Moments of Awareness

A University of Illinois study shows that dietary fiber promotes a shift in the gut toward different types of beneficial bacteria. And the microbes that live in the gut, scientists now believe, can support a healthy gastrointestinal tract as well as affect our susceptibility to conditions as varied as type 2 diabetes , obesity, inflammatory bowel disease , colon cancer, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis . As these microbes ferment fiber in the intestine, short-chain fatty acids and other metabolites are produced, resulting in many health benefits for the host, said Kelly Swanson, a U of I professor of animal sciences. [...] Full post at  scienceblog.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

A University of Illinois study shows that dietary fiber promotes a shift in the gut toward different types of beneficial bacteria. And the microbes that live in the gut, scientists now believe, can support a healthy gastrointestinal tract as well as affect our susceptibility to conditions as varied as type 2 diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease , colon cancer, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis . As these microbes ferment fiber in the intestine, short-chain fatty acids and other metabolites are produced, resulting in many health benefits for the host, said Kelly Swanson, a U of I professor of animal sciences. “When we understand what kinds of fiber best nurture these health-promoting bacteria, we should be able to modify imbalances to support and improve gastrointestinal health,” he said. This research suggests that fiber is good for more than laxation, which means helping food move through the intestines, he added. “Unfortunately, people eat only about h...

Vitamin D3 may improve survival among older women, particularly those who are institutionalized, according to a meta-analysis of randomized trials. The supplement was associated with a 6% lower risk of death over an average follow up of two years, although when given in combination with calcium increased the risk of kidney stones, Goran Bjelakovic, MD, of the University of Nis in Serbia, and colleagues reported in a Cochrane Review . But other forms of vitamin D -- vitamin D2, as well as the active metabolites alfacalcidol and calcitriol -- had no effects on mortality, they found. [...]       Full article at  medpagetoday.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

Mark Bittman on food and all things related. Drinking milk is as American as Mom and apple pie. Until not long ago, Americans were encouraged not only by the lobbying group called the American Dairy Association but by parents, doctors and teachers to drink four 8-ounce glasses of milk, “nature’s perfect food,” every day. That’s two pounds! We don’t consume two pounds a day of anything else; even our per capita soda consumption is “only” a pound a day. Today the Department of Agriculture’s recommendation for dairy is a mere three cups daily — still 1½ pounds by weight — for every man, woman and child over age 9. This in a country where as many as 50 million people are lactose intolerant, including 90 [...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please visit my blog and join me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter . Full article at  opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com .I. .agree. , and don't miss this bit: ...

We listen to music and talk to people. Watch on cable channel 11 in the Boise area or on-line at TVCTVOnline.org  . Watch previous shows here  , and check out the backgrounds here  . Join us at MOA's Facebook page  for discussion throughout the week. :) Check out the *very* lovely and talented Natasha Ramos' page for information on her debut EP, and while you're there check out her remix of Ryan Leslie's 'Glory'! Good shiznee. Also, don't miss Trevnyah(@YouTube)'s awesome Oblivion voice commentary (which should, if all goes well, be overlaid with some kickass Skyrim footage, or boring Skyrim footage, who knows, for at least parts of the show tonight), and check out his other fine offerings at http://bit.ly/iIscKl . Band info at  reverbnation.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

June 27, 2012: Isabelle Olsson, an engineer on the Google Glass project, discusses the futuristic gizmo during the company's I/O developer conference in San Francisco. (FoxNews.com) Next Slide Previous Slide SAN FRANCISCO –   Google is making prototypes of its futuristic, Internet-connected glasses available for people to test out. The company is selling the device, known as Project Glass, for $1,500 to people attending its annual conference in San Francisco for computer programmers. It will ship early next year and won't be available for sale outside the three-day conference, which started Wednesday. "This is new technology and we really want you to shape it," Google co-founder [...] Full article at  foxnews.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

This is a gigapixel camera. CREDIT: Duke University Imaging and Spectroscopy Program. View full size image A supercamera that can take gigapixel pictures — that's 1,000 megapixels — has now been unveiled. Researchers say these supercameras could have military, commercial and civilian applications, and that handheld gigapixel cameras may one day be possible. The gigapixel camera uses 98 identical microcameras in unison, each armed with its own set of optics and a 14-megapixel sensor. These microcameras, in turn, all peer through a single large spherical lens to collectively see the scene the system aims to capture. Since the optics of the microcameras are small, they are relatively easy and cheap to fabricate. A specially designed electronic processing unit stitches together all the partial images each microcamera takes into a giant, one-gigapixel image. In comparison...

A guided lightning bolt travels horizontally, then hits a car when it finds the lower resistance path to ground in a U.S. Army test. CREDIT: U.S. Army | Picatinny Arsenal View full size image Today's military lasers can blind spy satellites or burn enemy vehicles, but tomorrow's could guide lightning bolts to strike and destroy battlefield targets. A U.S. Army lab is testing how lasers can create an energized plasma channel in the air — an invisible pathway for electricity to follow. The laser-guided lightning weapon could precisely hit targets such as enemy tanks or unexploded roadside bombs, because such targets represent better conductors for electricity than the ground. "We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our simulated (targets)," said [...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This story was provided by InnovationNewsDaily , a sister site to LiveScience. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @ News_Innovation , or on Faceb...

The western side of the site with the timber-beam slots continuing beyond the excavation. So far the researchers have found they extend at least 50 feet long. CREDIT: Steve Clarke View full size image Archaeologists have unearthed the foundation of what appears to have been a massive, ancient structure, possibly a bridge leading to an artificial island, in what is now southeast Wales. The strange ruin, its discoverers say, is unlike anything found before in the United Kingdom and possibly all of Europe. "It's a real mystery," said Steve Clarke, chairman and founding member of the Monmouth Archaeological Society, who discovered the structural remains earlier this month in Monmouth, Wales — a town known for its rich archaeological features . "Whatever it is, there's nothing else like it. It may well be unique." [...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience . We're also on Facebook  & Google+ . ...