This is an article on "What causes brain freeze?" written by Chanie Kirschner from Mother Nature Network. The author suggests a question, "What exactly causes brain freeze? And here’s a better question — how do I prevent it from happening in the first place?" the author than explains what is the reason for it. I am sure everyone has experience the brain freeze. Author Chanie starts with pointing out the bad with the ice-cream. The author says ice cream gives us headaches, which hurts a lot. The good thing about headaches is that they are usually over in a matter of seconds, or at most a couple minutes according to the article. Chanie says, for her, they always seem to come on slowly, with the pain starting at a 3 and working its way up to an 8 or 9 almost instantaneously, but they usually subside as quickly as they come, and thank God for that. The author says headaches from ice-cream do not come only from his ice-cream. Headaches can come from eating any really cold food or drink. “Like Slurpees”, she says. Chanie also says, "In fact, in 1994, 7-Eleven even trademarked the term Brain freeze to use in conjunction with its delicious frosty drink." then the author asks the readers, "So what causes ice cream headaches in the first place?". She says it has to do with the nerve receptors above the roof of your mouth." this seems like an interesting thing to know for the science, especially biology majors. According to the author when you take a bite of ice cream, some of it touches the top of your mouth, otherwise known as the hard palate. "That in turn triggers the nerves above the palate to cool down" and does that very quickly. The nerves send an emergency message to the brain that it’s about to get cold up there, and the blood vessels in the brain constrict to accommodate, Chanie. Then she says, "When the warm blood rushes through the blood vessels again []. You get a searing headache similar to a migraine." she says this is nothing to worry about because this kind of headache does not signify a serious problem. "So what to do?” the author says. Chanie suggest that if your ice cream headache has already started, chances are it’ll be over quickly. To speed things up a bit, you can touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth and hold it there, warming up your palate and calming down the brain’s reaction, Chanie suggests. Which actually works, I just tried it. then Chanie says that, to keep yourself from getting the freeze in the first place, try eating cold foods slower than usual and keep that ice cream away from the roof of your mouth if you can. She says it might seem impossible, but it’s not. She tried to research its efficacy for this article, and not only is it possible; it worked for her, according. The author have a funny sense of humor I think according to the way she explained everything. On top of that this is what she writes at the end: "That’s right, I gave myself a brain freeze for this article. That’s how dedicated I am [as] dedicated as Matt Damon gaining 40 pounds for a role." Then she rapes it up with suggesting the reader "So have no fear. You can still enjoy your favorite ice cream sans the splitting headache. Just be sure to save some for me."
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Black Magic of Cold Things
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Natural Beauty of the Ocean
The fun in the ocean beneath the cold water is absolutely not meant for humans only. This thrilling article shows the beauty of the tiny and the gigantic fish in the ocean. This article "Annual 'Sardine Run' off South Africa an unforgettable thrill for divers" is written by Pete Thomas on beauty of the fish. Pete says Part of the dynamics of the marine food chain is the bait ball: thousands or even millions of small fish concentrated near the surface in defense against larger fish and mammals." Pete tells that the diving amid these swirling masses, among voracious predators, is an awesome thrill. The author says that when ask to a renowned shark expert and marine photographer, who was enjoying the time in South Africa by the ocean, this is what the fallow said: "It is unbelievable with sharks bashing into you, dolphins herding, then smashing the balls, and gannets attacking from above," and also that, "It's simply the most unreal spectacle you could ever imagine throwing yourself into, and at the same time it's amazingly beautiful." the author informs that, Chris and Monique Fallows run Apex Shark Expeditions in South Africa. According to the article once a year Chris and Monique conduct a "Sardine Run" expedition off the country's Wild Coast region, and also this year Chris Fallows provided the accompanying images to illustrate the uniqueness and surreal nature of these voyages.
Above is a natural beautiful image of sharks patrolled the perimeter of spherical bait concentrations that "hung in the water column like a chandelier in an earthquake." According to the author once emboldened, the apex predators delved into and out of the sardine schools. Pete tells us that Dolphins planned and executed assaults on prey they had corralled. Also, according to the articles Fallows describes, "The dolphins communicate constantly with high-pitched squeaks, orchestrating well-synchronized attacks on the shoal as they attack in high-speed volleys, sending sardines bursting out of the water".
Then the author goes on and talks about the "Gannets and other seabirds dive-bomb into the fray, plucking sardines from various depths, paying no attention to predators or divers." Fallows say that "All around you it is chaos." "Dolphin squadrons, shark battalions and kamikaze gannets all attack, creating an almost dizzying underwater ballet of piscine gluttony," Fallows says. Last, but not the least amazing creature, the whale, barring for its share. The author says that, "Chris and Monique Fallows have witnessed plenty of dramatic events running shark-diving expeditions. They've helped in the production of documentaries that have aired on networks such as National Geographic, BBC and Discovery Channel." Pete also says that Fallows is actually famous for his photography of leaping great whites. Then at the end Monique says, "What makes the Sardine Run experience so unique is that one is diving in the action and you feel you are part of the whole event. Most other nature experiences are watched from either a vehicle or a boat. This experience takes you right into the moment." Source:
Three Benefits of Meditation
High blood pressure is due to hypertension. Meditation is a great way to reduce blood pressure. First of all, meditation induces a deep state of inner peace and calm, so also reducing the level of stress hormones in the body. Through a long chain reaction of biochemical processes, stress hormones cause wear and tear on the inner lining of the blood vessel walls, which is often a precursor of both high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. Secondly, meditation appears to stimulate the excretion of hormones that reduce blood vessel constriction. The less constricted blood vessels are, the more they are able to expand with differing volumes of blood flow, which is essential for normal blood pressure. This nature given gift of meditation is greatly better way to lower your blood pressure rather than by medicines.
Heart is very important part of our body. Heart attack happens when coronary arteries become narrow and blood cannot flow as well as they should because the heart muscle requires a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to feed it. The coronary arteries provide the heart with this critical blood supply. Relaxation and mental focusing can be as effective as powerful new drugs in treating heart disease. Therefore by meditating we can definitely reduce the rate chances of heart attack.
Stress is a typical part of daily life. Stress can cause upset stomach, chest pain, sleeping problems and tension. Stress also affects your brain, which is worse than any other symptoms caused by stress. The reason for affecting the brain is worse because if your brain is stressed then your whole body will be stressed. All massages come from the brain to do our daily activities. We cannot think straight and we make bad choices, sometimes worse. Therefore, let me introduce a way to cure stress by meditation. Meditation helps our body in opposite way compare to stress. Meditation helps restoring our body to a calms state; it helps body to repair itself. It also prevents new damage due to the physical effect of stress.
Reducing blood pressure, improving on heart attack, and diminishing stress were only three diseases that can be cured by meditation which I described. There are many other diseases that can definitely be cured by meditation. Meditation is exceptionally beneficial for us; and it is also better than taking drugs to cure disease. It is natures given treasure that doesn’t cost even a penny. It is free, and we can do it wherever we want whenever we want, therefore we should take advantage of it while we can.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
“FDA smoke screen on e-cigarettes”
I cannot express how much I enjoyed reading this article. It is absolutely amazing how FDA thinks about the e-cigarettes. In any case I oppose the use of something that kiss you like smoking cigarettes. I do not know much about e-cigarettes, but the author of this article states that smoke of the cigarette is what kills not the nicotine. Therefore if these e-cigarettes don’t contain smoke then I can’t oppose it. The author states that Food and Drug Administration held a press conference in which they claimed that “e-cigarettes” was loaded with harmful “toxins” and “carcinogens.” According to the article the FDA agency was implicitly saying: Stay away from these newfangled, untested cigarette substitutes — better to stick with the real ones, the ones that we are more familiar with, the ones that cause over 450,000 deaths annually in the U.S.
From my understanding if smoke out of the cigarettes the reason for harmful diseases and death then why is the FDA opposing the e-cigarettes over regular cigarettes. Let’s say e-cigarettes do harm more than regular cigarettes, but even than the real question is which cigarettes harm the innocent people more the regular cigarettes or e-cigarettes. Smokers who choose for them self to smoke are on their own for getting cancer and etc diseases, but the innocent who do not smoke and still get harmful diseases because of smoke can be relived if everyone who smokes chooses e-cigarettes over regular. There would be less pollution as well for the environment. The FDA says that e-cigarettes are more addictive than regular cigarettes and they did not say if it releases more smoke than regular cigarettes. In fact the e-cigarettes does not releases any smoke what so ever; it releases vapors. On the other side the author states that the smoke is the real reason that causes death, not the nicotine which is highly addictive. Does addiction means not good? If it is then there many things that are addictive, which should be listed in FDA’s list to ban and file a case against it, for example “Love”, “Sex”, “Water” for that matter.
It is absurd how FDA suggest people to sick with regular cigarettes over the e- cigarettes. I am not sure that e- cigarettes kills or not, but in any case even if it does the e- cigarettes only would harm the people who smoke. It would not affect the environment or the spices who do not smoke. I said species to include any living organism like birds and animals, etc. so I guess I am saying if electronic cigarettes only harm those who smoke and not the innocent ones and the environment the e-cigarettes are better choice for the world. Why should we think about the people who smoke over the world, which is the bigger picture? I am not saying we shouldn’t care about the people who smoke. We should help them quite smoking if it kills them or shortens their lives, but if it comes to think about the environment and the people who do not smoke on one side and people who choose for themselves to smoke than I think it is clear to see what is right for humanity.
At the end I would like to ask my readers that if I have offended anyone, or if I said anything wrong, or if what I think is wrong please write a comment and let me know where I was wrong and if I have wrong facts.
Link to the article: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/06/fda-smoke-screen-on-e-cigarettes/
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
“Runner, on verge of record, stopped with one lap left”
Hi, dear class mated! This article is written by Tom Bergeron who is a Rivals High Senior Editor about the high school student, runner, who was about to make a record, but was stopped due to bad weather condition. The author starts the article by saying “Talk about being stopped in your tracks ...” which says at all. Who would like to be stopped when you are on your way to make a record about anything, whether it is running or something else, and whether it is high school record or professional record. The author says Joe Rosa is one of the top high school distance runners in the country. Tom states that Joe appeared to be on his way to breaking the New Jersey state record in the 3,200-meter run with a time worthy of being on the all-time national list when he was literally forced off the track by meet officials with one lap to go due to weather concerns. According to the article Joe was preparing for his last lap when officials with the New Jersey Interscholastic State Athletic Association stopped him due to the lightning detected in the area, which was Old Bridge, NJ. The author says that “NJSIAA officials made it clear: Rules dictate all events are halted and the competitors and fans must immediately leave the area if lightning is detected.”
According to the article, the decision did not sit well with Rosa, his family, his couches and other who questioned why they couldn’t run one more lap – or why the race was allowed to start in the first place. Obviously they were not happy, who would be! According to the news his twin brother, Jim, was second in the race. Jim said, “I guess it's a rule, but we had one lap to go," he believed they should have been able to just finish it. I understand his point of view that one more lap they would have been fine. In any case what if they went for a last lap and something bad happen, then the record would not be important than that. Regardless of everyone who was unhappy and stunned that race was stopped or it got started in first place, it is not possible to predict what nature will do next. The author says that the father of the twins was stunned and said, "I guess it's a rule, but we had one lap to go," Jim Rosa said. "We should have been able to just finish it."
Further more Tom stated that “Kristin Kline, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Mt. Holly, N.J., just a few miles from where the meet was taking place, said the NJSIAA did the right thing.” I believe she was right for this matter. There is no way to predict anything, so when it comes to making a decision between allowing a person to make a world record or stop the race to save lives, I would say save a life.
Link to the article: http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1230222
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Introductory
Hi my name is Dimple Patel. I was born in India and I came to United States in June 2008. I have been in US for three years now. I speak three languages. I speak Hindi which is my national language; Gujarati which is my state language and English is my third language. I am going to be Junior in fall 2011 and my major is Information Technology. I live with my parents and they are great. I have two younger sisters. One of them is going to be Junior in high school and one of them is going to be in second grade. I love my family. I love spending time with my friends. As many people my family and friends are my world. They mean so much to me. I love listening to music. I love funny movies. My friends think I am funny and I am shy at first.
