Benefits of extra virgin olive oil

Compared to other kinds of fat, extra virgin olive oil may have healthier effects on levels of blood sugar and bad cholesterol after meals, according to an Italian study.

That may explain why a traditional Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil is linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease, researchers say.

“Lowering (post-meal) blood glucose and cholesterol may be useful to reduce the negative effects of glucose and cholesterol on the cardiovascular system,” lead study author Francesco Violi, a researcher at Sapienza University in Rome, said by email.

Violi and his colleagues tested the effect of adding extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to a Mediterranean diet based on fruits, vegetables, grains and fish, with only limited consumption of dairy or red meat.

World in green

Flouresecnt bulb moon by Chinese artist, Wang Yuyang

Man-made technology is great, but Mother Nature is the greatest inventor of them all -- and scientists are discovering new ways to take advantage of the tools found in nature. Take, for example, a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University who developed a solar cell using the photosynthetic protein found in spinach.

Nuzul Al Quran

Peristiwa Nuzul Al-Quran merupakan peristiwa turunnya ayat al-Qur'an yang pertama kepada Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. hingga seterusnya berperingkat-peringkat menjadi lengkap sebagaimana kitab al-Quran yang ada pada hari ini. Peristiwa Nuzul Al-Quran berlaku pada malam Jumaat, 17 Ramadan, tahun ke-41 daripada keputeraan Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. ketika baginda sedang beribadat di Gua Hira, bersamaan dengan tanggal 6 Ogos 610M. Perkataan "Nuzul" bererti turun atau berpindah dari atas ke bawah. Bila disebut bahawa Al-Quran adalah mukjizat terbesar Nabi SAW maka ianya memberi makna terlalu besar kepada umat Islam terutamanya yang serius memikirkan rahsia al-Quran.

Ayat al-Quran yang mula-mula diturunkan Allah kepada Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. melalui perantaraan Malaikat Jibril ialah lima ayat pertama daripada Surah Al-Alaq.

Matahari di atas Ka`bah esok

Alhamdulillah, setiap tahun ada 2 waktu yang telah ALLAH subhanahu wata’ala tentukan kedudukan matahari betul-betul tepat di atas Ka’bah. Fenomena ini dipanggil Istiwa A’zam (Istiwa Utama). Arah Qiblat boleh disemak dengan tepat ketika Istiwa A'zam. Penentuan arah qiblat yang tepat sangat penting kerana ia merupakan antara syarat sah solat samada solat fardhu atau sunat. Jadi umat ISLAM mesti memastikan kedudukan arah qiblatnya tepat mengadap Ka’bah.

Alhamdulillah, dengan ketentuan ALLAH ‘Azza wa Jalla ini, membolehkan umat ISLAM di seluruh muka bumi sejak dahulu hingga hari kiamat memeriksa dan menyemak arah qiblat dengan mudah dan tepat. SubhanALLAH. Bilakah Istiwa A’zam berlaku?

Subhanallah - Solar Storms

The Star Online: "This image provided Wednesday, April 21, 2010 by NASA shows an eruptive prominence blasting away from the sun March 30, 2010 observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite. NASA on Wednesday unveiled the first images from the new satellite designed to predict disruptive solar storms, and scientists say they're already learning new things. (AP Photo/NASA)"

NASA telescope discovers giant ring around Saturn

PASADENA, California (AP) - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered the biggest but never-before-seen ring around the planet Saturn.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Tuesday that the ring lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian system and its orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane. The ring is made of a thin array of ice and dust particles. JPL spokeswoman Whitney Clavin says the ring is very diffuse and doesn't reflect much visible light but the infrared Spitzer telescope was able to detect it.

The biggest but never-before-seen ring around Saturn, spotted by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The inset shows an enlarged image of Saturn, as seen by the W.M. Keck Observatory at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, in infrared light.

Although the ring dust is very cold - minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit - it shines with thermal radiation. The bulk of the ring material starts about 3.7 million miles (5.95 million kilometers) from the planet and extends outward about another 7.4 million miles (11.9 million kilometers).

Coldest place in the solar system? Right nearby

Astronomers have found the coldest spot in our solar system and it may be a little close for comfort. It's on our moon, right nearby.
NASA is making the first ever temperature map of the moon. They found that at the moon's south pole, it's colder than far away Pluto. The area is inside craters that are permanently shadowed so they never see sun. Temperatures there were measured at 397 degrees (minus 238 Celsius) below zero. That's just 35 degrees (2 Celsius) higher than the lowest temperature possible. It is also about a degree chillier than what's been found on Pluto. The information is from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which started its science mission last week. - AP