Can Homeopathy Treat Domestic Violence?
A professional alternative medicine practitioner claims that homeopathy can be used to treat anxiety, aggression, and even domestic violence.
Homeopathy was invented around 1796 by a doctor named Samuel Hahnemann. He believed that a small dose of a substance will cure whatever symptoms it would cause in a high dose. Hahnemann also invented a "law of infinitessimals," claiming that a substance becomes more potent the more it is diluted -- a premise which defies both common sense and the laws of physics. |  |
Mapping Ancient Human Migration With Our Spit
A whole industry dedicated to hawking DNA tests that provide insight into genetic ancestry has sprung up in the last decade or so. But with the unveiling of the second phase of National Geographic's Genographic Project, the power of what can be revealed by analyzing your spit has been taken to the next level. By submitting a sample of DNA from swabbing the inside of your cheek and having it scanned for genetic markers, you can shed light on the paths that indigenous groups traveled across the world for the past 150,000 years.
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DNA confirms Ethiopian lions are genetically distinct group
A pride of captive lions descended from the private menagerie of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is genetically distinct from all other lions of Africa, a study has found.
The Ethiopian lion has a distinctive dark mane and is slightly smaller and more compact than other African lions. Now an analysis of its DNA has revealed the Ethiopian lion is also a distinct breed.
It is thought that there may be less than a few hundred Ethiopian lions living in the wild and scientists are urging that their unique genetic makeup should be preserved by a captive-breeding programme.
The Ethiopian lion has a distinctive dark mane and is slightly smaller and more compact than other African lions. Now an analysis of its DNA has revealed the Ethiopian lion is also a distinct breed.
It is thought that there may be less than a few hundred Ethiopian lions living in the wild and scientists are urging that their unique genetic makeup should be preserved by a captive-breeding programme.
From Stem Cells To Mouse Eggs To Baby Mice - No Father Involved
Japanese scientists managed to use eggs created from stem cells, fertilize them, and produce mouse pups, according to an article published in Science.
The scientists, from Kyoto University, first produced healthy mouse pups in 2011 using stem cell-derived sperm. They have now achieved the same by using eggs which were created in the same way.
Scientists are describing the Kyoto team's feat as a "significant achievement" which will have a profound impact on reproductive cell biology and genetics research.
The scientists, from Kyoto University, first produced healthy mouse pups in 2011 using stem cell-derived sperm. They have now achieved the same by using eggs which were created in the same way.
Scientists are describing the Kyoto team's feat as a "significant achievement" which will have a profound impact on reproductive cell biology and genetics research.
Image Gallery: The Nazca Lines of Russia
The newly discovered geoglyph faces to the north (south is at the top of the image) and depicts an elk or deer. Visible from a nearby ridge it has four legs, two antlers and an elongated muzzle. It is made of stone and recent archaeological work indicates that it dates to somewhere between the 6th millennium and 3rd millennium BC, thousands of years before the Nazca Lines were created. Today it is covered with soil but, back when it was first constructed, it would have looked "white and slightly shiny" researchers say.
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Study explains the mystery of ball lightning
Sightings of ball lightning have been made for centuries around the world – usually the size of a grapefruit and lasting up to twenty seconds – but no explanation of how it occurs has been universally accepted by science.
In a paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres entitled 'The Birth of Ball Lightning' CSIRO and Australia National University scientists present a new mathematical theory which explains how and why it occurs. |  |
Physics Nobels go to cat herders (Schrödinger's cat, that is)
This year's Nobel Prize in Physics goes to a pair of physicists that pioneered experimental approaches to the quantum world. The two, University of Colorado-Boulder's David Wineland and Serge Haroche from the Collège de France, used coupled systems of single atoms and photons to provide ways of monitoring a quantum object without destroying its quantum nature. Like any good quantum experiment, there are multiple ways of looking at what they've done, but the Prize announcement highlights the fact that their work is already having practical applications, as it's being put to use in ultra-high-precision atomic clocks and attempts to build quantum computers.
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A diamond bigger than Earth?
Forget the diamond as big as the Ritz. This one's bigger than planet Earth.
Orbiting a star that is visible to the naked eye, astronomers have discovered a planet twice the size of our own made largely out of diamond. The rocky planet, called '55 Cancri e', orbits a sun-like star in the constellation of Cancer and is moving so fast that a year there lasts a mere 18 hours. |  |
Texas School District Reportedly Threatening Students Who Refuse Tracking ID
Weeks after Northside Independent School District in San Antonio rolled out its new "smart" IDs that tracks students' geographic locations, the community is still at odds with the program.
The "Student Locator Project," which is slated to eventually reach 112 Texas schools and close to 100,000 students, is in trial stages in two Northside district schools. In an effort to reduce truancy, the district has issued new student IDs with an embedded radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that tracks the location of a student at all times. Note: Related Wired article here |  |
Secret Cold War tests in St. Louis raise concerns
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Doris Spates was a baby when her father died inexplicably in 1955. She has watched four siblings die of cancer, and she survived cervical cancer.
After learning that the Army conducted secret chemical testing in her impoverished St. Louis neighborhood at the height of the Cold War, she wonders if her own government is to blame.
In the mid-1950s, and again a decade later, the Army used motorized blowers atop a low-income housing high-rise, at schools and from the backs of station wagons to send a potentially dangerous compound into the already-hazy air in predominantly black areas of St. Louis.
After learning that the Army conducted secret chemical testing in her impoverished St. Louis neighborhood at the height of the Cold War, she wonders if her own government is to blame.
In the mid-1950s, and again a decade later, the Army used motorized blowers atop a low-income housing high-rise, at schools and from the backs of station wagons to send a potentially dangerous compound into the already-hazy air in predominantly black areas of St. Louis.
Sioux Racing to Find Millions to Buy Sacred Land in Black Hills
The Black Hills, the rolling range of mountains that rise out of the badlands of western South Dakota, are considered sacred to the Sioux, who for 150 years have fought on battlefields and in courtrooms for the return of the land.
And so the Great Sioux Nation exulted this summer when a long-sought parcel in the mountains called Pe’ Sla by the Lakota was put up for sale and a bid from the Sioux was accepted by the family that had controlled the land since 1876, the year that Gen. George Armstrong Custer died not far to the west at Little Bighorn.
And so the Great Sioux Nation exulted this summer when a long-sought parcel in the mountains called Pe’ Sla by the Lakota was put up for sale and a bid from the Sioux was accepted by the family that had controlled the land since 1876, the year that Gen. George Armstrong Custer died not far to the west at Little Bighorn.
Spirituality Key to Chinese Medicine Success: Why Has it Stood the Test
Are the longevity and vitality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) due to its holistic approach? Indeed, Chinese medicine is not simply about treating illness, but rather about taking care of the whole person -- body, mind, and spirit. According to an analysis of TCM's origins and development by Lin Shi from Beijing Normal University and Chenguang Zhang from Southwest Minzu University in China, traditional Chinese medicine is profoundly influenced by Chinese philosophy and religion. To date, modern science has been unable to explain the mechanisms behind TCM's effects.
Excellent Idea of the Day: Licorice for Cleaning
Licorice isn't just candy for kids anymore. A nano-material containing an extract from the plant can be used to protect medical devices and implants that include biological components as they are sterilized.
Proteins and other active coatings have been developed for joint replacement and tracheal implants, to name two. But those coatings are sensitive to harsh chemicals, radiation and heat. Unfortunately, those three methods also happen to be the best way to sterilize the devices. |  |
More recycling not the solution to reducing aluminum's carbon footprint
It’s one thing to finally muster the resolve to take action to curb the effects of climate change. It’s another thing to actually get it done. One commonly discussed goal (perhaps drifting out of reach) is holding warming under 2°C, beyond which researchers say the damage adds up much more quickly. To do so, overall greenhouse gas emissions need to drop to less than half of what they were in 2000 by the year 2050. But can every source of emissions achieve that reduction?
For Some Drivers, an Electric Motorcycle Could Be the Best of Both Worlds
SAN FRANCISCO — Zipping around on a motorcycle can be fun, but being in a downpour or an accident on one is not. Driving a car is safer and more comfortable, but traffic and parking can be annoying.
What if you got rid of the bad parts of both? You might end up with something like the C-1, an electric motorcycle that looks as if it came out of the movie “Tron.” For protection, the bike is encased in a metal shell, and it is controlled like a car, with a steering wheel and foot pedals. Two big gyroscopes under the floor are designed to keep it from tipping over, even when a car hits it from the side. The C-1’s top speed is 120 miles an hour, and it can travel 200 miles on a full charge. |  |
Software ‘sees’ city greenhouse gas emissions
Humans are visual creatures. With that in mind, researchers have built a software tool that generates visualizations of estimated greenhouse gas emissions across city landscapes in a bid to help policymakers create effective laws to combat climate change.
The tool combines data from sources such as local air pollution reports, traffic counts, and tax assessor parcel information with a modeling system for quantifying carbon dioxide emissions at the level of individual buildings and street segments.
The tool combines data from sources such as local air pollution reports, traffic counts, and tax assessor parcel information with a modeling system for quantifying carbon dioxide emissions at the level of individual buildings and street segments.
Cost of saving endangered species £50bn a year, say experts
Spending on conservation projects must rise by "an order of magnitude" if governments are to meet their pledges to manage protected areas and halt the spectacular rate of extinctions caused by human activity.
A stark assessment from an international collaboration of conservation groups and universities reveals the enormous shortfall in funds required to save species, and warns that costs are likely to increase, the longer action is delayed. |  |
Italian church to be stripped of tax exemption from 2013
The Church currently pays tax on several properties it owns that are commercial enterprises but is exempt if at least some of the activities on the property are "non-commercial" - for example a chapel in a hotel.
"The regulatory framework will be definite by January 1, 2013 - the start of the fiscal year - and will fully respect the (European) Community law," Prime Minister Mario Monti's government said in a statement late Tuesday. The extra revenue from these exempt properties - including hotels, restaurants and sports centres - could be €25.5m a year in Rome alone, La Repubblica daily reported, citing official figures. |  |
Graphene Could Usher in Flexible, Ultra-Slim Gadgets
You’ve probably never heard of graphene, a carbon-based material, but it might be stuffed into your pocket or wrapped around your wrist in the not-too-distant future.
According to the American Chemical Society, graphene is a “wonder material” 100 times stronger than steel and is so thin that a single ounce of it could to cover 28 football fields. It could also usher in a new era of ultra-slim and fully flexible gadgets. Although graphene has been in the news before, A.C.S. said that it was now currently under development for use in flexible solar panels “that could be used to cover the outside surface of a building, in addition to the roof.” And as soon as these solar panels actually become a viable product, cell phones would be next up on the flexible list. Note: See BBC video here |  |
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