Category: Body & Mind

Gamers Solve AIDS Enzyme Puzzle

If you thought playing games was just for fun, well Foldit is a game that has people solve problems for science. That itself is pretty neat, but what pushes this one over the edge is that Foldit has brought some great results and fast!

Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, it is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — using a set of online tools.
To the astonishment of the scientists, the gamers produced an accurate model of the enzyme in just three weeks.
Cracking the enzyme “provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs,” says the study, referring to the lifeline medication against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
It is believed to be the first time that gamers have resolved a long-standing scientific problem.
“We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed,” Firas Khatib of the university’s biochemistry lab said in a press release.

Read the rest of the article.

Thanks Kathryn!

Only 92 Minutes of Exercise needed to Extend Life

Researcchers have done something great for us lazy people: figured out the bare minimum amount of exercise needed to extend your life. The short answer is 92 minutes per week or 15 minutes per day.

Here’s some detail:

Compared with individuals in the inactive group, those in the low-volume activity group, who exercised for an average of 92 min per week (95% CI 71—112) or 15 min a day (SD 1·8), had a 14% reduced risk of all-cause mortality (0·86, 0·81—0·91), and had a 3 year longer life expectancy. Every additional 15 min of daily exercise beyond the minimum amount of 15 min a day further reduced all-cause mortality by 4% (95% CI 2·5—7·0) and all-cancer mortality by 1% (0·3—4·5). These benefits were applicable to all age groups and both sexes, and to those with cardiovascular disease risks. Individuals who were inactive had a 17% (HR 1·17, 95% CI 1·10—1·24) increased risk of mortality compared with individuals in the low-volume group.

For the full report check out The Lancet.

Happiest Commuters Walk or Cycle to Work

Many cyclists can go on for hours about how great riding a bicycle everyday is (I know I can), and it has been proven that walking can make you happier too. It comes as no surprise then that walking or bicycling as your preferred commuting solution makes you happier.

What is surprising is that this conclusion of happy commuting comes from Statistics Canada!

Two-thirds of cyclists said they were very satisfied with their commute. Only 6 per cent were dissatisfied, according to a Statistics Canada survey of more than 6,000 people across the country.

It’s a striking difference from their car and transit-riding brethren. Only 32 per cent of drivers and 25 per cent of public transit users were very satisfied with their trip to work.

Read the rest of the article.

Good Reasons to Have a Vegan Diet

Unfortunately I’m no vegan, but this article is inspiring me to try harder at being one!

The article is an interview with Gene Baur, who is the founder of US-based animal rescue organization Farm Sanctuary about why a vegan diet is good for the planet, animals, and you.

What’s responsible for the rise of veganism?
I think there’s a convergence of issues. There’s more awareness of the cruelty in factory farming with the internet, YouTube and photos being widely distributed. There are growing healthcare problems. In the US, heart disease and cancer are the number-one killers and both can be seriously lessened by switching more to a plant-based diet containing whole foods instead of processed junk food. There are also the environmental consequences of basing a diet on animals. The UN put out a report called Livestock’s Long Shadow that talked about how livestock industry is one of the top contributors to serious environmental problems including climate change. As we face more economic challenges, I believe there will be a natural tendency towards more plant-based farming.
Would you like to see everyone become a vegan?
I’d love to see that, but I recognize everyone has to make their own choice. It’s my belief that this is the best way to live and the most humane way to live and the healthiest. There are a lot of things in this world we cannot control but one thing we can control is what we eat. Choose food that makes us healthy and makes us feel good and not make us say, “Oh, I don’t want to know where that came from.” Our food choices have big consequences on our health, the well-being of animals and the planet and I just want people to be mindful of that.

Read more here.

A Really Good Ad Campaign

People For Good wants to remind you to do good things everyday. Throughout Canada mysterious ads have appeared promoting People For Good and it turns out it’s a few marketers who wanted to take a break from selling things and wanted to sell good ideas.

People For Good’s website is filled with small very easy to do actions that apply to almost everyone. Check it out and do some good!

“The genesis of this was about wanting to do something positive and socially responsible and taking stock of what we do for a living. And what we do for a living is changing attitudes and behaviours.”

The campaign, in which the messages started to appear on billboards in late June, is under way in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax, and is slated to run until Aug. 21.

…

“The reaction we’ve had has been outstanding,” says Sherman, who won’t reveal how many millions of ad space was donated.

“I hope that aside from encouraging every Canadian to do a good deed or something nice, I hope we can also inspire other people in other industries, in other companies, to take stock of what their collective can do and try and use some of the energy… to do something socially responsible,” said Sherman.

Read the rest of the article here.
Go to the People For Good website.