Archive for July 30th, 2012
Apollo Moon flags still standing, images show
July 30th, 2012 | 
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Images taken by a NASA spacecraft show that the American flags planted in the Moon's soil by Apollo astronauts are mostly still standing.
The photos from Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter (LRO) show the flags are still casting shadows – except the one planted during the Apollo 11 landing.
This matches Buzz Aldrin's account of the flag being knocked over by engine exhaust as Apollo 11 lifted off.
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Court upholds role of FDA as regulator of stem cell therapies
A court ruling that the FDA should regulate treatments derived from a patient's own processed stem cells affirms that the treatments are considered drugs.
Observing the August Perseids
This is the most famous of all meteor showers. It never fails to provide an impressive display and, due to its summertime appearance, it tends to provide the majority of meteors seen by non-astronomy enthusiasts.
This meteor shower gets the name "Perseids" because it appears to radiate from the constellation Perseus. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere can start seeing Perseid meteors as early as July 23, when one meteor every hour or so could be visible. During the next three weeks, there is a slow build-up. It is possible to spot five Perseids per hour at the beginning of August and perhaps 15 per hour by August 10. The Perseids rapidly increase to a peak of 50-80 meteors per hour by the night of August 12/13 and then rapidly decline to about 10 per hour by August 15. The last night meteors are likely to be seen from this meteor shower is August 22, when an observer might see a Perseid every hour or so.
For observers in the Southern Hemisphere, the Perseid radiant never climbs above the horizon, which will considerably reduce the number of Perseid meteors you are likely to see. Nevertheless, on the night of maximum, it is possible to see 10-15 meteors per hour coming up from the northern horizon.
Commentary: How Uncle Sam’s making us fat
The USDA spent $18.2 billion to subsidize junk-food additives between 1995 and 2011, and is set to spend more than $1 billion this year to subsidize the growth of corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soy oils, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group says. Patrick Basham, director of the Democracy Institute, writes that the USDA subsidies are "foolish" and "wasteful," especially as the same agency tells us to avoid the unhealthy foods that contain these additives.
New York Post
New York Post
FDA: Benzocaine can cause rare condition in teething children
The FDA said benzocaine, an anesthetic found in over-the-counter products such as Hurricane, Orabase, Baby Orajel, Orajel and Anbesol, should not be used to relieve teething pain in children younger than 2. Use of benzocaine liquid or gel to soothe mouth and gum pain can lead to methemoglobinemia, a rare but potentially deadly condition. The FDA also warned that it might be hard to recognize symptoms.
Doctor Shortage Likely to Worsen With Health Law
Even as the new health care law expands insurance coverage, another problem faces many areas of the country: a lack of physicians, particularly primary care ones.
Lucid Dreamers Help Scientists Locate the Seat of Meta-Consciousness in the Brain
Studies of lucid dreamers show which centers of the brain become active when we become aware of ourselves in dreams … Studies employing magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) have now been able to demonstrate that a specific cortical network consisting of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the frontopolar regions and the precuneus is activated when this lucid consciousness is attained. All of these regions are associated with self-reflective functions.