In the News
Holiday Gluttony Can Spell Disaster For Undiagnosed Diabetics
Hearty feasts and couch-potato marathons are holiday traditions, but UT Southwestern Medical Center experts warn that packing on pounds and not exercising could be deadly for the 6 million Americans who have diabetes and don't even know it. Simulator Can Help Stroke Patients Drive Again
A high-fidelity simulator that allows people to practice driving on a computer-generated course can help stroke patients learn to drive again, researchers have found. The Forten House
Details about African American abolitionist and businessman James Forten and the house in Philadelphia he owned. Features background about Forten, a sailmaker, and other members of his household, and information about selected items from the home. Also includes material about other 1790s Philadelphia merchants and tradespeople. From Independence Park Institute, which offers education programs for Independence National Historical Park. A Potential New Disease-modifying Drug For Osteoarthritis
A new study indicates promise of bone-building calcitonin for protecting post-menopausal women against cartilage degradation and joint destruction. Calcitonin, an amino acid hormone produced by the thyroid gland, has been shown to decrease bone breakdown and increase bone density. Typically prescribed as a nasal spray, it is widely used in the treatment of Paget's disease and osteoporosis. Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature
This exhibit "encourages audiences to examine Mary Shelley's novel, 'Frankenstein,' and its influence on science fiction, monsters and their place in history, and man playing God."Features images from the traveling exhibition and additional materials from the exhibit at Eastern Illinois University's Booth Library. Includes chapter-by-chapter podcasts of "an unabridged reading of the 1818 edition of ... 'Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus.'"Produced by the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association. Feeling Stressed? How Your Skin, Hair And Nails Can Show It
Pending job cuts at the office. Back-to-back final exams. A messy divorce. An unexpected surgery. What do they all have in common? In a word -- stress. While everyone knows that stress can take a toll on a person physically and psychologically, it also can lead to dermatologic problems, such as acne, brittle nails or even hair loss. Tiny, Easy-to-Build Weapons Annihilate Office Boredom
The lunchtime fridge-raider. The stapler crook. The golden parachuter. Cubicle farms are full of enemy combatants begging to be taken out. Your guide: toy designer John Austin, who spent years miniaturizing firepower for G.I. Joe and Star Wars figurines. In MiniWeapons of Mass Destruction, he describes how to cobble together a small-scale arsenal from supply-closet goodies. Here are a few of his favorite workplace munitions (deploy with caution). Ready, aim ... avenge!
Range: 20 feet
Fasten a 6-inch length of speaker wire to a mousetrap bar and staple the other end to the bottom of the trap so the bar can close only halfway. Use tape to create an ammo basket on top of the bar, and load it with gumballs or other candies. Tie one end of your trip wire to the cheese trigger and the other end to something stationary. Lie in wait.
 Range: Up to 30 feet
Remove the plunger of a mechanical pencil, snip off its pointy end, and tape a rubber band over the eraser. Cut off the tip of the pencil's housing. Slide the plunger back inside. Tape the rubber band's loose end to the housing, eliminating slack. Load copper BBs (or Nerds), pull back the plunger, and let 'er rip.  Range: Up to 40 feet
Snip a heavy rubber band and knot the ends through the top and bottom punch holes of a plastic ruler. Deconstruct a ballpoint. Load the inner pen through the center hole, pull it back with the elastic, and release.  Range: 20 feet
Cover one end of a paper-towel tube with duct tape. Cut a hole in the tape and insert a barbecue lighter. Tape on a ruler for reinforcement. Spritz flammable hair spray inside; let it settle. Load a Ping-Pong ball and pull the lighter trigger. Fireworks!
Illustrations: 2009 John Austin 
 Pain Patients At Risk For Sleep Apnea
Sleep-disordered breathing was common when chronic pain patients took prescribed opioids. A direct dose-response relationship was found between central sleep apnea and methadone and benzodiazepines, an association which had not been previously reported. NIST Demonstrates Better Memory With Quantum Computer Bits
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used charged atoms (ions) to demonstrate a quantum physics version of computer memory lasting longer than 10 seconds -- more than 100,000 times longer than in previous experiments on the same ions. The advance improves prospects for making practical, reliable quantum computers. Such devices could break today's best encryption systems, accelerate database searching or simulate complex biological systems to help design new drugs. New Research Shows How Evolution Explains Age Of Puberty
Children aged 10 and 11 are sexually mature, and neither they nor society are suitably prepared for the implications of that. This is the message of Professors Mark Hanson and Peter Gluckman, whose review of the evolution of puberty is published online this week in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
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