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Music produces a natural high
Music triggers the same pleasure-reward system in the brain as food, sex and illicit drugs, according to McGill University researchers who have been peering into minds of music lovers.
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Music triggers the same pleasure-reward system in the brain as food, sex and illicit drugs, according to McGill University researchers who have been peering into minds of music lovers.
A new analysis reveals that bullies and victims share more similarities than we might think, with one stand-out difference.
Scientists have discovered two potent human antibodies that can stop more than 90 percent of known global HIV strains from infecting human cells in the laboratory, and have demonstrated how one of these disease-fighting proteins accomplishes this feat. According to the scientists, these antibodies could be used to design improved HIV vaccines, or could be further developed to prevent or treat HIV infection. Moreover, the method used to find these antibodies could be applied to isolate therapeutic antibodies for other infectious diseases as well.
The average cellphone customer pays more than $3 per minute, according to a report being issued this week by the Utility Consumers’ Action Network, a San Diego consumer advocacy group. Researchers arrived at the average $3.02-per-minute charge by comparing the average number of minutes charged in more than 700 San Diego consumers’ telecom bills and dividing by the average number of actual minutes used. “We knew it was a myth that wireless costs were going down,” said Michael Shames, UCAN’s executive director. “But we were blown away by the actual costs.” That $3-per-minute figure is skewed by the relatively small… Read more »
Digital music sales continue fast growth in the U.S., accounting for 18 percent of the music market there this year, and set to climb to 41 percent of total sales across the next five years, Forrester Research reports. The report predicts 55 percent of U.S. online consumers will pay to download music in 2013. Despite this strong growth, labels must get used to a smaller value music market, say the analysts, overall the U.S. music market will shrink from its current level of $10.2 billion to $9.8 billion in the next five years. Forrester also found 64 percent of subscribers… Read more »
NEW YORK —- The 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade wound its way through Manhattan streets under sunny skies on Thursday, as thousands of marchers carried giant balloons past throngs of holiday revelers cheering them along the route. Quincy Kersbergen of Wyckoff, N.J., found a prime viewing spot – perched on a police barricade near the beginning of the parade – and proclaimed herself a big fan of a giant dog balloon. “This is just fantastic!” the 11-year-old Kersbergen said. “So amazing to be here in person! I’m just so excited about today!” New to the revelry this year were… Read more »
They have lyrics such as “Tequila makes her clothes fall off” and “Breakin down the good weed, rollin’ the blunt/Ghetto pimp tight girls say I’m the man.” U.S. popular music is awash with lyrics about drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Medical researchers have reviewed the words of the 279 top songs of 2005 to estimate just how common they are. Their report on Monday showed a third of the songs had explicit references to substance abuse. And two-thirds of these references placed drugs, alcohol and tobacco in a positive light by associating them with sex, partying and humor, according to the… Read more »
British scientists are ready to turn female bone marrow into sperm, cutting men out of the process of creating life. The breakthrough paves the way for lesbian couples to have children that are biologically their own. Gay men could follow suit by using the technique to make eggs from male bone marrow. Researchers at Newcastle upon Tyne University say their technique will help lead to new treatments for infertility. But critics warn that it sidelines men and raises the prospect of babies being born through entirely artificial means. The research centres around stem cells – the body’s ‘mother’ cells which… Read more »
The Department of Justice on Thursday slammed intellectual property legislation that would re-organize its IP enforcement structure, calling it unnecessary and counterproductive to the work it has already accomplished. “We have a current structure … that works quite effectively,” Sigal Mandelker, deputy assistant attorney general, told the House Judiciary subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. Judiciary Chairman John Conyers last week introduced H.R. 4279, which would further crack down on intellectual property violations, and create several new government positions with the power to enforce the new law. It is intended to preserve American economic prosperity, according to sponsors.… Read more »
The untimely death in 1996 of 33-year-old pop/jazz singer Eva Cassidy struck a deep chord with Chuck Brown. Washington, D.C.’s godfather of go-go had teamed with Cassidy on the 1995 release “The Other Side.” “After we lost her, I didn’t want to do anymore studio work,” Brown said. But cajoling from songwriter/producer Chucky Thompson and business manager Tom Goldfogle changed Brown’s tune. “We’re About the Business” (due April 24 from Raw Venture) is the musician’s first set of primarily original material since Cassidy’s death. That’s not all. Rapper Eve samples his No. 31 1974 R&B hit “Blow Your Whistle” on… Read more »
