MindComet

Is Your Digital Life Making You Fat?

According to a new study on lab mice done at The Ohio State University, social engagement may be the key to decreasing white fat (the bad kind) and increasing the brown fat (the energy burning kind). Lab mice traditionally live in small cages, are given plenty of food and water, have a few playmates, but don’t have anything to do. In this study, mice were moved into more complex environments (mazes, wheels, toys, and more space) along with more individuals. Within four weeks, the mice were leaner, with abdominal fat decreasing by fifty percent.

The implications of this are very interesting for people, especially as obesity continues to rise. Is our digital social life inhibiting our ability to have a physical social life? Is this lack of in-person contact and stimulating environments the cause of the obesity epidemic? It’s all too soon to say, but it makes me want to participate in more activities.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Sep. 07, 2011

Summer Vacation

As a kid, I loved the family vacations we used to take. They were never extravagant, but we always had fun. I am trying to give my child the same kind of fun and excitement I experienced as a child on vacation. This year, I let him choose where we went and what we did. I gave him options like Space Camp in Huntsville, AL, Washington DC, going to the beach, or visiting Grandma & Grandpa. Surprisingly, he chose Camp Grandma and Grandpa. His top memories were visiting a baby elephant, hiking in the Cuyahoga National Forest, riding a train, and golfing with Grandpa. He had a great time. I think it’s important to build those memories, even if the destination isn’t typical. Where you able to take a vacation this year? What did you do or where did you go?

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Aug. 03, 2011

It’s A Bittersweet End Of An Era

Today, the final space shuttle lifted off from Kennedy Space Center. A bunch of MindCometeers went outside to see if we could catch a glimpse of it, knowing that it was unlikely due to the cloud cover. We wanted to try anyway. We started talking about all of the shuttle launches we’ve witnessed over the years. The first flight was April 12, 1981 and space was once again a fantasy for all children. It didn’t hurt that the launch of Columbia was situated in between the premier of Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars, Return of the Jedi. Space was once again new and exciting for a whole new generation, my generation.
I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded. I was in Anatomy class and we were watching it on the television. I had my Mom pick me up from school that day because I was so upset. The Space Program has brought us so many interesting and exciting scientific discoveries. It saddens me that we will now have to piggyback on the efforts of countries like Russia and China to get there. Science in the US has taken a major hit and I hope that we can survive the impact. To quote one of my favorite Twitter posters, Neil deGrasse Tyson, “Many lament the shuttle era’s end. But that’s misplaced sentiment. Lament instead the absence of an era to replace it.“

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Jul. 08, 2011

Demystifying Sunscreens

There is an excellent article in the New York Times on how to understand both the new sunscreen labels and the existing ones. SPF is about burn time, the higher the number the longer you can stay out in the sun without burning. The term “Broad Spectrum” is meant to indicate protection from UVA rays as well, but it is unclear on the packaging how well it works. Consumer Reports “Best Buys“ for total protection are Target’s Up&Up Sport SPF spray and No-Ad with Aloe and Vitamin E, both are low cost alternatives.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Jun. 24, 2011

The Pyramid Is Now A Plate!

The USDA has replaced the food pyramid with a plate! The plate image is more applicable to real-world eating than the pyramid and should promote smarter choices about the type and volume of food we consume. The USDA is also offering ten helpful tips to better nutrition, mainly centered around being conscious of what you’re consuming (know how many calories you need, eat more slowly, smaller portions more often, etc) The most interesting tools require you to log in to use them, but the Analyze My Diet and the Personalized Food Plan are worth a look. I entered what I had eaten so far today and am pleasantly surprised by how much I can eat for dinner tonight!! If you’ve not yet visited the site, you should think about checking it out.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Jun. 08, 2011

Nostalgia, How I Love You!

I am loving the nostalgia trend that is occurring. For me, it started with with Battlestar Galactica, then there was G.I. Joe, and The Smurfs. But the best has to be The Muppets. I love the new trailer and I cannot wait until the movie opens later this year. I hope you enjoy the trailer and maybe join me in a theater-going after it opens!

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on May. 25, 2011

Things You Can Do With Your Mind, Today!

As a child and frankly even now, I had fantastical ideas about what would be possible to do with the power of your mind. These ideas were/are very X-Men’ish or wizardy like changing the weather, moving furniture, teleportation, or influencing people. And in some respects, reality is emulating fantasy. I ran across an article about scientists at a german university that have created a car that you can steer with your mind. Very cool. Researchers at UC, San Diego are also working on a way to use thoughts to dial a phone. I have also run across an article on a japanese company that has developed a device that visually displays your emotions by reading your brainwaves. There is a catch, however… The device that displays your emotions is a cat-eared headband. You can don this headband and the ears attached will move in realistic catlike ways to visually communicate your emotions. Click here to see the article and promotional video. The power of the human mind is amazing and so are the things we create… Some just more than others.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on May. 09, 2011