Today's Highlights:
Friday, April 11, 2008
| Friday, April 11, 2008 |
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Symbol for Parkinson's Disease Source |
Spotlight: April 11th is National Parkinson's Awareness Day, and April is recognized as Parkinson's Month. Dr. James Parkinson, an English physician, was born in London on this date in 1755. His best-known work, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, published in 1817, describes what would later be known as Parkinson's disease: "The first symptoms perceived are, a slight sense of weakness, with a proneness to trembling in some particular
Quote:
"Nobody would choose to have a disease visited upon them. Still, Parkinson's forced me to make a fundamental life decision: adopt a siege mentality, or embark upon a life journey."
Question of the Day: What does dopamine do for the brain?Dopamine is a neurotransmitter as well as a neurohormone. Its secretion is linked to increased heart rate and blood pressure. As released by the hypothalamus, it acts as an inhibitory hormone which stops the anterior pituitary gland from releasing prolactin. More
Word of the day: fumigateTo subject to the action of smoke or fumes, especially to destroy pests.
Usage: Use care when you fumigate any room to get rid of fleas in the carpet.
Some believe that the time-honored practice of spring cleaning came from the Jewish world's traditional pre-Passover cleaning. In the spirit of the season, dust off your thinking cap, clear the cobwebs from your mind and have some good clean fun with this week's words.
Today's History:
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| Charlie Chaplin as The Tramp |
- The Tramp: Charlie Chaplin's comic silent film was released (1915)
- Jackie Robinson: broke the color barrier in major league baseball, appearing in his first exhibition game (1947)
- Apollo 13: 3rd lunar landing mission launched; it was aborted midflight (1970)
- Uganda: Idi Amin's military regime was overthrown (1979)
Today's Birthdays:
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| Joel Grey |
- Oleg Cassini (1913-2006): fashion designer
- Joel Grey (76): Tony and Oscar winner, Cabaret
- Ellen Goodman (67): Pulitzer-winning Boston Globe columnist; other writers born on this date include John Davidson (1857-1909), Quentin Reynolds (1902-1965), Attila József (1905-1937) and Leo Rosten (1908-1997)
- Joss Stone (21): rock singer/songwriter, Introducing Joss Stone
