Monday, March 19, 2007

Tintin Movie



"After 25 years, they finally said 'OK, let's go'," Nick Rodwell, head of Moulinsart NV, said of the protracted talks with Spielberg since the early 1980s.

DreamWorks spokesman Marvin Levy said the studio is interested in the project, but is not ready to talk about specifics.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Rodwell said the Hollywood company will go into preproduction for a movie, which should appear in theaters in about two years.

It was unclear which of the 24 cartoon books of Tintin's adventures would be picked for a first movie script, he said. "If movie No. 1 works, we will continue," he said.


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Vitamin C deficiency impairs apoptosis

* Key enzymes in the cell, dubbed hydroxylases, need vitamin C to be activated. Having low levels of the vitamin means these enzymes are less likely to work.

* Hydroxylases control a transcription factor within the cell called HIF-1. It turns on specific genes, changing the way the cells respond to stress and controlling cell death and growth.

* When vitamin C is low or absent, the HIF-1 transcription factor turns on, enabling cancer cells in tumours to make more blood vessels, grow and resist chemotherapy.

* The finding is not a justification for extensive supplementation in people enjoying normal health. Regular fruit and vegetable consumption is enough.


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Friday, March 16, 2007

Evolution of laughter

Laughter, a topic that stymied philosophers for 2,000 years, is finally yielding to science. Researchers have scanned brains and tickled babies, chimpanzees and rats. They’ve traced the evolution of laughter back to what looks like the primal joke — or, to be precise, the first stand-up routine to kill with an audience of primates.

The human ha-ha evolved from the rhythmic sound — pant-pant — made by primates like chimpanzees when they tickle and chase one other while playing. Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist and psychologist at Washington State University, discovered that rats emit an ultrasonic chirp (inaudible to humans without special equipment) when they’re tickled, and they like the sensation so much they keep coming back for more tickling.

He and Professor Provine figure that the first primate joke — that is, the first action to produce a laugh without physical contact — was the feigned tickle, the same kind of coo-chi-coo move parents make when they thrust their wiggling fingers at a baby. Professor Panksepp thinks the brain has ancient wiring to produce laughter so that young animals learn to play with one another. The laughter stimulates euphoria circuits in the brain and also reassures the other animals that they’re playing, not fighting.

“Primal laughter evolved as a signaling device to highlight readiness for friendly interaction,” Professor Panksepp says. “Sophisticated social animals such as mammals need an emotionally positive mechanism to help create social brains and to weave organisms effectively into the social fabric.”


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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi)



Scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat. The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia.

Genetic analysis conducted at the U.S. National Cancer Institute shows that the difference between the two clouded leopard species is comparable to the differences between other large cat species like lions, tigers, and jaguars. Scientists believe the new species of clouded leopard diverged from the mainland population some 1.4 million years ago.


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Sunday, March 11, 2007

Jack Morgan (BSc) - Little Mouse

Saturday, March 10, 2007

10-FEET - nil?

Friday, March 09, 2007

Odor recollection during slow-wave sleep enhances memory

Scientists studying how sleep affects memory have found that the whiff of a familiar scent can help a slumbering brain better remember things that it learned the evening before. The smell of roses — delivered to people’s nostrils as they studied and, later, as they slept — improved their performance on a memory test by about 13 percent.

The study’s results could eventually help doctors improve patients’ memory by devising treatments directed at deep sleep. As they age, people spend less and less time each night in such sleep, and existing sleep medications do not generally increase it. But pharmaceutical companies are investigating compounds that do so.


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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Tadao Ando Maritime Museum




Tadao Ando's Maritime Museum promises to be another highlight. Born in 1941, the minimalist architect is known for his austere style, which combines the Japanese Zen tradition with the modernist penchant for bare concrete. Inspired by dhows, the traditional sailing vessels of Arab merchants, Ando has designed a fragile-looking building in the shape of an abstract sail curved by the wind. Embedded in an oasis-like natural scenario dominated by a subterranean aquarium, Ando's restrained architecture promises to become a popular haven of contemplative peace within the planned architectural overkill.


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Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) - Celebration



1974, Old Grey Whistle Test

Sardines



There is no single species named sardine. Sardines are born the moment a label reading "Sardines" is affixed to a can of small fish. They were named after the Italian Mediterranean island of Sardinia, which, like most islands, has a long-standing reputation for being surrounded by fish. A sardine can be almost any small, fatty fish, but most often is related to the herring.

What about the bones, guts and skins we find in many canned sardines? Are they edible? Yes. In the so-called Mediterranean method of processing, the fish are eviscerated and thoroughly cooked, either by steaming or frying, which is more expensive. In the Norwegian method, the fish are not eviscerated; they are kept alive in nets for at least 48 hours, during which time they complete the digestion of their food and clean themselves out. Then they are hot-smoked. The bones and skins are good for you; the bones contain calcium and the skins contain omega-3 fatty acids.


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Monday, March 05, 2007

Kayak - Ruthless Queen

Camel - Nimrodel, The Procession, The White Rider



1976-77 Moonmadness tour

Camel - Lunar Sea



1976-77 Moonmadness tour