30211281
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
One dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s.
A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients.
It said there was a "significant beneficial effect" on alcohol abuse, which lasted several months after the drug was taken.
An expert said this was "as good as anything we've got".
3437985
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
I'd like to see a poll that asks fellow slashdotters how many credits they have amassed through the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC). I didn't see any reference to it when searching the polls. Thanks.
1223591
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
After an extended maintenance session on Monday, and an unplanned outage on Tuesday, it appears that Xbox Live is down again. The quote from the Xbox support page is:
"Status:
Users will not be able to connect or log into Xbox LIVE. We are aware of the problem and working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
This outage has yet to be reported in the mainstream press.
814901
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
Incredibly, the developer got 8 people to buy this before Apple yanked it 24 hours later.
Earlier this week the I Am Rich application went up, commanding a $999.99 price tag, the most a developer can charge through Apple's App Store. The program essentially loads a screen saver onto the Apple iPhone to remind users and alert others that the user has money to throw around willy-nilly. The "status symbol," once downloaded, does nothing but load a ruby red icon on the home screen, with the subtext "I Am Rich." When the user activates the program, a large, glowing red gem appears. That's all.
629548
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
Several news outlets are reporting how a developer opted for a unique method of proposing:
Mr. Peng, a financial software programmer, spent nearly a month last fall reprogramming the popular video game Bejeweled for Ms. Li's Nintendo DS — a handheld system for which no commercial version of the game exists. And buried inside all those lines of code, at a relatively easy-to-reach level, Mr. Peng inserted a marriage proposal and a digital image of a pink engagement ring.
She played. She soon reached the threshold. And she said yes. "It's a very pleasant surprise," said Ms. Li, a TV producer whose ring finger is now adorned by a pink sapphire identical to the digital version.
532660
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
According to BBC News: The mysterious G spot — supposedly a route to female sexual satisfaction — can be located with ultrasound, claim Italian scientists.
"For the first time, it is possible to determine by a simple, rapid and inexpensive method if a woman has got a G spot or not"
-Dr Emmanuele Jannini
University of L'Aquila
381447
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
It appears that Id Software is teaming up with Fountainhead Entertainment to create Id Mobile, focused on bringing games to mobile devices. And you thought typing email tiny keyboard was hard, try focusing your attention to just W A S and D.
http://wireless.ign.com/articles/835/835515p1.html
November 15, 2007 — The people behind such industry definers as DOOM and Quake are putting their money on mobile gaming. Today, id Software announced the launch of id Mobile, an entirely new division created by both id Software and Fountainhead Entertainment. id Mobile will be overseen by Katherine Anna Kang, founder of Fountainhead and former Director of Business Development at id Software.
The announcement is timed with the release of Orcs & Elves II on mobile, a sequel to Fountainhead's bestselling original, as well as Orcs & Elves for the Nintendo DS. Orcs & Elves for the DS is an upgrade of the mobile original with additional content. id Mobile is also announcing a mobile edition of its popular Wolfenstein series, as well as a sequel to DOOM RPG, the first mobile game worked on by id Software founder John Carmack.
id Mobile is dedicated not only to cellphone gaming, but also forays into DS and PlayStation portable development, although no additional game announcements for those platforms have been released at this time.
318033
submission
CambodiaSam writes:
From the AP wire via CNN:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut.
That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week.
For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them.
The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system, according to the study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food.
But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.
