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Word & Quote of the Day (Apr 04, 2008)

(2008-03-23 06:15:38) 下一个

Article of the Day

The Flu

Influenza, commonly known as ?flu,? is a highly contagious viral disease that is characterized by fever, respiratory symptoms, fatigue, and muscle pain. The word influenza stems from the Latin root influentia, meaning "influence of the stars," because before people knew that organisms cause disease, they thought that the stars influenced the spread of influenza. Between 1918 and 1919, how many people were killed in a worldwide lethal flu pandemic? More...



In the News

Health Benefits of Guzzling Water Debunked

People have long touted water’s curative properties, claiming that drinking eight glasses a day can increase toxin excretion, improve skin tone, decrease appetite, and even reduce headache frequency, but a pair of kidney experts studying the health effects of drinking excessive amounts of the fluid concluded that there is little scientific evidence to support such claims. They say that the kidneys are responsible for flushing toxins from the body and that drinking large quantities of water does not necessarily increase the excretion of these substances. In fact, it appears that drinking a lot of water may actually impede kidney function. More on the subject...



***** Apr 04, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

marionette

Definition:(noun) A jointed puppet manipulated from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs.
Synonyms:puppet
Usage:They appeared to me clear-cut and very small, with affected voices and stiff gestures, like a procession of rigid marionettes upon a toy stage.


Quote of the Day
All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.
Alexandre Dumas
(1802-1870)



Article of the Day

The Boy Who Sees with Sound

Most bats navigate the world and locate prey through the use of echolocation, a biological sonar process in which an animal emits a sound and then uses the resulting echoes to establish the locations and identities of nearby objects. Ben Underwood, who lost his eyes to cancer at the age of three, is one of the few people who has honed his own echolocation skills and uses the technique to determine the position, size, shape, and composition of objects near him. What sports does Underwood play? More...



In the News

Big Bellied People Prone to Dementia

While past studies have found evidence suggesting that obesity in middle age raises the risk of developing dementia later in life, new research now suggests that this risk is not solely linked to weight. According to the data, having a lot of abdominal fat in one's 40s can increase one's risk of getting Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. These results remain consistent even among those who are not overweight but who have fatty bellies. Previous research has shown that the risk of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease is elevated among people with big bellies. More on the subject...


***** Apr 03, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

apodal

Definition:(adj.) Having no limbs, feet, or footlike appendages.
Synonyms:apodous
Usage:Eels are apodal and well adapted for wriggling in the mud, through the crevices of reefs, and along rocky shores.


Quote of the Day
It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own.
Arthur Conan Doyle
(1859-1930)



In the News

Do Fish Hibernate?

Scientists have discovered that an Antarctic fish, the Notothenia coriiceps, enters a hibernation-like state in order to conserve energy during the long winter season. The cod reduce their feeding, slow their heart rates, and rest near the seafloor throughout the winter months, waking about once a week to swim around before returning to the dormant state. This is the first time that a fish has been observed actively becoming torpid, a state similar to the hibernation of land animals, as part of an annual cycle. More on the subject...
In the News provided by The Free Dictionary



***** Apr 01, 2008 ****


Word of the Day

juggernaut

Definition:(noun) An overwhelming, advancing force that crushes or seems to crush everything in its path.
Synonyms:steamroller
Usage:It touched the ground just as it struck among them and mowed through them, a veritable juggernaut of destruction.


Quote of the Day
I just sit at a typewriter and curse a bit.
P. G. Wodehouse
(1881-1975)



This Day in History

Daylight Saving Time Adopted as Law in the US (1918)

Daylight saving time (DST) is the convention of advancing clocks forward one hour near the start of spring so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. DST was first mentioned in a satirical 1784 article by Ben Franklin that recommended that shops be opened and closed earlier in the day to save on the cost of lighting, and the plan later gained serious momentum with proponents like William Willett in England and Robert Garland in the US. Which two US states do not observe DST? More...



Article of the Day

Artificial Gravity

The weightlessness experienced by people in space can lead to a number of adverse health effects including nausea, muscle atrophy, and skeletal deterioration. In order to prevent astronauts from developing such health problems, engineers have proposed the development of artificial gravity devices that can simulate gravity in outer space. Theoretically, a rotating spacecraft could produce this sort of gravity inside its hull. How would a ship's rotation exert artificial gravity on an object? More...


In the News

Virtual Cure for Phantom Pain

Many amputees report experiencing painful sensations in their missing limbs, a phenomenon known as phantom limb pain. This discomfort has proved difficult to treat; however, researchers have found that exposing an amputee to the sight of someone else performing soothing, massage-like gestures can trick the patient's brain into stopping the pain sensation. The researchers developed a unique ?mirror box? that gives an amputee the visual impression of seeing his missing limb. When the patient places his good limb into one side of the box, he sees its reflection on the other side as well; and when test subjects watched as their remaining limb was touched, they reported feeling as though the missing limb was being prodded. More on the subject...
Word of the Day

discernible

Definition:(adjective) Capable of being seen or noticed.
Synonyms:evident, observable
Usage:Monkeys scampered about the deserted ruins, and gaily plumaged birds flitted in and out among the columns and the galleries far above; but no sign of human presence was discernible.


Quote of the Day
Conservative: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
Ambrose Bierce
(1842-1914)



Article of the Day

Sacrifice

Sacrifice, from the Latin word meaning "to make holy," is commonly known as the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people, to the gods as an act of propitiation or worship. Biblical accounts of sacrifice begin with Cain's sacrifice of the fruit of the ground and Abel's sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock. In the New Testament, the symbol of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb is frequently employed. Which ancient culture discouraged the practice of animal sacrifice? More...



In the News

Enslaved Girl Forced to Swim with Piranhas

Police have arrested three Italian men and shut down their circus following reports that they forced two young girls to perform dangerous stunts in tanks full of piranhas and snakes. While the older girl was forced to swim in a tank filled with freezing water and flesh-eating piranhas, her younger sister was put in a container and covered with snakes. The girls, who are 19 and 16 years old, were freed from the ?circus of horrors? along with two other relatives. The horrors suffered by this Bulgarian family bring to light the plight of millions of people caught in the global web of human trafficking. More on the subject...


***** Mar 30, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

nosegay

Definition:(noun) A small bunch of flowers.
Synonyms:bouquet, corsage, posy
Usage:The wedding was informal and intimate, with the bride wearing a simple white dress and holding a nosegay of daisies.
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary


Quote of the Day
I just sit at a typewriter and curse a bit.
P. G. Wodehouse
(1881-1975)




Article of the Day

The Global Conveyor Belt

Thermohaline circulation refers to the deepwater circulation of the oceans and is primarily caused by differences in density between the waters of different regions. It is mainly a convection process in which cold, dense water formed in the polar regions sinks and flows slowly toward the equator. The circulation of ocean waters is vitally important in dispersing heat energy around the globe. Two factors determine the density of ocean water; one is temperature, what is the other? More...



In the News

Dead Man Feels Pretty Good

It sounds like a scene from a horror film: the doctors have declared you dead and are preparing to harvest your organs for transplants; your relatives are standing over your hospital bed saying their goodbyes; and you lie there, alive, silently trapped inside your own body. This incident, however, was frighteningly real. Doctors pronounced 21-year-old Zach Dunlap brain dead after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident, but as his relatives gathered to pay their last respects, they were shocked to see him move his foot and hand. Dunlap has since regained consciousness and returned home to complete his recovery. More on the subject...



***** Mar 29, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

inebriant

Definition:(noun) An intoxicant.
Synonyms:alcoholic beverage, intoxicant, alcohol
Usage:He guzzled the inebriant like a thirsty man would water and promptly dropped to the floor with a thud.


Quote of the Day
Don't order any black things. Rejoice in his memory; and be radiant: leave grief to the children. Wear violet and purple...Be patient with the poor people who will snivel: they don't know; and they think they will live for ever, which makes death a division instead of a bond.
George Bernard Shaw
(1856-1950)



In the News

Turtle Seeks Prosthetic Flipper

Allison, a three-year-old Atlantic green sea turtle, was a mere 5-inches long when a group of tourists found her lying wounded and bloody on a beach two years ago. They brought her to a turtle hospital, where she was nursed back to health. When Allison was found, she was missing all but one of her flippers, and while she has learned to maneuver using her remaining appendage, she has little chance of survival without a second flipper. Her caregivers are now hoping that she will become the first sea turtle fitted with a prosthetic flipper. Healthy green sea turtles can live for 80 years and grow to be 450 lb (204 kg). More on the subject...



***** Mar 28, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

redolent

Definition:(adjective) Having or emitting fragrance.
Synonyms:aromatic
Usage:The whole atmosphere was redolent with the savory fumes of roast meat.


Quote of the Day
Peace rules the day, where reason rules the mind.
Wilkie Collins
(1824-1889)



Article of the Day

The Virus: Is It Really Alive?

A virus is a minute infectious agent that, in general, cannot be seen with a light microscope. It lacks an independent metabolism and is able to replicate only within a living host cell. A free virus particle does not carry out the functions of a living cell, such as respiration and growth, and may be thought of as a packaging device by which viral genetic material can be introduced into appropriate host cells. What are the arguments for and against classifying viruses as living organisms? More...



In the News

Scientists Cure Diabetes in Mice

Scientists studying diabetes in mice have managed to rid the animals of the effects of the disease using a cocktail of four drugs. Type 1 diabetes is a severe, chronic form of diabetes caused by insufficient insulin production. The disease typically appears in childhood or adolescence and is characterized by increased sugar levels in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss. The research team was able to stimulate the regeneration of insulin producing pancreatic beta cells in the lab animals and hopes to soon begin human trials of the treatment. More on the subject...



***** Mar 27,  2008 *****

Word of the Day

exothermic

Definition:(adjective) Releasing heat.
Synonyms:heat-releasing, exothermal
Usage:Scientists use a calorimeter to measure the amount of heat released during an exothermic reaction.


Quote of the Day
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
Plato
(427 BC-347 BC)



In the News

Happy Marriage Good for the Heart

A study of 204 married people and 99 singles, has found that relationship status as well as marital satisfaction affects blood pressure. Researchers found that unhappily-married adults had higher blood pressures than either happily-married or single adults. Those who were happily married had the lowest average blood pressure of all 3 groups included in the study. The study also found that during sleep, married people?especially those who were happy in their relationships?experienced the most pronounced decrease in blood pressure. People whose blood pressure remains high throughout the night are at greater risk of cardiovascular problems than those whose pressure dips. More on the subject...



***** Mar 26, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

shutout

Definition:(noun) A defeat in a game where one side fails to score.
Synonyms:skunk
Usage:The coach knew that if his team could score just one point, it would avoid the humiliation of a shutout.


Quote of the Day
I have sometimes dreamt, at least, that when the Day of Judgment dawns and the great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen come to receive their rewards ... the Almighty will turn to Peter and say, not without a certain envy when He sees us coming with our books under our arms, ?Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading.?
Virginia Woolf
(1882-1941)



***** Mar 25, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

walloping

Definition:(noun) A sound thrashing or defeat.
Synonyms:debacle, drubbing, thrashing, trouncing, whipping, slaughter
Usage:The tournament was an embarrassment, with our team receiving a thorough walloping from the opponent.


Quote of the Day
We need never be ashamed of our tears.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)




In the News

Why Birds Sing in Spring

When birds are exposed to light for longer periods of time, hormonal changes are triggered that lead them to sing. Researchers scanned 28,000 genes from the Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica, and discovered that genes in cells on the surface of the brain are switched on when the birds receive more light. The cells then release a thyroid-stimulating hormone that indirectly stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete other hormones called gonadotropins. This, in turn, causes the birds’ testes to grow, and the quail then begin to sing to attract potential mating partners. More on the subject...



Word of the Day

pauperism

Definition:(noun) A state of extreme poverty or destitution.
Synonyms:indigence, pauperization, penury, need
Usage:Two children begged for money on the subway, and their pauperism weighed heavily on the minds of the train's passengers.


Quote of the Day
Work is and always has been my salvation and I thank the Lord for it.
Louisa May Alcott
(1832-1888)




In the News

Men and Women Eat Differently

The most extensive study of gender differences in eating habits, a telephone survey of 14,000 Americans, has confirmed that men generally eat more meat than women and that women consume more fruits and vegetables. Researchers found that men were more likely to eat meat and poultry, especially duck, veal, and ham, and certain shellfish such as shrimp and oysters. Surprisingly, the men were also more likely to eat asparagus, brussels sprouts, peas, and peanuts. Women were more likely to eat fruits and vegetables, especially carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and apples, as well as eggs and yogurt. More on the subject...


***** Mar 23, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

apostasy

Definition:(noun) Abandonment of one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause.
Synonyms:defection, renunciation
Usage:He had been very devoted to his cause, so when he declared his apostasy to the crowd, there was an audible gasp.
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary


Quote of the Day
Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
Sun Tzu
(544 BC-496 BC)
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