slackwater

Alphaville - Forever Young

2010-01-31T00:03:00.000-08:00

Uli Jon Roth & UFO - Doctor Doctor

2008-11-03T21:37:00.000-08:00

Uli Jon Roth - The Night The Master Comes

2008-11-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Anthocyanins impair cancer

2008-08-09T23:05:00.000-07:00

The term anthocyanin was initially coined to indicate the substance responsible for the color of cornflower: it derives from the Greek term anthos=flower, and kuanos=blue, and refers to a group of water-soluble pigments responsible for red, pink, mauve, purple, blue, or violet color of most flower and fruits. These compounds act as potent antioxidants and phosphodiesterase inhibitors, thus being particularly effective in the amelioration of capillary resistance and permeability.

Studies on rats and human cells found anthocyanins notably slowed the growth of colon cancer cells.

In some experiments, the researchers from Ohio State University saw cancer growth not just slowed, but as many as 20% of the cells killed.

For instance, anthocyanin pigments obtained from black carrots and radishes slowed the growth of cancer cells by between 50 to 80%.

But compounds from chokeberries for instance killed up to a fifth of existing cells, without impacting upon healthy ones.

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Comparison of taxation rates by country

2008-08-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

- Belgium, Denmark and Hungary have least attractive personal tax environments
- United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Russia have most attractive environments
- UK is middle-ranking at joint position 14
- Married employees with two children better off than single employees

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Triphala active against pancreatic cancer

2008-08-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

Triphala consists of the fruits of three plants from India:

Emblica officinalis
Terminalia bellirica
Terminalia chebula

The team fed mice grafted with human pancreatic tumours a triphala solution five days per week.

After four weeks they compared the tumour size and proteins contents of the tumours with those of a control group of mice that had not received the triphala.

They found that the tumours in triphala-treated mice were half the size of those in the untreated mice.

The also found the treated mice tumour cells had higher levels of proteins associated with apoptosis - the process by the which the body normally disposes of damaged, old of unneeded cells.

Further testing revealed that triphala had also activated tumour-suppressor genes, but did not negatively affect normal pancreatic cells.

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Flash stops working in firefox

2008-04-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

Flash player recently stopped playing sound in firefox and would not play video continuously. The solution for me was to uninstall flash. The problem was resolved after a new installation.

Jethro Tull - Steel Monkey

2007-09-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

Jethro Tull - Kissing Willie

2007-09-30T21:55:00.001-07:00

Jethro Tull - Jump Start

2007-09-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Jethro Tull - Lap of Luxury

2007-09-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ebates sign up bonus

2007-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ebates offers cash back rebates when you click through their links to online stores to shop. For a limited time they are offering a double sign up bonus of $10. Click the link below to sign up.

link

Expires August 14th, 2007

Focus - House of the King

2007-05-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

Jethro Tull - Budapest

2007-05-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

13th July 1991
Istanbul, Turkey

Tintin Movie

2007-03-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

"After 25 years, they finally said 'OK, let's go'," Nick Rodwell, head of Moulinsart NV, said of the protracted talks with Spielberg since the early 1980s.

DreamWorks spokesman Marvin Levy said the studio is interested in the project, but is not ready to talk about specifics.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Rodwell said the Hollywood company will go into preproduction for a movie, which should appear in theaters in about two years.

It was unclear which of the 24 cartoon books of Tintin's adventures would be picked for a first movie script, he said. "If movie No. 1 works, we will continue," he said.

Vitamin C deficiency impairs apoptosis

2007-03-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

* Key enzymes in the cell, dubbed hydroxylases, need vitamin C to be activated. Having low levels of the vitamin means these enzymes are less likely to work.

* Hydroxylases control a transcription factor within the cell called HIF-1. It turns on specific genes, changing the way the cells respond to stress and controlling cell death and growth.

* When vitamin C is low or absent, the HIF-1 transcription factor turns on, enabling cancer cells in tumours to make more blood vessels, grow and resist chemotherapy.

* The finding is not a justification for extensive supplementation in people enjoying normal health. Regular fruit and vegetable consumption is enough.

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Evolution of laughter

2007-03-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Laughter, a topic that stymied philosophers for 2,000 years, is finally yielding to science. Researchers have scanned brains and tickled babies, chimpanzees and rats. They’ve traced the evolution of laughter back to what looks like the primal joke — or, to be precise, the first stand-up routine to kill with an audience of primates.

The human ha-ha evolved from the rhythmic sound — pant-pant — made by primates like chimpanzees when they tickle and chase one other while playing. Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist and psychologist at Washington State University, discovered that rats emit an ultrasonic chirp (inaudible to humans without special equipment) when they’re tickled, and they like the sensation so much they keep coming back for more tickling.

He and Professor Provine figure that the first primate joke — that is, the first action to produce a laugh without physical contact — was the feigned tickle, the same kind of coo-chi-coo move parents make when they thrust their wiggling fingers at a baby. Professor Panksepp thinks the brain has ancient wiring to produce laughter so that young animals learn to play with one another. The laughter stimulates euphoria circuits in the brain and also reassures the other animals that they’re playing, not fighting.

“Primal laughter evolved as a signaling device to highlight readiness for friendly interaction,” Professor Panksepp says. “Sophisticated social animals such as mammals need an emotionally positive mechanism to help create social brains and to weave organisms effectively into the social fabric.”

Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi)

2007-03-15T18:20:00.001-07:00

Scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat. The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia.

Genetic analysis conducted at the U.S. National Cancer Institute shows that the difference between the two clouded leopard species is comparable to the differences between other large cat species like lions, tigers, and jaguars. Scientists believe the new species of clouded leopard diverged from the mainland population some 1.4 million years ago.

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Jack Morgan (BSc) - Little Mouse

2007-03-11T13:00:00.001-07:00

10-FEET - nil?

2007-03-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

Odor recollection during slow-wave sleep enhances memory

2007-03-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

Scientists studying how sleep affects memory have found that the whiff of a familiar scent can help a slumbering brain better remember things that it learned the evening before. The smell of roses — delivered to people’s nostrils as they studied and, later, as they slept — improved their performance on a memory test by about 13 percent.

The study’s results could eventually help doctors improve patients’ memory by devising treatments directed at deep sleep. As they age, people spend less and less time each night in such sleep, and existing sleep medications do not generally increase it. But pharmaceutical companies are investigating compounds that do so.

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Tadao Ando Maritime Museum

2007-03-08T16:31:00.000-08:00

Tadao Ando's Maritime Museum promises to be another highlight. Born in 1941, the minimalist architect is known for his austere style, which combines the Japanese Zen tradition with the modernist penchant for bare concrete. Inspired by dhows, the traditional sailing vessels of Arab merchants, Ando has designed a fragile-looking building in the shape of an abstract sail curved by the wind. Embedded in an oasis-like natural scenario dominated by a subterranean aquarium, Ando's restrained architecture promises to become a popular haven of contemplative peace within the planned architectural overkill.

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Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) - Celebration

2007-03-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

1974, Old Grey Whistle Test

Sardines

2007-03-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

There is no single species named sardine. Sardines are born the moment a label reading "Sardines" is affixed to a can of small fish. They were named after the Italian Mediterranean island of Sardinia, which, like most islands, has a long-standing reputation for being surrounded by fish. A sardine can be almost any small, fatty fish, but most often is related to the herring.

What about the bones, guts and skins we find in many canned sardines? Are they edible? Yes. In the so-called Mediterranean method of processing, the fish are eviscerated and thoroughly cooked, either by steaming or frying, which is more expensive. In the Norwegian method, the fish are not eviscerated; they are kept alive in nets for at least 48 hours, during which time they complete the digestion of their food and clean themselves out. Then they are hot-smoked. The bones and skins are good for you; the bones contain calcium and the skins contain omega-3 fatty acids.

Kayak - Ruthless Queen

2007-03-05T19:13:00.001-08:00