A tammar wallaby is a small- or mid-sized macropod found in Australia and New Guinea. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos. One of them, Mathilda, became the first kangaroo to have her genetic code mapped.
The Australian researchers were shocked when they compared her code with a human’s. They had expected the comparison to be a mismatch, but it turned out that the genomes of the two species were more than just similar. Apart from a few differences, the genes were identical, and many of them were arranged in the same order. Both species hold large pieces of genetic information about the other.
It made more sense when the researchers also discovered that people and these bouncy marsupials had a common ancestor that lived at least 150 million years ago. Mice separated from humans only 70 million years ago, but scientists feel that kangaroos can provide more answers about human evolution when it comes to why some DNA remained the same for eons while other DNA changed. By comparing different genomes from species, unknown genes can be identified, and Matilda revealed 14 new genes never before seen in kangaroos, which might possibly also be present in humans.
Jun 19, 2015
How to Move a Mountain
Mother Nature can do in seconds what mankind has never been able to do. Geologists in China announced the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in April caused Mount Everest to move three centimeters (1.2 inches) to the southwest.
The world's highest peak had been moving northeast at a pace of four centimeters (1.6 inches) per year during the past decade and China's national surveying administration said the height of the mountain has risen by three centimeters (1.2 inches) from 2005 to 2015.
The April 25th earthquake, which triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, was one of two major quakes that struck Nepal this spring, leaving more than 8,700 people dead.
The world's highest peak had been moving northeast at a pace of four centimeters (1.6 inches) per year during the past decade and China's national surveying administration said the height of the mountain has risen by three centimeters (1.2 inches) from 2005 to 2015.
The April 25th earthquake, which triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, was one of two major quakes that struck Nepal this spring, leaving more than 8,700 people dead.
Bad Fats
Not all trans fats are bad fats. Generally, bad fats are manufactured trans fats. They are also known as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Manufactured trans fat is a heavily processed vegetable oil. All hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are trans fats. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is one of the top ingredients in most packaged foods: cookies, snack chips, pretzels, most peanut butter, and shortening. Many fast food chains fry their foods in partially hydrogenated oils.
Natural trans fats are found in dairy products and certain other foods. They have not shown to be harmful.
Vegetable shortening and most margarines contain trans fats. Trans fats begin as natural, polyunsaturated fats that are then exposed to chemical processes that change the molecular structure by artificially saturating the fat with hydrogen in the manufacturing process. Manufactured trans fats are synthetic saturated fats.
Manufactured trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It raises levels of triglycerides, another form of lipid, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes, and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries may contain trans fats. Shortening and margarine may also be high in trans fats. In the United States, if a food has less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in a healthy diet, 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories.
Monounsaturated fat, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils is a healthier option than saturated fat. Nuts, fish, and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are also good choices of foods with monounsaturated fats. Consumption of bad trans fats has gone down in recent years and decades.
Natural trans fats are found in dairy products and certain other foods. They have not shown to be harmful.
Vegetable shortening and most margarines contain trans fats. Trans fats begin as natural, polyunsaturated fats that are then exposed to chemical processes that change the molecular structure by artificially saturating the fat with hydrogen in the manufacturing process. Manufactured trans fats are synthetic saturated fats.
Manufactured trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It raises levels of triglycerides, another form of lipid, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes, and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries may contain trans fats. Shortening and margarine may also be high in trans fats. In the United States, if a food has less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in a healthy diet, 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories.
Monounsaturated fat, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils is a healthier option than saturated fat. Nuts, fish, and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are also good choices of foods with monounsaturated fats. Consumption of bad trans fats has gone down in recent years and decades.
Jun 12, 2015
Happy Friday
A smile has a thousand friends, but a frown sleeps alone.
I am never lonesome, especially when I smile on a Happy Friday!
I am never lonesome, especially when I smile on a Happy Friday!
Handshakes and Health
A new study in the British Medical
journal Lancet suggests the strength of a person's hand-grip could
predict the risk of heart attacks and strokes and is a stronger
predictor of death than blood pressure checks. The international
study, involving almost 140,000 adults in 17 countries during four
years found weak grip strength is linked with shorter survival and
a greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It also found
that grip strength is a stronger predictor of death than systolic
blood pressure. Grip strength was assessed using a handgrip
dynamometer. Reduced muscular strength, which can be measured by
grip strength, has been consistently linked with early death,
disability, and illness.
Kits and Caboodles
Kit has been in use as far back as the
late 1200s and originally meant a round wooden tub, jug, tankard,
or wooden container. Later it came to mean a knapsack as for a
soldier, which contained all his needed items. Caboodle was first
seen during the mid-1800s and from the earlier word boodle,
meaning a collection of people among other meanings. Together they
roughly mean all the people and all their things, the whole lot.
Kit and caboodle was first seen in print in 1884 in New York’s Syracuse Sunday Standard: “More audiences have been disappointed by him and by the whole kit-and-caboodle of his rivals.”
Kit and caboodle was first seen in print in 1884 in New York’s Syracuse Sunday Standard: “More audiences have been disappointed by him and by the whole kit-and-caboodle of his rivals.”
Cows Face One Direction
Cows always face north or south while
eating. A team of scientists reviewed thousands of Google Earth’s
satellite images of cows and found that cows will stand along the
Earth’s magnetic poles, facing north and south whenever they are
grazing or resting. The pattern remained consistent regardless of
wind or other factors, and nobody is quite sure why. It appears
that it may have a purpose because of the consistency with which
it was observed among cows across six continents.
Veal, Beef and Offal
Veal comes from calves. It can be
produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, but most veal
comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds. Limited numbers of
male dairy calves are needed for breeding and the rest are sold to
the veal industry. Incidentally, rennet (necessary for cheese
making) is extracted from part of the fourth stomach chamber of
harvested young, unweaned calves used for veal production.
Beef comes from older cattle and can be harvested from bulls, cows, heifers or steers. When a cow is slaughtered, its beef is so fresh it is considered 'green'. Green beef is tough, bland, and has no sustained juiciness. Aging causes natural enzymes to break down the muscle fibers, making it more tender. Most aging takes place within one to two weeks. Incidentally, Kobe beef, prized for its intense marbling, refers to beef from the Tajima strain of wagyu cattle, raised in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture according to rules from the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. There are only about 3,000 head of cattle that may qualify as Kobe. No beef from Japan was allowed to be imported into the US by the USDA, starting during 2009. US 'Kobe-style' beef comes from domestically raised wagyu crossbred with Angus cattle. Black Angus is the most common beef breed (sixty percent and greater than the next seven breeds combined) of cattle in the US and is meat is used by McDonald's and Hardees.
Offal is also called variety meats or organ meats and refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal, such as calves, pigs, sheep, and lambs. It includes most internal organs, but not muscle and bone. Certain offal dishes, including foie gras, pâté, and sweetbread are considered gourmet food in international cuisine. Others remain part of traditional regional cuisine including Scottish haggis, Jewish chopped liver, Southern US chitlins, Mexican menudo as well as many other dishes. Intestines are traditionally used as casing for sausages.
Beef comes from older cattle and can be harvested from bulls, cows, heifers or steers. When a cow is slaughtered, its beef is so fresh it is considered 'green'. Green beef is tough, bland, and has no sustained juiciness. Aging causes natural enzymes to break down the muscle fibers, making it more tender. Most aging takes place within one to two weeks. Incidentally, Kobe beef, prized for its intense marbling, refers to beef from the Tajima strain of wagyu cattle, raised in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture according to rules from the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. There are only about 3,000 head of cattle that may qualify as Kobe. No beef from Japan was allowed to be imported into the US by the USDA, starting during 2009. US 'Kobe-style' beef comes from domestically raised wagyu crossbred with Angus cattle. Black Angus is the most common beef breed (sixty percent and greater than the next seven breeds combined) of cattle in the US and is meat is used by McDonald's and Hardees.
Offal is also called variety meats or organ meats and refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal, such as calves, pigs, sheep, and lambs. It includes most internal organs, but not muscle and bone. Certain offal dishes, including foie gras, pâté, and sweetbread are considered gourmet food in international cuisine. Others remain part of traditional regional cuisine including Scottish haggis, Jewish chopped liver, Southern US chitlins, Mexican menudo as well as many other dishes. Intestines are traditionally used as casing for sausages.
Cheap Airline Tickets
There are many sites that offer
fares lower than going directly to the airline to book your
flights. Google Flights
quickly shows you the days and times with the cheapest flights.
Visit Airfare
Watchdog It checks airline sites for deals and pulls them
into one easy-to-find place. Check Hipmunk
to find flights with the best balance of cost and convenience.
A good app like Flight Aware allows you to track and know your flight's status and gate information before you leave for the airport, without calling.
A good app like Flight Aware allows you to track and know your flight's status and gate information before you leave for the airport, without calling.
Whiskey Name Origins
Four Roses Co-founder
Paul Jones Jr. trademarked the Four Roses name in 1888. The
story is that Paul Jones Jr. and his father, Paul Jones Sr., had
opened a grocery and warehouse in Atlanta and the younger Paul
became interested in distilling. At the time, he was also
courting a local lady, and asked for her hand in marriage. They
agreed that, at a grand ball they were to attend, if she were to
accept his proposal of marriage, she would wear a corsage of
four red roses. She wore the corsage and the two were married.
Knob Creek is produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, US. It is named for the creek that ran behind Abraham Lincoln’s childhood Kentucky home. The late Booker Noe, Jim Beam’s sixth generation master distiller, chose the name because he thought it reflected his values in making whiskey.
The rye whiskey brand name Whistlepig comes from the 'single oddest piece of social interaction' that founder Raj Bhakta had ever experienced. Bhakta was hiking outside of Denver, Colorado, US. “Out of the blue popped a guy with a thick French accent and a big shock of white hair,” says Raj. “He got very close into my personal space and asked ‘Could it be? A whistlepig?' I had no idea what he was talking about or what he was looking at. When I didn’t understand, he snapped in my face and repeated himself. When I still didn’t understand, he flicked his wrist and took off.”
The Wild Turkey name dates back to the 1940s, “Thomas McCarthy, an executive from Austin, Nichols the company that made the whiskey at the time, took all the New York business folks on a big turkey hunt every year.” The trip’s festivities would include hunting and whiskey. That year, he pulled 101 proof bourbon for the guests. The next year, they asked him to bring the same bourbon. He pulled a sample, and the brand’s name was born.
Knob Creek is produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, US. It is named for the creek that ran behind Abraham Lincoln’s childhood Kentucky home. The late Booker Noe, Jim Beam’s sixth generation master distiller, chose the name because he thought it reflected his values in making whiskey.
The rye whiskey brand name Whistlepig comes from the 'single oddest piece of social interaction' that founder Raj Bhakta had ever experienced. Bhakta was hiking outside of Denver, Colorado, US. “Out of the blue popped a guy with a thick French accent and a big shock of white hair,” says Raj. “He got very close into my personal space and asked ‘Could it be? A whistlepig?' I had no idea what he was talking about or what he was looking at. When I didn’t understand, he snapped in my face and repeated himself. When I still didn’t understand, he flicked his wrist and took off.”
The Wild Turkey name dates back to the 1940s, “Thomas McCarthy, an executive from Austin, Nichols the company that made the whiskey at the time, took all the New York business folks on a big turkey hunt every year.” The trip’s festivities would include hunting and whiskey. That year, he pulled 101 proof bourbon for the guests. The next year, they asked him to bring the same bourbon. He pulled a sample, and the brand’s name was born.
What's in a Name, Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin
Rafael Bottom/Leaf Phoenix was one of five children, all with
equally interesting names, including River (1970–1993), Rain ,
Liberty, Summer, and a half-sister Jodean.
After Joaquin's parents, John Lee and Arlyn Bottom, married in 1969, they joined a religious cult and traveled around South America. They became disenchanted with the cult and moved back to the US in 1978, and changed their last name to Phoenix to symbolize new beginning.
About this same time, a young Joaquin began calling himself "Leaf," desiring to have a similar nature-related name as those of his siblings. Leaf was the name he used as a child actor until, at age 15; he changed it back to Joaquin.
After Joaquin's parents, John Lee and Arlyn Bottom, married in 1969, they joined a religious cult and traveled around South America. They became disenchanted with the cult and moved back to the US in 1978, and changed their last name to Phoenix to symbolize new beginning.
About this same time, a young Joaquin began calling himself "Leaf," desiring to have a similar nature-related name as those of his siblings. Leaf was the name he used as a child actor until, at age 15; he changed it back to Joaquin.
Six Benefits of Laughter
Laughter increases a sense of
well being and doctors find that people who have a positive
outlook on life tend to fight diseases better than negative
people. Laugh a little or laugh a lot, it is all good.
1. Laughing lowers blood pressure, which reduces risk of strokes and heart attacks.
2. It reduces stress hormone levels and cuts the anxiety and stress impacting your body.
3. It tones your abs by expanding and contracting stomach muscles.
4. It improves cardiac health and burns a similar amount of calories per hour as walking at a slow to moderate pace.
5. It boosts T cells to help you fight off sickness.
6. Laughing triggers the release of endorphins, which can help ease chronic pain and make you feel good all over.
1. Laughing lowers blood pressure, which reduces risk of strokes and heart attacks.
2. It reduces stress hormone levels and cuts the anxiety and stress impacting your body.
3. It tones your abs by expanding and contracting stomach muscles.
4. It improves cardiac health and burns a similar amount of calories per hour as walking at a slow to moderate pace.
5. It boosts T cells to help you fight off sickness.
6. Laughing triggers the release of endorphins, which can help ease chronic pain and make you feel good all over.
Jun 5, 2015
Happy Friday
"He who laughs, lasts." - Mary Pettibone Poole
I plan to laugh and last a long time, especially while celebrating every Happy Friday!
I plan to laugh and last a long time, especially while celebrating every Happy Friday!
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