Nicotines Anorexic Effect

If your a filthy fagger, you’ve no doubt said to yourself  ‘fluff it — quitting puts on 2 dress sizes!’ Just for a change, your right. Researchers have discovered that nicotine decreases the want of food via the activation of Pro-opiomelanocortin - POMC – neurons. (Mutations in the POMC gene have been associated with early onset obesity, adrenal insufficiency, and red hair-pigmentation) Importantly, the researchers have shown that nicotine causes a dip in appetite via a different pathway to the one that it triggers addiction through. This means that it’s possible to make a drug that isn’t addictive, but still has nicotine’s goodly appetite-suppressing powers. We don’t usually cut and paste posts, we have to make an exception here, the abstract for this study is overtly clever. Read the full article »»»»

HPV: Throat Cancer Linked to Cunnilingus and Fellatio

Human Papillomavirus - HPV – has been all over the medical journals and alerts of late. In the U.S. theres an epidemic going on right now, raising concerns about, well, oral sex and throat cancer. First hypothesized in 2005, a research study at the College of Malmö in Sweden suggested that performing unprotected oral sex on a person infected with HPV might increase the risk of oral cancer. The study found that 36 percent of the cancer patients had HPV compared to only 1 percent of the healthy control group :: Read the full article »»»»

Dirty Pix Please

WE Want Your Trash . . .

Chemosignal Tears: Cry Her a River

I’m NOT a baller, can’t take blubbering, dislike what it does to my eyes – eew puffiness – and definitely avoid – at all cost – falling into that wallowing sob of emotional over-out-pouring. I do however have a buddy who cries at most anything. Sat in front of the television, she’ll burst into leakiness over insurance advertisements, heaven forbid your sat next to her at the cinema. In a new study by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science scientists have revealed some nail biting new results. Turns out tears are an absolute cold shower to mens sexual arrousal –  that explains Leksy’s disastrous relationship history – Girl Tears it turns out are chemosignal’s that turn OFF a mans major sexual hormone, testosterone, tears it’s seems Smell – and I thought it was her halitosis!?

It seems Darwin was also a denier of the emotion tearing up, in his The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin listed three reasons for the secretion of tears: 1. “The primary function of the secretion of tears, with some mucus, is to lubricate the surface of the eye” 2. “to keep the nostrils damp, so that the inhaled air may be moist, and likewise to favour the power of smelling“ 3. “But another, and at least equally important function of tears is to wash out particles of dust or other minute objects which may get into the eyes” (Darwin, 1872: 169). In Darwin’s view, the excretion of emotional tears was related to the first function and had little to do with emotion – sigh – if I could love a man! Read the full article »»»»

Funkinwagnill: Fact # 000949

The Centennial Light: The World’s longest running lightbulb – A Shelby Bulb –  is celebrating its 110th birthday on June 18. In its role as night-light for the firetrucks – who would have guessed fire trucks where scared of the dark – it has operated almost continuously for its entire life, only being switched off a number of times early on, to be moved.

Known as a Shelby bulb after the town in Ohio that it was manufactured in the bulb was a revolution for its time.  After emigrating to the USA in 1892 electrical engineer Adolphe A. Chaillet started the Shelby Electrical Company, with business partners. Shelby was operating by 1896.  A new manufacturing technique and the bulb filament were used to produce the Shelby bulb, all developed by Chaillet.  The coiled filament carbon lamp burned brighter than other bulbs at the time and had better directional properties, this became the basis of the Shelby bulbs success.

The Centennial Light has faced its fair share of controversy, with many people speculating that the long-lasting filaments could be produced today but for the fact that the manufacturing companies wouldn’t be so profitable, did GE buy the technology and shelve it? The Shelby Electric Company that produced the bulbs was absorbed into GE – General Electric – in 1914. Shelby had already moved away from the original coiled carbon filaments as used in the Centennial bulb, Tungsten had been introduced and allowed much cheaper and brighter bulbs to be produced. While the Centennial Bulb was originally rated at 60 watts it is down to 4 watts due to its age. So the answer to the controversial question ‘Could we all have light bulbs that last 100 years ?”. Yes we could but we would be paying $30 a bulb and sitting in the relative darkness of the low light output of carbon.

With its own website and publicity for its 110th birthday this is also the most famous light bulb in the world. Anyone can visit the light, just ring the bell at the back of the station and the fireman on duty will show you around. It’s good to see a celebrity that hasn’t let fame go to its head. Happy birthday you plucky little bulb, keep on keeping those firetrucks safe.

Aoe Aloe, Oops We Have a Problem

ALOE BARBADENSIS MILLER or ALOE VERA, is dolled out by herbalists, naturapaths and general nae sayers as a cure all and serious anti-oxident. Oops, turns out the ferril desert dweller may Cause Cancer, Not Cure.

A warning has been issued by the US National Toxicology Program, the NTP  has found that rats given drinking water spiked with an extract of the succulent developed tumours in their intestines.

The rodents were given relatively high doses of a whole-leaf extract of Aloe Vera over two years. In rats given water containing 1.5 per cent by weight of the extract, 39 per cent of females and 74 per cent of males had malignant or benign tumours in their large intestines. None of these growths were seen in rats given pure drinking water.

A quick trawl of the net revaels and abundance of advice, freely given with little warning of possible detrimental effect, example: Aloe vera is one of the herbs that have a variety benefits. Aloe vera belongs in the Liliaceae family who have a variety of chemical constituents that can help the body’s health. Chemical constituents found in Aloe Vera are on the roots and leaves contain aloin, barbaloin, isobarbaloin, aloenin, aloesin, aloe-emodin, verasilglukan. Aloe vera is a plant that rod-shaped shrub with a height approximately 30 cm-50 cm, dark green with little spines toothed surface of the skin. Efficacy of Aloe Vera for health, such as:

* Smooths Skin
* Help Nourish Hair
* Heat Treat Stomach
* Anti-inflammatory
* Laxative
* Blood circulation
* Reduce high blood pressure
* Asthma cure
* Tuberculosis or TB cure”

It’s not yet clear what the results mean for people consuming products containing aloe vera as part of a “natural health regime.

“At this stage, we’re looking at designing the next round of experiments,” says Daniel Fabricant at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which contributed to the report, and is responsible for regulating dietary supplements. “We want to relate the results to the commercial products that are out there.”

Funkinwagnill: Fact # 000148

Water draining from a sink or toilet will always spin the same direction, counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clock wise in the southern hemisphere.