Mi Choza De Nipa

English: A "Golden False Acacia" in the Swiss Garden at Old Warden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Is this something like the same tree that adapts to the changing season? Far out? Ahh... just read on... ----- DEBORAH STRANGE As the pursuit of multiple professions and passions has become the norm, people juggle multiple identities. Kevin Gleeson, for instance, is a graphic artist for the New York Police Department , where he designs banners and materials for news conferences. He usually wears a jacket, tie and his long hair pulled into a ponytail. But one day, when he was called to the commissioner’s office unexpectedly, he wore pink pants and his hair undone. Mr. Gleeson was dressed as his alter-ego, a Keith Richards impersonator. “They call me the Keith-iest Keith,” Mr. Gleeson told The New York Times while preparing to play with the Stony Rollers, a Rolling Stones tribute band. Mr. Gleeson has been performing Keith Richards’s music for more than 40 years....

Some things we mean for good causes something bad - and it is with best intentions sometimes...! ----- Posted: 22 November 2012 CHICAGO: Bolsters used to keep sleeping babies on their backs pose a suffocation hazard, health officials warned Wednesday after a recent death raised the 'sleep positioners' toll to at least 13 US infants . Health officials first warned parents not to use the devices in 2010 and cracked down on manufacturers who claimed they could prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome , which claims more than 2,000 infants a year in the United States . But the 'sleep positioners' - which typically feature bolsters attached to each side of a thin mat and sometimes a wedge to elevate the baby's head - remain on the market. Most of the babies - all four months of age or younger - suffocated after rolling from their side to their stomach. Some were found trapped between the bolster and the side of the crib. In addition to the 13 reported deaths since 19...

This is surely for mothers who are keen to have the best baby, even before it is born... ----- Posted: 15 November 2012 PARIS: Researchers said Thursday they have found evidence that Vitamin D supplements for pregnant women in the world's colder, darker countries may stave off multiple sclerosis (MS) in their offspring. The finding adds to a growing body of work showing a link between low Vitamin D levels and the debilitating disease, which sees the immune system attacking the body's own nerve fibres. Data on more than 150,000 MS patients born in places north of 52 degrees, revealed a heightened risk for those born in April - a month preceded by a long period without sunlight, said a paper in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry . Of the total, 13,300 were born in April compared to 11,600 in November - a lower-risk month after summer in the northern hemisphere, British researchers wrote. "Month of birth has a significant effect on subsequent MS ri...

Now this is really an eye-opener; we've known this for some time, but i think many more don't know this. So how about the iPad ? I've heard parents say that it is a 'boost' to their child's learning the alphabets and numbers. Maybe it is just the videos after all. Think so? ----- Posted: 18 October 2011 WASHINGTON: Watching television or videos is discouraged for babies under age two because studies suggest it could harm their development, a US paediatricians ' group said on Tuesday. Instead of allowing infants to watch videos or screens, parents should talk to them and encourage independent play, said the first guidelines issued in more than a decade by the American Academy of Paediatrics. The advice is the same as that issued in 1999 by United States' largest association of paediatricians, but this time it also warns parents of how their own screen-watching habits may delay their children's ability to talk. "This updated policy ...

Image via Wikipedia October 17, 2011 (AP)   WASHINGTON — Does your teen show normal nerves about the weekend party, or always stay home? Nearly half of teenagers say they're shy, perhaps a bit surprising in our say-anything society. But a government study finds a small fraction of those teens show signs of a troubling anxiety disorder that can be mistaken for extreme shyness. The report challenges criticism that the terms "social phobia" or " social anxiety disorder " medicalize normal shyness. "Shyness is a normal human temperament," says lead researcher Dr. Kathleen Merikangas of the National Institute of Mental Health , whose teachers always noted her own childhood shyness on her report cards. But just as it can be hard to tell when feeling sad turns into depression, "there is a blurred boundary between people who describe themselves as shy and clinically significant impairment," Merikangas adds. The difference: The shy can be...

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection can be used to provide fertility for men with cystic fibrosis (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Posted: 26 August 2011 HONG KONG: Hong Kong scientists said on Friday they have discovered a molecule that binds human sperm to an egg, i n a breakthrough which offers new hope for infertile couples. The study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) found a key molecule on the coating of the human egg, called sialyl-LewisX (SLeX), which acts as a binding agent to help the sperm and egg stick together. "This research provides an enlightening answer to a basic important question and human fertilisation -- how does a sperm bind to an egg?" William Yeung , one of the researchers, told AFP . "But this is only a first step that will lead to more discoveries," said Yeung, who is also a professor at HKU's department of obstetrics and gynaecology. The identification of SLeX will help to pinpoint patients whose infertili...