Archive | March, 2012

Research shows cats can cause mental illness

30 Mar

Biologic and environmental causes of mental illness is a new frontier in research and treatment of these disorders.

Scientist Jaroslav Flegr. Image Michal Novotný, The Atlantic.

How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy
By KATHLEEN MCAULIFFE  |  http://www.theatlantic.com  |  March 2012

Jaroslav Flegr is no kook. And yet, for years, he suspected his mind had been taken over by parasites that had invaded his brain. So the prolific biologist took his science-fiction hunch into the lab. What he’s now discovering will startle you. Could tiny organisms carried by house cats be creeping into our brains, causing everything from car wrecks to schizophrenia? A biologist’s science- fiction hunch is gaining credence and shaping the emerging science of mind- controlling parasites.

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Prom season brings a crop of unacceptable dresses

29 Mar

Some say schools micromanage kids these days. Others argue there are so few boundaries that kids respect that they need to be micromanaged. This is not a problem new to 2011. Thanks to the marvy Rachel B. for tipping me off to this story.

This delightful monstrosity is apparently "one of PromGirl.com's best-selling dresses this year," according to the Wall Street Journal. It costs $378, and it's also on some high schools' "Unacceptable Prom Dresses" lists. Image www.thehairpin.com

An excerpt from Surrey High's prom dress code

Click here to view a pdf of one school’s dress code for 2011.

For Prom, Schools Say ‘No’ to the Dress
Dress Codes Deem Some Styles Too Sexy; Wielding a 3-Inch Ruler
By ELIZABETH HOLMES | wsj.com | March 29, 2012

This spring, Hal David, principal at Cedartown High School in northwest Georgia, has spent a lot of time thinking about evening gowns.

“Unacceptable,” he has labeled some dresses shown on posters plastered in the hallways to publicize the school’s first dress code for prom. The signs also show styles deemed “acceptable” for the event, set for April 21 at the local country club. “It’s a picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words kind of deal,” says Mr. David. “We don’t want somebody to spend a lot of money on a dress and then show up and there be an issue.”

Schools from Connecticut to Arizona are responding to risqué prom dresses with elaborate dress codes. Prom fashion in some stores goes way beyond plunging necklines and hiked-up hems to include low-slung backs, thigh-high slits and midriff-bearing cutouts.

To avoid having to turn away tearful girls on the big night, prom organizers are taking pre-emptive action, issuing specific guidelines early, offering dress approval in advance and relying on image-heavy PowerPoint presentations to make it crystal clear what styles will, and won’t, be allowed at the dance.

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No more slam dancing in Boston

28 Mar

When they outlaw dancing, only outlaws will dance.

Image Wikimedia CommonsImage http://rebelfrequencies.blogspot.com/

 

Boston police clamp down on slam dancing
www.boston.com | March 13, 2012

Add slam dancing to activities banned in Boston.

Police recently cited a city club for allowing violent mosh pit dancing and vowed a crackdown on what they called “dangerous behavior” and a “public safety hazard.”

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Dine and dash dudes base jumped away from bar tab

27 Mar

Crime is bad, but dang, this is smooth.

Stock image of Rialto tower. AFP PHOTO/William WEST

License to dine-n-dash: Daredevils base-jump out on bill
16 March, 2012 | www.rt.com

What appeared to be a scene from a James Bond movie turned out to be a sophisticated case of grub-and-snub. A group of suit-clad daredevils base-jumped off the fifty-fifth floor of a skyscraper to avoid paying for drinks at a restaurant.

­Four thrill seekers disguised as smart-looking businessmen with suitcases came to the Vue de Monde restaurant located in Melbourne’s tallest building – the 823-foot (63-story) tall Rialto Towers. The men made their way in and ordered some Negroni cocktails, costing 20 Australian dollars (about US $21) each.

After sipping their way through a seemingly immaculate conversation, the four got up to use the restroom. However, they quickly dashed out onto the balconies, locked the doors and jumped off. Apparently, their parachutes were hidden under their suits.

Their suitcases were used to conceal camera-fitted helmets. Prior to leaping, the four made sure they put the helmets on to film the stunt.

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Navajo sue Urban Outfitters over panties and flasks

26 Mar

Brand awareness and names are big business and not just for perfume or shoes anymore.

Urban Outfitters Sued Over ‘Navajo’ Panties
By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. at FindLaw.com | http://www.reuters.com | Thu Mar 1, 2012

Just months after it demanded the retailer stop selling merchandise branded with its tribal name, the Navajo Nation has sued Urban Outfitters. The chain is being accused of trademark infringement and violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which makes it illegal to falsely suggest a product is made by an American Indian.

The tribe’s goal, though partly about money, is to protect its reputation, according to the suit. It finds the retailer’s ‘Navajo’ panties, jewelry and flasks to be “derogatory and scandalous.”

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Two headed Ukrainian tortoise

25 Mar

This is one of the cutest 2 headed animals I’ve seen.

“Strictly speaking it isn’t a tortoise with two heads, but rather two conjoined tortoises,”

Two-headed tortoise gets her close-up in Kiev
March 5, 2012 | latimes.com

Every day on World Now we choose an amazing photo from around the world. Today we did a double take at this shot of a two-headed tortoise on display in Ukraine.

The animal also has two hearts, six legs and a single intestine. “Strictly speaking it isn’t a tortoise with two heads, but rather two conjoined tortoises,” zoologist Yuri Yuravliov told the Agence France-Presse.

The unusual creature was born in captivity. “Animals with this type of pathology are only rarely born and don’t survive in natural conditions,” Yuravliov said.

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New frog species discovered in New York City

24 Mar

Hiding in plain sight, an entire new species.

The new species of leopard frog, whose entire known range is roughly within commuting distance of Midtown Manhattan, makes an unusual sound. Image Brian Curry

A New Species in New York Was Croaking in Plain Sight
By LISA W. FODERARO  |  March 13, 2012  |  The New York Times

The croak gave it away.

On a foray into the wilds of Staten Island in 2009, Jeremy A. Feinberg, a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolution at Rutgers University, heard something strange as he listened for the distinctive mating call of the southern leopard frog — usually a repetitive chuckle. But this was a single cluck.

“I started hearing these calls, and I realized they were really distinct,” Mr. Feinberg said.

Three years later, Mr. Feinberg and four other scientists who joined him in multiple field and laboratory studies, are finally comfortable making their declaration: a new species of leopard frog — as yet unnamed — has been identified in New York City and a number of surrounding counties.

The find is surprising on a number of fronts, not least of which is that the new frog was hiding in plain sight in one of the most populated centers in the world. (Most new species are found in remote areas.) And it illustrates the power of genetic testing in parsing more finely those animals that may be nearly identical in appearance, but are, in fact, of different species.

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Hog farms see increase in mysterious explosive foam

23 Mar

As if hog farms were not dangerous and glamorous enough, now they have this mysterious explosive foam on the manure pits.

Foam climbs through the vent of a hog farm's manure pit. Image Charles Clanton

Foam covers a manure pit. Image Charles Clanton

Mysterious hog farm explosions stump scientists
By Brandon Keim | wired.com | March 13, 2012

A strange new growth has emerged from the manure pits of midwestern hog farms. The results are literally explosive.

Since 2009, six farms have blown up after methane trapped in an unidentified, pit-topping foam caught a spark. In the afflicted region, the foam is found in roughly 1 in 4 hog farms.

There’s nothing farmers can do except be very careful. Researchers aren’t even sure what the foam is.

“This has all started in the last four or five years here. We don’t have any idea where it came from or how it got started,” said agricultural engineer Charles Clanton of the University of Minnesota. “Whatever has happened is new.”

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‘Top Model’ wins large hip lawsuit

22 Mar

Oh fashion you are a fickle mistress, but was this girl ever really model material, she focused on school instead of a career 4 years ago when first discovered. FYI 94 cm = 37 inches approx.

Click images too enlarge, but ya may wanna stay back, this girl is thick.

Canadian-born model wins ‘big hip’ lawsuit
Marlo Cameron, QMI Agency | www.torontosun.com | March 08, 2012

Some girls worry over their weight, but when Ananda Marchildon was told that her hips were too big, she took action.

Marchildon, 25, has won a lawsuit against her former modelling agency, world-renowned Elite Model Management, after she was fired for her “big” hips.

She was awarded the remaining $85,000 of her contract, which had been cut short after she earned only $13,000.

Marchildon, who was born in Hull before moving to Holland, was the winner of Holland’s Next Top Model in 2008 — a win that earned her a contract with Elite.

“When I won the contract my hips were 94 cm and the contract stated that I had to maintain that size,” she said. “I wasn’t allowed to get bigger, although it was OK if I got smaller.”

Marchildon is relieved the ordeal is over.

“It feels good, and apparently I’m sort of a role model,” she said. “I’m one of the few that dared to open their mouths and say something about the sizes in the fashion world.”

The shrinking standards for models’ sizes has been a hot topic in the fashion world for years. It’s slowly being addressed, but skinny girls are still glamourized and the fashion industry has yet to overhaul its standards.

“It’s worrying because very young girls are starting as models, and when you’re young you’re more skinny, but when you grow up your body changes,” she explained.

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Scans reveal changes to astronauts brains

21 Mar

This is sad news for space travel and space travelers.

Long Space Missions May Harm Astronauts’ Eyes
Studying effects of microgravity could improve understanding of ‘intracranial hypertension’ cases
US News.com  |  March 13, 2012

Extended space travel can cause eye and brain abnormalities in astronauts, researchers have found.

For the study, published online March 13 in the journal Radiology, investigators used MRI scans to examine the eyes and brains of 27 astronauts who spent an average of 108 days in space aboard the space shuttle and/or the International Space Station.

Eight of the 27 astronauts underwent a second MRI exam after a second space mission that lasted an average of 39 days.

The study authors found that among those who experienced a lifetime total of more than 30 days of exposure to microgravity, 33 percent of the astronauts had expansion of the cerebral spinal fluid space surrounding the optic nerve, 22 percent had flattening of the rear of the eyeball, 15 percent had bulging of the optic nerve, and 11 percent had changes in the pituitary gland and its connection to the brain.

These types of abnormalities are seen in cases of intracranial hypertension for which no cause can be found for the increased pressure around the brain. The pressure causes swelling of the juncture between the optic nerve and the eyeball, which can lead to vision problems.

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Mystery hole actually not so mysterious

20 Mar

Life is full of mysterious things and sometimes very good explanations.

Hundreds of people are flocking to a field in Pattingham in Austria after a mysterious perfectly round hole appeared overnight, leading down to a metallic construction 25-foot underground. Farmer Franz Knoglinger, 47, discovered the hole while looking for his missing cat and after a report on local television he was flooded with curious visitors, as well as geologists, archaeologists and even UFO experts. Image austriantimes.at

Hole Lot of Bother
austriantimes.at | 13. 03. 12.

Historians have solved the mystery of a perfectly round hole going 25 foot underground after it appeared in the middle of an Austrian field.

Hundreds of people travelled to the field at Neuhofen im Innkreis in Austria after the mysterious perfectly round hole appeared overnight, leading down to “something metallic”

One schoolgirl told local media she had seen a spaceship over the area a few days earlier and another man claimed to have heard a meteorite.

Farmer Franz Knoglinger, 47, who discovered the hole while looking for his missing cat said he was flooded with curious visitors, as well as geologists, archaeologists and even UFO experts.

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Little old lady stalked by ‘Godzilla’ the giant wild turkey

19 Mar

I’ve seen wild turkeys at Farm Shows and they can get huge and move unpredictably. This poor old lady.

Edna Geisler said she has changed her schedule to outsmart the turkey stalking her, but he lies in wait. / Photos by Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Edna Geisler said she has changed her schedule to outsmart the turkey stalking her, but he lies in wait. / Eric Seals/DFP

 

 

 

Godzilla the wild turkey stalks Commerce Township woman
March 5, 2012 | freep.com

A neighbor has stalked Edna Geisler for two months. He lurks in her front yard, screeching at her constantly, even jumping out occasionally and attacking her when she dares wander outside alone.

“I’m afraid to go out of my house,” said Geisler, 69. “I have to go to the post office at 6 o’clock in the morning to avoid him.”

When she returned home with groceries recently, Geisler couldn’t get in her front door.

“I had to go next door to the neighbors and have him use a push broom to keep him away while I brought the groceries in,” Geisler said.

Her stalker is a large, mature, tom turkey who believes Geisler’s front yard in Commerce Township is his. Geisler said she calls him Godzilla.

Each day about 7 a.m. he wanders in, coming from nearby woods on state land behind Geisler’s home, where a flock of wild turkeys live. Usually, he returns to the woods about 7 p.m.

He’s not bothered that Geisler’s front yard has a big horseshoe driveway and is on a well-traveled road. When he preens, fanning his tail feathers in a strut meant to flirt with hens, he’s as big around as a car tire.

Around Geisler, he clucks loudly, runs at her and flies in bursts at her torso, usually delivering a sort of fat-feathered chest-bump. One such bump hurt her back; another time he grabbed her with a claw.

“I got a terrible stinging right here,” she said, pointing to the back of her left hand.

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