Sunday Spinelessness – An online fungal foray. Inaugural episode sciblogs pod by kaiwhata. Health and the Mind/Body Connection. The August 27th edition of New Scientist has an interesting article entitled “Heal Thyself” (pg 33-36) where Jo Marchant examines some of the health benefits which are emerging from a better understanding of the mind/body connection.
The idea that the mind can influence the body and vice versa is not a new one, but it is one that many health professionals are wary of, given that it has been abused and overhyped by various purveyors of woo. At it’s worst, distorted views of the mind/body connection are used to accuse those who are chronically ill of not “wanting” to be healthy. However, this New Scientist article explores scientifically based research around mind/body health. Think Positive Optimists appear to have healthier immune systems, live longer and recover better from medical procedures.
Social Support Having supportive rich social lives appears to have a significant contribution to good health. The Placebo Effect Meditation Self Hypnosis Have Purpose. Barriers to clean energies. Clean energy technologies are being hailed by some as the sixth great technology revolution — an insurrection that will free us from the shackles of fossil fuels, and provide the staging ground for further economic growth without the nasty environmental and military consequences of an addiction to hydrocarbons.
However, this revolution will play out over decades. ["Clean" is relative of course - reliance on digging rare earth elements out of the ground (or seabed) to build wind turbines or batteries isn't totally benign. And some, of course, object to the visual and auditory pollution of wind turbines] The philanthropic Google.org recently modelled the impact of clean energy innovation on the US economy out to 2050. They concluded that ‘aggressive energy innovation’ could both more than halve greenhouse gas emissions while enabling the economy to grow and unemployment to fall. Calendar.
Winning the World Cup: All Blacks and Ancient Gladiators. Winning the World Cup – what do the All Blacks have in common with ancient gladiators?
What does modern day New Zealand have in common with ancient Rome? More than you might think, according to two of Victoria University’s most well-known and popular lecturers. In ancient Rome gladiators entertained the masses with their exploits in giant arenas. These elaborate spectacles created icons of the Roman Empire and were central to Roman identity. S.T. Lee Lecture 2011 - Antarctic Research Centre. SPINZ - Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand. Accessibility tools spinz.org.nz > Our events > Events archive > 2011 National Conference In Crisis?
Top Resources SPINZ @suicidenz 17 Apr Waves - suicide grief education programme - starts mid-May, at @skylightnz in Wellington:
How to See a Supernova This Weekend From Your Backyard. Starting this weekend, the closest supernova found in at least 25 years will be visible from your backyard with just binoculars or a small telescope.
The exploding white dwarf star is currently brightening in the Pinwheel Galaxy, nestled, from our perspective, within the Big Dipper. Astronomers found the type Ia supernova Aug. 24 within hours, they believe, of its explosion, as observed from Earth. The team from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley, credit the early detection to a specialized survey telescope at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California and advanced computing. Most supernovas spotted at the Palomar Observatory are around 1 billion light-years away, far too distant to be seen by amateurs.
New Views of Saturn's "Sponge" Moon Hyperion. A Planet Made of Diamond - News Blog. Just when you thought the recently discovered exoplanet darker than coal is likely the most alien body known to us, along comes another curveball — a planet that astronomers think is made of diamond, located about 4,000 light-years away.
The discoverers say the object formed when a pulsar in a binary system stripped its companion white dwarf of its exterior, leaving behind its carbon core. An international team led by Matthew Bailes (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) detected the system in a recent survey using the CSIRO’s 64-meter Parkes radio telescope in Australia, and studied it further using the 76-meter Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in England. The group's paper appears in today's issue of the journal Science. Graphene Flash Memory - ACS Nano.
A Field Test for Kite-based Wind Power. Astronomical Perspectives for Young Children. + Author Affiliations Many of us have experienced a moment when, mesmerized by the beauty of a night sky, we reflected upon life, here and elsewhere.
The realization of our place in the universe is humbling, but it is also inspiring. Universe Awareness (UNAWE) is an astronomy education and outreach program targeting young children, from 4 to 10 years old, in underprivileged environments. The Invisible Mouse. Science Magazine: Sign In. Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time. Ministry of Science and Innovation. Kiwi students building experimental space software. A team of Massey University engineering students is building software for New Zealand's first spacecraft, which could pave the way for a new generation of satellites monitoring climate change by measuring polar ice thickness and other environmental data.
The satellite, known as KiwiSAT, is being designed and built by a team of volunteers from New Zealand Radio Amateurs. A microfluidic in situ analyzer for ATP quantification in ocean environments. Have scientists finally found a way to reverse male pattern baldness?