What a Find!

I used to learn that cells are destined to die once they became fully developed.  Now, these Nobel Prize scientists have been awarded $1.2 million dollars for their life long studies that lead to the discovery of reversing the longevity clock of the mature cells to start all over again.  What an astounding work!

Biology textbooks have to be rewritten once again.

Can this mark the beginning of the anti-aging era?      

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was 39 when she mysteriously disappeared on her last recorded refuel stop before landing in Hawaii.  She was the first ever to attempt flying around the world at the Equator in 1937.  What a brave pilot!

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/23/opinion/butler-amelia-earhart/index.html?hpt=wo_t5

Favorite Song of the Month

After I heard this song played on Victory FM 91.5, I liked it so much that I went online to search for the song. I found this link on UTube with the lyrics.  I just love to listen to and sing along with this Matt Redman's 10,000 Reasons song.  It's very beautiful!

The Longest Cake That Saves Jobs

Can you believe this 10-ton, 2,340 feet long, 1-million Pesos ($71,400 USD) cake can save 35,000 jobs in the bakery industry?

Heartfelt Pre-Teen Story

My heart goes out to the 10-year-old in this news article .  The worst part is that her mother is delighted and saying that it is a normal thing in her culture!  Awful!

Auld Lang Syne

Every time this song is played at the stroke of midnight of the new year, I always have the nostalgic and unsettling feelings as I scramble through past memories and new anticipations.  Regardless of the outcomes, I always have those unique sentimental moments during the cheers with the song playing in the background!  

This link from Wikipedia describes the interesting details about the tradition and history of the song, including modified versions of the original lyrics:    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne.

Please celebrate responsibly! Don't drink and drive.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Every Christmas, millions of real Christmas trees are cut down and sold from lots across the nations.  Have you ever wondered where these evergreens come from year after year and how they have become the Christmas symbol throughout centuries? 

Well, Christmas tree farming is a big sector in the US agriculture.  The map above depicts the locations of the Christmas tree farms in Georgia alone.  It is taken from the Georgia Christmas Tree Association (http://www.gacta.com/index) – a farmer organization of Georgia Christmas tree growers, established in 1961.  Georgia is not the only state that grows Christmas trees.  In fact, there are about 15,000 farms growing about half a billion of Christmas trees in all 50 US States according to the National Christmas Tree Association (www.christmastree.org). 

While real Christmas evergreens have been around for more than five centuries, the nationwide celebration of the Christmas icon has officially commenced this year.  On November 30^th, the US Senate unanimously passed S. Res 341, a resolution to designate the first full week of December as National Christmas Tree Week (http://www.christmastree.org/11_PR12.pdf, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=sr112-341).

Why Christmas Tree? The tradition was traced back to many ancient cultures among the pagans and Christians when green branches were used to symbolize life, prosperity and protection from evil spirits during the winter solstice.  According to Wikipedia, the earliest accounts of decorated Christmas tree were recorded in Livonia (modern-day Estonia and Latvia) in the 15th century, and in Germany in the 16^th century.  Some legends stated that Martin Luther brought about this tradition when he discovered the beautiful evergreens with sparkling snows on the branches under the moonlight during his nightly walk.  He then set up a fir tree inside his home to share with his children.  To learn more about the history of Christmas Tree, please check out these references:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree, http://www.christmas-tree.com/where.html, http://www.firstchristmastree.net/.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!