Monthly Archives: January 2012

100 things we didn’t know

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Hey Geeks,

I came across this post on the BBC website and wanted to share it with you. Mainly because a lot of the questions I get asked as a friend, Dr and educator come from stories read in the paper, tabloids and magazines.

Someone at the beeb put together a list of 100 interesting and unexpected facts we didn’t know about last year that featured in our daily news reads. Some will make you laugh out loud, others will make you go aaaaaahhh and some are just ridiculous.

Here are my personal top 5:

1- Women’s tears reduce sexual desire in men.
More details (Guardian)

And some of you thought it was cute, didn’t you? lol

2- The perfect nap lasts 26 minutes.
More details

OK, they keep changing the time, is it 15 mins or 26 mins? Big difference brain Drs.. work it out maaaaan. Please and Thank you.

3- The world’s atmosphere is worth £4.3 quadrillion, going by the air we breathe in and the price of CO2.
More details (Metro)

I mean, they really put a PRICE on the ATMOSPHERE!!! WOW

4- Chimps can outperform eight-year-olds in solving problems.
More details

CRAZY!!!

5- The male water boatman insect sings with its penis.
More details

WHAT!!! I mean, why do we need to know that? lol

ok I know I said 5 but this one is a BONUS, just because they quote, Mohamed Ali, Messi and Marodona as examples 🙂

Heart disease is less common among religious people.
More details

I am not sure what to say here…but please remember to weigh up the validity of your Science Education source.

Click on the video for some background music and then Click here for the full list and remember to always think it over! What are your top 5? Leave them as a comment, I’m interested to know 🙂

Peace

Ex

Happy Birthday Stephen Hawking

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“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet” Stephen Hawking

It is my little sisters birthday today and because I am in that mood I thought I would let you all in on my Stephen Hawking Geek Out.  The man is a legend in the Scientific World and I am honored to have met him only three years ago, definitely one of the high-lights of my career so far.

This is, of course, Stephen Hawking, the Cambridge University physicist, who was born on 8 January 1942. His life and celebrity are hard to seperate from the astounding story of how he echieved such feats while living with a form of motor neurone disease. He was famously diagnosed aged just 21 and given just a few years to live by doctors. He is still here and going strong. Amazing.

On the 8th of January 2012, Professor Hawking celebrated his 70th birthday.  Eminent physicists from around the globe descended on Cambridge to honour one of their own and celebrate the life of the world’s most famous living scientist. The Cambridge cosmologist has worked on the inflation of the early universe and a quantum theory of gravity, and famously suggested that black holes emit radiation and so slowly disappear. A Brief History of Time has sold more than 10m copies worldwide. Click on the link to get your own copy.

To coincide with Professor Stephen Hawking’s 70th birthday, the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, in conjunction with Intel, hosted a public symposium entitled ‘The State of the Universe’. Watch the video below, and listen to the man himself speak, it is actually amazing.

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The Professor also had a guest appearance on episodes of The Simpsons and Star Trek in which Data plays poker with Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Genius!

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Happy Belated Birthday Professor Hawking, thank you for sharing your light.

E

Family Guy Geek Out :-)

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Hey Geeks,

This one is short and sweet. It took me a while to get into Family Guy but get into it I eventually did. The show has some moments and skits that literally floor me sometimes.

Here is one I found earlier 🙂

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and while we are at it, i’m gonna share another of my all time favorites

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ha ha haaaaa haahhaaaaaa

Ex

Q-E, Is it true that having sex before a job interview will increase my chances? LOL

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The truth is, I got this Q a while back but kept putting it off because..well..you know :-/ but actually it is a valid scientific question. I figured now would be the right time, it is the beginning of the year and new beginnings for some, so here it goes geeks

As SV would say, I know, I know you like the art of sex…  Press play for some background music and read on

The answer to your question is a no boner..uhm I mean brainer…(sorry, I just couldn’t resist ha!)

….going to a job interview can be one of most stressful events and sex is one of the most natural ways as humans we can regulate our anxiety levels.

But how can we prove this scientifically?

In one study, using rats, researchers found daily intercourse for two weeks led to cell growth in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that keeps stress levels under control. This paper actually caused quite a stir when it was published (Sex makes your brain grow wooo hooo!!! etc etc absolutely ridiculous tabloids in the papers). Click here for the full article and hardcore science.

I know what you are thinking, E, we are not the same as rats! Right? so I dug a little deeper and came across another study to support the theory;

This research group stated that people who had daily intercourse for two weeks showed lower stress-related blood pressure than those who chose to fool around in other ways or abstain from sex altogether. (Solo sessions didn’t cut it either, I’m just saying!) Click here for the full article and hardcore science

But wait, it gets better 🙂

They also found that the body releases oxytocin (aka the love hormone) during penis-vaginal sex which acts as a natural sedative and can trigger feelings of compassion (everybody say aaaaaaaaahhhhh)

However, before we go lookin’ for love every time those stress signals go off, know that too much sex can also let loose glucocorticoids, molecules the body produces during the stress response. (Less really is more, huh? so don’t go overboard aight!)

DISCLAIMER

Dr E does not take any responsibility for any failures in job interviews, relationships or marriages related to this post.

IBM 5 in 5s Geek out

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Hello Geeks,

Firstly, I want to say Happy FIG New Year to you all. Hope you all played safe 🙂

Secondly, I wanted to share with you one of my yearly geek out sessions, by no other than IBM. Towards the end of each year, IBM looks at emerging technologies and market and societal trends that they believe will change our lives.

They put all this information together and predict 5 major changes which always blow me away. Click on this link to find out more and/or check out the video below

Also, check out previous predictions, most are not far off! Let me know what you think, leave a comment and if you liked it share it.

Ex