pedro-kun

As I said before, DNA is not the only factor that accounts for aging. We have to think about A LOT of variables, such as endocrine axis, protein malfunction, etc etc... Summing it all up as "DNA replication defects" is not a very accurate definition for the process :)I've got some cool papers on the subject... If anyone wants to know a little more about it, I'd be happy to send you the links to them (however, I do not guarantee that they're free )

Hello,First of all, thanks for accepting my request for hosting. I do, however, have some questions about it:When I first checked out Xisto's website, I noticed you provide shell access... Is this really true? If it is, would I be able to run, for example, an irc bot with the account?Another thing... Your web server does not gzip content. This causes more traffic to be generated, etc etc... Is there any chance to activate this feature?The question regarding credits is a fairly simple one. I'd just like to know how you assure posting quality.. I mean, the credits go up as soon as you post, and therefore I assume no-one reads the post before increasing the credits. If you could, I'd like an answer to this question; it's a matter of pure curiosity :)Cheers,Pedro

Why do people keep insisting that notepad is good for web page development? WHY? I mean, yes, notepad can read plain text files perfectly, but does it have any syntax highlighting? Of course not. Try making BIG scripts or html files without syntax highlighting, it's a real pain in the butt. If you want to become a good webdeveloper, know your limits: Nvu is good if you have no coding knowledge, but if you do, please just download a decent HTML code editor! (Bluefish, for example... VIM, Emacs, Notepad++, even Notepad2 will do right). Also, make sure you have Firefox and Opera installed (to check how your site works on both), especially Firefox. Then install the Webdeveloper Toolbar extension. Also install Firebug and possibly YSlow. These will help debug your site more easily. As for graphics and such, just download and install Inkscape and The GIMP. And don't even bother saying that The GIMP is hard to use. No it's not. It just has too many windows. Other than that, you can get pretty much everything done with it and Inkscape. If you have pixel-art needs, just go ahead and use mtPaint. And to top it all, make sure you run a local webserver to speedup the creating-testing-correcting process. You can install Apache, PHP and MySQL separately, or you can download a pack with all three of them, such as XAMPP. If you're new to this, I'd recommend using XAMPP. Also, don't forget to grab an FTP client, such as Filezilla. A piece of advice: don't EVER use Word's or OpenOffice's "HTML capabilites"; they're just plain wrong. Always try to make sites that validate with the current standards (you can validate them easily on different validators using the Webdeveloper Toolbar I mentioned before). Another thing, too. Most of the programs I mentioned are open-source, and can be run in any operating system (except Notepad++ and Notepad2). Also, try to NOT use flash animations and javascript. If you do have to use them, make sure the page graciously degrades for people that don't have flash/javascript. Build your Webpages with structure in mind, and not the looks! Worry about the looks later, when you get to CSS. Make sure you properly set these two domains (structure, presentation) clearly appart! It will save you time and frustration Documentation on HTML markup is abundant in the web. So is PHP and MySQL documentation (you can check out their sites; they're pretty good for that). Remember that webdevelopment can be made for free. Don't resort to dreamweaver unless you really really have to. Also, follow the standards... They were made for some reason

I would recommend OpenOffice (although if you have professional needs and have the money for it, you should pay and get MSOffice instead).As for the media player, I'd forget about winamps and windows media players... Why not use foobar2000? It's a free player with tons of features. It's not the prettiest (but it can be prettier, if you really need it). Also, what's the point of having a skinned media player when all it's going to do is sit right there in the system tray? Go for foobar2000, believe me.As for the recording thingy, there's a free software like camtasia called camstudio, I think. Some other user has already mentioned it

That's not a driver problem. It isn't even a Unix bug. Also, Linux is NOT Unix lol!What happens is that the sound APIs for linux just suck. They are a confusing framework on which developers have to build their programs and therefore, errors occur. It's not really Ubuntu's or Fedora's fault... It's a problem which must be solved by unifying the damn audio API code.

I would go for OpenBSD. It's know as one of the most secure systems on the world (if not the most secure).It's like only one vulnerability in 3 years running the default install settings.Have a look at it. OpenBSD tends to be easier to setup than linux, when serving is the business

How are memories stored? Well, memories are a still controversial matter, but we all think that their storage involves some pathways present in the brain (circuits). The flow of neurotransmitters and electrical impulses throughout these circuits help perpetuate memories (the more times they pass the circuit, the "stronger" they are). However, we still don't know the "substance" of which memories are made; we know the neurons and their synapses help a lot (lol) but we're still reasearching about the precise storing mechanism (is it categorical? or perhaps just a mess? there are several theories on this matter). @galexcd: There are indeed cells which are not renewed. For example, the nervous system's cells! That's why people with strokes have such a hard time. The ischemic are in the brain simply dies away and never gets "renewed". There are however, a few theories of stem cells coming from the olfactory bulbs to make new neurons... but even so, that's a pretty long shot (i mean, it does happen, it's been proven, but the rate at which it happens doesn't allow for efficient regeneration). @csp4.0: It is quite impossible for the brain to store infinite amounts of data. It's not hard to imagine why, unless somehow we believe the brain is somekind of singularity. Also, we forget things because we don't "need" them. I know, many of us forget important things too, but that's because the brain deems them unnecessary, somehow. Oh, and they ARE forgot; they don't just get a label like "Old junk" - they do disappear. If memories weren't forgotten, the brain would overload, or something very close to that. I believe there are people with impaired forgetting abilities which die young because of brain damage @devin_love3: Dej? vu happens when there is an anomally in the conduction of stimuli through the brain. There are several explanations for this. One of them states that sometimes the brain stores short-term memories in the long-term memories' area. When that happens, you get the feeling that what you are experiencing already happened. However, it is just because the data went through the wrong pathway. Another explanation is an accessory pathway to the visual and associative cortices in the brain. When you see something, that data is transmitted to the visual cortex and then processed for storage. Imagine if the data could somehow be processed and stored *before* it reached the visual cortex... that way, you would only see it *after* you stored it, and therefore would be able to "remember" it as well. Cheers, Pedro

What a confusing thread...Basically, girls are virgins because they have something called the hymen which protects the entrance to the vagina. That little mucous membrane exists perhaps for preventing infections and other kinds of stuff, or even to prevent sperm from getting in (which is useless when there is penetration).The cervical mucous works just the same way, only it is not a membrane, and is located at the entrance of the uterus itself.The question was why are all girls born as virgins. LOL, I must say. And now to the answer... First, we must admit that "virgin" is a social/cultural definition. Many women break their hymen long before their first sexual intercourse (for example, if they usually ride a bike). Other women are born with a small hymen, and other even have an imperforate hymen, which must be "broken" to allow for fertilization.The reason why this hymen exists is genetic... It is hardcoded somewhere in our genome. And why is it encoded in our genome? Well, because somewhere in the past, it must've been needed. Or even today :)I read somethings about cutting a cows ear and its descendents ears too to achieve a lining of earless cows. Well, that's just not gonna happen, lol. You see, those are changes that only affect the somatic part of the individual... For changes to be transmitted to the descendency, they must affect the germinal line's cells. Therefore, even though you just cut that ear right off, the cells which will in the future form the egg have all the information about having two ears, etc. And thus they are born with two ears, just like every girl is born with a hymen even though her mother already lost hers.Also, the thing about two twins having sex inside the womb... that's not very pretty to picture (i mean that's just sick) and besides, it's also impossible. Boys do not have erections inside the womb, for starters, and also, twins are usually in the 69 position separated by a physical membrane.Another thing! Even if they wanted, women couldn't start having babies after they were born... The follicles are not mature enough for that. Maturity is reached upon maturation of the endocrine system... which begins about the age of 10, 11 (depending from girl to girl)

Long story short:We die because of numerous processes that take place in cells. Replication itself is a way of "dying a little more":If you read the huge quote back there, you may have noticed that when mitosis is performed, DNA is doubled. For that DNA doubling, some little enzymes called polymerases are needed; they stick themselves onto the original DNA, and start copying from that position forward... However, they don't copy ALL the DNA... The polymerases are not able to copy the last few nucleotides from the strand and as such, the DNA strand's replications are smaller and smaller. Lucky for us, the information present in those tips is just junk, mainly repetitions of the same nucleotides... However, when we reach an age where those fake bits of information (telomeres) disappear, real information starts to be left out of replication, rendering the cells useless. In many cases, they may begin to behave strangely, due to protein malfunction, etc.. This is one reason for aging and dying.Another reason is the production of reactive oxygen species... As some of you may know, cells need energy, and that energy is obtained through ATP. Well, the process through which this ATP is produced is highly dangerous to the cell, because it oxidizes proteins, lipids, etc. This oxidation leads to protein malfunction, etc etc.The very glucose circulating in our blood (which is the essential substrate for energy production) may ruin proteins and other components of cells. In fact, it does that (there are some papers regarding the matter... protein glycation )Well, that's about it. Living makes you die. The oxygen you breathe makes you die. The food you eat makes you die. However, you get to live, first. Also, you can only die if you live! And a life without death isn't really a life

I would most certainly recommend Nvu for beginners. However, Nvu's got a "but": its code editor is horrible. The syntax coloring doesn't update as it should... Nevertheless, the WYSIWYG mode is pretty neat and is also standards compliant, which is a big plus. If you want to code things by hand (which you should, especially if you want to make php scripts and stuff like that) I'd recommend something like Notepad++. For the ones who don't mind to learn a new editing concept, I'd recommend VIM (Vi Improved). You can get it from http://www.vim.org/ VIM is an opensource editor for almost every filetype you may think of (plain text, of course). It highlights dozens of programming/markup/config languages and is very powerful (and scriptable). If you happen to have the time, do learn to use it. It will prove useful in the near future Also, as I don't plan to start a flame war, there's also Emacs, a text-editor as powerful as VIM (just not my personal choice )

Why don't you try a standardized CSS drop-down menu?There are lots of tutorials out there which explain how to do it... They have their limitations, of course. But many people have javascript turned off, and can't see javascripted menus :)Also, it reduces overhead on loading the site

Well, I switched to Linux because I wanted to become somewhat free from Windows. I always wanted to setup my computer the way I wanted.. Windows didn't let me do it. Also, coming from DOS, I loved the little command line... however, I expected a better command line than the one Windows brought with it. And of course, there's the question of stability, usability, customizability, and many other *bilities that Windows just sucked at (for me, of course... there are people to whom I'd never recommend linux... but for my specific case, linux felt kinda right) So, I went ahead, downloaded Fedora 3 and set it up on a VM. It sucked. I mean... I couldn't even play a simple MP3!!! After reading all about it, it became clear that there were reasons for that: patent-free systems couldn't use patented software. From that, I learned a new attitude; i became "free" After some time, I totally ditched the VM and installed Ubuntu 4.10 as my main OS (leaving Windows XP for the rest of the family). It was a very enriching experience; I learned some scripting, I started to wander in the forums, and established my position regarding free/non-free software... It's not just about stability and speed. Linux is FREE. Windows, on the other hand, is NOT. It doesn't matter which of them is the best; I mean, you can't even begin to measure things like that because it all depends on who's using the machine at that moment. However, linux was the right switch for me, and suddendly the world of software grew exponentially. Nowadays I work with Archlinux as my main OS and I have Windows XP (licensed) too because some school-related software works only on Windows. Wine is good, but not a real option; I prefer to have two OSes uncluttered - each one has its purpose. @GMBlazed: I use Linux AND Windows. For working, I find linux much more productive. Also, a lot of companies out there have no knowledge whatsoever to even give a *BLEEP* if you know linux or not. And what's the deal with coding in Windows? Is it easier to code in than linux? lol Also, about being straightforward... the word you were looking for was "known". People *know* windows better and so it just seems easier to use... I mean "Start -> Shutdown"? lol As for being fast, you may be right. Recently, linux distros clutter themselves and become slow. However, windows isn't all that better than them regarding this matter. And THE LOOKS (oh my god the looks!). I don't give a damn if linux can wobble windows or fade them. Also, I don't really care if windows can change the titlebars' colors and fonts and button's appearance... That's plain useless. What I want when customizing my system is the possibility to create new keyboard shortcuts, for example, or use different window managers! Ever tried using a tiled window manager for getting work done? On Windows its a bit hard, I'm affraid. Who cares about looks anyway? I want function, not looks, damn it! Well, right now I'm thinking about BSD

I'm a medical student too. I think it's a great idea, especially considering the lack of knowledge regarding this matter... It would surely help to dispel some myths and fears the general community have when they think about HIV/AIDS :)Good luck with that

Another possible solution is estrogen suppression :)That way, the enzyme which converts testosterone to estrogens is inhibited and their levels decrease. However, there are side-effects:1. Hirsutism, due to elevated concentration of androgens (which weren't converted to estrogens)... there may be medication to neutralize them and excrete them in the urine.2. Cardiovascular Risk. Normally, estrogens are cardioprotectors... this may be compensated with vasodilators and other medication.3. Bone Mineral Loss. Estrogen also maintains bone integrity... medication for this would also be required, of course...4. Other things...I don't really know what condition you mother is in, but in many cases, the ovaries are removed because they are the source of estrogens (big time!). The patient is then given medication to compensate for side-effects (menopause)Another thing... before changing your mother's diet, please check it with her doctor... I mean, the concentration of estrogen in the food she eats may not be that much, you know? And by changing her diet, you may be missing other important nutrients and such

As many of you might have already reasearched, Down Syndrome consists of having 3 copies of the 21st chromosome... The implications range from delayed nervous system maturation (thus the apparently defective motor skills), decreased fertility and lifespan.There are some prenatal screenings which can *detect* if the baby has or not the third copy of the chromosome, but unfortunately, there's no cure.However, it doesn't mean these people are uncapable of living... They are subject to discrimination and things like that, but some institutions provide them with something like a job, a reason for living.The University where I study employs several people with Down Syndrome to do the gardening and street cleaning, for example. That way, they interact with passing-by-students, and also have a bit of fun and social life, because they don't work alone (and work with "normal" people, also).

Well, I tried to post this to the Programming Languages subforum, but it seems that I could only do so in one of the subforums there... As this is not related to any particular language, I posted it here (admins & mods, please feel free to move this to the right section, if this isn't it ) So, on we go... Some of you may have already heard about computer programming exercises... Some people create exercises and post them on the web, and other people solve them... It's fun, and helps you know your math and programming language a lot better... Recently, I found this site: https://projecteuler.net/ It has tracking capabilities to keep track of your progress, some neat statistics, and 200+ exercises... Also, there are threads for every exercise on the site; however, you must first complete a given exercise to gain access to it's thread. There, you'll find the answers many other people found, and you'll also be able to post your own If you know about more sites like these, please reply in this thread Cheers, Pedro

Actually, text editors and word processors have nothing in common, except the fact that they receive users' input and save it to files, lol. A (plain) text editor displays and saves a document regardless of the type of document... Everything is plain text, and nothing more is saved than what you see on the screen. So, if you write "thing" and save it to a file, no matter what text editor you use to view it aftewards, it will always display like "thing". So, the text editor is a very flexible tool... You can edit HTML files, XML, CSS, and most config files which use plain text format. Also, programming languages read plain text files, so these programs are recommended to edit your code. Even emails can be written in these programs... besides, email was originally plain text! Nowadays people cram all kinds of useless junk in their emails without even knowing it -> they use formatting in emails, but that's another matter... perhaps I'll talk about it in another post As for word processors, these tools take more things into account... First, they save the text you wrote... Then, they can save the formatting you applied, the revisions made to the document, keep track of headers, footers, page layout and things like that. This means that what is saved to the file is much more than just what you wrote... So, if you try opening a .doc file (for example) in notepad, it will look like Hell lol. We might say that text editors are text-only and word processors are more like publishing tools, as they manage much more things than the text itself (page, etc) There's another option for those interested... It's called typesetting, and it is a system used in production of professional documents and books. The most used system for this is called LaTeX... basically, you write an input file with code that describes your document's structure and text... and the Typesetting engine outputs a high-quality, professional-looking PDF formatted and ready to print. An example Latex file would say: \documentclass[a4paper,11pt]{article} \author{António Pedro Cunha} \title{My sample Article} \date{\today}\begin{document} \maketitle \section{A section} This is a sample document.\end{document} As for the editors, processors and such things... My favourites are: VIM (for almost everything, including typesetting) OOo Writer/MSO Word 2003 for quick documents that need formatting.

On Office 2007:About that thing where most people think that Office 2007 looks great... well, I can't seem to get along with the new user interface. I think this time Microsoft really went way faster than it should. The interface radically changed... that's not very productive. I mean, if you only use functions like bold, italics, and such, it's ok... But when you try to use the very features which make MSOffice worth using, you just discover they've been hijacked to someplace else you don't know about. So... Yes, I must say I'm not very fond of the new interface. Also, this change means we need even faster computers to run it! I don't like that very much, too. And of course there's the whole layout of it; If you use Windows XP, for example, Office 2007 just looks plain wrong! *Every* app looks different! It gets worse when you fire up things like Publisher 2007 or other parts of the suite that have an interface somewhere in between the 2003 and 2007 versions. If you happen to use Vista (and are lucky to own a computer capable of running it smoothly under stress tests), Office 2007 looks better... Even so, there are a couple of things that bug me... Like the "ribbon", taking up a fair amount of screen real-estate... not all of us have great TFT screens and fast PCs... There's also that teeny thing about document formats... especially the fact that the default 2007 format is completely backwards-incompatible with the 2003 version. They could've made them compatible... Oh, and let us talk about OOXML for a bit (well, guess it's better not to). IMHO, Office 2003 beats Office 2007 everyday, in every possible way. Software like that isn't made to please the eye! ...and on to OpenOffice: I see that many of you are good FOSS supporters... that's nice I really love the philosophy and such... but I simply can't agree when people say that OpenOffice (OOo) is better than MSOffice (MSO). Being a linux user and all that, I have been using OpenOffice for ages now, and there are several things that I love in it, as well as some things that are pretty bad. OOo is open, free, and multiplatform... Also, it adheres to document standards, which is a big plus! However, when we compare OOo's performance with that of a decent version of MSO, like MSO2003, OOo just sucks! I mean, the programmers have done a pretty damn good job with OOo, but it's just not that ready. OOo is *slow*, the interface (on Linux) has little irritating bugs, and the overall experience is pretty below the one MSO 2003 provides. I'm not saying I'd rather pay for MSO than use OOo; for most people, OOo is enough. So, if you really happen to be able to pay for it, and use Windows, just buy MSO 2000 or 2003... skip 2007, and use OOo only if you have to. Being open and standards-compliant won't get you great documents, at least for now Well, if you barely use Word and don't care for spreadsheets, buying MSO would be a total waste, of course... and 85% of the people I know waste money like that lol...