Driver-Friendly Playlists

     Are some songs safer to drive to than others? Recent experiments suggests that some are. The British website Confused.com had four men and women drive about 500 miles, and listen to music only in the the second half of their road trip. The app called MotorMate, uses a GPS that monitors drivers' speed, braking and acceleration. The results of the experiment are: The driving changed with the music the men and women heard. The safest driving occurred is when the drivers listened to songs that mimicked the human heartbeat(60-80 beats per minute) Some songs that mimicked the human heartbeat are Coldplay's "The Scientist" and Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River." Facts showed that women drove aggressively when listening to fast hip-hop music, and one male driver sped when he listened to metal. The people who heard classical music drove most erratically. No research yet on how you drive when listening to news or even the sports.

     I had no idea that certain types of music affects your driving. Does the intensity of the music increase the risk of your driving? In the article it said, "No research yet on what happens to you driving when listing to news and sports." I have a feeling that listening to sports can affect your driving. If you are listening to you favorite team on the radio and they are playing bad, you can get very angry and/or upset. Driving while angry can effect your driving. Also if you are listening to the sports or news, you could focus more on what is happening or being said and no pay attention to the road. I believe that you have to be careful when listening to the radio while driving or you could be in a car accident. How does rap effect you driving? Will scientists be able to invent something that increases the peoples safety when they drive listening to music?

Extra-Toed Cats

     The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida, is the perfect spot for fans of A Farewell to Arms and other Hemingway classics. People who are fascinated by poly-dactyl cats (those with extra toes) are also attracted to Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. 

     The 45 six and seven toed cats now living in the house are said to descend from a cat that was a present to Ernest Hemingway, who died in 1961. The cats have been eating, getting weekly visits from a vet, lounging around the vast estate and have been pampered for generations. After a few years of legal wrangling, a court ruled that the Hemingway home requires a federal license to keep the cats as a part of an exhibit.The museum is very angry by the ruling and is considering appealing to the Supreme Court. Regulators haven't touched the cats, and the fans can still go and enjoy the house's different attractions."Hemingway gets you here the first time," says one women who likes to visit every year."But the cats keeps up coming back."  
     I have had a cat for a long time but I never knew that there were cats that had six toes or even seven toes. I find that it is very interesting that there is was a museum for the cats too. I feel and believe what the government is doing is wrong. I also believe that the government does not have the right to have it a requirement to have a federal license to "show" their cats in an "exhibit" .The article said, "The 45 six-and seven- toed cats now living in the house are said to descend from a cat that was a gift to Hemingway." If the cats belong to the family, why must they have a license to show the cats to everyone? I do not think you could call this a "museum" where people would come see unique animals, I find that it is a house and a family who let people in and let them see their special cats. The Hemingway's had the right idea about appealing to the Supreme Court. I truly hope the the Supreme Court justices will realize that they do not need a license to show the cats because the cats belong to the Hemingway's. Will they have to get a license? Will the Hemingway's ever sell one of their cats? Do people have to pay to see the cats?

Are You Making A Healthy Choice?

     This is an award no restaurant wants to win. The Center  for Science in the Public Interest(CSPI) has sampled burgers, milkshakes, and pastas at the top restaurant chains in the U.S* to find the least nutritious dishes. They has given out this award every year since 2007. Topping CSPI's 2013 Extreme Eating list is the Cheesecake Factory's Bistro Shrimp Pasta.

 

The plate of Bistro Shrimp Pasta has 3,120 calories which is more than the average adult should eat in a day, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture. However, there is a smoothie that has almost 1/3 of the amount of calories a Bistro Shrimp Pasta has. 

     Burger King's 40 oz Peanut Power Plus Grape Smoothie has 1,460 calories and has six-and-a-half days' worth of sugar according to CSPI. Obesity is a huge health concern for the United States of America, affecting more than 1/3 of Americans. The reason why CSPI is making and putting out the lists is to help consumers make more healthier and informed choices about what they eat when they eat out."Once customers are aware of how high calories some of these things are," says Paige Einstein, a dietitian who helped work on the list, "we're hoping they're going to start demanding healthier options."

     I totally agree with Paige Einstein. I really hope that the U.S.A can start making healthier choices. We all know that obesity is a huge concern in the U.S, but not enough people are trying to help get rid of it. Fast Food restaurants could and would make a huge impact if they had more than one or two healthy choices on their menus and they could try to find another cooking style besides frying foods. I find that it is great what the CSPI is doing, they are showing people that eating out or eating some foods in general can by really fattening especially at fast food places. The CSPI is trying the best they can do to help but no one or not enough people are returning the favor. People themselves play the most important factor in obesity because it is up to them if they eat a salad or a greaser burger. People have the choice to have a long enjoyable life by eating healthy but more than 1/3 of Americans are not making that choice. Making a healthy choice one by one can help a lot. Anybody could help anyone in their community by having meetings, having group walks in the park or even exercising. Your life would change one step and one choice at a time. Will obesity eventually go away or will it grow? Will Americans make smarter decisions about what they eat in the future?

Smartest Brain Ever?

     There has been a lot of brilliant minds in the last couple of centuries but one sticks out the most. Albert Einstein is considered to have one the greatest minds of the 20th century. Autopsy pathologist, Thomas Harvey, got Einstein's family permission to dissected Einstein's brain into about two-hundred and forty parts after he died in New Jersey in 1955. During the dissecting, Harvey took dozens of photos. Over the last couple of years, scientists studied the photos and observed things like abnormally wide parietal lobes - parts of the brain associated with spatial perception and math. When Harvey died in 2007, he left the pictures of Einstein's brain to the National Museum of Health and  Science in Maryland. Scientists looking at more than a dozen newly available images, have concluded that Einstein's brain is "bumpier" than other brains. This means that he may have had more neurons, the cells that deliver and receive information. The pictures may provide insight into the mysterious nature of genius. One scientists who spoke to NPR, "Einstein's aura lives on."

    

     I did not think that it was possible that someone's brain could be more advanced than others.I also find it amazing that scientists have the technology/knowledge to notice the smallest/biggest differences in people's brains. I find that it is more astonishing that even though Einstein was dyslexic, he is considered to have the greatest mind in the 20th century. As a child, Einstein was picked on. His teachers never believed in him but that did not matter, he believed in himself. The reason why he had a brilliant mind is because he never gave up, he always tried his hardest. I hope that in the future, scientists will be able alter someone's brain to make them a genius like Albert Einstein. If they could do that in the future what would be like? Will someone's brain be just as advanced as his within the next century or even the next decade? I believe that if Albert Einstein was still alive the world would be different in the science world.     

   

Odd Bacteria Location

    Scientists are always on the lookout for new species, it turns out that they have been ignoring a whole bunch close to our home- in our navels. Researchers at North Carolina State University began the Belly Button Biodiversity Project last year to learn more about the kinds of bacteria that grows on our skin. Scientists have already swabbed over 500 belly buttons and analyzed over 60 samples, the scientists were dumbfounded with the results. A total of 2,368 species were found, 1,458 of the samples may be new to science. Some of the bacteria that was found was downright strange: One man had a specie of bacteria in his belly button that was common in soil in Japan-where he'd never been; another person had hosted bacteria that usually lives/thrives in polar ice caps. The researchers want to collect thousands of belly button samples and sequence part of the bacterial DNA. That information may provide knowledge into the role of belly button bacteria play in our health.
    I find that it is astonishing that scientists can find bacteria in the oddest places in the human body. Will researches find a bacteria that could kill majority of the human population?Findings like these will always make me believe that we will never discover everything. We will never know what kind of creatures still live on this planet that has not be discovered yet. Yet again, these findings will make us keep looking. Maybe researchers will find a cure to a deadly disease or virus or maybe even worse. Some day we will be able to have technology that could or maybe discover what we have not discovered yet. For instance, space will never be fully discovered. Space will always be a mystery to the human kind.

New Mobile Continent

      In Africa, a new breed of innovative apps is sprouting up to help with the local needs. Some of the apps that are being made are: iCow which helps farmers predict birth rates for calves, and mPedigree which checks to see if pharmaceuticals are counterfeits. Technology has not been very popular in Africa but Africa is now the home to about 700 million cellphones which is making it the largest mobile market after Asia. They have basic non-touch-screen phones that link the poorest people from remote villages who used to walk miles to communicate. Africa has the lowest web access rate which is 16%. But things are changing fast according to one South African techie.  He said "There are 5 to 9 year old's today who, by the time they are 20, will have technology so embedded that the old Africa won't exist for them"
      To me, I find that it is great that Africa is finally catching along with the new technology along with other countries. I feel like that African kids will not have the same childhood as a kid with technology like the iPad, iPhone or an Xbox. It's good that they will eventually have all of those items  with in the next few decades. The people that are making the apps that help those farmers are not only helping most of the Africans but they are also helping Africa evolve better technology. Some questions I had to ask are: Will Africa eventually have the same technology as the United States of America? With there technology evolving, will they get better medical supplies? What will the percentage of people who have phones in Africa be in 10 years?

Burger Pollution

   

Burger Pollution

         A charbroiled burger creates a huge amount of pollution. It has the same amount of air pollution as a 18-wheel diesel truck that has driven 143 miles. The issue starts with commercial grills, they flame-broil the meat at 800 to 900 degrees then fatty acids fall into fire, then evaporates, and then condenses into smoke that turns into "particulate matter." "Particulate matter" can cause lung disease. Researchers from University of California  are testing an air friendly grill that would trap the burger grease(which causes pollution) in water. Researchers have grilled over 4,000 burgers, most have been consumed by students.
       My opinion on this burger pollution is that they should stop selling/making burgers off of commercial grills. Every burger that is made on commercial grills are releasing air pollution that is killing the Earth, the animals around us and their habitats, and it can destroy our atmosphere. I believe the scientists are doing the right thing by trying to make/test a new grill that would make it so the burgers do not give off pollution or at least less pollution.