Archive for December, 2007
Parents show bias in sibling rivalry, says study
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Most parents would hotly deny favoring one child over another but new research suggests they may have little choice in the matter.
Monkeys Can Perform Mental Addition
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Researchers have demonstrated that monkeys have the ability to perform mental addition. In fact, monkeys performed about as well as college students given the same test.
Overexcited Neurons Bad for Cell Health
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Neurotransmitters have consequences. They initiate events that are critical to a healthy life, giving us the ability to move, to talk, to breathe, to think. But that's if the neurotransmitters are getting it right and sending proper signals downstream to muscle cells, neurons or other cells.
Merry Christmas to All of Our Readers……….Susan and David
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
David and I would like to wish all of our blog readers a Very Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then we wish you a Happy Holiday Season.
Merry Christmas to All!
We hope no one is feeling like "Ba Humbug", even though the holidays can often cause us to have more problems with depression, sadness and stress. If you are having problems right now, please take the time to do something especially nice for yourself in an effort to make you feel better about yourself. If you are able, reach out to someone in need and do something nice for them too. If you get desperately depressed please seek help from loved ones or professionals.
Don't forget to allow yourself a little time to be alone if you are spending the holidays with family. Often the hustle and bustle can be very stressful and we deserve a bit of peace and quiet to go along with all the fun. At our house, some of us actually take a nap after dinner on Christmas, or if the weather is decent we may take a short walk. Most important is staying aware of our state of mind during the holidays and taking whatever actions we need to in order to have the safest and happiest Christmas possible.
Susan writes:
Avon Reviews
Merry Christmas to All!
We hope no one is feeling like "Ba Humbug", even though the holidays can often cause us to have more problems with depression, sadness and stress. If you are having problems right now, please take the time to do something especially nice for yourself in an effort to make you feel better about yourself. If you are able, reach out to someone in need and do something nice for them too. If you get desperately depressed please seek help from loved ones or professionals.
Don't forget to allow yourself a little time to be alone if you are spending the holidays with family. Often the hustle and bustle can be very stressful and we deserve a bit of peace and quiet to go along with all the fun. At our house, some of us actually take a nap after dinner on Christmas, or if the weather is decent we may take a short walk. Most important is staying aware of our state of mind during the holidays and taking whatever actions we need to in order to have the safest and happiest Christmas possible.
Susan writes:
Avon Reviews
Feeling Hurt or Feeling Angry?………..by David
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
I think a very good thing to learn is the distinction between feeling hurt and feeling angry..........sometimes these two feelings are hard to separate from each other.
I believe depression is part anger. There is a very good likelihood that our anger is in more places than we think. Anger can cause willfulness..........thinking we can solve problems when the solution is out of our hands. When angry, we have a tendency to respond to insult with insult, for example, road rage with road rage. Are we hurt or are we angry?
Supposedly, the very first story was: hey, you can have all you want in this paradise.........oranges, bananas, apples, color tv (ha), etc..........but do not eat them there apples!!! Above all things remember that I am God and you AIN'T!!
Are there people who treat you this way, as if they are God? Do you respond with hurt feelings and eventually anger? It's hard to tell the difference sometimes.
Susan writes:
Avon Reviews
I believe depression is part anger. There is a very good likelihood that our anger is in more places than we think. Anger can cause willfulness..........thinking we can solve problems when the solution is out of our hands. When angry, we have a tendency to respond to insult with insult, for example, road rage with road rage. Are we hurt or are we angry?
Supposedly, the very first story was: hey, you can have all you want in this paradise.........oranges, bananas, apples, color tv (ha), etc..........but do not eat them there apples!!! Above all things remember that I am God and you AIN'T!!
Are there people who treat you this way, as if they are God? Do you respond with hurt feelings and eventually anger? It's hard to tell the difference sometimes.
Susan writes:
Avon Reviews
Behavioral Therapy Effectively Treats Children with Social Phobia
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
A behavioral therapy designed to treat children diagnosed with social phobia helped them overcome more of their symptoms than the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac), according to an NIMH-funded study published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
What’s the Rush? Taking Time to Acknowledge Loss is not that Bad
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
There are two guarantees in every person's life: happiness and sadness. Although lost opportunities and mistaken expectations are often unpleasant to think and talk about, these experiences may impact personality development and overall happiness. A seven-year study conducted by Laura King, a researcher at the University of Missouri, indicates that individuals who take time to stop and think about their losses are more likely to mature and achieve a potentially more durable sense of happiness.
Watching the synapses form in an intact organism
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
Synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to other target cells such as muscles and are crucial to the functioning of the nervous system. However, the mechanism of how the synapses form during development remains poorly understood.
Honey bee pathogen detector
Friday, December 21st, 2007
Why is the US Department of Defense interested in the health of bee hives? The department has funded Jerry Bromenshenk, a bee expert at the University of Montana in Missoula to develop an acoustic device for listening to the sounds honey bees make when in the hive.
Bromenshank says that these sounds are an important indicator of hive health: for example, colonies infested with parasites often produce a roaring sound. But honeybees also produce specific changes in sound when small amounts of toxicants are present in the air. He and his team believe that an acoustic detector can be used as an early warning sign to detect airborne pathogens in the wide areas that bees cover when when foraging. And that explains the Department of Defense's interest.
Read the full honey bee pathogen detector patent application
Justin Mullins
Bromenshank says that these sounds are an important indicator of hive health: for example, colonies infested with parasites often produce a roaring sound. But honeybees also produce specific changes in sound when small amounts of toxicants are present in the air. He and his team believe that an acoustic detector can be used as an early warning sign to detect airborne pathogens in the wide areas that bees cover when when foraging. And that explains the Department of Defense's interest.
Read the full honey bee pathogen detector patent application
Justin Mullins
Finger Napkin
Friday, December 21st, 2007
Eating finger food can be a messy business, says Ho Soong Lee from Kyungsung University in South Korea. In the interest of preventing stained clothing and sticky fingers, Lee has designed a finger napkin in the shape of triangle with pockets at each corner (see diagram).
With the fingers inserted into the pockets, messy food can be held confidently without fear of oil or grease running onto the hand. With this triumph behind them, what next for the Korean university system?
Read the full finger napkin patent application
Justin Mullins
With the fingers inserted into the pockets, messy food can be held confidently without fear of oil or grease running onto the hand. With this triumph behind them, what next for the Korean university system?
Read the full finger napkin patent application
Justin Mullins