Syrian activist group claims that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) have begun minting their own “Islamic dinar” coins. Pictures posted on social media showed a series of gold sovereigns bearing Isil inscriptions, and with a reported value of one gold dinar being with $139 (£89).
CNET took at tour of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing and took some pictures of how the brand-new $100 bill is made. It doesn’t look it, but the printers at this place are some of the most advanced and hi-tech in all the world. (video after jump)
TRPM8 doesn’t just respond to cold temperatures, though. It also activates in the presence of menthol, a waxy, crystalline organic compound found in peppermint and other mint oils. (It responds to other “cooling agents,” too, like eucalyptol and icilin. Why, exactly, is unknown; menthol just happens to fit the cellular “lock.”)
Continue reading… “Why Does Mint Make Your Mouth Feel Cold?”
Salvia Divinorum has been shown to be a short,
extremely intense, not always pleasant, non-addictive high.
I can’t say the thought ever occurred to me, but apparently enough people think it’s a good idea to get high, film themselves and post the results to YouTube that psychologists at San Diego State University were able to use the crowd-created video archive to do one of the first studies of the drug’s behavioral impacts.
Why study how people act when they’re high on Salvia? Despite carrying a lot of the same cultural trappings as pot, Salvia is actually pretty unique, from a chemical standpoint.
Continue reading… “Scientists Mine YouTube To Study Effects Of Salvia Divinorum”