nice quotes

"I swear, big corporations want to smash the middle class because then there is less mobility, and when there is less mobility, the possibilities of competition down the line are fewer, and it just continues their strangle hold on markets.

Its always hilarious when big establishments try to put forth raising someones wage from 8/hr to 10/hr. What is the ratio of that when compared to the overall profits/salaries for CEO, VPs, Etc. Who really are the makers and takers?

That whole mentality last year was horrendous. The real makers are the middle class, they make all the money (and products) and the rich are who take it. "-Ziltoidia 9, neogaf

"...There's a reason why Econ 101 is thrown out when you advance. It's why empirical evidence disagrees with you. It's why states with higher min wages don't have higher prices at mcdonalds. "-Black Mamba, neogaf

"I can't believe so many argue that it shouldn't be a living wage, when it was created to be exactly that.

“No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.” (1933, Statement on National Industrial Recovery Act)

“By living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.” (1933, Statement on National Industrial Recovery Act)

“Do not let any calamity-howling executive with an income of $1,000 a day, who has been turning his employees over to the Government relief rolls in order to preserve his company’s undistributed reserves, tell you – using his stockholders’ money to pay the postage for his personal opinions — tell you that a wage of $11.00 a week is going to have a disastrous effect on all American industry.” (1938, Fireside Chat, the night before signing the Fair Labor Standards Act that instituted the federal minimum wage)
" -makingmusic476,neogaf

Green tea found to benefit brain function

"Green tea is said to have many putative positive effects on health. Now, researchers are reporting first evidence that green tea extract enhances the cognitive functions, in particular the working memory. The findings suggest promising clinical implications for the treatment of cognitive impairments in psychiatric disorders such as dementia."-link

Nice benefits of dark chocolate

"Improved thinking. Decreased appetite. Lowered blood pressure. The potential health benefits of dark chocolate keep piling up, and scientists are now homing in on what ingredients in chocolate might help prevent obesity, as well as type-2 diabetes. They found that one particular type of antioxidant in cocoa prevented laboratory mice from gaining excess weight and lowered their blood sugar levels."-link

Comments on traditional machines scaled down to the nanoscale versus bio-inspired machines at the nanoscale

"Most important, an engine must be disassembled bolt-by-bolt to get at the worn piston rings deep inside, then meticulously rebuilt; but living tissues are repaird from the inside by efficient molecular machines." -josh mitteldorf

 While this quote deals with macroscale machine of a car, this is the issue I think comes up with bringing traditional machinery to the nanoscale as opposed to using machines more similar to biological ones. In the event of some failure of a traditional machine like nanobot, it would seem repair would entail complex disassembly and reassembly to get at damaged parts, while in machines more similar to biology the molecular machines are more easy to repair or replace with far less effort.

Would complex dis-assembly and reassembly be suitable say within a human body? Would the damaged traditional machines have to move to a repair zone to be repaired? Is this at all viable? What about in places with harsh radiation that may damage molecular components? Some lifeforms are very resistant to radiation, and can repair vast damage, could a more traditional machine scaled down do the same?

It seems to me that the easier to access and repair way in which molecular machines are handled in biology is an optimal one, which allows for self-repair and indefinite maintenance unlike traditional machine designs.   Using synthetic biology novel molecular machines can be added to the natural repertoire allowing for never before seen functions to arise.   Ideally the combination between information technology and biological technology may yield a new kind of machine able to manufacture almost anything imaginable.

Cortana microsoft windows phone assistant

two nice sciencedaily articles april 2014

The latest results from a 25-year study of diet and aging in monkeys shows a significant reduction in mortality and in age-associated diseases among those with calorie-restricted diets. The study, begun in 1989, is one of two ongoing, long-term U.S. efforts to examine the effects of a reduced-calorie diet on nonhuman primates.

"We think our study is important because it means the biology we have seen in lower organisms is germane to primates," says Richard Weindruch-link

 Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduces your risk of death at any point in time by 42 percent compared to eating less than one portion, reports a new study. This is the first study to link fruit and vegetable consumption with all-cause, cancer and heart disease deaths in a nationally-representative population, the first to quantify health benefits per-portion, and the first to identify the types of fruit and vegetable with the most benefit.-link

Nice quote

"Justice is blind. I guess money comes in braile? "- SuperOrez,neogaf