30 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Exercise Increases the Number of Mitochondria in Brain Ti...
Past experiments have shown persuasively that exercise spurs the birth of new mitochondria in muscle cells and improves the vigor of the existing organelles. This upsurge in mitochondria, in turn, has been linked not only to improvements in exercise endurance but to increased longevity in animals and reduced risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease in people. It is a very potent cellular reaction.
[...]
Like muscles, many parts of the brain get a robust physiological workout during exer...
1 A study on mice finds that exercise increases the production of mitochondria in brain tissue in addition to their production in muscle tissue (I dig the term "mitochondrial biogenesis" as describing the benefit).
15 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Negative Campaigning Benefits Incumbents
Going negative is risky. Countless polls have shown that voters find negativity distasteful in the extreme, and if a candidate is percieved as going negative, it usually costs him, but of course GW Bush is a creature of his campaign advisors and these advisors are the best that $70 million dollars and the full faith and credit of the GOP establishment can buy and if Bush 2000 has gone negative, there must be solid political logic behind the move. Under the techs' lens, this logic turns out to... 1 
notes
notesA group of CBS techs discuss how going negative in the 2000 Republican primaries benefited Bush because negativity drives away new voters, leaving only the party faithful at the polls to vote for the incumbent.
18 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
A Novel Way to Teach the Constitution
Daniel Kunitz is a friend of mine from
college. He's spent his life as an innovative junior and senior high
school social sciences teacher. Want the students to understand
the Constitution of the United States? You could have them read
it, Article by Article, and then discuss it in class but, sadly, this
will put most of them to sleep. Or you could try the Kunitz
method: you forbid the students to read the Constitution. Instead,
you assign them, two for each state, to attend a Constitutional
... 1 notes
notesHave the children play delegates to the convention and have them produce their own Constitution.
