Nervecentre

9/11 Terror Attack Hit Male Birth Rate

A study has shown that the 9/11 terror attacks had an impact on the male birth rate. It's thought that high stress levels and hormones in the bodies of pregnant women caused a rise in the number of miscarriages.

The scientists think this might be an evolutionary mechanism designed to cull the weakest males when times are hard. A similar effect was noticed during the social and economic turmoil following the reunification of Germany.

"It's not in the interest of the herd to have small, weak males around."

Source: New Scientist

Tne Bunker-Busting Nuke

The Bush administration want to develop an earth-penetrating nuke. The US National Research Council have warned that such a weapon could destroy enemy targets hundreds of metres underground but could also lead to up to a million civilian deaths if used in an urban area.

To develop such a weapon, the US would have to back out of the Nuclear Test Ban treaty, making the spectre of tactical nuclear weapons being used in the field of conflict more, (rather than less), likely.

Source: New Scientist

EVA - NASA's Biomimetic Robot

Here's a link to a video that put a really big smile on my face.

It's NASA's biomimetic robot who goes by the name of EVA.

Brilliant!

Absolutely brilliant!

Congratulations NASA.

Source: EVA

Earth Now Absorbing More Heat Than It Radiates

It looks like there is yet more evidence that planet Earth is heating up. A warming of 1 degrees C could trigger a runaway melting effect of the ice sheets that would cause global sea levels to rise by several metres.

Source: New Scientist

Marvel To Make Films In Deal With Paramount

The first films on the block from Marvel are reckoned to be Captain America and Nick Fury. The first pciture is expected to be released by 2008 with production budgets ranging from $45 million to $180 million.

The Real Chimera's

There's an interesting story here about the real-life chimera's being created in science labs.

For example, in the past two years, scientists have created pigs with human blood, fused rabbit eggs with human DNA and injected human stem cells to make paralysed mice walk.

The latest one, (and I really can't believe they have done this), is to inject human brain cells into the brain of a sheep fetus. What if a human mind somehow got trapped inside a sheep's head?

A report has warned that the;

"Idea that human neuronal cells might participate in 'higher order' brain functions in a nonhuman animal, however unlikely that may be, raises concerns that need to be considered."

Source: RedNova

To All UK Election Voters!

A vote for New Labour is a vote for war criminals.
What are the electorate not understanding?
The Prime Minister is a war criminal!!!
He should be imprisoned for his actions.

He and his buddy George have effectively trampled over international law to get their hands on the oil and been complicit in the slaughter of 110,000 innocent Iraqis. They are threatening the very peace and security of world order!

On May 5th, vote out the warmonger!

* the pictures depict a blood covered girl who is screaming after her parents were fatally shot by soldiers with the 1st Batallion, 5th Infantry Striker Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division

Tal Afar

Pamela Anderson Takes On KFC

Pamela Anderson continues to go up in my estimation as she teams up with Peta to take on KFC over alleged cruelty and poor welfare standards.

The site KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, (like a lot of other animal welfare sites), certainly doesn't pull any punches.

And she is not the only one either...

The Beastie Boys are also unhappy about KFC's animal welfare record, and have also added their support to the campaign, along with a whole host of other celebrities.

So what's all the fuss about?

Apparently KFC sear off the chicken's beaks with hot blades and some of the chickens are scalded alive in slaughterhouses. Pam even wrote them a letter about it, which you can read here. And she didn't stop there either, as she fired off another letter to Nascar racer Dale Earnhardt Jr., who's car was sponsored by KFC.

If you want to see what cruelty actually means for these intelligent, sociable birds then watch Pam's video here. Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about this intelligent, sensitive creature then click here.

And with even the Dalai Lama opposing KFC, and succeeding in preventing a branch opening in Tibet, it looks as though they won't have anyone on their side until they change their barbaric practices.

Source: KentuckyFriedCruelty.com

Variety Of Exercise May Ward Off Dementia

Of course, no one wants to end their lives in a debilitating spiral of dementia. But until recently, its not been clear what causes it.

Now though, evidence points to oldies who exercise or remain active having significantly lower rates of dementia than their more placid couch-potato contemporaries. It's thought there's a correlation between the variety of exercise and the use of parts of the brain that might 'shut down' if they are not being used effectively.

One thing is for certain, if you want to avoid dementia in old age, then you need to get active!

Source: ABC

I Want My Finger Back! or (Do You Want Finger With Your Shake?)

So the woman in the finger in the bowl of chilli case has now been accused of planting the digit in her chilli.

It looks as though she could be facing a losing battle in court as Wendy's, the fast food outlet where she bought the bowl of chilli, are claiming that the finger shows no sign of being cooked and none of their staff are missing a digit.

It just gets weirder. But what we do know is this - someone, somewhere, is missing a finger! A finger that now must be a lot spicier than it was when it was severed.

Source: ABC