Friday, December 31, 2010

Facebook: the New Online King


Users launch Facebook to the top most-visited website.  For the first time, the social networking service beats Google, YouTube, and Yahoo.  550 million members are signed up for Facebook.  The sites traffic accounts for 8.9 percent of all internet users between January and November of 2010.  Google came in second with 7.2 percent.  YouTube (which is owned by Google) claimed 2.7% of traffic.
Facebook doubled its visits in the past year.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Healthy, Smarter Babies

Iron and Folic Acid prove to be a smart choice for expectant mothers.

American researchers supplied these prenatal supplements to pregnant women in rural Nepal.  Follow-up studies show the children were smarter, more organized, and possessed better fine motor skills than children whose mothers did not take iron and folic acid. 


Iron helps optimize the development of the central nervous system according to the findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Iron deficiency affects 2 billion people around the world, according to the World Health Organization.

The National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded this research.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Total Lunar Eclipse

The Western Hemisphere has the best seat on the planet for the total lunar eclipse happening early Tuesday morning.
North and Central America, including Alaska and Hawaii, will have the best view as the sun, earth, and moon fall into alignment.  The earth takes center stage blocking the sun's light from its normal illumination of the moon.  However, light still filters and bends and should cast a hazy red glow on the normally silver moon.
The event will happen early Tuesday morning beginning at 2:41 a.m. and continue until 3:53 a.m.
About every to three to five years, most areas on Earth witness a total lunar eclipse.  Three will happen over the next 12 months.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Beauty Sleep not a Fairytale

Sleep deprivation takes a toll on your good looks, according to researchers in Sweden.  People who go without sleep look less healthy and attractive when compared to the well-rested. 

The study asked volunteers to rate men and women after good sleep and no sleep.  The fatigued subjects scored unfavorable ratings.

The British Medical Journal published the findings:
"Sleep deprived people are perceived as less attractive, less healthy and more tired compared with when they are well rested."  Source.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Geminid: Sky's Alive Tonight

The Geminid Meteor shower blazes across the sky in the early hours of Tuesday, December 14, 2010.  Astronomers expect a spectacular light show with 100 sparking streaks per hour. 
The shower lasts through December 16, but the most impressive display is between midnight and sunrise Tuesday morning in the Northern Hemisphere.
Stargazers should set their sights in the direction of Gemini or northeast.