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Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter</td></tr>
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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/08/brain-training-can-make-you.html">Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter</a></h2>
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As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental clarity are not what they used to be.  We suddenly can't remember where we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old acquaintance's name, or the name of an old band we used to love.  As the brain fades, we euphemistically refer to these occurrences as "senior moments."</div>
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While seemingly innocent, this loss of mental focus can potentially have a detrimental impact on our professional, social, and personal well-being. </div>
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It happens to most of us, but is it inevitable? </div>
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Neuroscientists are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done.  It turns that the brain needs exercise in much the same way our muscles do, and the right mental workouts can significantly improve our basic cognitive functions.  Thinking is essentially a process of making neural connections in the brain.  To a certain extent, our ability to excel in making the neural connections that drive intelligence is inherited.  However, because these connections are made through effort and practice, scientists believe that intelligence can expand and fluctuate according to mental effort.</div>
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Now, a new San Francisco Web-based company has taken it a step further and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental sharpness.  Called Lumosity, it was designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford University.</div>
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Lumosity, is far more than an online place to exercise your mental skills.  That's because they have integrated these exercises into a Web-based program that allows you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills.  The program keeps track of your progress and provides detailed feedback on your performance and improvement.  Most importantly, it constantly modifies and enhances the games you play to build on the strengths you are developing--much like an effective exercise routine requires you to increase resistance and vary your muscle use.</div>
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Apparently it does. In randomized, controlled clinical trials, Lumosity was shown to significantly improve basic cognitive functions. One study showed students improved their scores on math tests by 34 percent after using Lumosity for six weeks, significantly greater gains than those made by other students in the same class, who were not training with the Lumosity program.</div>
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Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter Brain Training Can Make You Significantly Smarter As many people hit middle age...

The science behind delivering a 13.5-pound baby

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The science behind delivering a 13.5-pound baby</td></tr>
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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-science-behind-delivering-135-pound.html">The science behind delivering a 13.5-pound baby</a></h2>
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It's impressive that baby Jasleen was delivered without a C-section — but was it safe?</div>
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Since entering the world at 13.47 pounds last Friday, baby Jasleen has made headlines and records. Jasleen was delivered vaginally at University Hospital in Leipzig, making her the largest baby in the country to be delivered without a cesarean section.</div>
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However, while people have been cooing over the giant bundle of joy and marveling that her mother, Maria, delivered her vaginally, is it safe for a baby to be that large and be delivered without a C-section?</div>
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The answer, generally speaking, is no. But the circumstances in this case are complicated by the reason behind baby Jasleen’s girth: Her mother had been suffering from an undiagnosed case of gestational diabetes.</div>
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Gestational diabetes is usually tested for between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. It is very treatable, often with just monitoring the mother’s blood sugar and bringing in diet and exercise changes. In fact, insulin medicine is recommended for only 10 to 20 percent of women with gestational diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic.</div>
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When it is left untreated, though, the extra glucose in the mother’s bloodstream crosses the placenta to trigger the baby’s pancreas to make insulin. As a result, the baby grows to an unhealthily large size, a condition known as fetal macrosomia, which is somewhat arbitrarily defined at a threshold of 8 pounds, 13 ounces — a threshold that Jasleen well exceeds.</div>
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Generally, babies with fetal macrosomia are delivered via C-section. Due to their large size, there is greater likelihood for shoulder dystocia, which is when a baby’s shoulder cannot fit through the mother’s pelvis and the baby gets caught in the birth canal. Dr. Elizabeth G. Baxley and Dr. Robert W. Gobbo at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) call it "one of the most frightening emergencies in the delivery room," in part because a trapped baby may not be able to breath.</div>
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Yet, despite the evidence in favor of a C-section, the doctors at University Hospital were not necessarily wrong in their decision to naturally deliver Jasleen. According to a hospital statement by chief of obstetrics Holger Stepan, "We decided to try natural birth, as a child of this size [with] the excess weight of the mother, a cesarean section would have been associated with a significant risk." Though fairly routine, "C-sections can be risky for both the baby and the mother," notes James Fleur at Science Recorder. Possible problems include blood clots for the mother and breathing problems for the baby.</div>
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Moreover, since Jasleen’s mother had never been previously treated at the hospital, the physicians were unaware of her gestational diabetes and likely could not anticipate how large a baby Jasleen would be. And it’s not unheard of to vaginally deliver a baby of that size. Just this March, British baby George King was delivered vaginally, clocking in at 15 pounds 7 ounces.</div>
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At the moment, though, baby Jasleen is doing well and being cared for in the hospital’s neonatal unit. Her mother is also doing quite well, though still recovering from the shock of her big surpise. She told the Daily Mail, "I had no idea there was such a giant inside of me."</div>
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The science behind delivering a 13.5-pound baby The science behind delivering a 13.5-pound baby It's impressive that baby Jasle...

Return of long-absent bumblebee near Seattle stirs scientific buzz

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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/return-of-long-absent-bumblebee-near.html">Return of long-absent bumblebee near Seattle stirs scientific buzz</a></h2>
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 A North American bumblebee species that all but vanished from about half of its natural range has re-emerged in Washington state, delighting scientists who voiced optimism the insect might eventually make a recovery in the Pacific Northwest.</div>
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Entomologists and bee enthusiasts in recent weeks have photographed several specimens of the long-absent western bumblebee - known to scientists as Bombus occidentalis - buzzing among flower blossoms in a suburban park north of Seattle.</div>
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"It's a pretty big deal," said Rich Hatfield, a biologist for the Oregon-based Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, which documents and reports such findings.</div>
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"It gives us hope that we can do some conservation work, and perhaps the species has a chance at repopulating its range," he told Reuters this week.</div>
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The multiple sightings, including observations of several queens, are evidence of western bumblebee colonies in the area, although it hardly proves the species has returned in force and or that it will thrive in the region, Hatfield said.</div>
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Last year, a single western bumblebee, recognized by its distinctive white-banded bottom, was discovered by an insect enthusiast in her mother's garden in suburban Brier, Washington. It was the first sighting in Washington state west of the Cascades in well over a decade.</div>
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Her sighting was confirmed earlier this month as more than an isolated incident when Will Peterman, 42, a freelance writer-photographer and self-described "bee nerd" from Seattle, ventured into a park in Brier to capture his own shots of Bombus occidentalis foraging in blackberry bushes for nectar and pollen.</div>
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He returned on Sunday with a group of University of Washington entomologists to conduct a more thorough canvass of the park and surrounding areas. While the group failed to locate a nest - hives are dwellings for domesticated honeybees - they identified and photographed at least three queens.</div>
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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/return-of-long-absent-bumblebee-near.html">CAUSE OF POPULATION CRASH UNCLEAR</a></h3>
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Bombus occidentalis is one of four wild North American bumblebee species whose populations began to plummet two decades ago, while honeybees - commercially bred for the most part - have undergone less precipitous declines, Hatfield said.</div>
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Scientists have cited a number of likely factors for bumblebee declines, including parasites, pesticides and habitat fragmentation.</div>
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Until the mid-1990s, the western bumblebee was among the most common bees in the Western United States and Canada, where it was valued as a key pollinator for tomatoes and cranberries.</div>
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It has since virtually disappeared from about half its historic range, a vast stretch of the West Coast from central California to southern British Columbia, although its population remains relatively robust in the Mountain West.</div>
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Scientists are not certain what caused North American bumblebee populations to crash.</div>
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But a leading theory advanced by Robbin Thorp, a retired entomology professor at the University of California at Davis, points to efforts to commercially cultivate colonies of western bumblebees in Europe starting in the mid-1990s.</div>
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American-bred western queens shipped to Europe likely were exposed there to a fungus that might have spread and devastated wild North American bumblebee populations when infected European-bred bees were transported back to the United States, Hatfield said.</div>
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The discovery of the bees near Seattle could mean a population resistant to the fungus has emerged, he said. The bees may also be part of a population never exposed to the fungus or that originated in a distant colony to the east.</div>
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Return of long-absent bumblebee near Seattle stirs scientific buzz A North American bumblebee species that all but vanished from abou...

Smaller, paler Earth unveiled in new NASA photo

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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/smaller-paler-earth-unveiled-in-new.html">Smaller, paler Earth unveiled in new NASA photo</a></h2>
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A robotic space probe nearly 900 million miles from Earth turned its gaze away from Saturn and its entourage of moons to take a picture of its home planet, NASA said on Monday.</div>
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The resulting image shows Earth as a very small, blue-tinged dot - paler and tinier than in other photos - overshadowed by the giant Saturn's rings in foreground.</div>
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"We can't see individual continents or people in this portrait of Earth, but this pale blue dot is a succinct summary of who we were on July 19," Linda Spilker, Cassini spacecraft lead scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.</div>
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Cassini snapped the picture on Friday, the same day NASA's Mercury-orbiting MESSENGER probe imaged Earth as well. In that picture, Earth and the moon take up less than a pixel, but appear large because they are overexposed.</div>
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"That images of our planet have been acquired on a single day from two distant solar system outposts reminds us of this nation's stunning technical accomplishments in planetary exploration," MESSENGER lead scientist Sean Solomon, with Columbia University in New York, said in a statement.</div>
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"The whole event underscores for me our 'coming of age' as planetary explorers," added astronomer Carolyn Porco, who oversees the Cassini imaging team at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.</div>
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Usually, spacecraft in the far reaches of the solar system don't look back toward Earth to avoid damaging their instruments by direct sunlight. Last week, the sun was temporarily blocked relative to Cassini's line of sight, allowing the U.S. space agency to take the picture.</div>
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Smaller, paler Earth unveiled in new NASA photo A robotic space probe nearly 900 million miles from Earth turned its gaze away from...

NASA Telescope Snaps 1st Photos of Mystery Region on the Sun

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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/nasa-telescope-snaps-1st-photos-of.html">NASA Telescope Snaps 1st Photos of Mystery Region on the Sun</a></h2>
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NASA's newest solar observatory has taken its first photos of the lowest layers of the solar atmosphere, a mysterious and little-understood region of the sun.</div>
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The images, taken just 21 hours after mission controllers first opened the telescope’s door, reveal new details of the sun’s lower atmosphere — an area known as the "interface region." The IRIS spacecraft (short for Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph) captured images of thin magnetic structures and streams of material in the solar atmosphere. These early observations suggest tremendous amounts of energy flow through the interface region, according to NASA officials.</div>
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"With this grand opening of the telescope door and first observations from IRIS, we've opened a new window into the energetics of the sun's atmosphere," John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. "We look forward to the new insights IRIS will provide." [NASA's IRIS Solar Observatory Mission in Pictures]</div>
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The door covering the IRIS telescope was first opened on July 17, allowing it to take its first photographs of the sun. These photos showed thin, fiberlike structures that have never been seen before in the solar atmosphere, NASA officials said.</div>
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IRIS also observed vast differences in density and temperature throughout the sun's interface region, even between loops of solar material located only a few hundred miles apart from each other, the scientists said. The spacecraft also captured spots that appear to blink — rapidly brightening and then dimming — which could indicate how the energy is being transported and absorbed in this area of the sun's atmosphere.</div>
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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/nasa-telescope-snaps-1st-photos-of.html">NASA Telescope Snaps 1st Photos of Mystery Region on the Sun</a></h3>
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Energy that flows through the interface region may help power the sun's dynamic atmosphere, and heat the upper layers of the solar atmosphere to scorching temperatures of about 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius), NASA officials explained.</div>
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During its two-year mission, IRIS will closely study the sun's interface region, where most of the star's ultraviolet emissions are generated. The spacecraft will examine how solar material moves, gathers energy and heats up as it travels through this part of the lower atmosphere.</div>
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The spacecraft's telescope, which is a combination of an ultraviolet telescope and spectrograph, is designed to capture high-resolution images every few seconds, and can zero in on areas as small as 150 miles (241 km) on the sun, NASA officials said. The onboard spectrograph analyzes the sun's light, splitting it into various wavelengths and measuring how much of any given wavelength is present.</div>
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Over the next few weeks, scientists will inspect the IRIS data to ensure that the spacecraft's instruments are performing well. So far, mission managers are impressed.</div>
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"The quality of the images and spectra we are receiving from IRIS is amazing — this is just what we were hoping for," Alan Title, IRIS principal investigator at Lockheed Martin in Palo Alto, Calif., said in a statement. "There is much work ahead to understand what we're seeing, but the quality of the data will enable us to do that."</div>
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NASA Telescope Snaps 1st Photos of Mystery Region on the Sun NASA's newest solar observatory has taken its first photos of the low...

Ten greatest athletes in Atlanta sports history

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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/ten-greatest-athletes-in-atlanta-sports.html">Ten greatest athletes in Atlanta sports history</a></h1>
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Perhaps overshadowed by being the birthplace of Coca-Cola and the headquarters of CNN, Atlanta is rarely thought of as a sports mecca. However, it should.</div>
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Without any professional franchises in neighboring states, Atlanta served as the unofficial capital of sports in the Southeastern United States for many decades. Subsequently, fans have been given front-row seats to the careers of many legendary stars.</div>
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To comb through the laundry list of deserving Atlanta athletes, those qualified to make the cut needed to have great careers while simultaneously being good ambassadors for their sport -- sorry, Michael Vick.</div>
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 This list could easily be a top 50, but the line had to be drawn somewhere. The fact that Dale Murphy, Pete Maravich and Jessie Tuggle were unable to crack their way in underscores just how many truly transcendent athletes have come through Atlanta over the years.</div>
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Ten greatest athletes in Atlanta sports history</h3>
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In alphabetical order:</div>
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<b>Hank Aaron (Braves, 1966-1974)</b></div>
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The Braves currently play home games at 755 Hank Aaron Drive -- need I say more?</div>
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 "Hammerin' Hank" is an icon in Atlanta and holds nearly every franchise record the Braves have. The true home run king of Major League Baseball played 21 of his 23 seasons with the Braves' franchise, but only nine of them came after the club's move to Atlanta in 1966. His MVP and World Series title came as a member of the Milwaukee Braves. Geographical semantics aside, Aaron hit 335 homers while playing in Atlanta, including recording-breaking No. 715. </div>
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<b>Tom Glavine Braves (1987-2002, 2008)</b></div>
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With 305 career wins and two Cy Young Awards, Glavine was a Braves legend, even though he made the very misguided decision to sign with the hated New York Mets in 2003. Glavine returned to the fold to retire with Atlanta in 2008, and he has now been welcomed back as Chip Caray's part-time voice of reason during Sunday home games.</div>
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<b>Evander Holyfield (44 wins, 10 losses, 29 TKO, 2 draws)</b></div>
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When discussing all-time great Atlanta athletes, it is always nice to be able to include one of the city's native sons. Holyfield grew up in Atlanta, and, in 1996, he was given the honor of representing the entire city by carrying the Olympic torch into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Games.</div>
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Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield remains the only fighter in history to be named Heavyweight Champion of the World five times in his career.</div>
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<b>Chipper Jones (Braves, 1993-2012)</b></div>
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On a list of Atlanta athletes, Chipper is one of the greatest. Certain players achieve such meteoric success that only one name is required. There is no mistaking Babe (Ruth), Mickey (Mantle) or Cal (Ripken Jr.) -- just as people are not going to confuse the Braves' legendary third baseman with another "Chipper." Chipper had a career .303 batting average while playing all of his 19 seasons in Atlanta.</div>
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<b><a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/ten-greatest-athletes-in-atlanta-sports.html">Ten greatest athletes in Atlanta sports history</a></b></div>
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<b>Greg Maddux (Braves, 1993-2003)</b></div>
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Maddux earned four consecutive Cy Young Awards from 1992-1995. There have been Atlanta athletes more beloved, but maybe none more respected than Maddux. In an era where pitching devolved into a position of throwers, "The Professor" was every ounce the thinking-man's pitcher.</div>
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With a Rolodex-like steel-trap of a mind for the tendencies of every hitter he faced, Maddux out-maneuvered batters with the deftness of a chess grandmaster. Even after his fastball velocity fell to just 83 mph in his final few seasons, Maddux could still get professional hitters out by being the same laser-sighted target-striker who earned 355 career victories.</div>
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<b>Dikembe Mutombo (Hawks, 1996-2001)</b></div>
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 Mutombo earns his spot as much for what he has done off the court as for what he did on it. The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and creator of the -- now banned -- post-block finger wag, is also the same man who donated $15 million of his own money to build a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mutombo has been mentioned by name in presidential speeches, while his foundation has been lauded for its humanitarian efforts around the world. Considering he also ranks No. 2 in NBA history in blocked shots (3,289), the basketball thing also worked out pretty well for "Mount Mutombo."</div>
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<strong id="yui_3_9_1_16_1374653160831_732" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Matt Ryan (Falcons, 2008-present)</strong></div>
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After the 2013 season, "Matty Ice" will hold nearly every Falcons record for passing. Despite playing in only five seasons, Ryan sits just 4,513 yards and 27 touchdowns behind Steve Bartkowski for the "Dirty Bird's" top spot.</div>
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With No. 2 under center, the Falcons have turned into perennial Super Bowl contenders. However, Ryan's playoff record of 1-5 will need to change -- winning the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history would certainly help.</div>
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<b>Deion Sanders (Falcons, 1989-1993; Braves, 1991-1994)</b></div>
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 Even though the lights of "Prime Time" went out after only five seasons with the Falcons, Deion's legend still looms large in the state of Georgia. Not only does Sanders have his No. 21 retired in the Falcons' Ring of Honor, but he also upped his Atlanta status by heading over to the diamond to play baseball for the Braves. Sanders stole 19 bases and hit .276 in 1992 while helping the Braves reach the World Series.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><b>John Smoltz (Braves, 1988-2008)</b></span></div>
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Few players are as adored by their hometown fans as "Smoltzie" is in Atlanta. During his 20 years with the Braves, the future Hall of Famer helped win a World Series title (1995) and scooped up a CY Young Award for himself (1996). He retired as the only player in MLB history with 200-plus wins and 150-plus saves. Smoltz also has a budding "stand-up comedy" career, which can be heard from the press box on select TBS and Peachtree TV telecasts.</div>
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<b>Dominique Wilkins (Hawks, 1982-1994)</b></div>
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"The Human Highlight Film" gets lost in an era with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, yet Wilkins' mark of 24.83 points per game is only 0.67 points behind Kobe Bryant's career numbers.</div>
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 His legacy will forever be tied to his dunking. Dominique won the NBA Dunk Contest in 1985 and 1990, and was a part of -- perhaps -- the greatest dunk-off in history when he went slam-for-slam with Jordan in 1988. We all know who really won that contest, had it not been held in Chicago.</div>
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Anthony Schreiber is a freelance sportswriter. He has penned articles for a variety of online publications and magazines.</div>
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Ten greatest athletes in Atlanta sports history Perhaps overshadowed by being the birthplace of Coca-Cola and the headquarters of CNN...

Anthony Weiner, flanked by wife, apologizes for sending more lewd messages after resignation

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<span style="font-size: 28px; line-height: 33px;"><a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/anthony-weiner-flanked-by-wife.html">Anthony Weiner, flanked by wife, apologizes for sending more lewd messages after resignation</a></span></h1>
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NEW YORK — Anthony Weiner confirmed Tuesday that he was behind a series of newly released explicit messages sent to a woman who was not his wife more than a year after a sexting scandal forced him out of Congress in 2011.</div>
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Flanked by his wife, longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, Weiner acknowledged in a press conference Tuesday evening that he continued to send the messages even after he had resigned from Congress,. He said the issue was now "behind" him and that he was no longer in touch with any online paramours.</div>
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The generally press-shy Abedin surprised the room by reading a brief statement of support for her husband after Weiner's prepared comments. "Anthony has made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after," Abedin said, appearing emotional. "But I do strongly believe that that's between us." Abedin added that she's forgiven him after much therapy and wants to move forward. "Our marriage, like many others, has had its ups and its downs."</div>
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<a href="http://worldofnews360.blogspot.com/2013/07/anthony-weiner-flanked-by-wife.html">Anthony Weiner, flanked by wife, apologizes for sending more lewd messages after resignation</a></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px;">In a statement to reporters Tuesday afternoon, the Democratic mayoral hopeful confirmed he sent the messages, some of which were sent under the name “Carlos Danger.” But Weiner did not address the issue of when the messages were sent until his press conference.</span></div>
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Weiner resigned from Congress in June 2011 after he was busted sending explicit pictures and texts to several women. The former lawmaker largely stayed out of the public eye until earlier this year, when he announced he was exploring a last-minute bid to replace outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg. </div>
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The ex-lawmaker made his mayoral run official in May — with a video in which he asked the public for a "second chance."</div>
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"I made some big mistakes, and I know I let a lot of people down, but I also learned some tough lessons," Weiner declared at the time. "I'm running for mayor because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance."</div>
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Anthony Weiner, flanked by wife, apologizes for sending more lewd messages after resignation NEW YORK — Anthony Weiner confirmed ...

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