Kangaroos prefer to use one of their
hands over the other for everyday tasks in much the same way that
humans do, with one notable difference, generally kangaroos are
lefties. A study found that wild kangaroos show a natural preference
for their left hands when performing particular actions, such as
grooming the nose, picking a leaf, or bending a tree branch.
Psychologist Eliza L. Nelson observed several monkeys using
individual fingers to grab food. The spider monkeys also were able
to insert one or two fingers into a tube to grab a serving of peanut
butter. It is the first time this type of independent digit control
has been reported for this species.
The unexpected observation occurred during Nelson's research study
evaluating measures of handedness in nonhuman primates, the tendency
to use one hand more naturally than the other. Spider monkeys' hands
have four fingers and no thumb. "We collected a large number of data
points on each measure to allow for analyses. The team analyzed
reach and coordination, both of which are difficult for spider
monkeys given their unique hand structure. Comparing results of both
tasks is critical for understanding the evolution of hand-use
preferences in primates.
Contrary to predictions and previous findings, Nelson's research
shows multiple measures are needed to fully characterize the concept
of handedness as a single handedness test cannot effectively predict
hand preference in nonhuman primates. The findings were recently
published in the journal Animal Cognition.
Infants who exhibit a consistent right hand preference are more
likely to develop advanced language skills by age two, according to
another study by Nelson. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Developmental Psychology.
In the study, Nelson measured handedness in different ways according
to the age-appropriate motor level. She looked at how infants used
their hands to pick up toys and compared it to how they used their
hands in combination to manipulate toys as toddlers. The study
results suggest there may be an advantage to having consistent hand
preference as an infant. Results showed children who had clear early
hand preference performed better on language skills tests than those
who did not develop handedness until toddlerhood. Those who were
inconsistent in their hand use as infants, but developed a
preference for the left or right hand as toddlers, had language
scores in the typical range for their age. We should give her a
hand for these interesting studies.
Jun 26, 2015
Jun 19, 2015
Happy Friday
Life is not meant to be drilled, but fracked until every last beautiful ounce spews out.
I always try to have a fracking good Happy Friday!
I always try to have a fracking good Happy Friday!
What's in a Name, eBay
When it was first created, eBay was called AuctionWeb. The original look for the site was very similar to Craigslist. AuctionWeb was one of four sites Pierre Omidyar ran under his eBay Internet, a domain he purchased before coming up with AuctionWeb. He originally wanted to call this “EchoBay,” but the domain was already taken by a Canadian mining company, so he shortened it. The other things you could find under the eBay umbrella were a page on the Ebola virus, a small travel agent site, and a personal shopper site. Within seven months of launching AuctionWeb, revenues coming in were out earning Omidyar’s day job at General Magic, so he quit to devote himself full time to his side project. About a year and a half later, general users and many in the press had been calling it “eBay,” instead of AuctionWeb, so he switched the name. In September of 1997, he also switched the look of the site to be much more graphically based.
When eBay went public with a suggested price of $18 per share (but surged to $53.50 on the first day), the 30 employees of the company at the time did a conga line around the office. The biggest recipients of that public offering were Omidyar, who today is worth about $8.7 billion, and the first CEO of the company, Meg Whitman, who has a net worth of just under $2 billion today.
The section eBay 'Deals' is a part of eBay where it highlights the best deals at a given time on eBay, saving you the effort of sifting through to look for them. It also breaks up the deals in various categories, such as Technology Deals, Fashion Deals, Home Deals, etc.
When eBay went public with a suggested price of $18 per share (but surged to $53.50 on the first day), the 30 employees of the company at the time did a conga line around the office. The biggest recipients of that public offering were Omidyar, who today is worth about $8.7 billion, and the first CEO of the company, Meg Whitman, who has a net worth of just under $2 billion today.
The section eBay 'Deals' is a part of eBay where it highlights the best deals at a given time on eBay, saving you the effort of sifting through to look for them. It also breaks up the deals in various categories, such as Technology Deals, Fashion Deals, Home Deals, etc.
Ten Salt Types
Salt is the most important ingredient in cooking. Without it, most meals would taste bland and unexciting. Salt is a crystalline mineral made of two elements, sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl). Sodium and chlorine are absolutely essential for life in animals, including humans. They serve important functions like helping the brain and nerves send electrical impulses. The main difference between the salts is the taste, flavor, color, texture and convenience.
Refined Salt (table salt) is the most common. It is usually highly refined. It is heavily ground and most of the impurities and trace minerals are removed. The problem with heavily ground salt is that it can clump together. For this reason, various substances called anti-caking agents are added so that it flows freely. Food-grade table salt is almost pure sodium chloride, at 97% or higher. Iodine is often added to table salt.
Kosher Salt is used for all cooking. It dissolves fast, and its flavor disperses quickly, so chefs recommend tossing it on everything from pork roast to popcorn. Kosher salt got its name because its craggy crystals make it perfect for curing meat, a step in the koshering process. Cooks prize crystals like these, because their roughness makes it easy to pinch a perfect amount.
Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested in Pakistan. It is mined from the Khewra Salt Mine, the second largest salt mine in the world. Himalayan salt often contains trace amounts of iron oxide (rust), which gives it a pink color. It also contains small amounts of calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, and slightly lower amounts of sodium than table salt.
Black Salt, also known as Kala Namak, is actually a pinkish-grey color. It is mined in India and has a strong sulphuric smell. It is commonly used to spice food in Southeast Asia and has recently become more popular in the US among vegan chefs who use it for the flavor.
Flaked Sea Salt adds a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish. This salt adds a hint of briny flavor. It comes from England's Essex coast. Its texture is soft, with sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains.
Celtic Salt is a type of salt that originally became popular in France. It has a greyish color and also comes from and contains a bit of water, which makes it quite moist. Celtic salt contains trace amounts of minerals and is a bit lower in sodium than table salt.
Rock Salt is used for making ice cream and de-icing. Rock salt is paired with ice in old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream makers to regulate the temperature. It is also used to de-ice sidewalks and driveways during the winter. It is not sold for use directly on food. It is usually packaged in an organic, unprocessed form. It has large, chunky, non-uniform crystals. Minerals and other harmless impurities can give it a grayish color.
Crystalline Sea Salt is used for adding a pungent burst of flavor to just-cooked foods. These crystals can complement anything from a fresh salad to a salmon fillet. It comes from coasts from Portugal to Maine, California to the Pacific Rim. It can be either fine or coarse. The size of the irregular crystals affects how fast it dissolves. It varies in color, depending on the minerals it contains. These natural impurities can add subtle briny, sweet, or bitter flavors to the salts.
Fleur de Sel is a special-occasion table salt. It is delicately flavored and adds a perfect hint of saltiness to freshly sliced tomato or melon. It comes from coastal salt ponds in France. Some call it the caviar of sea salt and it is hand harvested. It is crystalline and melts slowly in the mouth.
Pickling Salt is used for brining pickles and sauerkraut. It is also used to brine a turkey, and is more concentrated than kosher salt. Pickling salt may come from the earth or the sea. It is almost one hundred percent sodium chloride and is the purest of salts.
Bottom line, the main purpose for salt is to add flavor, not nutrition.
Refined Salt (table salt) is the most common. It is usually highly refined. It is heavily ground and most of the impurities and trace minerals are removed. The problem with heavily ground salt is that it can clump together. For this reason, various substances called anti-caking agents are added so that it flows freely. Food-grade table salt is almost pure sodium chloride, at 97% or higher. Iodine is often added to table salt.
Kosher Salt is used for all cooking. It dissolves fast, and its flavor disperses quickly, so chefs recommend tossing it on everything from pork roast to popcorn. Kosher salt got its name because its craggy crystals make it perfect for curing meat, a step in the koshering process. Cooks prize crystals like these, because their roughness makes it easy to pinch a perfect amount.
Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested in Pakistan. It is mined from the Khewra Salt Mine, the second largest salt mine in the world. Himalayan salt often contains trace amounts of iron oxide (rust), which gives it a pink color. It also contains small amounts of calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, and slightly lower amounts of sodium than table salt.
Black Salt, also known as Kala Namak, is actually a pinkish-grey color. It is mined in India and has a strong sulphuric smell. It is commonly used to spice food in Southeast Asia and has recently become more popular in the US among vegan chefs who use it for the flavor.
Flaked Sea Salt adds a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish. This salt adds a hint of briny flavor. It comes from England's Essex coast. Its texture is soft, with sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains.
Celtic Salt is a type of salt that originally became popular in France. It has a greyish color and also comes from and contains a bit of water, which makes it quite moist. Celtic salt contains trace amounts of minerals and is a bit lower in sodium than table salt.
Rock Salt is used for making ice cream and de-icing. Rock salt is paired with ice in old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream makers to regulate the temperature. It is also used to de-ice sidewalks and driveways during the winter. It is not sold for use directly on food. It is usually packaged in an organic, unprocessed form. It has large, chunky, non-uniform crystals. Minerals and other harmless impurities can give it a grayish color.
Crystalline Sea Salt is used for adding a pungent burst of flavor to just-cooked foods. These crystals can complement anything from a fresh salad to a salmon fillet. It comes from coasts from Portugal to Maine, California to the Pacific Rim. It can be either fine or coarse. The size of the irregular crystals affects how fast it dissolves. It varies in color, depending on the minerals it contains. These natural impurities can add subtle briny, sweet, or bitter flavors to the salts.
Fleur de Sel is a special-occasion table salt. It is delicately flavored and adds a perfect hint of saltiness to freshly sliced tomato or melon. It comes from coastal salt ponds in France. Some call it the caviar of sea salt and it is hand harvested. It is crystalline and melts slowly in the mouth.
Pickling Salt is used for brining pickles and sauerkraut. It is also used to brine a turkey, and is more concentrated than kosher salt. Pickling salt may come from the earth or the sea. It is almost one hundred percent sodium chloride and is the purest of salts.
Bottom line, the main purpose for salt is to add flavor, not nutrition.
Smart Phone Hack
When going out of town, or to a large
mall, finding your car when you come back can be a hassle. Take out
your phone and take a picture of any landmark, especially if the lot
is color coded, or numbered/lettered close to where your car is
parked. Might save a bunch of time wandering around looking for your
car.
Google Ocean View
If you think Google street view is cool,
you will love street view/ocean. I like to use street view to see
what a house, or building, or block looks like, so when I drive
there I know what to look for.
Now we can do the same under the sea. Thinking of going somewhere warm to do some snorkeling? Try ocean view to see what types of fish you might encounter or take a tour of sunken ships. Street view/ocean has wonderful photography and all the features of street view, plus video. Caution, the views can be addicting. LINK
Now we can do the same under the sea. Thinking of going somewhere warm to do some snorkeling? Try ocean view to see what types of fish you might encounter or take a tour of sunken ships. Street view/ocean has wonderful photography and all the features of street view, plus video. Caution, the views can be addicting. LINK
Humans and Wallabies Share DNA
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.
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.
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.
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