Archive for November, 2007
Researchers Discover Personal Trainer For Your Memory
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007Healthy Hugs
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007What better way could there be to help us to overcome our depression than by giving and receiving healthy hugs?
They are environmentally friendly, can be found wherever there are people, cost nothing other than a moment of time, have no adverse side effects, and you cannot give one without receiving one in return. However, they can be contagious and addictive.
Years ago, in the early eighties, I was given a sheet of paper with a very short version of the power and value of hugs. I still have it somewhere in my memorabilia. It was titled “Healthy Hugs” and I used to keep a copy with me to show people so that I could solicit some hugs without being considered to be somewhat strange or a pervert.
There is no doubt that hugs give a person a mental lift and a feeling of well being. I can also understand the benefits of hugs in relation to raising children and the maternal instinct of mothers, and other women, to cuddle babies. “Cuddling and caressing make the growing child feel secure and is known to aid in self-esteem,” claims Dr Achal Bhagat, a Deli-based psychiatrist.
It is unfortunate that many men are reluctant to embrace each other with a hug as they are concerned that such actions may be considered not to be macho. It is time that this misconception is changed!
I admire those communities that are not affected by this perception. I, too, used to be concerned about the possibility of being misinterpreted or misunderstood when soliciting a hug. This has now changed, and I am fortunate that my adult children [two sons and a daughter] and my grandchildren offer to hug me.
Recently, I did a little research on this topic and found that there is considerable scientific evidence supporting the immense health benefits of hugging. Amongst this evidence is:-
The America Psychosomatic Association released a report in 2003 that found hugs make people healthier. It was a study conducted by psychological researchers at the University of North Carolina to figure out the correlation between hugs and health. They put 100 couples together and asked 50 couples each to watch fun videos holding hands and hug for 20 seconds afterwards.
The other 50 couples were told to watch movies without any physical contact. Later, all the participants were asked to talk about stress they recently experienced for two to three minutes.
The result showed that couples with no physical contact had twice as high blood pressures and heartbeats than their counterparts.
The level of cortisol, a hormone secreted in response to stress, also went up [in those couples that had no physical contact]. The effect of contact to unwind the body was scientifically proven.
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We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth
—Virginia Satir, family therapist
So try it for yourself! Hug somebody, or at least hold hands for a while.
One Down, One to Go……………by Susan
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007Getting together with family is one of my favorite things to do. I'll never understand why it wears me out so much. How can visiting cause us so much fatigue? I remember when I was a young woman in my 20's, I was exhausted after a weekend of sitting around talking and having fun with family.
I did quite a bit of cooking over the Thanksgiving weekend but had lots of help from my daughter and my grandson. We played games, went to a movie, watched a DVD and had plenty of down time which is just the way I like to spend a holiday. Having fun, enjoying one's family and eating good food sure can wear a person out!
Christmas will be here before we know it. I'm planning on being prepared and getting plenty of rest before it's time to have more family holiday fun.
Avon Reviews
Living bioterror detector
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007This is because existing detectors are unable to distinguish between all the subtle ways in which pathogens interact with the biological systems and so are easily fooled. So, why not use biological systems that use real cells to spot the pathogens instead, he asks.
The system that Shapiro and colleagues have come up with uses cells that die when exposed to a particular pathogen, which provides the early warning.
The cells are also engineered to produce a signal, such as fluorescence, when attacked. They are stored on a chip that keeps them alive and that also monitors the light they produce.
The cells can be exposed to pathogens in the air via a semi-permeable membrane. When the cells die and emit light, the system should know within minutes that pathogens are present – just like the canaries that were once used to warn miners of a build-up of toxic gas.
Read the full cellular canaries patent application.
Justin Mullins
Doctors to investigate potential limitations of genetic testing in development of Alzheimer’s
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007Neuroscientists Uncover Brain Region Involved in Voluntary Behavior
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007Fabric displays
Monday, November 26th, 2007
Wearable displays have long interested electronics company Philips. They could be used to display useful information or as a fashion statement (see image).
But one problem is that the liquid crystals normally used in flexible displays usually exist in a glass-like state, which ultimately limits the extent to which they can be bent.
Now Philips says it may be possible to build much more flexible liquid crystal displays by imprinting a cell-like structure onto an ordinary fabric using a stretchy elastomeric material such as silicone to create each pixel.
The pixels can be filled with a flexible electro-optical material such as a non-glassy liquid crystal, or a plasma. Conducting fibres within the material then make each pixel addressable. The result is a display that has the same material properties as a fabric.
Read the full flexible fabric displays patent application.