Red wine doesn't extend life? Shit.

File this one under "son of a bitch there goes my nightly routine."

According to a story from Bloomberg News (via the Chicago Tribune) the ingrediant in red wine, Resveratrol, thought to have major health benefits has failed to "promote longevity among Italians who ate a rich diet in the antioxidant."

First off... they apparently studied people who "ate" a rich diet of it, not people who "drank" a rich diet of it. 
Second off... sigh.

Philly is Ugly?

No.  No it's not.  Proof can be found here:

Philly Is Ugly - Timelapse Love Story

With Love, Philadelphia XOXO

Colony Collapse Disorder Cause Discovered?

Has the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) finally been uncovered? Perhaps, say Harvard researchers.

"Working with the Worcester County Beekeepers Association in Massachusetts, the researchers exposed 12 colonies across three locations to a “sub-lethal exposure of neonicotinoids, imidacloprid or clothianidin.” Neonicotinoids are popular insecticides that are chemically similar to nicotine. The scientists also observed six untreated control colonies at the same locations. The study found that all the bee colonies went about their business normally through the summer and fall, but by the end of winter six of the twelve hives exposed to the insecticide had been abandoned. One of the six control colonies was also lost due to an infestation by a fungus." [forbes]

So, the insecticides apparently are... working.   Sweet. 

Good News Wednesday! Santa Maria (maybe) found?

Columbus' ship, the Santa Maria, may have been found off the coast of Haiti.  Fascinating.

"It's been missing for more than 500 years. But now there are reports that the Santa Maria, the largest ship among the trio that made Christopher Columbus' first expedition to North America, may be found. Undersea explorer Barry Clifford says he thinks he has found the ship in waters off of Haiti's coast.
... The Santa Maria sank after hitting reefs off the Haitian coast around Christmas of 1492, months after arriving from Spain. It is believed that Columbus ordered some of the ship's timbers stripped from the wreck in order to build a fort on land near the shore." [npr]

 

Welcome Back EIGN

Editors note: We suck. You know it. I know it. But our team is doing they best they can... at not doing anything. However we're going to make an attempt to post more. At least more than once a year. This definitely not a "re-launch" but... it's something. Everyone here wants to be creative again. Everyone here wants to try. I fear failure is inevitable, but whatever. Here goes nothing. -EIGN

Antarctic Ice Sheet Melt, Point of No Return

So, it's been over a year, but whatever, you guys are busy. We're busy... Enjoying life before the end of it rather than blogging about it. But this one was too good to pass up.

The melting of the Antarctic ice shelf may have passed a point of no return. We may not be able to stop it.

“Now they say that not only is the disintegration of the ice already underway, but that it's likely unstoppable. That means that in the coming centuries, global sea levels will rise by anywhere from 4 to 12 feet.” [npr] 

[blogspot]

Oh well, at least our beer will be cold for a while. Take that future!

LHC Powers Down... End potentially delayed for 2 years.

We're a bit late to the party here.  Forgive us?   But just a brief update on the Large Hadron Collider.

Apparently it's finally powering down - for 2 years - to install some updates so it will finally be able to perform at full capacity.  Maybe that's when it will finally destroy us all. [slashdot.org]

And so it begins....

It begins....





this really happened...  Meteorite explodes over Russia (guardian.co.uk)

[UPDATE 2013-02-15 13:46] And here we thought this couldn't get any freakier... "A poll on the website for the Ridus news agency shows that 51 percent of Russian respondents believe today's meteor is the start of an alien invasion" according to the Washington Post's Max Fisher. [washington post]