Hashout Sitewide Feed

Music influences teen sex habits

Aziz — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:40:18 +0000

Teenagers who listen to songs with explicit, provocative and degrading sexual references are more likely to start having sex at an early age, reports American Journal of Preventative Medicine. A study, which compared the sex lives and music listening habits of 711 teens, found that while 45 percent of regular listeners had sex, only 21 per cent of the irregular listeners did. The study could not establish a cause and effect relationship. It may also be that kids who indulge in sexual activities prefer those kinds of songs.

HDtracks opens its Hi-Res 96/24 Store

Aziz — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:15:42 +0000

The founders of Chesky Records recently launched a high-resolution digital music store called HDtracks. HDtracks downloads allow the discerning listener to truly hear the poetry of the music and embrace the full sonic texture and rich tapestry of the works as originally intended by the musicians who worked so hard to create them. HDtracks’ uncompressed and lossless music files are as good as CD quality and, unlike what other music sites offer, come with complete artwork and PDF liner notes.

When I first downloaded one of my own 96/24 albums and played it back on my home system, I was not prepared for what I heard. I have never heard any disc with this caliber of clarity, sound staging, and openness in the top end. The sound had none of the digital artifacts we all hate, so the sound was totally relaxed. These one-to-one HDtracks files sounded exactly like the master recordings I was accustomed to hearing in the studio. Then I downloaded a Reference Recordings album and could not believe what I was hearing. After all these years, to hear a Keith Johnson and Tam Henderson recording in 96/24 – it blew me away. Hi-res files on hard drives are a major step forward in sound. - David Chesky

HDtracks is now offering 96/24 digital music downloads. These files are available as FLAC files. The price will be $15.98 for a high-resolution album and $2.49 for a track.

HDtracks’ first offerings are from some of the best audiophile labels in the world such as Chesky, 2L, Dorian, and Reference Recordings. Now audiophiles will be able to hear, for the first time ever in high-resolution, the brilliant work of legendary Reference Recordings team, Tam Henderson and Keith Johnson.

HDtracks will also offer 96/24 recordings of legendary rock band, The Kinks, mastered by Grammy Award winning engineer, Alan Silverman. The Kinks files for HDtracks were sourced from high-resolution PCM transfers made off an Ampex ATR 102 reproduced under direct supervision by Ray Davies. The tape transport was hard-wired right into a Pacific Microsonics A/D converter – the brainchild of audio grand wizard and HDtracks contributor, Keith O. Johnson and one of the finest converters ever produced. Mastering was minimal with no additional conversions. “As I prepared the files for release on HDtracks,” Silverman says, “I was struck by how big, full, and ‘analog’ they sound in the best sense of the word. Kinks fans ENJOY!”

HDtracks tracks will be adding new artists in 96/24 every day.

Blood Pressure: The Cold Facts

Aziz — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:07:43 +0000

Cold weather may cause dangerous changes in blood pressure, say Veterans Affairs researchers in the US. Their study of 443,632 former armed forces personnel with high blood pressure found that we’re more likely to have high readings during colder months, probably because of winter weight gain & inactivity. Study author Dr Ross Fletcher, advises, “People who are borderline, with a reading of 130/80 in the summer, should be checked again in winter.”

What blood pressure should you aim for? For heart health, experts agree: in general, the lower, the better. A group of US researchers found that only patients who got their pressure below 120/80 showed signs of reversal of coronary disease. Those with higher numbers saw no change or an increase in arterial plaque.

Obese Impact Climate?

Aziz — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:31:52 +0000

Obesity contributes to global warming and food shortages. Obese people consume 18 per cent more calories than lean people, and require more fuel for transportation, which contributes to demand for food and fuel, according to researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. This in turn drives up prices and leads to shortages and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Delaying Onset Of Diabetes

Aziz — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:31:18 +0000

Lifestyle changes like having more vegetables, avoiding alcohol, and exercising regularly can delay onset of diabetes for years, reports journal Lancet. Researchers in China divided 577 people with high risk of diabetes into four groups: one group focused on diet, another on exercise and the third on both; the fourth did not make any lifestyle changes.

‘Fast’ Way To Beat Jet Lag

Aziz — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:31:20 +0000

Fasting during a long flight could help beat jet lag. The body’s primary functions are regulated by a biological circadian clock, which responds to daylight, but a study on mice published in journal Science notes that a second ‘feeding clock’, which responds to mealtime patterns, may take over in the absence of food, keeping the person awake till he finds food.

Why Juices Are Good

Aziz — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:31:08 +0000

Fruit juices have better effect against atherosclerosis (clogged arteries, which can cause heart attack or stroke), than the fruits themselves. To study the effect of juicing on beneficial phenolic compounds (antioxidants) in fruits, researchers in France fed rodents grapes, apples and their juices, or water, along with a high cholesterol diet.

Breast-Fed Babies Branier

Aziz — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:31:01 +0000

Children who were exclusively breast-fed become smarter than those who were fed supplements also. Researchers from Belarus and Canada studied nearly 14,000 children, half of whom were exclusively breast fed, and the rest given breast milk with other supplements. A standardized IQ test taken when the kids were six years old showed that exclusively breast-fed kids scored an average of 7.5 points higher on verbal intelligence, 2.9 points higher on non-verbal intelligence, and 5.9 points higher on overall intelligence.

Mentally Taxing Jobs Help

Aziz — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:31:14 +0000

Mentally challenging jobs keep your brain sharper and help ward off dementia. It will help preserve cognitive abilities through retirement, regardless of one’s intelligence, age or education. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center looked at the IQ scores of 1,036 male twins when they joined the US army and compared them with the scores they got after retirement.

Wealth Lowers Stroke Risk

Aziz — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:31:43 +0000

Greater wealth is linked to lower risk of stroke among men aged 50 to 64, reports journal Stroke. A study observed around 20,000 stroke-free participants for a period of 8.5 years; 1542 of them suffered stroke during the study period. Ten per cent of the participants with the least wealth were three times more likely to suffer a stroke, compared with the wealthy ones. Researchers feel “wealth may increase individual’s sense of control over their lives, reducing psychosocial stress and subsequently stroke risk”.

Pregnancy, Stress & Asthma

Aziz — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:31:49 +0000

Babies born to women who were stressed out during pregnancy have a greater risk of developing asthma and all allergies later in life. Harvard Medical School researchers measured the levels of Immunoglobulin E (IgE, an antibody involved in allergic and asthmatic reactions) in the umbilical cord blood of 387 babies and found that women who had high levels of stress during pregnancy gave birth to babies with higher levels of IgE.

Testosterone & Traders

Aziz — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:31:00 +0000

Highly successful stockbrokers have high levels of the male hormone testosterone. Researchers at Cambridge University followed 17 male traders in London for eight days and took their saliva samples at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Later, tests showed that the testosterone levels of these man were very high on days they had a higher-than-average success in the stock market. High testosterone levels boosted their confidence and energy, leading to risk-taking and winning. However, high testosterone levels for prolonged periods can induce hasty risk-taking.

Keyboards Dirtier Than Than Toilets

Aziz — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:31:48 +0000

There could be more harmful bacteria on a computer keyboards than on toilet seats. British microbiologists James Francis took swabs from 33 keyboards and compared them with those from a toilet seat and toilet handle. The keyboards tested positive for a host of germs and bugs that could cause serious health problems like stomach flu and skin infections. One of the keyboards had bacteria 150 times more than the recommended limit, making it five times filthier than a toilet seat. Dropped food crumbs and poor hygiene were the main culprits.

Fat As A Kid, Fat Always

Aziz — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:31:23 +0000

If you are obese as a child, you will probably be obese as an adult. The number of fat cells in one’s body is set in adolescence and remain unchanged through adulthood, says a study in journal Nature.

Indian Hearts At Risk

Aziz — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:31:24 +0000

India is expected to bear 60 per cent of the burden of heart disease by 2010. Indian and Canadian researchers studied around 21,000 heart attack patients across 89 hospitals in India.

Meditation Lowers BP

Aziz — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:31:31 +0000

Practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) daily can control high blood pressure. Researchers at the University of Kentucky studied nine randomized trials that used TM as the principal source of BP reduction, and compared them with a control group.

What Motivates Men

Aziz — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:31:47 +0000

The part of the brain associated with reward and addiction is more activated in males than in females when both genders play a game whose object is to acquire more territory. Researchers at Stanford made 22 undergraduates, half of them men and half women, play a video game that dealt with territoriality. The game involved gaining space by clicking on balls on the computer screen.
Although both genders clicked on the same number of balls, men quickly acquired more space than women, apparently because men were better at identifying which balls would give them the most space when clicked. According to the researchers, most computer games that males like to play involve territory and aggression, explaining why men are more likely to get hooked. The study could offer insights into what motivates human behavior.

One Foetus, 3 Parents

Aziz — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:31:13 +0000

Scientists have created human embryos from three parents, which could be the answer to a group of hereditary diseases called mitochondrial disease. Researchers from Newcastle University in Northern Ireland created test tube embryos in the lab using the DNA of a man and two women. Mitochondrial diseases — including liver, brain and heart disorders, blindness, deafness, some forms of epilepsy, and muscular problems — are inherited from the mother. The aim of the method is to make sure that women with faulty mitochondrial DNA do not pass the diseases on to their children. This is achieved by giving the embryos at risk a mitochondrial transplant. However, it may take time to sort out the ethical aspects of these studies.

Keep Freinds, Live Longer

Aziz — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:31:32 +0000

Satisfying friendships are a greater predictor of longevity than even close family ties, and they can protect against obesity, depression and heart disease, according to a 10-year study of senior citizens in Adelaide, Australia. Here are six friends to keep on speed dial.