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6014 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Why is my eyelid twitching?
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Fasciculations (muscle twitches) are the result of some kind of irritability of the nerve fibers. Because fasciculations are benign, they have not been studied particularly deeply (but, not all involuntary muscle twitches are fasciculations--more on that later). So we do not really know even where in the nerve the irritation is picked up--it could be in the cell body, could be further out in the fibers, nobody really knows. It is also thought that the exact localization of the fasciculation is random, meaning that you will feel a twitch in your arm or leg or eyelid without having necessarily irritated a nerve anywhere near the place you experience the twitch. Causes are also only loosely understood; there are certain behaviors that can trigg ...
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4037 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Turn the taste of sour to sweet with these natural tablets
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By themselves, miracle berries do not taste like much. The reason to eat them is that they contain a chemical called miraculin that binds to the sweet taste receptors on your tongue, changing their shape and making them respond to sour and acidic foods. The upshot of this effect is that some things you eat taste spectacularly different. Straight Tabasco sauce tastes like donut glaze. Guinness tastes like a chocolate malt. Goat cheese tastes like cheesecake. After about an hour of craziness, your taste buds go back to normal, no harm done. ...
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5312 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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5627 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Tips to keeping your teeth white
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Whitening treatments do not permanently whiten teeth. If you expose your teeth to foods and beverages that cause staining you may see the whiteness start to fade in as little as one month after treatment. Those who avoid foods and beverages that stain may be able to wait one year or longer before another whitening treatment or touch-up is needed. You worked hard to get your teeth white. Here are some tips to help maintain your pearly whites. - Avoid the consumption of or exposure to products that stain your teeth, such as coffee, tea, and red wine. If you do choose to consume beverages that stain, consider using a straw so that the liquid bypasses your front teeth.
- Brush or rinse immediately after consuming stain-causing beverages or foods.
- Fo
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3462 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
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6038 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
The Midas touch
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Mythical King Midas was ultimately doomed because everything he touched turned to gold. Now, the reverse has been found in bacteria that owe their survival to a natural Midas touch. Delftia acidovorans lives in sticky biofilms that form on top of gold deposits, but exposure to dissolved gold ions can kill it. That's because although metallic gold is unreactive, the ions are toxic. To protect itself, the bacterium has evolved a chemical that detoxifies gold ions by turning them into harmless gold nanoparticles. These accumulate safely outside the bacterial cells. ...
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6433 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
The infant stages of of forming a black hole
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This is supernova remnant W49B. It is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, and as we see it it is approximately 1,000 years old. Compared to other supernova remnants of similar type and age, it is distorted in an usual way. Astronomers believe that it is distorted because it is in the infant stages of of forming a black hole -- the very first time this has been observed.
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4071 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
The giant land snail
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Giant African land snails can get quite large. They are native to Africa and are routinely confiscated at airports as they are very popular as pets in the Western world, and can be considered an invasive species. There is a population of these snails spreading in Coral Gables, Florida.
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5460 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Sunda pangolins
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Sunda pangolins have become the most frequently seized mammal in the illegal wildlife trade in Asia, as smugglers sell the creatures to meet culinary and medicinal demand. These gentle insectivores are now on the endangered species list.
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6494 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
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4449 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Smallest known monkey in the world
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This is the pygmy marmoset ( Cebuella pygmaea), the smallest known monkey in the world. They are found in western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia and they typically live in the understory of the rain forest near rivers. Males weigh around 140 grams (4.9 oz), and females only 120 grams (4.2 oz).
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4076 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Short-circuit your brain
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Your brain is trying to do two things at once. Look at the image and try to say the colour of the word you see, rather than the actual word itself. It’s very tricky to do. The words seem to wrestle in a bizarre power struggle with the colours. This is because the right side of your brain is seeing the colour of the word while the left side is trying to say the word itself.
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6378 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Multi-touch transparent smartphone
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A Taiwan-based company has built a transparent smartphone with a multi-touch display from a light piece of glass. Although it's still a prototype, the executives have mentioned the transparent smartphone could arrive in late 2013.
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4344 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
Mount Fuji with a hat
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This is an example of a lenticular cloud, also known as altocumulus standing lenticularis. These are stationary, lens-shaped clouds that are formed at high altitudes. They are included in the middle layer cloud family because the bases of the clouds are stationed between about 2,000 and 7,000 meters. These clouds form when moist air is forced to flow up around mountains and large hills. The water is super cooled and condensed from air below the dew point temperature.
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4794 |
duddy |
11 years ago |