Why Eating A Lot Feels So Darn Good

Galen

Current Event: 2

Topic: Health

Why Eating a Lot Feels So Darn Good
By Madison Park, CNN
November 24, 2010
Length: 1856

Filling a stomach with comfort food is an evolutionary instinct that we do because we are subconsciously preparing for the dark times. We are in survival mode. “Just like puffy-cheeked squirrels storing up for the winter.” Our brains reward us by releasing chemicals that make us feel good in a similar way that alcohol and drugs do. Scientists call it ingestion analgesia, literally pain relief from eating. Professor Roger Cone says that "for most animals and most of human history, we have not had excess of calories. Animals and humans had to work harder to survive, but now, with unlimited calories everywhere for most people and a great reduction in the amount of physical activity, we've become obese." By having such easy access to fat, sugar and much more, our bodies have adjusted by releasing endogenous opioid, which help control pain. A study published in Nature Neuroscience this year suggested that these high fat and calorie foods affect he brain in the same way that cocaine and heroin does. A study this year found that when rats consumed these foods in large quantities it lead to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction. Food replaces emptiness with a sleepy relaxing feeling known as the food coma.

Fortunately, our body releases a hormone when food travels to the upper small intestine to tell the brain to stop eating. As our food intake increases our blood glucose level changes and the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, calms down. That feeling of satiety should end the meal. Unfortunately we often ignore this cue. The bottom line is we need to eat less. Rolls, a professor of the national science at Pennsylvania State, says to “ eat when you feel a little hungry, but don't wait until you feel ravenous, because you'll probably overeat.” People should stop eating when they are pleasantly full instead of when they can’t stand up.

OnLive Gaming System Will Steam to TV Sets

Nicholas

Current Event Posting: # 2

Topic: Technology

Title: OnLive Gaming System Will Stream to TV Sets

Writer: Eric A. Taub

Publication Name: New York Times Online

Date of Publication: November 28, 2010

Length: about 700 words

A new gaming console is on the rise. OnLive gaming system is looking to compete with Play Station 3, XBox 360, and Nintendo's Wii. Why is OnLive any different, well for starters, it uses no disks. It uses state-of-the-art technology known as a cloud, an internet-based computing method in which resources, software, and information can be shared on demand, eliminating the need for disks. OnLive's creator, Steve Perlman, is already a well-known Silicon Valley inventor and hopes that by December users will be able to stream games to their televisions using a small box the size of a cigarette package that taps into high-speed internet. The cost of the box, only $99. OnLive is also different because it eliminates stuttering, stalling, and lower resolution displays by shrinking the size of the game programs during transmission. “The low latency of the video compression scheme makes a game look like it’s appearing instantaneously,” Mr. Perlman said. He envisions that television companies will eventually incorporate this small box directly into their TVs with games being held at his companies data centers, extinguishing the need for any hardware at all. Another advantage of OnLive is that games are usually about $10 cheaper, due to the fact that there is no actual disk being purchased. One analyst said, “I think that there is a huge potential for many other value-added services, such as videoconferencing, secure computing and Internet TV.” OnLive, however, also has some disadvantages. Competing with big companies with deep pockets poses one problem. Another is that there is a much smaller game selection. As of now there are about 35 titles available and hopefully about 50 by Christmas. Lastly, many consumers don't to add another box to their house.

In conclusion, the OnLive gaming console has a promising future. When loosing games, breaking and scratching disks, or even getting them too dirty to play is a problem, OnLive is your solution. This disk-less console uses top of the line, cloud technology to stream games directly to your TV using a small box. OnLive is also cheaper because there is no need to buy actual disks, not to mention the fact that the box itself is much cheaper than other consoles.

In my opinion, OnLive is going to help many gamers. Once it expands its selection the future is bright. Now-a-days many people ruin or lose disks, while others are just too lazy to go to stores to buy new games. Using cloud technology is a great idea to appeal to those users. It is also a great solution to consumers who don't want to jumble up TV displays with big boxes or tons of disks.

Feds open criminal investigation into WikiLeaks discloser

Taesu
3
Espionage/Politics
Feds open criminal investigation into WikiLeaks disclosures
Writer: CNN wire staff
Publication Name: CNN
Date of Publication: November 29, 2010
Pages: The whole article

a. Wikileaks began to release classified documents of United states diplomats on the internet. This leaking of classified information is illegal and the United States Attorney is persecuting. The Attorney general, Eric Holder, is investigating these illegal actions on behalf of the Espionage act. This allows Eric Holder to persecute a person practicing espionage, in this case the person practicing espionage is one of our own soldiers. The prime suspect is U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, who was linked to past Wikileaks, is being investigated for espionage. The articles on wikileaks has to do with King Abdulah of Saudi Arabia asking the Iran to not go nuclear and the USA always being ready to bomb areas containing nuclear devices. This article on Wikileaks is not only controversial but is confidential. The United states is trying to counter this release of confidential information by reviewing the articles posted. The counter-intelligence agencies are doing all they can to counter anything that would jeopardize national security. The new york times, along with some other European news papers, are going to publish excerpts beginning on Sunday this week.
b. In the end the information will be leaked and the USA will determine whether or not the information that is released jeopardizes the national security of the USA. The USA attorney general and counter-intelligence agencies all over the united states are working to find who leaked the information. The USA will persecute the man who released the information in supreme court. He will be tried on the behalf of espionage and the release of classified documents that were not authorized to be released. In the end, the man will be caught and the information could be with-held from the public.
c. I think that the 1st amendment is being slightly violated because the USA is persecuting the citizen who leaked this information because of his desire for people to receive knowledge of secret operations. The story that is not told to us is the story behind all of the lies and the deception of the United States government. We are not told the full story.

Marijuana Smokers Who Start Early Are at Greatest Risk, Study Finds

Nadia
Current Event Posting Number: 2
Topic: Health
Title: Marijuana Smokers Who Start Early Are at Greatest Risk, Study Finds
Publication: New York Times
Length: words/1 page
Date: November 15, 2010
Author: Roni Rabin

Marijuana. Good or bad? Harmless or harmful? Smoking Marijuana is usually present during teens. And the timing could not be worse, a new study shows.
Teenagers who started using marijuana or weed, regularly in their early teens performed much worse on the Cognitive Tests (that assessing their brain and how it functions), than those who were at LEAST 16 at the time they had started smoking scientists report. These findings were presented at the annal meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, California, which led researchers at McLean Hospital to come to a conclusion that the developing brain of a teenager is much vulnerable to the effects of weed. Dr. Staci A, tries explaining the difference between the developing teenage brain and the brain of an adult. The study that was performed in conjunction with brain scans was small had consisted of 35 chronic weed smokers who were 22 years old, on average. 20 of them had started smoking on a regular basis before they reached the age of 16, while the other 15 started smoking regularly when they reached the age of 16 or older. All the people who smoked weed had similar life-styles, education AND income. The people were asked to complete an assessment of executive function where the brain is responsible for planning and abstract thinking, as well as understanding rules and acting inappropriately. The test asked them to sort cards with different shapes, numbers and colors, which is a measure of cognitive flexibility, obedience, the ability to stay focused and control impulsive responses. The people who started smoking at an earlier age scored much lower on the test than the ones who started smoking at a more "decent" age, past 15 or 16. "They got fewer of the card-sorting categories correct and made more mistakes. They were also much more likely to repeat their mistakes, continuing to give incorrect answers even after being told that they were wrong." At age 15 the brain starts changing and "the part that modulates executive function is the last part to develop." There are also other significant differences between the two groups of smokers. Those who had been using weed on a more regular basis smoked more than twice as often then those who started smoking in later years. Studies show the early users smoked 14.7 grams per week, almost three times as much as the later smokers who used 5.9 grams a week, on average.

Conclusion: In conclusion, weed is unhealthy, but it depends on what age you start smoking. If you are "safe and smart" with this drug, you will not have the after affects of being unintelligent. Dr. Gruber believes that if weed were to be legalized in 2012, it would be alright only if there is an age restriction (which there was on the Prop 19) ballot. After completely developing, or at least leaving the stage of developing.

Opinion: I agree with the age restriction, since weed is one of the "safest" drug. Of course any drug is bad for you, but so far marijuana has proved to be the "healthiest" and "safest" hence, medical marijuana. Weed is also safer than alcohol, so if alcohol is legal, there isn't really a reason for weed to be illegal or looked down upon more than alcohol. Brain cells obviously are lost, but not as much, and not as often. [Same protocols would be taken with weed as if it were alcohol, so it really would not be AS unsafe]. But as I've stated, I think it'd be a good idea to at least wait to be 15 or 16, or a reasonable age to start smoking if you'd plan to do so which is also backed up by reports and tests.

Pelosi Announces Run For Minority Leader

Sonal

Current Event Posting Number: 2

Topic: Leaders (national)

Title: Pelosi Announces Run For Minority Leader

Writer: Dana Bash and Deirdre Walsh

Publication Name: CNN

Date of Publication: November 5, 2010

Length: 1200 words/2 pages

Main Ideas:

Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, says she will run for Minority Leader in the 2012 elections. However, she has been receiving little support from the White House. Pelosi has raised $50 million for the Democrats in order to gain more support. Heath Shuler is considering challenging Pelosi if she runs, but very few think he will win. Pelosi is running for this position because she feels her work is not finished because of the urgency of protecting health care reform, Wall Street reform, and Social Security and Medicare. She also says that a lot of her colleagues have called with their recommendations on how to continue America's fight for the middle class. They also have encouraged her to run for House Democratic Leader. Some people think that she has a full shot in winning while others believe there should be a new leader. When she met John Boehner, the current minority leader, had no comment. Some other chances that she may not win are because senators from the past may want to run again.

Conclusion:

Furthermore on whether Pelosi will win is that during the next couple of years, there will be fewer Democrats than Republicans starting from 2011 because of the midterm elections on November 2. This may partially affect Pelosi's chances for winning because of a smaller Democratic caucus. Basically, Pelosi will have to work hard for the next couple of years. On the other hand, Americans United for Change, a progressive political organization, sent an email to its members requesting them to urge Pelosi to stay. A big question at the moment, according to Democratic sources, is what Pelosi's progressives want her to do.

Opinion:

I think that Pelosi has a great chance in winning. She has been striving to help the common man, working and middle class people, the past few years and has brought great change. Pelosi was also the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. Therefore, many women will want her to be reelected. Overall, I think Pelosi has a determined and ambitious personality that will allow her to reach her goals.