5 Uses For Vinegar

How To Be Organized: 5 Uses For Vinegar

Updated: 1/24/12 04:29 PM ET

http://www.stylelist.com/chris-barnes/how-to-be-organized-5-use_b_1224318.html

Vinegar is more than something you use while cooking and baking. From cleaning to laundry, the sour stuff has a host of other uses. Here are my favorite five ways you can use vinegar inside (and outside) your home.

A little bit can make a big difference. 

Household Disinfectant. During the days of the Black Plague, it was believed that vinegar would ward off disease. Technically they were right. Vinegar is effective bacteria killer, and you can use it for household cleaning purposes, ranging from scrubbing the tub to even cleaning mirrors or stainless steel. You can use the vinegar straight-up.

Windshield De-Icer. If the forecast calls for frost, ensure a morning free of scraping with a coat of this preventative solution: 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water. Simply spritz over your windshield for a few weeks' worth of protection.

Drain Unclogger. Remember the science experiments you would do as a kid with the volcano made of vinegar and baking soda? Try putting a little bit of baking soda into a clogged drain and then pour vinegar into it. Your volcano, I mean drain, will erupt and the reaction helps break down down. The best part about this method is that is much safer than industrial chemical drain cleaners, which are toxic to your pets and children.

Laundry. Do you have some stinky laundry? We all do, and you can use vinegar to help deodorize your garments or laundry. Just pour a cup of vinegar into the washer and it helps take care of your odor problems. Not only that, but the vinegar also helps keep your fabric soft and fluffy. Just add the vinegar when you start the laundry cycle with your regular detergent. (And no, it won't make your clothes smell like a salad.)

Clear The Air. When painting the walls, even low-VOC formulas can give off a bit of an odor. But a dish of vinegar placed in the room will reduce the smell, making this task (a little) easier.

What are your favorite tips for vinegar? 

Share them in the comments!

How to Switch 🐶Your Pet’s 🐱Food

How to Switch Your Pet’s Food?

by: Dr. Jennifer Kvamme // January 20, 2012

Dogs and cats, like many humans, are creatures of habit. In fact, the main reason veterinarians and nutritionists recommend against giving your pets new and different foods too often is that their systems get accustomed to digesting certain foods and the intestinal bacteria has the routine all figured out. Shaking up their diet can cause the digestive tract to become upset - among other things - and that's something neither you nor your pets wish to experience. There are times, however, when you may need to change your dog or cat’s food.

Are you wondering how to switch your pet’s food? 

If you are, you’ve come to the right place to learn all you need to safely switch your pet’s food the right way! In this Chewtorial, we will go through all the steps pet parents should take when they want to change their pet’s diet. Whether you want to change dog food, or change cat’s food, follow the easy steps in this Chewtorial and your pets will be chowing down on their new diet in no time. When pet parents want to switch dog’s food, or switch cat’s food, it's important to do it gradually, just like you will see in this helpful Chewtorial. Pet parents of finicky kitties might have to go through these steps multiple times to successfully switch cat’s food, but never fear, we will be with you every step of the way!

Reasons to Change Foods
Has your dog or cat developed an allergy to a certain food ingredient? Maybe your pet’s health or stage of life requires a change to a diet that provides (or doesn’t provide) certain ingredients or beneficial properties. You may even have done some product evaluation and decided that another brand or formulation of food would be a better fit for your pet. Perhaps your veterinarian has made a suggestion for a special diet. There are many reasons for changing your pet's diet, and with so many variations of foods today - from dry to wet, frozen to freeze-dried - it can be hard to choose the one you think is best.
However, once you decide on a new food and are ready to make the change, it’s not recommended to stop feeding the old food altogether and give your dog or cat 100 percent new food. (The only reason you might do this is if your pet’s food is recalled and there is no other option available.) Rapid food changes can cause indigestion, diarrhea, flatulence (gas buildup), and even vomiting.
Not every animal is going to be super-sensitive to food changes, and some may not experience any intestinal problems at all, but it is best not to take the chance with your pet’s comfort.

Steps to Making the Change
Because dogs and cats become accustomed to certain foods, it can be tricky to get them to eat a new food. The taste may not be similar to the old food and they may not like the taste of a new product. For this, and the other reasons above, the switch to a new food should be done gradually. Depending on how your pet reacts to the new food, you can make the switch in one to two weeks.

Step 1: On the first day, start out by mixing together a batch of mostly old food (about 75 percent) with the new food (about 25 percent) in your pet’s food bowl. You should be feeding your pet the same amount of food you normally do, only with one-fourth of the new food replacing that amount of the old food. Feed this ratio for several days and watch your dog closely for signs of intestinal upset (diarrhea, flatulence, etc.). After a few days with no signs of upset, you can move on to the next step.

Step 2: Once your pet has accepted and become used to having some new food in the mix, you can mix the old and new food together in a 50:50 ratio. At any time, if your pet develops loose stools or begins vomiting, go back to the previous step or ratio of food for a few days. If all is going well, feed the 50 percent ratio for about three days and then move on to the next step.
During the transition, your pet may pick out the old food and leave the new food behind (or stop eating altogether). Don’t worry, just stick with the program until your pet accepts that this is going to be his/her new food and eventually your pet will eat.
A word of caution when feeding cats -- do not allow a cat to go more than a couple of days without eating, as this can lead to health problems (particularly in obese cats). Consult your veterinarian if your cat is refusing to eat the new food after a couple of days.

Step 3: If things are going well after a few days on the 50:50 diet, you can go one step further and feed a combination of 75 percent new food and 25 percent old food. Feed this combination for another several days and continue to watch for any signs of stomach upset or diarrhea. Once your pet is happily eating the 75:25 combination without any problems, you can move on to the final step. (You can feed this amount until you finish off the bag of old food.)

Step 4: Now, we are ready to feed 100 percent of the new food with no old food in the mix. Take as long as you need to get to the final step, letting your pet get used to the taste of the new food and how it affects his/her body.

Transition Tips
If you find that you have a desire or need to switch your pet’s food from wet to dry or vice versa, things could be a bit more difficult with a picky pet. In most cases, a wet food is accepted more easily than a dry food, and mixing them together makes everything a bit tastier at first.
Once you get to steps 3 and 4, it may help to add warm water to dry food to moisten the kibbles. You can also warm the wet or moistened food in a microwave for about five seconds to bring out the aroma. Do be careful not to allow the food to become too hot when microwaving. Over time, you can reduce the moisture and stop warming the food until it is accepted by your pet.
For an even better chance of success, begin the food switching process during the weekend. This will allow you to more closely observe your pet's behavior and watch for problems that may arise. It is also important that you not alter the feeding times, frequency, or the amount of food given. If your pet has trouble accepting the new food, or has major intestinal upset, consult your veterinarian.

https://be.chewy.com/transitioning-your-pet-to-a-new-food-tips-to-ensure-success

 

http://www.petfooddirect.com/Shop/Nutrition-Center/how-to-switch-your-pets-food

🐾  🐕  🐶  🐱  🐈  🐾

HS student devises possible cancer cure

Calif. HS Student Devises Possible Cancer Cure

January 13, 2012

 

Angela Zhang, a high school student from California, gained national recognition after winning the $100,000 Siemens Competition in 2011 for her groundbreaking work in nano-medicine. 
She developed a targeted nano-particle therapy designed to selectively identify and eliminate cancer cells while preserving healthy tissue.  Her innovative approach utilized gold and iron-oxide nano-particles coated with a therapeutic agent that binds to tumors. When subjected to infrared light, these nano-particles generated heat, effectively destroying malignant cells with minimal collateral damage. This cutting-edge nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize oncological treatments, offering high-precision, low-toxicity cancer therapies. 

Zhang’s research represents a significant step toward advancing personalized medicine and has inspired further developments in biomedical engineering and pharmaceutical innovation.

By Steve Hartma

Play CBS News Video:

https://youtu.be/r6z63dqeU_E?si=Ws1QSy55T69agFlN 

If you ever worry about the future of America, there is no need: it is in good hands. 

A high school student named Angela is proof of that. We think you'll agree she is nothing short of amazing. 

CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman met her on the road.

Born to Chinese immigrants, 17-year-old Angela Zhang of Cupertino, California is a typical American teenager. She's really into shoes and is just learning how to drive. But there is one thing that separates her from every other student at Monta Vista High School, something she first shared with her chemistry teacher, Kavita Gupta.
It's a research paper Angela wrote in her spare time - and it is advanced, to say the least. Gupta says all she knows is its recipe - for curing cancer.
"Cure for cancer - a high school student," said Gupta. "It's just so mind-boggling. I just cannot even begin to comprehend how she even thought about it or did this."
"I just thought, 'Why not?' 'What is there to lose?'" said Angela.
When she was a freshman, she started reading doctorate level papers on bio-engineering.
"At first it was a little bit overwhelming," said Angela, "but I found that it almost became like a puzzle, being able to decode something."
By sophomore year she'd talked her way into the lab at Stanford, and by junior year was doing her own research. In a lab area, Hartman asked Angela: "Try and make it for a feeble mind, such as this one, to understand."
Angela: "So I made something that's an iron-oxide, gold dangle...
Hartman: "You lost me." (laughter)
Eventually, here's what he did get. Angela's idea was to mix cancer medicine in a polymer that would attach to nanoparticles -- nanoparticles that would then attach to cancer cells and show up on an MRI. so doctors could see exactly where the tumors are. Then she thought shat if you aimed an infrared light at the tumors to melt the polymer and release the medicine, thus killing the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells completely unharmed.
"I think it was more of a -- 'This is really cool, I want to see if it works' -- type thing," she said.
"And when you found out it did..." asked Hartman.
"That was pretty amazing."
It'll take years to know if it works in humans - but in mice - the tumors almost completely disappeared.
Angela recently entered her project in the national Siemens science contest. It was no contest. She got a check for $100,000 and promptly bought about a dozen more pairs of shoes.
"I got these shoes because they're purple and I didn't have purple yet," she explained.
Easy to forget, she is still high school. It's just her dreams that keep graduating.
"I'm excited to learn just everything possible," she said. "Everything in the sciences - biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, even computer science - to make new innovations possible."    Pretty big flats to fill. 

How will she top her cancer discovery? We can't wait.

🔬
Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment "On the Road."
CBS Evening News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/calif-hs-student-devises-possible-cancer-cure/

Angela Zhang was Awarded the $100,000 Scholarship  

2011 Siemens Math, Science  and Technology Competition  for her Cancer Tesearch.  

She is a graduating senior at Monte Vista High School in Cupertino, CA.  Angela has a thirst for learning ... everything from English Literature to golf.  
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, Where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

👇  🔬  👇

🔬  https://youtu.be/bQ5WYN22YG0?si=lWBb3XCWTc3ZyKRh 

See VIDEO Here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/20/ eveningnews/main1330969.shtml

Benefits of Grain Free🐕 Dog Food

🐕 Benefits of Grain Free Dog Food 🐕

Posted by: PetFoodDirect  * January 15, 2012

In recent years, the hot trend in pet foods has been grain free dog food and cat food. Grain free pet foods can have many health benefits for our pets. Here, we’ll focus on grain free dog foods and discuss why feeding a food that contains no grains may be a healthy choice for your pet.

Low-Carb

Most grain free pet foods will naturally be lower in carbohydrates than a food containing corn, wheat, oats or rice. This doesn’t mean that grain free foods are carbohydrate free.  All dry pet food requires that the ingredients include some form of starch so that the kibble can be hard and crunchy. Grain free pet foods replace the grain based starch with other types of starch such as potato, sweet potato, tapioca, or green peas.

Grain free dry foods do contain lower levels of carbohydrates, which more closely resembles the natural diet of a carnivorous animal. Dogs are descendents of wolves, and a wolf would only encounter grain in the stomach contents of prey animals they consumed.

What’s wrong with grain?

Some dogs develop allergies to the ingredients in pet food. Corn, wheat, and rice are frequently found to be the cause of the allergic reaction. Some say that it’s not the grain that’s the problem but rather the pesticides that were used on the grain while it was growing that causes the sensitivity. Feeding a grain free diet may help if your dog has chronic skin or digestive problems.

Can puppies eat grain free food?

This depends on the brand of grain free dog food you select. Some brands only recommend their grain free food for adult dogs, while other brands formulate the diet to be complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages. The label will indicate if the food is recommended for all life stages or just for maintenance of adult dogs.

Are there other health benefits?

Studies have shown that many dogs live healthy lives on diets that are high in carbohydrates; however, others tend to gain weight on such diets. Just as there has been evidence showing that low-carb/high-protein diets can help to promote a healthier weight in humans, the same may be true for some dogs.

While reducing obesity in dogs, low-carb/high-protein diets have also been shown to reduce the incidence of diabetes in cats. There are fewer studies proving the same for dogs, but studies showing successful weight loss suggest that similar benefits may be seen.

Grain free, high-protein diets are highly digestible, which typically results in decreased stool volume.  High-protein diets also contain higher levels of fats and amino acids resulting in radiant coat quality for most pets. Finally, grain free foods are more calorically dense, allowing for smaller portions to be fed.

Grain free dog food is not for every pet, but if you are noticing problems with digestion, skin/coat or weight gain, your dog may benefit from one of the many brands of grain free food on the market.

 

Eurasian Collared-Doves🐦Conquering America

Eurasian Collared-Doves

Conquering America
January 17, 2011

No species of bird has colonized North America at the speed with which the Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) has marched across the continent. First found nesting just south of Miami, Florida, in 1982, this non-native dove has rapidly adapted to human-altered environments from Florida to Alaska. 

FeederWatch has provided a crucial source of information on this invasion and insight into how this invader may be affecting populations of native doves.

Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recently focused on reports submitted by444 FeederWatchers in Florida to better understand the collared-dove invasion. First, they were interested in examining the potential impact of collared-doves on other dove species such as the Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, and Common Ground-Dove. Many invasive species have a negative impact on native species, particularly species that are similar to the invader. Contrary to expectations, however, researchers found that the abundance of native dove species was generally greater at sites with collared-doves than at sites without collared-doves.

Second, researchers were interested in identifying which types of habitats the collared-doves were using. Linking satellite-derived land cover data with FeederWatch data gathered from 1999 to 2008, the researchers found that collared-doves were more likely to occur in landscapes that had been highly-modified by human activity than in forested landscapes. Many invasive species are successful because, like the collared-dove, they can readily adapt to suburban life.

 

Animation of the Eurasian Collared-Dove expansion, 2000-2009.
Photo by Kevin Carver.

What’s next for the Eurasian Collared-Dove?

The species continues to spread across the continent and grow in abundance (map above shows an animation of the range expansion). The doves naturally disperse in a northwesterly direction, so the most rapid range expansion has taken place along a southeast-to-northwest path from Florida to Alaska. 

It appears to be only a matter of time, however, before the gaps in the species’ range in the Midwest and Northeast are colonized. FeederWatch staff will keep an eye on interactions between collared-doves and native species as the invasive species continues to colonize different regions and environments. We may ultimately find that collared-doves do compete for food with other dove species in colder regions in winter.

If you would like to contribute data on the spread of Eurasian Collared-Doves, please consider joining Project FeederWatch.  The only way we can track the spread of this species is with data submitted by FeederWatch Participants – so sign up to contribute! Please note that commenting on this post with Eurasian Collared-Dove observations will NOT contribute to data!

Did you find a Eurasian Collared-Dove nest?  Check out our post on monitoring Eurasian Collared-Dove nests!

Source: Bonter, D. N., B. Zuckerberg, and J. L. Dickinson. 2010. Invasive birds in a novel landscape: habitat associations and effects on established species. Ecography 33:494-502.

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Project Feederwatch staff   - January 17, 2011
Eurasian Collared-Doves are native to southern Asia. They were introduced in the Bahamas in the 1970s (escaped from the pet trade), and subsequently spread to south Florida. From Florida they are moving across all of North America. Eurasian Collared-Doves are very successful invaders. They conquered much of Europe since the 1950s and continue to expand their range in Europe as well.

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http://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/eurasian-collared-doves-conquering-america/