What did you give your girlfriend on Valentine's Day?

Hi,

Do you guys remember how I usually start the topic on plant reproduction?

What is the usual gift do boys give to their girlfriends? Colourful, fragrant, large, showy and un-private sex organs - of plants of course!

Below is a good illustration of what I mean.




Happy New Year

C.K. Williams' poetry of youth and age

Hi,

Poet C.K. Williams reads his work at TED2001. As he colors scenes of childhood resentments, college loves, odd neighbors and the literal death of youth, he reminds us of the unique challenges of living.




Cheers

V S Ramachandran on The neurons that shaped civilization

Hi,

Fascinating world of neuroscience.

Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran outlines the fascinating functions of mirror neurons. Only recently discovered, these neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviours, some of which formed the foundations of human civilization as we know it.



We are all interconnected by our neuron-created consciousness says Dr Ramachandran.

Cheers

Don Norman on 3 ways good design makes you happy

Hi,
In this talk from 2003, design critic Don Norman turns his incisive eye toward beauty, fun, pleasure and emotion, as he looks at design that makes people happy. He names the three emotional cues that a well-designed product must hit to succeed.




Cheers

Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty

Hi,

How do we feel beauty?
What is considered beautiful?

TED collaborates with animator Andrew Park to illustrate Denis Dutton's provocative theory on beauty -- that art, music and other beautiful things, far from being simply "in the eye of the beholder," are a core part of human nature with deep evolutionary origins.



Cheers

Baba Brinkman-Learn about human evolution through rap?

Hi,

Baba Brinkman is a Canadian actor and rap artist and former tree‑planter who has personally planted more than one million trees. Baba has received international acclaim for his rap comedy theatre shows, which cover topics as diverse as evolutionary psychology, the Canterbury Tales, democracy, and civil disobedience. Last year he won the Scotsman Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe for his "Rap Guide to Evolution," which is transferring to New York in 2011. When he is not on tour, Baba resides in his hometown of Vancouver.



"Worst comes to worst" by Dilated People



"Survival of the fittest" by Mobb Deep


Cheers

A child is born

Hi,

Swedish photographer, Lennart Nilsson, spent 12 years of his life taking pictures of the foetus developing in the womb. These incredible photographs were taken with conventional cameras with macro lenses, an endoscope and scanning electron microscope. Nilsson used a magnification of hundreds of thousands and worked right in the womb. His first photo of the human foetus was taken in 1965.

6 months.
There are still 8-10 weeks ahead, so the little human is getting ready to leave the uterus. It turns upside down because it will be easier to be born this way

26 weeks

20 weeks: Approximately 20 cm. Woolly hair, known as lanugo, covers the entire head

19 weeks

8 weeks: Approximately 14 cm. The foetus can now perceive sounds from the outside world

The skeleton consists mainly of flexible cartilage.
A network of blood vessels is visible through the thin skin.

16 weeks.
The foetus uses its hands to explore its own body and its surroundings.

10 weeks.
The eyelids are semi-shut. They will close completely in a few days.

Eight weeks.
The rapidly-growing embryo is well protected in the foetal sac.

40 days.
Embryonic cells form the placenta. This organ connects the embryo to the uterine wall allowing nutrient uptake, waste elimination and gas exchange via the woman's blood supply.

5 weeks: Approximately 9 mm. You can now distinguish the face with holes for eyes, nostrils and mouth.

four and half weeks

four weeks

The brain starts to develop in the human embryo.

8 days.
The human embryo is attached to a wall of the uterus.

5-6 days.
The clump has developed into an embryo, containing many more cells,
and has entered the womb

The winning sperm

The fallopian tube

Will they have a date?

An egg

Sperm in the fallopian tube

The miracle of a baby!

Cheers

Hallelujah Chorus from Alaska

Hi,

This video from the Yupiq Eskimo Village of Quinhagak, Alaska , was a school computer
project intended for the other Yupiq villages in the area. Much to the villagers' shock, over a million people have viewed it.

Considering this video was intended for an audience of about 200 is it worth its while.

UN says to reduce meat consumption to save the planet

Hi,

Man's impact on the planet can be divided into two categories:

1) Energy in the form of fossil fuels and

2) Agriculture, especially the raising of livestock for meat and dairy products.

* Both GHG emissions and land use depends strongly on Diet. Animal Product, both Meat & dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives.
* More than fossil fuels, agricultural activities directly influence ecosystems by occupying large land areas and using huge quantities of water.
* Animal products are important because more than Half of the world's crops are used to feed animals, not people.

The report recommends that :
*Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the number one challenge facing governments.

"A Substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."




Cheers

Junk email or priority emails

Hi,

Junk mail will become priority mail. In five years, unsolicited advertisements may feel so personalized and relevant it may seem spam is dead.



Cheers

Mobile phones and global societies

Hi,
The digital divide will cease to exist. In our global society, growth and wealth of economies are decided by the level of access to information. And in five years, the gap between information haves and have-nots will cease to exist due to the advent of mobile technology.



cheers

Mindreading is coming your way within five years

Hi,

Mind reading is no longer science fiction. IBM scientists are researching how to link your brain to your devices, such as a computer or a smartphone, so you just need to think about calling someone and it happens.



Cheers

You will never need to remember a password again

Hi,

You will never need a password again. Your biological makeup is the key to your individual identity, and soon, it will become the key to safeguarding it.




Cheers

Your body will become an energy-generating machine

Hi,

It happens all the time; you forget your cell phone charger at home, and your smartphone battery runs out after hours of email and Angry Birds. But what if you could recharge your cell phone using power you’ve generated simply by walking?



Cheers