Posted by Discovery News

Cattle infected with mad cow disease give off a tell-tale glow in their eyes, according to new research. In future, the discovery could lead to a long-sought test to detect infection with the agent that causes mad cow disease, preventing it from spreading throughout the food supply for humans.

"The characteristic fluorescent signatures are thought to be the result of an accumulation of lipofuscin in the retina," explained Jacob Petrich in the Department of Chemistry at Iowa State University and his team.

Full story at Discovery News.

More news from Discovery Communications.

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  Posted by Discovery News

A pair of robotic eyes in the sky could help forecasters predict volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides. The mission also aims to map vegetation in an attempt to figure out how carbon is cycling through the environment.

One spacecraft will use radar to look for telltale signs of imminent disaster as it precisely measures small deformations in Earth's surface over time. Scientists hope to be able to zero in on regions that may be in danger so residents can prepare.

Full story at Discovery News.

More news from Discovery Communications.

Photo credit: Fotolia

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

Graphic Design Blog has aggregated a stimulating collection of 30 advertisements that say more with less. Here are just a few:

Alka Seltzer

Financial Times

Jeep

Full story at Graphic Design Blog.

More on design.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

The Association of Food Journalists have named the winners in its Awards Competition 2010, a program that recognizes excellence in reporting and writing in all media, newspaper food section design and content, food illustration and food photography. Some $4,500 of prize money was given across 15 categories. First place winners included:

BEST NEWSPAPER FOOD COVERAGE OVER 250,001 CIRCULATION
FIRST: Deborah Hartz, formerly Food Editor, Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale FL

BEST NEWSPAPER FOOD FEATURE OVER 200,001 CIRCULATION
FIRST: Jill Silva, Food Editor, Kansas City Star, “Outstanding in His Field”

BEST NEWSPAPER FOOD NEWS STORY
FIRST: Susan Sampson, Food Writer, with files from Iain Marlow, Toronto Star, “Raw Deal”

BEST NEWSPAPER FOOD COLUMN
FIRST: Hanna Raskin, formerly Food Editor, Mountain Xpress, Ashville, North Carolina. now Food Editor, Dallas Observer

BEST MAGAZINE FOOD FEATURE
FIRST: Chuck Salter, Senior Writer, Fast Company, “Why America Is Addicted to Olive Garden”

BEST NEWSPAPER SPECIAL FOOD PROJECT
FIRST: Elizabeth Weise, Blake Morrison, Peter Eisler & Anthony DeBarros, Reporters, USA Today

BEST NEWSPAPER RESTAURANT CRITICISM
FIRST: Michael Bauer, Executive Food & Wine Editor, San Francisco Chronicle

BEST INTERNET FOOD NEWS OR FEATURE STORY
FIRST: Jason Wilson, Editor, The Smart Set, “The Sparkle in Italy’s Eye”

BEST FOOD BLOG
FIRST: All We Can Eat, Washington Post

BEST FOOD ESSAY
FIRST: Jane Black, Reporter, Washington Post, “Snob Appeal”

Full story at Poynter.org for the complete list of winners.

Get inspired with more on food and writing.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

Inky Girl has put together a list of nine iPad apps for writers and links to her personal reviews. The apps include:

iAnnotate (v1.1) $9.99

Wide range of annotation options, detailed documentation, somewhat buggy export. Reviewed May 23, 2010.

iNapkin 2 (v 2.0.3) $2.99

Napkin image background (plus other options), fun. Only saves image, not the text. Review May 22, 2010.

My Writing Nook (v 1.0.5) $4.99

Clean, simple interface and intuitive controls make this app easy to use. This is usually the app I open when I’m showing my iPad to someone for the first time and they want to try typing. Reviewed April 27, 2010.

Notably (v 1.0.0) $2.99

A good first version of a notetaking app. I’m going to keep this on my iPad for now and use it for one writing project, but the lack of list re-ordering and folders means I wouldn’t use this for multiple projects. Reviewed May 10, 2010.

Full story at Inky Girl.

Stay on top of the latest on iPads.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

We know that chocolate tastes like magic, but here’s some dark stuff that purportedly actually does magic. Gnosis chocolate bars are distinguished for not only being vegan. They also add something extra with three unique flavors: the Aphrodisia Bar, the Superberberry Lime Bar, and the Sacred Feminine Bar.

The bar above, for instance, is the Aphrodisia Bar. It contains “Honey Goat Week and Maca,” which supposedly boost sexual potency, stamina, and energy.

Full story at Cool Hunting.

More on food.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

It could be either love or hate, but for those struck by a fancy for a MacBook-inspired cutting board, designspray features a chopping block that looks an awful lot like your laptop. Beautiful handiwork, though one must admit that it's all fun and games until someone's laptop gets accidentally cut in half. The cutting board is 43 euros, but your computer is how much?

Buy it at designspray.

More cool design.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

Looking to navigate the comforting world of Japanese rice bowls? Look no further than this About.com article, which lists some of the top Japanese rice bowl recipes to make in your own home. Making the list included:

Gyu-don: a beef bowl which is a bowl of rice topped with beer simmered in sweet soy sauce based soup. Pickled red ginger is a popular topping.

Katsu-don: a rice bowl made with tonkatsu (Japanese deep-fried pork).

Oyako-don: As oyako means parents and children in Japanese, the topping for oyako-don is simmered chicken and egg.

Soboro-don: Crumbled and seasoned meat/fish/egg are generally called soboro in Japanese. This is a rice bowl topped with seasoned chicken soboro and finely scramble egg.

For all eight top rice bowls and how to make them, go to About.com.

Asian food heaven.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

Need a conversation starter? This arcade coffee from Surface Tension take should do the trick. The sleek piece of furniture doubles as a console that comes loaded with more than 100 licensed arcade games.

Learn more at Hometone.

All the latest in gaming.

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

Scientists recently ran an odd experiment on fruit flies. The flies were genetically engineered to mimic Parkinson’s disease, and then fed tobacco and coffee extracts. And, somehow, it helped, and life spans increased. Before you rush out and buy coffee and cigarettes, though, be aware that researchers have ruled out nicotine and caffeine as responsible for the change in the flies’ life spans—the scientists still aren’t sure what’s responsible for flies’ improvements.

Full story at Scientific American.

More science tidbits.

Photo credit: Fotolia

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  Posted by Noelle Chun

Watch this adorable video short which features a quirky script and delightful character development. Who else can say, “One time I nibbled on a piece of cheese and my cholesterol went up to 900”? Marcel the Shell with Shoes, that’s who. Directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp. Written by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp.

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

All the top internet video.

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  Posted by Catherine Faas

Kosuke Tsuneoka, a Japanese freelance journalist captured in Afghanistan, posted a short but very powerful tweet on September 3rd.

Since being taken into custody on April 1, not one person had heard a single word from the brave reporter. But fortunately last week, with the help of a not-so web savvy jail guard, Tsuneoka was able to share his message (that he was indeed alive) with the world. Read an exerpt from the incredible story below:

The guard had heard of the internet but didn’t know what it was, so Tsuneoka called customer care to activate the phone and configure it for internet access. He showed the guard how to perform a Google search of “Al Jazeera,” and then he talked about Twitter. “But if you are going to do anything, you should use Twitter,” he said he told the guard. “They asked what that was. And I told them that if you write something on it, then you can reach many Japanese journalists. So they said, ‘Try it.’”

Full story at Wired.

Hat tip to @BillMeade

Total Twitter coverage.

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  Posted by Catherine Faas

Those who have dedicated their lives to studying the creative process strongly believe that it’s crucial to continuously capture your observations and thoughts as they arise. Why? Because writing things down helps you store those items in your long-term memory, and information stored in your long-term memory often pops up when you need it to.

Learn how to improve your creativity by taking copious amounts of notes at The Skinny On.

More on innovation.

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  Posted by Catherine Faas

Do you ever wonder who actually responds to online ads? According to data released today by leading B2B ad targeting company Bizo, business women click on ads more often than men (twenty-three percent more), while businessmen actually do what the ad asks them to more often than women (fifty-three percent more, actually). Further details, including some interesting time patterns, are shown in the infographic titled: “Gendernomics: a professional take on who is looking at, and who is reacting to online ads,” which was released today on the Bizo blog:

In addition to the infographic, Bizo released a complete set of data showing the impact that gender, time of day, job function, and vocational industry have on one’s response to online ads.

Full story and image at Bizo.

Love infographics? So do we.

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  Posted by Annie Colbert

Earth: 1. Traveler: 0. That’s how you’ll feel after visiting eighteen breathtaking vacation spots that have a magical way of making visitors feel itsy-bitsy. MatadorTrips.com highlights Mother Earth’s most colossal locales in a beautiful photo essay that also serves as the perfect mental vacation for anyone stuck in cubicle-ville for the foreseeable future.

Full story at MatadorTrips .

Back your bags and plan a trip.

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  Posted by Annie Colbert

Will Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button soon end up six feet under in the internet graveyard alongside the Pets.com dog and Friendster? According to BusinessInsider, Google’s introduction of its new Google Instant feature could effectively kill off the quirky feature because users don’t have the opportunity to click the button before seeing search results. Don’t fret too much for Google though, as the button hit job could add an extra $100 million to the internet powerhouse’s bank account. Hmm, $100 million? No longer feeling lucky, but I’m definitely feeling envious. Is there a button for that?

Full story on how killing off “I’m Feeling Lucky” benefits Google’s pockets at BusinessInsider .

All the latest Google news and views.

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  Posted by Kate Rinsema

For those mothers who started counting the days until school started right after the epidural wore off, feel free to skip this one. A growing number of parents are putting off sending their children to kindergarten for a year – a practice referred to as “red-shirting” – for a variety of reasons but a new study is casting doubt on whether or not the practice has any long-lasting benefit.

The head start kids seem to get by waiting a year may be due to either learning more before they get to kindergarten or simply being more mature. That edge is gone by eighth grade, but those same kids have lost a year in the work force while their parents have lost a significant amount of money paying for another year of preschool. Donald Easton-Brooks, an education professor at the University of North Texas, noted that children with no diagnosed disorders and relatively normal social schools should do fine in school. The only students who did seem to benefit were low income children who were held back. Unfortunately, that is exactly the group for whom the practice is most challenging financially-speaking.

Full story at NY Daily News.

See more in Education.

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  Posted by Kate Rinsema

Nothing feels better when you are in the dumps than a little cuddle with someone who understands, so what could beat a stuffed animal that shares your diagnosis? For everyone out there who has uttered the phrase, “No one understands my depression/schizophrenia/hallucinations/obsessive-compulsive disorder,” add this toy to your list for Santa (if you can find the will to dig up a pen); Martin Kittsteiner of Hamburg, Germany has developed a line of stuffed animals complete with diagnosed mental illness.

The creator notes, “Children and grown ups like their vulnerability and find something in them that gives them a great sense of comfort in helping to heal them.” Potential patients include depressed Dub the turtle and a sheep called Dolly that has a personality disorder (perhaps an identity crisis thanks to that whole cloning episode). If cuddling does not quite fill the need to nurture, customers can also play an online game diagnosing their newfound friends.

Full story at Metro UK.

Rediscover your inner child with toys.

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STRAIGHTALK Update, We are performing a server update and should be back up soon sorry! CMS Web Services & Hosting

www.mindyourbusines.com

This is one of the over 100 letters I received since I have the zencart store online working:

"Hi, I tried to open your web page, but it shows cut sentences or blocks that make it difficult to read, it also shows super impossed text, send me your email so maybe I can copy how it opens, Best of luck and regards"

Oversized letters, scripts blocked, pictures misplaced, a mess!

I have being repeteadly reported that sometimes internet explorer does that thing, but not always.

Mostly is the Explorer 8 version.

I have aslo being told than no other browser gives such problems.

I also warned on my first page about this and advised the people to install a better browser and I gave some names with links to Firefox, Chrome, Opera and others.

It seems that Bill Gates decided to convince explorer users that all non microsoft buid sites are crap, but he gets the opposite results.

Instead of getting programmers to buy microsoft tools, he gets users to get rid of microsoft explorer.... lol

Explorer was designed to read well ASP only, sometimes reads bad even pure HTML sites if not ASP encoded.

Just get a better browser!