Wonderling

If I ever have a stroke....

Scientists have successfully used stem cells to repair brain damage in rats that had strokes. Previous attempts had resulted in tumors, but this new research has not shown any sign of tumor development. Testing on human subjects is not anywhere in the near future, but once scientists are sure it is safe, human testing will be done.

Amazing huh? This and the whole discovery of a way to generate new hair follicles (goodbye baldness!) makes me feel a little better about getting older. I'm counting on these discoveries to have tuned into reliable treatments for humans by the time I'm....60? 70? Whenever it is that I will start losing my hair and having strokes.

Cat-Sized Shrew Discovered

This new species of mammal was found in the mountains of Tanzania in 2005, but it was not confirmed until recently that this was indeed a new species.

more at BBC News

how to "cheat" at the gym.

For one of my classes we are delving into nutrition and physical fitness. During one of the discussions I remembered a fact that I'd been told many times by friends who are also personal trainers (I have a lot of them because I worked at a gym for 5 years). WEIGHTS BEFORE CARDIO. I never questioned why, I just always followed it. Because I was going to post the trainers' sage advice I figured I should figure out why exactly weights then cardio and not the other way around. What I found was pretty amazing.

When you do any kind of anaerobic exercise(such as weight lifting) your body burns glycogen (or stored carbohydrates). You wont burn fat until you've depleted your glycogen stores, which takes 29 minutes of cardio to do. The catch is that your body needs the glycogen for the weight lifting. Anaerobic activity will not usually go for fat once the glycogen is gone, it breaks down muscle instead and burns the amino acids for energy. So, if you do 30 minutes of cardio first(depleting your stored glycogen) you will most likely be destroying muscle instead of building it during your weight lifting. However, if you hit the weights first you will spend more time in your cardio work out burning actual fat!

wow, exciting! (more here)

P-Per. wow.

I really, honestly didn't believe this when I saw it. yes, that is really a phone. a real, tangible phone. via Gizmodo

to use or not to use....

With all of the debate on the safety of Nalgene bottles, tinychoices.com has done some research for you. It looks as if there's no real argument for or against the possibility of nasty, hormone stimulating chemicals leaking from your beloved nalgene (oh my goodness, a nalgene rep just walked into the office!! is this a sign?!?!). With all the non-science backed claims mounting it looks as if you're best bet for safe drinking water is your trusty old glass jar or a stainless steel canteen. Via notmartha.

Avalanche Safety

Now all those avalanches that they are so scarily predicting on our dear, near mountains wont be quite so intimidating. I'm  not saying you should go looking for an avalanche, but if you love mountain climbing or extreme skiing you will want to be sure to get yourself an avalanche air bag. Because you only have a 50% chance of survival in an avalanche, I'd say it's worth it if you're going to tempt fate. Via SwissMiss

but will they have a "fly thru" starbucks?

How stuff works has a video on how this flying car works. Apparently it runs on a GPS system that means you don't have to navigate the air traffic. how pleasant!

Once they produce the cars for the public they will cost 1 million dollars. yes, 1 million. I'm almost glad though...with the way people drive on the streets i'm a little worried about mass production of cheaper cars that can fly!