Hallucinations and Caffeine

tWhat causes some people to see things that are not there, and hear sounds that others can't? 

A recent BBC article reports UK studies on the connection between caffeine intake and hallucinations. The Durham University Team surveyed 200 students, and found a possible link between high caffeine intake and hallucinations. The human body releases a hormone called cortisol when it is stressed. Caffeine intake increases cortisol release in the body, and could be the cause of hallucinations. 

The article is unbiased in that it also provided the perspective of people who doubt the results to the research. However, I found it a little hard to believe because it did not tell us how the students were surveyed. I cannot think of a way to measure and compare hallucination accurately. However, the article was significant. I found the information very interesting and definitely proposed a new view towards the causes of hallucination.  

Read the article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7827761.stm?lsm

Current Event: More Than 1000 Killed in Gaza

On January 14th 2009, the BBC reported that the deaths of the Gaza crisis has passed 1000. The conflict started about 19 days ago when Israel, specifically the Hamas, attacked the Gaza strip, Israel claimed in a campaign that the attack was to end Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

Egypt is currently making efforts in negotiating a ceasefire. The article includes many statistics about injuries and deaths in the Gaza. Out of the 1000 deaths, more than 300 are children, and about 78 are women. There has also been about 4500 injuries, of which 1600 are children, and 678 are women. The article also talks about the humanitarian concerns towards the crisis.

This article is significant, as it provides many statistics and numbers to make people more aware of the Gaza crisis. The article contains very little bias, almost all of its content is information and numbers. However, there is always bias in an article, as it cannot include every perspective involved in the issue. I feel that the article didn't fully explain the Hamas' motives, but this may not be because of the author's bias. It may simply be the lack of the information.

To read the article on BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7828884.stm

Taiwanese Teenager Ping Pong Player Wins a World Competition!

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/081215/4/1b6je.html

This article speaks about Jian-An Chen, a 17 years old Ping Pong player, winning a world-wide competition of teenage competitors. It is significant because Taiwan is a rather small country, and it is quite an accomplishment to win a competition WORLD WIDE! This event is most significant to the athletes of Taiwan, and those who pay extra attention. It gives them hope and anticipation to future developments in Taiwan's sports.

This article provides many facts, including quotes from Chen himself, and also his competition scores and the names of athletes who he played against. However, there are still some bias within the article. The article commented and claimed Jian-An Chen's victory to be the "biggest victory" in Taiwan's Teenage Ping Pong History. This could be a widely accepted opinion. 

"Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls" on The New York Times

This article on The New York Times talks about Obama's victory in the 44th presidential election of the United States. The article calls Obama's victory the last racial barrier in American politics. Many quotes from others are included to support and relate to the theme of the article. The majority of the opinion based statements in the article is within the quotes of other people such as McCain and Obama himself, making the article itself very fact-based and believable. However, it contains the bias of others who made the comments and reactions toward the election. 

The article is very significant considering its topic. Many people see this election as a turning point for the politics of United States. Almost everyone is talking about it, even in countries other than the United States itself. Almost everybody knows about this event. The 44th presidential election, with Obama winning, could be called a world-known headlines.

Current Event

This is an article about the decease of a  very well-known and successful business man: Yong Ching Wang (王永慶). His death was very significant is now very widely being talked about all over Taiwan. A great amount of people praised him during his glorious lifetime, and after his death, they continue to pay him their respect by visiting and praying at his tomb. The article names many great things that Yong Ching Wang has done for others. The article quotes the taiwanese olympic player who has won a first place medal saying that he couldn't have gotten it if there wasn't Yong Ching Wang, who made donations to the Taoyuan Sports College sports stadiums and tracks. The article claims many great things that Wang has done, and certainly claims his significance. However, the article could be called biased because the fact that it says nothing bad about Wang leaves us in doubt.