Experts Warn Of ‘Caffeine Use Disorder’ -

 Experts Warn Of ‘Caffeine Use Disorder’ - 



A new study has found that more people are dependent on caffeine to the point experts are issuing a “caffeine use disorder” warning.
The study, coauthored by American University psychology professor Laura Juliano, shows that more people are suffering withdrawl symptoms and are unable to reduce caffeine consumption which is causes the “caffeine use disorder.”
“There is misconception among professionals and lay people alike that caffeine is not difficult to give up. However, in population-based studies, more than 50 percent of regular caffeine consumers report that they have had difficulty quitting or reducing caffeine use,” Juliano said in a press release. ”Through our research, we have observed that people who have been unable to quit or cut back on caffeine on their own would be interested in receiving formal treatment—similar to the outside assistance people can turn to if they want to quit smoking or tobacco use.”

The results of previously published caffeine research was summarized in the study to present the biological evidence for caffeine dependence and the significant physical and psychological symptoms experienced by regular caffeine users.
“The negative effects of caffeine are often not recognized as such because it is a socially acceptable and widely consumed drug that is well integrated into our customs and routines,” Juliano said. “And while many people can consume caffeine without harm, for some it produces negative effects, physical dependence, interferes with daily functioning, and can be difficult to give up, which are signs of problematic use.”

Juliano advises that caffeine consumption should be limited to no more than 400 mg per day or the equivalent of about two to three 8-oz cups of coffee for healthy adults.  She noted that pregnant women should consume less than 200 mg per day along with people who experience anxiety or insomnia regularly.
“At this time, manufacturers are not required to label caffeine amounts and some products such as energy drinks do not have regulated limits on caffeine,” Juliano said, adding that if this changed, people could perhaps better limit their consumption and ideally, avoid caffeine’s possible negative effects.

Read more - 

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/01/29/experts-warn-of-caffeine-use-disorder/

Scientists appear to have located the Consience -

Scientists appear to have located the Consience - 



Scientists at Oxford University have made a startling discovery: they’ve found a region of the brain that makes you wonder if you’ve done something wrong, and whether you’d have been well advised to do something better.
There are several things that you should know about this region, which is inside your head, and the head of the lady sitting beside you on the Tube, and the heads of David Cameron and Lady Gaga and Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of the Royal College of Heralds. One, it's called the lateral frontal pole. Two, it's unique to humans - they ran tests on monkeys in the course of the research at Oxford and, nope, they don't have it. Three, it's the size of "a large Brussels sprout". And four, it's a leap beyond current scientific knowledge into realms that can only be described as spooky.

We already knew (he says, hastily consulting his copy of Popular Science for Dimwits) that the brain can monitor decisions it has made. It tells itself: "I  have chosen to follow this track in the  forest and it's turning out to be a sunlit pathway/sodden jungle", but it registers no more nuanced reaction than that. What this newly discovered region does, however, is to identify other paths that it might have been better to take, and register what a dolt the brain feels for getting it wrong.

"This region monitors how good the choices are that we don't take," said Professor Matthew Rushworth, who led the research, "How green the grass is on the other side."

What the professor doesn't mention is the emotional trauma that the brain must register for having made a crap decision.  Like the split-second after you've tweeted what you meant to be a direct message to a friend, voicing the view that a recent guest on your TV show was a crashing bore - only to realise, too late, that you've informed your entire Twitter following about the lady's snoringness. Or the moment you sail past your turn off on the M3, horribly aware that it's 40 miles to the next exit and you're almost out of petrol. Or that creeping sensation when you realise that you should have chosen some other song than "YMCA" to hum while dealing with passport control at Sochi airport.

The lateral frontal pole, in short, is like a spouse who is quick to inform you that you've blundered and bungled it when it would have been so easy to get it right. It's the kindly-but-firm voice of authority that tells you to go to your room and mull over what you've done, so you'll be sure not to do it again in future...

Intellectual ability consists of short-term memory, reasoning and verbal agility. Although these interact with one another they are handled by three distinct nerve 'circuits' in the brain Hang on. This isn't some minor breakthrough of cognitive neuroscience. This is about good and bad, right and wrong. This is about the brain's connection to morality. This means that the Oxford scientists, without apparently realising what they've done, have located the conscience. 

For centuries we thought that the conscience was just some faculty of moral insight in the human mind, an innate sense that one was behaving well or badly - although the great HL Mencken once defined it as, "the inner voice which  warns us that someone may be looking". It's been used by religions as a numinous something-or-other, kindly bestowed by God, to give humans a choice between sin and Paradise.

Read more - 

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/you-say-lateral-frontal-pole-i-say-that-little-devilangel-that-whispers-in-my-ear-9094043.html

Millions of Dollars in Phony $100 Bills Flooding the Big Apple -

Millions of Dollars in Phony $100 Bills Flooding the Big Apple -  



It’s all about the Benjamins.

An international counterfeiting ring has been pumping millions of dollars in phony $100 bills into New York and other cities in the metropolitan area over the past several years, forcing the Secret Service to step up its operation to shut it down, sources told "On The Inside."

Federal officials are tracking the mules who smuggle bogus bills into the country and distributing an alert to New York businesses, banks and security industry personnel that teaches how to detect the fake C-notes, a copy of which DNAinfo New York obtained.

The counterfeit cash appears to have been manufactured on offset printing machines using plates and ink, rather than on more sophisticated copiers, according to Michael Seremetis, the assistant special agent in charge of the New York Secret Service office.

The loot is produced in bulk and bundled into packages that are smuggled in luggage or carried on planes by couriers who get about 40 cents on the dollar to put the fakes into circulation.

“The network is similar to that of the narcotics trade,” Seremetis explained. “It is distributed via a sophisticated network that involves several mules who do the passing of the notes here in the tri-state area.”

The Secret Service warning says the bills contain a set of five different serial numbers and have two black 7s above the last zero on the lower right-hand corner, above the “100” mark on the back of the bill.

Although the Super Bowl game is taking place in the New York City area, officials are downplaying any connection between those festivities and the timing of their warning — and insist counterfeiters are not using the big game as a convenient time to pass off their funny money.

The counterfeit cash frequently turns up in clubs, bars and casinos, officials said. Department stores over holiday periods are typical targets.

If you have a phony $100 that is confiscated, you will lose the value of the money but can declare a tax loss at the end of the year, officials said.

“We are asking the public to let us know if they encounter these bills,” Seremetis said.

Read more - 

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140130/midtown/millions-of-dollars-phony-100-bllls-flooding-big-apple

Vitamin E supplements may speed up lung cancer -

Vitamin E supplements may speed up lung cancer - 



London, Jan 30: In an alarming study, scientists have found that two commonly used antioxidants - including the popular vitamin E can fuel the growth of lung cancer in mice rather than curb it.

“The take-home message is that these antioxidants do not decrease the risk of cancer and may even increase risk of some cancers in some populations,” cautioned Martin Bergö, a molecular biologist at University of Gothenburg in Sweden and a co-author of the latest study.

Bergö and his colleague, Per Lindahl, a molecular biologist at the University of Gothenburg, conducted experiments in mice that were genetically engineered to develop lung cancer.

They first decided to dose the mice with a compound called N-acetylcysteine (NAC) - another antioxidant.

The control tumours grew three times faster than expected after the NAC dose.

The team decided to dig deeper, and expanded its study to include another common antioxidant - vitamin E, said a report in Nature.

The researchers fed either NAC or vitamin E to the mice, using doses of 5 or 50 times higher than the daily recommended amount for mice.

Human dietary supplements often have 4 to 20 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin E (22.4 EU) for humans.

The results for the two antioxidants were similar. Tumours grew about three times faster than those in animals that did not receive the treatment.

Treated mice also died from their cancers about twice as quickly as untreated mice, said the study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

“Our study, however, does not say anything about how antioxidant supplementation affects cancer risk in apparently healthy people,” the study added.

According to Lindahl, the work does call for a closer look at the effects of antioxidants in smokers, who are at high risk for lung cancer and may already carry small tumours while outwardly seeming healthy.

He is also concerned about people with a common lung ailment called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who are sometimes treated with NAC to reduce mucus production. 

Read more - 

http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/Vitamin_E_supplements_may_speed_up_lung_cancer-411010/SCI-TECH%20and%20HEALTH/36

FAA Stops Beer Drone Delivery -

FAA Stops Beer Drone Delivery - 



The Lakemaid micro brewery started delivering beer to ice fishers using drones, at least until the FAA coldly shut their operation down.  The FAA is currently reviewing their policies.  
According to the beer company’s president, Jack Supple, “They think it’s a great idea, though they’re telling me to stop.” 
Here is a video of the drone delivering the beer: 



Read more - 

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2014/01/30/FAA-Stops-Beer-Drone-Delivery

STUDY: Large testicles mean greater infidelity... -

STUDY: Large testicles mean greater infidelity... - 



 There is a correlation between infidelity and the size of a male's testicles, researchers have found.

A study by scientists at the University of Oslo found that primates with bigger testicles were more likely to be unfaithful.

Petter Bøckman, Assistant Professor, said: “We can determine the degree of fidelity in the female by looking at the size of the male’s testicles. The less faithful the female, the larger the male’s testicles.

"If the male will only fertilise one female and has no competitors, he only needs sufficient sperm to reach the egg. If the female mates on the side, it is smart to have as many cars as possible in the race.

"Then, the male must have testicles that are as large as possible."

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Prof Bøckman said bonobos have particularly large testicles and mate in large groups whereas gorillas have small testicles.

He said: "There is an abundant flow of semen. Those who leave the greatest amount of sperm have the largest chance of fathering offspring.

"In gorilla troops there is only one male. Even though the gorilla has a small harem, he has no need for large testicles – his balls are tiny.”

Large testicles can increase the risk of testicular cancer, the study found.

“Animals with short lifespans may have enormously large testicles. In one type of grasshopper the testicles occupy half their body mass,” said Prof Bøckman

"The testicles are even larger in sea urchins. They spawn directly into the ocean. To increase the chance of fertilising an egg, the sea urchin is a huge testicle with a little shell around it."

The testicles of humans are one and a half times larger than those of gorillas.

Prof Bøckman said: “This testifies with abundant clarity to life in our flock. We can pledge our fidelity until we are blue in the face, but this is evidence that our females are cheating.

"We are not like chimpanzees, where the female has four or five sexual partners every time she is in heat, but there is always a certain likelihood that the neighbouring male has dropped by.”

The testicles are also large in animals that have sex with many females.

Prof Bøckman said: “Male lions have huge balls. All the females in the pride must have sex at the same time. When the female lions in the pride are in heat, he must mate with all the females every half-hour for three days.”

Read more - 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/10603957/Large-testicles-mean-greater-infidelity-research-finds.html