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Stephen Magsig: December 2013

Friday, December 13, 2013

Smarter older siblings

The study, published in Science, has conducted Petter Kristensen , University of Oslo and Tor Bjerkedal of the Norwegian armed forces. The study consists of data on a colossal to 241.310 men between 18 and 19 years used statistical sample .

It is based on intelligence tests IQ that were used in Norway to enter military service in the sixties and seventies of last century.
As results, on average , older siblings had an IQ of 103.2 , 100.4 while the second brother . The third would be almost the same as the second at 99 . Thus a relationship between birth order and intelligence is established.
Birth order is not the key to all this , since it is sufficient that the smarter brother has served as a big brother but biologically not. Naturally this is an average and there are exceptions to the rule more intelligent than older siblings .
It was thought that studies on the subject, claiming the same result , were contaminated by uncontrollable artifacts such as family size , socioeconomic factors , status, parental intelligence , etc. . He even went on to show that younger siblings have better physical health and constitution that older , so the thing would be reversed from a biological standpoint .
But this study is so exquisite that you can no longer doubt the results .
The reason behind this fact is unclear. Input seems that the cause is more social than biological ( or genetic or pregnancy related ) .
It has been hypothesized that older siblings have to tutors younger and that this function or task that would improve their intelligence .
Thus a second brother to which is the older brother dies must assume the task would be entrusted to the greater of instructing young and eventually end up being the smartest reaching the same level reached by his older brother died .

Is this the food of the future?

The man who invented molecular gastronomy, the style popularized by great Spanish chef Ferran Adria as the UK or Heston Blumenthal, has developed a new concept that says the answer is to feed an overpopulated world.

  The French physicochemical Hervé This ensures that each food comprises a mixture of basic chemicals that can be separated. This allows creating nutritional plates made of powders, oils and liquids, in place of conventional raw ingredient.
This kitchen "Note by note" is, according to This, as the artist who painted with primary colors or a musician composing note by note.
The result is a dish that is very far from something to which we are accustomed and is closer to a "chemistry set".
Hervé This BBC showed what the kitchen note to note and explain why it considered so important to change the way we cook.

Sea slugs stab to copulate

Mating of the sea slug starts slowly. The two lovers intertwine their bodies in a long embrace .
But in the case of recently discovered copy and temporarily named Siphopteron Species 1 seconds after what seems like a tender seduction both copies stab each other in the head with a stiletto -like appendage on the penis, as you can see in this video .

Thus, injected chemicals into the body of his partner in what is considered " exceptional traumatic mating behavior " of the sea slug .
By injecting these products directly into the brain , each of these sea slugs , scientists say , is trying to change the behavior of your partner in your own benefit.
These animals , between 2 and 4 millimeters in length - are among the many that inject chemicals into their partners during copulation . But it seems that this new species always does in the head.
As a result, individuals are locked side by side , in a still hug that lasts about 40 minutes.

Drugging the couple
Although all slugs are hermaphrodites , having male and female sex organs -each partner rivals by playing the role of male during mating.
Thus, they may impregnate many other slug .
Rolanda Lange and colleagues at the University of Tübingen in Germany , observed mating in the laboratory and published their research in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The British science magazine New Scientist quoted Joris Koene scientist at the Free University of Amsterdam , specializing in hermaphrodite reproduction, who said that the injection makes the other sea slug reluctant to continue fertilizing . Thus, this example assumes the "role" of female .

7 Basic strategies for living positively

Everyone can take over your health and well being if you have this and takes daily practice certain strategies that help you develop a healthy lifestyle . The World Health Organization ( WHO) has established a number of basic and accessible to everyone strategies which foster positive changes in lifestyles .

The seven simple steps that the World Health Organization recommends implement are:
1. Maintain a healthy, balanced diet is recommended to take a diet low in fat and sugar and high in fiber , using fresh fruits and vegetables in season.
2. Practice some weekly exercise of your choice, for example walking an hour at least three days a week will help you maintain your cardiovascular health.
3. Assume full responsibility for your health , provided the treatments as recommended and not forgetting appointments follow prescribed by the doctor or health care provider .
4. Look after your mental health , for example avoiding negative stress and sleeping many hours you need to feel rested. This amount may vary depending on the age of the person, but as a rule it is recommended 7 to 8 hours to maintain the quality of sleep .
5. Be alert and anticipate risk situations at home (in and around ) , at work and when you are transported to your private car , public transportation , walk around the neighborhood or public places, especially when there is heavy congestion of people .
6. Remember that prolonged exposure to the sun is harmful , whether you use protection , as a general rule you should always protect yourself with umbrella, brimmed hats clothes that cover you arms and legs and sunscreen.
7. Practice prevention, because prevention is always better than having to cure a disease or condition that could be avoided.

Global alarm over a possible shortage of helium

In the universe as a whole , helium is one of the most common elements: hydrogen only surpasses him in terms of abundance .
However, the Earth is relatively rare. It is also one of the few items that gravity is not tied , so he escape into space.

"It is possible that if we dig in landfills world could recover all the other elements that have dispersed around the globe," said chemist Andrea Sella of University College London (UCL ) .
" But helium is unique. When it goes, we lose it forever."
Farewell to the magic
Helium has the lowest boiling point of any element, -269 ° C , only a few degrees above absolute zero ( -273 ° C).
This characteristic is essential for the superconducting magnets used in MRI scanners or MRI ( magnetic resonance imaging) , which must be subjected to very low temperatures to generate the magnetic fields necessary importance .
"In the future we will think : '!Can not believe people used to inflate helium balloons, when it is such a valuable and unique item ,'" predicts chemist at the University of Cambridge Peter Wothers , who has called complete with helium balloons for parties.
However, prohibit its use on balloons not only deprive adults and children the magical view of these balls floating colors, but it would end this favorite tradition of inhaling helium from a balloon and then talk in a shrill voice, the result the rapid movement of helium atoms.
But it might not be bad, and that grace can it cause dizziness, headaches and , in rare cases, even death.
The problem is that when inhaled , helium displaces oxygen from the lungs and in doing so deprives vital organs of this essential element .
The effect is more pronounced in the brain , which can not withstand more than 5-6 seconds before the person loses consciousness. Hence the danger of suffocation , particularly for young children.
Strategic reserve to business
The gas , which is formed by the decay of radioactive rocks in the crust , accumulates in deposits of natural gas and is collected as a byproduct of the gas industry .
United States is currently the world's largest supplier , with most of it stored near Amarillo, Texas, in the National Helium Reserve , which alone accounts for 35% of the current offer the world.
In 1925 was established as a strategic reserve to supply gas to U.S. aircraft , and after World War II provided for missiles and rockets coolant Army and NASA .
But since the mid- 90s, thanks to the growing demand for civil helium in semiconductor manufacturing and MRI scanners , among other things, U.S. has been recovering the cost of storage gas gradually selling on the open market .
Despite this , the price of helium has doubled in the last 10 years.
A world without helium
The alarmist stories to predict an action or another are commonplace pessimistic , but in this case the world could get an idea of ​​what it could mean a shortage of helium.
U.S. semiconductor manufacturers knew that under the terms of a 1996 law , the reserve of helium U.S. was legally obliged to close the tap last month.
Much earlier, the alarm bells started ringing . Shortfalls in supply anyway had become routine.
" For most of the past year, we've been getting only about 80 % of the helium we buy ," says Rodney Morgan, the firm Micron Technology microprocessor U.S. .
But with the possibility that the supply was suspended , was such panic in the computer industry and others that legislation to prevent this crisis was included among a handful of proposals approved in haste by the U.S. Congress on the eve of recent closure of the U.S. government .
While "crisis of helium " was averted this time , it will take time for other countries to enter the market to supply the gas. The era of cheap helium, for now, ended .
Maybe it's good because, after all , if a resource is finite , we appreciate it.
What about helium balloons ?
"I suspect that the amount used in party balloons is very small compared to the other main uses ," says Wothers .
" But this is a rather trivial use of something we value a little more."