Brain scans pinpoint cannabis mental health risk

According to a study mentioned in a recent Reuters article, THC (the active compound in marijuana) inhibits function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region - "area ... associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to situations".

"What THC seems to be doing is switching off that part of the brain, and that was associated with how paranoid people became".

"Most users of cannabis still do not have a problem with the drug but a minority, possibly because of genetic factors, are vulnerable to long-term damage from modern skunk -- which Murray says is to old-fashioned dope what whisky is to lager."

And here's an interesting article in Forbes: The Most Exotic Brands Of Weed.
"Serious cannabis consumers often exhibit the kind of connoisseurship typical of wine lovers. The exotic varietals on the following slides are all hard to come by, and some pricey."

Hacking Your Body's Bacteria for Better Health

From an article in Wired:

Modern humans are bacteria-killing machines. We assassinate microbes with hand soap, mouthwash and bathroom cleaners. It feels clean and right.
...
And it now appears that our daily antibacterial regimens are disrupting a balance that once protected humans from health problems, especially allergies and malfunctioning immune responses.

"After the Second World War, when our lifestyles changed dramatically, allergies increased. Autoimmune diseases like diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease are increasing," says Kaarina Kukkonen, a University of Helsinki allergy expert. "The theory behind (what causes) the diseases is the same: Lacking bacterial stimulation in our environments may cause this increase. I think this is the tip of the iceberg."

Belkin Refund

According to a post in Broadband Reports:

"Apparently, if you bought one of the following models in the last 5 years, you can get all your money back as part of a new class action settlement. The lawsuit was filed against Belkin for selling hardware that did not achieve the advertised Mbps data throughput or connectivity ranges in real world environments."

Settlement claim information from Belkin website.

Luxury Trans-Siberia Train

From a Reuters article:

The Golden Eagle ... offers passengers ensuite bathrooms, underfloor heating and plasma screen TVs in every cabin along the 9,300 kilometer (5,778 miles) Moscow to Vladivostok route, one of the longest train trips in the world.

A single ticket on the Golden Eagle will cost up to 9,595 pounds ($19,235) for the 13- to 15-day journey. A ticket on a normal Russian train costs around 10,000 roubles ($400) for the seven-day nonstop trip.