rPhone -- the alternative to the iPhone
It plays music too. This is just a joke, but there are real steampunk products out there. Some disappointments about the iPhone.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Controlling "memory" in a petri dish
Well, if a firing pattern is considered to be a memory. A group of cultured neurons fired in a synchronized, replicable manner with a chemical that blocks some inhibitory neurons. Entrainment towards days of unassisted firing was possible by repeated, regular dosing. Changing location would initiate a pattern for a different cluster of neurons, but wouldn't interfere with the firing pattern of the first set -- layering of memories, as it were.
Just have to get the encoding-to-silicon part down and we have a way to recreate memories, I suppose.
Intrade -- exchange for prediction markets in politics, weather, etc.
Bet on the '08 election or the upcoming hurricane season.
Machine to induce sleep or meditation
By switching sound and light back and forth. Strangely painted, but don't let that throw you.
Medieval medicine
A few paintings and short notes on medicine in the Middle Ages. Plenty of magical thinking; worse than now to be disabled.
Green tea can be harmful in huge quantities
Possible liver and kidney damage. A mug after each meal should be fine.
He stresses that up to 10 small cups of green tea a day is fine. Problems are likely in people who take supplements, which can contain up to 50 times as much polyphenol as a single cup of tea.
Kevin Ham, domain name king
He didn't bother going into practice after his medical residency. Domain names and ad clicks were calling. The $300 million figure in the headline is meant more to draw you in. It's explained towards the end of the article.
The peopling of the world
A step-by-step migration map of humanity as it spreads across the globe. There has been a recent extreme challenge about when permanent settlements began.
Ripstik -- two-wheeled caster board
The video at the company site is corny, but the technology is interesting:
"Fishtailing the rear end of the board produces forward power, meaning a rider can climb a hill without putting his foot down..."
It's two boards that can rotate around a connecting axis.
Yoga may elevate brain GABA levels, suggesting possible treatment for depression
One of the possible paths of unipolar depression apparently involve low GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This small study implies that some yoga would seem to help a bit.
New biodegradable plastic is boil-proof too
Feed corn starch-derived glucose to a certain genetically modified bacterium and it produces this.
Think negative and drop the delusions
Taking on the Law of Attraction. Then again, positive delusions of how others view oneself help most people get through the day. Really, do you want to be depressed and see accurately?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Nano-cells target and latch on to cancer cells
Via antibodies, to be engulfed and release drugs. Allows dosages thousands times less.
Confessions of a car salesman
I haven't read through, but undercover journalism (by actually being employed) at two LA-area car dealerships.
How parenting doesn't matter
Judith Rich Harris's scan of the literature concludes that -- extreme abuse cases aside -- how a child behaves in society (extending into later life) has less to to do with how you you treat him/her and more to do with DNA and his/her personal determination of status among peers. Learned family context behavior does not carry over.
The rebuttal is more specific and covers academic achievement and economic opportunities.
Tulip reality
Deeper investigation into tulipmania uncovers how limited in scope the speculative bubble really was.
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