Science

I came across this article about bikram yoga: Health fears over cult-like hot yoga.

I’ve actually started taking these classes so I was interested to see what these concerns are. I really haven’t seen any specifics in this article except for it’s apparent cult-likeness. I think calling a style of yoga cult-like because it claims to detox your body is a tad far fetched even if it doesn’t detox.

There’s a blurb about how exercising in that heat is bad, but they don’t say what these bad things are. Dehydration is of course the most obvious, but you are suppose to have had quite a bit of water before you go, and are to take a bottle of water in with you to the class so that this doesn’t happen.

Then they say that asthmatics, people with heart conditions etc, shouldn’t be exercising in a 37°C heated room. DERRR!

And no, I can’t say that I look to yoga for intense aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. I don’t want that, that’s one of the reasons I’m doing yoga.

Well no one said it was for everybody. I’ve gotta say so far I’ve had more stamina from it, (I can run for trains a lot longer now), it’s good to loosen up the muscles after cramping oneself into very bad work chair, and of course the sense calm that comes from being told to only think of your breathing for 90 minutes.

Akzo Nobel has developed a unique temporary paint system which can peeled off after use. Known as Maskin, the product can be applied to any non-porous surface, such as a vehicle body or windows, without risk of damage to the original finish. Maskin (a combination of the words mask and skin) is available in eight basic colours, plus one transparent film, and can be mixed to create a wide spectrum of shades. When no longer required, the film can be peeled and disposed of using standard paint waste removal methods

High altitude kites could produce energy equal to some power stations at a comparable cost without polluting. The technique uses a technique dubbed a Laddermill — a chain of kites attached together to create a loop in the sky more than 5 miles long

Transparent electronics is an emerging technology which aims to produce invisible electronic circuits. Now, researchers from Oregon report they made a major advance in transparent electronics. Their zinc-tin-oxide thin-film materials are amorphous, physically robust, chemically stable and cheap to produce at just above room temperature. These new materials and transistors offer many new possibilities for consumer electronics, transportation, business and the military

A 16-foot wide asteroid has passed the Earth in a phenomenally close call. The Asteroid, named 2004 YD5, passed just below the 22,300 mile range where geostationary satellites sit. What makes the incident most interesting is that the asteroid was not seen until after it passed the Earth, due to the well-known Cosmic Blind Spot caused by the Sun

The Bad Science Awards are out. These should put a smile on any science geek’s face. Prize gems include: shrinking water molecules, anesthetic condoms, and a plan to send homeopathic AIDS remedies to Botswana