Wednesday, September 21, 2005

More From BrainFuel Two Nice Portfolio Sites. I’ve received emails from two people recently sending in their personal web sites. They’re both quite similar so without further ado here they are: Mark Okon Steffen Jahn [BrainFuel] 7:27:07 PM

Re: Google Earth Google helps find ancient Roman remains. A computer programmer looking at Google Earth satellite images has reportedly discovered the remains of an ancient Roman villa near Sorbelo, Italy. [Physics Org] 7:17:04 PM

Going to Chicago Billy Corgan talks baseball.. Billy Corgan loves the Chicago Cubs. How could you not? I hate all sports and even I love the Cubs! So in today's Chicago Tribune he participated in a Q & A regarding his favorite team. This is not that odd considering Corgan is known for calling in to local radio stations or appearing on local television sports talk shows to discuss his beloved Cubbies. However the one question that caught my eye was in regards to the music played at Wrigley Field and Corgan's thoughts on those song selections. "How about playing songs by Chicago artists? Every city I go to plays songs by their local artists. The theme song for the Boston Red Sox is `Dirty Water', a song by the '60's group The Standells about the River Charles (and other sundry goings-on). It is absolutely criminal how bad the music is that is played at Wrigley Field. Discounting myself from this idea, how about nine innings worth of Chicago blues, Cheap Trick, Styx, etc. Instead we get passe hits and out-of-touch classics. " (full story) I'm with him all the way. Well, except for the blues thing since I can't stand most of the slick crap packaged as "Chicago" blues. However, how awesome would nine innings of Cheap Trick's "He's A Whore" and "Dream Police" be? Yeah yeah! [donewaiting.com :: music commentary] 7:05:59 PM

Green Tea w/ Mediaburn Green Tea Extract Good for the Brain. BBC Medical Research -- An ingredient of green tea may help to protect the brain against the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, research in the US suggests. University of South Florida scientists found the component prevented Alzheimer's-like damage in the brains of mice bred to develop symptoms. The component - EGCG - is already strongly suspected of offering protection against certain cancers. The study is published in the Journal of Neuroscience. It provides evidence that EGCG decreases production of the beta-amyloid protein thought to play a key role in the development of Alzheimer's symptoms. It is this protein that forms the characteristic plaques found in the brain of Alzheimer's patients which are thought to lead to nerve damage and memory loss. After treating Alzheimer's mice for several months with daily injections of pure EGCG, the researchers observed a dramatic decrease - as much as 54% - of brain-clogging Alzheimer's plaques. Lead researcher Dr Jun Tan said: "The findings suggest that a concentrated component of green tea can decrease brain beta-amyloid plaque formation. "If beta-amyloid pathology in this Alzheimer's mouse model is representative of Alzheimer's disease pathology in humans, EGCG dietary supplementation may be effective in preventing and treating the disease." Green tea contains many antioxidants, including those known as flavonoids, that can protect against damage to the brain caused by charged particles called free radicals. However, the Florida team showed that other flavonoids in green tea actually block EGCG's ability to prevent the harmful build up of beta-amyloid. Thus drinking green tea alone would not likely have a beneficial effect. Dr Doug Shytle, who also worked on the study, said: "This finding suggests that green tea extract selectively concentrating EGCG would be needed to override the counteractive effect of other flavonoids found in green tea. A new generation of dietary supplements containing pure EGCG may lead to the greatest benefit for treating Alzheimer's disease." Humans would need a daily dose of 1,500 to 1,600 mg of EGCG to approximate the level that had a positive impact on mice. That dosage has already been studied in healthy human volunteers and was found to be safe and well tolerated. The Florida team now plans to study whether multiple oral doses of EGCG can reduce memory loss in Alzheimer's mice as well as reducing plaque formation. (09/21/05) [Synergic Earth News] 7:00:47 PM

Casa Jimmy, Rio De Janeiro Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has been made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro for his work with underprivileged kids in the Brazilian city. Yahoo News. Task Brasil - http://www.taskbrasil.org 7:34:17 AM