International Day of Friendship

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

The Day is also intended to support the goals and objectives of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).

To mark the International Day of Friendship the UN encourages governments, international organizations and civil society groups to hold events, activities and initiatives that contribute to the efforts of the international community towards promoting a dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding and reconciliation.
via http://www.un.org/

History of Medicine : The Stethoscope

In the early 1800s, doctors began to listen to patients' chests to diagnose diseases of the heart and lungs. At first, the physician put his ear to the patient's chest. One day when examining a young lady under the watchful eye of her family, René Laënnec was embarrassed to place his head right next to her breast. Instead, he listened through a rolled up a piece of paper, and found he could hear much more clearly than without it--thus the stethoscope was invented.

Laënnec, A l'Hopital Necker, Ausculte Un Phtisique (Laënnec, at the Hopital Necker, Examining a Consumptive Patient by Auscultation)
Théobald Chartran (1849­-1907)


Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Laennec

World Population Day - 2012 Theme: Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

          "On this World Population Day, I call for urgent, concerted action by Member States to bridge the     gap between demand and supply for reproductive health care. We must mainstream reproductive health and rights into all development and poverty reduction plans. Investing in universal access to reproductive health is a crucial investment in healthy societies and a more sustainable future."

                                                                                    Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
                                                                                    Message for World Population Day
                                                                                                                     11 July 2012

2012 Theme: Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services

As the world population edged to 7 billion people in 2011 (up from 2.5 billion in 1950), it has had profound implications for development. A world of 7 billion is both a challenge and an opportunity with implications on sustainability, urbanization, access to health services and youth empowerment.

100 Best TED Talks

      For over five years now the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference has been releasing talks from their conference on video featuring leading thinkers not only in technology, entertainment, and design, but also science, psychology, personal growth, and numerous other areas. They now offer over 900 talks on their website and numerous other TED conferences have popped up including TED Global, TED India, TED Women, and 100s of TEDx Events which have produced almost 20,000 TEDx videos on YouTube.

      The TED Talks give you a global outlook in a way that few other resources can provide. And at 20 minutes you can get through a lot of them and gain a lot of condensed knowledge very quickly.
Here are the categories we've featured below with the number of TED talks that we featured for each category:
ART & DESIGN (5 talks)
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS (10 talks)
EDUCATION (5 talks)
HEALTH & PERSONAL GROWTH (10 talks)
PSYCHOLOGY (15 talks)
RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY (10 talks)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (25 talks)
SOCIAL SCIENCES & GLOBAL ISSUES (15 talks)
MISCELLANEOUS (5 talks)
Expand your mind and inspire yourself to learn more with these amazing TED talks!

Study of the Day: To Teach Kids to Eat Smart, Parents Should Show, Not Tell

New research from Michigan State University shows that leading by example promotes healthier diets among children than explicit food restrictions.

PROBLEM: How does parental behavior during mealtime influence children's food intake, weight, and obesity risk?

METHODOLOGY: To explore the possible consequences of directive (overt) and nondirective (covert and environmental) forms of parental feeding control, Michigan State University researchers led by Megumi Murashima collected data from 330 dyads of children, aged three to five, and mothers participating in a federal preschool program for low-income families. They assessed the moms' feeding practices, the kids' food consumption, and the height and weight of both the mothers and children.

Infographic: The Mountains of Salt in Processed Food

You already know that salt intake is highly correlated with high blood pressure and heart disease. And you probably have a vague sense that processed foods contain a lot of salt. But the specifics are truly terrifying, as this graphic by Next Generation Food shows.
It's not exactly the most legible graph--I mean, triangles aren't exactly a case study in information clarity. But the point comes through. Check out, for example, that fact that a single Burger King Whopper with cheese has 75% of your recommended daily salt intake; and the fact that Americans eat 250% of their recommended daily allotment: