Study: Caffeine May Be a Natural Anti-Depressant

by: Javier Benek

Not only might coffee help you live a lot longer, it might also help you avoid depression and even keep you from killing yourself! A team from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who drink 2 to 4 cups of caffeinated coffee every day have significantly lower suicide risk than those who avoid or drink very little of the popular beverage.

Many experts believe it's the caffeine that's providing the natural anti-depressant benefit and that almost any source of the stimulant could provide similar results. 2 - 4 cups of coffee is equal to around 400 mg of caffeine. Interestingly, drinking more than 4 cups of coffee per day doesn't appear to lower suicide risks.

Caffeine's powerful effects on human brain neurochemistry are well known. It acts as a "mimic" of an important tiredness-regulating chemical called adenosine and strongly affects levels of the neuro-stimulating chemicals dopamine and glutamate. The overall effect is a big boost in mental energy/stimulation and, it appears, a lessening of depression.

The findings aren't conclusive but at least it gives us another reason to spend all that money on Starbucks!

Learn some mo': Will A Few Cups Of Coffee A Day Keep The Blues Away?

Google Chromecast Set to Take Over Your Television

Google hasn't had much luck grabbing control of our televisions but a new $35 product may change things dramatically. The Chromecast device looks like a big "dongle" and can wirelessly connect your laptop, tablet, and smartphone to your TV, allowing for high-quality streaming video.

The move puts Google back into the fight with Apple, Microsoft, and other tech companies struggling to make internet-connect "smart TV's" a common reality. Home entertainment is a $18 billion industry in the United States along, so obviously the potential profits are humongous.

The Chromecast is being marketed as a simple, small, easy-to-connect device that plugs into any TV HDMI port. It connects automatically to any close-by wireless Internet network and can be controlled with most Android and Apple mobile devices.

It will be in direct competition for the higher-priced Apple AirPlay platform as well as Microsoft's Xbox One video gaming system (and "SmartGlass" technology).

We say: This is GREAT because we're tired of trying to hook things up via 10 foot HDMI cords and mini-USB connections (but we weren't willing to pay over $50 to fix things!).

Learn some mo': Chromecast gives Google a seat in America's living rooms

Check out this hands-on video:




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What do you think about the Chromecast??

The Scary Truth About the Future of Bananas

Much like bee-pollinated foods, the future of one of the world's favorite fruits is very much in doubt:



We think it's time for a banana science revolution!

Crazy Summer Storm Floods Las Vegas Strip

Even a short, swift downpour can cause an unbelievable amount of chaos in our crazy city: overturned trees, flooded casinos, Hurricane-level winds, and even busted Strip bar roofs...

A powerful thunderstorm swept through the Las Vegas Valley last night, flooding the Strip and killing power for 33,000 people in the area. Strong tornado-like winds knocked down trees and utility poles in several parts of the city. Hours after the storm passed several casinos on the Strip and downtown's Fremont Street were still without electricity.

.22 inches of rainfall set a new 1-day record at McCarran Airport and over an inch was recorded in the Henderson suburb to the south. A 71 mph wind gust was recorded at Nellis Air Force base to the north. Buildings all over the valley were struck by thousands of flashes of lightning.

And then this craziness happened at Gilley's Country Saloon & Dance Hall at the Treasure Island casino:



A look at the flooding behind the Mandalay Bay on the Strip:



We say: Any Vegas rain is OK with us! This town is wayyy too dry! :)

Learn some mo': Fierce Summer Storm Sweeps Over Vegas Strip

New Studies Confirm Your Genes Make You Fat!

Being very overweight or obese may truly be due to "bad" genes, according to a new research published in Science and in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). Experts from Boston Children’s Hospital found a genetic abnormality in some mice that keeps them from burning fat the way normal mice do. The gene mutation exists in some obese people.

Another group of researchers from University College London report that a form of a gene already suspected in obesity can actually increase your fatty food cravings!

The new research show that our personal biology has a HUGE effect on our metabolisms, body fat levels, body weight, and overall health. Weight and BMI, according to experts, are determined by much more than just diet and activity level.

A complex combination of genetics, hormones, appetite-regulating enzymes, metabolic characteristics, diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors determines how much we weight and how our bodies look. So the next time someone calls you fat now you can show them evidence that your grandparents are to blame!

Learn some mo': New Genes IDd in Obesity: How Much of Weight is Genetic?

Detroit Is Officially BANKRUPT!

One of the United States' most important -- and most violent -- cities is now officially bankrupt. Absolutely incredible...



What do you think about the largest American city to ever declare bankruptcy??

Learn some mo': Billions in Debt, Detroit Tumbles Into Insolvency

Study: More Fish Oil = More Prostate Cancer

Taking lots of fish oil supplements may increase a man's risk of prostate cancer, according to a new report from Ohio State University. Researchers found that men with high concentration of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids had a greater than 40% higher risk of coming down with the very "private" form of cancer.

There's quite a bit of evidence showing that omega 3's are good for the heart and brain, but taking them in supplement form, instead of getting them from natural seafood sources, may not be a great idea for most men. Experts say the unique fatty acids may act on the body's cells in much more complex ways than previously thought. In fact, one theory is that they actually increase oxidative stress while decreasing inflammation in a strange, not-yet-understood way.

Learn some mo': Omega-3 Fatty Acids Linked to Higher Risk of Cancer

By the way, many health experts have been talking about the connection between fish oil and prostate cancer for some time now:

Study: Beer Is Good for Your Heart!

According to a new study from Greece, drinking some beer may provide serious heart health benefits. Researchers from Harokopio University compared cardiovascular health signals in a group of young men who had drank beer, non-alcoholic beer, and vodka. All experienced some heart benefits but the beer drinkers experienced significantly more than the others.

Endothelial function -- the measure of how easily blood passes through arteries -- improved in the beer drinkers but not in the vodka or near-beer consumers. The researchers believe that beer's high antioxidant content was responsible for the heart health boost.

We say: It's about time another "health" study came out re-affirming our commitment to heavy beer (and wine and whisky) drinking!

Learn some mo': Beer can be good for your heart

Study: Vitamin C, Cysteine Kill TB

Does citrus kill TB too?
Photo Credit

Here's some more good news about vitamin C: it appears to be very good at killing tuberculosis! Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made an "accidental" discovery while studying TB drug resistance. They found that both the amino acid cysteine and vitamin C -- both reducing agents -- directly killed TB bacteria in a test tube.

Here's the best part: tuberculosis doesn't appear to develop resistance to vitamin C the way it does to nearly all other drugs. Researchers said it is "almost like a dream drug" in a video released by the college.

Obviously killing TB in test tubes and killing it inside the human body are two very different things. But experts say the new findings will definitely lead to more research in the use of vitamin C, cysteine, and other nutrient chemicals in the future. New forms of multi-drug resistance (MDR) TB are becoming a major threat to global health so there's a strong hope that vitamin C will provide a new therapy in the battle.

We say: It will be very interesting to see if any significant TB treatment research is actually done on vitamin C, cysteine, or any other cheap vitamin that can't be patented by the large pharmaceutical companies!

Learn some mo':  Accidental find shows Vitamin C kills tuberculosis

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