Inch Long Fleas

Dinosaurs also had to deal with the pest of the fleas, that were an inch long.  The oldest fleas ever found sucked dinosaur blood from 125 million to 165 million years ago. A new fossil was found in China by the Institute of Geology and Paleontology.  Diying Huang says that their disproportionately long proboscis, or straw-like mouth, had sharp weapon-like serrated edges that helped them bite and feed from their super-sized hosts, he and other researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.  The ancient female fleas were twice the size of the male, this is also the case for current fleas.    

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/dinosaurs-fleas-long-fossils-show-article-1.1030881

30,000 Year Old Plant Brought Back to Life

This plant became extinct thousands of years ago, and was brought back to life by the Russia scientists.  These scientists.  They were able to grow these plants by its seed.  This seed is thought to have been frozen 30,000 years ago by the help of some Ice Age squirrels.  Experts believe that this Silene stenophylla is the oldest plant material to be brought back to life.  The fruit was found in the banks of the Kolyma River in Siberia.  It was discovered by a group that were looking for mammoth bones and came across this seed.  This is the second time that they tried to bring the Silene stenophylla back to life, as the first time failed.  They are hoping that tin the future they will be able to use the same types of techniques to bring animals like the mammoth back from extinction.    

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/17116689 

Overeating Could Cause Memory Loss? in elderly.

A new study suggests that overeating may double the risk for memory loss, or mild cognitive impairments (MCI), among people age 70 and older.  This study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in April.  This study involved over 1,200 dementia-free people between ages 70 and 89.  Of those people 163 people had MCI.  These participants filled out a questionnaire about the amount of calories they consumed daily.  MCI, or mild cognitive impairment is the intermediate stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more pronounced decline of dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic.  It increases a person's risk for developing later dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, but some people with MCI never get worse.    

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57376486-10391704/overeating-may-double-odds-of-memory-loss-in-elderly/

Next Supercontinent?

In about 50 to 200 million years from now, geologist are expecting that the Earth's continents are to smash into one super large continent.  This suggests that the Arctic Ocean and Caribbean Sea will be among the first to disappear.  Another point of view is that scientist have assumed that either the Atlantic Ocean will close up, and reverse what once separated these continents apart.  The current spreading zone in the Atlantic would push the land forms 180 degrees around the world to close up the Pacific instead.   The model is based on the magnetism of ancient rocks.  A doctoral student at Yale, Mitchell, took the project with other students, to record the orientation of Earth's continental plates.  Also how they have changed with respect to the magnetic poles over billions of years.  

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10352397-next-supercontinent-will-amaze-you 

and the video :) = 

Doctors Remove Twin From Boy's Stomach

On January 30th, 2012, Peru Doctors planned to remove the remains of a partially formed twin fetus from the stomach of three year old boy, in this case the brother.  The living boy/twin Isbac Pacunda, absorbed his brother in his stomach during development in the mother's womb.  The fetal that is in Isbac is 1 1/2 Pounds, has eyes, bones, hair, and is 9 inches long.  This condition only occurs one in every 500,000 live births.  Some conjoined twins lives as a form of "parasites," which allows them to rely on the body of the other for a blood supply and organ function.  This case was very different since this is known as a fetus-in-fetus.   
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/01/doctors-to-remove-remains-of-twin-from-boys-stomach/1?csp=34news

 

Magic Mushrooms may be Therapeutic

With the growing number of studies on these mushrooms it has been concluded that, they might work magic for certain mental disorders.  The new research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has promising future in curing depression.  Researcher David Nutt quoted, "We have found that these drugs turn off the parts of the brain that integrate sensations- seeing, hearing, feeling-with thinking".  Another brain region that psilocybin affects is the anterior cingulate cortex, which is over-active in depression.  Some patients with severe depression that cannot be treated with brain stimulation and using the Psilocybin could be a cheaper option.  

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/23/magic-mushrooms-may-be-therapeutic/?hpt=he_c1

Aircraft Carriers Better For Cars Than For Jets

Since the beginning of the year we keep on learning more things about the U.S. military aircraft carrier program.  Three of the most recent include the face that the Pentagon may be looking at reducing the amount of carriers in the United States from 11 to 10 in order to save money.  Second, the military's new F-35C Joint Strike Fighter may not be work for the carrier use.  Last third, aircraft carriers make fine automobile transports.  Cutting the carrier along with the other forces that make up the battle group could save Navy billions.  Many believe that the government should keep the citizens a lot more informed of what is happening with the impact of the defense review.       

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/16/why-aircraft-carriers-may-be-good-for-parking-cars-but-not-landing-new-jets/?hpt=hp_bn1