'Pacman' nebula gets some teeth

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2011) — To visible-light telescopes, this star-forming cloud appears to be chomping through the cosmos, earning it the nickname the "Pacman" nebula, like the famous Pac-Man video game that debuted in 1980. When viewed in infrared light by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, the Pacman takes on a new appearance. In place of its typical, triangle-shaped mouth is a new set of lower, sharp-looking teeth. The Pacman is located at the top of the picture, taking a bite in the direction of the upper left corner.

The teeth are actually pillars where new stars may be forming. These structures were formed when radiation and winds from massive stars in a central cluster blew gas and dust away, leaving only the densest of material. The red dots sprinkled throughout the picture are thought to be the youngest stars, still forming in cocoons of dust.

The Pacman nebula, also called NGC 281, is located 9,200 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

This image was made from observations by all four infrared detectors aboard WISE. Blue and cyan (blue-green) represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, respectively, which is primarily from stars, the hottest objects pictured. Green and red represent light at 12 and 22 microns, respectively, which is primarily from warm dust (with the green dust being warmer than the red dust).

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Healthy mouth bacteria provide ideal conditions for gum disease

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) — Normal bacteria which live in our mouths provide the catalyst for the development of gum disease, a debilitating condition which leads to painful gums and the loosening of teeth, new research from Queen Mary, University of London has found.

The unexpected finding could pave the way for the development of preventative measures in tackling gum, or periodontal disease*, by manipulating the normal bacteria in the same way that probiotic yoghurt works to protect the intestine.

Researchers at Queen Mary's Blizard Institute, including Medical Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellow Mark Payne, worked with scientists in the US and published their findings in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

The scientists introduced the oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis to mice living in two different test conditions. The mice with normal bacteria in their mouths developed periodontal bone loss but the mice raised under germ-free conditions, in the absence of any normal bacteria, remained disease-free.

Professor Mike Curtis, Director of the Blizard Institute and co-author on the paper, said when the oral bacterium P. gingivalis was introduced under normal conditions "it stimulated the growth of normal bugs leading to a large increase in the number of those organisms already there."

"P. gingivalis was introduced at very low levels yet it had a major affect on both the immune system and the inflammatory system," he said.

"This oral bacterium only appears in small numbers but appears to have a major influence on the overall ecology. It has a keystone effect in a community -- working in the same way that starfish, which have relatively small numbers, control the shell fish communities in the sea.

Professor Curtis said although the findings were encouraging in terms of understanding the way gum disease develops, there was still "some way to go" before there was a similar product on the market for gum disease as a probiotic yoghurt is available for the intestine.

"Now we know that periodontal disease only develops through P. gingivalis interacting with the existing bacteria in our mouths, we need to understand the role played by our normal bacteria in both the development of disease and protection from it," he said.

"This may then provide the means to develop preventative measures for the disease."

Professor Farida Fortune, Dean for Dentistry at Queen Mary said the research was encouraging for people who suffer from gum disease which results in bleeding gums and ultimately loose teeth which cause difficulty in both speaking and eating.

"The public still need to be mindful of the way they look after their teeth and gums. People need to pay more attention to their oral hygiene. Their local hygienist, dental therapist and dentist can all assist in teaching them effective cleaning techniques."

"Just these simple preventative measures, as well as not smoking, will go some way to helping them avoid developing gum disease."

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Journal Reference:

Michael A. Curtis, Camille Zenobia, Richard P. Darveau. The Relationship of the Oral Microbiotia to Periodontal Health and Disease. Cell Host and Microbe, 2011; 10 (4): 302-306 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2011.09.008

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Scientists measure dream content for the first time: Dreams activate the brain in a similar way to real actions

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2011) — The ability to dream is a fascinating aspect of the human mind. However, how the images and emotions that we experience so intensively when we dream form in our heads remains a mystery. Up to now it has not been possible to measure dream content. Max Planck scientists working with colleagues from the Charité hospital in Berlin have now succeeded, for the first time, in analysing the activity of the brain during dreaming.

They were able to do this with the help of lucid dreamers, i.e. people who become aware of their dreaming state and are able to alter the content of their dreams. The scientists measured that the brain activity during the dreamed motion matched the one observed during a real executed movement in a state of wakefulness.

The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

Methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging have enabled scientists to visualise and identify the precise spatial location of brain activity during sleep. However, up to now, researchers have not been able to analyse specific brain activity associated with dream content, as measured brain activity can only be traced back to a specific dream if the precise temporal coincidence of the dream content and measurement is known. Whether a person is dreaming is something that could only be reported by the individual himself.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, the Charité hospital in Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig availed of the ability of lucid dreamers to dream consciously for their research. Lucid dreamers were asked to become aware of their dream while sleeping in a magnetic resonance scanner and to report this "lucid" state to the researchers by means of eye movements. They were then asked to voluntarily "dream" that they were repeatedly clenching first their right fist and then their left one for ten seconds.

This enabled the scientists to measure the entry into REM sleep -- a phase in which dreams are perceived particularly intensively -- with the help of the subject's electroencephalogram (EEG) and to detect the beginning of a lucid phase. The brain activity measured from this time onwards corresponded with the arranged "dream" involving the fist clenching. A region in the sensorimotor cortex of the brain, which is responsible for the execution of movements, was actually activated during the dream. This is directly comparable with the brain activity that arises when the hand is moved while the person is awake. Even if the lucid dreamer just imagines the hand movement while awake, the sensorimotor cortex reacts in a similar way.

The coincidence of the brain activity measured during dreaming and the conscious action shows that dream content can be measured. "With this combination of sleep EEGs, imaging methods and lucid dreamers, we can measure not only simple movements during sleep but also the activity patterns in the brain during visual dream perceptions," says Martin Dresler, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.

The researchers were able to confirm the data obtained using MR imaging in another subject using a different technology. With the help of near-infrared spectroscopy, they also observed increased activity in a region of the brain that plays an important role in the planning of movements. "Our dreams are therefore not a 'sleep cinema' in which we merely observe an event passively, but involve activity in the regions of the brain that are relevant to the dream content," explains Michael Czisch, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.

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Journal Reference:

Martin Dresler, Stefan P. Koch, Renate Wehrle, Victor I. Spoormaker, Florian Holsboer, Axel Steiger, Philipp G. Sämann, Hellmuth Obrig, Michael Czisch. Dreamed Movement Elicits Activation in the Sensorimotor Cortex. Current Biology, Published online Oct. 27, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.029

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3 Ways to Use ReTweets to Increase Your Twitter Following - Fast!

Have you run out of ideas for Twitter posts?
Gotten tired of the monotony of searching for, copying and pasting or retyping quotes for your Twitter feed?
Want to build up your following faster?
Here are 3 ways to boost your Twitter following- without writing any posts!
You no longer have to sacrifice quality or quantity when your Twitter idea well has run dry.
Instead, engage in the Art of the ReTweet.
A ReTweet is a post you share that is created by another user.
By following certain types of Twitter users, you will actually have an endless supply of high quality Twitter posts right at your Twittertips!
Social Media is about being social- connecting in conversation and creating community.
ReTweeting boosts your Twitter following, and creates multiple opportunities to network online:

• You consistently provide great content to your followers- without having to do it all yourself.
• You can support and encourage your peers with their business endeavors.
• You build connections with big influencers in your industry, creating authority by association.

Sharing is caring- and many members of the Twitter community love to give and receive. Becoming an active sharer will help you meet kindred Tweeps and actually enjoy Tweeting!
Twitter Tip: sending too many Tweets at once can overwhelming your followers.
You can avoid this mistake by spacing out your ReTweets in one of these three ways:

1. ReTweet immediately.
2. If you are using a Social Media Manager (like Hootesuite) you can edit the ReTweet to post at a later time and/or date.
3. Favorite the post, then go back to your Favorites list in your Twitter profile later to post it.

Now for those 3 fabulous types of ReTweet rich profiles to Follow:
Tip #1- Follow Quote Exclusive Profiles
To find users that post quotes exclusively, do a search in Twitter with "#quote".
The search results will give you all of the recent Tweets that have this hashtag. Click on the profile picture of users that look like quote producers.
When you find one or more profiles that focus on offering quotes that you love- Follow those profiles.
Now, all day long in your Twitter feed, great quotes will show up- ripe for ReTweeting!
Tip #2- Follow Resource Rich Tweeters
By following Twitter users that post a lot of resource links relevant to your industry, you can offer great content to your own followers- without all the research!
You can't be everywhere, all the time finding facts and figures to post, so follow a few others who do.
Do a search in Twitter for "#(+your topic)", for example #smallbiz.
When you see a user profile that frequently posts a variety of resource links on that topic, Follow them and ReTweet as needed.
Tip #3- Follow Twitter Influencers
The third type of Twitter user to follow is the big influencer.
These Tweeple can have over a million followers each!
Not only do have they mastered the Twittersphere with great posts, they may follow you back if you follow them.
Which means... millions of people could see your next Twitter post!
Gotta love the leverage!
How do you find the biggest influencers on Twitter?
Do a search in any Search Engine for Top 100 Twitter users- then Follow away!
Start watching your Twitter feed (or go to the Recent Posts pages) and ReTweet posts by big influencers that are valuable to your followers.
So start Following, ReTweeting and having fun out on the Twittersphere while you network!

Mary Brigitte Hampton helps women entrepreneurs grow their businesses online at http://marybrigittehampton.com/ through authentic content offerings on their websites, in Social Media and developing valuable products and programs with strategies, tools and techniques. Attract more Ideal Clients by getting clear on your message, posting consistently and communicating your brand from the Inside~Out! Learn more, plus receive a free gift, by clicking the link above- transform the lives of more clients in less time with complete support- from Start to Success!

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How to Manage Social Media

Due to arrival of Social Media everything has altered. An online community of Twitter or Facebook users can make or break your business with their mobile platforms. Your company or service may be getting hundreds or thousands of good or bad reviews on the new mobile sites like Gowalla or Foursquare. Social Network management is growing exponentially.
It's in a more efficient manner manages outbound & inbound interactions along with other small business marketing activities. They rationalize and strengthen how to participate in significant conversation happening around in different platforms like blogs, networks, and other public or private web communities and sites.
SMM tools also helps you integrate activities with your other business marketing campaigns. Here are five tools that can make your life easier:
1. TweetDeck
TweetDeck is your best (free) tool if you're looking to administer all your personal social profiles. TweetDeck allows you to connect across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Google Buzz. You can update all or specific networks with the same status at one time.
TweetDeck is probably best when dealing with four or five accounts at a time, though the dashboard is generally easy to use.
2. CoTweet
CoTweet is a brilliant tool for small businesses or division of larger businesses that thrive social media duties among team members and have a customer-service approach to engagement.
CoTweet allows follow-up messages to be assigned to specific managers. This can make responses more pertinent as team members with upbeat knowledge bases can handle appropriate questions and comments from followers.
3. HootSuite
HootSuitefree version allows you to add five networks and supports Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, MySpace, PingFm and WordPress.
HootSuite is best for actively-managed accounts because its design focuses on streams, which are housed in customizable tabs. You have the elasticity to organize tabs by account, network or content, making it easier to monitor a definite type of feed.
4. Spredfast
Spredfast has everything you need for agencies managing social media with high ROI demands.
Its biggest advantage over other SMM tools is analytics. Measurement is determined by the amount of content distributed, how many people were reached and whether the intended audience was engaged.
5. Engage 121
Engage121 is best in its class at encircling monitoring, broadcasting and engagement.
The tool is extremely customizable and can support just about any site with a community presence. Permissions may be set to allow & approve a message from corporate before it is distributed to area followers, maintaining a local voice & brand consistency at the same time.
In conclusion, follow these procedures and you will be successful in social networking and marketing that will drive profits in your business. Using networks includes making use of a process. Therefore, you need to remember to do this on a regular basis so that you take full advantage and attract more followers in the future.

Roses Mark is a Social Media enthusiast and an Internet entrepreneur. Spent over 10 years working professionally with Internet business employers worldwide, he frequently writes articles involving new-age, social media and personal motivation. You can find him all around the web via Facebook, Google & on Twitter as @Socialcubix

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Why Facebook Fan Pages Are Popular With Offline Clients

Facebook has become a massive success, with over 700 million users, 20% of all Internet bandwidth and even a movie about its creation! With so many people using Facebook it is hardly surprising that it has become popular with companies as a way to keep in touch with customers. Think about all the big brands who have their own Facebook pages these days. You can hardly walk past a big brand without being enticed to their fan page to like them and become part of their community.
Many small and medium sized companies want to have their own Facebook fan pages, but their resident IT expert (a guy in the corner who uses the Internet occasionally) doesn't know how to set one up for maximum impact and certainly doesn't understand about using one to generate leads.
As an offline consultant you can create a great looking fan page, and there are plenty of tools out there to help you do it, and then work on marketing it, gaining fans and showing the company how to use to in their advertising and promotional material. You can also help them with using the fan page to keep in contact with their fans and market to them.
Through a clever usage of giveaways, coupons, offers and other techniques you can turn a Facebook fan page in to a piece of hot property that keeps the leads rolling in and customers coming through the door. Competitions are another way to get fans interested and you don't even have to offer physical prizes a lot of the time. In many cases just the prestige of being seen on the page as a winner is enough to encourage people to participate.
Not all companies suit a fan page though, and you have to understand your clients and what they need. With this understanding you will be able to determine if fan page if right for them and how they can benefit from it.
However, it is important to learn how Facebook marketing can help your clients to boost their sales and make more money. If you do not know how to create Facebook fan pages for your clients, you can always outsource this task to third party. Outsourcing is the easiest way out and it does not compromise your service to your clients as well. All you need to do is to project managed the whole marketing process and make sure that your clients are happy with the result.

To discover more powerful tips on how to boost your clients' business advertising advantage with Facebook marketing, go to ' Local Marketing Secrets '.
Yew Heng Chiong has been marketing on the internet since 2006. He is an expert in Internet Marketing. One of his passion is copywriting. Reading and writing of sales letter are his favorite pass time.

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Using Social Media Tools To Promote Your Music

Social media tools are the bee's knees when it comes to getting the attention of fans and getting them to listen to your awesome music. Most social media tools are free to use and could potentially bring your band thousands of new fans with a little bit of hard work and some elbow grease.
YouTube
Ah yes, YouTube. There are more videos on YouTube than you and your band could watch in an entire lifetime. Surprisingly, there are just as many users browsing YouTube for new content to entertain them. Why not post videos of your music or video blog updates about your band to start attracting some attention to your musical masterpieces. Subscribers and fans on YouTube are a necessary component of your army of fans. If you can manage to harness the power of YouTube in a creative and original way, there's no telling how man fans will start following you and your music. Don't make a YouTube channel if you don't plan on updating it with new content, though. If you're going to have a YouTube channel, make sure you have enough content to keep fans interested and engaged.
Facebook
Facebook has come a long way in terms of promoting bands and their music. Back in the day there was no way to integrate music into your Facebook pages. Now, certain applications allow you and your band to upload music directly to your Facebook page for all of your friends and fans to listen to. Due to the face that there are so many users on Facebook, you shouldn't have any problem picking up a few fans here if you do things right. Facebook "Likes" are gained from the click of a button so it shouldn't be too hard to pick up a few extra fans with a little bit of click-the-like-button encouragement.
Twitter
Twitter has been all the rave lately, or at least it has been in the recent months. Amassing a Twitter army is actually pretty difficult but if you're serious about your career in music it's important to start building your Twitter army now. The goal should be to get at least 10,000 followers, that's enough to make a statement as a musician. The goal here is to add and follow users that are relevant to what you're trying to promote. If you're a rock band, don't go after Justin Bieber fans. Be smart about who you follow and who you let on your Twitter team. Building a successful Twitter following takes months but it's well worth the extra work. DON'T be tempted to use any services that offer you thousands of followers if you pay them a small fee, odds are you'll get the extra followers but they'll all be spam accounts and worthless.

New Dubstep 2011 - Top New Dubstep Artists and Songs of 2011.
Best Dubstep - The Official Best of Dubstep Charts & Rankings

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