Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Playing in dirt is good for kids, navigate maze faster than control group


Smarter, less anxious: study; Outdoor learning experiences and school gardens help students relax and learn better, researchers suggest

Parents, here's another reason for your kids to play outdoors in the dirt: It might make them smarter.

And, as a side benefit, dirt appears to be a natural anti-anxiety drug, but without the side effects.

Mice exposed to a bacterium found in soil navigated a maze twice as fast, and with less anxiety, as control mice, in studies presented yesterday at the 110th general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.

The researchers say we've become so urbanized we risk losing a connection with an organism in nature that may actually be beneficial to humans.

Dr. Dorothy Matthews became intrigued by Mycobacterium vaccae - a natural soil microbe - in 2007, when British scientists published a study showing that when mice were injected with a heat-killed version of the organism, it stimulated neurons in the brainstem to start producing serotonin.

"Serotonin is a molecule that has a number of different effects, but one of them is modulating mood and decreasing anxiety," says Matthews, an associate professor of biology at The Sage Colleges in Troy, NY.

Serotonin also plays a role in learning. "If you're nervous, if you're frightened, you just can't think straight," Matthews said. She wondered, could M. vaccae have an effect on learning in mice?

The bacteria-exposed mice consistently ran the maze twice as fast as non-exposed mice. They also showed fewer anxiety behaviours - less freezing, wall-climbing, stopping and grooming, returning to the start, or defecation.

After the bacteria were removed, the mice started running the mazes slower than they did when they were ingesting the bacteria. "They experienced a kind of serotonin withdrawal," Matthews said. They were still faster than the controls, on average, an effect that lasted for another month of testing.

Matthews says people are exposed to M. vaccae just by virtue of being outdoors. "It's only been the last 100 years or so that we've become more urbanized and are eating our foods in a different way."

We no longer eat foods that we grow or gather ourselves, she says - foods that haven't been "washed multiple times, and dunked in hot water, or processed or grown with pesticides."

Making time in school curriculums for children to learn outdoors might decrease their anxiety and improve their ability to learn new tasks, she says.

"There's a movement now in some schools to actually have gardens that are part of the school experience."

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Top Ten Maze Cartoons of May By Yonatab Frimer

Top Ten Maze Cartoons by Yonatan Frimer for May 2010.


Want to check out some more extremely cool mazes? These links are for you!
Political Maze on Go Comics - Sign up for daily maze cartoons
Team Of Monkeys . com - Cartoon mazes and solutions
Ink Blot Mazes - Maze Art
Buy maze art Prints On Demand from Fine Art America



Maze Cartoon of all of Obama's eggs in the wrong basket.

All the eggs in the wrong basket
Editorial Cartoon maze on the Obama Administration's modus operandi of putting all their eggs in the "Campaign Promises" basket and none in the "Strategic Decision" basket. Created by Yonatan Frimer
Click here for a printable, hi-res version of this maze
Click here or on the image for the solution to the maze.



Maze Cartoon of your job on drugs, I mean financial reform.
This is your brain on financial reform
Editorial Cartoon maze poking fun at the 1987 commercial "This is your brain on drugs" by making the egg "jobs" and the frying pan is financial reform. Any questions? Created by Yonatan Frimer
Click here for a printable, hi-res version of this maze
Click here or on the image for the solution to the maze.
Maze Cartoon of Steve Jobs Getting Flashed, by Yonatan Frimer

steve jobs fear of flash maze cartoon

Editorial Cartoon maze of Steve Jobs getting flashed and he thinks to himself, "Avoid anything that is relatable to this incident, even just by name" Created by Yonatan Frimer
Click here for a printable, hi-res version of this maze
Click here or on the image for the solution to the maze.

Cartoon maze of how the Tea Party started. By Yonatan Frimer

how the tea party started maze

Cartoon maze editorial of a bunch of sheep in a field. One sheep stands up and exclaims, "I will no longer be a follower!" The rest of the flock yells, "Me too!" and the group in the front explaim "If this catches on, we got to get that fox on board."
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution



Good year to be a Cameron, cartoon maze:
James and David Cameron
Cartoon maze editorial both David Cameron, the new prime minister of England and of James Cameron, who produced and directed Avatar, a movie that has broken many records for generating the most revenue. 2010 sure is a good year if your last name is Cameron.
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution


Maze Cartoon - Effects of Human Error on Stock Market

human error in stock market maze cartoon
Maze cartoon editorial showcasing how stocks are effected by human error, buy having a bull represent stocks and a cowboy wrangling him to represent human error.
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution




The all new electric hummer, h3

hummer hybrid electric

Editorial maze cartoon of the all new Electric Hummer. No longer will Humvees and Hummers be called gas guzzlers. Now they are better for the environment than a Toyota Prius.
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution


Want to check out some more extremely cool mazes? Check these out...
Political Maze on Go Comics - Sign up for daily maze cartoons
Team Of Monkeys . com - Cartoon mazes and solutions
Ink Blot Mazes - Maze Art
Buy maze art Prints On Demand from Fine Art America


gulf and Golf with Tiger Woods
Editorial maze cartoon of Tiger Woods in the Gulf, the crewman apologizes for the mix up, says "We need a GULF clean up"
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution




Cartoon maze of Lustiger and Fahd in Paris
Editorial maze cartoon of a conversation between King Fahd and Jean-Marie Lustiger on having a grand mosque built in Paris. Lustiger replies, "Sure, just as soon as I can build a grand cathedral in Mecca."
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution


BP Maze disaster - Cartoon Maze
BP oil spill cartoon maze

Want to check out some more extremely cool mazes? These links are for you!
Political Maze on Go Comics - Sign up for daily maze cartoons
Team Of Monkeys . com - Cartoon mazes and solutions
Ink Blot Mazes - Maze Art
Buy maze art Prints On Demand from Fine Art America

Sunday, May 9, 2010

soy Tiger Woods, El Mexico Gulf

Maze Cartoon - Tigers Woods in the Gulf

gulf and Golf with Tiger Woods
Editorial maze cartoon of Tiger Woods in the Gulf, the crewman apologizes for the mix up, says "We need a GULF clean up."
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution

Visit these sites for more Yonatan Frimer Mazes
Latest Political Maze Cartoon
Political Maze on Comic Sherpa
Yonatan Frimer Maze Art
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Maze Blog
Team Of Monkeys Maze Blog

Thanks, hope you've enjoyed this Maze cartoon of Tiger Woods Gulf Golfer. The entrance and exit of the maze is at the upper-right and lower-left corners of the image. A link to the solution of the maze is right under the image. Created by Yonatan Frimer

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Maze Cartoon on theory by Albert Einstein on World Wars

Einstein's Theory of Warmaze cartoon new start treaty by Yonatan Frimer
Editorial Cartoon Maze on Einstein's Theory that World War 4 will be fought with sticks. In the foreground an HTV-2 rocket flies off, a weapon that is intended to replace the atomic bomb.
Click here for the maze in larger, printable format
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution

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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Maze cartoon of Obama's camaign promise of "Change" By Yonatan Frimer

The Promise from Obama Maze

maze of obama change
Editoral Cartoon Maze in Larger and Printable Format
Can't solve the maze? Click here for the maze solution
Editorial Maze Cartoon "Obama's change"

Next Maze >>

Maze Cartoon topic in the news:

GDP grew by 3.2 percent in first quarter

By Ian Swanson - 04/30/10 09:18 AM ET

The nation’s gross domestic product increased 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010, bolstering the Obama administration’s arguments that the economy is improving.

The jump in GDP was lower that the 5.6 percent increase registered in the last quarter of 2009, but still represents significant economic growth. It’s the third quarter in a row that the U.S. economy has expanded.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a statement on the figures from the Rose Garden on Friday morning. (Read More)


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