I’m sure you know pretty well that muscle exercises is “good for you.” It benefits every part of the body, including the mind. It causes the body to produce endorphins, chemicals that can help a person to feel more peaceful and happy. It can help some people sleep better and more and more different important things allowing you to stay healthy and vitality.You may ask why?

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Dont you know that you have more than 600 muscles in your body? They help you to do everything from pumping blood throughout your body to helping you lift your heavy backpack. You control some of your muscles, while others — like your heart — do their jobs without you thinking about them at all. If you take anatomic muscle map it will help you to learn that for instance there are three different types of muscles type of muscles.

Smooth Muscles
Smooth muscles — sometimes also called involuntary muscles, your brain and body tell them what to do without you even thinking about it. You can’t use your smooth muscles to make a muscle in your arm or jump into the air. But smooth muscles are at work all over your body. In your stomach and digestive system, they contract (tighten up) and relax to allow food to make its journey through the body. Your smooth muscles come in handy if you’re sick and you need to throw up. The muscles push the food back out of the stomach so it comes up through the esophagus (say: ih-sah-fuh-gus) and out of the mouth.

Smooth muscles are also found in your bladder. When they’re relaxed, they allow you to hold in urine (pee) until you can get to the bathroom. Then they contract so that you can push the urine out. These muscles are also in a woman’s uterus, which is where a baby develops. There they help to push the baby out of the mother’s body when it’s time to be born.

The muscle makes up the heart and called cardiac muscle. It is also known as the myocardium (say: my-uh-kar-dee-um). The thick muscles of the heart contract to pump blood out and then relax to let blood back in after it has circulated through the body. Just like smooth muscle, cardiac muscle works all by itself with no help from you. A special group of cells within the heart are known as the pacemaker of the heart because it controls the heartbeat.

Skeletal Muscles, sometimes called striated (say: stry-ay-tud) muscle because the light and dark parts of the muscle fibers make them look striped (striated is a fancy word meaning striped).
Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles, which means you can control what they do. Your leg won’t bend to kick the soccer ball unless you want it to. These muscles help to make up the musculoskeletal system — the combination of your muscles and your skeleton, or bones.

It’s very interesting to learn to feel your own body, isn’t it?

On Christmas morning, boys and girls around the world will waken early and run excitedly downstairs to see what Santa Claus has left for them…

Well, that’s not exactly how it goes — for around the world children celebrate the Christmas holidays in many different ways.

In Germany, the 6th of December is a special day:

…There’s a special tradition all over Germany on December 6th. [On] the evening of December 5th you put your cleaned (big) boots outside the house in front of the door (or inside). Some people also put a plate there or on the windowsill. The bread in the plate is for the white horse of Santa Claus … In the morning you see that Santa Claus really was at your house and put nice things into the boots or plates, e.g., all kinds of nuts, oranges, apples, sweets, chocolate, small presents … But if you [weren't] well behaved the whole year you only get a switch so that your parents can punish you, but they don’t!
Kristine and Wiebke, Germany
And in Italy, January 6th is a day long-awaited by many children:

The 6th of January is the day on which the three Wise Men arrive at the Bethlehem cave in which kid Jesus is and give him gold, incense and myrrh and for this reason in Italy children receive presents traditionally brought by the “Befana,” a good old witch who comes into their homes through the chimney. This is the last day to the Christmas holiday in Italy.
Elisbetta, Italy
In Sweden, December 13th is a special day that children look forward to all year long:

Saint Lucia [Day] is celebrated all over Sweden on December 13th. The custom with the girl dressed in white with candles on her head has a complicated background … In our school we celebrate Saint Lucia Day outside very early in the morning while it’s still dark. Our Saint Lucia is coming in a carriage pulled by a very small horse. She is followed by Santa Claus on a big horse and a lot of girls and boys in white gowns and a lot of candles. They all sing traditional Christmas songs and read poems. After the ceremony we all eat ginger cookies and bread with saffron. To celebrate is very important to Swedish people.
Class 4c in Nasbyparksskolan

Do you know about on how the Moon influences on you? So, according to livescience.com a host of studies over the years have aimed at teasing out any statistical connection between the moon – particularly the full moon – and human biology or behavior. The majority of sound studies find no connection, while some have proved inconclusive, and many that purported to reveal connections turned out to involve flawed methods or have never been reproduced.

No wonder that the moon holds a mystical place in the history of human culture, then there is many myths – from werewolves to induced lunacy to epileptic seizures – have built up regarding its supposed effects on us. Often one can hear – “It must be a full moon,” the phrase, which means a lot of crazy things happen and as researchers said to be muttered commonly by late-night cops, psychiatry staff and emergency room personnel.

In fact a host of studies over the years have aimed at teasing out any statistical connection between the moon – particularly the full moon – and human biology or behavior. The majority of sound studies find no connection, while some have proved inconclusive, and many that purported to reveal connections turned out to involve flawed methods or have never been reproduced. Reliable studies comparing the lunar phases to births, heart attacks, deaths, suicides, violence, psychiatric hospital admissions and epileptic seizures, among other things, have over and over again found little or no connection.

One possible indirect link: Before modern lighting, the light of a full moon have kept people up at night, leading to sleep deprivation that could have caused other psychological issues, according to one hypothesis that awaits data support.

Below, I’ll review several studies – the good, the bad and the in between – but first some basic physics:

The moon, tides and you

The human body is about 75 percent water, and so people often ask whether tides are at work inside us.

The moon and the sun combine to create tides in Earth’s oceans (in fact the gravitational effect is so strong that our planet’s crust is stretched daily by these same tidal effects).

But tides are large-scale events. They occur because of the difference in gravitational effect on one side of an object (like Earth) compared to the other. Here’s how they work (full explanation of tides):

The ocean on the side of Earth facing the moon gets pulled toward the moon more than does the center of the planet. This creates a high tide. On the other side of the Earth, another high tide occurs, because the center of Earth is being pulled toward the moon more than is the ocean on the far side. The result essentially pulls the planet away from the ocean (a negative force that effectively lifts the ocean away from the planet).

However, there’s no measurable difference in the moon’s gravitational effect to one side of your body vs. the other. Even in a large lake, tides are extremely minor. On the Great Lakes, for example, tides never exceed 2 inches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which adds, “These minor variations are masked by the greater fluctuations in lake levels produced by wind and barometric pressure changes. Consequently, the Great Lakes are considered to be essentially non-tidal.”

That’s not to say tides don’t exist at smaller scales.

The effect of gravity diminishes with distance, but never goes away. So in theory everything in the universe is tugging on everything else. But: “Researchers have calculated that a mother holding her baby exerts 12 million times the tide-raising force on the child than the moon does, simply by virtue of being closer,” according to Straightdope.com, a Web site that applies logic and reason to myths and urban legends.

Consider also that tides in Earth’s oceans happen twice every day as Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours, bringing the moon constantly up and down in the sky. If the moon’s tugging affected the human body, one might presume we’d be off balance at least twice a day (and maybe we are).

Studies of full moon effects
Here are some of the reputable studies in peer-reviewed journals that have failed to find connections:

EPILEPSY: A study in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior in 2004 found no connection between epileptic seizures and the full moon, even though some patients believe their seizures to be trigged by the full moon. The researchers noted that epileptic seizures were once blamed on witchcraft and possession by demons, contributing to a longstanding human propensity to find mythical rather than medical explanations.

PSYCHIATRIC VISITS: A 2005 study by Mayo Clinic researchers, reported in the journal Psychiatric Services, looked at how many patients checked into a psychiatric emergency department between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. over several years. They found no statistical difference in the number of visits on the three nights surrounding full moons vs. other nights.

EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS: Researchers examined 150,999 records of emergency room visits to a suburban hospital. Their study, reported in American Journal of Emergency Medicine in 1996, found no difference at full moon vs. other nights.

SURGERY OUTCOMES: Do doctors and nurses mess up more during the full moon? Not according to a study in the October 2009 issue of the journal Anesthesiology. In fact, researchers found the risks are the same no matter what day of the week or time of the month you schedule your coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Not all studies dismiss lunar influence.

PET INJURIES: In studying 11,940 cases at the Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center, researchers found the risk of emergency room visits to be 23 percent higher for cats and 28 percent higher for dogs on days surrounding full moons. It could be people tend to take pets out more during the full moon, raising the odds of an injury, or perhaps something else is at work – the study did not determine a cause.

MENSTRUATION: This is one of those topics on which you will find much speculation (some of it firm and convincing-sounding) and little evidence. The idea is that the moon is full every month and women menstruate monthly. Here’s the thing: Women’s menstrual cycles actually vary in length and timing – in some cases greatly – with the average being about every 28 days, while the lunar cycle is quite set at 29.5 days. Still, there is one study (of just 312 women), by Winnifred B. Cutler in 1980, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, that claims a connection. Cutler found 40 percent of participants had the onset of menstruation within two weeks of the full moon (which means 60 percent didn’t). If anyone can tell me how this oft-cited study proves anything, I’m all ears. Also, one should be skeptical that in the intervening 29 years, nobody seems to have produced a study supporting Cutler’s claim.

ANIMALS GONE WILD: A pair of conflicting studies in the British Medical Journal in 2001 leaves room for further research. In one of the studies, animal bites were found to have sent twice as many British people to the emergency room during full moons compared with other days. But in the other study, in Australia, dogs were found to bite people with similar frequency on any night.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION: In the Journal of Affective Disorders in 1999, researchers suggested that before modern lighting, “the moon was a significant source of nocturnal illumination that affected [the] sleep-wake cycle, tending to cause sleep deprivation around the time of full moon.” They speculated that “this partial sleep deprivation would have been sufficient to induce mania/hypomania in susceptible bipolar patients and seizures in patients with seizure disorders.” Best I can discern, however, these oft-cited suggestions have never been tested or verified with any numbers or rigorous study of any kind.

Myths persist

If one presumes that modern lighting and mini-blinds have pretty much eliminated the one plausible source of human-related moon madness, why do so many myths persist?

Several researchers point out one likely answer: When strange things happen at full moon, people notice the “coincidental” big bright orb in the sky and wonder. When strange things happen during the rest of the month, well, they’re just considered strange, and people don’t tie them to celestial events.

“If police and doctors are expecting that full moon nights will be more hectic, they may interpret an ordinary night’s traumas and crises as more extreme than usual,” explains our Bad Science Columnist Benjamin Radford. “Our expectations influence our perceptions, and we look for evidence that confirms our beliefs.”

And that leads to this final note, which is perhaps the biggest logical nail in the coffin of the moon madness myths:

The highest tides occur not just at full moon but also at new moon, when the moon is between Earth and the sun (and we cannot see the moon) and our planet feels the combined gravitational effect of these two objects. Yet nobody ever claims any funny stuff related to the new moon (except for the fact that there is more beach pollution at full and new moon …).
via http://www.livescience.com/

Have you ever noticed that pigeons never choose for sitting on tree’s branches but always on houses, monument’s or other building’s ledges? Do U know Y don’t pigeons sit or nest on trees?

The answer is Pigeons are form the north Africa originally, from Egypt where there were not trees in ancient times and the birds nested on rocks and cliffs of surrounding mountains. Since this time they prefer ledges to trees.

General Information
Pigeons (Columbia livia) typically have a gray body with a whitish rump, two black bars on the secondary wing feathers, a broad black band on the tail, and red feet (Fig. 1). Body color can vary from gray to white, tan, and black. The average weight is 13 ounces (369 g) and the average length is 11 inches (28 cm). When pigeons take off,
their wing tips touch, making a characteristic clicking sound. When they glide, their wings are raised at an
angle.
Range
Pigeons are found throughout the world.
Pigeons are highly dependent on
humans to provide them with food
and sites for roosting, loafing, and
nesting. They are commonly found
around farm yards, grain elevators,
feed mills, parks, city buildings,
bridges, and other structures.
Food Habits
Pigeons are primarily grain and seed
eaters and will subsist on spilled or
improperly stored grain. They also will
feed on garbage, livestock manure,
insects, or other food materials provided
for them intentionally or unintentionally
by people. In fact, in some
urban areas the feeding of pigeons is
considered a form of recreation. They
require about 1 ounce (30 ml) of water
daily. They rely mostly on free-standing
water but they can also use snow
to obtain water.

Do U know Y the Greek Flag looks like it is? The Meaning of the Greek Flag is the number of the lines is based on the number of the syllables in the Greek phrase: Eleutheria H Thanatos (Freedom or Death)

The current flag was only officially adopted by Greece on December 22, 1978. An earlier version of the Greek flag had a diagonal cross instead of the square one now used. This version of the flag dates back to 1822, just after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, (1821-1831), also known as the Greek Revolution (Greece: ???????? ??????????. Since this time Greek National Anniversary is celebrating as the day when the war of independence against the Turks who had occupied the country for 400 years. The 25th of March was actually the day Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of national rebellion at the monastery of Agia Lavra in the northern Peleponisos.

The colors of the flag mean:
Galano Lefki – Blue and White
These two colors symbolize the blue of the Greek Sea and the Whiteness of the restless Greeks waves and freedom!
According to the mythic legends, the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite emerged from these waves.
In addition, it reflects the blue of the Greek Sky and the White of the few clouds that travel in it. There are some who suggest that the blue and white was symbolizes the similar color of the clothing (vrakes) of the Greek sailors during the Greek War of Independence.

According to ABC Science Online learning a second language does not slow language development in children, according to a study presented to an American neuroscience conference.

In fact, the earlier and more intensively the languages are introduced, the better. The study, by researchers at the Department of Psychological and Brain Science at Dartmouth College, in the USA, looked at children who had been exposed to different combinations of languages at different ages and in different environmental settings.

“We found that if children are exposed to two languages from a very early age, they will essentially grow as if there were two mono-linguals housed in one brain,” Professor Laura-Ann Petitto told delegates. “This will occur without any of the dreaded ‘language contamination’ often attributed to early bilingual exposure.”

Scientists have long debated whether a child’s language ability is hindered by learning two languages at the same time from an early age. Some experts argue that a second language should only be introduced after the child has a full grasp of a primary language.

Professor Petitto’s findings, produced with graduate student Ioulia Kovelman, were presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting held in Orlando, Florida this week. The researchers looked at 15 bilingual children exposed to two languages from varying ages. Each age group of young bilinguals was at a different stage in child brain development. The researchers split the children into four groups depending on when intensive exposure to the second language began: at birth, between the ages of two to three, four to six years, and seven to nine years. This meant the researchers were able to match the time of bilingual language exposure to key stages of brain development. “We anchor[ed] our findings in the biology of the way the brain grows,” she said.

The children spoke various combinations of languages, including Spanish and French, French and English, Russian and French and sign language and French. To obtain a wider cross section, the researchers used children who had been exposed to their second language in different places – at home, a new language community, or in an instructional classroom setting.

“We wanted to study how all of the children’s basic knowledge of their two languages developed over time and thus, in our attempt to be as comprehensive as possible, we examined children across multiple languages, ages and contexts,” she said.

The results found something many school students struggling with French could tell you: late exposure to a second language, coupled with restricted input – such as in a classroom – may never allow a child full mastery in that language. But don’t panic if you want to introduce your child to a second language later, she said: all they need is extensive exposure to both languages.

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