Feb 5, 2011

The Numbers Behind China (Infographic)

The Numbers Behind China (Infographic)

The Numbers Behind China (Infographic)




China is huge and growing at breakneck speed. With 1.3 billion people, China’s population is four times the size of U.S.

The Numbers Behind China (Infographic)


Click on image to view in full size. 

The Numbers Behind China (Infographic)

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Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

The universe is a weird place. Here's a look at some of the strangest things in the cosmos.



7. Dark Matter
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Scientists think it makes up the bulk of matter in the universe, but it can neither be seen nor detected directly using current technologies. Candidates range from light-weight neutrinos to invisible black holes. Some scientists question whether dark matter is even real, and suggest that the mysteries it was conjured to solve could be explained by a better understanding of gravity.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space


6. Exoplanets
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Until about the early 1990s, the only known planets in the universe were the familiar ones in our solar system. Astronomers have since identified more than 500 extrasolar planets (as of November 2010). They range from gargantuan gas worlds whose masses are just shy of being stars to small, rocky ones orbiting dim, red dwarfs. Searches for a second Earth, however, are still ongoing. Astronomers generally believe that better technology is likely to eventually reveal worlds similar to our own.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space


5. Gravity Waves
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Gravity waves are distortions in the fabric of space-time predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. The gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, but they are so weak that scientists expect to detect only those created during colossal cosmic events, such as black hole mergers like the one shown above. LIGO and LISA are two detectors designed to spot the elusive waves.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space


4. Galactic Cannibalism
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Like life on Earth, galaxies can "eat" each other and evolve over time. The Milky Way's neighbor, Andromeda, is currently dining on one of its satellites. More than a dozen star clusters are scattered throughout Andromeda, the cosmic remains of past meals. The image above is from a simulation of Andromeda and our galaxy colliding, an event that will take place in about 3 billion years.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space


3. Neutrinos
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Neutrinos are electrically neutral, virtually mass-less elementary particles that can pass through miles of lead unhindered. Some are passing through your body as you read this. These "phantom" particles are produced in the inner fires of burning, healthy stars as well as in the supernova explosions of dying stars. Detectors are being embedded underground, beneath the sea, or into a large chunk of ice as part of IceCube, a neutrino-detecting project.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space


2. Quasars
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

These bright beacons shine to us from the edges of the visible universe and are reminders to scientists of our universe's chaotic infancy. Quasars release more energy than hundreds of galaxies combined. The general consensus is that they aremonstrous black holes in the hearts of distant galaxies. This image is of quasar 3C 273, photographed in 1979.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space


1. Vacuum Energy
Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

Quantum physics tells us that contrary to appearances, empty space is a bubbling brew of "virtual" subatomic particles that are constantly being created and destroyed. The fleeting particles endow every cubic centimeter of space with a certain energy that, according to general relativity, produces an anti-gravitational force that pushes space apart. Nobody knows what's really causing the accelerated expansion of the universe, however.

Top 7 Strangest Things in Space

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Conjoined Animals : Amazing Nature Creation

Conjoined Animals

Conjoined Animals


For all the amazing and beautiful creations nature provides us with there are always going to be the less attractive of specimens, that’s fine because that’s how nature intended them. Well, these examples are certainly not how nature intended them. Proof that even nature can get it wrong!


1 – Cyclops Kitten!

Snug as a bug in a rug, peaceful yet… menacing!

Conjoined Animals


2 – Cyclops Pig

I don’t know where to start with this, i think its a pig…


3 – Two Headed Piglet

Rudy the 2 headed piglet


4 – Four Legged Chicken

Four legged chicken? erm… no thanks


5 – Six Legged Deer

Frankenstein Bambi?


6 – Two Headed Turtle

Hopefully that is a two headed turtle, if not it must be very tight in there!


7 – Two Headed Snake

Being a mutants not always bad, this snake sold for a pile of cash!


8 – Cat With Four Ears

Just try sneaking up on this cat!


9 – Seven Legged Lamb

Almost an octo-lamb


10 – Two Headed Kitten

Would you trust this 2 faced kitten?

Conjoined Animals

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'Dating' site imports 250,000 Facebook profiles without permission

'Dating' site imports 250,000 Facebook profiles without permission



How does a unknown dating site, with the absurd intention of destroying Facebook, launch with 250,000 member profiles on the first day?
Simple.
You scrape data from Facebook.
At least, that's the approach taken by two provocateurs who launched Lovely-Faces.com this week, with profiles -- names, locations and photos -- scraped from publicly accessible Facebook pages. The site categorizes these unwitting volunteers into personality types, using a facial recognition algorithm, so you can search for someone in your general area who is "easy going," "smug" or "sly."
Or you can just search on people's real names.
The duo behind the site say it's art, not commerce.
In what seems to be liberal-arts-grad-schoolese, Paolo Cirio, a media artist, and Alessandro Ludovic, media critic and editor in chief of Neural magazine, explain why they made the site.
"Facebook, an endlessly cool place for so many people, becomes at the same time a goldmine for identity theft and dating -- unfortunately, without the user's control. But that's the very nature of Facebook and social media in general. If we start to play with the concepts of identity theft and dating, we should be able to unveil how fragile a virtual identity given to a proprietary platform can be."
And, the duo speculate, if people pull hard enough on that bothersome thread, Facebook's $50 billion valuation will unravel.
Facebook, as you might expect, is not amused.
"Scraping people's information violates our terms," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook's director of policy communications. "We have taken, and will continue to take, aggressive legal action against organizations that violate these terms. We're investigating this site and will take appropriate action."
Facebook's terms of service require those who want to collect data from its pages to apply for permission, which Cirio and Ludovic did not do when they pulled down publicly available profile information on a million Facebook users. (They aren't the first to scrape a million Facebook profiles.)
Cirio and Ludovic say they will take down a user's profile, if a person asks and the site doesn't have any indication they are actually trying to make any money. Instead, it's part of a series of prank sites, the first two of which aimed at Google and Amazon, intended to make people think more about data in the age of internet behemoths.
Moreover, it's a bit funny hearing Facebook complain about scraping of personal data that is quasi-public.
Mark Zuckerberg, the company's founder, made his name at Harvard in 2003 by scraping the names and photos of fellow classmates off school servers to feed a system called FaceMash. With the photos, Zuckerberg created a controversial system that pitted one co-ed against another, by allowing others to vote on which one was better looking.
So even if Facebook's anticipated legal nasty gram makes its way to the duo, who seem to be based somewhere in Europe, they'll have an excellent defense.

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Information about Heart Attack

Heart Attack

Heart Attack


A heart attack occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. If the flow of blood isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die.

Heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women in the United States. But fortunately, today there are excellent treatments for heart attack that can save lives and prevent disabilities. Treatment is most effective when started within 1 hour of the beginning of symptoms. If you think you or someone you’re with is having a heart attack, call 9–1–1 right away.

Overview
Heart attacks occur most often as a result of a condition called coronary artery disease (CAD). In CAD, a fatty material called plaque (plak) builds up over many years on the inside walls of the coronary arteries (the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to your heart). Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture, causing a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the part of the heart muscle fed by the artery.

Figure A is an overview of a heart and coronary artery showing damage (dead heart muscle) caused by a heart attack. Figure B is a cross-section of the coronary artery with plaque buildup and a blood clot.

During a heart attack, if the blockage in the coronary artery isn’t treated quickly, the heart muscle will begin to die and be replaced by scar tissue. This heart damage may not be obvious, or it may cause severe or long-lasting problems.

Severe problems linked to heart attack can include heart failure and life-threatening arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can’t pump enough blood throughout the body. Ventricular fibrillation is a serious arrhythmia that can cause death if not treated quickly.


Get Help Quickly
Acting fast at the first sign of heart attack symptoms can save your life and limit damage to your heart. Treatment is most effective when started within 1 hour of the beginning of symptoms.

The most common heart attack signs and symptoms are:

Chest discomfort or pain—uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest that can be mild or strong. This discomfort or pain lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back.

Upper body discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

Shortness of breath may occur with or before chest discomfort.

Other signs include nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), vomiting, lightheadedness or fainting, or breaking out in a cold sweat.

If you think you or someone you know may be having a heart attack:
 start of symptoms.
If your symptoms stop completely in less than 5 minutes, still call your doctor.

Only take an ambulance to the hospital. Going in a private car can delay treatment.

Take a nitroglycerin pill if your doctor has prescribed this type of medicine.

Outlook
Each year, about 1.1 million people in the United States have heart attacks, and almost half of them die. CAD, which often results in a heart attack, is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States.

Many more people could recover from heart attacks if they got help faster. Of the people who die from heart attacks, about half die within an hour of the first symptoms and before they reach the hospital.
 The heart is a muscle like any other in the body. It needs blood flow to supply oxygen to allow it to do work. When there isn't enough oxygen, the muscle starts to suffer, and when there is no oxygen, the muscle starts to die.

Heart muscle gets its blood supply from arteries that start in the aorta and run on the surface of the heart, known as the coronary arteries. The right coronary artery supplies the right ventricle of the heart and the inferior (lower) portion of the left ventricle. The left anterior descending coronary artery supplies the majority of the left ventricle, while the circumflex artery supplies the back of the left ventricle. 

Over time, cholesterol buildup can occur in these blood vessels in the form of plaque. This narrows the artery and can restrict the amount of blood that can flow through it. If the artery becomes too narrow, it cannot supply enough blood to the heart muscle when it becomes stressed. Just like arm muscles that begin to hurt if you lift too much, or legs that ache when you run too fast; the heart muscle will ache if it doesn't get adequate blood supply. This ache is called angina.

If the plaque ruptures, a small blood clot can form within the blood vessel and acutely block the blood flow. When that part of the heart loses its blood supply completely, the muscle dies. This is called a heart attack, or an MI - a myocardial infarction (myo=muscle +cardial=heart; infarction=death due to lack of oxygen).

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