I got this from the Reuters website, and I'm honestly shocked. I thought SK-II was by the Japanese? Aren't they good at making sure things have good quality control?
__________________________________________________
Questions about the safety of cosmetics came into focus last week when Chinese regulators said they found two toxic metals, chromium and neodymium, in nine SK-II products, a brand owned by Procter & Gamble. Three of the products purport to whiten skin.
The two metals are banned for use in cosmetics in China. Chromium is carcinogenic and can cause eczema, while neodymium, which is used in magnets, can cause eye and skin irritation.
SK-II has said it does not add chromium, neodymium or other heavy metals into its products and was very concerned about the Chinese findings.
But it added that heavy metals exist in the environment, such as in the water and air. The company also said it would investigate if "minimal trace levels of these heavy metals may be presented in the SK-II production process".
Nevertheless, Procter & Gamble took its products off the shelves in China last Friday pending a probe by a Chinese health and safety watchdog to check whether its products carried possibly harmful metals. - Reuters._____________________________________
and then I find out I'm extremely
unlikely to have twins something to do with not having a protein that triggers 1) growth, and 2) ovary stimulation.
There goes one daydream. Now I know why ang-mohs have more twins.
But! I found
an article that made me laugh. ^^
*ahem if you're a guy, you may want to stop reading, nothing personal... I like guys...they're...hmmm. manly.*
Tests on brain cells in lab dishes showed that while a little of the male hormone is good, too much of it causes cells to self-destruct in a process similar to that seen in brain illnesses such as Alzheimer's... Ehrlich's team tried the same thing with the "female" hormone estrogen, just to be fair. "We were surprised, but it actually looks like estrogen is neuroprotective. If anything, there is less cell death in the presence of estrogen... Next time a muscle-bound guy in a sports car cuts you off on the highway, don't get mad -- just take a deep breath and realize that it might not be his fault'" - Reuters.
love, think_orange
10:52 PM
I got my thesis extension! It's now due on the 22 Nov. i.e. I got an extra month to do it. What a relief. Of course I'm still trying to complete it as early as possible. but for now I'm happy. ^^
Just saw 'An Inconvinent Truth' and saw a quote that really struck me...
"When you pray, move your feet" - An African proverb.
I'll be thinking about this when I type my thesis. p.s. the movie was interesting, it makes you realise that global warming is a problem
now, and the consequences are already part of my life. It did try to be uplifting and tell us we can do something to change it at the end of the movie. I can also see why some people look at it as a sales pitch for Al Gore's political career. Honestly, I don't think this is a bad thing. Everyone trys to portray themselves as the good man. If we don't say good things about ourselves, why would others?
Anyway, cheerios. Back to work for me.
love, think_orange
7:39 PM
I'm quite busy with my work. Just did a class presentation on depression and anxiety... I'm glad it's over. It was quite depressing to do it at first. Somehow it wasn't so fun to do this presentation. I guess it's because the friend I was doing it with was
super stress about scoring well 'cos she didn't do so well in the 1st semester and needs the marks. So many things were tiring about this presention... She wanted so many group meetings that I didn't have time to do my own speech write-ups. She expected me to come up with ideas for audience participation but basically pushed down all my ideas, and didn't come up with any of her own. *Depressing* She asked me to do the animations for her slides/ add picutres the day before the presentation... *anxious* I said no to the pictures and the animation was fine in the end. it was just a small thing, but I was a bit peeved with her.
I think I did alright in the end. Some people thought it was good I think. ^^
Though I think I learnt something bad about my friend. She always needs to double check very basic things that she knows already, so draining. (e.g. how are you going to write your speech?) She's also too scared to do the hard topics for the presentation. (e.g. can you do the models? (which basically have no papers on them) can you do treatments? (which have too many biological stuff which are hard to understand)) And I suspect she'll take credit for stuff she didn't do if she can. Maybe I'm being sensitive.. you be the judge. Usually, all of you know, I'm too blur to feel offended by people, but time.. well.. after class, this lady comes up to us, and asks for the slides with quotes on depression and anxiety that we showed during the break (my idea, my 2.5hours of work). My friend said ok, she'll email the quotes to her. Which is strange 'cos the qoutes are on my iPod, and she had to get it off me later. And she never once gave the credit to me, who's just standing next to her. It was as if I wasn't there the whole time they were talking to each other.
My bible study group is moving into Fenner. It's strange, 2 guys, one jap, one chinese aus, moved into Fenner just last week. No one knew about each other, and it's such a strange time of the year for students to be moving house. I wonder what's happening...
I have no idea when I'm going back to Singapore or when my thesis is due. I'm trying to get 2 to 4.5 weeks of extension for my thesis.. I hope things work out for me.. Please pray.. I really need more time. Now, when everyone has results all ready, and typed out 3/4 of their thesis, I'm only just starting 'cos my data just came back last week. This week will be burnt just doing data cleaning.. i.e. finding and pulling out all the questionnaires with weird responses and figuring out if it's just a typo error. With 2419 questionnaire, this isn't easy. And in the end I might not get the results I want. *tears*
I miss you all. Sorry I haven't talked to guys in a while.
lots of love,
Desiree
love, think_orange
8:35 PM
HY! We're justified in crying! ^^
All About YOU: It's Okay to Cry Don't hold back the tears. According to the RealAge doctors, a good cry now and then may do a body good.
Just as sweat removes salt, urine removes waste, and mucus traps bacteria, tears also serve a purpose. Emotional tears -- shed in moments of intense feeling -- carry stress hormones and are a way of getting rid of them. Even if crying embarrasses you, it signals that you've reached a level of stress that's detrimental to your health. So let it out.
Your body makes several kinds of tears: - Basal tears are produced continuously to keep your eyes lubricated; that layer of moisture also helps prevent damage from air currents and bits of floating debris.
- Irritant tears are produced when the eyes are hit by flying sand, grit, insects, etc.
- Emotional tears are released in moments of intense feeling -- sometimes joy, but more often sorrow.
Unlike basal or irritant tears, which are protective, emotional tears are hormonal and chemically different. One major hormone that increases with stress is also associated with crying: prolactin. Levels of prolactin in the body correlate positively with frequency of emotional crying.
love, think_orange
11:02 PM
