Indiana University is, unfortunately, contributing to the delusion held by millions that quick weight loss is just a magic pill away:
. . . a team of researchers at Indiana University released a study in the online journal Nature Chemical Biology that showed that two natural hormones combined into a single drug suppressed appetite and increased metabolism -- in rodents, anyway.
The invasion has begun, and we're all going to die! No, quit looking at the sky, dummy! It's from the other direction:
Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another.
The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.
The slope, she is slippery:
New York has become the first state to allow taxpayer-funded researchers to pay women for giving their eggs for embryonic stem cell research, a move welcomed by many scientists but condemned by critics who fear it will lead to the exploitation of vulnerable women.
Huh.
"Any time someone with influenza coughs, sneezes, or even talks loudly, they actually expel the virus in their breath,” said Diana Bowden, Infection Control Preventionist with Regional Hospital. “That's why social distancing is important, because you need to keep your distance so you don't inhale the droplets that are coming out in their breath."
Indiana has had its first case of swine flu confirmed. so, naturally, drastic action is called for. The state has now activated its Emergency Operations Center.
An important swine flu update as a valuable public service for readers of this blog!!!!
1. If you're the least bit suggestible, this is probably a bad time to read "The Stand."
2. Wash your hands a lot, and don't go to Mexico.
You're welcome.
Today's quiz: How many people die in the United States each year from flu and flu-related causes? Answer later.
I had a Plan A. I was going to be a great American novelist or a rich and famous standup comedian or a songwriter admired and respected by recording artists even if Unknown To The Great Unwashed. I had a Plan B, too, of course, which is, well, my Real Life as it Actually Played Out. Most people have Plan A's and end up going with Plan B, which is reality's wakeup call for good intentions, as in: OOPS! According to the Food and Drug Aministration, the age limit on saying OOPS!
Not the usual snideness about Earth Day today, just a point that the Us vs. the Earth mantra got old a long time ago. This guy, who thinks it's time to dump Earth Day, captures my sentiments pretty well:
I don't worry about the earth. I'm pretty certain the earth will survive the worst we can do to it. I'm very certain the earth doesn't worry about us.
Ethanol, a costly plan of the federal government:
CBO estimates that the increased use of ethanol accounted for about 10 percent to 15 percent of the rise in food prices between April 2007 and April 2008.
