Good Morning Lowcountry

Friday corral

GMLc ropes and ties a few stray news items from the week:

Gender politics. Voters are more likely to say that a female candidate faces more obstacles than a black candidate in presidential politics, a new CBS poll found. The numbers were 39 percent (saying a woman faces more obstacles to election) to 33 percent (saying a black faces more obstacles). Forty-two percent said New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has been judged "more harshly" because of her gender; 27 percent said Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has been judged "more harshly" because of his race. But 42 percent said racism is a "serious problem" in the U.S., while only 10 percent said the same about sexism.

Blood pressure. A study conducted at Brigham Young University found that a good marriage means good blood pressure, the Associated Press reported. But a stressful marriage is worse for your health than being single, the study found.

Early spring. More than 30 scientists told AP that global warming is affecting plants and animals at springtime across the country, in nearly every state.

The cherry trees in Washington, D.C., will bloom at the end of March. Thirty years ago they didn't bloom until about April 5.

In California, the field skipper sachem, a little butterfly, was spotted on March 12. Twenty-five years ago, it didn't emerge until mid-April to mid-May.

Maple pollen was permeating Philadelphia on March 9. Two decades ago, it couldn't be measured until April.

Scientists blamed global warming: "The alarm clock that all the plants and animals are listening to is running too fast," Stanford University biologist Terry Root said.

Birds sing in spring. But why? Because of a biological response to longer days, Reuters reported. When birds are exposed to longer periods of light, certain brain cells trigger hormonal reactions that tell them to find a mate, which they do by singing, Japanese and British researchers reported in the journal Nature.

Bad food. The New York Times lists the worst foods in America as discovered by Men's Health editor David Zinczenko in his book, "Eat This, Not That!" They include: McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips with creamy ranch sauce (870 calories) ... Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie (166 grams of sugar) ... Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (64 grams of fat) ... Ruby Tuesday's Bella Turkey Burger (1,145 calories) ... and Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll (813 calories, 5 grams of transfat).

Teams they hate. Slate online magazine has picked 11 "odious schools" in this year's NCAA Tournament. Calling them "evil, repugnant, detestable teams that make March Madness such a joy," Slate's sportswriters include Duke, Baylor, Wisconsin, Cornell, Texas and West Virginia. Why do they hate them? Their attitudes, their mascots, their majors. We think they are being humorous.

Chinese etiquette. BudgetTravel gives 10 tips on etiquette to use while visiting China. Examples: At a banquet, put a little bit of everything on your plate; you don't have to eat it, but it will embarrass the Chinese if you don't try it ... Pedestrians do not have the right of way; cross the street with a group ... Don't point with your chopsticks, don't stab your food with them and don't lick them ... Don't engage in PDA (public displays of affection) ... Smile.

Molecules in space. Space.com reported that astronomers have detected an organic molecule, methane, in the atmosphere of the planet HD 189733b, which lies outside our solar system. In the right conditions, methane plus water can make amino acids, which are building blocks of life.

The planet is too hot to sustain life, scientists said. "The big news is that we were able to do this at all," said Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

GMLc
Call 937-5564. Write gmlc@postandcourier.com. Find the blog at gmlc.typepad.com.