Pop icon Madonna is facing yet another lawsuit concerning her recent “Celebration” tour. This time fans have accused her of “purposely and deceptively” marketing “The Celebration Tour.” The Lawsuit claims that fans were subjected to [...] The post Madonna Sued For Subjecting Fans To ‘Pornography Without Warning’ appeared first on The People's Voice.

Scientists in the United Kingdom have announced a “ground-breaking” vaccine that they claim could save people from bowel cancer. Thousands of patients will be able to access the cancer vaccines as part of an NHS [...] The post NHS Announce Trial Of ‘Ground Breaking’ Cancer Vaccines Using Same Tech As Covid Jabs appeared first on The People's Voice.

Learning how to live with someone you love can be tricky — but it’s all about having the right perspective. A popular Reddit post, written by a 23-year-old man, gives us the perfect example. In it, he shares that he’s been with his girlfriend for two years. That being said, they were best friends for three years before that. At the time of making this post, they were living together with two cats. Every morning, their routines were roughly the same — and it always included his girlfriend kicking him off Spotify. Without fail, this happens about 15 minutes after he starts listening to music at the start of his work day. Why? Because as soon as his girlfriend wakes up in the morning, she asks their Google Home to play music. That way, she has tunes to enjoy while getting ready. Little does she know, however, that this is connected to her boyfriend’s account. In turn, the audio starts to play at home rather than in the man’s headphones. Sure, he could fix this, but he chooses not to for a very sweet reason. Unsplash “I always just leave my phone open to see what she’s listening to, and when she heads out around 7:30, I get my account back,” the man explains. “I’m sure that she has no idea that she’s participating in this little routine, and I have no intentions of telling her. Sure, it’d be easy to swap it to her account, but I love to know that she’s awake and starting her day listening to her favorite songs.” This Boyfriend Loves When His Girlfriend Kicks Him Off His Spotify Account In turn, he’s able to “coincidentally” play her current favorite songs when they’re in the car together or hanging out. As you can imagine, people continue to fall in love with this couple’s sweet story. So much so, in fact, that he provided quite an exciting update: He plans to propose! We also learn a bit more about how this adorable couple got together. Reddit With folks from all over thoroughly invested in the couple, this kind-hearted man continued to give more updates. The next one, however, was a bit of a bummer. Unfortunately, life circumstances (including a move to a townhome) delayed their trip. Still, he remained determined to propose in a way that his amazing girlfriend deserves. More time passed and, with it, more events that make this couple’s life feel like a movie. Speaking of which, their story does, indeed, get a happy ending! Reddit How inspiring is this sweet couple? It’s no wonder people from all over are falling in love with their heartwarming story. It goes to show that, at the end of the day, it’s the little things that matter most in life. “Love isn’t some grand gesture,” the man shares. “I’ve learned it’s just a lot of little things that add up.” You can find the source of this story’s featured image here! The post Wholesome: Man Shares Why He Loves When Girlfriend “Kicks Me Off My Spotify Account Every Morning” appeared first on InspireMore.

Dan Denis: Twenty-six years. That is roughly how much of our lives are spent asleep. Scientists have been trying to explain why we spend so much time sleeping since at least the ancient Greeks, but pinning down the exact functions of sleep has proven to be difficult. During the past decade, there has been a surge of interest from researchers in the nature and function of sleep. New experimental models coupled with advances in technology and analytical techniques are giving us a deeper look inside the sleeping brain. Here are some of the biggest recent breakthroughs in the science of sleep. 1. We know more about lucid dreaming No longer on the fringes, the neuroscientific study of dreaming has now become mainstream. US researchers in a 2017 study woke their participants up at regular intervals during the night and asked them what was going through their minds prior to the alarm call. Sometimes participants couldn’t recall any dreaming. The study team then looked at what was happening in the participant’s brain moments before waking. Participants’ recall of dream content was associated with increased activity in the posterior hot zone, an area of the brain closely linked to conscious awareness. Researchers could predict the presence or absence of dream experiences by monitoring this zone in real time. Another exciting development in the study of dreams is research into lucid dreams, in which you are aware that you are dreaming. A 2021 study established two-way communication between a dreamer and a researcher. In this experiment, participants signalled to the researcher that they were dreaming by moving their eyes in a pre-agreed pattern. The researcher read out maths problems (what is eight minus six?). The dreamer could respond to this question with eye movements. The dreamers were accurate, indicating they had access to high level cognitive functions. The researchers used polysomnography, which monitors bodily functions such as breathing and brain activity during sleep, to confirm that participants were asleep. These discoveries have dream researchers excited about the future of “interactive dreaming”, such as practising a skill or solving a problem in our dreams. 2. Our brain replays memories while we sleep This year marks the centenary of the first demonstration that sleep improves our memory. However, a 2023 review of recent research has shown that memories formed during the day get reactivated while we are sleeping. Researchers discovered this using machine learning techniques to “decode” the contents of the sleeping brain. A 2021 study found that training algorithms to distinguish between different memories while awake makes it possible to see the same neural patterns re-emerge in the sleeping brain. A different study, also in 2021, found that the more times these patterns re-emerge during sleep, the bigger the benefit to memory. In other approaches, scientists have been able to reactivate certain memories by replaying sounds associated with the memory in question while the participant was asleep. A 2020 meta-analysis of 91 experiments found that when participants’ memory was tested after sleep they remembered more of the stimuli whose sounds were played back during sleep, compared with control stimuli whose sounds were not replayed. Research has also shown that sleep strengthens memory for the most important aspects of an experience, restructures our memories to form more cohesive narratives and helps us come up with solutions to problems we are stuck on. Science is showing that sleeping on it really does help. 3. Sleep keeps our minds healthy We all know that a lack of sleep makes us feel bad. Laboratory sleep deprivation studies, where researchers keep willing participants awake throughout the night, have been combined with functional MRI brain scans to paint a detailed picture of the sleep-deprived brain. These studies have shown that a lack of sleep severely disrupts the connectivity between different brain networks. These changes include a breakdown of connectivity between brain regions responsible for cognitive control, and an amplification of those involved in threat and emotional processing. The consequence of this is that the sleep-deprived brain is worse at learning new information, poorer at regulating emotions, and unable to suppress intrusive thoughts. Sleep loss may even make you less likely to help other people. These findings may explain why poor sleep quality is so ubiquitous in poor mental health. 4. Sleep protects us against neurodegenerative diseases Although we naturally sleep less as we age, mounting evidence suggests that sleep problems earlier in life increase the risk of dementia. The build-up of beta-amyloid, a metabolic waste product, is one of the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, it has become apparent that deep, undisturbed sleep is good for flushing these toxins out of the brain. Sleep deprivation increases the the rate of build-up of beta-amyloid in parts of the brain involved in memory, such as the hippocampus. A longitudinal study published in 2020 found that sleep problems were associated with a higher rate of beta-amyloid accumulation at a follow-up four years later. In a different study, published in 2022, sleep parameters forecasted the rate of cognitive decline in participants over the following two years. 5. We can engineer sleep The good news is that research is developing treatments to get a better night’s sleep and boost its benefits. For example, the European Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I works by identifying thoughts, feelings and behaviour that contribute to insomnia, which can then be modified to help promote sleep. In 2022, a CBT-I app became the first digital therapy recommended by England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for treatment on the NHS. These interventions can improve other aspects of our lives as well. A 2021 meta-analysis of 65 clinical trials found that improving sleep via CBT-I reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, rumination and stress. Dan Denis, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Senior Research Fellow, University of York This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The post Five New Sleep Research Breakthroughs, Including ‘Sleeping on It’ appeared first on Anomalien.com.

A wooden barrel full of wrought iron lumps known as osmonds has been raised from a 16th century shipwreck off the Baltic coast of Sweden. The discovery of large amount of osmond iron is rare, with only three other wrecks known, and this is the only shipwreck ever found in Sweden laden with one of its greatest exports. On Friday, May 24, the barrel with osmotic iron was lifted out of the water for the first time in nearly 500 years, in front of a mass media gathering. The barrel, which is partially broken and where the load is visible, will now be taken care of by a conservator and further examined. Among other things, they hope to find out what the Osmunds were used for and where they were going when the ship sank. “Now that the barrel is up, it’s very nice. It was incredibly difficult to get it out and get it off – the barrel is so heavy and [the wreck is at] a great depth,” says museum wreck marine archaeologist Jim Hansson, project manager. The ship, dubbed the Osmond Wreck after its cargo, was discovered in 2017 by maritime archaeologists from Vrak, Museum of Wrecks, north of Dalarö in the Stockholm archipelago. The wreck was a clinker-built ship of a design characteristic of medieval construction. It was in unusually good condition for a clinker built vessel, its mainmast still standing, all the rigging intact, cargo still in place. It was clear from the first dive that most of the cargo was a rare find: barrels full of fist-sized lumps of iron. Out of the 30 visible barrels at the site, 20 of them contained osmond iron lumps averaging 300 grams each. There were also barrels of tar, ash and butter in the ship’s hold. Dendrochronological analysis of the wreck’s timbers and the wood of the barrels date the ship’s construction to the 1540s in Stockholm. The deck was repaired around 1553 with wood felled in southern Finland. It did not sail long after the repair, so archaeologists believe it sank in the 1550s or 1560s. Osmond iron was the first furnace-cast iron produced in Europe, and Sweden was the early center of production. It was one Sweden’s most important exports from the 14th century until 1620 when King Gustavus Adolphus prohibited the export of unfinished iron so he could turn it into field artillery and weapons for Sweden’s new and much stronger military. Despite the immense significance of osmond iron to Sweden’s industrial and economic history, very little is known about the practicalities of the trade, the ships that were used, the maritime routes, the production process and the quality and composition of the iron itself. Vrak is working with Jernkontoret, the Swedish iron and steel producers’ association, to take full advantage of this unique opportunity to study 16th century iron. The purpose of the new project is, among other things, to find out more about the cargo’s history: Do all osmunds come from the same place? Is it true that all osmunds should be the same size, as historical sources indicate? Through the salvage, the researchers hope to get many more clues to the early Swedish iron handling and how it worked. 

Stars die at different rates depending on how they kick the bucket.

“For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and … The post The Editors’ Quote of the Day:  appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds … The post Editors’ Prepping Progress appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

Editor’s Introductory Note: Steven Cochran is transitioning to a new job, writing for an investment company. Starting next month, this column will be authored entirely by Everett Millman, who is also employed by Gainesville Coins. — Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and examine the factors that affected gold prices. WHAT DID GOLD DO IN MAY? The gold price opened the month hovering around the $2,300 level, taking a breather after notching record-high prices in mid-April. Beginning in earnest … The post May 2024 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran & Everett Millman appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.