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Nursing a hangover this morning? Our Drinkhacker has just the cure. While you’re washing those bananas down with water, read up on why you feel terrible in the first place: • Dehydration — “Each 250ml of alcoholic beverage will produce up to 500ml of urine. So, it is easy to see how a long night of drinking can lead to significant dehydration,” said Burke. While this is common knowledge, there’s a lesser-known twist to dehydration’s impact: Along with all that peeing go the vitamins and minerals you need to survive. • Acetaldehyde toxicity — Alcohol breaks down into something called acetaldehyde, which is essentially a toxin, a close cousin of formaldehyde, said Dr. Victor Sierpina. It causes headaches, nausea and vomiting — and the more AcA in your body, the worse you feel. Burke said AcA toxicity is the primary driver of hangover symptoms. • Glutamine rebound — Alcohol doesn’t just make toxins, it also prevents the body from creating certain nutrients. Glutamine, an amino acid that controls the nervous system, is one of them. Glutamine production falls while you drink, then goes into overdrive when you stop. This sudden burst of glutamine makes you anxious and irritable … and is why you can’t get back to sleep while you’re nursing your hangover. • Short-term alcohol withdrawal — It’s like “Trainspotting” on a very small scale. After a binge, you go through withdrawal, which can include (more) anxiety, mood swings, depression, a racing heartbeat, nightmares and even more fun stuff.

Nursing a hangover this morning? Our Drinkhacker has just the cure. While you’re washing those bananas down with water, read up on why you feel terrible in the first place:

• Dehydration — “Each 250ml of alcoholic beverage will produce up to 500ml of urine. So, it is easy to see how a long night of drinking can lead to significant dehydration,” said Burke. While this is common knowledge, there’s a lesser-known twist to dehydration’s impact: Along with all that peeing go the vitamins and minerals you need to survive.

• Acetaldehyde toxicity — Alcohol breaks down into something called acetaldehyde, which is essentially a toxin, a close cousin of formaldehyde, said Dr. Victor Sierpina. It causes headaches, nausea and vomiting — and the more AcA in your body, the worse you feel. Burke said AcA toxicity is the primary driver of hangover symptoms.

• Glutamine rebound — Alcohol doesn’t just make toxins, it also prevents the body from creating certain nutrients. Glutamine, an amino acid that controls the nervous system, is one of them. Glutamine production falls while you drink, then goes into overdrive when you stop. This sudden burst of glutamine makes you anxious and irritable … and is why you can’t get back to sleep while you’re nursing your hangover.

• Short-term alcohol withdrawal — It’s like “Trainspotting” on a very small scale. After a binge, you go through withdrawal, which can include (more) anxiety, mood swings, depression, a racing heartbeat, nightmares and even more fun stuff.

amnhnyc: Tonight, keep an eye out for a “gem” of a meteor shower! Many experienced skywatchers would say the best annual meteor display is the Geminids of December. With the Moon at a new phase, there will be no moonlight to interfere so observing conditions will be ideal. More details after the link: http://bit.ly/SUaWvb (via A “GEM” OF A METEOR SHOWER COMING ON THURSDAY NIGHT! | Hayden Planetarium) We’ll be watching.

amnhnyc:

Tonight, keep an eye out for a “gem” of a meteor shower!

Many experienced skywatchers would say the best annual meteor display is the Geminids of December. With the Moon at a new phase, there will be no moonlight to interfere so observing conditions will be ideal.

More details after the link: http://bit.ly/SUaWvb

(via A “GEM” OF A METEOR SHOWER COMING ON THURSDAY NIGHT! | Hayden Planetarium)

We’ll be watching.

Hospitals are warming to the idea of cryonics, the controversial practice of freezing corpses in the hope that scientists will be able to revive them in the future.  “We used to receive incredible resistance from hospitals,” said Max More, CEO of Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Now the medical staff generally seem to be fascinated and enthusiastic and offer their help wherever they can…” What does the cryonic process look like? It’s creepy, to say the least. When the patient is declared dead, the body is immediately submerged in freezing water and attached to a blood circulation pump to prevent tissue damage. The blood is replaced with a chemical cocktail that works as a sort of biological anti-freeze. After it is stabilized, the body is flown to a storage facility, zipped into a thermal sleeping bag, put in a vertical vat with other bodies, and brought down to -320° Fahrenheit. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for science to figure out how to bring them back to life. Perhaps because of how strange it sounds, only 250 people and 100 pets have undergone the procedure. And, of course, it’s not cheap: Deep-freezing your head costs a minimum of $50,000, while a full-body preservation will run $200,000 or more.

Hospitals are warming to the idea of cryonics, the controversial practice of freezing corpses in the hope that scientists will be able to revive them in the future. 

“We used to receive incredible resistance from hospitals,” said Max More, CEO of Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Now the medical staff generally seem to be fascinated and enthusiastic and offer their help wherever they can…”

What does the cryonic process look like? It’s creepy, to say the least. When the patient is declared dead, the body is immediately submerged in freezing water and attached to a blood circulation pump to prevent tissue damage. The blood is replaced with a chemical cocktail that works as a sort of biological anti-freeze. After it is stabilized, the body is flown to a storage facility, zipped into a thermal sleeping bag, put in a vertical vat with other bodies, and brought down to -320° Fahrenheit.

Then it’s just a matter of waiting for science to figure out how to bring them back to life.

Perhaps because of how strange it sounds, only 250 people and 100 pets have undergone the procedure. And, of course, it’s not cheap: Deep-freezing your head costs a minimum of $50,000, while a full-body preservation will run $200,000 or more.

This 4.4 ton, 14-foot-tall weaponized mech warrior is a thing that you can actually buy now in Japan.  Equipped with a water-powered bottle-rocket launcher, and a “smile-activated” machine gun capable of firing 6,000 bb’s per minute, one can easily imagine the evolution of the Kurata into a fearsome military monstrosity. With a top speed of 6 mph, the Kurata can either be piloted from inside its cockpit, or remotely — using a smartphone.  “The vehicle of everyone’s wildest dreams,” as the company boasts in a promotional video, can be ordered in one of 16 different exterior colors, and carries a not-so-humble price tag of $1.35 million. Watch it in action here.

This 4.4 ton, 14-foot-tall weaponized mech warrior is a thing that you can actually buy now in Japan. 

Equipped with a water-powered bottle-rocket launcher, and a “smile-activated” machine gun capable of firing 6,000 bb’s per minute, one can easily imagine the evolution of the Kurata into a fearsome military monstrosity.

With a top speed of 6 mph, the Kurata can either be piloted from inside its cockpit, or remotely — using a smartphone. 

“The vehicle of everyone’s wildest dreams,” as the company boasts in a promotional video, can be ordered in one of 16 different exterior colors, and carries a not-so-humble price tag of $1.35 million.

Watch it in action here.

Like many cancer patients, Mykayla Comstock takes medical marijuana to ease the often intense side effects of chemotherapy. But unlike other patients, Mykayla is a 7-year-old with leukemia.  Her mom Erin Purchase says the pills pushed Mykayla into remission, seemed to boost her appetite and decreased the nausea from her chemotherapy treatments. “It helps me eat and sleep,” Mykayla told the Oregonian. But her father doesn’t agree, and some doctors and researchers say they’re worried about the effect medical marijuana could have on a developing child.  What do you think? Should seriously ill young children be given medical marijuana?

Like many cancer patients, Mykayla Comstock takes medical marijuana to ease the often intense side effects of chemotherapy. But unlike other patients, Mykayla is a 7-year-old with leukemia. 

Her mom Erin Purchase says the pills pushed Mykayla into remission, seemed to boost her appetite and decreased the nausea from her chemotherapy treatments. “It helps me eat and sleep,” Mykayla told the Oregonian.

But her father doesn’t agree, and some doctors and researchers say they’re worried about the effect medical marijuana could have on a developing child. 

What do you think? Should seriously ill young children be given medical marijuana?

Think bubbly wine gets you drunk faster? You’re right — and here’s the science why. 

Think bubbly wine gets you drunk faster? You’re right — and here’s the science why. 

Are you a morning person? There’s a gene for that. A team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have identified a particular gene that predicts whether you wake early or sleep in and — more dramatically — what time of day you’re mostly likely to die.

Are you a morning person? There’s a gene for that.

A team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have identified a particular gene that predicts whether you wake early or sleep in and — more dramatically — what time of day you’re mostly likely to die.

Ever wonder what alcohol really does to your body? Here’s your answer. 

Ever wonder what alcohol really does to your body? Here’s your answer. 

A new study suggests that people who “look old” have a greater chance of developing heart disease than those who look younger.  Red-flag features? Receding hairline at the temples, baldness at the crown of the head, earlobe creases or yellowish fatty deposits around the eyelids. But wrinkles or gray hair like George Clooney? Rest easy — they have no correlation with heart risks.

A new study suggests that people who “look old” have a greater chance of developing heart disease than those who look younger. 

Red-flag features? Receding hairline at the temples, baldness at the crown of the head, earlobe creases or yellowish fatty deposits around the eyelids.

But wrinkles or gray hair like George Clooney? Rest easy — they have no correlation with heart risks.

Have you ever tried ice wine? Unlike normal wines, ice wine is made from grapes so naturally frozen on the vine that they sound like marbles falling into the bucket. The process is quick, precise, and extremely difficult. Our drinkhacker, Christopher Null, breaks it down.

Have you ever tried ice wine?

Unlike normal wines, ice wine is made from grapes so naturally frozen on the vine that they sound like marbles falling into the bucket. The process is quick, precise, and extremely difficult.

Our drinkhacker, Christopher Null, breaks it down.