Swearing appears to increase pain tolerance

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/13/bleep-that-hurts/

“Thankfully, Dr. Richard Stephens and his team at Keele University in the United Kingdom just published a study that says swearing actually has a pain-lessening effect. (See Mom? It’s healthy!) When we swear, we increase our threshold for pain, meaning we can bear it longer and don’t feel it as much. Stephens is not sure why this happens, only that for some reason, ‘swearing appears to increase our pain tolerance.'”

 

Europe getting a universal cell-phone charger

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/ptech/06/29/cellphones.universal.charger/index.html

“The frantic hunt for the right cell-phone charger will soon be a thing of the past — in Europe at least — as major manufacturers on Monday agreed to introduce a universal adaptor within six months.”

 

Green walls: the growing success of ‘vegitecture’

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/06/28/green.walls/index.html

“The amazing spectacle is one of the largest in a growing number of ‘plant walls’ or ‘vertical gardens’ that are taking root across the world, as architects search for environmentally friendly ways to create beautiful buildings.”

 

Irish language paper closes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8120355.stm

“Ireland’s largest Irish language newspaper, Foinse, has closed down.

“The paper which was published weekly on Saturdays had been struggling since 2007.

“It is the second Irish language newspaper to fail in the last seven months – Lá Nua was closed in December 2008.”

(June 26, 2009)

 

Space shuttle exhaust hints comet caused Tunguska blast

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17375-space-shuttle-exhaust-hints-comet-caused-tunguska-blast.html

“Was the Tunguska explosion of 1908 caused by a comet hitting Earth? That’s the claim of a new study based on the behaviour of water vapour from the space shuttle’s exhaust. But other scientists dispute the claim, and say the evidence still points to a stony meteoroid as the culprit.” (June 25, 2009)

 

Ark of the Covenant Revealed, or Is It?

http://www.blippitt.com/ark-of-the-covenant-revealed-or-is-it

“We all got a little excited earlier this week when it sounded like the head of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia would reveal the Ark of the Covenant to the public…. There’s just one minor detail that everyone seems to have missed.” (June 26, 2009)

 

Feds lend Tesla $465 million to build electric car

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/23/tesla.electric.cars/index.html

“The Obama Administration will lend Tesla Motors $465 million to build an electric sedan and the battery packs needed to propel it. It’s one of three loans totaling almost $8 billion that the Department of Energy awarded Tuesday to spur the development of fuel-efficient vehicles.” (June 24, 2009)

 

‘Synthetic tree’ claims to catch carbon in the air

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/06/22/synthetic.tree.climate.change.ccs/index.html

“Scientists in the United States are developing a ‘synthetic tree’ capable of collecting carbon around 1,000 times faster than the real thing.

“As the wind blows though plastic ‘leaves,’ the carbon is trapped in a chamber, compressed and stored as liquid carbon dioxide.”

 

Physicist Builds Time Machine to Save His Father’s Life

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/story?id=7889332&page=1

“For some, the idea of time travel is about fantasy. For others it’s science. But for Ronald Mallett, it was love — a son’s love for his father.

“You might even call it his lifelong mission.

“‘I thought if I could build a time machine to save my father’s life and see him again,’ said Mallett, whose father died when he was just 10.”

(June 21 2009, via Phantoms & Monsters)

 

The great ocean migration… thousands of majestic stingrays swim to new seas

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1029013/The-great-ocean-migration–thousands-majestic-stingrays-swim-new-seas.html

“Like autumn leaves floating in a sunlit pond, this vast expanse of magnificent stingrays animates the bright blue seas of the Gulf of Mexico.” (June 25, 2008)

 

Cheap, ‘safe’ drug kills most cancers

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10971-cheap-safe-drug-kills-most-cancers.html

“It sounds almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their ‘immortality’. The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders and so is known to be relatively safe.”

(December 12 2007, via Phantoms & Monsters)

 

The cloud with no name: Meteorologists campaign to classify unique ‘Asperatus’ clouds seen across the world

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1189877/The-cloud-Meteorologists-campaign-classify-unique-Asperatus-clouds-seen-world.html

“Whipped into fantastical shapes, these clouds hang over the darkening landscape like the harbingers of a mighty storm.

“But despite their stunning and frequent appearances, the formations have yet to be officially recognised with a name.”

(June 2 2009, via Phantoms & Monsters)

 

Amid hard times, an influx in real superheroes

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/04/real.life.superheroes/index.html

“Mr. Ravenblade, Mr. Xtreme, Dark Guardian and hundreds of others. Some with elaborate costumes, others with haphazardly stitched outfits, they are appearing on city streets worldwide watching over the populace like Superman watched over Metropolis and Batman over Gotham City.”

 

More talking, more problems: ‘Cell phone elbow’ damages nerves

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/02/cell.phone.elbow/index.html

“If your pinkie and ring fingers tingle or feel numb, you might not want to pick up that cell phone to call the doctor.

“Orthopedic specialists are reporting cases of ‘cell phone elbow,’ in which patients damage an essential nerve in their arm by bending their elbows too tightly for too long.”

(OMG I think I’m developing this! But from poor keyboard placement, not from cell phone use.)

 

Time marches on for iconic Big Ben

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/05/31/big.ben.anniversary/index.html

“Big Ben, arguably the world’s most famous clock, celebrates on Sunday 150 years of keeping London on time. The British landmark has lived through war, bad weather and disasters.”