Gray smoke rises from Unit 3 of the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Monday, March 21, 2011. Officials say TEPCO temporarily evacuated its workers from the site. Tokyo Electric Power Co. via Kyodo News/ AP

This video was Uploaded youtube by arevamirpal on Jan 19, 2012 who writes:

TEPCO conducted the endoscopy of the Containment Vessel of Reactor 2 to see the inside. TEPCO’s spokesman Matsumoto said in the press conference that the white specs in the video is from gamma rays. White streaks across the screen are water droplets.

The endoscope is made by Olympus. Drilling the hole on the Containment Vessel was done on January 17, requiring 40 workers in 10 teams. The endoscopy operation on January 19 took 34 workers, one hour, working right next to the Containment Vessel.

For more about this operation, please see my posts,

http://bit.ly/xQC8Eo

http://bit.ly/zeAG56

For more Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident and radiation contamination in Japan, visit my blogs:
www.exskf.com (English)
www.exskf-jp.com (Japanese)

Random massage image.

Massage’s Mystery Mechanism Unmasked
by Gisela Telis  |  www.news.sciencemag.org  |  1 February 2012

Massage’s healing touch may have more to do with DNA than with good hands. A new study has revealed for the first time how kneading eases sore muscles—by turning off genes associated with inflammation and turning on genes that help muscles heal. The discovery contradicts popular claims that massage squeezes lactic acid or waste products out of tired muscles and could bring new medical credibility to the practice.

Despite massage’s widespread popularity, researchers know surprisingly little about its effects on muscles. Past studies have managed to show only that a well-administered rub can reduce pain, but none has ever pinpointed how. The scant evidence makes many physicians unsure, if not outright skeptical, of the method.

Mark Tarnopolsky, a neurometabolic researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, was one of those physicians—until he suffered a severe hamstring injury in a waterskiing accident 4 years ago. Massage therapy was part of his rehabilitation regimen, and it was so effective at easing his pain that he became determined to track down the mechanism that made him feel so good. “I thought there has to be a physiologic basis for this,” he says. “And being a cellular scientist, my interest’s in the cellular basis.”

So Tarnopolsky and colleagues—including the coordinator of his rehab program—recruited 11 young men willing to exercise in the name of science. The subjects underwent a grueling upright cycling session that left their muscles damaged and sore. Ten minutes after their workout, a massage therapist massaged one of their legs. Meanwhile, the researchers took tissue samples from the volunteers’ quadriceps muscles—once before the workout, once 10 minutes after the massage, and once 3 hours after the workout—and compared the genetic profiles of each sample.

The researchers detected more indicators of cell repair and inflammation in the post-workout samples than in the pre-workout samples. That didn’t surprise them because scientists know that exercise activates genes associated with repair and inflammation. What did shock them were the clear differences between the massaged legs and the unmassaged ones after exercise. The massaged legs had 30% more PGC-1alpha, a gene that helps muscle cells build mitochondria, the “engines” that turn a cell’s food into energy. They also had three times less NFkB, which turns on genes associated with inflammation.

The results, published online today in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that massage suppresses the inflammation that follows exercise while promoting faster healing. “Basically, you can have your cake and eat it too,” Tarnopolsky says. He adds that the study found no evidence to support often-repeated claims that massage removes lactic acid, a byproduct of exertion long blamed for muscle soreness, or waste products from tired muscles.

“This is probably the best study I’ve seen that looks at the biological basis for massage therapy,” says Thomas Best, a sports medicine physician at Ohio State University in Columbus, who has studied massage’s effects on animals. He notes that it would be a hard experiment to reproduce because no two massages are identical, but he calls the results “compelling” nonetheless.

Tarnopolsky, for one, is a convert. “There’s no question I’m going to be visiting the massage therapist more often,” he says.

Image www.candywarehouse.com.

Is Licorice Dangerous?
November 1, 2011  |  smithsonianmag.com

It’s first day of November and kids everywhere are sitting down with stashes of goodies they earned the night before by dressing up, knocking on doors and rattling off the three magic words that win them a treat. And for adults, the leftover Halloween goodies are all on sale, so the time is right to enjoy a treat or two as well. Personally, I love my Good and Plenty, the licorice treats with pink and white sugary shells that spokesperson Choo Choo Charlie uses to make his locomotive zip down the track. But it turns out that Charlie should consider cutting back on his candy habit. According to a consumer awareness update published by the FDA, overindulging in licorice can cause health problems.

In Western medicine, licorice root has been used for hundreds of years as an herbal remedy to treat conditions from common colds to hepatitis. Clinical evidence of its effectiveness, however, is decidedly mixed. While it may soothe your symptoms, licorice more than likely isn’t curing what ails you. But licorice—the root as well as the black-colored iterations of the candy—can potentially do you harm, due to a chemical called glycyrrhetinic acid. When consumed in large quantities, it can cause your body’s potassium levels to fall to the point that some people experience arrhythmia, a rise in blood pressure, swelling and even congestive heart failure. People taking diuretics or medications for high blood pressure should be especially wary as the licorice may inhibit the effectiveness of the drugs. How much is too much? According to the FDA, a diet including 2 ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks might merit a trip to the hospital to have an irregular heart beat checked out. And consuming one to two pounds of licorice candy in one go may cause the blood vessels in your eyes to spasm, causing temporarily impaired vision. Though predominately a concern for persons over 40, it is recommended that everyone should moderate a high licorice intake.

That said, it pays to be an avid label reader. Some licorice products don’t contain extracts from the actual root and instead use anise to achieve a similar flavor. Packaging language such as “licorice-flavored” might serve as a tip-off that you’re not getting the real deal, but take a second to read the fine print on the ingredients list. Furthermore, licorice can also be processed so that the trouble-causing acid is removed, so you can keep an eye out for products marked DGL, or de-glycyrrhizinated licorice.

Kitten born with two faces
Rare Janus cat born in Port Charlotte
Jan 31 2012  |  www.local10.com

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -You’ve probably heard of cats having nine lives, but a Florida kitten was born with two faces.

The Janus cat is named Harvey Dent after the Batman character more commonly known as Two Face. Aaron Eckhart played Dent in the 2008 film The Dark Knight.

Janus cats are named after the mythical Roman god who had two faces. They are exceptionally rare.

“They simultaneously work together, the two faces. When he eats on one side it looks like he’s eating on the other. When he meows, it comes out of both sides,” said owner Nash Forsythe.

But the odds are against Janus cats.

Looking for help, Harvey Dents’ owners reached out to Dr. Greg Fluharty at a Port Charlotte Animal Clinic, who examined the cat.

“Everything is probably pretty good as far as the GI track and also the lungs, which sound normal. Respiration and heart rate were normal for a kitten that age,” said Dr. Fluharty.

Harvey Dent is scheduled to undergo neurology tests next week, but his owners said they are determined to give him a fighting chance.

“We are definitely not going to kill it. I am not going to let somebody tell me that it needs to he done. It shouldn’t be killed because it is a little different,” said Amanda Forsythe.

Janus cats can survive. One recently made the Guinness Book of World Records in 2011 after turning 12.

Copyright 2012 by Post Newsweek. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

6 more weeks of winter in 2012 as predicted by Punxatawney Phil and interperted by his his caretakers, the Inner Circle. Many other groundhogs are now making their own predictions, but Phil and the Inner Circle have been prognosticating for 120 years. Image Gene J. Puskar / AP

This year more than 18,000 people clambered on Gobbler's Knob to see Phil's prediction. Image Gene J. Puskar / AP

Why we celebrate Groundhog Day
Did you know Germans used hedgehogs as the original weather forecaster?
Feb, 2, 2012 | Meteorologist Brent Watts  |  www.wdbj7.com/

Every year at 7:20 AM, Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his burrow to forecast the fate of winter.

The idea of Groundhog day began with the Germans who brought the legend of Candlemas day to the United States. Candlemas Day was a day where clergy in the churches would distrubute candles needed for the long winter months. The candles represented how long and how cold the winter would be.

Later, Germans selected the hedgehog as a means to forecast the weather.

Once the Germans came to America, they continued the tradition. However, they switched to groundhogs because Pennsylvania had so many of them at the time.

The first Groundhog Day celebration dates back to 1857. Punxsutawney Phil was named after King Phillip, but was originally named Briar Groundhog.

The legend says, if Phil sees his shadow at 7:20 AM on Groundhog Day, we’ll see 6 more weeks of winter. if Phil doesn’t see his shadow, Spring is sure to come soon.

Of course this is all in fun. Just don’t tell Phil.

Here’s a few facts from WashingtonPost.com

126:The number of times Punxsutawney Phil has predicted the weather, as of Feb. 2, 2012.

• 100%: Accuracy rate of Punxsutawney Phil, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

• 39%: Accuracy rate of Punxsutawney Phil according to Stam Zervanos, a professor emeritus of biology at Pennsylvania State University, Berks College, who has studied groundhog hibernation.

• 60: Number of weeks of winter Punsatawney Phil threatened to impose on America during Prohibition, if he wasn’t allowed a drink.

• 25+: Number of alternative groundhogs across North America — though none is as famous as Punxsutawney Phil. Other groundhogs include “Sutton Sammy” in Ontario, “Chuckles” of Manchester, Conn., “Shubenacadie Sam” in Nova Scotia, “Staten Island Chuck,” and “General Beauregard Lee,” of Lilburn, Ga.

• 8:30 a.m.: February 2, 8:30 a.m. to be precise. Potential debut of Potomac Phil, D.C.’s first weather-predicting groundhog. Resident Aaron DeNu is searching for a live groundhog by Thursday to become Potomac Phil (He’s already procured a stuffed groundhog, but is unsure of how a stuffed groundhog would be able to see its own shadow). Potomac Phil will predict the length of winter in D.C.’s Dupont Circle.

• 49: Number of states that celebrate Groundhog Day. Because there are few groundhogs in Alaska, the state celebrates Marmot Day. The 2009 bill that declared Feb. 2 Marmot Day was signed by then-governor Sarah Palin.

• 7 years: Number of years Punxsutawney Phil’s life is extended each time he drinks a “magical elixir” given to him by the Punxsutawney Inner Circle. That is how the Punxsutawney groundhog Club says that Phil has been able to outlive the normal six-to-eight-year lifespan of a groundhog.

• 38: Number of days depicted in the movie “Groundhog Day” either partially or in full.

• 3,176: Number of days that Bill Murray’s character spent trapped in Groundhog Day in the eponymous movie, according to blogger wolfgnards.

• 12,403: Number of days that Bill Murray’s character spent trapped in Groundhog Day, according to blogger Simon Gallagher in WhatCulture.

• 2: Number of times a groundhog bit Bill Murray’s fingers during the filming of the movie.

The blue spheres are jelly-like but have no smell and are not sticky. Image BBC

Steve Hornsby and one of the spheres that fell in his yard during a storm. Image Inquisitr.

Florists use water-absorbent balls in their displays. Image BBC

The manufacturer of the toy gun range said the balls were not its products. Image BBC

Blue balls theories rage after Dorset storm mystery
30 January 2012 | bbc.uk

A number of theories have been put forward to explain the presence of blue jelly spheres found in a Dorset garden.

Steve Hornsby from Bournemouth reported the 3cm diameter balls came raining down last Thursday during a hailstorm.

Theories include the balls being crystals used in floral displays or ammunition for a toy gun.

But Mr Hornsby remains unconvinced and believes they were formed in the atmosphere. Bournemouth University is to analyse the balls.

He found about 20 balls made of a jelly-like substance which the Met Office has said was “not meteorological”.

A number of people who contacted the BBC after the story was published on Friday believed the balls were sodium polyacrylate crystals.

‘Mightily convincing’

They can absorb hundreds of times their mass in water and are used in floral displays.

Mel Smith, from Ena’s Florists in Bournemouth, said the balls look extremely similar to the type she uses and have the consistence of firm jelly when broken into.

She added: “We buy them dehydrated and then soak them in water for about six hours and they hydrate to balls up to 3cm (about 1in) or so in diameter.”

Josie Pegg, an applied science research assistant at Bournemouth University, agreed that the water-absorbing crystal theory was “mightily convincing”.

But Mr Hornsby said he does not use the crystals and queried whether the short storm was strong enough to blow them into his garden.

Another idea was that they could be ammunition used in a range of toy guns.

‘Deep craters’

Mr Hornsby said there were a number of children living in the area but said his hedge was fairly high, making firing the spheres into his garden tricky.

He also said a number of the balls had made deep craters which he believed could have only been caused if they had fallen from a great height.

The manufacturer of the Xploderz toy gun range agreed with Mr Hornsby and said the balls were “definitely not” from its product.

A spokesman for Character Options said: “Our ammunition is completely spherical and at a maximum is 1cm big – these look too big.”

Mr Hornsby, a former aircraft engineer, said: “My wife is in the garden all day and didn’t see them before so I am convinced it came with the hailstorm.

“We don’t use anything like the crystals in our garden and I think it would be difficult for kids to shoot over our hedge.

“I think it is some kind of atmospheric pollution. Pollution forms into spheres and fell like the hailstones.”

Mr Hornsby, who is keeping the balls in his fridge, has accepted an offer from Bournemouth University to analyse the substance.