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Electric bikes come into their own when you’re pushing up a big hill or embarking on a long journey. The M55 Bike EVO-001 is claiming that after three years’ development, they’ve got the “Ferrari of electric bikes.” Sounds…fast? More »

Brazilians are a passionate people. Unfortunately, they are also a people with high blood pressure. But the country’s health minister is telling Brazilians that a good place to fight heart problems is between the sheets.

Speaking yesterday in Brasilia to announce a new national campaign against high blood pressure, minister Jose Temporao ran down the regular list of ways to ways to reduce blood pressure — diet, exercise, regular blood-pressure checks — and he also reminded everyone that one way to get a good cardiovascular workout is with more sexytime, adding, “always with protection, obviously.”

According to the Health Ministry in Brazil, in just three years the rate of high blood pressure in the South American nation has risen from 21.5% to 24.4%.

For what it’s worth, the American Heart Association estimates that over 70 million adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure. So maybe it’s time we got our collective swerve on… in the name of healthy hearts everywhere.

Brazilian official urges countrymen to have more sex to fight high blood pressure

Speed is the most important feature. If your application is slow, people won’t use it. I see this more with mainstream users than I do with power users. I think that power users sometimes have a bit of sympathetic eye to the challenges of building really fast web apps, and maybe they’re willing to live with it, but when I look at my wife and kids, they’re my mainstream view of the world. If something is slow, they’re just gone.

—Fred Wilson offers “10 Golden Principles of Successful Web Apps”

With its new Leaf, Nissan is blowing in the wind, and the wind these days blows toward electric vehicles. Scheduled to arrive in minuscule numbers (fewer than 500 cars) at the end of 2010, the Leaf is the fully electric commuter car Nissan has been promising for several years. The Japanese automaker says the Leaf is the lead vehicle in a full line of electric cars now on the drawing board.

Keep Reading: 2011 Nissan Leaf – Feature

Related posts:

1. 2011 Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle – Official Photos and Info
2. Nissan Leaf Pricing Clarified (Somewhat)
3. Nissan Leaf Priced at $32,780—Or Less

The first time the world ever saw the original iPhone, they saw a pair of clownfish, emerging from a tangle of anemone, set as the lockscreen wallpaper. Pulled straight from OS X’s wallpaper collection, this image would go on to be used in countless first-gen iPhone marketing materials; wherever the iPhone 2G went, so did the clownfish.

Now, take a closer look at that BlackBerry OS 6.0 sneak preview video from earlier. Skip to the 50 second mark. Notice anything funny? Its.. the same.. clown fish.

What it is: Barely larger but far more practical than a Smart Fortwo, the Scion iQ is a rebadged version of Toyota’s iQ city car currently sold in Japan and Europe.

Keep Reading: 2011 Scion iQ – Feature

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As New England’s groundfish fishery prepares to move to cooperative-based catch share management later this week, Jim Stone from the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers provides insight and lessons learned from the Alaskan crab catch share program. In a column in the Juneau Empire, Jim, a 32-year fisherman, highlights the safety benefits, increased catch, and better jobs that have accompanied catch share management in Alaska’s crab fishery.

Read the full post »

It’s only taken about a billion years, but the Zeemote, your friendly neighborhood analog Bluetooth controller, has finally started supporting Android. Their new SDK for 1.6 and higher will allow developers to enable Zeemote input in “a matter of hours,” though the real question is whether there are enough games worth playing with the thing on Android?

Although I enjoy using the platform, I’ve found the game selection seriously lacking compared to the iPhone’s. It’s younger, of course, and less profitable to develop for at the moment, but it’s growing and with more powerful hardware coming out almost weekly, it really is just a matter of time (we hope) until we get some seriously cool games on the thing.

[via Phandroid]

To help prevent Hepatitis C from destroying their new liver, researchers from Japan devised a way to improve immune response in people with Hepatitis C who undergo a liver transplant.

by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.

Receiving a liver transplant may be the last chance at survival for someone whose Hepatitis C has progressed to end-stage liver disease. By removing a severely diseased liver with a healthy one, liver transplants appear to be an opportunity for someone with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) to live a virus-free life.

However, nearly all liver transplant recipients become re-infected with Hepatitis C almost immediately following their surgery. In an attempt to prevent HCV from infecting their new liver, clinicians have been scrambling for solutions to this re-infection problem. By stepping outside the box of traditional HCV treatment, researchers from Japan have devised a novel, promising strategy to prevent Hepatitis C from inundating newly transplanted livers.

The number one cause of liver transplants in America, HCV has emerged as a premier health problem. Experts estimate that around 200 million people are infected with Hepatitis C worldwide. Usually progressing to a chronic illness, approximately 50 percent of those with HCV can be cured with the current standard of therapy, pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

Unfortunately, those who have had this virus for decades and do not respond to HCV therapy are vulnerable to progressive liver damage. If HCV wrecks enough havoc on the liver, liver failure and liver cancer are two potentially devastating outcomes. These are the people whose last resort might be a successful liver transplant.

A major challenge facing liver transplant recipients and their physicians is the recurrence of HCV infection. Within the first few days after transplant surgery, it is common for Hepatitis C viral loads to climb back up to the levels before the transplant. In fact, the viral load often exceeds pre-transplantation levels. Experts believe this is due to the suppression of the immune system that results from the immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent rejection of the transplanted liver.

Keeping this deficit of the immune response in mind, researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan conducted a trial to test the HCV suppression ability of transplanted immune cells. As published in the November 2009 edition of Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers performed the following sequence of events. They:

· Extracted immune cells known as lymphocytes from the donor livers before the transplant

· Activated the lymphocytes in vitro

· Injected the activated lymphocytes into the patients three days after they had received their liver transplants

The researchers found that this ingenious method worked, by keeping HCV levels low in most of the HCV-infected patients who received a liver transplant.

Numbering about one trillion in each individual, lymphocytes are small white blood cells that conduct most of the immune system’s actions. There are two main categories of lymphocytes: B cells and T cells.

· B cells – produce specific antibodies to infectious microorganisms.

· T cells – kill infectious microorganisms by destroying the body cells that are infected. In addition, T cells release chemicals called cytokines that initiate the immune response.

More research is required to investigate the clinical applicability of injecting lymphocytes to suppress Hepatitis C. However, the authors of this study believe they have developed a novel paradigm for the inhibition of viral replication in HCV-infected liver transplantation recipients.

References:

http://thyroid.about.com/library/immune/blimm06.htm, Understanding the Immune
System, Mary J. Shomon, Retrieved January 7, 2010, about.com, 2010.

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2010/NewsRev-342.html#_Keeping_Hepatitis_C, Keeping Hepatitis C Virus at Bay after a Liver Transplant, Retrieved January 5, 2010, Hepatitis C Support Project, 2010.

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/38374, Adoptive immunotherapy with liver allograft-derived lymphocytes induces anti-HCV activity after liver transplantation in humans and humanized mice, Masahiro Ohira, et al, Retrieved January 5, 2010, Journal of Clinical Investigation, November 2009.

http://www.medsci.org/v03p0079.htm, Management of HCV Infection and Liver Transplantation,Thomas D. Schiano, Paul Martin, Retrieved January 7, 2010, International Journal of Medical Sciences, April 2006.

What it is: An Italian five-door hatchback about the size of a VW Golf.

 

Keep Reading: 2012 Alfa Romeo Giulietta – Feature

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What it is: A new smaller-than-CTS sedan, coupe, and possibly convertible with a front-engine, rear-drive layout (like the CTS). The ATS is supposed to deliver—because of its more compact dimensions—the dynamics of the vaunted BMW 3-series.

Keep Reading: 2012 Cadillac ATS – Feature

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[JURIST] Defense lawyers for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba argued before the International Criminal Court (ICC) Tuesday that charges against their client should be dropped. His lawyers argued that he has been denied due process and that the charges are illegal. Bemba was originally set to go on trial on war crimes charges on Tuesday, but the trial was postponed until July 5 to allow the court more time to consider the defense’s motion on the admissibility of the case, filed in February.
In December, the ICC ordered Bemba to remain in custody until his trial. The ruling reversed a decision issued in August ordering Bemba’s conditional release. The order for release was opposed by ICC prosecutors who appealed the original decision. The ICC has ordered Bemba to stand trial for war crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) from October 2002 to May 2003. Bemba was arrested in Belgium in May 2008 after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest for his actions in the CAR. He was indicted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity and transferred to the ICC in July 2008.

Mercedes no tiene demasiado margen de maniobra. El SLR McLaren no logró lo que se esperaba de el, por lo que la marca germana ha tenido que tirar de velocidad y sentimiento clásico. El Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series será algo así como el GT3 presentado hace un mes en Nueva York, pero de calle.

Los clientes de Mercedes son muy exigentes, como no podía ser de otra manera, y piden que vehículos como el SLS AMG GT3 puedan utilizarse para ir a comprar el pan. Pues bien, los futuros usuarios de esta maravilla están de enhorabuena, ya que por lo visto el Black Series heredará la mayoría de los detalles del GT3 de carreras, incluido el espectacular alerón.

Todo apunta a que la motorización no variará gran cosa y el Mercedes Black Series presentará un motor V8 de 6.2 litros con 600 CV de potencia y 700 Nm de par máximo. En cuanto al ahorro, pues no es algo que preocupe demasiado a los futuros compradores de coches así, pero es bueno saber que la no necesidad de adelgazar el vehículo con fibra de carbono y demás se notará en el precio.

Se habla de que las primeras unidades se entregarán en 2013 en una tirada de edición limitada, obviamente. El precio superará los 275.000€ y el confort no será precisamente su principal virtud. Sin embargo, no creo que tengan mayores problemas para hacer caja con esta joya.

Vía | DiarioMotor

What it is: A higher-performance version of the recently introduced 2011 Regal. A handsome body kit, 20-inch wheels, and larger brakes increase the GS’s sportiness quotient.

Keep Reading: 2012 Buick Regal GS – Feature

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The Wonk Room draws attention to a new report that shows how climate legislation will boost the economy. “This CCS analysis finds that instead of slowing the economy, household wealth and jobs will grow faster in a green economy.

Marc Gunther explores the potential of the growing wind power industry and how innovative companies are working to “capture high-altitude wind energy and turn it into electricity for off-the-grid users. Potential customers include the U.S. military, chic eco-resorts in remote locations and poor people in the global south in desperate need of power.”

The Washington Post has an editorial stressing the importance of keeping the climate bill on the Senate agenda this year. The editorial board reminds us that “every year Congress waits to legislate, adequately curbing emissions will get harder and more expensive.”

The webOS promotional video from AT&T’s Palm Pre product page we linked to last Thursday has hit "The YouTube" and the blogosphere has weighed in: they like it! They really like it! 

Imagine: an advertisement for a product that actually shows some actual features of said product. We don’t know if Palm or AT&T actually intend to release what we’re seeing in the above on television (naturally AT&T can’t comment), but we’d be happy if they did. 

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

What it is: Mercedes’ aluminum gullwing supercar loses its trademark doors and roof, morphing into a ragtop roadster with conventional doors.

Keep Reading: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster – Feature

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Technology, GM

Ah yes, the classic small block Chevy. No other engine in history carries as much nostalgia and General Motors looks poised to push its mouse motor well into the future by adding new technologies designed to clean up the mill’s emissions and improve fuel mileage. Expect these engines to show up in applications from sportscars like the Camaro and Corvette to pickup trucks and SUVs.

According to GM, all of its next-generation small block V8s will use aluminum engine blocks in addition to being E85 compatible. We can also expect to see direct injection added to the small block’s repertoire for improved efficiency and power production. Finally, the combustion chambers will see a redesign that will promote fuel efficiency.

Naturally, an update to an existing engine line requires a suitable investment, and this one is no different. GM will be investing nearly $900 million and will add or retain more than 1,600 jobs in Tonawanda, NY; St. Catherines, Ontario; Defiance, Ohio; Bedford, Indiana and Bay City, Michigan. More details can be found in the press release after the break.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM investing $890M in next-gen small block V8s

GM investing $890M in next-gen small block V8s originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve received more up-to-date information since this article was published in the magazine. Click here for an updated story.

What it is: A compact crossover that will sell for about $15,000. Shown as the Qazana concept at the 2009 Geneva show, Nissan will inject quite a bit of the concept’s style into the production version.

Keep Reading: 2012 Nissan Juke – Feature

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