CitizenSugar -- Breaking News, Together.

Eat More Oysters, Fight Cancer?

YumSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:00:44 -0800

The shellfish known as the oyster has long been thought to have aphrodisiac properties, but now researchers at Louisiana State University have come up with yet another reason to eat them: they may help prevent and treat cancer.

Oysters contain fat compounds called ceramides, which researchers found can restrict the growth of breast-cancer cells as well as prevent the formation of blood vessels, which inhibits cancer from spreading. In a seven-day study, cancer growth decreased by 57 percent.

In case you're wondering, both raw and cooked oysters apply. The only exception would be the use of fat-reducing grills, because ceramide is found in oil, which is lost when using a tilted grill. Does this finding make you want to eat more oysters?

Source

Wine May Prevent Dementia

YumSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:00:07 -0800

Last week we learned of a study that showed chemicals in beer can inhibit cancer. This week studies indicate that wine may protect against Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

One recently released study, which began in 1968 at Gothenburg University in Sweden, demonstrated that a group of wine-drinkers had a significantly below-average rate of dementia, versus other women who regularly drank beer or spirits. Another study, produced by the Danish Institute of Preventive Medicine in Denmark, had similar findings: those who drank wine weekly or monthly were more than two times less likely to develop dementia.

The positive health effects are the result of flavonoids, antioxidant compounds found in red wine. Do any of you drink wine for its purported health benefits?

Source

Beer: The Next Cancer Elixir?

YumSugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:15:25 -0700

While we recently learned that Americans are drinking less beer, perhaps they should reconsider.

Recent studies show that xanthohumol, a chemical found in hops, can inhibit enzymes that trigger cancer as well as help detoxify the body of carcinogens.

In addition, other researchers at Rice University are trying to genetically engineer brewing yeast in order to create beer loaded with resveratrol, a cancer-preventing compound.

Perhaps this could help bring back America's beer drinking traditions. Would you drink beer that was genetically engineered if it had potential health benefits?

Source

Front Page: India Launches Moon Orbiter, Palin Gives Speech Advocating Women, EU Protests US Death Sentence

CitizenSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:00:27 -0700

India Launches Moon Orbiter:
India has launched its first unmanned spacecraft on a mission to the moon, in an effort to assert its power in space. The mission is set to last two years and will prepare a three-dimensional atlas of the moon as well as survey the lunar surface for usable natural resources like uranium, a coveted fuel for nuclear power plants.

Palin Gives Speech Advocating Women:
At a rally in Nevada yesterday, Sarah Palin gave a speech advocating for women's rights the world over. She said, "there are still places where women are subjugated and persecuted as they were in Afghanistan, places we’re they’re bullied and brutalized and murdered in honor killings. . . if I am elected, these women, too, will have an advocate and a defender in the 47th vice president of the United States. She also gave her first interview to CNN.
EU Protests US Death Sentence:
The European parliament is protesting the execution of a prisoner in the US after seven of the nine key witnesses recanted their testimony against him. The head of the EU parliament says that all executions are a violation of human rights and that the prisoner symbolizes all death row inmates. He says he "will fight against the death penalty under any circumstances everywhere in the world."

Source

Messy Room? A New Study Says You May Be a Liberal

CitizenSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:00:14 -0700

A controversial new study hints it may be possible to look at a room and figure out how that room's inhabitant is voting. Set to be published in the Journal of Political Psychology the study asserts that empty pizza box is "behavioral residue" that points to "distinct cognitive inclinations" that sends liberals in the direction of ambiguity and intellectualism, and spins conservatives toward order. These inclinations "drive the way one leads one's life and displays one's life in their living and work spaces," says one of the study's authors. Here are the differences they've found — see if you buy their findings:

Conservatives:

Right-leaners often have spaces filled with calendars, postage stamps, laundry baskets, irons and sewing materials. Fun! Darning socks time!
Their bedrooms and offices are well-lighted.
They decorate with sports paraphernalia and flags — especially American ones.
The study's authors say, "Conservatives have a need for order, for there not to be ambiguity. There you see that expressed by being more orderly, having more cleaning supplies, needing to have everything lined up and organized so that one feels one's environment is predictable and therefore safe."

Curious about that messy room? To find out their findings on liberals,

The Human Climax? Expert Says Evolution Is Over

LibertySugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:30:51 -0700

One evolutionary expert believes that the human race has stopped evolving. Modern life may have led to the extinction of natural selection. Here are some explanations for why we could be stuck with what we got:

Technological and medical advances mean it's not just the fittest who get to pass on genes.
World travel has helped homogenize the gene pool. While small gene pools can evolve quickly, a global pool prevents evolutionary change.
On average, men have had babies at a younger age recently. The gene copies of younger fathers are less likely to contain mutations.

As you can imagine the end of evolution could bring wide, albeit delayed, consequences. Gorillas and chimps could catch up to us (we'd probably have to let them out of the zoos), and medical science won't get any help from nature in cutting down the number of diseases to combat. Perhaps technology will help humans take stalled evolution into our own hands, by letting us choose the genes we like.

Source

Do Tell: Have You Owned "Exotic Pets" As a Child?

PetSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:30:56 -0700

Now a hamster's hardly an exotic pet in my mind but, according to a recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, children under the age of five shouldn't own any exotic animals – including those furry rodents!

Turns out lizards, tiny turtles, lil chicks, and even hamsters can transmit Salmonella to kiddies. Now, it's hard for me to figure out where the "under five" comes in, but the study says it's due in part to the fact that they often touch animals then touch their mouths, kiss creatures, or don't wash their hands after coming in contact with the pets. Granted adults are usually more careful about cleanliness – though, admittedly I don't run to the bathroom every time I pet North – but I imagine these pets are still fairly common in families with human children?

Many of you already shared the pets present in your elementary classrooms. Did you ever come in contact with these creatures either at school or home?

Source

Burning Question: Does Cold Water Boil Faster Than Hot?

YumSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:15:31 -0700

No — that's a myth. The myth may have arisen from the fact that cold water does absorb heat faster than hot water. However, once the water gets to a hotter (not yet boiling) temperature, it absorbs heat at a slower rate, and from that point it takes just as long to bring the water to a boil as it would if the water were hot to begin with. And because it takes cold water some time to reach the temperature of hot water, cold water actually takes longer to boil than hot water does.

It makes sense: The hotter the water, the closer it is to boiling, therefore, the hotter the water, the faster it boils!

Source

Genetically Altered Animals as Food?

partysugar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:00:23 -0700

The government has decided to consider farmers' proposals to sell genetically altered animals as food. Although genetically engineered food is not a new concept (the process is used in agriculture to produce more crops), this is the first time that the FDA has contemplated applying the process to animals. The animals' genes would be manipulated to bring out or change certain characteristics. Faster growing fish, featherless chicken, and mad-cow-resistant cattle are examples of the types of changes that can be made.

The development is incredibly interesting and somewhat disturbing. The FDA will not always require the genetically modified food to be labeled, so consumers may not know if they are eating pork from a reduced-waste producing pig or fish that has grown in 18 months instead of three years.

What do you think of the news? Would you want to eat genetically adapted animals?

Source

Scientists Beaming After Test of Big Atom Smasher

CitizenSugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:20:50 -0700

Scientists Beaming After Test of Big Atom Smasher A small blip on a computer screen sent champagne corks popping among physicists in Switzerland. The blip was literally of cosmic proportions, representing a new tool to probe the birth of the universe. The world's largest atom smasher passed its first test Wednesday as scientists said their powerful tool is almost ready to reveal how the tiniest particles were first created after the "big bang," which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the stars, planets, and everything.