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Huffpost Science

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If you’ve ever wondered what an asteroid impact on the Earth would look like in slow motion, have a look at this incredible new video (above) from researchers at the University of Minnesota.

In the video, a raindrop stands in for the asteroid, and a layer of sand stands in for the surface of the Earth. As the drop falls onto the sand, the granular surface deforms into a crater. The researchers say it’s very similar, on a tiny scale, to what happens when a space rock smashes into our planet.

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Click link below for story and slideshow:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/08/raindrops-on-sand-asteroids-video_n_6288450.html

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FROM

Huffpost Crime

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More than 20,000 police officers and other mourners gathered Saturday at Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens for the funeral of Rafael Ramos, one of two NYPD officers shot and killed in an ambush last Saturday.

In attendance were Ramos’ wife and two sons, cops from all over the country, and several public figures, including Vice President Joe Biden, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“I’m sure I speak for the whole nation when I say to you that our hearts ache for you,” Biden said. He spoke of his own brush with tragedy, when his wife and daughter died in a car crash in 1972. “I know from personal experience that there is little anyone can say or do to ease the pain,” he said.

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Police line the streets and sidewalks as vehicles pass.

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Larry Hester was 33 years old when doctors diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease where the eyes’ light-sensitive retinas deteriorate. He became blind. But thanks to his high-tech retinal prosthesis from North Carolina’s Duke Eye Center, the 66-year-old is seeing things in an entirely new way.

A video posted Oct. 7 captured the moment when Hester’s eye surgeon, Dr. Paul Hahn, turned on the device’s electronic stimulator for the first time since he implanted the sensor last month. Hester immediately flinched, literally taken aback by the sudden sight of light after three decades of darkness.

According to the Duke Medicine blog, Hester is the seventh person in the United States to receive the retinal prosthesis, which gives him the ability to differentiate between light and dark spots within its field of vision.

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Click link below for story and video:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/larry-hester-bionic-eye-retinal-prosthesis-duke_n_5978562.html?cps=gravity_2890_-3201358402205680813

Previously the older anti-depressants were notorious for triggering or precipitating (hypo)manic episodes in Bipolar patients, newer antidepressants such as SSRIs, bupropion and venlafaxine, do not appear as likely to precipitate mania. Both the mood stabilisers lamotrigine (Lamictal) and Topiramate (Topamax) don’t carry a risk of inducing mania.  In the DSM-IV and DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) stipulates that diagnosing a person with Bipolar Disorder has to fit these criteria:

Criteria F: The episode is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g. a drug of abuse, a medication, other treatment).
Note: A full hypomanic episode that emerges during antidepressant treatment (e.g. medication, electroconvulsive therapy) but persists at a fully syndromal level beyond the physiological effect of that treatment is sufficient evidence of a hypomanic episode diagnosis(My note: most* antidepressants other than Prozac are out of your system in a week). However, caution is…

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The Obama administration is accelerating its efforts to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center, preparing to move dozens of inmates out of the prison in coming months in a step forward for President Obama’s redoubled attempt to achieve a core national security objective before he leaves office.

U.S. officials, describing administration plans to significantly reduce the Guantanamo population over the next six months, said they are in talks with a wide range of countries that they hope will accept all 64 detainees approved for transfer.

Obama has spoken to fellow heads of government in an effort to arrange transfers, the officials said, one sign of the increased personal role they expect he will take as he inches closer to the closure of the prison.

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Click link below for article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-prepares-to-ramp-up-transfers-from-guantanamo/2014/12/24/46685a86-8ab9-11e4-a085-34e9b9f09a58_story.html?postshare=8031419438151637

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Why so many people blow them off instead of heading to the doctor.

Before you discount that persistent cough as just another part of flu season, you might want to ask your doctor to give it a second glance. According to a new study by Cancer Research U.K., more than half of adults have experienced alarm bells that could mean cancer, yet just two percent of them believed cancer could be a possible cause.

Researchers sent questionnaires to nearly 5,000 U.K. residents registered with general practitioners—in other words, men and women who have and visit a primary care doctor. Just shy of 1,800 people completed the questionnaire, and five were eliminated because they indicated they’d already been diagnosed with cancer.

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Shutterstock

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Click link below for article and complete list:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/ignored-cancer-symptoms?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_340924&cid=partner_zergnet

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If for no other reason, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb deserves kudos for the excellent special effects.  What an honor it was to see Micky Rooney and Robin Williams in their final performance.   I’m glad it was a descent flick, what a legacy they leave.  The movie was fun, as usual, as I liked the entire series of the museum films.  Night at the Museum is a real family adventure movie that tells a little romance, a little history and offers  a lot of good wholesome laughs.  Ben Stiller acts as though he really believes in this project — he always puts on an excellent show and his acting is fantastic.  Maybe it’s just my imagination, but Robin Williams didn’t seem entirely himself — he seemed a little down, not the usual cut up I’m use to.  While I’m saddened to see these great actors disappear from…

FROM

Huffpost Science

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Talk about fireworks in the bedroom.

When a sperm cell fuses with an egg, it triggers the sudden release of zinc atoms from the egg’s surface. That’s been known since 2011. Now, for the first time ever, scientists have observed these “sparks” in action (see video above) and figured out where they come from.

“The egg first has to stockpile zinc and then must release some of the zinc to successfully navigate maturation, fertilization and the start of embryogenesis,” Dr. Thomas V. O’Halloran, a professor of chemistry and molecular biosciences at Northwestern University in Chicago and one of the scientists, said in a written statement. “But exactly how much zinc is involved in this remarkable process and where is it in the cell? We needed data to better understand the molecular mechanisms at work as an egg becomes a new organism.”

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