How labor pains feel like

More than 7,000 runners who raced earlier this month in a half-marathon in London were under the influence of a scientifically derived and powerful performance-enhancing stimulant — pop music.The dance-able, upbeat music at London's "Run to the Beat" race was selected on the basis of the research and consultation of sport psychologist Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in England. He has learned how to devise soundtracks that are just as powerful, if not more so, as some of the not-so-legal substances that athletes commonly take to excel."Music is a great way to regulate mood both before and during physical activity. A lot of athletes use music as if it's a legal drug," Karageorghis told LiveScience. "They can use it as a stimulant or as a sedative. Generally speaking, loud upbeat music has a stimulating effect and slow music reduces arousal."The link between music and athletic performance is just one example of the inroads scientists and doctors are making into … [Read more...] about Amazing Power of Music Revealed

For a willing music audience, the art of drawing emotion from notes is classic.Composers play with subtle, intricate changes and rates of change to try and elicit emotion. In recent studies, scientists found that people already familiar with the music are more likely to catch a chill at key moments:When a symphony turns from loud to quietUpon entry of a solo voice or instrumentWhen two singers have contrasting voicesPeople covered in goose bumps also tend to be driven more by rewards, and less inclined to be thrill- and adventure-seekers, according to research conducted at the Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine in Hanover, Germany. Mystery MondayEach Monday, this LiveScience series explores an amazing aspect of the world around you. New Insight into How Blood ClotsChampagne Bubble Mystery SolvedIcicle Formation Mystery SolvedChasing TornadoesWhy We ItchZit Myths Cleared UpHow Planes FlyHow People Walk on FireBad Breath: Causes and CuresThe Real Scoop on … [Read more...] about Why Music Gives Us the Chills

The Crown Matrimonium Season 2 Episode 7 Editor’s Rating 5 stars ***** Photo: Alex Bailey / Netflix Maybe I, like Elizabeth, have been lulled into a twilight sleep. Maybe I’ve finally been soothed by The Crown’s comforting distance from the present moment. Maybe I’m entranced by the idea of a time when marrying someone unsuitable was tantamount to the sky falling. I don’t think so, though. What’s actually happening is much better: The Crown is finally coming into its own. The introduction of Matthew Goode’s Antony Armstrong-Jones really kicked things off, and now, “Matrimonium” feels like a more daring, more introspective Crown, both stylistically and narratively. Elizabeth has gotten the staid and buttoned-down treatment so far, built out of pensive worried looks and prim, careful blocking as she stands inside echoing rooms and rings her bell. Meanwhile, Margaret is all bluster and drama and pain and modernity. … [Read more...] about Recap: A Woman for the Modern Age

MENOMONIE, Wis. (AP) — Deborah Smith’s life revolves around her family. Spending the past 19 years in Menomonie, the outgoing Smith home-schooled her children, encouraged their interests and helped them become involved at their local church. For the past several years, though, Smith has taken a less active role in her family members’ lives due to a draining, mysterious biological disease. Smith suffers from myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome, an illness without a known cause or cure. She has a debilitating form of ME/CFS that makes it nearly impossible to speak and confines Smith to her bed. She cannot stand on her own and has not left home in more than two years. Smith, a 52-year-old married mother of four, is not alone. According to a 2015 report from the Institute of Medicine — now called the National Academy of Medicine — an estimated 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans suffer from ME/CFS. The World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for … [Read more...] about Western Wisconsin residents struggle with chronic illness

A sharp knife isn't just sharper, it's a safer, more efficient, more precise tool. And, like most people, your knives are probably dull. Here's how to fix that quickly, easily and cheaply. Why do you need to sharpen knives? A sharp knife stands less chance of slipping on the material being cut and, because it requires less effort and force to use than a dull knife, you're less likely to cut yourself. Working with a sharp knife is faster and easier, too. It also damages the material being cut less — ever tried to slice a tomato with a dull knife? It doesn't exactly produce clean results. Advertisement When should you sharpen? Most knives don't come sharp. That's because the final few degrees between being able to slice butter and being able to pop hairs off your arm isn't often achieved with a machine and most knives are produced by those, in a factory. So, sharpening is the first thing you need to do when you buy one. You can easily tell the difference between a very dull … [Read more...] about ​How To Sharpen Any Knife