In the news

[thatonemom]

Also, as I understand it, the BSA is considering the possibility of allowing troops to decide for themselves. (The article thatonemom linked to doesn't seem to be available anymore, but this is what I heard on NPR, I think.) Thus, the Church would still be able to sponsor troops without contradicting their earlier statement at all ("If the appointment of scout leaders cannot be limited to those who live and affirm the sexual standards of BSA and its religious sponsors, the Scouting Movement as now constituted will cease to exist"), since they'd still be able to limit them if they so chose. Or so I understand it.

This is what I understand as well. This seems to be different than what was proposed earlier, in that the individual units will decide for themselves whether to accept gays or not.

True. Here's a new link from KSL: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23667614&nid=15 ... id=queue-3 In the video the Church said it was too early to comment on the issue, since there's been no official policy change.

I could rant about my own personal reasons why I hope the Church will part ways with the Scouting program, but I'll spare everyone. I just think it'll be interesting to see if anything comes of it. I know BSA would like to keep the Church (I think 1/3 of their troops come from LDS units), and for whatever reason the Church seems to like the BSA.

And thanks, Yarjka for posting about BSA v. Dale. Life got in the way of googling.

[Digit]

World's first Barbie Café opens in Taipei. I'll have to keep this from my daughter. Can't afford a family trip to Taiwan .

[Giovanni Schwartz]

That's too bad. Taiwan is wonderful. I once ate at a restaurant called "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pizza." It was way overpriced, and not great.

[Portia]

This seems to be different than what was proposed earlier, in that the individual units will decide for themselves whether to accept gays or not.

Leaders or boy scouts? Because I just wouldn't think to call a collection of sixth-graders "gays" or "straights." It seems to have a political connotation not applicable to minors.

[Yarjka]

This seems to be different than what was proposed earlier, in that the individual units will decide for themselves whether to accept gays or not.

Leaders or boy scouts? Because I just wouldn't think to call a collection of sixth-graders "gays" or "straights." It seems to have a political connotation not applicable to minors.

Boy scouts extends all the way to 18, does it not?

[Digit]

Dung beetles use the Milky Way to push poo.

[Portia]

This seems to be different than what was proposed earlier, in that the individual units will decide for themselves whether to accept gays or not.

Leaders or boy scouts? Because I just wouldn't think to call a collection of sixth-graders "gays" or "straights." It seems to have a political connotation not applicable to minors.

Boy scouts extends all the way to 18, does it not?

Sixth-graders, twelfth-graders, I'm still uncomfortable calling them, as a group "gays." A young boy is not "a gay." We don't call all the straight people on this forum "straights."

[Yarjka]

Sixth-graders, twelfth-graders, I'm still uncomfortable calling them, as a group "gays." A young boy is not "a gay." We don't call all the straight people on this forum "straights."

Once the BSA stops discriminating against them we can just call them all "people" (or "youth" I suppose).

Here in Canada, the church is still very much in partnership with Scouts Canada, even though they accept all youth (even girls!) into their programs. The church has been allowed to maintain the structure it had in place prior to the changes. I'd imagine a similar setup in the BSA when the change in policy takes place.

[Digit]

Canker sore drug helps mice lose weight.

Obese mice given a canker sore drug lost weight without cutting calories, moving more

The real heavy duty journal Nature Medicine source I don't understand but wish I did

[Giovanni Schwartz]

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2013/02/13/har ... new-cover/

[thatonemom]

Mississippi is apparently the most religious US state The Northeast states are the least, if you were curious.

[Yarjka]

Russian meteor.
Here's some really good commentary: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/n ... n-sky.html

[Talons]

Canker sore drug helps mice lose weight.

Obese mice given a canker sore drug lost weight without cutting calories, moving more

The real heavy duty journal Nature Medicine source I don't understand but wish I did

I can help with that. I don't know how much you know about such things, so I'm going to explain how I would explain it to the sophomore version of myself. First of all, a lot of the more obscure things are explained or defined in the introduction of biology articles. By logging into a university's library page, you can usually use their database to search for a full version of the article.

Inflammation is how your body fights infection. We call it inflammation because it manifests itself to us in the forms of redness, pain, and heat. Its main purpose is to tell your white blood cells that there is a problem, and so they should start attacking whatever is causing the problem. However, inflammation is also present at low amounts in fat and liver tissue of obese animals. As you can imagine, having constant inflammation can get you in trouble, in some cases increasing the risk for cancer and other diseases. In this inflamed tissue, the protein NF-κB turns on two other proteins, IKK-ε and TBK1. These proteins are essentially small machines which turn other proteins on or off, with the end result being more storage of fat and eventually insulin resistance, as is seen in type 2 diabetes patients.

Researchers have already discovered that amlexanox can reduce chronic inflammation, such as the inflammation in canker sores (aphthous ulcers). It just so happens that amlexanox turns off IKK-ε and TBK1. Perhaps because of this inhibition of IKK-ε and TBK1, the treated mice start to lose weight through generating heat (thermogenesis), becoming more sensitive to insulin, and decreasing fat retention in cells (steatosis).

The great thing about this drug is that it's already being used. As it has already successfully passed through the long years of clinical trials, it might be available as a fat burning drug much sooner than a newly discovered one would be.

[Katya]

Mississippi is apparently the most religious US state The Northeast states are the least, if you were curious.

I knew that! (Maine isn't the lowest state, but it's close. I think New Hampshire might be the lowest.) I'll miss it.

[thatonemom]

The Church is opening 58 new missions

I blame this on Zed.

[Digit]

Thanks for that explanation, Talons!

[Zedability]

The Church is opening 58 new missions

I blame this on Zed.

Yeah, I'm single-handedly going to convert everyone in all 58 of them

[Digit]

Space Tourist Dennis Tito wants to sent two humans on a flyby (no landing) of Mars taking off in 2018. story.

At closest approach, Tito’s crew won’t even peep Mars’s volcanoes and valleys below. Mars itself will block their view as they slingshot around the far side — the dark side — of the planet.

Risks include deep-space radiation, missing a small “keyhole” in space near Mars and shooting out to infinity and vaporizing upon reentry.

Not to mention spending the next 501 days of your life in a little capsule. Don't sign me up. Not that I suspect they'll actually get this idea to complete fruition, anyways

[Dead Cat]

Colin Mochrie mentioned on twitter that Whose Line is it Anyway? is coming back. It took them long enough.

[Zedability]

Space Tourist Dennis Tito wants to sent two humans on a flyby (no landing) of Mars taking off in 2018. story.

At closest approach, Tito’s crew won’t even peep Mars’s volcanoes and valleys below. Mars itself will block their view as they slingshot around the far side — the dark side — of the planet.

Risks include deep-space radiation, missing a small “keyhole” in space near Mars and shooting out to infinity and vaporizing upon reentry.

Not to mention spending the next 501 days of your life in a little capsule. Don't sign me up. Not that I suspect they'll actually get this idea to complete fruition, anyways

I'd go.