Breastmilk Rules!!!!!!!!!!!

This article is very interesting. It says that there are stem cells in breast milk and that scientists are hoping to start using those cells in their stem cell research and get the embryo nay-sayers off their backs. But what struck me the most from the article is that, sheesh, breast milk is awesome! I know there are some women who just really can't breastfeed and that is sad and fine. But if you can, it really does seem best on SO many levels.

It seems like most working moms are formula feeders and in some sense that makes sense. Pumping in my work place's bathroom 2-3 times a day really does suck. However, I really don't understand how these women are able to give up the bonding that happens when you breastfeed. That is what makes me able to stand going to work, that I get this beautiful bonding time with my child that non of his other care-givers get. That he is my boy and that we snuggle up and just be with one another for a few minutes each day. It makes my heart feel better. And gives him some great nutrition!

Hey, Sunny!

How have I never heard of this before? I love space stuff, and I knew there were Sun storms and what-not, but I had no idea they had this kind of effect. We are truly all going to die soon, suddenly, and painfully.

Ummmmmm . . . . .

So, very interesting news. This article says that 30 mins of meditation a day can actually change the structure of your brain. It is suppose to increase your capacity for learning and memory while shrinking your capacity for stress. Though oddly enough it doesn't help with self-awareness.

I think this has inspired me to meditate. I am not going to get crazy with it with weird clothes and a bunch of incense, nor will I start with a whole 30 mins right away. My mind tends to wander easily and my time will become so much more precious with the arrival of Fetus Cheek since so much of it will disappear to him, but I think it worth a try. I could use less stress and more learning and memory room.

Hey, since it is the season to make resolutions and all I think I shall resolve to meditate a bit everyday. Won't that be nice?

Oxytocin, you minx

So oxytocin turns out to not be quite the one dimensional hormone of love and affection we all thought it was. Even though it makes us discriminate and be a bit racist the good news is that it should make me be a good mother whether I want to be or not. Since he is mine and a major part of my inner group, this little hormone should make me a mommy tigress for him. This is a relief because I worry about getting to that point on my own. Yeah for hormones and instincts.

See the article here.

Science is blowing my mind.

Wow! Scientist have found a new way to test people who appear to be in a vegetative state. Even though a tested man had shown no signs of life since a car accident 5 years ago, they found that he was still thinking. He was asked five questions like whether he had a brother and was asked to think about his living room for yes and playing tennis for no. Because people use different parts of their brains to think about descriptions and activities the scientists were able to follow what part of his brain was active through an MRI machine. He answered 4 out of the 5 questions correctly.

This is both fascinating and terrifying to me. One, the whole process of discovering that information is just amazing and the fact that someone who has not been able to communicate for five years is now able to communicate to some degree is neat. However, it is terrifying to think that the man has been trapped inside his useless body unable to move or communicate in anyway. He has been just lying there scared, alone and trapped. I can’t even begin to imagine the horror. If I were in that position I may be lying there silently begging for someone to ask me whether I wanted to live any longer so I could begin thinking about tennis with all my might.
A further explanation of this study can be found here.

Leprechaun monkey!

A new leprechaun monkey has been discovered in Columbia. Its real name is Caqueta titi monkey. I love that we are still discovering new animals, plants, etc in the world and out of it. It always stressed me out as a child that everything cool had already been done and there was nothing left for me to do. I am glad to see that there is still adventure left in the world for Little Fetus Cheek to undertake. I guess it isn't a lost cause to be bearing new life after all.



Also, I find it hard to see why he is compared to a leprechaun. Nice hat though.

Kitties

I've never been a cat person or a dog person. I have always loved them equally. They each come with their own set of positives and negatives.

However, the older I get the more I seem to be veering into the cat camp. The newest info I just found out about kitties makes me love them more!

In an article I found, kitties apparently drink with physics. Instead of scooping water up with their tongue or something similar, they create a stream of vertical water towards their mouth that they can sip from with no splash. I love it.

Humans make another wonderful step forward

I love this article. Humanity’s answer to horrible living conditions for animals and even worse slaughtering conditions is to simply remove the animal’s ability to feel pain. Hell, now more corners can be cut and their conditions can be worse because they won’t know . . . they’re engineered that way!

Finally, baby thoughts.

I have finally found something that has made me consider having a child! There is a new study going on where scientists are studying 100000 children from womb to the age of 21. The article can be found here.

Wouldn't it be fascinating to be a part of such a study? I think it would be so interesting and so beneficial. The scientists can hopefully find out more about autism, the effects of pesticides and immunizations, and countless other mysteries plaguing children and families. I think it would be amazing to be a part of that. But I would need a child to be part of the study and I would have to care for the child for at least 21 years.

Something to think about.

Plus, check out reason number two for Mr. Neruda and I to procreate:



What a cutie, huh?

Be careful what you inhale

Talk about weird. Above is the real picture of a man's chest x-ray in Russia. He began experiencing chest pain and the doctors could not figure out what was wrong. They began thinking it might be a tumor and gave him an x-ray. He had a fir tree growing in his chest! An actual tree!

Apparently he inhaled a seed at some point and it found a lovely warm, moist, dark place to take root and call home. They had to take out part of the lung with the fir in it! Eck.



I love weirdness in the world.

Scientific small talk

I hate small talk. A lot. Perhaps this is a social failing of mine, but it is one that I do not wish to work too hard on. The one way that I do try to amend this short-coming is to enter into conversations interesting facts and topics for my co-communicator and I to discuss. However, many of the facts and topics that I introduce deal with scientific and psychological facts and tid-bits. I can't help it; I read a lot of random things that deal with those topics, and I find them fascinating.

This conversational tool that I have worked hard to hone never works well. People are almost never interested in these tid-bits, or they respond to them as though I were a giant weirdo. I don't understand this. I would much rather have someone use a conversational starter like, "Kittens are able to purr by the second day of their lives," than, "Isn't it a cold day." Come on people, quit being boring. Break the social mold and talk about interesting things.

It was brought to my attention that I might be making people uncomfortable with my facts because it is abnormal and because I am a woman. Women in this society are not considered to be naturally interested in science. I think this is bullshit. My ovaries are way cooler than your testes, and I am thrilled to learn about both. If this social mindset is real, then many things now make a lot of sense. It is difficult to get young girls into science classes in high school and later school years. However, studies show that 66% of girls in elementary school are interested in science. Something happens along the way to stigmatize science for American girls. This saddens me.

I know that I felt science was a droll, terrible, mathematical quagmire of crap when I was in school. This is depressing because I love it so much now. I wanted to be a marine biologist or vet for a zoo as a child. I even worked at a vet's office and as a junior curator at the OKC zoo in junior high. However, as soon as I got in school and started taking serious science classes, it sucked and success was obtained through mocking it.

We need to like science. We need to build science up and make it cool. It IS cool to blow things up with chemicals. It IS cool to learn about sharks and dart frogs. Damn it, let's learn about stuff and then share those facts and tid-bits with everyone. Let's talk about c-section-giving sharks and mice that lactate with human milk instead of the temperature outside and the half-priced blouse at the mall.

5 Weird Medical Breakthroughs

This website discusses 5 new medical breakthroughs that are out of the ordinary. I especially love the breakthrough that proves The Simpsons and Meet the Parents correct. Mice DNA is spliced to allow them to lactate with human breast milk . . . and then be milked. Man would I love to put Mouse Milker on my resume.

Oviparous . . . SHARK!!!!!!

Okay, the plan is not for this to become a page devoted to weird facts about sharks. However, over a hundred sharks (about 25%) lay eggs! They lay eggs, have no bones, can live up to 100 years, and their skin is resistant to microorganisms (to the point that scientists are beginning to conduct research in using sharkskin suits for cancer patients with reduced immune systems - more info here).

I was aware of all the information listed above except for the oviparous part. My mind is blown. And if your mind is not blown yet then check out the picture below. It features a couple of horn shark eggs.



Also, the whale shark is noted for laying the world's largest egg. It was 14 inch. long. That is a length to make boys envy.

And, as an added bonus I will let you know that one shark went 15 months without eating. A length to make girls envy (down with anorexia!). And the bull shark, or Zambi (depending on its location) can swim in both fresh water and salt water. It is also responsible for the majority of human attacks, the aggressive bugger.

More weird shark news

Okay, I love, love, love information about sharks. Those underwater predators are fascinating and it turns out we don't know much about them at all. Sharks are known cannibals, and not known for their nurturing, cuddly natures. However, scientists may not understand the relationships between sharks like they thought they did. Recently in New Zealand, a shark gave another shark a c-section in an aquarium tank.



Thought apparently had to be put into the bite that was given because it was in the exact location and with the exact pressure to not injure the 4 babies or the mother. HA! I love it. Marvel with me at the mystery of the deep. I need to go watch more Planet Earth now or something.

The full story can be read at the NZherald.