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  • Nokia Booklet netbooks start infiltrating your local Best Buy

    best-buy-booklet

    Who wants to buy a $2,000 netbook? Well, if you’d like to walk away with one for $299.99 and a $60/mo AT&T data plan for 2 years, you can. Otherwise the smarter move would be to purchase it at retail price of around $599.99 and get a data plan from AT&T without a two-year commitment. But regardless of the method of purchase, if you want a Nokia Booklet, Best Buy has got ‘em. Will they sell you one before November 15th? Probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. One more shot after the break.

    best-buy-booklet-2

  • Capmark Financial Files for Bankruptcy

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – Commercial real estate company Capmark Financial filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, weighed on by declines in the sector and a heavy debt load related to its leveraged buyout.

    Capmark, which was created out of the commercial real estate assets of General Motors’ finance arm GMAC in March of 2006, had indicated earlier this year that it might file for bankruptcy.

    It had said that it was negotiating with lenders, bondholders and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Its creditors include banks Citigroup (C.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N).

    The move wipes out the private equity investments of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co [KKR.UL], Goldman Sachs Group’s (GS.N) Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Five Mile Capital, which bought Capmark for $1.5 billion in cash and more than $7 billion in debt.

    According to the bankruptcy filing, the group owned 75.4 percent of the company while GMAC, or the General Motors Acceptance Corp, owned 21.3 percent. Employees and directors owned most of the remaining stock. Equity investors are typically wiped out in bankruptcy.

    KKR already wrote down its investment in Capmark to zero earlier this year. KKR has had other failed equity investments this year, including its 2005 purchase of doormaker Masonite, which filed for bankruptcy in March and has since emerged from court.

    In order to raise cash, the company signed a deal in September to sell its loan servicing and mortgage business to Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) and Leucadia National (LUK.N) for $490 million. That deal can still take place in bankruptcy.

    Capmark listed $20.1 billion in assets and $21 billion in liabilities as of June 30, 2009 in the bankruptcy filing, which was made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

    (Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Richard Chang)

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  • News Round-Up:October 2009 4th Edition

    newspaper

    Research In Dementia

    The researchers found that gamma-secretase, an enzyme implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease pathology binds to a class of  transmembrane proteins known as tetraspanins  (Wakabayashi et al, 2009) as well as to a number of other proteins. The tetraspanins have a number of different functions within the cell and it will be interesting to see how gamma secretase relates to these functions. There is further coverage here.

    News In Brief

    Experimental evidence has shown that expression of IL-6 in murine brain can lead to removal of amyloid plaque by microglial cells. There has been significant evidence to suggest a role for inflammation in the disease process and these new findings show that the relationship between inflammation and build up of Amyloid Plaques in the brain is complex. In one study there was found to be an association between plasma levels of ABeta42 and risk of conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease and it will be useful to see further replication of these findings. Levels of a class of transcription factors NFAT’s (Nuclear Factors of Associated T-Cells) was significantly elevated in the hippocampi of subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer’s Disease compared to controls and at least one pathway has been suggested between activation by Amyloid plaques and expression of regulated genes.

    A study in the BMJ showed an increase in the number of prescriptions of antidepressants from 1993 to 2004 and this was attributed to the use of long term prescriptions. There is further coverage here. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences there is a paper on the use of a new genome sequencing technology – whole exome sequencing (which focuses on genes coding for proteins rather than the entire genome sequence) in a case which resulted in a rapid diagnosis and it will be interesting to see further developments in this area.

    There is also evidence that neighbouring groups of Chimpanzees approach the same problem in different ways which the researchers have interpreted as cultural differences. Such interpretations may have implications for developing models of human culture.

    Blogosphere

    Over at Science Life there is coverage of the Neuroscience conference in Chicago which amongst other items reports on a talk by Erik Kandel, the genetics of anxiety and neuroscience in social media. October 19-23rd was Open Access week and over at Beta Science, Morgan Langille writes about the use of an open-access website BioTorrents for sharing data and other resources. Over at Medical News Today there is a look at an association between gamma synuclein and depression. Software Advice has an article on iPhone applications for doctors and medical students.

    References

    Wakabayashi T, Craessaerts K, Bammens L, Bentahir M, Borgions F, Herdewijn P,Staes A, Timmerman E, Vandekerckhove J, Rubinstein E, Boucheix C, Gevaert K, De Strooper B.Nat Cell Biol. 2009 Oct 18. [Epub ahead of print]. Analysis of the gamma-secretase interactome and validation of its association with tetraspanin-enriched microdomains.

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    You can listen to this post on Odiogo by clicking on this link (there may be a small delay between publishing of the blog article and the availability of the podcast).

    Responses

    If you have any comments, you can leave them below or alternatively e-mail [email protected]

    Disclaimer

    The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organisation. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the contents of any external sites that are linked to in this blog

  • LawCrunch: Some (more) ideas on why Nokia sued Apple

    nokia-v-apple

    Disclaimer: Jeremy Kessel has a J.D., but is still waiting for his (July 2009) California Bar Exam results. Thus, he is not (yet) a licensed attorney. Barry L. Cohen, who also shares some insights below, is a licensed attorney. Regardless, this post is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be construed as such.

    As many of you are aware, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple last week in the Federal District Court in Delaware. Nokia’s complaint alleges that Apple has infringed on 10 of Nokia’s patents for various, “fundamental” GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) technologies. In particular, the patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. Nokia believes that all 10 patents have been infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced back in 2007.

    This brings up the question: Why wait until now, Nokia, to sue Apple? Clearly, without speaking directly to Nokia’s legal team, all of the following is pure (albeit educated) conjecture. Nonetheless, with intellectual property (i.e. copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets) becoming increasingly important and relevant to (technology) companies around the globe, it is worth taking a few minutes to explore some of the possible motives/strategies behind Nokia’s latest legal muscle flexing.

    As I am not yet a licensed attorney (I find out next month), we turned to Barry L. Cohen, Esq., who specializes in commercial and business litigation and intellectual property litigation and licensing at Thorp Reed & Armstrong, for his thoughts on the Nokia v. Apple matter at large. According to Mr. Cohen, because Nokia has been successful in licensing the patents at issue with dozens of other companies, the Finnish company most likely felt confident that it would be able to reach an agreement with Apple as well. When the negotiations reached an impasse, Nokia was essentially left with no other choice but to pursue legal recourse.

    Filing the lawsuit against Apple is most likely, at least in part, a deliberate strategy to put more pressure on Apple to agree to the terms that Nokia has requested with regards to licensing the patented technologies. Because the 10 patents at issue include “fundamental” cellular technologies, the lawsuit may also have been motivated by some (or many) of the other companies who are already paying licensing fees to Nokia and want Apple to do the same.

    Alright, now that we have explored (somewhat superficially) why Nokia has prompted the suit against Apple, this in turn leads to another question: Why would Apple refuse to license the technologies if they are imperative for the operation of its iPhone? Again, without speaking directly to Apple, we can only speculate. It is possible that Apple has licensed similar technologies from Ericsson (who, along with Nokia and Qualcomm hold some of the largest mobile technology patent portfolios in the world), thereby eliminating the need to license the patents at issue from Nokia. Or alternatively, Apple may believe that it is not infringing or that Nokia’s patents should be invalidated. However, considering that some 40 other mobile companies have licensed these key patents, this is extremely unlikely (possibly even impossible, depending on which company holds what patents).

    According to Mr. Cohen, it is more likely a money issue. The longer that Apple goes without paying licensing fees, the cheaper Apple can sell its iPhone and the bigger market share it can build up. Alternatively, Apple may not have wanted to pay or could not agree on the amount of the royalty rate that Nokia was requesting. Given the scale (i.e. millions of devices), even a tiny discrepancy in price could result in hundreds of millions of dollars, going one way or the other.

    Regardless of the actual motivation behind the lawsuit, considering that less than 1% of cases go to trial, it is most likely that Nokia is using the suit as a bargaining chip. Both companies, whether they actually like it or not, can afford to see cases like this through to the end, as the legal costs, even in the mutltiple millions of dollars, are relatively insignificant in the big picture for Nokia and Apple. Rather, suing Apple will provide Nokia more leverage in obtaining some variety of settlement (i.e. receiving royalties for its patents), and on the flip side, might even help Apple save a few bucks if a third-party mediator is brought in to help resolve the dispute.

    Some may argue that Nokia is a total hypocrite, given its recent expensive and drawn-out legal clash with fellow mobile big shot, Qualcomm. But, as Mr. Cohen points out, Nokia is clearly no dummy (yup, that is a legitimate legal term). Nokia has clearly weighed the pros and cons of filing the lawsuit and what it will mean to their licensing strategy. Whether or not the strategy works, will depend in part on Apple, who is also not a fool.

    Finally, I do not believe (as John does) that this suit was directly motivated by Nokia’s recent financial struggles. As someone who has studied intellectual property and has a general sense of the value that a company’s IP assets hold, I agree with Mr. Cohen and everyone else who thinks that this is ultimately a negotiation. Nokia is an enormously powerful mobile technologies company. Sure it is facing increased competition from the likes of Apple, HTC, Samsung, etc, but I do not believe this lawsuit signifies some sort of last gasp, or in the words of John (no disrespect, of course), a “mercenary approach, [a way to] cash in on some of the iPhone’s success.” For better or for worse, this is the new way of the technology road. Companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing and obtaining IP assets, and at the end of the day, they will continue to do whatever it takes (i.e. sue each other on an endless merry-go-round) to protect and enforce their IP rights.


  • PM attends Normandy veterans service

    The PM meeting veterans at Westminster Abbey; PA copyrightVeterans have gathered at Westminster Abbey to mark 65 years since the Normandy landings.

    The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth were among those who attended the Normandy Veterans Association’s evensong service to remember the operation.

    The landings in June 1944 saw British, American and Canadian forces land at five points along the Normandy coast to begin the liberation of France.

    Reverend Michael Macey, Minor Canon of Westminster, told the congregation:

    “Here we are united with those who have gone before us.”

    At the end of the service, Gordon Brown, the Duke of Gloucester – who is patron of the Normandy Veterans Association – and the president and chairman of the association stood at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior as the Last Post sounded.

  • The Internet balancing act between wasting time and striving for greatness

    internett

    Nicholas here, fresh off freaking out over Shogun Rua’s loss last night. (I hate to use the word “robbed,” but Mr. Rua was 100 percent robbed last night. Later today: watching Dream 12!) I just wanted to draw your attention to a New York Times essay I just stumbled upon. It’s about the Internet, and our increased dependence upon it. It’s pretty short, so it won’t kill you to read the whole thing.

    The basic thesis, nearest I can tell, is that the Internet has taken over our lives; that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Is it harmful to spend 20+ hours playing an online video game at the expense of “real life” contact, or at the expense of school or work? Yeah, probably. But, as the Internet, and computers in general, move away from a work/school-only phenomenon and converge with our lesser activities (entertainment and the like) we become susceptible to, well, losing ourselves in it. That is, “Man alive, I’m been here three hours, and all I’ve been doing is looking up old Ric Flair promos on YouTube, and then doing the related Wikipedia shuffle. I went from looking up Starrcade to the concept of sovereignty in just a few clicks! And I have articles to write, (and Dream 12 to watch)!”

    Yes, the essay is a little hinky.

    The question becomes how to properly allocate your time online between the pointless and the slightly less pointless. Do you download an application that kicks you offline, and keeps you there? Do you study/work from a place that has zero Internet access? Or do you embrace the fact that, well, this is how we do things from now on: working right alongside 18 tabs about the history of Nintendo and the Monday Night Wars?


  • PS3 Weekend Warrior: Chucking PS3s at Bravias

    So what transpired in the world of Sony’s PS3 this week? Nate Drake’s newest adventure is certainly off to a good start. And then there’s word that th…

  • The Future Is Big Data in the Cloud

    iStock_000003724777SmallWhile when it comes to cloud computing, no one has entirely sorted out what’s hype and what isn’t, nor exactly how it will be used by the enterprise, what is becoming increasingly clear is that Big Data is the future of IT. To that end, tackling Big Data will determine the winners and losers in the next wave of cloud computing innovation.

    Data is everywhere (be it from users, applications or machines) and as we get propelled into the “Exabyte Era” (PDF), is growing exponentially; no vertical or industry is being spared. The result is that IT organizations everywhere are being forced to grapple with storing, managing and extracting value from every piece of it -– as cheaply as possible. And so the race to cloud computing has begun.

    This isn’t the first time IT architectures have been reinvented in order to remain competitive. The shift from mainframe to client-server was fueled by disruptive innovation in computing horsepower that enabled distributed microprocessing environments. The subsequent shift to web applications/web services during the last decade was enabled by the open networking of applications and services through the Internet buildout. While cloud computing will leverage these prior waves of technology –- computing and networking –- it will also embrace deep innovations in storage/data management to tackle Big Data.

    A Big Data stack
    But as with prior data center platform shifts, a new “stack” (like mainframe and OSI) will also need to emerge before cloud computing will be broadly embraced by the enterprise. Basic platform capabilities, such as security, access control, application management, virtualization, systems management, provisioning, availability, etc. will have to be standard before IT organizations are able to adopt the cloud completely. In particular, this new cloud framework needs the ability to process data in increasingly real-time and greater orders of magnitude -– and do it at a fraction of what it would typically cost -– by leveraging commodity servers for storage and computing. Maybe cloud computing is all about creating a new “Big Data stack.”

    In many ways, this cloud stack has already been implemented, albeit in primitive form, at large-scale Internet data centers, which quickly encountered the scaling limitations of traditional SQL databases as the volume of data exploded. Instead, high-performance, scalable/distributed, object-orientated data stores are being developed internally and implemented at scale. At first, many solved this problem by sharding vast MySQL instances, in essence using them more as data stores than true relational databases (no complex table joins, etc.). As Internet data centers scaled, however, sharding MySQL obviously didn’t.

    The rise of DNRDBMS
    In response to this, large web properties have been building their own so-called “NoSQL” databases, also known as distributed, non-relational database systems (DNRDBMS). But while it can seem like a different version sprouts up every day, they can largely be categorized into two flavors: One, distributed key value stores, such as Dynamo (Amazon) and Voldemort (LinkedIn); and two, distributed column stores such as Big Table (Google), Cassandra (Facebook), HBase (Yahoo/Hadoop) and Hypertable (Zvents).

    These projects are in various stages of deployment and adoption (it is early days, to be sure), but promise to deliver a “cloud-scale” data layer on which applications can be built quickly and elastically, all while having aspects of the reliability/availability of traditional databases. One facet that is common across these myriad of NoSQL databases is a data caching layer, essentially a high-performance, distributed memory caching system that can accelerate web applications by avoiding continual database hits. Memcached’s (disclosure: Accel is an investor in Northscale, parent company of Memcached) broad distribution (which is behind pretty much every Web 2.0 application) has become this de facto layer and is now accepted as a “standard” tier in data centers.

    PLIManaging non-transactional data has become even more daunting. From log files to clickstream data to web indexing, Internet data centers are collecting massive volumes of data that need to be processed cheaply in order to drive monetization value. One solution that was been deployed by some of the largest web properties (Yahoo, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) for massive parallel computation and distributed file systems in a cloud environment is Hadoop (disclosure: Accel is an investor in Cloudera, the company behind Hadoop). In many cases, Hadoop essentially provides an intelligent primary storage and compute layer for the NoSQL databases. Although the framework has roots in Internet data centers, Hadoop is quickly penetrating broader enterprise use cases, as the diverse set of participants at the recent Hadoop World NYC event made clear.

    As this cloud stack hardens, new applications and services –- previously unthinkable -– will come to light, in all shapes and sizes. But the one thing they will all have in common is Big Data.

    Ping Li is a partner with Accel.

  • President Obama Signs Emergency Declaration for H1N1 Flu

    In an effort to proactively address the ongoing pandemic, the President signed a National Emergency Declaration on H1N1 that allows healthcare systems to quickly implement disaster plans should they become overwhelmed.
     
    As experts expected, H1N1 flu is moving rapidly throughout the country and the majority of states now have widespread influenza activity.  This declaration gives authority for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive certain regulatory requirements for healthcare facilities in response the ongoing pandemic. Specifically, healthcare facilities will be able to submit waivers to establish alternate care sites, and modified patient triage protocols, patient transfer procedures and other actions that occur when they fully implement disaster operations plans.
     
    Under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act [42 USC §1320b–5] healthcare facilities may petition for HHS approval of waivers in response to particular needs within the geographic and temporal limits of the emergency declarations.  Before HHS has the authority to approve such “1135 Waivers” two conditions must be met: first, the Secretary must have declared a Public Health Emergency, and second, the President must have declared a National Emergency either through a Stafford Act Declaration or National Emergencies Act Declaration. 1135 Waivers still require specific requests be submitted to HHS and processed, and some State laws may need to be addressed as well.
     
    The Secretary may tailor authorities granted under Section 1135 waivers to match the specific situational needs, but the requirements that may be waived include those related to Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
     
    Past instances where authority to grant Section 1135 waivers was enabled include:

    Hurricane Katrina (2005)
    56th Presidential Inauguration (2009)
    Hurricanes Ike and Gustav (2008)
    North Dakota flooding (2009)

     Learn more about this National Emergency Declaration and get information on H1N1 and seasonal flu at Flu.gov.

  • Digital Contents Expo Tokyo: Cybernetic human robot HRP-4C demo (2 videos)

    robott_woman

    Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has showcased its most spectacular robot at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo today, the “cybernetic human” HRP-4C. The humanoid can’t move her legs, but the way she moves her arms, head and facial muscles is unbelievably human-like. Or you could say unbelievably creepy.

    She usually works as a model, bridezilla and a singer by the way.

    Here are two videos I took at the event today, showing the 158cm tall HRP-4C in action. In the videos, she’s “acting” in case you wonder what she’s saying.

    Video 1:

    Video 2:


  • T-Mobile formally announces its Even More and Even More Plus plans

    tmo-even-unlimited

    We’ve been following T-Mobile’s Project Dark ever since it was a little twinkle in the eyes of Robert Dotson’s crew, but now the day has come for it all to become official. There are a lot of different options to chose from, but for simplicities sake we’re going to focus on the two biggies. Individuals will be able to get unlimited talk, texts and web for $99.99 with Even More (Contract) and $79.99 with Even More Plus (no contract). We admit that the plans aren’t anywhere near as good as we or anyone else had initially thought, and no doubt a lot of people who sign a contract aren’t going to be thrilled at paying a lot more than their contract-free counterparts, but hey, at least another major carrier has entered the unlimited business for the second time. Now where are those new handsets at?

    Thanks, Achilles!

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  • Apple: Support for Windows 7 before end of year

    WINDOWS 7 BOOT SCREEN

    Things always get a little chippy between Apple and Microsoft when Microsoft one company is preparing for a large OS release, and with Windows 7 it has been no different. Justin Long and John Hodgman have been all over our televisions throwing subtle digs at the newest OS to come out of Redmond. However, Apple is — from a support standpoint — singing a different tune as the Mac maker has announced plans to fully support Windows 7 in its Boot Camp software before the end of this calendar year. The announcement (if you can call it that) came via a knowledge base article on Apple’s support website and states a software update to the Boot Camp software and an Intel Mac will be required. All this bickering reminds us of a scene in The Dark Knight where the Joker explains to Batman, “I don’t want to kill you! What would I do without you? No, no, NO! No. You…you…complete me.”

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  • Digital Contents Expo Tokyo: Futuristic Media Vehicle

    media_vehicle

    I stumbled upon this strange thing today at the at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo, a virtual reality capsule chair developed by the Iwata-Yano Laboratory at the University of Tsukuba. The so-called “Media Vehicle” mounts a spherical display and is supposed to let passengers move around both in the real world (it has 5 wheels) and a virtual reality environment.

    media_vehicle_2

    The vehicle looks like it’s coming straight out of cult anime Akira, but I am too heavy to be able to use it and so couldn’t try it out myself.


  • Land Deal Advisor to CalPERS Resigns

    LOS ANGELES, Oct 24 (Reuters) – The real estate investment manager who led the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s largest pension fund, into a money-losing land venture has resigned as an adviser to the fund, a spokeswoman for MacFarlane Partners said on Saturday.

    Victor MacFarlane, chief executive of MacFarlane Partners, terminated his relationship with the $200 billion pension fund, spokeswoman Julie Chase said via email.

    “I can confirm MacFarlane Partners, on its own initiative, resigned as manager of California Urban Investment Partners, LLC, for reasons agreed to and accepted by Calpers,” Chase said.

    California Urban Partners was set up in 1995 as an investment vehicle for Calpers, former basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson and MacFarlane to acquire and develop retail properties in urban markets in California, most with high concentrations of minority residents, a Calpers news release said.

    MacFarlane Partners Inc is a real estate investment management firm in San Francisco that manages $10 billion in assets for some of the world’s largest pension plans and institutions, according to its website.

    The firm came under fire for a $970 million investment it managed for Calpers into LandSource Communities Development LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

    LandSource filed for bankruptcy in 2008, about 18 months after Calpers had bought into company, whose primary investment was a 15,000-acre (6100-hectare) tract of undeveloped land outside Los Angeles.

    Calpers had invested in the development through its investment partner, MW Housing Partners, which was jointly managed by MacFarlane Housing and Weyerhaeuser Realty Investors, Calpers said in a 2008 press release said.

    MW Housing held a 68 percent interest in LandSource, whose holdings were hit hard by the California real estate bust, it said.

    The separation comes as Calpers examines its relationships with private equity firm Apollo Global Management and other outside money managers.

    Calpers said earlier this month that its probe centers on around $50 million in payments that outside managers made over a five-year period to ARVCO Financial Ventures LLC, a firm headed by former Calpers board member Al Villalobos, to win the pension fund’s business.

    A Calpers representative could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

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  • Digital Contents Expo Tokyo: Sony’s flashy stereoscopic 3D display (video)

    3d_sony

    Sony is demoing a 3D display at the Digital Contents Expo that takes place in Tokyo right now, and today I went there and made a few pictures and shot a video of the device, too. Two of the 360 stereoscopic displays were displayed to the general public, and the tech is pretty impressive.

    The specs aren’t that great (96×128 resolution, 24-bit color palette), but this is just a first prototype.

    Here’s how Sony thinks we one day could use the display:

    3d_sony_2

    I took the following video at the expo today:


  • Hummus is Lebanese not Israeli

    Click for full size image

    Lebanese to Israel: Hands off our hummus!

    By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer Zeina Karam, Associated Press Writer
    Sat Oct 24, 4:25 pm ET

    BEIRUT – Lebanese chefs prepared a massive plate of hummus weighing over two
    tons Saturday that broke a world record organizers said was previously held
    by Israel — a bid to reaffirm proprietorship over the popular Middle Eastern
    dip.
    “Come and fight for your bite, you know you’re right!” was the slogan for
    the event — part of a simmering war over regional cuisine between Lebanon
    and Israel, which have had tense political relations for decades.
    Lebanese businessmen accuse Israel of stealing a host of traditional Middle
    Eastern dishes, particularly hummus, and marketing them worldwide as
    Israeli.
    “Lebanon is trying to win a battle against Israel by registering this new
    Guinness World Record and telling the whole world that hummus is a Lebanese
    product, its part of our traditions,” said Fady Jreissati, vice president of
    operations at International Fairs and Promotions group, the event’s
    organizer.
    Hummus — made from mashed chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice,
    salt and garlic — has been eaten in the Middle East for centuries. Its exact
    origin is unknown, though it’s generally seen as an Arab dish.

    Continue reading “Hummus is Lebanese not Israeli”

  • Uncharted 2: Among is second fastest selling PS3 exclusive title

    Amy Hennig of Naughty Dog has said that Uncharted 2 has been performing beyond expectations. If you’re the type who needs actual statistics before you…

  • Teeth Whiteners May Harm Tooth Enamel by Weakening The Surface

    A recent laboratory study indicates that do-it-yourself teeth bleaching
    products may cause some weakening of teeth enamel, as well as the enamel’s
    ability to recover from normal wear and tear. These home teeth bleach kits
    have been written about in the March 2009 “Journal of Dentistry”.

    According to Dr. Shereen S. Azer from the Ohio State University College of
    Dentistry, “the public should not be alarmed of the bleaching process.”

    “Human enamel has been shown to heal itself and ‘remineralize’ over time,”
    meaning it has the ability to restore back the levels of surface calcium that
    has been lost due to bleaching.”

    A nanometer scale (one billionth of a meter) was employed by Azer and his
    colleagues to measure the hardness and elasticity of tooth enamel both before
    and after laboratory exposures to over-the-counter teeth bleaching solutions.

    The researchers exposed 50 human tooth samples to 2 types of whitening strip
    and 3 types of nightguard home bleaching systems,

    Ten tooth samples each underwent bleaching regimens according to either the
    3-week or 10-day manufacturer recommended treatment protocol. The 5 remaining
    tooth samples served as unbleached “controls.”

    Compared with before bleaching and versus unbleached controls, the bleached
    enamel showed significant decreases in hardness on the nanometer scale, the
    investigators report in the Journal of Dentistry.

    The researchers also observed a significant decrease in enamel elasticity in
    most bleached tooth samples compared with unbleached controls.

    More study into the long term effects of bleaching agents and remineralization
    of tooth enamel would be worthwhile, the researchers conclude.

  • Netflix teases movie streaming service to Wii, PS3?

    They wouldn’t say which hardware their service will be coming to, but it sure did wonders for their stocks. Netflix just sent out word Friday that the…