Christmas Myths

Whats the name of the dinosaur that has a long neck?

If you saw it in some movies, or tv, the most commonly portrayed is the Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus). It has long neck, eat grass and they were not aggressive.

I don't know your age but this is a 1988 movie, my first trip to watch a movie and I feel in love with Little Foot a Apatosaurus.

reference:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095489/plotsummary

* this is taken from my YA!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtGtAuoWsjhZIU33bcTtN5wjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20091104211747AAOJpxc

What determines if you'll be right or left handed?

Is the world really supposed to end in 2012?

This whole saga of the world is going to end in 2012 came from the predictions in the Mayan calendar. The last day on the Mayan calendar which ran for 5,126 years is on December 21, 2012.

My personal view is the calendar has to end somewhere. It could have been any other day. So I do not believe the world is going to end.

What will be interesting is .. if you are into astronomy (and the mayans were great astronomers I must add) on December 21 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years! :)

* this is taken from my YA.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AskqjyInXF6jJxPMmJQzelPty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090926164559AAYiSpo&show=7#profile-info-gKEZaMNlaa

Origin of Eye, Hair and Skin color

Eye, hair, and skin color differences are all result of genetic mutation. Haha mutation may sound scary, but it in fact occur rather frequently as we pass our genes from 1 generation to the next.

Now we know these lighter genes originated from northern Europe, why do they evolved lighter genes? Geographical location is a good indicator of how much sunlight these folks are getting. Lighter skin absorbs sunlight (or rather UV radiation from the sun) better. Vitamin D is then made in our skin. However, sunlight exposure carries a number of risks, one of which - skin cancer.

No one really knows our ancestors exact skin, hair and eye color. By theory of natural selection it seem lighter skin adapts better to the conditions in norther Europe, those that failed to adapt, died leaving the lighter genes folks to pass their genetics to the next gen. These people later traveled long distances due to climate changes, and their genetics got spread around the world. Google on the geographical distribution and you will find out where on earth have the highest concentration of people with green eyes and blond hair!

I have grossly simplified how genes got passed on to the next generation.

reference:
http://www.sciencedaily.com

* this is taken from my YA.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag6EsrOqEpwDWTFg19c5K5vty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090810013257AAHhhd3&show=7#profile-info-EVo16a1Paa

Where do Green Eyes and Blond Hair originate from?

Where do green eyes originate from?
- Northern and Central Europe.

What about blonde hair?
- If you mean where it first appear, Northern Europe.

And does the shade have anything to do with where, or does that just depend on how much color is in them?
- Yes, depending on geographical location.

And what if no one in my family has green eyes?
- Think of mixing 2 or more paint to get a new color, this is exactly the same! We usually get 2 genes, 1 from each parent. Will explain a little about blue / brown eyes before we get to green. :)

To get:
- Blue eyes = blue + blue
Baby need to inherit 2 genes of blue to have blue eyes.

- Brown eyes = blue + brown or brown + brown
Since brown is more dominant, if the baby inherited 1 brown gene, the baby gets brown eyes.

So, if my mom has blue eyes, and my dad brown, and I get 1 blue gene from my mom, 1 brown gene from my dad, I will have brown eyes. BUT rememberer, I still have 1 blue gene in me ... if I marry someone with brown eyes (but he had also inherited a blue gene), there is a good chance we both pass on the blue gene. That is why your eye color may be different from both your parents!

Ok, and so we get to green, which ... is a little more complicated. :)

The gene for green eyes is dominant over blue eye color, but is recessive to brown. So what color eyes could a baby have if one parent had green eyes and the other parent had brown eyes? Since the genetics of eye color is quite complex and poorly understood, the real answer is that the baby could have almost any eye color from hazel to blue.

* this is taken from my YA.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ag6EsrOqEpwDWTFg19c5K5vty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090810013257AAHhhd3&show=7#profile-info-EVo16a1Paa

Which is the Largest Mammal in history?

Largest mammal in history - Indricotherium (extinct)
- a type of African elephant,
- lived 34 and 23 million years ago,
- 3 to 4 times weight of current adult African elephants.

---

Largest living mammal - Blue whale
Largest living land mammal - African Bush Elephant

Dinosaurs are reptiles, not mammals.

reference:
American Museum of Natural History
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/extrememammals/extreme-mammals/indricotherium.php

http://www.greenexpander.com/2007/10/22/biggest-animals-on-earth/

* this is taken from my YA.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Am8d4d5DGd7f9DDLUM0Tg4Lty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090814113931AAmaFQ4&show=7#profile-info-ZF8KwBIhaa

Can people really be Scared to Death?

Certainly!

Remember back in January this year it was reported that a back robber was charged with murder, he scared a 79-year-old grandmother, to death. Apparently he was looking for a place to hide and hid in the old lady's home.

So this what happen to our body. Our body have a natural protective mechanism called the fight-or-flight response. When faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, dilating the pupils, all of this increases the chances of survival.

How can the fight-or-flight response lead to death?
The autonomic nervous system uses the hormone adrenaline, a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is toxic in large amounts; it damages the visceral (internal) organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death. Kidney failure, liver failure, those things don't kill you suddenly.

What exactly happens in the heart when it's flooded with too much adrenaline?
Adrenaline from the nervous system lands on receptors of cardiac myocytes (heart-muscle cells), and this causes calcium channels in the membranes of those cells to open. Calcium ions rush into the heart cells and this causes the heart muscle to contract. If it's a massive overwhelming storm of adrenaline, calcium keeps pouring into the cells and the muscle just can't relax.

There is this specially adapted system of muscle and nerve tissue in the heart—the sinoatrial (SA) node, the atrioventricular node, and the Purkinje fibers—which sets the rhythm of the heart. If this system is overwhelmed with adrenaline, the heart can go into abnormal rhythms that are not compatible with life. If one of those is triggered, you will drop dead.

reference:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scared-to-death-heart-attack

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/01/29/2009-01-29_bank_robber_larry_whitfeld_in_murder_rap.html

* this is taken from my YA.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmXZhtnVwQ8wpJN54sjPnqjty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090809173458AAvP67U&show=7#profile-info-nDSXlKxnaa

Can we go back in time?

What is Color?

Are all serial killers insane?

A Musical Juggernaut!

It's my birthday!! =D

In keeping with tradition (actually.. to commemorate my birthday, ohh how self-centered of me lol) I'm going to blog about birthday mumbo jumbos. May I present the World's Most Popular Song! (ok that's just grossly exaggerated, but it's my birthday so i don't care! =X)

The "Happy Birthday" song (officially titled "Happy Birthday to You") evolved from a copyrighted kindergarten greeting song "Good Morning to All" which was created by 2 kindergarten teachers from Kentucky, USA. Mildred Jane Hill composed the melody and her younger sister Patty Smith Hill who was also the kindergarten principle completed the lyrics sometime in 1893.

Now, no one knows exactly when and who wrote the lyrics for "Happy Birthday to You". It was first published in a songbook edited by Robert Coleman in 1924, as a second stanza to "Good Morning to All".

"Happy Birthday to You" became wildly popular in 1933 after it made an uncredited appearance in a Broadway musical hit "As Thousands Cheer". The Hills sisters sued, and won the copyright by demonstrating the undeniable similarities between these two songs. It remains under copyright protection until year 2030!

reference:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1111624
http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.asp
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0384530/bio
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0384558/bio

Why do we Fear the Unknown?