Related to global warming issue, Vincent Callebaut, a Belgian Architect try to find solution and he found one. And the idea is really unique, and he called the project 'A Floating Ecopolis for Climate Refugges'.
Lilypad, a floating ecopolis by Vincent Callebaut
Related to global warming issue, Vincent Callebaut, a Belgian Architect try to find solution and he found one. And the idea is really unique, and he called the project 'A Floating Ecopolis for Climate Refugges'.
National Geographic beautiful landscape collection 3
Source : National Geographic
See also National Geographic beautiful landscape collection 2
Nature wallpapers, Places, National Geographic photography
National Geographic beautiful landscape collection 2
Source : National Geographic
Continue to National Geographic beautiful landscape collection 3
See also National Geographic beautiful landscape collection 1
Nature wallpapers, places, National Geographic photography
My paypal money still not transferred to my Visa electron debit card
I was withdrawn money from Paypal 9 days ago. So it took 5 days for Paypal to process the transaction. And my withdraw status was completed now, but i still cannot see money in my PBB Visa Electron debit card. This is never happened before, i don't know why.
But i will wait for a few days more to make sure what is happening. I read at other blogs, there are also a few people having problem like this. I don't know whether it is Paypal problem, or bank problem, or i've been hacked by a hacker. But what i'm gonna do is, i will wait and see for a few days more, and if i'm still not get my money, maybe i quit from Paypal.
But i will wait for a few days more to make sure what is happening. I read at other blogs, there are also a few people having problem like this. I don't know whether it is Paypal problem, or bank problem, or i've been hacked by a hacker. But what i'm gonna do is, i will wait and see for a few days more, and if i'm still not get my money, maybe i quit from Paypal.
I am so dissapointed with the service now, because i need money to celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. And suddenly this happened , but of course patient is very important. Just i'm so dissappointed whether with Paypal, or the bank, or if there are a hacker that hack my Paypal.
Anyway, i wish to all muslims Salam Aidil Fitri 1429, minal aidin wal faizin, Maaf zahir dan batin. Taqobbalallahu minkum :)
* Update 25 October 2008 - I got my money. Maybe Public Bank process my money late because of Hari Raya, maybe they're so busy that time. Whatever alhamdulillah, my money is safe and i can withdraw it from PB Visa Electron debit card. Better from been robbed by bad hackers. So there are no problem at all with Paypal so far .......
The risks of using mobile phone
Mobile phone use 'raises children's risk of brain cancer fivefold'By Geoffrey Lean
Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.
The study, experts say, raises fears that today's young people may suffer an "epidemic" of the disease in later life. At least nine out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 per cent of primary schoolchildren.
Yet investigating dangers to the young has been omitted from a massive £3.1m British investigation of the risks of cancer from using mobile phones, launched this year, even though the official Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme – which is conducting it – admits that the issue is of the "highest priority".
Despite recommendations of an official report that the use of mobiles by children should be "minimised", the Government has done almost nothing to discourage it.
Last week the European Parliament voted by 522 to 16 to urge ministers across Europe to bring in stricter limits for exposure to radiation from mobile and cordless phones, Wi-fi and other devices, partly because children are especially vulnerable to them. They are more at risk because their brains and nervous systems are still developing and because – since their heads are smaller and their skulls are thinner – the radiation penetrates deeper into their brains.
The Swedish research was reported this month at the first international conference on mobile phones and health.
It sprung from a further analysis of data from one of the biggest studies carried out into the risk that the radiation causes cancer, headed by Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden. Professor Hardell told the conference – held at the Royal Society by the Radiation Research Trust – that "people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20" had more than five-fold increase in glioma", a cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system. The extra risk to young people of contracting the disease from using the cordless phone found in many homes was almost as great, at more than four times higher.
Those who started using mobiles young, he added, were also five times more likely to get acoustic neuromas, benign but often disabling tumours of the auditory nerve, which usually cause deafness.
By contrast, people who were in their twenties before using handsets were only 50 per cent more likely to contract gliomas and just twice as likely to get acoustic neuromas.
Professor Hardell told the IoS: "This is a warning sign. It is very worrying. We should be taking precautions." He believes that children under 12 should not use mobiles except in emergencies and that teenagers should use hands-free devices or headsets and concentrate on texting. At 20 the danger diminishes because then the brain is fully developed. Indeed, he admits, the hazard to children and teenagers may be greater even than his results suggest, because the results of his study do not show the effects of their using the phones for many years. Most cancers take decades to develop, longer than mobile phones have been on the market.
The research has shown that adults who have used the handsets for more than 10 years are much more likely to get gliomas and acoustic neuromas, but he said that there was not enough data to show how such relatively long-term use would increase the risk for those who had started young.
He wants more research to be done, but the risks to children will not be studied in the MTHR study, which will follow 90,000 people in Britain. Professor David Coggon, the chairman of the programmes management committee, said they had not been included because other research was being done on young people by a study at Sweden's Kariolinska Institute.
He said: "It looks frightening to see a five-fold increase in cancer among people who started use in childhood," but he said he "would be extremely surprised" if the risk was shown to be so high once all the evidence was in.
But David Carpenter, dean of the School of Public Health at the State University of NewYork – who also attended the conference – said: "Children are spending significant time on mobile phones. We may be facing a public health crisis in an epidemic of brain cancers as a result of mobile phone use."
In 2000 and 2005, two official inquiries under Sir William Stewart, a former government chief scientist, recommended the use of mobile phones by children should be "discouraged" and "minimised".
But almost nothing has been done, and their use by the young has more than doubled since the turn of the millennium.
Source : The Independent
Cell phones can affect sperm quality
Keeping a cell phone on talk mode in a pocket can decrease sperm quality, according to new research from the Cleveland Clinic.
"We believe that these devices are used because we consider them very safe, but it could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the phones and the exposure that they are causing to the gonads," says lead researcher Ashok Agarwal, the Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine.
In the small study, Agarwal's team took semen samples from 32 men and brought them to the lab. Each man's sample was placed into small, conical tubes and divided into two parts: a test group and a control group. The control group was unexposed to cell phone emissions, but kept under the same conditions and temperature as the test group.
The semen in the test group was placed 2.5 centimeters from an 850 MHz cell phone in talk mode for 1 hour. Researchers say that 850 MHz is the most commonly used frequency.
They used the measurement of 2.5 centimeters to mimic the distance between the trouser pocket and the testes. Agarwal reasoned that many men keep their active cell phones in their pants pocket while talking on their headsets.
Overall, researchers found an increase in oxidative stress such as a significant increase in free radicals and oxidants and a decrease in antioxidants. Agarwal says that equals a decrease in sperm's quality, including motility and viability. Evidence of oxidative stress can appear under other conditions, including exposure to certain environmental pollutants or infections in the urinary genital tract.
"On average, there was an 85 percent increase in the amount of free radicals for all the subjects in the study. Free radicals have been linked to a variety of diseases in humans including cancer," said Agarwal. Free radicals have been linked to decreased sperm quality in previous studies.
However, the study does have major limitations, he acknowledged, such as the small sample size. It also was conducted in a lab and so cannot account for the protection a human body might offer, such as layers of skin, bone and tissue. Agarwal is in the early stages of further research that can model the human body's role in protecting from radio-frequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones.
Agarwal also admits that there is no clear explanation of this demonstrated effect, but he shared some of his theories. "Perhaps the cell phone radiation is able to affect the gonads through a thermal effect thereby increasing the temperature of the testes and causing damaging effects in the sperm cell."
In a previous study, Agarwal and his team found that men who used their cell phones more than four hours a day had significantly lower sperm quality than those who used their cell phones for less time. Those findings were based on self-reported data from 361 subjects.
While representatives from the cell phone industry had not yet reviewed the latest study, they were careful not to give this study much merit. "The weight of the published scientific evidence, in addition to the opinion of global health organizations, shows that there is no link between wireless usage and adverse health effects," said Joe Farren, a spokesman for the CTIA-the Wireless Association.
"We support good science and always have," he said. "It's important to look at studies that are peer-reviewed and published in leading journals and to listen to the experts."
Agarwal emphasized that it is far too early for men to start changing cell phone carrying habits, noting that his own cell phone was in his pocket as he talked to CNN.
"Our study has not provided proof that you should stop putting cell phones in your pocket. There are many things that need to be proven before we get to that stage," he said.
Source : CNN
5 foods to maximize our muscle power
IntroductionThere is a strong connection between muscle mass and good health, says Robert Wolfe, director of Translational Research in Aging and Longevity at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. “As we age, we tend to lose muscle, especially if we are not using it,” says Wolfe. “These losses eventually affect quality of life, our balance, strength and ability to recover from an illness or accident.”
In fact, muscles do everything from help you move and digest your food, to — in the case of your heart muscle — pump nutrients throughout your body. “Our heart, brain, skin and other organs are in a constant state of remodeling with tissue being built and broken down,” says Nancy Rodriguez, a registered dietitian and director of sports nutrition programs at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. “Muscles offer a significant supply of amino acids to ensure these vital parts stay strong.”
Active muscles not only help cut your risk of developing diabetes or osteoporosis, but the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body can burn.
To keep your muscles strong and healthy you need the right kind of diet.
Fish
Especially fish rich in omega-3 fats such as salmon, tuna, halibut, rainbow trout and canned sardines.
Why: Lean fish contains all the essential amino acids the body needs to make muscles and provide the building materials for creating and repairing other tissues.
Muscle mass is built based on the amount of protein (amino acids) consumed. While Americans typically get more than enough protein to feed their muscles, many older adults do not. An estimated one in every three people over the age of 60 loses so much muscle, partly because they don’t get enough protein to stave off breakdown of muscle tissue, that it affects their ability to function. According to some studies, the omega-3 fats found in fish may help slow the breakdown of muscle mass.
It’s recommended that you eat at least 2-3 meals of fish high in omega-3 fats per week.
Sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes are a terrific source of potassium and antioxidants, which are good for building muscles.
Why: “Anyone who is exercising and working their muscles will be creating free radicals,” says Tara Gidus, a sports dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “Antioxidants can help disarm free radicals and help repair muscle tissue as it breaks down and rebuilds.”
Potassium-rich foods such as sweet potatoes can also help counteract the effects of eating too many acid-producing foods, such as meats, some dairy products and highly-processed items, which can speed the loss of muscle mass.
Other foods loaded with potassium and antioxidants include lettuces, peppers, kiwi, melon and oranges. Ideally, you should eat 5-9 servings of vegetables and produce a day with 3 servings of potassium-rich foods.
Low-fat yogurt
Low-fat yogurt is rich in protein, potassium, calcium and vitamin D, all which work together to keep your muscles functioning properly.
Why: Studies suggest that Vitamin D binds to receptors in muscle which then promote growth and strength. Too little vitamin D is linked with muscle weakness.
Select a yogurt brand fortified with vitamin D, which can give you nearly a quarter of your daily requirement in one serving. A daily serving of 6-8 ounces should help keep your muscles primed.
Quinoa Quinoa (keen-wah), an ancient grain from South America, is full of good carbohydrates -- the body’s preferred source of energy -- as well as high-quality protein, potassium and iron.
Why: Carbs are critical to help you pack on muscle. Too few carbs means the proteins in your body will be used for energy, instead of creating new tissue.
So, while eating protein-rich foods is important for gaining muscle, don’t load up at the expense of wholesome carbohydrates. Quinoa contains all the essential amino acids your body needs for building muscle proteins and other tissues.
Quinoa is also a good source of potassium and contains several minerals including iron, which, as Popeye knows, is needed to help you stay strong.
Enjoy a half-cup of quinoa for breakfast with dried fruits and nuts stirred in, as a side dish mixed with beans and other vegetables, or add the mild, light flavor of quinoa to soups, casseroles or salads. Quinoa can also be found in some ready-to-eat cereals and prepared breads.
Pumpkin seeds Pumpkin seeds are loaded with magnesium, manganese, iron and copper.
Why: The minerals in the body are a fairly well-connected group — they play off one another and work together to build tissue, form enzymes for bodily functions and support communication between cells. They also help maximize muscle mass. Magnesium helps build protein for muscle function. It also helps relax muscles after they’ve contracted. Manganese is needed to form protein and is a component of enzymes that act as antioxidants which help repair damaged muscle tissue. Iron is good for building endurance.
One ounce of pumpkin seeds (a small handful) contains nearly half the manganese you need in a day.
Source : Susan Moores, R.D., spokesperson American Dietetic Association
