Extreme Science® Blog

Recent news stories have reported house-sized icebergs floating within view of New Zealand. It’s been at least 75 years since any ‘bergs have been reported so far North (from the Antarctic). It’s definitely an interesting phenomenon, but the media are jumping all over it trying to get scientists to chalk this incident up to global warming. Mike Williams, an oceanographer at the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research was interviewed about the phenomena and thankfully is reminding people not to jump to hasty conclusions.

There’s no question that planet earth has been experiencing a warming trend in global temperatures, but whether or not humans are directly responsible for this is a matter of considerable debate.

Buffeted by high winds, the flotilla of icebergs have already moved South out of sight. They are no longer visible from New Zealand, but tourists are paying up to $300 for flights over the icebergs. The tours are being billed as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.

Happy Monday to you! I woke this morning to a news report that a new study has found yet another benefit to eating dark chocolate on a daily basis - it helps prevent blood clots. The key substances found in dark chocolate that provide these cardiovascular benefits are flavonoids; “Flavoniods keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of blood clots, and slow down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries.”

You may be thinking, “why on earth would we find this kind of a health benefit in chocolate? It’s candy! Haven’t we been told all of our lives that candy is junk food?”

Because candy gets such a bad rap we forget that chocolate is a prepared food item that is derived from plants, just like fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. If you think about it in those terms it makes sense there would be benefits to our health from consuming chocolate. Unlike other forms of chocolate, dark chocolate contains the highest amount of cocoa, so if you’re going to indulge go for the dark. 

If you’re a lover of dark chocolate (like me) then this is more good news that’ll make you feel O.K. about indulging.

Apparently, dark chocolate is the best source of flavonoids - even better than green tea, black tea, red wine, and blueberries.

Bon appetit!

I’ve decided it’s time to take the plunge into the world of “Blogging”. I get TONS of e-mail from visitors to ExtremeScience.com and there’s just no time to respond personally. Some of the questions I get are really interesting so I’ll try to post them here, as well as any answers or comments I can reasonably research.

PLUS, there’s always something fascinating happening in the world of extremes. Anything that I think my visitors would enjoy reading about or discussing is fodder for my new blog. If you have suggestions or stories you want to share - this is the place!  Some of the topics covered on Extreme Science are also (surprisingly) controversial. I can appreciate people having opinions and respect opposing views, but only if expressed in civil terms. I’ve seen too many forums and blogs where controversial issues spiral downward into foul-mouthed, mud-slinging flame sessions.  

I get a lot of visitors from around the world, including a lot of kids so this blog is going to be squeaky clean!! I will be policing posts and all comments that are submitted will be reviewed and have to be approved before posting.

Wish me luck on this new venture! Thanks to all my loyal visitors for your continued support.

Elizabeth