Comment Run! (Score 1) 334
I heard they've got heat rays and chemical weapons (and other weapons of mass destruction).
P2P BitTorrent Tool Could Replace Pirate Bay 413
With the US and other G8 countries trying to outlaw The Pirate Bay and its ilk, an anonymous reader suggests that a solution may have emerged out of Cornell University. A new open-source project called Cubit is an Azureus plugin that provides decentralized approximate keyword search of torrents in the network.
Bookmark Pharyngula: EXPELLED! (scienceblogs.com)
Giant Ice Shelf Snaps 529
Popo writes "Sattelite images have revealed that an ancient 66 square-kilometer ice shelf, the size of 11,000 football fields, has snapped off from an island in Canada's arctic. The Ayles Ice Shelf was one of 6 major shelves remaining in Canada's arctic and is estimated to be over 3000 years old. The collapse was so powerful that earthquake monitors 250 km away picked up tremors. Scientists say it is the largest event of its kind in 30 years and point their fingers at climate change as a major contributing factor."
UK Wants To Ban Computer-Generated Child Porn 544
An anonymous reader writes "UK Home Secretary John Reid has urged a ban on computer-generated images of child abuse, including cartoons. The Register asks if this would criminalize role-playing gamers, and what about Hentai? Currently, such images may be illegal to publish under the Obscene Publications Act, but they do not come under child pornography laws. The attempt to criminalize possession of virtual images mirrors the attempt to criminalize possession of 'extreme porn' which would also include fake images, as well as photos of simulated acts involving consenting adults (as discussed on Slashdot). A petition on the Government's new website urges an end to such plans."
Going Pink For October 352
Matthew Oliphant is inviting anyone and everyone to turn their Web sites pink during October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Nearly 150 sites have done so as of this writing. And by the way, guys can get breast cancer too.
Comment Insulin resistace. (Score 1) 757
Unless you have insulin resistance, that is. Insulin, for all those who don't know, is the hormone that allows cells to take in sugar to metabolise. It is produced by the pancreas, and when ever you take in sugar, it send some into the blood stream. Some of you may remember that this is related to why you are hungry shortly after eating something sugary: your body sees a lot of sugar coming, so it dumps insulin, but sometimes it dumps too much, so it needs sugar to compensate, which make you hungry. What isn't so known about is insulin resistance. They are not sure what exactly causes it (some things seems to suggest it is genetic to a certain extent), but what happens is that the normal insulin isn't enough for most cells. It is a lot like how you develop resistance to a drug: your cells need more of a fix to do the trick, so to speak. This has a few consequences, including:
A. It can cause you pancreas to work over time, which can lead to type two diabetes.
B. Apparently, fat cells don't need as much insulin to take in sugar, so guess where all the extra sugar goes. Thats right, straight to your hips.
So yes, sugar can make you fat, even if you do exercise a lot. There are two ways to get around insulin resistance. One, obviously, is to consume in moderation. Two, is to eat foods that release the sugar more slowly, so your body has time to deal with it. Some foods, like cookies, crackers, and white bread, start becoming glucose almost as soon as they enter your mouth. Other foods, such as wheat breads, brown rice, and oatmeal, release it more slowly, because the fiber gets in the way some so that sugar can't rush to the blood stream.
On a slightly side note, oatmeal is some amazing stuff. It can actually lower the blood sugar of a diabetic, and is know for all kinds of healthy benefits. Now we know where "healthy as a horse" came from.
A. It can cause you pancreas to work over time, which can lead to type two diabetes.
B. Apparently, fat cells don't need as much insulin to take in sugar, so guess where all the extra sugar goes. Thats right, straight to your hips.
So yes, sugar can make you fat, even if you do exercise a lot. There are two ways to get around insulin resistance. One, obviously, is to consume in moderation. Two, is to eat foods that release the sugar more slowly, so your body has time to deal with it. Some foods, like cookies, crackers, and white bread, start becoming glucose almost as soon as they enter your mouth. Other foods, such as wheat breads, brown rice, and oatmeal, release it more slowly, because the fiber gets in the way some so that sugar can't rush to the blood stream.
On a slightly side note, oatmeal is some amazing stuff. It can actually lower the blood sugar of a diabetic, and is know for all kinds of healthy benefits. Now we know where "healthy as a horse" came from.
Walmart Tries to Emulate MySpace 345
mattsucks writes to tell us that according to AdAge, retail behemoth WalMart is trying desperately to target the MySpace demographic with a new, and highly sanitized, site designed to appeal to teens. From the article: "It's a quasi-social-networking site for teens designed to allow them to 'express their individuality,' yet it screens all content, tells parents their kids have joined and forbids users to e-mail one another. Oh, and it calls users 'hubsters' -- a twist on hipsters that proves just how painfully uncool it is to try to be cool."
Microsoft's Open XML Project A Short-Term Fix 94
TechPro writes "In an interview with eWeek the managing director of the ODF Alliance (Marino Marcich) was pretty dismissive of Microsoft's Open XML Translator project. While the move was a recognition of the ODF Format's acceptance by government's around the world, the installable software plug-ins that would be created under the project were really 'only a bridge, a stopgap measure that will probably not be acceptable to government's around the world over the long term. Plug-ins simply don't give the benefits of open file formats and standards,' he said."
Cell Phone Radiation Excites the Brain 115
frostilicus2 writes "The Register is reporting that Italian researchers have shown that radiation from mobile phones can excite the brain's cortex. A region that is "responsible for many higher faculties". They even claim that such an effect could be beneficial to some conditions."
The End of Native Code? 1173
psycln asks: "An average PC nowadays holds enough power to run complex software programmed in an interpreted language which is handled by runtime virtual machines, or just-in-time compiled. Particular to Windows programmers, the announcement of MS-Windows Vista's system requirements means that future Windows boxes will laugh at the memory/processor requirements of current interpreted/JIT compiled languages (e.g. .NET, Java , Python, and others). Regardless of the negligible performance hit compared to native code, major software houses, as well as a lot of open-source developers, prefer native code for major projects even though interpreted languages are easier to port cross-platform, often have a shorter development time, and are just as powerful as languages that generate native code. What does the Slashdot community think of the current state of interpreted/JIT compiled languages? Is it time to jump in the boat of interpreted/JIT compiled languages? Do programmers feel that they are losing - an arguably needed low-level - control when they do interpreted languages? What would we be losing besides more gray hair?"
U.S. Pressures ISPs on Data Retention 221
packetmon writes "According to Wired's Declan McCullagh 'In a private meeting with industry representatives, Gonzales, Mueller and other senior members of the Justice Department said Internet service providers should retain subscriber information and network data for two years ... A more extensive mandate would require companies to keep track of e-mail messages sent, Web pages visited and perhaps even instant-messaging correspondents.'"
Wal-Mart Trying to Trademark the Smiley Face 317
Ellis D. Tripp writes to tell us BBC News is reporting that mega-retailer, Wal-Mart, is now fighting it out with a man who claims to have invented the 'smiley face' logo, and has been marketing it since the '70s. From the article: "Until now the smiley face had been considered in the public domain in the US, and therefore free for anyone to use. Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley told the Los Angeles Times that it had not moved to register the trademark until Mr Loufrani had threatened to do so."
Scientists Probe the Use of the Tongue 207
An anonymous reader writes "Yahoo! News is reporting that in the military's continuing search for better sensory input they have started looking at the tongue as a 'superior transmitter'. From the article: 'A narrow strip of red plastic connects the Brain Port to the tongue where 144 microelectrodes transmit information through nerve fibers to the brain. Instead of holding and looking at compasses and bluky-hand-held sonar devices, the divers can processes the information through their tongues, said Dr. Anil Raj, the project's lead scientist.'"
Claria Leaves Adware Business 149
Alex Stern writes "In an attempt to clean up its tarnished name, Claria
has hired Deutsche Bank to help them sell off the software tools that were previously supported by their adware. Claria says they are unwilling to sell the software for the GAIN ad network, or the data they have collected from their users. Claria is also holding on to their eWallet software that manages passwords. On July 1, Claria will shutdown the GAIN network and inform their users they can either uninstall their software or pay for it. Claria's new business model is 'a new platform designed to provide consumers with a personalized Internet experience.'"
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