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No Tsunami This Time

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pic tsunami.jpgAn 8.2 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific triggered fears of another tsunami. Japan, the Philippines, Guam, Indonesia, Russia and Taiwan were all on alert and preparing to evacuate. The epicenter of the quake was located in the Northern Pacific ocean about 1,700 km off Japan’s shores.

Thankfully no tidal waves have resulted from the quake. The largest wave came in 3 hours after the quake. It was a mere 40 cms. This wave hit the island of Chichi-jima and caused no damage. In fact the quake was not felt by most of the people, but only by the sensitive equipment built to track the earth’s movements. This is good since no one wants the people to panic.

Things are pretty much back to normal all over the pacific basin. The scientists remain vigilant. No one wants a repeat of the tsunami disasters two years ago. All is once again normal.

Adults With Kids Pack on More Pounds

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Fat_parents.jpgDid you know that adults with children in the house pack on more pounds than adults without kids? A medical study has found that parents who have their children living with them – no matter what the age, generally eat more saturated fat, too much of which can make one a candidate for heart disease.

How much saturated fat? It will seem like a tiny amount – 2 grams of saturated fat but that’s actually the equivalent of a weekly dose of one whole pepperoni pizza. The problem is that even tiny amounts become big over time. They get piled up and the end result, parents are fatter than they planned on.

Dr. Helena Laroche says that it is not the fault of the children. Rather it is a combination of factors such as high stress lifestyles and eating convenience foods. These processed foods may be quick to serve but in the long run, they add unwanted pounds and inches on the body.

These parents also often have less free time than adults without kids. So far the study show that the food choices made are often poor because of lack of time or because they are swayed by the preferences of the children such as the kids love for greasy food like hamburger and pizza.

The results of the study will be published next week.

Tracking Santa On Christmas Eve

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Every December many children (and a few adults) are hopeful that they will get a visit from Santa. They are each hoping that they made it on the good list and not on the naughty one. Some do not believe that he exists at all.

Well, for those who do believe and hope that they will see him when he comes calling, there is a way to find out where the guy in the bright red suit is. North American Aerospace Defense Command is ready and waiting to help track Santa. Operation NORAD Tracks Santa will begin at 2am MST on December 24, Christmas Eve.

NORAD, and its predecessor CONAD, have been doing this for 50 years. They track Santa using the radar called the North Warning System. It has 47 installations along the North American border. The moment that Santa has been detected taking off from the north pole, the satellite network will now be used to track Santa’s flight. It works using infared sensors which can detect Rudolph’s red nose easily by its infared signature.

There are also Santa cams deployed this year. These high speed digital cameras are scattered around the world. Note that they are only used once a year – on Christmas Eve.

Lastly, there are NORAD (Canadaian and American) fighter pilots assigned to intercept Santa and welcome him at various points. They will fly will fly with Santa and his reindeers part way, taking turns.
Children can call or email to ask about Santa’s location. There will be over 800 volunteers taking turns to answer the lines and respond to the emails. They can also visit the website for updates.

Laughter Is Contagious

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Ever noticed that if you see someone laughing, even if you can’t hear what they are saying, you will often find yourself smiling, in some cases laughing as well. If you’ve been wondering if it was just you, relax. It is something that affects everybody. Besides laughter is the best medicine – as the saying goes.

The Journal of Neuroscience published the study last December 12. Among the findings is that people respond more quickly to positive sounds than negative ones. Scientists have discovered that a portion of our brain called the premotor corticol region, which controls the facial muscles, responds to sounds.

We have always known that we tend to automatically mimic the facial expressions of people we talk with. Apparently our brain does the same with laughter. The result: “laugh and the whole world laughs with you” exactly as another old saying goes.

Baby Plesiosaur Fossil Found in the Antarctic

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Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth and another piece of evidence of this has been found one of the islands in the antarctic. This baby plesiosaur is about five feet long and is almost completely intact, much to the delight of its finders.

The expedition was led by James E. Martin, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Museum of Geology where the bones will be put on display. Other members of the expedition included Judd Case of Eastern Washington University and Marcelo Reguero from Argentina‘s Museo de la Plata.

The best known image of a plesiosaur for most people is Nessie or the Loch Ness monster as it is often called. Though this skeleton is a mere five feet, an adult would measure about 32 feet long. It wasn’t easy to transport the fossil. It was finally flown by helicopter to its new home.

Since the bones were found in volcanic ash, the scientists speculate that the plesiosaur may have been caught in an eruption. It could have been killed by the blast or by the lava or ash from the explosion.

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