controls the motor. The artificial fingers stop closing when they detect resistance, said Karl Lindborg, professional services director for Touch Bionics. <BR> <BR> A single, outstretched prosthetic finger can operate a microwave oven or a cellphone; a finger and a thumb can hold a chess piece; three or more fingers can grasp a sphere. Mr. Jones said the fingers also provided a touch of class.  I can grasp a wine glass with my bionic fingers, he said.  My pinkie and ring finger curve under the bowl very elegantly. <BR> <BR> ProDigits may be opened and closed not only by sensors that pick up muscle contractions, but also by dime-size pads put at the base of the fingers to detect pressure exerted by remnant bone.  If you can wiggle the bones in your palm, Mr. Miguelez explained,  that wiggle can be translated into controls to open and close the fingers. <BR> <BR> Robert J. Green of Bel Air, Md., who lost the fingers and thumb on his dominant left hand last year, operates his ProDigits in just that way. He uses his prosthetic fingers, for example, to write with a pen or a pencil. The artificial digits have actually improved his handwriting, he said, and he likes their appearance, too.  I look something like Arnold Schwarzenegger in  The Terminator,  he said. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Togolese student builds working robot from old TVs</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/togolese-student-builds-working-robot-from-old-tvs/"><img src="209_togo.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Sam Todo, a young student from Togo, Africa, has created a fully-working robot made entirely from old TV parts and other used electronics. Dubbed SAM10, the fully-automatic robot will be able to greet people and also avoid objects in front of it. <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sPIq4LbUODk&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sPIq4LbUODk&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 208</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> PSH 6th Annual Great E-Book Free-For-All<br> Smog Veil Records<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Poetry Super Highway's 6th Annual Great E-Book Free-For-All</b> <br><br> <a href="http://poetrysuperhighway.com/Poetlinks.html"><img src="psh-e.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> The E-Books Accumulating - Join the Free-For-All! <br><br> Join in! Send us your e-book during the month of April and we'll add it to the pile of e-books which will be freely available to download by anyone on earth for 24 hours on May 1st, 2010...a free-for-all. <br><br> More info? Click on "Great E-Book Free-For-All" from the main PSH menu or e-mail ffa-guidelines@poetrysuperhighway.com to have them sent to you. <br><br><br> PSH Live Open Reading Next Sunday <br><br> Tune in Sunday, April 11 at 2:00 pm (pacific) for the next PSH Live open reading. Hear poets from all over the world read their work and call in to read yours! It's a world-wide open reading and you're invited. Listen to our past shows in the archive. <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.smogveil.com/"><img src="207_smog.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> New Batusis 4-song EP, Another Dimentia 13 exclusive download release, Band schedules galore! <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <img src="goncalves_dias.jpg" border="0"> <br><br> Antônio Gonçalves Dias (August 10, 1823  November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian poet and dramatist, famous for his patriotic poems. The most famous of those is "Canção do exílio", arguably the most well-known poem in Brazilian literature. He is also the patron of the 15th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. <br><br><br> Cancao do Exilio <br><br><br> Minha terra tem palmeiras,<br> Onde canta o sabiá.<br> As aves que aqui gorjeiam<br> Não gorjeiam como lá.<br><br> Nosso céu tem mais estrelas,<br> Nossas várzeas têm mais flores.<br> Nossos bosques têm mais vida,<br> Nossa vida mais amores.<br><br> Em cismar, sozinho, à noite,<br> Mais prazer encontro eu lá.<br> Minha terra tem palmeiras,<br> Onde canta o sabiá.<br><br> Minha terra tem primores,<br> Que tais não encontro eu cá;<br> Em cismar  sozinho, à noite  <br> Mais prazer encontro eu lá.<br> Minha terra tem palmeiras,<br> Onde canta o sabiá.<br><br> Não permita Deus que eu morra<br> Sem que eu volte para lá;<br> Sem que desfrute os primores<br> Que não encontro por cá;<br> Sem qu'inda aviste as palmeiras<br> Onde canta o sabiá.<br><br><br> Song of the Exile<br><br><br> My land has palm trees<br> Where the thrush sings.<br> The birds that sing in here<br> Do not sing as they do there.<br><br> Our skies have more stars,<br> Our valleys have more flowers.<br> Our forests have more life<br> Our lives have more loves.<br><br> In dreaming, alone, at night,<br> I find more pleasure in there.<br> My land has palm trees<br> Where the thrush sings.<br><br> My land has beauties<br> Who cannot be found in here.<br> In dreaming  alone, at night  <br> I find more pleasure in there.<br> My land has palm trees<br> Where the thrush sings.<br><br> May God never allow<br> That I die before I return;<br> That I do not see the beauties<br> That I cannot find in here;<br> That I do not see the palm trees<br> Where the thrush sings.<br><br> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Land Peel  Carpet That Transforms Into Furniture</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/04/land-peel-carpet-that-transforms-into-furniture/"><img src="208_peel1.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> By necessity, the Japanese have an intuition for space-saving design that shines in their products and architecture. But this concept might be one of the cleverest we ve ever seen. Created by Shin Yamashita, a student at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, Land Peel is a foam floor covering which also has panels that flip up and fold, to become any sort of furniture you might need: From a table, to a backrest, to a drink tray, to a footrest, to a pillow. <BR><BR> <img src="208_peel2.jpg" border="0"> <BR><BR> In addition, there s a plug for a custom-fitted lamp, which also serves as a table leg, when extended. <BR><BR> <img src="208_peel3.jpg" border="0"> <BR><BR> Maybe this would only catch on in Japan, where Tatami mats and floor-sitting are a cultural norm. But consider: The carpet in front of the TV might as well be a piece of furniture, given the way most people actually live. Add a few different skins for different interiors (think: Flor modular carpet tiles), and this could find a huge market. <BR><BR> <img src="208_peel4.jpg" border="0"> <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Grandmother Invents Foolproof Needle</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/29/grandmother-invents-foolproof-needle/"><img src="208_needle.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> A grandmother from Minnesota has solved one of life s most fiddly domestic tasks by inventing a sewing needle that can be threaded by the clumsiest of hands. <BR> <BR> A loop of thread is draped over the needle and then pulled into the eye before being secured in the normal way. The 57-year-old said she was inspired to redesign the sewing needle, which has seen little change over the centuries, after watching her mother struggle threading the traditional style implement. She claims that her needle, which costs £3.69, allows users to get sewing within a matter of seconds and can be threaded with your eyes closed. She has refused to disclose her secret about how she made the needle, but admits that it takes more specialised equipment than the traditional needle-making process. <BR> <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Looking At Photos Of Sick People Boosts Your Immune System</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/06/looking-at-photos-of-sick-people-boosts-your-immune-system/"><img src="208_sick.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> I harbor the superstitious belief that I will catch a cold from watching TV shows depicting people who are sick. I usually stop watching any program that has someone sniffing and sneezing. But it turns out that looking at images of sick people actually boosts your immune system, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia& <BR> <BR> The researchers asked young adults to watch a 10-minute slide show containing a series of unpleasant photographs. Some of these participants looked at pictures of people who looked obviously sick in some way (people with pox and rashes, people coughing and sneezing and blowing mucus out of their noses). <BR> <BR> The participants gave blood samples both before and after each slideshow. Next the researchers exposed these blood samples to a bacterial infection, and measured the extent to which white blood cells produced interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine that white blood cells make when they detect microbial intruders. More IL-6 indicates a more aggressive immune response to infection. So, by measuring IL-6 before and after the slide show, the researchers were able to determine whether seeing pictures of disease-y people actually stimulated the immune system to fight infection more aggressively. And it did. <BR> <BR> Douglas Kenrick of Psychology Today interviewed one of the researchers in the study, social psychologist Mark Schaller. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>The Sahara Forest Project  A Renewable Energy Oasis</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/04/07/the-sahara-forest-project-a-renewable-energy-oasis/"><img src="208_sahara.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> The Sahara Forest Project is a unique combination of proven environmental technologies, such as solar thermal power, modern biomass production and the Seawater Greenhouse. The resulting synergies enable restorative growth in the world s most arid regions. (Pics) <BR> <BR> Can you imagine being able to produce enough water in the Sahara to grow crops there? Can you imagine harnessing sufficient quantities of solar power to supply electricity to cities in Africa and cities in Europe? Can you imagine producing a sustainable bio-fuel that doesn t impact on world food supplies? Charlie Paton, Michael Pawlyn and Bill Watts can and what s more they can imagine all these happening in the same place at the same time. <BR> <BR> A trio of visionaries launched the Sahara Forest Project: their proposal to combine two innovative technologies, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Seawater Greenhouses, to produce renewable energy, water and food in an area of desert known to be one of the hottest places on earth. <BR> <BR> <img src="saharaforest-262.jpg" border="0"> <BR> <BR> Multitasking renewable solutions <BR> <BR> It has often been said that there will be no one solution to solving the climate crisis and all those issues that surround it, such as energy sources, food prices and water supply. We need a portfolio of technologies to help us to combat these advancing problems. The Sahara Forest Project is one of the first projects we ve seen that proposes not only to combine technologies to optimise performance and production, but also aims to tackle all of the serious challenges mentioned above. It is a bold and ambitious plan that, if realised, could have a powerful positive impact not only for the Sahara region, but also for Europe and the rest of the world. <BR> <BR> Positive Collaboration <BR> <BR> The most exciting aspect of the Sahara Forest Project is not specifically the use of these technologies. We ve read about Seawater Greenhouses and Concentrated Solar Power and how they re being used to great effect. It is the fact that they are being used together in the same place, to support each other and optimize their operating capacities to produce energy and water and by proxy vegetation. <BR> <BR> This sense of collaboration is echoed in the team of people behind the proposal: an inventor  Charlie Paton, creator of the Seawater Greenhouse; an architect  Michael Pawlyn of Exploration Architecture, previously of Grimshaw and the lead architect on the iconic Eden Project; an engineer  Bill Watts of Max Fordham & Partners, an engineering firm that focuses on energy efficient systems for the built environment. These three men have brought their considerable expertise together to create a truly innovative proposal. <BR> <BR> <img src="saharaforest-263.jpg" border="0"> <BR> <BR> What does a Seawater Greenhouse do? <BR> <BR> The Seawater Greenhouse was designed to address the problem of irrigating crops in arid coastal regions by evaporating seawater and condensing it into fresh water. This helps to reverse the trend of desertification created by normal industrial greenhouses, which can use up to five times more water to irrigate crops than the respective region s average annual rainfall. The system works by mimicking the natural hydrological cycle where seawater heated by the sun, evaporates, cools down to form clouds and returns to the earth as rain, fog or dew. <BR> <BR> What does Concentrated Solar Power do? <BR> <BR> CSP is currently seen as one of the most exciting and powerful ways of harnessing the sun s energy to create power. Like the Seawater Greenhouse, CSP works well in hot arid areas where the sun is at its most powerful. The sun s rays, collected through reflecting mirrors, are used to heat water which then produces steam to power turbines. Examples currently working are Nevada Solar 1 near Las Vegas, and the solar tower in Barstow California. It has been proposed that the energy created by CSP in the Sahara could be transported to Europe with minimal loss via high voltage DC power lines. <BR> <BR> How will the Sahara Forest Project work? <BR> <BR> These CSP / Seawater Greenhouse technologies will work together at a location some distance from the north coast of Africa, hopefully at a point below sea level which will reduce or potentially eliminate the costs of pumping seawater. The scheme has been designed as a  hedge of greenhouses providing a windbreak and shelter for the outdoor planting. CSP arrays will be placed at intervals along the greenhouse  hedge . The greenhouses produce five time more fresh water than needed for the plants inside. This surplus will be used to irrigate the planted orchards and the Jatrophra crop, which can be turned into bio-fuel for transportation and other needs. <BR> <BR> <img src="saharaforest-264.jpg" border="0"> <BR> <BR> Commercial Synergies <BR> <BR> The Sahara Forest Project team tell us that the innovative interaction between the two technologies helps each to function more efficiently: <BR> <BR> 1.CSP systems need water for cleaning the mirrors and for the generation of steam to drive the turbines which the greenhouses can provide. <BR> <BR> 2.The Greenhouse evaporators make very efficient dust traps (as do plants that are growing outside) which benefits the CSP since the mirrors stay cleaner and therefore operate more efficiently. <BR> <BR> 3. In solar thermal power plants, only about 25% of the collected solar energy is converted into electricity. If combined with sea water another 50% of the collected energy, normally released as heat, can be used for desalination. This way, up to 85% of the collected solar energy can be used. <BR> <BR> In conclusion the Sahara Forest Project works on many levels. By combining the benefits of Concentrated Solar Power and Seawater Greenhouses the design team has vastly scaled up the positive outputs of renewable energy, food production and fresh water supply. Furthermore they tell us that  the scheme would also have the restorative effect of returning areas of desert to forested land and sequestering substantial quantities of atmospheric carbon in new plant growth and reactivated soils. Surely this is a perfect example of the potential power of human and technological collaboration. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 207</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Band Pluggers from Stars Go Dim and Pere Ubu via Smog Veil Records<br> SLounge TV Audience Pics<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <b>Band Pluggers</b> <br><br><br> <i>Late Entry!</i> <br><br> During the week I received a music submission from a cat named Buddhuza, AKA Levan Khubulava, from Georgia (the coutry, not the state). I emailed him that I would plug his making it into the finals of the <b><a href="http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/">International Songwriting Competition</a></b>. Well, it slipped my mind as I was writing up the script for the show, but the least I can do is ask listeners to check him out and, if you like his music (I liked it well enough to add to my pending folder for an upcoming show) to click his <b><a href="http://buddhuza.com/vote/isc">vote link</a></b> before March 31st. I'm going to plug him in the next SLounge TV episode and offer a mea culpa... <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/207_sgd.htm"><img src="207_sgd.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Stars Go Dim's "Come Around" is featued on the original motion picture soundtrack for the movie Letters to God in stores nationwide March 30, 2010. Pick up the soundtrack and then watch the movie in theaters nationwide April 9, 2010. Click through for the movie site link and more... </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/207_smog.htm"><img src="207_smog.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> PERE UBU plays two very special gigs this week, and I want to be sure you don't miss them. <br><br> First off is Wednesday, March 24, Lincoln Hall, Chicago. The band will perform The Modern Dance in its entirety along with select cuts from Long Live Pere Ubu. <br><br> Second occurs Sunday, March 28 in New York at Le Poisson Rouge and marks the North American Premiere of Long Live Pere Ubu!--The Spectacle. <br><br> Regarding the band's recent performance of The Modern Dance, Pat Leonard at The Agit Reader wrote that: "Thomas had promised near the beginning of the band's hour-long set that they would take the audience back to how it sounded at the Pirate's Cove more than 30 years ago, and he largely delivered on that promise." At the band's Cleveland performance, a special screened poster was made available; the same deal applies at the Chicago gig. </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <b>SLounge TV Audience Pics</b> <br><br><br> On the Mevio show page there's a picture app that shows who's currently logged in and watching, and since the show began in January I've noted that among the regulars are a few heavy hitters. Now I'm not gonna name drop, other than to say thanks Adam, Dawn, John, Pete and Tracy for tuning in to the funky show. And Adam - I caught your last 'cast, and you're going through a lot right now, but glad to see your regular show coming back... <br><br><br> <center> <img src="SL_pic_a.jpg" border="0"> </center> <br><br> <center> <img src="SL_pic_b.jpg" border="0"> </center> <br><br> <center> <img src="SL_pic_c.jpg" border="0"> </center> <br><br> <center> <img src="SL_pic_d.jpg" border="0"> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Acne Drug Prevents HIV Breakout</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/22/acne-drug-prevents-hiv-breakout/"><img src="207_hiv.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating. <BR> <BR> The drug, minocycline, likely will improve on the current treatment regimens of HIV-infected patients if used in combination with a standard drug cocktail known as HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy), according to research published now online and appearing in print April 15 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.  The powerful advantage to using minocycline is that the virus appears less able to develop drug resistance because minocycline targets cellular pathways not viral proteins, says Janice Clements, Ph.D., Mary Wallace Stanton Professor of Faculty Affairs, vice dean for faculty, and professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. <BR> <BR>  The big challenge clinicians deal with now in this country when treating HIV patients is keeping the virus locked in a dormant state, Clements adds.  While HAART is really effective in keeping down active replication, minocycline is another arm of defense against the virus. <BR> <BR> Unlike the drugs used in HAART which target the virus, minocycline homes in on, and adjusts T cells, major immune system agents and targets of HIV infection. According to Clements, minocycline reduces the ability of T cells to activate and proliferate, both steps crucial to HIV production and progression toward full blown AIDS. <BR> <BR> If taken daily for life, HAART usually can protect people from becoming ill, but it s not a cure. The HIV virus is kept at a low level but isn t ever entirely purged; it stays quietly hidden in some immune cells. If a person stops HAART or misses a dose, the virus can reactivate out of those immune cells and begin to spread. <BR> <BR> The idea for using minocycline as an adjunct to HAART resulted when the Hopkins team learned of research by others on rheumatoid arthritis patients showing the anti-inflammatory effects of minocycline on T cells. The Hopkins group connected the dots between that study with previous research of their own showing that minocycline treatment had multiple beneficial effects in monkeys infected with SIV, the primate version of HIV. In monkeys treated with minocycline, the virus load in the cerebrospinal fluid, the viral RNA in the brain and the severity of central nervous system disease were significantly decreased. The drug was also shown to affect T cell activation and proliferation. <BR> <BR>  Since minocycline reduced T cell activation, you might think it would have impaired the immune systems in the macaques, which are very similar to humans, but we didn t see any deleterious effect, says Gregory Szeto, a graduate student in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine working in the Retrovirus Laboratory at Hopkins.  This drug strikes a good balance and is ideal for HIV because it targets very specific aspects of immune activation. <BR> <BR> The success with the animal model prompted the team to study in test tubes whether minocycline treatment affected latency in human T cells infected with HIV. Using cells from HIV-infected humans on HAART, the team isolated the  resting immune cells and treated half of them with minocycline. Then they counted how many virus particles were reactivated, finding completely undetectable levels in the treated cells versus detectable levels in the untreated cells. <BR> <BR>  Minocycline reduces the capability of the virus to emerge from resting infected T cells, Szeto explains.  It prevents the virus from escaping in the one in a million cells in which it lays dormant in a person on HAART, and since it prevents virus activation it should maintain the level of viral latency or even lower it. That s the goal: Sustaining a latent non-infectious state. <BR> <BR> The team used molecular markers to discover that minocycline very selectively interrupts certain specific signaling pathways critical for T cell activation. However, the antibiotic doesn t completely obliterate T cells or diminish their ability to respond to other infections or diseases, which is crucial for individuals with HIV. <BR> <BR>  HIV requires T cell activation for efficient replication and reactivation of latent virus, Clement says,  so our new understanding about minocyline s effects on a T cell could help us to find even more drugs that target its signaling pathways. <BR> <BR> The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. <BR> <BR> Authors of the paper, in addition to Clements and Szeto, are Angela K. Brice, Sheila A. Barber and Robert F. Siliciano, all of Johns Hopkins. Also, Hung-Chih Yang of National Taiwan University Hospital. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>YikeBike  A Solution to Congested City Travel</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/19/yikebike-a-solution-to-congested-city-travel/"><img src="207_yike.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> YikeBike is a statement about using smart technology to solve the problems of our increasingly congested, polluted, stressful cities. It is the first commercial expression of the mini-farthing concept, created up by a bunch of successful entrepreneurs, engineers and dreamers. (Pics) <BR> <BR> The result was the mini-farthing concept and its first expression, the YikeBike. It employs state-of-the-art technology, engineering and industrial design to create a new class of personal transport. <BR> <BR> The first licensee of the mini-farthing design, YikeBike, has created a super high end all electric version that weighs less than 10 kg. <BR> <BR> The basic bicycle design has not changed in 120 years because it is a truly fantastic design that is stable and safe to ride. The mini-farthing has been designed to make a form of personal transport that is better suited to a modern city. Rather than just take a normal bicycle design and squash it up, the aim was to see if there was another configuration that was more suited to the task. <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X813eTuZJkc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X813eTuZJkc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> The key advantages of the mini-farthing design are: <BR> <BR> * It is super-small and light so it can go everywhere in a city. The light weight means it is easy to carry up/down stairs, in the store or as part of a commute. The small folded size means it is easy to tuck away on a train or bus, in a car, in an elevator, in a closet, under a desk etc.<BR> * There is no parking hassle meaning it is faster to get from point to point. And because you can just take it with you, there is less risk of theft.<BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> * The mechanics are enclosed so it is both low maintenance and clothes don t get damaged (particularly when carrying).<BR> * It is a stable platform with emphasis on safety. The shorter wheel-base makes it very manoeuvrable, the front wheel is a decent size for bumps and curbs, the upright riding position makes it easier to see and be seen in traffic and handle-bars are no longer a hazard in an accident. <BR> <BR> All of these features mean that a mini-farthing can often be the most convenient and fastest way to move around congested cities  particularly when combined with public transport. <BR> <BR> The mini-farthing cycle configuration can be used for all types of drive systems, from pure electric to pedal as well as pedal assist. The mini-farthing can be made from a variety of materials, from injection moulded materials to super light carbon fiber. <BR> <BR> <BR> <center> <b>Seaweed to Tackle Rising Tide of Obesity</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/22/seaweed-to-tackle-rising-tide-of-obesity/"><img src="207_sea.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Seaweed could hold the key to tackling obesity after it was found it reduces fat uptake by more than 75 per cent, new research has shown. <BR> <BR> Now the team at Newcastle University are adding seaweed fibre to bread to see if they can develop foods that help you lose weight while you eat them. <BR> <BR> A team of scientists led by Dr Iain Brownlee and Prof Jeff Pearson have found that dietary fibre in one of the world s largest commercially-used seaweed could reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body by around 75 per cent. <BR> <BR> The Newcastle University team found that Alginate  a natural fibre found in sea kelp  stops the body from absorbing fat better than most anti-obesity treatments currently available over the counter. <BR> <BR> Using an artificial gut, they tested the effectiveness of more than 60 different natural fibres by measuring the amount of fat that was digested and absorbed with each treatment. <BR> <BR> Presenting their findings at the American Chemical Society Spring meeting in San Francisco, Dr Brownlee said the next step was to recruit volunteers and study whether the effects they have modelled in the lab can be reproduced in real people, and whether such foods are truly acceptable in a normal diet. <BR> <BR>  The aim of this study was to put these products to the test and our initial findings are that alginates significantly reduce fat digestion, explains Dr Brownlee. <BR> <BR>  This suggests that if we can add the natural fibre to products commonly eaten daily  such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts  up to three quarters of the fat contained in that meal could simply pass through the body. <BR> <BR>  We have already added the alginate to bread and initial taste tests have been extremely encouraging. Now the next step to to carry out clinical trials to find out how effective they are when eaten as part of a normal diet. <BR> <BR> The research is part of a three year project being funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It addresses the new regulations set out by the European Food Safety Authority that any health claims made on a food label should be substantiated by scientific evidence. <BR> <BR>  There are countless claims about miracle cures for weight loss but only a few cases offer any sound scientific evidence to back up these claims, explains Dr Brownlee. <BR> <BR> Alginates are already commonly used at a very low level in many foods as thickeners and stabilisers and when added to bread as part of a blind taste test, Dr Brownlee said the alginate bread actually scored higher for texture and richness than a standard white loaf. <BR> <BR>  Obesity is an ever-growing problem and many people find it difficult to stick to diet and exercise plans in order to lose weight, explained Dr Brownlee. <BR> <BR>  Alginates not only have great potential for weight management  adding them to food also has the added advantage of boosting overall fibre content. <BR> <BR> What is a dietary fibre? <BR> <BR> Dietary fibre would be scientifically classified as a group of carbohydrates of plant origin that escape digestion by the human gut. <BR> <BR>  Actually, there s still quite a lot of confusion about fibre, says Dr Brownlee.  I think most people would describe it as roughage  the bit of your food that keeps you regular and is vital for a healthy gut. <BR> <BR>  Both of these facts are true but the notion that all fibre is the same and that it simply goes through your system without having an effect is wrong. <BR> <BR> Fibre is made up of a wide range of different molecules called polysaccharides and although it is not digested by the human gut, it both directly and indirectly affects a number of bodily processes. <BR> <BR> Dr Brownlee adds:  These initial findings suggest alginates could offer a very real solution in the battle against obesity. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Java In A Puff</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/18/java-in-a-puff/"><img src="207_java.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Why drink your coffee when you can inhale it? <BR> <BR> Thanks to creative engineering by Harvard professor David Edwards, coffee addicts can now breathe their morning cup of joe (and get their caffeine fix) using a product called Le Whif. <BR> <BR> Le Whif  gives us the kick of coffee without the cup, says Edwards. <BR> <BR> How does it work? Users place one end of the stick, which is about the size of a lipstick tube, to their lips, then inhale gently (see diagram after jump). <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xl2j8PiegUI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xl2j8PiegUI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR>  Whiffers intake about 100 milligrams of caffeine (which is equivalent to a small cup of espresso) and less than a single calorie with each Le Whif. <BR> <BR> The Le Whif product was made through particle engineering, which reduces coffee particles so that they re small enough to be airborne, but too large to enter the lungs. It was developed through ArtScience Labs, an  international network of art and design labs experimenting at the frontiers of science that seeks to  promote socially beneficial innovations. <BR> <BR> The sticks come in three additional flavors chocolate, raspberry chocolate, and mint chocolate and, according to Le Whif s global operations manager (via the Harvard Crimson) the company is working on  an inhalable three-course meal. <BR> <BR> According to the New York Post, Le Whif has been a huge hit:  Dylan s  the city s sole purveyor of the kooky coffee  sold out of 108 individual servings and 93 three-packs in a matter of hours during Thursday s unveiling. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 206</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Chicago Poetry Stuff<br> PSH Live<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> Here's a band plugger from <b><a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/206_KSouls.htm">Kindred Souls</a></b>... <br><br><br> From <b><a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/">ChicagoPoetry.com</a></b> we have <b><a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1379&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0">photos</a></b> from the Saint Patty Poetry Cram and this month's <b><a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1378">Women's History Month</a></b> Poetry events... <br><br> And <br><br> A column for Chi-town's <b><a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1380">National Poetry Month</a></b> doings in April... <br><br> Mark April 24 on your calendar, that's the date of the <b><a href="http://www.chipublib.org/eventsprog/programs/poetry_fest.php">Poetry Fest</a></b> at Harold Washington Library. Here is a link to the full schedule: <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/"><img src="206_psh.gif" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> <b><a href="http://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/pshlive.html">PSH Live</a></b>, Hosted by Rick Lupert <br><br><br> Our Live events are hosted through BlogTalk Radio and can be accessed during the event by visiting http://blogtalkradio.com/psh and clicking on the "Click to Listen" button. <br><br> You can listen to the shows through your web browser as well as call in and ask questions live through by dialing (646) 716-7362 during the live broadcast. <br><br> Can't or don't want to call in? You can ask questions live during the show's broadcast time by sending an instant message to RickPoet on AIM. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>A Photographic Memory in a Pill</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/17/a-photographic-memory-in-a-pill/"><img src="206_pill.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see. <BR> <BR> A group of Spanish researchers reported today in Science that they may have stumbled upon a substance that could become the ultimate memory-enhancer. The group was studying a poorly-understood region of the visual cortex. They found that if they boosted production of a protein called RGS-14 in that area of the visual cortex in mice, it dramatically affected the animals ability to remember objects they had seen. <BR> <BR> Mice with the RGS-14 boost could remember objects they had seen for up to two months. Ordinarily the same mice would only be able to remember these objects for about an hour. <BR> <BR> The researchers concluded that this region of the visual cortex, known as layer six of region V2, is responsible for creating visual memories. When the region is removed, mice can no longer remember any object they see. <BR> <BR> If this protein boosts visual memory in humans, the implications are staggering. In their paper, the researchers say that it could be used as a memory-enhancer  which seems like an understatement. What s particularly intriguing is the fact that this protein works on visual memory only. So as I mentioned earlier, it would be perfect for mapping. It would also be useful for engineers and architects who need to hold a lot of visual images in their minds at once. And it would also be a great drug for detectives and spies. <BR> <BR> Could it also be a way to gain photographic memory? For example, if I look at a page of text will I remember the words perfectly? Or will I simply remember how the page looked? <BR> <BR> I can t see much of a downside for this potential drug, unless the act of not forgetting what you see causes problems or trauma. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Flowering Plants May Be Considerably Older Than Previously Thought</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/17/flowering-plants-may-be-considerably-older-than-previously-thought/"><img src="206_plants.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Flowering plants may be considerably older than previously thought, says a new analysis of the plant family tree. <BR> <BR> Previous studies suggest that flowering plants, or angiosperms, first arose 140 to 190 million years ago. Now, a paper to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pushes back the age of angiosperms to 215 million years ago, some 25 to 75 million years earlier than either the fossil record or previous molecular studies suggest. <BR> <BR>  If you just looked at the fossil record, you would say that angiosperms originated in the early Cretaceous or late Jurassic, said Michael Donoghue of Yale University.  Most molecular divergence times have shown that they might be older than that, added Yale biologist Jeremy Beaulieu.  But we actually find that they might be Triassic in origin, said Beaulieu.  No one has found a result like that before. <BR> <BR> If confirmed, the study could bolster the idea that early angiosperms promoted the rise of certain insects. Modern insects like bees and wasps rely on flowers for nectar and pollen.  The fossil record suggests that a lot of these insect groups originated before angiosperms appeared, said Stephen Smith of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. This study shifts the oldest angiosperms back farther in time towards the origin of groups like bees and flies, the scientists say.  If you take our dates and superimpose them on the evolutionary tree for these insect groups, all of a sudden you get a match, said Beaulieu. <BR> <BR> To trace the origins of flowering plants, the researchers used genetic comparisons of living plants and clues from fossils to reconstruct the relationships among more than 150 terrestrial plant species. Though their results contradict previous age estimates for angiosperms, they support estimates for other plant groups.  Many of the dates that we get correspond really well to the known fossil record, at least for the origin of land plants and the origin of vascular plants and seed plants, said Donoghue.  But we got a much older date for the origin of angiosperms  one that s really out of whack with the fossil record, Smith added. <BR> <BR> This disconnect between molecular and fossil estimates is not unheard of, the authors explained.  We see the same kind of discrepancy in other groups too, like mammals and birds, said Donoghue. <BR> <BR> Why the mismatch between different approaches to dating the tree of life? <BR> <BR> One possibility, the researchers explained, is that the first flowering plants weren t diverse or abundant enough to leave their mark in the fossil record.  We would expect there to be a time lag between the time of origin and when they became abundant enough to get fossilized, said Smith.  The debate would just be how long. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2">  Imagine a long fuse burning and then KABOOM! There s a big explosion. Maybe angiosperms were in that fuse state, said Donoghue.  But it s hard to imagine flowering plants would have had a big impact on the origin of major insect groups if that were the case, he added. <BR> <BR> Another possibility, the researchers allow, is that the molecular methods may be amiss.  If the angiosperms originated 215 million years ago, then why don t we find them in the fossil record for almost 80 million years? said Beaulieu.  It could also suggest that our dates are wrong. <BR> <BR>  We ve done the best analysis we know how to do with the current tools and information, said Donoghue. To improve on previous studies, the researchers used a method that allows for variable rates of evolution across the plant family tree.  Rates of molecular evolution in plants seem to be correlated with changes in life history, he explained.  Older methods assume that rates of molecular evolution don t change too radically from one branch of the evolutionary tree to another. But this newer method can accommodate some fairly major rate shifts. Although researchers have come up with some savvy statistical tricks to account for rate shifts, Donoghue explained, the problem hasn t entirely disappeared. <BR> <BR>  As we develop better molecular methods, people would like it if the molecular dates reconciled with the fossil record. Then everybody would be happy, said Donoghue.  But instead the gap is getting wider, he said.  And in the end, that might actually be interesting. <BR> <BR> The team s findings will be published early online in the March 15 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Eco-Friendly Homes Made From Recycled Plastic</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/16/eco-friendly-homes-made-from-recycled-plastic/"><img src="206_home.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> After working with Cardiff and Glamorgan universities for two years, Affresol Ltd., an innovative manufacturer of high quality, low cost, quick construction systems, has developed a new material called Thermo Poly Rock (TPR) from recycled plastics and minerals. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) and the Carbon Trust also played a vital role in developing the revolutionary construction material. Now the company is using this newly developed material in making eco-friendly homes, each of which is made up of four tons of it. Until date, the company has recycled 18 tons of waste plastic in making modular portable buildings. (Video) <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BZ0FSX8i6S0&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BZ0FSX8i6S0&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> Ian McPherson, Affresol managing director, says& <BR> <BR> Every country in the world has issues with waste and we now have an opportunity to turn waste into an enduring housing resource that is 100% recyclable. <BR> <BR> Making use of a patented low energy cold process, Affresol converts the plastics into concrete, waterproof, fire retardant TPR panels. These panels form the load-bearing frame of the house and can support brick, block or stone, when it s properly insulated and plastered. The roof is tiled with recycled materials. When the inhabitants abandon their living place  estimated life of the house is 60 years  the remnants of the TPR could be recycled again. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Blocks of Life Bubbling in the Orion Nebula</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/10/blocks-of-life-bubbling-in-the-orion-nebula/"><img src="206_neb.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> It s confirmed: Space is bubbling with the potential for life. The Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared on board the Herschel Space Observatory has sent a high resolution analysis of the Orion Nebula s chemistry. It has scientists very excited& <BR> <BR> It is astonishing to see how well HIFI works. We obtained this spectrum in a few hours and it already beats any other spectrum, at any other wavelength, ever taken of Orion. Organics are everywhere in this spectrum, even at the lowest levels, which hints at the fidelity of HIFI. The development of HIFI took eight years but it was really worth waiting for. <BR> <BR> That s Frank Helmich, HIFI principal investigator of SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, getting his pants wet over his new toy. The Orion spectrum capture back in January contains all the molecules needed for the creation of life,  water, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, methanol, dimethyl ether, hydrogen cyanide, sulphur oxide, sulphur dioxide and their isotope analogues. <BR> <BR> I just hope those molecules are just not sitting around, twiddling around, without actually recombining to create five-eyed aliens with purple tentacles. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 205</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Saint Patty Day Poetry Cram<br> Bloodlines - Tales From The African Diaspora<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b> Saint Patty Day Poetry Cram </b> </center> <br><br> <center> <a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/"><img src="saintpatbanner2.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Saturday, March 13, 2010<br> 7 to 9 PM<br> Cafe Ballou<br> 939 N. Western Ave<br><br> Bring a lucky poem or two to share and wear<br> something green, everyone is invited.<br><br> It's FREE!!!<br><br> It's a good spot to plug your book or event too.<br><br> Mark you calendar and don't miss it one of<br> Chicago's hottest poetry open mic events. The Cram<br> always happens on the second Saturday of the month.<br><br> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b> Bloodlines - Tales From The African Diaspora </b> <br><br> From <b><a href="http://www.myafricandiaspora.com/">w.myafricandiaspora.com</a></b> <br><br> <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10347"><img src="205_bloodlines.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Bloodlines - Tales From The African Diaspora <br><br> The Trans-Atlantic slave trade scattered millions of Africa's children across the globe. They are together, once again, in the pages of this short story collection. Featuring fourteen new voices from the African diaspora, these tales span the genres of literary, mystery, romance and science fiction. Through this collection, we weave another chapter into the fabric of our shared ancestry. </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <b>"Zeit Heilt" - sect23/Vanessa Devinie</b> <br><br> Zeit Heilt <br><br> Der Himmel hängt voller Wolken, schwer neigt er sich herab.<br> Narben, die einst da gewesen, heilen mit der Zeit.<br> Sie heilen, auch wenn du sie noch sehen kannst.<br><br> Gehe weiter, vorwärts, blicke nicht zurück<br> in den Spiegel<br> in die Scherben<br> deines Glücks<br><br> Die dort liegen, stumm<br> sterbend<br> Die Hoffnung hat sie aufleben lassen<br> für eine kurze Zeit<br> doch glaube mir<br> die Zeit heilt alle Narben<br><br> irgendwann<br><br> Gesegnet durch die Melodie<br> fühlst du dich frei<br> verstanden<br> umarmt<br> und dann<br><br> weisst du<br> die Zeit kann alles heilen<br><br><br> Time Heals<br><br> The sky hangs down of full clouds, hard he bends.<br> Scars, once been there, heal with the time.<br> They heal, even if you can still see them.<br><br> Go on, forward, do not look back<br> in the mirror<br> in the shards<br> of your luck<br><br> They lie there, silently<br> dying<br> Hope has revived them<br> for a short time<br> however, believes me<br> the time cures all scars<br><br> sometime<br><br> Blest by the melody<br> if you feel free<br> understood<br> embraces<br> and then<br><br> if you know<br> the time can cure everything <br><br><br> <center> <b>Project Courage and Consequence</b> <br><br> <a href="http://www.karlrovebook.net"><img src="kARL_cover.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br><br> "Coleen Rowley to Minneapolis Police: Arrest Karl Rove!" <br><br> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/geTwWQ07Sf4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/geTwWQ07Sf4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> <br><br><br> These were links from my old KR show, no. 111. One I used this time, one I didn't... <br><br> "Michael Moore on Karl Rove" - <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP0lyiSy5pM">Liberal Viewer</a></b> <br><br> From CBS Evening News, Jan. 18th, 1972,<br> with <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HPnW4EBed4">Karl Rove</a></b>, <br> GOP College Director of the Republican National Committee <br><br><br> The Young Turks Check Out What Karl Rove Did To Don Siegelman.<br> (Feb. 2008, while Siegelman was in jail as a political prisoner)<br><br> <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yG5sJHFtSIk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yG5sJHFtSIk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Tata Nano EV  World s Cheapest Electric Car</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/05/tata-nano-ev-worlds-cheapest-electric-car/"><img src="205_car.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> India s Tata Nano EV, world s cheapest car, transformed into the world s cheapest electric car, went on display at the Geneva Motor Show. The Tata Nano EV seats four, has a predicted range of about 80 miles and will go from zero to about 35 miles per hour in a blistering 10 seconds. The car has super-polymer lithium-ion batteries, which Tata says provide superior energy retention. <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3sZitve3SUw&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3sZitve3SUw&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR>  Electrification will be an integral part of our initiative to launch environment-friendly vehicles, said Ravi Kent, vice chairman of Tata. <BR> <BR> Tata displayed the gas-powered European version of the Nano, the Nano Europa, at last year s Geneva Motor Show. It goes on sale in select European countries in a couple of years and is eventually supposed to work its way to the U.S. In India, Nano is being delivered to 100,000 customers. No word yet on how soon the electric version will come to Europe  or the U.S.  as well. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Forget Fingerprints  Supersleuths Develops Software to Analyze the Nose</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/05/forget-fingerprints-supersleuths-develops-software-to-analyze-the-nose/"><img src="205_nose.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> The technology uses computer software, called the PhotoFace, to analyse the nose then put it in one of six categories. <BR> <BR> The software measures the width of the nose tip, length of the ridge, and width of the saddle (the bit under the eyebrows). <BR> <BR> To do this, the computer takes four photographs of a person, each one using different lighting. <BR> <BR> This means shadows fall on different parts of the face in each photograph, which helps to determine the shape, length and depth of each part of the nose. <BR> <BR> The system could take over from iris scanning and fingerprinting because changing the nose by plastic surgery is harder than changing the colour of the eyes (with contact lenses) or wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. <BR> <BR> It s also rare to find two people with identically proportioned noses. <BR> <BR>  Noses are prominent facial features, says Dr Adrian Evans, one of the researchers involved in a study at the University of Bath.  They are easier to photograph and are harder to conceal, so a system that recognises noses would work better with an uncooperative subject or for covert surveillance. <BR> <BR> Experts believe the distinctive shape of your conk reveals fascinating facts about your personality. <BR> <BR> Here, Simon Brown, author of The Secrets Of Face Reading (Godsfield Press, £12.99) analyses what your nose shape says about you. <BR> <BR> TURNED UP <BR> <BR> What it looks like: Imagine the shape of the ski jump at the Winter Olympics  it s a long, curved, almost-concave slope with a slight upward peak at the tip. <BR> <BR> What it says about you: cutesy uppy-nose types are often kind, optimistic and nurturing in personality with bags of enthusiasm, a strong sense of support for friends and family. Oh, and a sexually adventurous side too. <BR> <BR> Who has one? Actresses Nicole Kidman and Marilyn Monroe; former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. <BR> <BR> ROMAN <BR> <BR> What it looks like: This nose has a small bump protruding out, about halfway down the ridge. It points downwards at the tip, but not quite as much as the hawkshaped nose. <BR> <BR> What it says about you: This signals a strong personality  but not always an impulsive one. They are very good at rallying people to take action, often very influential and carefully measured. <BR> <BR> Who has one? Bono (of U2), French president Nicolas Sarkozy, singer Barry Manilow. <BR> <BR> GREEK <BR> <BR> What it looks like: A long, straight and rather strong nose shape. If you look at the angle between the nose tip and the groove above your top lip, it should be about 80 degrees, almost a right angle. <BR> <BR> What it says about you: These are grafters, efficient, hard-working, matter-of-fact sorts of people who keep their emotions close to their chests and can be difficult to fathom. You ll want to be around them in a crisis. <BR> <BR> Who has one? Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher, Michelangelo s David statue. <BR> <BR> HAWK <BR> <BR> What it looks like: This type of nose has a deep hook at the tip, pointing downwards towards your lip. The shape of the ridge is often curved. <BR> <BR> What it says about you: Out of the six types of nose personality, these are least likely to care what others think of them. They don t seek approval, are often rebellious and are most happy when pursuing their own goals. <BR> <BR> Who has one? Socialite Paris Hilton, chef Antony Worrall Thompson, poet Dante Alighieri. <BR> <BR> SNUB <BR> <BR> What it looks like: This is a short, small nose that doesn t usually protrude to any great extent in any particular direction. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> What it says about you: People with this type of nose are often quick-witted and more street-wise than your average person. They react quickly  sometimes too quickly, which can sometimes lead to aggression. <BR> <BR> Who has one? Pop singer Lily Allen, Girls Aloud and X Factor star Cheryl Cole, and Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp. <BR> <BR> NUBIAN <BR> <BR> What it looks like: Short and wide, not as protruding as the other shapes and quite an uncommon shape among European noses. It s common among certain ethnic groups. <BR> <BR> What it says about you: This nose type is said to reflect creativity and passion. Its wearers are often charismatic, which draws people to them. <BR> <BR> Who has one? Actor Will Smith, model Naomi Campbell, Barack Obama. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/07/physicist-discovers-how-to-teleport-energy/"><img src="205_tele.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> First, they teleported photons, then atoms and ions. Now one physicist has worked out how to do it with energy, a technique that has profound implications for the future of physics. <BR> <BR> In 1993, Charlie Bennett at IBM s Watson Research Center in New York State and a few pals showed how to transmit quantum information from one point in space to another without traversing the intervening space& <BR> <BR> The technique relies on the strange quantum phenomenon called entanglement, in which two particles share the same existence. This deep connection means that a measurement on one particle immediately influences the other, even though they are light-years apart. Bennett and company worked out how to exploit this to send information. (The influence between the particles may be immediate, but the process does not violate relativity because some informatiom has to be sent classically at the speed of light.) They called the technique teleportation. <BR> <BR> That s not really an overstatement of its potential. Since quantum particles are indistinguishable but for the information they carry, there is no need to transmit them themselves. A much simpler idea is to send the information they contain instead and ensure that there is a ready supply of particles at the other end to take on their identity. Since then, physicists have used these ideas to actually teleport photons, atoms, and ions. And it s not too hard to imagine that molecules and perhaps even viruses could be teleported in the not-too-distant future. <BR> <BR> But Masahiro Hotta at Tohoku University in Japan has come up with a much more exotic idea. Why not use the same quantum principles to teleport energy? <BR> <BR> Today, building on a number of papers published in the last year, Hotta outlines his idea and its implications. The process of teleportation involves making a measurement on each one an entangled pair of particles. He points out that the measurement on the first particle injects quantum energy into the system. He then shows that by carefully choosing the measurement to do on the second particle, it is possible to extract the original energy. <BR> <BR> All this is possible because there are always quantum fluctuations in the energy of any particle. The teleportation process allows you to inject quantum energy at one point in the universe and then exploit quantum energy fluctuations to extract it from another point. Of course, the energy of the system as whole is unchanged. <BR> <BR> He gives the example of a string of entangled ions oscillating back and forth in an electric field trap, a bit like Newton s balls. Measuring the state of the first ion injects energy into the system in the form of a phonon, a quantum of oscillation. Hotta says that performing the right kind of measurement on the last ion extracts this energy. Since this can be done at the speed of light (in principle), the phonon doesn t travel across the intermediate ions so there is no heating of these ions. The energy has been transmitted without traveling across the intervening space. That s teleportation. <BR> <BR> Just how we might exploit the ability to teleport energy isn t clear yet. Post your suggestions in the comments section if you have any. <BR> <BR> But the really exciting stuff is the implications this has for the foundations of physics. Hotta says that his approach gives physicists a way of exploring the relationship between quantum information and quantum energy for the first time. <BR> <BR> There is a growing sense that the properties of the universe are best described not by the laws that govern matter but by the laws that govern information. This appears to be true for the quantum world, is certainly true for special relativity, and is currently being explored for general relativity. Having a way to handle energy on the same footing may help to draw these diverse strands together. <BR> <BR> Interesting stuff. There s no telling where this kind of thinking might lead. <BR> <BR> Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1002.0200: Energy-Entanglement Relation for Quantum Energy Teleportation <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b> Brain Washing Technique Could Reduce Disability In Newborn Babies</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/09/brain-washing-technique-could-reduce-disability-in-newborn-babies/"><img src="205_brain.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> A new treatment known as  brain washing could dramatically reduce disability in newborn babies. The process involves removing toxic fluid potentially harmful to infants born early and suffering from large brain haemorrhages. <BR> <BR> The technique, pioneered by doctors in Bristol, reduces the pressure put on the brain and for the first time has been shown to benefit newborn babies suffering from the condition. <BR> <BR> Professor Andrew Whitelaw and paediatric neurosurgeon Ian Pople have researched the condition, known as hydrocephalus, for the last 20 years. <BR> <BR> Two tubes are inserted into the ventricles in the brain of a premature baby suffering from a large hemorrhage and expanded ventricles. <BR> <BR> One tube continuously drains out fluid while the other tube lets clear fluid flow in. The pressure in the brain is measured continuously and more fluid is drained out than flowed in so the brain slowly decompresses. <BR> <BR> When the fluid draining out has cleared, the two tubes are removed. The whole procedure takes about three days. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 204</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Band Pluggers<br> Effie's Life Celebrations<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b> Band Pluggers </b> </center> <br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/204_SGD.htm"><img src="204_SGD.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.larrywinfield.com/204_Kindred Souls.htm"><img src="204_KS.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <img src="Effie1.jpg" border="0"> <br><br> EFFIE MIHOPOULOS LIFE CELEBRATION<br> (Feb. 15, 1952-Jan. 14, 2010)<br> Northeastern Illinois University, Recital Hall<br> 5500 N. St. Louis, Chicago, IL 60625<br> Friday, March 5, 2010 5-7 pm<br><br> Please park in the 'F' lot at NEIU<br><br> Hosted by: Cathleen Schandelmeier-Bartels<br><br> Comments from the University<br> Dr. Carla Knorowski, Vice President for<br> Institutional Advancement.<br><br> My Blood Relative Effie<br> Catherine Valsamoulis<br><br> Remembering Effie Mihopoulos <br> Written and read by award-winning poet, Cynthia Gallaher<br> as well as a poem by Effie composed in the '70s.<br><br> Theater Performance<br> The Trapdoor Theater Company<br><br> Tribute to Effie<br> Cornelius Eady, author of  Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, (1985) Ommation Press<br><br> To Effie<br> Created by Josephine Lipuma, award-winning filmmaker<br><br> Poem for Effie<br> David Hernandez, famous Poet<br><br> Personal Memories of Effie<br> Craig Althage and Tom Mollo, NEIU Library Specialists<br><br> Effie as a  Wizard <br> Peter Enger, WZRD<br><br> "MONOS MOU" Greek Song & Trumpet<br> Peter C. Bartels<br><br> Quigong with Effie<br> Joanie and Ken Morris<br><br> Poem for Effie by Beatriz Badikian Gartler <br> read in English and in Greek as well as a poem by Sonia Arvanitis<br><br> Spiritual Tribute<br> Nicole Aimee Macaluso, poet, artist, and close friend<br><br> Closing Dance Performance<br> Ensemble Espanol<br><br> Dinner catered by Corky's of Addison.<br><br> Special thanks to: <br> Rhonda Ferren, Susan Appel Bass, Mary Shen Barnidge, Brian Gary Kirst,<br> James Mesple, President Sharon Hahs and the CEO of the Universe.<br><br> A benefit for Haiti, hosted by WZRD will follow<br> from 7-9:30 in Alumni Hall<br><br> "[...] the only people for me are the mad ones,<br> the ones who are mad to live, <br> mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of<br> everything at the same time, the ones <br> who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but<br> burn, burn, burn like fabulous <br> yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across<br> the stars and in the middle <br> you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!' <br>  Jack Kerouac (On the Road)<br><br><br> A Poetry Tribute for Effie will be held<br> Saturday, March 6th, 1-3 pm, Newberry Library,<br> 60 West Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610-9090 <br> Performance Line-up will be on a first-come first read basis!<br><br> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Venue Verite: James Mesple and Effie Mihopoulos-Words and Pictures</b> <br><br> Exhibition: "Words and Pictures"<br> at the Main gallery of Oakton Community College's Koehnline Museum<br> Des Plaines, IL<br> December 2004. <br><br> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tkaTl6D0asg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tkaTl6D0asg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Pesticide Turns Male Frogs into Females</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/03/pesticide-turns-male-frogs-into-females/"><img src="204_frog.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> A commonly used pesticide known as atrazine can turn male frogs into females that are successfully able to reproduce, a new study finds. <BR> <BR> While previous work has shown atrazine can cause sexual abnormalities in frogs, such as hermaphroditism (having both male and female sex organs), this study is the first to find that atrazine s effects are long-lasting and can influence reproduction in amphibians. <BR> <BR> The results suggest that atrazine, which is a weed killer used primarily on corn crops, could have potentially harmful effects on populations of amphibians, animals that are already experiencing a global decline, said study author Tyrone B. Hayes of the University of California, Berkeley. Atrazine is banned in Europe. <BR> <BR> And since atrazine interferes with the production of the sex hormone estrogen, present in people and frogs, the findings could have implications for humans as well.  If you have problems in amphibians, you can anticipate problems in other animals, Hayes said. <BR> <BR> Hayes and his colleagues raised 40 male African clawed frogs in water containing atrazine, from when they were larvae all the way up until sexual maturity. The atrazine levels were about what the frogs would experience in environments where the pesticide is used, and below levels that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for drinking water. <BR> <BR> They compared this atrazine-exposed group with 40 other male frogs reared in atrazine-free water. <BR> <BR> At the end of the experiment, all frogs in the atrazine-free group remained male, while 10 percent of the frogs exposed to atrazine were completely feminized  their genes said they should be male, but they had female anatomy, including ovaries. The feminized frogs were able to mate with males and produce viable eggs. <BR> <BR> In both frogs and humans, sex is genetic. In people, females have two X (sex) chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. For frogs, the sex chromosomes are labeled as Z or W and females have dissimilar chromosomes (ZW), while males have matching ones (ZZ). <BR> <BR> Frogs exposed to atrazine also had reduced testosterone levels, decreased fertility, and showed less mating behavior. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>An Unintended Consequence of Mass Layoffs: Fewer Boys Being Born</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/03/02/an-unintended-consequence-of-mass-layoffs-fewer-boys-being-born/"><img src="204_boys.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Here s a rather unexpected result of mass layoffs and high unemployment: the stress causes pregnant women to spontaneously abort more males, thus contributing to future gender gap. <BR> <BR> To our ancient ancestors, those signs would presumably be signals of impending drought or other natural disaster, which would indicate a coming food scarcity. [Ralph] Catalano and colleagues concluded the closest thing we have today is the announcement of mass layoffs at major employers, which impacts  the degree to which the larger population perceives a threat to its economic security. <BR> <BR> Such threats are bad news to small male fetuses because  a relatively large fraction of them fall near  a critical rank below which gestations spontaneously end, the researchers explain. If they are born, these small males are more likely to die than larger infants and females of equivalent size. <BR> <BR> The researchers examined California s ratio of male to female births from mid-1995 to the end of 2007 and compared it to the federal Labor Department s monthly statistics on mass layoffs in the state. The government reports a mass layoff has taken place when 50 or more people file for unemployment insurance from a single company over five weeks. <BR> <BR> After doing some complex calculations, they estimated that news of impending mass layoffs  predicted the loss of 3,090 males in utero during the 61 months (out of the 141 they examined) in which unemployment claims exceeded the expected number. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>NASA Project M Could Put Humanoids on the Moon in 1000 Days</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/27/nasa-project-m-could-put-humanoids-on-the-moon-in-1000-days/"><img src="204_nasa.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> NASA could put humanoids on the Moon in just 1000 days. They would be controlled by scientists on Earth using motion capture suits, giving them the feeling of being on the lunar surface. <BR> <BR> Back in the Lunar exploration days, scientists had to tell astronauts what to do up there, and how to identify interesting things during the limited time they had. For Apollo 15, the first mission that carried the Lunar Rover, astronauts were trained in field work by Caltech geologist Leon Silver. <BR> <BR> That helped them to move faster and look at the ground with a critical science eye, knowing what they were looking for. The result: Their findings and samples were a lot more valuable to scientist back on Earth, confirming theories that weren t confirmed till then. <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kFPNcWN7QnM&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kFPNcWN7QnM&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> Now imagine these NASA C-3POs roaming our satellite, controlled by all kind of scientists using telepresence suits down here, all looking for interesting things using high definition visors, and able to move just like they would move on planet Earth. It won t work for Mars, but with a communication delay of only three seconds, it will work beautifully on the Moon. <BR> <BR> The 1000-day mark is quite plausible, since the mission would be a lot simpler than a human-based one. It will also be quite cheaper than the real thing. First, you don t have to care about life support systems, which will make spacecraft manufacturing a lot less complex. The whole system would also weight a lot less, reducing the need for the development of a huge rocket, and again reducing the costs. <BR> <BR> We know that, sadly, we re not going to get astronauts anywhere any time soon, so this is definitely the best alternative. It won t be as inspiring as humans going back to the Moon or establishing a semi-permanent colony, but it could have an extremely positive effect on science. <BR> <BR> Whoever did this at NASA should put together an actual budget as soon as possible. And while you are at it, make it possible for regular people to use one, maybe at the Johnson Space Center or some selected museums through the world. That will definitely inspire people. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b> Smart Salad Dressing Could Keep Venice from Sinking</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/27/smart-salad-dressing-could-keep-venice-from-sinking/"><img src="204_venice.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Venice could be saved from sinking into the sea by releasing fat globules similar to olive oil into the water that are  programmed to form limestone reefs, say architects. <BR> <BR> The novel solution for the threatened Italian city, built on silty islands on the Adriatic coast, uses experimental technology that they have dubbed  smart salad dressing . <BR> <BR> It would work by releasing oil droplets into the water that are chemically programmed to react with carbon dioxide in the water, precipitating an artificial limestone carbonate. <BR> <BR> Two British architects at University College, London, are among those behind the Future Venice project. <BR> <BR> Rachel Armstrong, from UCL s Bartlett School of Architecture, explained the  protocell technology. <BR> <BR> She said:  This technology is based on the chemistry of oil and water and has the special property of transforming carbon dioxide into a limestone-like substance. <BR> <BR> The globules would form  solid pearls of artificial limestone that could protect buildings from future damage, she argued. <BR> <BR> Her colleague Prof Neil Spiller added:  The piles which support Venice are sinking into the lagoon like stiletto heels. <BR> <BR> If they could direct the oil to form carbonate deposits at their bases, this would distribute the load and slow or stop the sinking, he said. <BR> <BR> The architects argue it could be an alternative to the current plan to install a series of steel floodgates to control tidal movements in the lagoon surrounding Venice. <BR> <BR> Since being built the city, famous for its canals, has suffered from rising damp and the threat of being swamped by the sea. Scientists fear that rising sea levels caused by global warming will exacerbate the problem in coming decades. <BR> <BR> However, Armstrong cautioned that the technology was only at the laboratory stage and would not be ready for three to five years. <BR> <BR> The Future Venice project is being launched at a meeting in London on Friday. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font> </TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 203</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Chicago Poetry Items<br> Read An Ebook Week<br> Whispers In The Dark<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> From <b><a href="http://ChicagoPoetry.com">ChicagoPoetry.com:</a></b><br><br> *Open Call For Poets* <br><br> 1. You are invited to read poetry for the Saint Patty Day Poetry Cram, to happen on Saturday, March 13, from 7 to 9 PM, at Cafe Ballou, 939 N. Western Ave. You are encouraged to wear something green and to share two or three of your luckiest poems. Please RSVP by writing to publisher@chicagopoetry.com with "Cafe Ballou" in the subject field. <br><br> 2. ChicagoPoetry.com is seeking poets to participate in the Chicago Public Library's Poetry Fest on Saturday, April 24. The fest will take place at the Harold Washington Library from 10 AM until 4 PM, which Cornelius Eady as the keynote speaker. ChicagoPoetry.com will be hosting a Poetry Cram starting at 2 PM. I am particularly interested in poets who will be representing local poetry presses and / or poetry organizations or reading series, so that we can represent as much of the thriving Chicago Poetry Scene as possible during the Poetry Fest. Poets who are interested in sharing a few pieces during the fest should RSVP by writing to publisher@chicagopoetry.com with "Poetry Fest" in the subject field. <br><br> 3. ChicagoPoetry.com is looking for a few poets to read at a special event to be held at the Brookfield Zoo this summer. Poets desiring to participate should have original work (or be willing to read other poets' work) that in some way touches upon one or more of the followiing themes: wildlife, wildlife conservation, nature, endangered species (polar bears, grizzly bears, bald eagles, American bison, Mexican gray wolves), prairies, polar ice caps, the artic ocean, etc. Poetry presented should be family friendly but not necessarily for children, and should not too political or divisive. This is a very competitive opportunity, as I am at this time only seeking a few poets to perform for an exclusive engagement that will take place in an underground polar bear viewing area late July 2010. If you are not selected for that opportunity, your name will be held for consideration for other events that may be held at the Brookfield Zoo. If you believe you meet the criteria for this event, please write to publisher@chicagopoetry.com with "Zoo Poetry" in the subject field. <br><br> 4. ChicagoPoetry.com is still considering submissions of poetry for Cram Volume 8: The Chicago Issue, to be given away free to patrons at the Poetry Fest this April. Instructions on how to participate in the project can be found here: <br><br> <b><a href="http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1191">http://chicagopoetry.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1191</a></b> <br><br> It is not required of you to participate in the Cram 8 publication in order to participate in the Cram show at the poetry festival, but you are welcome to participate in both if you like. <br><br><br> <center> From The Black Science Fiction Society: <br><br> <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ValjeanneJeffers"><img src="203_ebook.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Time: March 7, 2010 to March 13, 2010 <br><br> Organized By: Valjeanne Jeffers <br><br> Event Description: <br><br> All ebooks distributed by smashwords, including Immortal 2nd edition by Valjeanne Jeffers are on sale or free. Ebooks will be available at smaswords, barnesandnoble, Sony and other ebook distributors. </center> <br><br><br> <center> From <b><a href="http://whispersinthedark.ning.com/">Whispers In The Dark</a></b> <br><br> <a href="http://whispersinthedark.ning.com/?xgi=4QkZ21g059b4KH&xg_source=msg_invite_net"><img src="203_dark.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b> IODA Links </b> </center> <br><br><br> <img src="http://image.iodalliance.com/release/thumbs_80/301269-72.jpg" alt="Love Him" style="margin-right: 4px;" align="left" height="80" width="80"><strong><a href="http://redirect2.iodalliance.com/artist.php?id=E65D32F9F276ADFDCFA7868C85149BBB3F399CF413B6CCEBB7A6527913B73756" target="_new" rel="nofollow">Okapi</a></strong><br><em><a href="http://redirect2.iodalliance.com/download_track.php?id=6CF7476A91DFE198A7C8DAC8F4AF095152D2A37988EE690A1B5047B6757AA775871EF5FC91A127BE7AAD16FE0EFD3FD7" target="_new" 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width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>United Nations Identifies e-waste as an Urgent And Growing Problem</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/23/united-nations-identifies-e-waste-as-an-urgent-and-growing-problem-wants-change/"><img src="203_waste.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> E-waste might be one of the biggest misnomers in the history of nomery  the image it creates in the mind is of a bunch of email and document files clogging up your local internet pipes. The reality of it is that electronic waste is rapidly populating ever-growing landfill areas in so-called developing countries (they re poor, just call a spade a spade) and the issue has now garnered the attention of the United Nations& <BR> <BR> The UN Environment Programme has issued a wideranging report warning that e-waste in China and South Africa could double or even quadruple within the next decade, whereas India could experience a five-fold rise. Major hazards exist in the unregulated and informal recycling of circuit boards and techno gadgets, as processes like backyard incineration for the retrieval of gold generate toxic gases while also being wildly inefficient. The whole point of the report is to encourage some global cooperation in setting up modern and safe recycling facilities in the affected countries to ameliorate the problem, though being generally more careful in our consumption and disposal of electronics wouldn t do the environment s chances any harm either. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Chronic Health Problems in Children Have Doubled in 12 Years</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/22/chronic-health-problems-in-children-have-doubled-in-12-years/"><img src="203_prob.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> The rates of childhood chronic health problems, including obesity, asthma and learning disabilities, have doubled in just 12 years, a new study reports  to 1 in 4 children in 2006, up from 1 in 8 in 1994. <BR> <BR> But the findings, which appeared in the Feb. 17 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, held a welcome surprise, the researchers said: many chronic conditions resolve themselves during childhood. <BR> <BR> While half of the children followed from 2000 through 2006 had a chronic condition at some point during the period, only one-quarter did at the study s end. <BR> <BR>  There is much to be hopeful about, said the paper s lead author, Dr. Jeanne Van Cleave, a pediatrician at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston.  We re now wondering what s going on with those kids, and why a chronic condition resolves in one child while another child may not experience the same thing. <BR> <BR> The study analyzed data from the government s National Longitudinal Surveys that included three nationally representative groups of children ages 2 through 8. Besides obesity and asthma, the scientists looked at allergies, heart trouble, impaired vision and hearing, and behavior and learning problems like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. <BR> <BR> Though the researchers did not study the reasons for the increases, they suggested several possible factors: improvements in screening and diagnosis that led to more reporting of the chronic conditions; the rise in childhood obesity, which can lead to other problems; and the increasing survival of premature babies and children with cancer and other diseases, who are more likely to have chronic health problems. <BR> <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>EDUIT Announces $50 Million eSingularity Prize for Global Education</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/21/eduit-announces-50-million-esingularity-prize-for-global-education/"><img src="203_edu.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Imagine a world where everyone participates on a level education system, challenging themselves and others, and achieving rewards and prizes for applying themselves, no matter what their social, economic, geographic disposition is& <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> EDUIT, Inc. has announced the creation of the $50 million eSingularity Prize for global Education. EDUIT, Inc will seek to raise the funds over a five-year period and use the funds to award the first person or group that develops an open source software solution that autonomously takes a 2 year old to an 8th grade equivalent in math, science and language arts. The Prize will be split between the three categories at a rate yet to be determined by EDUIT. EDUIT will spend the next five years raising awareness and identifying the funds and promoting the prize globally. <BR> <BR> The eSingularity or the Education Singularity is the moment in human history when all learning and education becomes a free and accessible natural right for all humanity. EDUIT s vision is to become the catalyst that helps to bring about The eSingularity nexus. <BR> <BR>  The simple fact is for the first time in human history we have the technology, connectivity and content to make basic education accessible to over 80% of the world. The only thing stopping us from developing a real solution for global education is greed, a desire to profit off others, and sell education and learning like it is some kind of commodity. This Prize serves as a means to encourage others to focus time and energy in developing an autonomous education solution that will benefit humanity by making it possible for anyone to get a 8th grade education without a school or even a  living teacher. Sophisticated software will become your teacher and school.  Michael J. Trout, EDUIT Founder and Chief Evangelist. <BR> <BR> EDUIT evolved out of a start-up that looked to use gaming arenas to help flatten IT certification education and make it more affordable to high school seniors. Over the last seven years it has been working to develop a viable practice means to flatten global education, id the technology, align the partners, strategy and investors to take on one of the most ambitious global education projects ever  to flatten global education and bring about what we have termed the eSingularity event  the point in human history learning becomes free and accessible to all with connectivity. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b> Should We Clone Neanderthals? </b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/19/should-we-clone-neanderthals/"><img src="203_nean.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> That s the provocative title of an article in this month s Archaeology magazine exploring the scientific, legal, and ethical considerations involved. Extensive information about the Neanderthal genetic code is available, and the technologic problems can apparently be overcome. Questions remain about how the process might best be accomplished, and whether it should be done at all. <BR><BR> The Neanderthals broke away from the lineage of modern humans around 450,000 years ago& As different as Neanderthals were, they may not have been different enough to be considered a separate species.  There are humans today who are more different from each other in phenotype [physical characteristics], says John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin& Many of the differences between a Neanderthal clone and a modern human would be due to genetic changes our species has undergone since Neanderthals became extinct& Clones created from a genome that is more than 30,000 years old will not have immunity to a wide variety of diseases, some of which would likely be fatal. They will be lactose intolerant, have difficulty metabolizing alcohol, be prone to developing Alzheimer s disease, and maybe most importantly, will have brains different from modern people s& <BR><BR>  I think there would be no question that if you cloned a Neanderthal, that individual would be recognized as having human rights under the Constitution and international treaties, says Lori Andrews, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. The law does not define what a human being is, but legal scholars are debating questions of human rights in cases involving genetic engineering& Hawks believes the barriers to Neanderthal cloning will come down.  We are going to bring back the mammoth& the impetus against doing Neanderthal because it is too weird is going to go away. He doesn t think creating a Neanderthal clone is ethical science, but points out that there are always people who are willing to overlook the ethics.  In the end, Hawks says,  we are going to have a cloned Neanderthal, I m just sure of it. <BR><BR> The image is a computer-assisted reconstruction of a Neanderthal child by a research team at the University of Zurich. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 202</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Lucille Clifton<br> Sunset Boulevard Lit Crawl<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <img src="L_Clifton.jpg" border="0"> <br><br> <b>Lucille Clifton, one-time poet laureate of Md., dies at 73 </b> </center> <br><br> A biography on the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame Web site says that Thelma Lucille Sayles was born in 1936 in Depew, N.Y., a small town outside Buffalo. Her mother, a poet, encouraged her creativity, and she began to compose stories and poems as a child. She was the first person in her family to graduate from high school and, in 1953, she won a scholarship to Howard University, where she majored in drama. She left Howard after two years after deciding that she would rather write poetry, according to the Web site. <br><br> Ms. Clifton had been ill for some time with an infection, her sister, Elaine Philip, told The Buffalo News on Saturday. She had undergone surgery to remove her colon on Friday, but the exact cause of death remains undetermined. <br><br> The poet and her husband, Fred Clifton, a philosophy professor at the University at Buffalo, moved to Baltimore in the 1960s and had six children. Her husband died in 1984. <br><br> Besides her 11 poetry collections, Ms. Clifton published 20 children's books, and her poems have appeared in more than 100 anthologies, according to her biography. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/">Sunset Boulevard Lit Crawl</a></b> </center> <br><br> Goodreads, Booksoup and PEN Center USA proudly announce their first Lit Crawl! <br><br> Join us as we channel our inner Hemingway, Kerouac and Chandler with a trip down Sunset Boulevard. <br><br> Beginning with readings at Malo by authors Joseph Mattson, Martin Pousson, and Aimee Bender, we will travel to Tiki Ti, Good Luck Bar and 4100 Bar. <br><br> Along the way, toast great American writers. Be prepared to honor your favorites. Perhaps a glass of rye whiskey for Salinger, a champagne cocktail in memory of Parker, a mint julip for Faulkner, a boilermaker for Bukowski, or a splash of Wild Turkey for London. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Scientists Fear Lightning Deaths Will Increase Due to Global Warming</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/15/scientists-fear-lightning-deaths-will-increase-due-to-global-warming/"><img src="202_bolt.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> In the last ten years, Brazil has been the target of an estimated 57 million lightning strikes the most in the world. This astonishing natural record is not without a human toll, however. During that same period, 1,321 people have been fallen victim to lightning in Brazil alone, and scientists fear that incidents will only increase in the coming years. As if the long term threats of climate change were not enough to arouse concern, new research reveals that rising temperatures may increase the frequency of the sometimes fatal lightning strikes. <BR> <BR> According to Brazil s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), global warming may dramatically increase the occurrence of lightning. A recently released hypothesis postulates that each degree of increase in global mean temperature will result in a 10 to 20 percent increase in the amount of lightning. <BR> <BR> Casualties as a result of lightning were not the primary focus of research, but rather the fires that often result from the strikes. Osmar Pinto explains in a report from Globo: <BR> <BR> At the meeting, it was hypothesized that the rays would increase the greenhouse effect by causing more forest fires, which in turn release more carbon dioxide, fueling a continuous cycle. <BR> <BR> In order to test the theory that climate change may contribute to more occurrences of lightening, INPE will be working in conjunction with NASA and other US agencies. <BR> <BR> While the climate change phenomena is of primary focus to researchers participating this study, the behavior of the sun will also be analyzed as a possible culprit for the increase in lightning strikes. <BR> <BR> According to Pinto, sun-spots may play a role in the creation of thunderstorms that not yet well understood. <BR> <BR> [Sun spots] can facilitate the formation of ice in the clouds and the rays only occur when there is ice inside the clouds. <BR> <BR> Scientists intend to closely follow the next increase of sun-spots in 2012. <BR> <BR> While it is still unclear exactly what may be leading to the increase in the number of lightning strikes, researchers plan on continuing to try to better understand the phenomena which may be symptomatic of a greater shift in climate behavior. After all, even with an increase in strikes, the chances of being hit by lightning may be slim, but the consequences of climate change, yet to be fully understood, may effect us all. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Hubless Zigzain Bicycle Concept Powered by Simple Driveshaft</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/14/hubless-zigzain-bicycle-concept-powered-by-simple-driveshaft/"><img src="202_zig.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Would a drive shaft work in a bicycle? Possibly, and here s a BMX bike concept that takes the design and runs with it, sans hubs! The hubless wheels are a cool touch, I ll admit, but I have my doubts about whether the tiny driveshaft will replace today s venerable chain configuration. <br><br> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> Whatever the case may be, you re going to have a hard time convincing me the BMX riders of the future will be using this design to shred the pipe at the Mountain Dew extreme to the MAXX 2020 X-Games. <br><br> Hubless wheels allowing a neat and minimal design is fast becoming an integral part of contemporary as well as futuristic autos. Designed by Nikolay Boltachev, a beginning graphic designer from Russia, the  BMX Concept, is a hubless bike that features Zigzag OneFoot fork, NS Bikes Quark Pro White stem and custom slick 203 / Maxxis Hookworm 203 slick tires, together with Crankbrothers 5050 pedals, Superstar SweetSweep handlebar and gear system without chain for a smooth and effortless city ride. We don t have much info about how it s gonna work, as the bike is in its conceptual stage at the moment, but hubless wheels definitely give it an elegant look. <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Baking Garden Rhubarb Dramatically Increases Anti-Cancer Chemicals</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/14/baking-garden-rhubarb-dramatically-increases-anti-cancer-chemicals/"><img src="202_rhu.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Researchers at SCRI, Scotland s leading centre for crop research in Invergrowrie, have found that baking British garden rhubarb for 20 minutes dramatically increases its levels of anti-cancer chemicals, according to findings published in the Journal Food Chemistry. <BR> <BR> These chemicals, called polyphenols, have been shown to selectively kill or prevent the growth of cancer cells  and could be used to develop new, less toxic, treatments for the disease, even in cases where cancers have proven resistant to other treatments. <BR> <BR> The scientists at SCRI were involved in a joint study with researchers at Sheffield Hallam University. <BR> <BR> Academics are now hoping to use the results to study the effect of rhubarb s polyphenols on leukaemia. <BR> <BR> They aim to discover the best combination of polyphenols and chemotherapy agents to kill leukaemia cells, even those previously resistant to treatment. <BR> <BR> It is the first time the benefits of British garden rhubarb, specifically a variety grown in South Yorkshire, have been studied. <BR> <BR> Previous research has focussed on Oriental medicinal rhubarb, which has been recognised for its health benefits and used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. <BR> <BR> Dr Gordon McDougall from SCRI s Plant Products and Food Quality programme said:  Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancer drugs. <BR> <BR>  Current treatments are not effective in all cancers and resistance is a common problem. Cancer affects one in three individuals in the UK so it s very important to discover novel, less toxic, treatments, which can overcome resistance. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 201</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Black Comic Book Day<br> Festival of Writing<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Black Comic Book Day</b> <br><br><br> The second Saturday of February annually, the latest run away bullet-train in the indie universe. Join in the flow, fun, fire, & funk by collecting, sharing, gifting, creating, and promoting in the name of the Black Age of Comics! <br><br> Organized By: Turtel Onli, internationally-known Indie illustrator and publisher from Onli Studios in Chicago. <br><br> <a href="http://www.onlistudios.blogspot.com/"><img src="BlkCoimikBkAd.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br><br> <center> <b>Festival of Writing</b> <br><br><br> Authonomy has teamed up with The Writers' Workshop to help launch the very first Festival of Writing! <br><br> <a href="http://www.festivalofwriting.com/"><img src="201_festival.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Running in the UK from 9-11 April 2010 at the University of York, this residential weekend includes a full schedule of talks from high profile literary agents, authors and editors - and we have a free ticket to give away - to the author who tops the Authonomy Editor's Desk at the end of February. The ticket is worth £500 and includes entry to the festival, three nights' accommodation and entrance to a selected workshop. </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Bioactive Nanomaterial Promotes Growth of New Cartilage</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/08/growing-cartilage-bioactive-nanomaterial-promotes-growth-of-new-cartilage/"><img src="201_cart.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Northwestern University researchers are the first to design a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. Minimally invasive, the therapy activates the bone marrow stem cells and produces natural cartilage. No conventional therapy can do this. <BR> <BR> The results will be published online the week of Feb. 1 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). <BR> <BR>  Unlike bone, cartilage does not grow back, and therefore clinical strategies to regenerate this tissue are of great interest, said Samuel I. Stupp, senior author, Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Medicine, and director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine. Countless people  amateur athletes, professional athletes and people whose joints have just worn out  learn this all too well when they bring their bad knees, shoulders and elbows to an orthopaedic surgeon. <BR> <BR> Damaged cartilage can lead to joint pain and loss of physical function and eventually to osteoarthritis, a disorder with an estimated economic impact approaching $65 billion in the United States. With an aging and increasingly active population, this is expected to grow. <BR> <BR>  Cartilage does not regenerate in adults. Once you are fully grown you have all the cartilage you ll ever have, said first author Ramille N. Shah, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine. Shah is also a resident faculty member at the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine. <BR> <BR> Type II collagen is the major protein in articular cartilage, the smooth, white connective tissue that covers the ends of bones where they come together to form joints. <BR> <BR>  Our material of nanoscopic fibers stimulates stem cells present in bone marrow to produce cartilage containing type II collagen and repair the damaged joint, Shah said.  A procedure called microfracture is the most common technique currently used by doctors, but it tends to produce a cartilage having predominantly type I collagen which is more like scar tissue. <BR> <BR> The Northwestern gel is injected as a liquid to the area of the damaged joint, where it then self-assembles and forms a solid. This extracellular matrix, which mimics what cells usually see, binds by molecular design one of the most important growth factors for the repair and regeneration of cartilage. By keeping the growth factor concentrated and localized, the cartilage cells have the opportunity to regenerate. <BR> <BR> Together with Nirav A. Shah, a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon and former orthopaedic resident at Northwestern, the researchers implanted their nanofiber gel in an animal model with cartilage defects. <BR> <BR> The animals were treated with microfracture, where tiny holes are made in the bone beneath the damaged cartilage to create a new blood supply to stimulate the growth of new cartilage. The researchers tested various combinations: microfracture alone; microfracture and the nanofiber gel with growth factor added; and microfracture and the nanofiber gel without growth factor added. <BR> <BR> They found their technique produced much better results than the microfracture procedure alone and, more importantly, found that addition of the expensive growth factor was not required to get the best results. Instead, because of the molecular design of the gel material, growth factor already present in the body is enough to regenerate cartilage. <BR> <BR> The matrix only needed to be present for a month to produce cartilage growth. The matrix, based on self-assembling molecules known as peptide amphiphiles, biodegrades into nutrients and is replaced by natural cartilage. <BR> <BR> The National Institutes of Health and the company Nanotope supported the research. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>UN To Discuss International Air Traffic Control For Outer Space</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/07/un-to-discuss-international-air-traffic-control-for-outer-space/"><img src="201_air.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> An international air traffic control for outer space should be set up to prevent damage to satellites and spacecraft orbiting the Earth, according to proposal to be discussed at the United Nations next week. Space experts from around the world will discuss ways of tackling the growing problem of space debris in orbit around the Earth. It comes just a year after an American satellite collided with a Russian satellite. <BR> <BR> There are thought to be more than 19,000 pieces of debris larger than 4 inches across racing around the Earth at high speeds, while there are more than 500,000 bigger than a postage stamp. The number of particles smaller than this are thought to exceed tens of millions. <BR> <BR> Despite their relatively small size, most are travelling faster than 15,600mph and at these speeds a fleck of paint could do as much damage as a .22-calibre rifle bullet. <BR> <BR> Growing numbers of satellites in orbit around the Earth have also made space a more hazardous place. Low orbits have now become so crowded with satellites that operators are regularly having to make emergency manoeuvres to avoid collisions. <BR> <BR> Officials are now proposing an international space traffic management system that will track and control the movements of spacecraft to ensure there are no accidents, much like air traffic control centres do with aircraft. <BR> <BR> Currently the US is the only country with the ability to track satellites and debris in space, so other countries and satellite operators are reliant on the Americans alerting them to an impending threat. <BR> <BR> Professor Richard Crowther, head of the UK delegation to the UN Committee on the peaceful uses of outer space, and an expert on space debris, said:  The potential for collisions between spacecraft and with debris is only going to increase as more and more objects are sent into space. <BR> <BR>  Satellites now form an essential part of everyday life on Earth and many important services are provided by them, so it is crucial that we don t have satellites being damaged or destroyed. <BR> <BR>  What we need is a way for countries to share data about what they have up there and establish some rules of the road for space, like which satellites have to give way to others and those which don t have the ability to move. <BR> <BR>  The term we are using for this is Space Traffic Management, which is a bit like an air traffic control for outer space. <BR> <BR> The European Space Agency has already begun work on a new tracking system, the Space Situational Awareness Programme, that could form part of such an international space traffic control. <BR> <BR> The UN committee is also due to discuss new rules about satellites that will ensure they can be recovered or burned up in the atmosphere at the end of their life. Proposals for how debris in orbit around the Earth can be cleaned up will also be put forward. <BR> <BR> In 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution endorsing new guidelines for how space debris can be reduced. The meeting comes as the UK government prepares to unveil, this week, a 20 year strategy for the future of the British space industry. <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Your Baby s DNA Is Being Stored In A Government Lab</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/05/your-babys-dna-is-being-stored-in-a-government-lab/"><img src="201_dna.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> When Annie Brown s daughter, Isabel, was a month old, her pediatrician asked Brown and her husband to sit down because he had some bad news to tell them: Isabel carried a gene that put her at risk for cystic fibrosis. <BR> <BR> While grateful to have the information  Isabel received further testing and she doesn t have the disease  the Mankato, Minnesota, couple wondered how the doctor knew about Isabel s genes in the first place. After all, they d never consented to genetic testing. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> It s simple, the pediatrician answered: Newborn babies in the United States are routinely screened for a panel of genetic diseases. Since the testing is mandated by the government, it s often done without the parents consent, according to Brad Therrell, director of the National Newborn Screening & Genetics Resource Center. <BR> <BR> In many states, such as Florida, where Isabel was born, babies DNA is stored indefinitely, according to the resource center. <BR> <BR> Many parents don t realize their baby s DNA is being stored in a government lab, but sometimes when they find out, as the Browns did, they take action. Parents in Texas, and Minnesota have filed lawsuits, and these parents concerns are sparking a new debate about whether it s appropriate for a baby s genetic blueprint to be in the government s possession. <BR> <BR>  We were appalled when we found out, says Brown, who s a registered nurse.  Why do they need to store my baby s DNA indefinitely? Something on there could affect her ability to get a job later on, or get health insurance. <BR> <BR> According to the state of Minnesota s Web site, samples are kept so that tests can be repeated, if necessary, and in case the DNA is ever need to help parents identify a missing or deceased child. The samples are also used for medical research. <BR> <BR> Art Caplan, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, says he understands why states don t first ask permission to screen babies for genetic diseases.  It s paternalistic, but the state has an overriding interest in protecting these babies, he says. <BR> <BR> However, he added that storage of DNA for long periods of time is a different matter. <BR> <BR>  I don t see any reason to do that kind of storage, Caplan says.  If it s anonymous, then I don t care. I don t have an issue with that. But if you keep names attached to those samples, that makes me nervous. <BR> <BR> DNA given to outside researchers <BR> <BR> Genetic testing for newborns started in the 1960s with testing for diseases and conditions that, if undetected, could kill a child or cause severe problems, such as mental retardation. Since then, the screening has helped save countless newborns. <BR> <BR> Over the years, many other tests were added to the list. Now, states mandate that newborns be tested for anywhere between 28 and 54 different conditions, and the DNA samples are stored in state labs for anywhere from three months to indefinitely, depending on the state. (To find out how long your baby s DNA is stored, see this state-by-state list.) http://www2.uthscsa.edu/nnsis/reportlabspecimen.cfm <BR> <BR> Brad Therrell, who runs the federally funded genetic resource consortium, says parents don t need to worry about the privacy of their babies DNA. <BR> <BR>  The states have in place very rigid controls on those specimens, Therrell says.  If my children s DNA were in one of these state labs, I wouldn t be worried a bit. <BR> <BR> The specimens don t always stay in the state labs. They re often given to outside researchers  sometimes with the baby s name attached. <BR> <BR> According to a study done by the state of Minnesota, more than 20 scientific papers have been published in the United States since 2000 using newborn blood samples. <BR> <BR> The researchers do not have to have parental consent to obtain samples as long as the baby s name is not attached, according to Amy Gaviglio, one of the authors of the Minnesota report. However, she says it s her understanding that if a researcher wants a sample with a baby s name attached, consent first must be obtained from the parents. <BR> <BR> Scientists have heralded this enormous collection of DNA samples as a  gold mine for doing research, according to Gaviglio. <BR> <BR>  This sample population would be virtually impossible to get otherwise, says Gaviglio, a genetic counselor for the Minnesota Department of Health.  Researchers go through a very stringent process to obtain the samples. States certainly don t provide samples to just anyone. <BR> <BR> Brown says that even with these assurances, she still worries whether someone could gain access to her baby s DNA sample with Isabel s name attached. <BR> <BR>  I know the government says my baby s data will be kept private, but I m not so sure. I feel like my trust has been taken, she says. <BR> <BR> Parents don t give consent to screening <BR> <BR> Brown says she first lost trust when she learned that Isabel had received genetic testing in the first place without consent from her or her husband. <BR> <BR>  I don t have a problem with the testing, but I wish they d asked us first, she says. <BR> <BR> Since health insurance paid for Isabel s genetic screening, her positive test for a cystic fibrosis gene is now on the record with her insurance company, and the Browns are concerned this could hurt her in the future. <BR> <BR>  It s really a black mark against her, and there s nothing we can do to get it off there, Brown says.  And let s say in the future they can test for a gene for schizophrenia or manic-depression and your baby tests positive  that would be on there, too. <BR> <BR> Brown says if the hospital had first asked her permission to test Isabel, now 10 months old, she might have chosen to pay for it out of pocket so the results wouldn t be known to the insurance company. <BR> <BR> Caplan says taking DNA samples without asking permission and then storing them  veers from the norm. <BR> <BR>  In the military, for instance, they take and store DNA samples, but they tell you they re doing it, and you can choose not to join if you don t like it, he says. <BR> <BR> What can parents do <BR> <BR> In some states, including Minnesota and Texas, the states are required to destroy a baby s DNA sample if a parent requests it. Parents who want their baby s DNA destroyed are asked to fill out <b><a href="http://www.health.state.mn.us/newbornscreening/docs/directivedestroy.pdf">this form</a></b> in Minnesota and <b><a href="http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/lab/NBSdestructionDirective.pdf">this form</a></b> in Texas. <BR> <BR> Parents in other states have less recourse, says Therrell, who runs the genetic testing group.  You d probably have to write a letter to the state saying,  Please destroy my sample,  he says. <BR> <BR> He adds, however, that it s not clear whether a state would necessarily obey your wishes.  I suspect it would be very difficult to get those states to destroy your baby s sample, he says. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>1 in 5 Have Inherited the  Unfitness Gene </b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/04/1-in-5-have-inherited-the-unfitness-gene/"><img src="201_gene.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Spent hours sweating it out in the gym but don t feel any fitter? Blame your parents. One in five of us has inherited  unfitness genes that mean no matter how often we pound the treadmill, we ll still be out of puff. <BR> <BR> The researchers focused on aerobic fitness but believe our DNA could also affect our ability to burn off fat through exercise. <BR> <BR> The finding paves they way for a simple blood test that will tell us whether we should be getting on our bikes to get fit  or taking a less strenuous route to good health. <BR> <BR> Researchers from 14 institutions around the world asked more than 600 people to take up cycling and tracked subsequent improvements in their aerobic fitness. <BR> <BR> This involved measuring the amount of oxygen they took in, an indicator of the heart s ability to pump blood and one of the best predictors of a long and healthy old age. <BR> <BR> Running, cycling and brisk walking all increase the body s ability to take in and use oxygen, boosting resistance to disease. <BR> <BR> By peering into the volunteers DNA they found 30 genes that affect oxygen uptake and showed that differences in 11 of these genes closely correlated with changes in aerobic fitness after cycling. <BR> <BR> Around one in five of those tested had a combination of genes that meant their oxygen uptake hardly changed, despite weeks of fast pedalling. <BR> <BR>  The change in aerobic fitness was so small you could miss it, said researcher James Timmons. <BR> <BR>  People will say that we only looked at one measure of fitness and there are other benefits of aerobic exercise. <BR> <BR>  That is absolutely true but this is the hard and fast one that really predicts death. <BR> <BR> Another, more fortunate, 10 per cent saw a massive improvement in aerobic fitness, according to a report of the research in the Journal-of Applied Physiology. <BR> <BR> The researchers have applied for the patent for a blood test that would pinpoint those carrying the  unfitness genes . <BR> <BR> They believe it could be on the market within a year. They envisage GPs or gym instructors using the test results to tailor a person s exercise programm. <BR> <BR> Those found to carry the  unfitness genes would be advised to concentrate on changing their diet or taking cholesterol-busting statins to improve their heart health. <BR> <BR> They could also benefit from different types of exercise, such as weight training. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 200</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> New Guide from CD Baby<br> 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center><b>New Guide from CD Baby, for members only</b></center> <br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/"><img src="200_cd.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> <center><b>2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award</b></center> <br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/abna"><img src="abna.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is an opportunity for emerging fiction writers to join a community of authors on Amazon.com, showcase their work, and compete for a chance to get published. Sponsored in partnership with Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award first launched in October 2007 and received more than 5,000 initial entries. In the inaugural contest, Amazon customers voted and named Bill Loehfelm the winner with his novel, Fresh Kills. Several of the other Top 10 finalists also received publishing deals with Penguin. <br><br> Manuscript submissions are now being accepted through February 7, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern Standard Time), or when 5,000 entries have been received in each category, whichever is earlier. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center><b>Show 200 Credits and Extras:</b></center> <br><br><br> <b>Mardi Gras Music:</b> <br><br><br> <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvXGJ8eP1B0">New Orleans Louisiana Creole Cajun Zydeco Music</a></b> - <b><a href="http://www.coreybarksdale.com">coreybarksdale.com</a></b> <br><br> <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT79uM3gjjA">New Orleans Zydeco Music THE RIVER WALK</a></b> - <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnnyMcPhail">JohnnyMcPhail</a></b> <br><br> <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvXGJ8eP1B0">BEAU SOLEIL performs ZYDECO GRIS GRIS</a></b> - <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/letstalkaboutstuff">letstalkaboutstuff</a></b> <br><br><br> <center><b>"New Orleans For Sale"</b> <br><br> 2-cent entertainment's controversial "This is What You Paid To See" PSA. <br><br> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DgbyoBLnln0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DgbyoBLnln0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </center> <br><br><br> <center><b>Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong - Farewell to Storyville</b> <br><br> It's a fragment of the film "New Orleans", directed by Arthur Lubin in 1947. This is the saddest part of the film, in my opinion, because everybody is obliged to leave the city they learnt to call a home and that's what this song tell us about. <br><br> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gLHCR0OTqhs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gLHCR0OTqhs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Forests Are Growing Faster</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/03/forests-are-growing-faster-ecologists-discover-climate-change-appears-to-be-driving-accelerated-growth/"><img src="200_trees.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Speed is not a word typically associated with trees; they can take centuries to grow. However, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found evidence that forests in the Eastern United States are growing faster than they have in the past 225 years. The study offers a rare look at how an ecosystem is responding to climate change. <BR> <BR> For more than 20 years forest ecologist Geoffrey Parker has tracked the growth of 55 stands of mixed hardwood forest plots in Maryland. The plots range in size, and some are as large as 2 acres. Parker s research is based at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 26 miles east of the nation s capital. <BR> <BR> Parker s tree censuses have revealed that the forest is packing on weight at a much faster rate than expected. He and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute postdoctoral fellow Sean McMahon discovered that, on average, the forest is growing an additional 2 tons per acre annually. That is the equivalent of a tree with a diameter of 2 feet sprouting up over a year. <BR> <BR> Forests and their soils store the majority of the Earth s terrestrial carbon stock. Small changes in their growth rate can have significant ramifications in weather patterns, nutrient cycles, climate change and biodiversity. Exactly how these systems will be affected remains to be studied. <BR> <BR> Parker and McMahon s paper focuses on the drivers of the accelerated tree growth. The chief culprit appears to be climate change, more specifically, the rising levels of atmospheric CO2, higher temperatures and longer growing seasons. <BR> <BR> Assessing how a forest is changing is no easy task. Forest ecologists know that the trees they study will most likely outlive them. One way they compensate for this is by creating a  chronosequence  a series of forests plots of the same type that are at different developmental stages. At SERC, Parker meticulously tracks the growth of trees in stands that range from 5 to 225 years old. This allowed Parker and McMahon to verify that there was accelerated growth in forest stands young and old. More than 90% of the stands grew two to four times faster than predicted from the baseline chronosequence. <BR> <BR> By grouping the forest stands by age, McMahon and Parker were also able to determine that the faster growth is a recent phenomenon. If the forest stands had been growing this quickly their entire lives, they would be much larger than they are. <BR> <BR> Parker estimates that among himself, his colleague Dawn Miller and a cadre of citizen scientists, they have taken a quarter of a million measurements over the years. Parker began his tree census work Sept. 8, 1987  his first day on the job. He measures all trees that are 2 centimeters or more in diameter. He also identifies the species, marks the tree s coordinates and notes if it is dead or alive. <BR> <BR> By knowing the species and diameter, McMahon is able to calculate the biomass of a tree. He specializes in the data-analysis side of forest ecology.  Walking in the woods helps, but so does looking at the numbers, said McMahon. He analyzed Parker s tree censuses but was hungry for more data. <BR> <BR> It was not enough to document the faster growth rate; Parker and McMahon wanted to know why it might be happening.  We made a list of reasons these forests could be growing faster and then ruled half of them out, said Parker. The ones that remained included increased temperature, a longer growing season and increased levels of atmospheric CO2. <BR> <BR> During the past 22 years CO2 levels at SERC have risen 12%, the mean temperature has increased by nearly three-tenths of a degree and the growing season has lengthened by 7.8 days. The trees now have more CO2 and an extra week to put on weight. Parker and McMahon suggest that a combination of these three factors has caused the forest s accelerated biomass gain. <BR> <BR> Ecosystem responses are one of the major uncertainties in predicting the effects of climate change. Parker thinks there is every reason to believe his study sites are representative of the Eastern deciduous forest, the regional ecosystem that surrounds many of the population centers on the East Coast. He and McMahon hope other forest ecologists will examine data from their own tree censuses to help determine how widespread the phenomenon is. <BR> <BR> Funding for this research was provided by the HSBC Climate Partnership. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Spray-On Liquid Glass Can Protect Almost Any Surface From Damage</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/02/02/spray-on-liquid-glass-can-protect-almost-any-surface-from-damage/"><img src="200_glass.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products. <BR> <BR> The liquid glass spray (technically termed  SiO2 ultra-thin layering ) consists of almost pure silicon dioxide (silica, the normal compound in glass) extracted from quartz sand. Water or ethanol is added, depending on the type of surface to be coated. There are no additives, and the nano-scale glass coating bonds to the surface because of the quantum forces involved. According to the manufacturers, liquid glass has a long-lasting antibacterial effect because microbes landing on the surface cannot divide or replicate easily. <BR> <BR> Liquid glass was invented in Turkey and the patent is held by Nanopool, a family-owned German company. Research on the product was carried out at the Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials. Nanopool is already in negotiations in the UK with a number of companies and with the National Health Service, with a view to its widespread adoption. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> The liquid glass spray produces a water-resistant coating only around 100 nanometers (15-30 molecules) thick. On this nanoscale the glass is highly flexible and breathable. The coating is environmentally harmless and non-toxic, and easy to clean using only water or a simple wipe with a damp cloth. It repels bacteria, water and dirt, and resists heat, UV light and even acids. UK project manager with Nanopool, Neil McClelland, said soon almost every product you purchase will be coated with liquid glass. <BR> <BR> Food processing companies in Germany have already carried out trials of the spray, and found sterile surfaces that usually needed to be cleaned with strong bleach to keep them sterile needed only a hot water rinse if they were coated with liquid glass. The levels of sterility were higher for the glass-coated surfaces, and the surfaces remained sterile for months.Other organizations, such as a train company and a hotel chain in the UK, and a hamburger chain in Germany, are also testing liquid glass for a wide range of uses. A year-long trial of the spray in a Lancashire hospital also produced  very promising results for a range of applications including coatings for equipment, medical implants, catheters, sutures and bandages. The war graves association in the UK is investigating using the spray to treat stone monuments and grave stones, since trials have shown the coating protects against weathering and graffiti. Trials in Turkey are testing the product on monuments such as the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara. <BR> <BR> The liquid glass coating is breathable, which means it can be used on plants and seeds. Trials in vineyards have found spraying vines increases their resistance to fungal diseases, while other tests have shown sprayed seeds germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, and coated wood is not attacked by termites. Other vineyard applications include coating corks with liquid glass to prevent  corking and contamination of wine. The spray cannot be seen by the naked eye, which means it could also be used to treat clothing and other materials to make them stain-resistant. McClelland said you can  pour a bottle of wine over an expensive silk shirt and it will come right off . <BR> <BR> In the home, spray-on glass would eliminate the need for scrubbing and make most cleaning products obsolete. Since it is available in both water-based and alcohol-based solutions, it can be used in the oven, in bathrooms, tiles, sinks, and almost every other surface in the home, and one spray is said to last a year. <BR> <BR> Liquid glass spray is perhaps the most important nanotechnology product to emerge to date. It will be available in DIY stores in Britain soon, with prices starting at around £5 ($8 US). Other outlets, such as many supermarkets, may be unwilling to stock the products because they make enormous profits from cleaning products that need to be replaced regularly, and liquid glass would make virtually all of them obsolete. <BR> <BR> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Tobacco Plants Used To Grow Cheap Biodegradable Solar Cells</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/29/tobacco-plants-used-to-grow-cheap-biodegradable-solar-cells/"><img src="200_tobac.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Researchers at UC Berkeley have hacked tobacco plants to grow synthetic photovoltaic cells which can then be extracted and sprayed onto any substrate to create solar cells. <BR> <BR> How? The scientists tweaked a few genes within the tobacco mosaic virus to build tiny structures called chromophores. Once the plant is sprayed with the virus, the new chromophores will group into tightly coiled formations. Chromophores are structures that turn light into high powered electrons. <BR> <BR> Each formation is hundreds of nanometers long and about three nanometers away from its neighbor. That spacing is very important. Just one atom closer would impede any electrical current. Harvesting the electrons would be nearly impossible. <BR> <BR>  Over billions of years, evolution has established exactly the right distances between chromophore to allow them to collect and use light from the sun with unparalleled efficiency, said Matt Francis.  We are trying to mimic these finely tuned systems using the tobacco mosaic virus. <BR> <BR> While they aren t as efficient as silicon cells, they are a lot more eco-friendly. Along with being biodegradable, no environmentally toxic chemicals are required to make biologically derived solar cells. And probably most important, they re very very cheap! <BR> <BR> Trapped inside the tobacco plant, scientists will have to harvest the plant, chop it up and extract the structures. Dissolved in a liquid solution, chromophores can then be sprayed over a substrate coated to hold them in place. <BR> <BR>  It s very difficult to recreate photosynthesis, said Angela Belcher, a researcher at MIT who uses viruses to build batteries and other structures.  The precision of each structure is very important, and it s very hard to pick up one molecule and put it where you want it to be. <BR> <BR> Growing biologically derived solar cells could definitely put farmers back to work. The harvested electrons could also generate chemical energy much like plants do. This could mean hydrocarbons that could power cars or aircraft. <BR> <BR> Francis and his colleagues were also successful using this process with the E. coli bacteria. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>2010 Tapping World Summit</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.tappingworldsummit.com/"><img src="200_tapp.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Now, this item came in via a Facebook friend, Megan Jenifer, and though I usually pass on these alternative-whatever conferences as events designed to separate curious yuppies from their money, the info said it was free, so what the hell... <BR> <BR> Tapping, apparently, is a technique that combines ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. <BR> <BR> It has been shown to provide relief from chronic pain, emotional problems, disorders, addictions, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, and physical diseases as helping people clear the limiting beliefs that are holding them back from attracting what they want. <BR> <BR> The infopage includes a video, testimonials and a plug from at least one person who was involved in the self-help smash hit "The Secret." <BR> <BR> If you're interested, check it out; registration is open till Feb. 21st. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 199</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Chicago Poetry Items<br> MUSIC Domain name<br> Quinta Do Agrinho<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> From <a href="http://chicagopoetry.com"><b>ChicagoPoetry.com</b></a>: <br><br> <b>April 17: Sam Hamill at Unity Temple in Oak Park</b> <br><br> <p align=justify> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OJwBI_9lUiE/S2Bxhpe3fPI/AAAAAAAAA30/HW-v_vHUJXo/s1600-h/samhamill"><img src="samhamill.jpg" align=right border="0"></a> <text follows> On Saturday, April 17, Charlie Rossiter and the Unity Temple, 835 W. Lake St. in downtown Oak Park, will present two special events featuring Poet, Publisher, Translator, and Founder of Poets Against the War, Sam Hamill. This will be a rare opportunity to spend time with one of the major poets and cultural forces of our time. Sam Hamill is the author of more than forty books, including fifteen volumes of original poetry (most recently Measured by Stone and Almost Paradise: New & Selected Poems & Translations); four collections of literary essays; and some of the most distinguished translations of ancient Chinese and Japanese classics of the last half-century. Hamill co-founded, and for thirty-two years was editor, at Copper Canyon Press. He taught in prisons for fourteen years and has worked extensively with battered women and children. Mr. Hamill also inspired tens of thousands of poets across the country and across the world to protest the war in Iraq, after a White House poetry symposium was cancelled for fear that anti-war poetry would be read. <br><br> "The Practice of Poetry," an intimate workshop and discussion with Mr. Hamill (limited to 20 participants) will take place at the Temple from 2 to 4 PM. And then, "An Evening of Poetry with Sam Hamill," a special 3rd Saturday Coffeehouse event, will take place at 8 PM. Tickets for these events will become available starting February 1. Tickets for the workshop can be purchased for $20 from BrownPaperTickets by clicking here and tickets for the reading can be purchased for $9 by clicking here. Please note there will be no open mic. for the evening reading. These events are funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. and the Social Mission Committee of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation. For more information please contact 708-660-9376. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Your own BandName.Music domain name!</b> <br><br><br> <a href="http://www.music.us/"><img src="music_comic.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.agrinho.com/"><img src="199_quinto.jpg" border="0"></a> <br><br> Here's the latest promotional mailer from Quinta Do Agrinho, a Portuguese resort located in the area surrounding Caniçada dam and Peneda Park. Really beautiful area... </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Evidence of the Afterlife</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/25/is-there-really-life-after-death/"><img src="199_aft.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Is there life after death? Theologians can debate all they want, but radiation oncologist Dr. Jeffrey Long says if you look at the scientific evidence, the answer is unequivocally yes. Drawing on a decade s worth of research on near-death experiences  work that includes cataloguing the stories of some 1,600 people who have gone through them  he makes the case for that controversial conclusion in a new book, Evidence of the Afterlife. <BR> <BR> Medicine, Long says, cannot account for the consistencies in the accounts reported by people all over the world. He talked to TIME about the nature of near-death experience, the intersection between religion and science and the Oprah effect. <BR> <BR> <b>Medically speaking, what is a near-death experience?</b><BR> A near-death experience has two components. The person has to be near death, which means physically compromised so severely that permanent death would occur if they did not improve: they re unconscious, or often clinically dead, with an absence of heartbeat and breathing. The second component [is that] at the time they re having a close brush with death, they have an experience. [It is] generally lucid [and] highly organized. <BR> <BR> <b>How do you respond to skeptics who say there must be some biological or physiological basis for that kind of experience, which you say in the book is medically inexplicable?</b><BR> There have been over 20 alternative, skeptical  explanations for near-death experience. The reason is very clear: no one or several skeptical explanations make sense, even to the skeptics themselves. Or [else ]there wouldn t be so many. <BR> <BR> <b>You say there s less skepticism about near-death experiences than there used to be, as well as more awareness. Why is that?</b><BR> Literally hundreds of scholarly articles have been written over the last 35 years about near-death experience. In addition to that, the media continues to present [evidence of] near-death experience. Hundreds of thousands of pages a month are read on our website, NDERF.org. - http://www.nderf.org/ <BR> <BR> <b>In the book you say that some critics argue that there s an  Oprah effect : that a lot of people who have had near-death experiences have heard about them elsewhere first. How do you account for that in your research?</b><BR> We post to the website the near-death experience exactly as it was shared with us. Given the fact that every month 300,000 pages are read [by] over 40,000 unique visitors from all around the world, the chances of a copycat account from any media source not being picked up by any one of those people is exceedingly remote. Our quality-assurance check is the enormous visibility and the enormous number of visitors. <BR> <BR> <b>You say this research has affected you a lot on a personal level. How?</b><BR> I m a physician who fights cancer. In spite of our best efforts, not everybody is going to be cured. My absolute understanding that there is an afterlife for all of us  and a wonderful afterlife  helps me face cancer, this terribly frightening and threatening disease, with more courage than I ve ever faced it with before. I can be a better physician for my patients. <BR> <BR> <b>You say we can draw on near-death experiences to reach conclusions about life after actual death. But is that comparing apples and oranges?</b><BR> Scientifically speaking, interviewing people that have permanently died is challenging. Obviously, given that impossibility, we have to do the next best thing. If these people have no brain function, like you have in a cardiac arrest, I think that is the best, closest model we re going to have to study whether or not conscious experience can occur apart from the physical brain. The research shows the overwhelming answer is absolutely yes. <BR> <BR> <b>You raise the idea that your work could have profound implications for religion. But is whether there is life after death really a scientific question, or a theological one?</b><BR> I think we have an interesting blend. [This research] directly addresses what religions have been telling us for millenniums to accept on faith: that there is an afterlife, that there is some order and purpose to this universe, that there s some reason and purpose for us being here in earthly life. We re finding verification, if you will, for what so many religions have been saying. It s an important step toward bringing science and religion together. <BR> <BR> <b>Is there any aspect of human experience that you don t think science can touch?</b><BR> Oh, absolutely. What happens after permanent death  after we re no longer able to interview people  is an absolute. To that extent, the work I do may always require some element of faith. But by the time you look at [the] evidence, the amount of faith you need to have [to believe in] life after death is substantially reduced. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>The Puffin: A Personal Aircraft</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/26/the-puffin-a-personal-aircraft/"><img src="199_air.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> NASA is developing an aerial vehicle that will probably come as close to the personal jet-pack we were looking forward to. The  Puffin features Vertical Takeoff and Landing, an electric engine, and a face-melting top speed of 300 miles per hour. They are already fine tuning its performance values for military use: <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <I> The rather unusual-looking craft would be especially handy for military applications. Its extremely low heat signature would make it difficult to detect in the air, and the fact that it s whisper quiet doesn t hurt, either. <BR> <BR> In fact, because it s so quiet similar technology may be used for commercial transportation in the future. The lack of loud, emissions-heavy aircraft engines would mean that airports could be situated closer to city centers and even residential areas. And if we can t have personal jet packs, then personal aircraft would be the next best thing.</I> <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rhpPhvWvLgk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rhpPhvWvLgk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> The Puffin is a single-person stealth VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicle with an electric engine. In theory, it will be able to cruise at around 150 miles per hour and sprint at close to 300 miles per hour. And since electric motors need much less air and cooling than internal combustion engines, the craft would have virtually no altitude limitation. The biggest limitation at the moment would be the battery: with a range of just 50 miles, it wouldn t leave much time for anything. But batteries are rapidly decreasing in size and increasing in density, so engineers figure that the range could be doubled by 2017. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Venus Flytrap for Nuclear Waste</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/27/venus-flytrap-for-nuclear-waste-new-material-finds-needle-in-a-haystack-shows-promise-for-clean-up/"><img src="199_trap.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Not every object is food to a Venus flytrap. Like the carnivorous plant, a new material developed at Northwestern University permanently traps only its desired prey, the radioactive ion cesium, and not other harmless ions like sodium. <BR> <BR> The synthetic material, made from layers of a gallium, sulfur and antimony compound, is very selective. The Northwestern researchers found it to be extremely successful in removing cesium  found in nuclear waste but very difficult to clean up  from a sodium-heavy solution. (The solution had concentrations similar to those in real liquid nuclear waste.) <BR> <BR> It is, in fact, cesium itself that triggers a structural change in the material, causing it to snap shut its pores, or windows, and trap the cesium ions within. The material sequesters 100 percent of the cesium ions from the solution while at the same time ignoring all the sodium ions. <BR> <BR> The results are published online by the journal Nature Chemistry. <BR> <BR>  Ideally we want to concentrate the radioactive material so it can be dealt with properly and the nonradioactive water thrown away, said Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the paper s senior author.  A new class of materials that takes advantage of the flytrap mechanism could lead to a much-needed breakthrough in nuclear waste remediation. <BR> <BR> Capturing only cesium from vast amounts of liquid nuclear waste is like looking for a needle in a haystack, Kanatzidis said. The waste has a much higher concentration of sodium compared to cesium, with ratios as great as 1,000-to-1. This difficult-to-achieve selectivity is why currently there is no good solution for cesium removal. <BR> <BR> The Northwestern material is porous with its atoms arranged in an open and layered framework structure with many windows to promote rapid ion exchange. Initially, organic cations reside in the material; when the material comes into contact with the liquid, the cations leave the material by going through the windows, and the cesium ions come in. In the end, the material contains only cesium ions and no organic cations. (The presence of organic cations in the liquid is not an issue as the cations are not radioactive.) <BR> <BR> The snap-shut Venus flytrap mechanism occurs because  soft materials like to interact with each other. A cesium ion is big and soft, and the metal-sulfide material is soft, too. The cesium ions are attracted to the material, specifically the sulfur atoms, and together form a weak bond. This interaction causes the material to change shape, close its windows and trap the cesium  like a juicy insect in a flytrap. Sodium, which is clothed in water molecules, can t trigger the response. <BR> <BR> Kanatzidis and Nan Ding, then a doctoral student in Kanatzidis research group and an author of the paper, did not set out to discover the flytrap mechanism. Instead, they were investigating different structures of the material, wondering if they could act as ion exchangers. <BR> <BR>  Seeing the windows close was completely unexpected, Kanatzidis said.  We expected ion exchange  we didn t expect the material to respond dynamically. This gives us a new mechanism to focus on. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 198</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Chicago Poetry Items<br> Whispers Radio New Community Site<br> Black Science Fiction Society Items<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://chicagopoetry.com"><img src="valentinebanner2.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> ChicagoPoetry.com is putting its plans for a monthly first Friday poetry show on temporary hold as it pursues its new monthly Poetry Cram series. ChicagoPoetry will be hosting a Poetry Cram on the 2nd Saturday of every month, at Cafe Ballou, 939 N. Western Ave, from 6 to 8 PM. Each month we will attempt to break the current Ballou Cram record of how many poets we can cram into a 2 hour show. The current record is 26 poets and the next Cram will be an uncensored Valentine's Day show on February 13. Poets who wish to RSVP for a performance spot should contact Cram host CJ Laity at Publisher[at]ChicagoPoetry.com <br><br> Current Chicago Poetry Announcements <br><br> There seems to be some confusion concerning the Revolving Door Reading Series, which will feature Allison Gruber, Donna Pecore, Luis Humberto Valadez and Sid Yiddish. Apparently it is going to take place on February 17 (not on January 27 as previously reported) from 7:30 to 9:30 PM, at Red Kiva, 1108 West Randolph St. <br><br> On Saturday, January 23, at 7 PM, Myopic Books at 1564 N. Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd Floor, will be really happening with a double feature of Kevin Coval and Roger Bonair-Agard. <br><br> On Monday, January 25, Weeds, 1555 N. Dayton, will present its seventh "Off The Wall" Poetry Contest with a $50 cash prize. Sign up begins at 9 PM and the contest starts at 10 PM. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.whispersradio.com/"><img src="whisperstrans.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> <b>Whispers Radio New Community Site</b> <br><br> Whispers is the Ohio Valley s only source for paranormal talk radio. The show is broadcast live on Tuesday s at 6PM and is hosted by Jordan Cline and Nick Queen, with beloved producer Lola Miller. Jordan and Nick bring the best guests in the paranormal world to WKKX. Past guests have included Stanton Friedman, the first civilian investigator of Roswell and internationally acclaimed UFOlogist, Mark Nesbitt, operator of one of the most popular ghost tours in the nation, Ghosts of Gettysburg, and many others. Topics range from ghosts to cryptozoology to UFOs, as well as others that fall into the general paranormal realm. now syndicated on the UFO Paranormal Radio Network which reaches listeners around the world. <br><br> Want to tell us your story? Call 1-973-215-9178 and leave us a message and we might just play it on the air! <br><br> Want to talk live? Call Tuesday s at 6PM Eastern Time, locally 214-1600 and nationally 866-514-1600. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <b>From The Black Science Fiction Society:</b> <br><br> Author D. L. Russell will be signing copies of his new short story collection, "Hell is an Awfully Big City!" at Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago!<br><br> Time: January 30, 2010 from 7pm to 8:30pm<br> Location: Quimby's Bookstore<br> Street: 1854 W. North Avenue<br> City/Town: Chicago, IL<br> Website or Map: <b><a href="http://www.quimbys.com/">http://www.quimbys.com/</a></b><br> Phone: 773-342-0910<br><br><br> <center> Octavia Butler: Science Fiction Writer - <i>From democracynow.org 2005 Interview</i> <br><br> Part 1: <br><br> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UTcs4dbhuYQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UTcs4dbhuYQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <br><br><br> Part 2: <br><br> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ORViGM2ttJI&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ORViGM2ttJI&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Haiti's history of hardship</b> <br><br> Al Jazeera's Avi Lewis reports. (14 Jan 2010) <br><br> <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ttqexOlqhWM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ttqexOlqhWM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object> </center> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>The Future of Work</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/18/the-future-of-work/"><img src="198_work.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> By the end of the month, a company called txteagle will be the largest employer in Kenya. The firm, started in its original form in 2008 by a young computer engineer named Nathan Eagle and, as of this coming June, based in Boston, will have 10,000 people working for it in Kenya. Txteagle does not rent office space for these workers, nor do the company s officers interview them, or ever talk to most of them. <BR> <BR> And, in a sense, the labor that the Kenyan workforce does hardly seems like work. The jobs  short stretches of speech to be transcribed or translated into a local dialect, search engine results to be checked, images to be labeled, short market research surveys to be completed  come in over a worker s own cellphone and the worker responds either by speaking into the phone or texting back the answer. The workers can be anyone with a cellphone  a secretary waiting for a bus, a Masai tribesman herding cattle, a student between classes, a security guard on a slow day, or one of Kenya s tens of millions of unemployed. The jobs take at most a few minutes and pay a few cents each (payment is sent by cellphone as well), but a dedicated worker can earn a few dollars a day in a part of the world where that is a significant sum. <BR> <BR> The txteagle story is a variety of things: a tale of savvy social entrepreneurs taking advantage of the proliferation of cellphones in much of the developing world, an example of the ability of clever programming to chop big jobs up into tiny discrete chunks and to assess reliability by checking the answers of different workers against each other. But txteagle is also, at the most basic level, a story of how people are rethinking what work can be. <BR> <BR> The United States Government Accountability Office has estimated that so-called contingent workers  everything from temps to day laborers to the self-employed to independent contractors  make up nearly a third of the workforce. And forecasters believe that proportion will rise. The growth is being driven partly by economic factors, with the uncertain economic climate making short-term contract workers more attractive to firms than full-time employees, but of course broader technological changes are at work as well  cellphones, PDAs, and broadband make it easy to farm out work, even complex, interactive tasks that previously only made sense to do in-house. <BR> <BR> This shift has begun to trigger a more fundamental examination of what a job is and what we expect to get from it. Despite the vast diversity of the work people do, the traditional notion of a job has tended to be a standard bundle of responsibilities, roles, and benefits: We do our work for an employer to whom we owe our primary professional allegiance, and that employer pays us and provides us health insurance and a sense of professional identity. In the United States, many of the laws that shape health insurance, retirement, and tax policy are structured around this model. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Dell Froot Concept Design Does Away with Keyboard</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/17/dell-froot-concept-design-does-away-with-keyboard-monitor/"><img src="198_dell.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> With the environment and sustainability firmly in mind the Dell Froot concept saves the planet courtesy two projectors: One for the virtual keyboard, and another for the monitor.Designed by Pauline Carlos as part of a sustainability contest sponsored by Dell, the Froot also uses a colorful case that s constructed out of a biodegradable starch-based polymer. As it s a futuristic concept, the lack of a mouse is understabdable we ll no doubt be using our brains by then. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Haiti Earthquake Relief  Solar Panels To Help Light The Night</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/17/haiti-earthquake-relief-solar-panels-to-help-light-the-night/"><img src="198_solar.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> The Jan. 12 earthquake that hit Haiti has mobilized relief agencies, who are working around the clock to aid survivors. One thing lacking is electricity. There are reports of people burning tires to light up the night. Solar-powered lights that charge during the day are a better idea, a Florida company says. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> One thing Haiti still has is sunlight. Sol Inc., based in Palm City, has donated about $400,000 in solar lighting supplies for the relief effort, to allow hospitals, food distribution and relief camps to operate past dusk. <BR> <BR>  We know that once our solar lighting systems are installed, we will effectively double the amount of available relief effort time by allowing aid workers and rescuers to work around the clock when previously operations had to cease at dusk, Rick Schuett, CEO of Sol Inc., said in a statement. More lights also will help restore some safety and security to the island country, Schuett said. <BR> <BR> Haiti has suffered for years from a lack of reliable electricity. According to the Solar Light Electric Fund, there was no access to electricity in almost all of the Haitian countryside before the quake, and dirty diesel generators provided the available electricity. <BR> <BR> Besides the Sol Inc. donation, solar energy also is helping in other ways in Haiti. A South Carolina charity called Water Missions International, has sent 10 water filtration systems to the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The systems can run on diesel fuel or solar power to purify water from lakes, streams and wells, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. <BR> <BR> Sol Inc. says it s working with several relief and government agencies to transport the solar lights from Florida and get them installed in Haiti as quickly as possible. Those involved with the effort include Missionary Flights International, World Vision, Unicef and Hands on Disaster Response. <BR> <BR> Sol Inc. also is working to help other companies get solar supplies to Haiti, and is offering to match purchases of discounted, $1,200 solar lighting systems as part of a Solar Lights for Haiti program. <BR> <BR> The company made similar efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/16/the-hydrowell-village-produces-clean-water-from-virtually-any-water-source/"><b>Solution for Haiti  HydroWell Village  Produces Clean Water From Virtually Any Water Source</b></a> </center> <BR> <BR> <object width="360" height="290"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQQLNpqNn1g&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQQLNpqNn1g&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="360" height="290"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> Haiti is looking for help with their water supply, and this may be it. Providing water in remote and austere environments is a logistical nightmare. In emergencies, water systems take too long to setup. Bulk water is expensive and difficult to deliver. Surface water is almost always heavily contaminated, resulting in death and disease. <BR> <BR> The HydroWell Village solves the problem of providing clean fluids to large groups by allowing the easy and safe filtration of virtually any water supply. The HydroWell Village is ideal for disaster preparedness and humanitarian relief efforts. <BR> <BR> <object height="290" width="360"><param name="movie" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" value="http://www.kgw.com/v/?i=81826302" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.kgw.com/v/?i=81826302" AllowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" height="290" wmode="transparent" width="360"></embed></object> <BR> <BR> Manta Ventures, LLC is the leading provider of next-generation forward osmosis water filtration technology based on a proprietary membrane that converts almost any polluted water into safe, potable drink. <BR> <BR> With over fifteen years of research, scientists have developed the world s first commercially viable forward osmosis membrane for emergency desalination and water filtration. This membrane is used by NASA, the US Department of Defense, the United States Coast Guard and is now available to the public for use in emergency desalination situations. <BR> <BR> Only one filter technology can reliably and safely filter the muddy or cloudy contaminated water frequently found in remote areas or during disaster scenarios. If you need to be prepared to filter the widest range of water sources  clear, muddy, brackish or ocean water  forward osmosis is the ideal solution. <BR> <BR> Forward osmosis products out-perform the competition in these situations, because unlike other filter or purification technologies, they are virtually unaffected by the presence of mud or other suspended solids in the contaminated source water. Using an advanced membrane filter, our systems offer the highest purity available from any personal water filter. Yet because they operate passively without pressure, they do not clog, allowing virtually any water source to be used to provide clean, safe drink. <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 197</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> Act on CO2 Anthology<br> Band Pluggers<br> 2010 Indie Bible Music Directory<br> Chicago Poetry Events<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Act on CO2 Anthology</b></center> <br><br> Authonomy has partnered up with the Act on CO2 campaign to offer you the chance to be published in a very special anthology. To enter, simply write a short story, fairytale or poem (which can be anything from 100 to 3000 words long) to educate people on the subject of climate change, and encourage them to make a positive difference. When you've finished, submit your work on this page: <b><a href="http://ad-emea.doubleclick.net/clk;220263951;43795207;g">http://ad-emea.doubleclick.net/clk;220263951;43795207;g</a></b> <br><br> The closing date is the 31st of January so you still have plenty of time to don your thinking caps and get scribbling. <br><br> You'll be able to read all the entries on authonomy. In fact, we've already uploaded some of our current favourites for you to enjoy. Check them out at: <b><a href="http://www.authonomy.com/ReadBook.aspx?bookid=14926#chapter">http://www.authonomy.com/ReadBook.aspx?bookid=14926#chapter</a></b> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Band Pluggers, Etc.</b></center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="197_AoA.htm"><img src="197_AoA.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> <center> <a href="197_SGD.htm"><img src="197_SGD.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> <center> <a href="http://www.indiebible.com"><img src="197indie.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> <center> <b>"Laugh Detroit"</b></center> <br><br> "Laugh Detroit", a movie chronicling the second annual Detroit Comedy Festival at the Legendary Comedy Castle, opens in Emagine and Cinema Hollywood Theaters across Michigan. The soundtrack for the entire movie was done exclusively by Sadson Recording Artist, <b><a href="197_rus.htm">Rusty Wright</a></b> of the Rusty Wright Band. <br><br><br> Amy Long at <b><a href="http://www.twoshepsthatpass.com/">TwoShepsThatPass</a></b> sent a last-minute plug about two upcoming performances from jazz singer-songwriter Jacqui Naylor, which will benefit the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium. <br><br> Jacqui will be donating 50% of her proceeds from both shows at the famed jazz club Yoshi s Oakland on January 28th to this wonderful organization. <br><br> Here are the show details: <br><br> Jacqui Naylor show to benefit the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium <br><br> <b><a href="http://yoshis.com/oakland/jazzclub/artist/show/614">Yoshi s Oakland</a></b> <br><br> Thursday, January 28th, 8 p.m. ($20) and 10 p.m. ($15) <br><br> <b><a href="http://www.dvcpartners.org">San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium</a></b> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Chicago Poetry Events</b></center> <br><br><br> <p align=justify> <img src="197_women.jpg" align=right> <text follows> If you can't make it into the city for the Poetry Cram on Saturday, January 16, then we recommend you check out the 3rd Saturday Coffeehouse, happening at 8 PM (hey, you just might be able to make both events), at Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street in Oak Park. Bring poetry or prose to share and then enjoy the thrills of magician Tim Casady. $3-$5 donation. Wheelchair accessible. Info at 708-660-9376. <br><br> On Sunday, January 17, The Green Mill, 4802 North Broadway, will present the "Chicago Women's Slam" from 7 to 10 PM. If you are into performance poetry you absolutely do not want to miss this one, because the all-star cast includes Marty McConnell, Dahlia, Mojdeh Stoakley, Andi Strickland, Sarah Morgan, Tristan Silverman, Stacy Fox, Amy David and Emily Rose. Wow! And it will be hosted by Molly Meacham!! <br><br> And then on Monday, January 18, from 7:30 to 10 PM, Butterfly Social Club, 722 W. Grand, will present Mental Graffiti with featured guest Eboni Hogan, who was the 2008 champ of the legendary Urbana Slam and has represented the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. There will also be a slam hosted by former Chicago slam champ Tim Stafford. If you want to be on the only team "repping" Chicago at the National Poetry Slam this year, you need to get there and sign up. $5 donation <br><br> If you are going to perform in events like these, maybe you better touch up on your skills. Vox Ferus Aloud is a workshop for poets interested in improving or practicing their performance skills. Led by nationally renowned poet and performer Marty McConnell (www.martyoutloud.com), the workshop will include exploration and practice of performance techniques that enable the poet to reveal a poem's emotional range and meaning(s) on stage as well as on the page. Space is limited to keep the workshop small, and the fee is $10 per person. To register, email voxferus@gmail.com. The workshop will take place in the Loop on Saturday January 16 from 3-6 p.m. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <b>Passings:</b></center> <br><br><br> (<I>Items excerpted from CJ Laity's <b><a href="http://chicagopoetry.com">Chicagopoetry.com</a></b></I>) <br><br> <p align=justify> <img src="princeakbarimage.jpg" align=right> <text follows> <p> On the afternoon of January 4, 2010, Chicago Def Jam poet, comedian and hip-hop artist Prince Akbar, also known as Jus Rhymz, was tasered and shot to death by two Calumet City police officers. Akbar, whose inspirations ranged from Louis Farrakhan to Dave Chappelle, was a Columbia College graduate who performed in Poetry Slams. Akbar was well known as the author of "WARZONE" (click to read it), a five part blog that chronicled day by day shootings in his Southside neighborhood and that talked about police brutality and issues of racism. Chicago poet Stephany Rose sites Akbar's blog in her 2008 story about the Jennifer Hudson family tragedy. <br><br> Adrienne Huff, commenting on a report of Akbar's death in the Tribune, said: "Brother Prince Akbar was a very caring, intelligent, and wise brother who didn't deserve this. The police could have handled this much differently. HE WAS UNARMED! This brother didn't like the way the justice system was treating Blacks and he was very vocal about it. He was a college graduated, with no criminal background despite his environment. He rose to the occasion . . . He touched many lives in a positive way. He will be truly missed." <br><br> Funeral / Wake Information: "Please join us in saying farewell to our dear friend, activist and slam poet Prince Alim Bantu Akbar on Friday January 15, 2009 at the House of Branch Funeral Home, 3125 W. Roosevelt, Chicago, IL 773.522.1551. . Viewing at 10:00 am and Services at 11:00 am. Any donation amount to assist with funeral cost is greatly appreciated and is accepted at www.blackbootink.com." </p> <br><br><br> <p align=justify> <img src="effie1.jpg" align=left> <text follows> What can be said about Effie Mihopoulos? I am really at a loss for words. Carlos Cumpian has called her a "pioneer." Other poets have called her a legend. Many poets have called her a mentor and a friend. Recently, Effie became ill. In December, her longtime friend Rhonda Farrins brought her to Swedish Covenant Hospital, where Effie was found to have breast cancer. In January, Effie was transferred to a Hospice at Weiss Memorial, where she passed away on January 14, 2010. Before she died, she was visited by dozens of her friends, who sat by her side and told her how important she was to them. Effie Mihopoulos graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Master's Degree in English in 1974. Her imprint "Ommation Press" published many Chicago poets over the years. Her book of poetry "The Moon Cycle" was produced as a play and Effie worked as a interviewer on WZRD for many years. She was also the Theater Coordinator for the Bucktown Arts Fest and the Performance Art reviewer for Examiner.com. Yet mentioning these few things is like throwing a pebble into the ocean. Seriously. No amount of words can express how instrumental Effie Mihopoulos has been to the Chicago Poetry Scene. She has been active in Chicago's performance arts and poetry scene for decades and it would take volumes to list all of her accomplishments. She will truly be missed. <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Anti-Alzheimer s Milkshake Boosts Memory</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/08/anti-alzheimers-milkshake-boosts-memory/"><img src="197_milk.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> A memory-boosting milkshake for Alzheimer patients could be available within two years. Tests show that taken once a day with breakfast, the strawberry shake significantly improves short-term memory in those in the early stages of the devastating disease. <BR> <BR> The changes were apparent after only 12 weeks, providing  compelling evidence of the drink s potential, the journal of the American Alzheimer s association reports. <BR> <BR> Further, large-scale trials of Souvenaid, which contains a cocktail of brain nutrients found naturally in breast milk, are already under way. <BR> <BR> If they are successful, it could be marketed by Shape and Actimel manufacturer Danone. It is likely to be displayed behind-the-counter in pharmacies and sold after a brief consultation, in a similar way to some cough mixtures. <BR> <BR> Researcher Professor Richard Wurtman said:  This is something that has no toxicity, that gives you better function than you started with. If it works in the follow-up studies, it is very exciting. <BR> <BR> Alzheimer s and other forms of dementia blight the lives of 400,000 Britons and their families  and the number of cases is expected to double within a generation. <BR> <BR> There is no cure and existing drugs, which raise levels of key brain chemicals, do not work for everyone and their effects wear off over time. <BR> <BR> Rather than targeting brain chemicals, the drink focuses on the connections that carry vital messages between brain cells. Damage to these connections, or synapses, is blamed for many of the symptoms of Alzheimer s disease, including memory loss. <BR> <BR> Professor Wurtman, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, pinpointed the compounds which work together to make new connections. <BR> <BR> The three key ingredients  omega-3 fatty acids, uridine and choline  are all found in breast milk. Other ingredients include B vitamins and health-boosting antioxidants. <BR> <BR> The milky  cocktail was tested in elderly men and women in the early stages of Alzheimer s. <BR> <BR> Half were asked to take the drink with breakfast for three months and half were given a substitute drink which looked and tasted the same but lacked the key ingredients. <BR> <BR> They were then given a battery of memory tests, including one in which they were questioned on details of a story around half an hour after being told it. <BR> <BR> This type of short-term memory loss is typical of Alzheimer s. <BR> <BR> Those taking Souvenaid were almost twice as likely to score better at the end than at the beginning of the three-month trial, the journal Alzheimer s & Dementia reports. <BR> <BR> Overall, 40 per cent of those who had taken Souvenaid showed improvement, compared with 24 per cent given the dummy drink. <BR> <BR> The drink did not produce improvements in scores for tests of orientation and spatial awareness  but this may be because these traits do not tend to fade until later in the illness. <BR> <BR> Flemming Morgan, of Danone, which funded the research, said:  Our goal is to make a proven and positive difference in the lives of millions of people with Alzheimer s and their carers. <BR> <BR> In Britain, Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer s Research Trust, said:  It s very early days, but this study does suggest that this multinutrient drink is worthy of further investigation. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Our Brains Have a Distorted Concept of Time</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/08/our-brains-have-a-distorted-concept-of-time/"><img src="197_time.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> A recent study published in the journal Psychological Science has found our concept of time is distorted, and we consistently underestimate how much time has passed since events in the past, condensing the time. </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> The researchers, led by Dr. Gal Zauberman, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, wondered why events that occurred at about the same time can feel more or less distant. Previous research had suggested that characteristics pertaining to the event itself could influence the time estimate, so Zauberman and his team decided to focus on the characteristics of the time interval following the event to see how they influenced the perception of time. <BR> <BR> They tested university students to find out how accurately they could estimate when news events had occurred. Events included the appointment of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Britney Spears shaving her head. They found the students underestimated the time passed since the events by, on average, three months, and that the estimate depended on the extent of memories of related events that have occurred since. The more details students had of related events in the interval, the longer ago the event seemed to have occurred. Dr Zauberman said it seems that people have trouble understanding the passage of time, and we need to  latch onto something we do understand in order to comprehend it. <BR> <BR> This may explain, for example, why children we rarely see seem to grow up faster than those we see every day  because there are fewer intervening memories  and so the time seems condensed. It may also explain why goals that are not acted upon seem to have been made a short time ago, while those that were acted upon seem to have been made in the more distant past. <BR> <BR> The research also suggests the sensation of passing time depends on what you think about and how, and this means that we actually have more control of our perception of time than previously thought, and focusing on our achievements rather than our lack of action on our goals makes time seem to have passed more slowly. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>The Transparent House</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/10/the-transparent-house-new-italian-glass-architecture/"><img src="197_house.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> A meeting of transparencies that heightens the senses. A collaboration with founder Carlo Santambrogio and designer Ennio Arosio, their  Simplicity range features a series of iconic furniture pieces, beds, sofas and bookcases, along with architectural elements such as staircases and kitchens, all fashioned from  extraclear glass, that are elegant and distinctive, whilst perfectly complimenting their surroundings. <BR> <BR> The beauty of their work is perfectly showcased in their awe-inspiring concept home that the company are currently seeking a permanent location for& . while we may have one or two reservations about privacy, the idea of lying in bed watching the night sky is remarkably alluring. <BR> <BR>  & And we realize that everything is possible in Simplicity, everything is feasible, provided it responds to the careful interpretation of the proposition aimed at satisfying aesthetic requirements, Carlo Santambrogio, owner and author of the Simplicity project states. <BR> <BR> <br> </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b> Swelling Glass can pick and choose pollutants from water</b> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/swelling-glass-can-choose-and-pick-pollutants-from-water/"><img src="197_glass.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> Researchers at the College of Wooster have developed a unique glass that swells like a sponge and can be used to clean polluted water sources. The glass binds with gasoline and other pollutants but doesn t bind with water. This smart material has the ability to pick and choose pollutants from contaminated groundwater. <BR> <BR> The glass, dubbed Obsorb, is being developed by a new company, Absorbent Materials, and a number of pilot sites are being tested in the United States. Of all the pollutants present in groundwater, TCE is particularly difficult to remove, and mostly contaminated sites are simply shut down to allow the vapors to dissipate naturally. <BR> <BR> Obsorb can provide a low-cost means of recovering sites more quickly. Nanoparticles of iron can be added to the glass to convert TCE or PCE into a harmless substance. Once full, Obsorb floats on the surface and can be easily skimmed off. After removing the pollutants, Obsorb can be reused hundreds of times. </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <font size="3"> <b>From<br> Sundown Lounge No. 196</b> <font size="2"> <BR> <BR> <br> <center><b>Geeknotes:<br><br> SLounge TV<br> </b></center> <br> <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <center> <a href="http://sloungetv.mevio.com/"><img src="SLounge_pic.jpg" border="0"></a> </center> <br><br> So, I got myself a webcam for Christmas to finally begin producing video content, not just for personal stuff like my show The Patio, but also to have my own MTV, specifically, to play video clips of songs featured in episodes of Sundown Lounge. Anyway, the first episode of my new vodcast SLounge TV went up a few days before this week's show, highlighting four bands included in the "Ariel Showcase." <br><br><br> <center> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </center> <br><br><br> <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <center> <b>Nanotech Infused Viagra Bed Sheets</b> <BR> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/04/nanotech-infused-viagra-bed-sheets/"><img src="196_bed.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> <BR> While it s not entirely clear how the Viagra sheets actually work (how many washes can they go through?) they do seem to portend a look up in the lives of some this coming year. The basic idea is terribly simple. <BR> <BR> Instead of taking a pill at some indeterminate time before one might be offered some sex the Viagra sheets are of course on your bed. So that you automatically start to get dosed with it when you actually go to bed with someone. <BR> <BR> Spanish genius Pep Torres, 44, has used nanotechnology to infuse the sex drug s arousing ingredient into the fibers of a bed sheet. <BR> <BR> When people get into bed the viagra soaks into their skin and gets into the bloodstream  which could reek havoc if you were hoping for an early night. Pep said:  It started as a joke after we saw a German study that said businessmen get little sex because they are too tired from work.  But we got so many calls after launching it that we re going into production. <BR> <BR> So, who will be the manufacturer to use the same technology to infuse Vagra into pajamas?  Yes, that sounds like a good idea, an early night dear. I ll just go and put on my  special pajamas shall I? <BR> <BR> <BR> <center> <b>Pedal-Powered Submarine To Go On The Market</b> <BR> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/03/pedal-powered-submarine-to-go-on-the-market/"><img src="196_sub.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> <BR> A pedal-powered submarine capable of diving up to 30 metres has been developed by a Russian company. The craft can be powered by two people with no specialist training and moves at about walking pace. <BR> <BR> The pedallers sit side by side in the craft, most of which is made from a special acrylic glass. Its designers say this will give occupants  spectacular underwater views . <BR> <BR> Apart from two sets of pedals, controls are limited to a steering wheel and a few buttons to make operating the submarine as simple as possible. <BR> <BR> The sub was developed by Russian company called Marine Innovative Technologies Ltd (MIT) and is expected to cost £50,000 pounds although prices could drop to around £15,000 for bulk buyers. <BR> <BR> MIT expect to sell to private buyers as well as companies hiring out the subs to tourists in popular resorts. <BR> <BR> At 11ft long and 6ft 6in wide it is possible to transport the craft on the back of a car trailer. MIT will also offer a model with a low-power electric drive unit as well. <BR> <BR> <BR> <center> <b>Every National Geographic Available on External Drive</b> <BR> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2009/12/30/digital-version-of-every-national-geographic-issue-available-on-external-drive/"><img src="196_nat.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> <BR> National Geographic Magazine has been one of the most important publications ever printed. From the insightful articles to the brilliant photography, NatGeo has been the benchmark that other magazines compare themselves to. Now, you can own a copy of every single issue without having to build a new addition to your house to store it. <BR> <BR> What you get is a digital version of every issue, including the articles, pictures, maps, advertisements, everything that s made NatGeo great over the years. It comes on a 160GB external hard drive, of which only 60GB is actually pre-loaded. Of course, you could probably pick up a 160GB drive for only $80, but it wouldn t have all the NatGeo content. The package also comes with a DVD offering tips on better photography, a behind the scenes look at how National Geographic is produced and interviews with some of the photographers about their most famous pictures. It ll set you back $199.95, but I think it s totally worth it. Honestly, I ll probably be ordering a copy for my personal library. <BR> <BR> <br> <center> <b>Top 10 Forecasts for 2010 and Beyond From The Futurist Magazine</b> <BR> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2009/12/30/top-10-forecasts-for-2010-and-beyond-from-the-futurist-magazine/"><img src="196_fut.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> <BR> Each year since 1985, the editors of The Futurist have selected the most thought-provoking ideas and forecasts appearing in the magazine to go into the annual Outlook report. Over the years, Outlook has spotlighted the emergence of such epochal developments as the Internet, virtual reality, and the end of the Cold War. Here are the top ten forecasts for 2010 and beyond. <BR> <BR> 1. Your phone will tell you when you re in love. Mobile devices are enabling new spontaneous connections in real-world settings, including love connections. One day soon, your phone will play matchmaker, recommending that you introduce yourself to someone nearby whose online profile displays tastes or passions similar to yours. Impossible? An iPhone application called Serendipity is currently being commercialized by MIT researchers.  Erica Orange,  Mining Information from the Data Clouds, July-Aug 2009, p. 17 <BR> <BR> 2. In the design economy of the future, people will download and print their own products, including auto parts, jewelry, and even the kitchen sink. Rapid prototyping, or 3-D printing, and devices like the RepRap self-reproducing printer are allowing people to design, customize, and print objects from their home computers. In the future, cheaper versions of these devices could disrupt manufacturing business models, resulting in far cheaper products individually tailored to every customer s desire.  Thomas A. Easton,  The Design Economy, Jan-Feb 2009, p. 43 <BR> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD valign=top align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> 3. The era of brain-to-brain telepathy dawns. Neuroscientist David Poeppel says that telepathic communication between brains is possible, so long as  communication is understood to be electromagnetic signals and not words. Technologies like magnetoencephalography, which pick up the various signals the brain sends out, could be used to pick up specific signals and convey them. If you could train your brain to signal in Morse code, sensors in a helmet could pick up the message and send it to another helmet.  Patrick Tucker,  Reinventing Morality, Jan-Feb 2009, p. 23 <BR> <BR> 4. Tomorrow s inventors will spend their days writing descriptions of the problems they want to solve, and then letting computers find the solutions. Invention programs like Gregory Hornby s  evolutionary algorithm have been used to invent real-world objects, such as a special space antenna, based entirely on engineering specifications. Continued advances will increasingly rely on cross-fertilization between the fields of biology and computer science. As a result, we will develop not only software that can produce better inventions but also inventions that are able to adapt to their environments.  Robert Plotkin,  The Automation of Invention, July-Aug 2009, p. 24 <BR> <BR> 5. Micronations built on artificial islands will dramatically shift the face of global politics. New forms of government and unusual political models will begin to emerge, including corporate nation-states, religious states, tax-free zones, single-function countries, cause-related countries, and even rental nation-states, where organizations can  rent a country for a year or two to test a specific project.  Thomas Frey,  Own Your Own Island Nation, May-June 2009, p. 30 <BR> <BR> 6. Young people will read more, and the old will play more video games. According to the 2007 American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed some surprising findings. In 2007, adults aged 75 and older spent nearly twice as much time playing video games (about 20 minutes) as they did in 2006. Teens aged 15 19 spent twice as much time reading as they did before (about 14 minutes) and less time using a computer for games or casual surfing.  World Trends & Forecasts, Nov-Dec 2008, p. 14 <BR> <BR> 7. Ammonia may become the fuel of choice for cars by 2020. As a candidate source for hydrogen used in fuel cells, ammonia (comprising one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms) is plentiful, easier to liquefy than methane, and emits nitrogen rather than carbon, thus having fewer negative impacts on the climate.  J. Storrs Hall,  Ammonia, the Fuel of the Future, Sep-Oct 2009, p. 10 <BR> <BR> 8. Algae may become the new oil. According to researchers at a Department of Energy plant in New Mexico, single-celled microalgae, grown in pond water, produce a biofuel that is lead-free and biodegradable, emits two-thirds less carbon dioxide and other pollutants than gasoline, and can run any modern diesel engine. Even better, algae require only a fraction of the land area of biofuel-producing crops.  Robert McIntyre,  Algae s Powerful Future, Mar-Apr 2009, p. 25 <BR> <BR> 9. Radical methods of altering the planet may be the only way to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Geoengineering may be inevitable because, even if humans could instantly end all greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures would continue to increase for the next 20 30 years, triggering feedback loops and more warming. Potential megascale geoengineering projects include sending space mirrors into orbit, sequestering carbon in the ground in biomass charcoal, and increasing the amount of carbon that the ocean can absorb by forcing plankton blooms in the seas.  Jamais Cascio, author of Hacking the Earth, reviewed by Bob Olson, July-Aug 2009, p. 51 <BR> <BR> 10. The existence of extraterrestrial life will be confirmed or conclusively denied within a generation. New space missions and advanced computer technology could confirm the existence of extraterrestrials soon. Scientists using NASA s Spitzer Space Telescope have found that at least 20% and perhaps as many as 60% of Sun-like stars could have rocky planets. Next generation, AI-driven space probes may allow us to plot the location of every planetary body in the known universe. Among the more than 300 extra-solar worlds already discovered, probably one has some form of life, according to Dimitar Sasselov, an astronomer and director of Harvard University s Origins of Life Initiative.  Gregory Georgiou,  The Real Life Search for E.T. Heats Up, Nov-Dec 2008, p. 20 <BR> <BR> All of these forecasts plus dozens more are included in the annual report that scans the best writing and research from THE FUTURIST magazine over the course of the previous year. The Society hopes this report, covering developments in business and economics, demography, energy, the environment, health and medicine, resources, society and values, and technology, will assist its readers in preparing for the challenges and opportunities in 2010 and beyond. <BR> <BR> <BR> <center> <b>Cancer Victim Beats Disease By Using Mistletoe Instead Of Chemotherapy</b> <BR> <BR> <BR> <a href="http://www.impactlab.com/2009/12/30/cancer-victim-beats-disease-by-using-mistletoe-instead-of-chemotherapy/"><img src="196_can.jpg" border=0></a> </center> <BR> <BR> <BR> A cancer victim who refused chemotherapy has beaten the disease  by using mistletoe instead. Joan van Holsteijn, 53, heard about the healing properties of the plant  better known for inspiring festive kisses  and rejected her doctor s advice of more conventional treatment. <BR> <BR> Now the tumours in her leg are gone and she is on the road to recovery.  I owe my life to mistletoe, said Joan.  I feel so grateful and well& . <BR> <BR>  I ve got my life back, thanks to the plant. I have never had it in the house before but I ve got as prig of mistletoe at my front door. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, with a painful lump the size of an egg. <BR> <BR> Her specialist recommended chemotherapy, but Joan, of Milltimber, Aberdeenshire, said:  I was scared of chemo because you can become so ill from it. <BR> <BR>  Usually patients try chemo then mistletoe, but I didn t want to do that. Joan had injections refined from the plant s berries which can help to kick-start the immune system at Park Attwood Clinic, Birmingham. In six months, the lump had shrunk. After 18 months that and her other tumours had gone. <BR> <BR> The special needs therapist, who lives with husband Simon, 48, and daughter Lisa, 14, said:  Mistletoe is not a miracle cure, but I want others to know it s an option. A German study showed the plant as an additional treatment can increase survival time 40% by fighting the tumour, but other studies have raised doubts. <BR> <BR> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6327504390827928"; google_alternate_color = "9999FF"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; google_ad_type = "image"; google_ad_channel =""; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <br><br> <center><img src="venice beach.jpg"></center> <BR><BR> <center> <table width=100% border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td width=70% valign=top> <FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size=1> <center> © 2010 Larry Winfield.com. On this page, All Rights Reserved.<br> All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective holders and authors. </FONT></center> </td> </table> </font> <script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> _uacct = "UA-959208-1"; urchinTracker(); </script> </body> </html> <!-- <to wrap text around a single photo...> <p align=justify> <img src=.gif/jpg align=left> <text follows> <simple text and image links...> <b><a href=""></a></b> <center> <a href="http://"><img src=".jpg"></a> </center> two columns: <TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <BR> </font></TD> <td width=3%> </td> <TD vAlign=left align=left width="45%"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, News Gothic MT, Lucida Sans, Franklin Gothic Book, Eras Medium ITC, sans-serif" size="2"> <BR> </font></TD> </TR> </TBODY></TABLE> -->