Music be stills rapidly-beating hearts — even those damaged by heart failure, say Italian researchers. Using an mp3 player that looks a little like the iRosary, Gianfranco Parati, head of cardiology at the Italian Auxology Institute, first tested the device on himself and fellow researchers. They tried it while atop Italy’s 4,000-meter high Monte Rosa [...]
Italian scientists are now defending the national dish, plagued by price hikes and cut by those counting calories, as a mood improver. “Pasta contains tryptophan, an amino acid that turns into serotonin, the so-called hormone of happiness,” said Mauro Defendente Febbrari, an expert in metabolic diseases. “That is why eating pasta gives you a feeling [...]
Cash-strapped Italian consumers can now use text messages to tell them if the price is right. Euro-pinching shoppers thumb in product names — from pasta to produce and parmesan cheese — and a text message speeds back with the average retail price for North, Central and Southern Italy. Called SMS Consumatori (SMS consumers), the three-year [...]
To stop Alpine glaciers from melting, Italian scientists want to cover them with blankets. Large swaths of reflective polyester and polypropylene material will protect the Presena glacier this winter, making it look slightly as if it had been tee-peed, in an effort to help the ski mecca retain its cool. Two years ago, Swiss neighbors [...]
There will be no more shoulder shrugging when tourists ask directions in the Umbrian town of Spoleto: officials have decided it’s about time locals here learned English. Though known for hosting the international Festival of Dei Due Mondi, the locale of 38,000 could use a language boost, according to the city culture councilman. The answer? [...]
