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Sweetbreads are neither sweet, nor are they breads. "Buyer beware — sweetbreads are NOT a sweet-bread like a cinnamon roll," said Rebecca Shenkman, director at the Villanova College of Nursing's MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education (COPE). "In fact, they are the total opposite of what one might expect from an English language interpretation of the word. Sweetbreads are culinary names for the thymus or pancreas glands of (typically) a calf or lamb." Benefits & nutritional information Sweetbreads have been consumed since ancient times and have been found to be particularly healthy. Sweetbreads are "the most nutrient-dense part of the animal," said Dr. Jennifer Jackson, an internist at Ascension Via Christi Health. "Indigenous cultures would serve organ meats to women of childbearing age to boost mom's nutrition." "Organ meats have been a staple part of ancestral diets," said Dr. Vincent Pedre, author of t

As far as pop culture is concerned, a vomitorium is a room where ancient Romans went to throw up lavish meals so they could return to the table and feast some more. It's a striking illustration of gluttony and waste, and one that makes its way into modern texts. Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" series, for example, alludes to vomitoriums when the lavish inhabitants of the Capitol — all with Latin names like Flavia and Octavia —imbibe a drink to make them vomit at parties so they can gorge themselves on more calories than citizens in the surrounding districts would see in months. But the real story behind vomitoriums is much less disgusting. Actual ancient Romans did love food and drink. But even the wealthiest did not have special rooms for purging. To Romans, vomitoriums were the entrances/exits in stadiums or theaters, so dubbed by a fifth-century writer because of the way they'd spew crowds out into the streets. "It's just kind of a trope,"

Powerful earthquakes like the 6.2-magnitude temblor that rocked central Italy early this morning (Aug. 24) are surprisingly common in the region, geologists say. The shaking was caused by movement in the Tyrrhenian Basin, a seismically active area beneath the Mediterranean Sea. Here, the ground is actually spreading apart, said Julie Dutton, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. The same underlying geology was responsible for the devastating 2009 earthquake in the city of L'Aquila, just 34 miles (55 kilometers) away from today’s quake. That earthquake killed more than 300 people. "It's a pretty complicated or complex area for earthquakes," Dutton told Live Science. "In this area, they have sizable earthquakes that cause destruction every so many years." [Photos of This Millennium's Most Destructive Earthquakes] COMPLEX DAMAGING GEOLOGY The epicenter of today's quake, which hit around 3:30 a.m. local time, was about 6.2 miles (10 km) sou

Older adults may not be as physically healthy or mentally sharp as younger and middle-age adults, but they have higher psychological well-being than these other age groups, according to a new survey of people living in San Diego County, California. In the study, the researchers evaluated three key factors in adults across their life spans: their physical health, cognitive health and mental health. They found that older people had better mental health than younger people. The researchers also found that young adults in their 20s and 30s had the lowest scores on measures of psychological well-being of all of the age groups in the study, which included people ages 21 to 99, according to the findings, published in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. [9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental Health] Although the study showed that people experience declines in both their physical health and their thinking skills as they age, aging was also linked with better mental health, gr

We used to think of “addiction”, or what we now call dependence, as a moral failing. This had the result of blaming the person who was addicted – it was a matter of willpower and they just weren’t trying hard enough. So the obvious solution was shaming and scolding until they did. In the mid-20th century, a new movement started: the recovery movement, led by peer organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous. This signalled a shift towards a focus on disease. This shift was important in understanding drug use as a health issue and focusing responses towards support rather than blaming. The downside to this way of thinking is that it conceptualises drug use and dependence as a problem you have no control over – it needs someone or something to “fix” it (typically a medicine). The first step in the 12-step movement demonstrates this well: “I admit that I am powerless over alcohol/drugs.” The pendulum had swung in the opposite direction. But what is a disease? Traditional definitions refe

When it comes to creatures with keen hearing ability, sea anemones are not at the top of the list. Nonetheless, new research suggests that certain proteins that help these animals repair their feathery tentacles could also eventually be used to help repair damage to cells within a mammal's inner ear. The finding comes from a study done in mice and could be an early step toward finding a treatment for people with hearing loss, the researchers said. In mammals, including humans, sound is translated from vibrations in the air into nerve signals that can be sent to the brain by highly specialized cells called hair cells. These are found within the cochlea, a fluid-filled structure of the inner ear. Damage to these hair cells, which can be caused by exposure to loud noise, can result in hearing loss, and mammals are not able to repair hair cells once they are harmed. [Marine Marvels: Spectacular Photos of Sea Creatures] It turns out that sea anemones have similar hair cells on their

The weight-loss supplement garcinia cambogia may have the unwanted side effect of inducing mania, which is a feeling of an abnormally high level of energy, agitation and euphoria, according to a recent report of three separate cases. In each case, the patient became manic while taking the over-the-counter supplement, and the doctors who treated the patients came to suspect that the supplement played a role, according to the  report, published in April in the journal The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders. Mania can be harmful if it leads someone to take part in risky behaviors. Despite an increase in popularity in recent years, garcinia cambogia has not really been on psychiatrists' radar as a possible trigger of mania, said Dr. Brian Hendrickson, a psychiatry resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the lead author of the report. [Wishful Thinking: 6 'Magic Bullet' Cures That Don't Exist] Indeed, it wasn't until the doctors saw all three patients, ov

🌍 Earth was once a formless planet till life began to exist in it. Formless in the sense that it performs almost a zero function. Recycling,production, decomposition, and recreation, none of these duties were performed by planet earth. Until the second life began to thrive in it. From the first piece of creation that  inhabited the earth, tremendous changes were sparked up.  From the stone ages, the invention of fire and tools, technology began even without a knowledge of science which is a dormant form of technology. The pioneers of this era employed much labour to create machines of little efficiency. The stone ages developed to the iron ages and the technologists and scientists here boasted that with the aid of just a fulcurum, one can rule the world. The summary of this stage of development is an increase in mechanical efficiency. The iron age boasted of ruling the world with just a fulcrum, to they, it was the highest technological age ever. But it was just the beginning of an

Although many studies have looked at the family history of disease in relation to the onset of disease, only three major studies have correlated overall longevity trends between parents and their children. The Framingham Study, the "Termite" Study, and the Alameda County Study looked at the age of parental death to determine if it predicted longevity of the offspring. Did the two correlate? Yes, but minimally. Each study showed a minor effect. The Framingham Study, the most comprehensive of the three, found about a 6 percent correlation between life span of the parents and life span of their offspring, meaning that many other factors affect longevity as well. If both your parents lived past the age of seventy-five, the odds that you will live past seventy-five increase to some extent. But to what extent? (Note that we are discussing, for the most part, death related to disease. If a parent dies at age forty in a car accident, for example, that provides little information abou

MopFluorescent proteins from jellyfish that were grown in bacteria have been used to create a laser for the first time, according to a new study. The breakthrough represents a major advance in so-called polariton lasers, the researchers said. These lasers have the potential to be far more efficient and compact than conventional ones and could open up research avenues in quantum physics and optical computing, the researchers said. Traditional polariton lasers using inorganic semiconductors need to be cooled to incredibly low temperatures. More recent designs based on organic electronics materials, like those used in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, operate at room temperature but need to be powered by picosecond (one-trillionth of a second) pulses of light. By repurposing the fluorescent proteins that have revolutionized biomedical imaging, and by allowing scientists to monitor processes inside cells, the team created a polariton laser that operates at room temperature p

 Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing; or the observance of an obligation from loyalty; or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement; or a belief not based on proof; or it may refer to a particular system of religious belief, such as in which faith is confidence based on some degree of warrant. The term 'faith' has numerous connotations and is used in different ways, often depending on context. The English word faith is thought to date from 1200–50, from the Middle English feith, via Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit from Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs (trust), akin to fīdere (to trust). A 'five-letter' word that keeps recurring in the realm of human existence. What we believe in; or, simply put 'what we think is true'. People share different views on the meaning of faith and thus apply it according to this perception.Predictably, they act according to this perception and hold on to it as the absolute truth regardless of the point of view of

  Everyone makes use of the ICT in our everyday activities. As we interact with others who might be familiar or not, here are tips to help you make your web experience enjoyable and free of controversy: 1. Respect what other people are saying on social media, even if you do not agree with them: the social media is a platform for information dissemination and also a unique opportunity to share ideas and meet up with people who holds the same view as you do. Now, there comes that particular time when someone comes up with ideas which may seem crude or thoughtless to you maybe because it is contrary to what you think is true or right. Being a good social network user or internet used includes how you handle these information. Try to hide your hatred for things you see on the internet even you are correcting this view, ensure neutrality and make sure your dislike doesn't reflect on the way you make your points. 2. Don't share personal information like your address, phone number o

If you've ever driven around in downtown Pittsburgh, you know it's no picnic. In fact, it's whatever the opposite of a picnic is. Thanks to three converging rivers, the downtown area is a tangle of narrow bridges, stacked overpasses and barely sublimated Rust Belt aggression. Pittsburgh drivers are in it to win it. So it's kind of a surprise that Uber is planning to roll out its first self-driving cars in the heart of Steel City. But that's evidently the plan, according to a recent report at Bloomberg. Starting later this month, Uber customers in downtown Pittsburgh will be able to climb into specially modified Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles strapped with dozens of sensors, cameras, lasers and GPS components. The cars won't be completely roboticized — all vehicles will still have a human driver on board to supervise matters and take control if necessary. Still, it's a Pretty Big Deal. If Uber follows though, the Pittsburgh experiment will be the first

Pauline Hanson’s concern about the Australian Tax Office installing squat toilets to cater for its increasingly diverse workforce has prompted debate about the best way to go to the toilet: sitting or squatting. While nobody is claiming you climb up and plant your feet on a regular toilet seat, there is some evidence to suggest squatting makes it easier to empty your bowels. The flush toilet was first invented in the late 16th century by Sir John Harington. But it was only during the 19th century that seated toilets became available for mass use. Most of the Western world still sits to defaecate, while squatting is favoured in the developing world. The process of passing bowel motions or defaecation is a lot more complicated than you might imagine. First, the rectum contracts as it fills up with stools. This causes the smooth muscle of the anal canal to relax. The puborectalis muscle, which loops around the rectum like a sling, normally pulls the rectum forward to create a tight an

Hummus is a Levantine and Egyptian food dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas or other beans, blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. A Middle Eastern food that has become popular in other areas of the world. It is a dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas. Tahini (a ground sesame seed paste), lemon juice, olive oil, salt and garlic are added to the mashed beans for flavor.  "Traditional hummus is made of chickpeas as the primary ingredient — after all, the word "hummus" means chickpeas in Arabic," said Rebecca Shenkman, director at the Villanova College of Nursing's MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education (COPE). However, she added, hummus products are now being made with other ingredients, such as cannellini beans, edamame, sweet potatoes, black beans and zucchini. Nutritional information & benefits Traditional hummus is low in fat, typically contains no sugar and is low in calories. It is also hi

It's now legal to use marijuana to treat certain medical conditions in 25 states, but the Food and Drug Administration has still not approved the marijuana plant as a treatment for any disease or health issue. That's because there haven't been enough large studies of the drug to show that its benefits outweigh the risks in patients who use it, said the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). And in order to gain approval, researchers also need show that marijuana is safer or more effective than existing treatments for certain conditions. Nevertheless, scientists have good reason to think that the marijuana plant could be useful in treating a number of medical conditions. The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been shown to increases appetite and reduces nausea. Another chemical in marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), may decrease pain and inflammation and help with muscle-control problems, according to NIDA. Both THC and CBD belong to a group