2008: May 17th Good News (Umbilical Cord Blood Combats Leukemia in Mice, China's Terra Cotta Warriors to be shown in US Largest Ever Exhibit, more...)

Good Morning all,

Tomorrow is International Museum Day. Therefore, in honor, I have two museum articles for you. The first is about the "Bowers Museum" in Santa Ana California. The Bowers Museum will open its newest exhibit, China's Terra Cotta Soldiers, tomorrow. The museum will hold the largest collection of Terracotta Soldiers ever sent to US soil. The second museum article is about what one country, Spain, is doing in celebration of International Museum day.

There is one other article I'd like to mention, which has nothing to do with museums. This article is about steps towards combatting leukemia. The article discusses what advances have been made in killing off leukemia in mice. Umbilical Cord blood, holds natural killer cells (disease combatants), which have been shown to kill off leukemia in mice.

Anyway, I have a full 10 articles for you to view today. :) I hope you enjoy reading through them! See you tomorrow!

Today's Top 5:
1. At the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana: China's Terra Cotta Warriors Exhibit to Open Sunday (Los Angeles Times)
2. The Most Extensive Preservation Project for the Great Wall of China Launched (in Mongolia) (New Delhi News)
3. Japan's Silos Key to Relieving Rice Shortage (Times Online UK)
4. Royal Navy's Flying Visit Thrills Pupils in Ireland (Irish Independent)
5. Solar Project Could Make (Boise's) "The Grove" Greener (Idaho Statesman)



Honorable Mentions:
1. Natural Killer Cells in Umbilical Cord Blood Fight Leukemia (Science Daily)
2. Man Refuses to Buy Gas for 31 Days (Sify India News Portal)
3. International Museum Day in Spain (Art Daily)
4. European Space Agency Opens Satellite Navigation Competition to Public (GPS Daily)
5. Dairy Farmers Pamper Cows to Boost Milk Output (Yahoo News)



Today's Top 5:

1. At the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana: China's Terra Cotta Warriors Exhibit to Open Sunday
http://www.latimes.com/theguide/art/la-et-warriors17-2008may17,0,7041186.story
Mark Avery, Associated Press
May 17, 2008

ON SUNDAY, an army of ancient Chinese soldiers who were buried for 2,000 years will march into Santa Ana's Bowers Museum, the result of the largest loan of terra cotta figures and artifacts to visit the United States since their astonishing 1974 discovery.

Actually, the 14 life-size human figures are already in town, having landed May 4 at Ontario International Airport and been transported, complete with police and helicopter escort, to the museum. The warriors -- not only fighters but also court officials, acrobats and generals, though no females -- will be on display through Oct. 12 in "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor," a sample of the contents of the vast tomb complex of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

The warriors came toting plenty of "luggage" that would never fit in the overhead: about 100 sets of objects including weapons and armor. Also on board: a life-sized terra cotta cavalry horse, as well as a bronze crane and swan.

With a price tag of $2 million, the show represents the Bowers' most expensive presentation, which will be reflected in the top admission price of $27, also an all-time high for the venue, though the ticket includes an audio tour.

Museum officials said it's impossible to predict attendance but hope it will exceed the numbers for past blockbusters, including 2000's "Forbidden City" exhibition (120,000 visitors in nine months) and "The Holy Land: David Roberts, Dead Sea Scrolls House of David Inscription" show in 2001 (more than 70,000 visitors in three months). Since 1982, when four terra cotta warriors and horses were displayed at the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tenn., warrior collections have turned up at various museums worldwide, including the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1998. The objects coming to Santa Ana are from 11 institutions located near the emperor's tomb, including the Museum of the First Emperor's Terra Cotta Army and Horses, the Lintong Museum and the Xian Institute for Archaeological Protection.

Bowers President Peter C. Keller said that insurance -- including earthquake insurance -- drives costs skyward. He added that there are more curators on board than unusual, including three visiting from China. And, Keller added, the museum has renovated its special exhibition galleries for the warriors with upgraded floors and security systems.

Often called "the eighth wonder of the ancient world," the terra cotta warriors rank in the top 10 of tourist attractions in China, along with the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Construction of the tomb took 38 years and is said to have involved 700,000 workers who used an assembly-line method. Each figure is noted for having a unique facial expression.

Meet the warriors:

Warrior history: It's enough to make Tut turn over in his tomb: Farmers digging a well near Xian in the Shanxi Province found a terra cotta head -- and that discovery led to one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of its time: an underground vault containing columns of life-sized warriors in battle formation. The 8,000 figures, including musicians, acrobats and animals, were buried to protect and serve the emperor in the afterlife, to help him rule for all time. More than 1,000 life-sized figures have been unearthed, and the excavation continues.

Credited with unifying China and launching the initial construction of the Great Wall, Qin Shi Huang remains a controversial figure. His ambitious projects, including the mausoleum, were built at the expense of many lives. He outlawed Confucianism and buried many of its scholars alive. Obsessed with his immortality after numerous assassination attempts, he downed life-extending potions and launched a massive naval expedition to search for the elixir of life.

Shipping and handling: Would you believe United Parcel Service? Why not, said UPS spokesman Dan Mackin. After all, UPS, which donated transportation services, has moved hospital equipment, pandas, giant whale sharks and, once, an iceberg for a museum exhibition.

In Shanghai, the crated warriors were loaded onto a Boeing 747-400F cargo jet, made a stop in Anchorage, then continued to Ontario International Airport. The ground crew had to be specially trained to deal with this type of aircraft, which had never landed at Ontario before. "The entire nose of the aircraft opens," Mackin said.

Mackin estimated that more than 100 people were involved in the transport, including engineers, meteorologists and a load master to calculate speed and fuel needs based on weight; the warriors, from 60 to 72 inches tall, can weigh more than 600 pounds each.

You bought it, you break it: Longtime Bowers exhibit designer Paul Johnson wanted to show visitors what the warriors looked like before restoration; most were cracked when the roof of the tomb collapsed. So he bought some new terra cotta warrior replicas -- and broke them.

"We didn't want to break them into smithereens, so I set some foam outdoors along our back delivery yard and just pushed them over the way they probably would have gotten hit when the roof caved in," Johnson said.

The 60-inch figures were provided by China Star, a wholesaler of Asian cultural products for museums and general gift ware. China Star Vice President Geoffrey Carroll recalled that when he quoted the hefty packing costs to Keller, the museum director replied: "We appreciate your care and consideration, but we're going to break the darn things anyway." Still, the items were packed with the usual care so Johnson could do his strategic damage on site.

Get one for the patio: China Star's Carroll also noted the ubiquity of the terra cotta warrior; replicas of all sizes, materials and levels of authenticity can be found at home improvement outlets including Expo Design Centers and Armstrong Garden Centers -- in fact, Keller noted that a neighbor has a couple of warriors flanking the backyard barbecue.

China Star supplies the life-size terra cotta warrior copies that guard the chow mein at P.F. Chang's China Bistro restaurants. Carroll added that, due to the machismo factor, warriors have always been popular Father's Day gifts -- though with a retail price of $1,400 to $2,000, a life-size warrior will run you more than a tie or coffee mug that reads "world's greatest dad."

Lucky 8: Keller said that the Bowers negotiated hard to make sure the museum would be the first of the three to present the show, thus opening in 2008 rather than 2009. Why? Partly to exhibit the Chinese treasures in the same year as the Summer Olympics in Beijing, and partly because the No. 8 is considered good luck in China. In Chinese culture, numbers are thought to be auspicious or inauspicious because of the Chinese word that sounds similar to the word for that number. Eight (pinyin) sounds similar to the word that means "prosper" or "wealth." Olympic planners took the concept to heart: The Games will open at 8 p.m. Aug. 8, 2008 (08-08-08).

Is that you, Jarry? From the dictionary of unusual career choices: Performer Zheng Chi Chang, known in the West as Jarry, has been doing "live statue performance art" in Taiwan for more than a decade. The statuesque Jarry will appear as a warrior at the exhibition's opening gala tonight and members' reception Thursday so attendees may guess who is terra cotta and who isn't. Hint: If you see a warrior, say, sipping Champagne, either it's Jarry, or time to get out of that museum before dark.





2. The Most Extensive Preservation Project for the Great Wall of China Launched
http://www.newdelhinews.net/story/360341
New Delhi News.Net
Saturday 17th May, 2008 (ANI)

New Delhi, May 17 : China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has launched the most extensive preservation project for the Great Wall of China, with a survey and repair already in progress.

Inner Mongolia has the longest section of the Great Wall among all provinces. The Wall built in different historical periods runs more than 20,000 kilometers in the region.

"A survey of Ming dynasty (1368-1662 AD) Great Wall is in full swing, and repair has started for Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) Great Wall," said Mingri, deputy director of the regional cultural department.

The Great Wall, mainly located in the central and western partsof the region, features architecture from several eras, ranging from the Warring States Period (403-221 BC) to the Ming Dynasty.

Its construction began during the Warring States Period, when sections were built in scattered strategic areas.

Some sections, built in the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) and the Ming Dynasty, are listed as national cultural relics.

The wall, unique in size and style in the world, was China's line of defense during much of its long history. Different sections meander across thousands of miles, passing through many provinces and autonomous regions, including Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei and Liaoning in north China.

"Most of the Great Wall has been altered beyond recognition by 2,000 years of history, which makes repairs a most urgent task," said archaeologist Wang Dafang.

"The project focuses on protecting the original architecture, including some reinforcement work. It will take two to three years," said Mingri.

According to Mingri, the major work this year is to finish repairs on the Qin-era sections of the Wall and investigate what needs to be done on the Han Dynasty sections.

The cost is estimated at 100 million yuan (about 14.3 million US dollars), of which more than 5 million yuan has already been invested.




3. Japan's Silos Key to Relieving Rice Shortage
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article3948493.ece
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent
May 17, 2008

The United States and Japan are poised to strike a deal that will remove one of the most widely reviled distortions in global rice markets and could send prices plummeting in the coming weeks.

The move, which will flood the market with an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of high-grade American rice that is sitting in Japanese silos, comes amid continuing rice export restrictions by some of the world's biggest suppliers and rioting in countries where the population cannot afford the price increases.

Senior government sources in Tokyo told The Times that Japan had received permission from Washington to begin exports from its giant, but largely hidden, mountain of unwanted American rice to countries that need it most. The exposure of the vast Japanese rice surplus has emerged as one of the chief imbalances of world rice markets and an effect of the complex and wasteful lattice of rules, subsidies and pacts that have knocked global agriculture markets so badly out of kilter.

Rice experts say that the move could defuse temporarily one of the principal catalysts of the food-price crisis - the perception that the world is running out of rice - and the panic and hoarding that has accompanied it. With commodities traders sniffing that a US-Japan deal was imminent, rice futures ended the Asian trading week in a dramatic nosedive as the prospect of a sudden supply surge and bullish harvest forecasts routed speculative money from the market.

The collapse came as think-tanks and food experts called on Japan and the US to urgently unwind one of the biggest “invisible” distortions in global rice markets: a quirk of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules that obliges Tokyo to buy rice it does not need and that eventually rots in storage. The WTO rule, its many critics say, effectively turns millions of tonnes of high-grade American produce into feed for Japanese hogs and chickens.

Researchers at the Washington-based Centre for Global Development (CGD) said that if that distortion were removed, and the 1.5 million tonnes of unwanted US rice were released from Japan's storage silos, the crisis that has sent the price of the crop that feeds half the world surging up would be solved instantly. The centre has suggested that rice prices could halve by the end of the month.

Standing in the way of that, however, has been a rule that prevents Japan from re-exporting its reserves of US rice without permission from Washington, which has not been forthcoming until now because of the fear of domestic political repercussions from the US rice industry.

A concerted political effort, CGD researchers said, would prick the speculative bubble and the hoarding mentality that has sent rice prices into the stratosphere. They wrote: “What's needed now is a sudden surge of unexpected supplies ... to reassure anxious countries and poor people around the world that there is indeed enough rice for everybody.”

Benchmark rice futures indices tumbled 5 per cent yesterday amid a frenzy of sell orders that pushed the key contract below the $20-per-100lb mark. Adding to the sharp drop were forecasts of a good harvest, which contributed to a 14 per cent fall in the rice price over the week.

Traders gave warning, however, that many of the factors that propelled rice prices to their recent highs remained in place. The cyclone in Burma has effectively turned that country from an exporter to an importer or rice, and export restrictions in India and Vietnam remain in place.




4. Royal Navy's Flying Visit Thrills Pupils in Ireland
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/royal-navys-flying-visit-thrills-pupils-1378587.html
By Ralph Riegel
Saturday May 17 2008

A VETERAN Royal Navy rescue helicopter crew delivered a thrilling surprise for 400 Irish children yesterday as they landed in a school playground as part of a special courtesy visit.

More than 400 children -- and hundreds of parents and locals -- thronged St Mary's national school in Knocknaheeny, Cork, yesterday as the Royal Navy Westland Sea King made a dramatic landing in the playground. The visit -- which was co-ordinated by local garda chief Supt Con Cadogan, was aimed at supporting further education programmes and underlining the importance of the emergency services.

St Mary's principal, Kevin O'Callaghan, said it was a huge boost to the school -- and a day that local children and residents would never forget.

"It is a marvellous occasion and a great tribute to all the people who organised this and made it all possible," he said.

"It is a day of huge excitement for an area that often gets bad press, so today is a day that gets huge press and shows how exciting the area can be."

Mr O'Callaghan paid glowing tribute to the Royal Navy personnel for supporting the visit.

The huge Sea King rescue chopper -- which is capable of operating in horrendous weather conditions -- remained parked in the playground for more than two hours while the six-man crew conducted guided tours to fascinated children and locals.

The Royal Navy chopper is in Cork as part of a weekend-long joint training exercise with the Irish Coastguard and rescue services.

- Ralph Riegel



5. Solar Project Could Make (Boise's) "The Grove" Greener
Organizers will be raising money at this weekend's Green Expo for a sun-powered stage on the plaza.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/384032.html
BY ANNA WEBB - awebb@idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 05/17/08

The Idaho Green Expo this weekend at the Boise Centre on The Grove has the potential to last well beyond Sunday in the form of a project called "Greening The Grove."
Organizers and community partners, including Idaho Power Co., Capital City Development Corp., the city of Boise and others, are trying to raise between $150,000 and $250,000 to build an entirely solar-powered stage on The Grove Plaza.

Jodi Peterson, Green Expo marketing director, said the goal is to have the stage built in time for next year's Expo - and to have it become the "energy neutral" home of all future performances and gatherings on the plaza, including Alive After Five and the Saturday market.

Visitors to the Expo will be able to donate to Greening The Grove in various ways, most of them entertaining. Beer and wine sales will benefit the project. Over 40 local businesses have contributed items for a fundraising raffle.

Expo attendees can also use a special equation to calculate the "carbon cost" of their transportation to the event and donate accordingly to neutralize that cost.

Solar-powered stages aren't common, but they're becoming more so, Peterson said. Building one, and educating people about solar technology in the process, would put Boise in the green avant-garde.

Green Expo organizers have been studying existing solar sound systems, including one in Austin, Texas, that can provide enough power for the listening pleasure of up to 5,000 people. A sidestage at the 2004 Lollapalooza music tour also used solar power.

The Grove project would have an "array," or bank of solar panels, that would measure 1,000 square feet and rotate over The Grove's tree line to collect light throughout the year and connect to the existing power grid.

Some local events have already used solar power on a small scale.

Theresa Drake from Idaho Power's energy efficiency department said the utility's mobile solar trailer powered the stage at last month's Race to Robie Creek. The same trailer will help power events on The Grove this weekend.

The Capital City Development Corp. owns The Grove Plaza and is an organizer of the Green Expo.

CCDC's Scot Oliver said a lot of questions would have to be worked out if the Expo raises enough money to build the solar stage - including what it would look like.

"We're seeing it as a potential public art project where there would be a call for artists and architects and engineers," he said.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Idaho Green Expo
GO GREEN THIS WEEKEND
Don't forget: Greening The Grove is only a slice of the Idaho Green Expo. The event includes 80 seminars, a concert, a green fashion show, displays and talks by local artists, preservationists and environmentalists.

When:
9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Where:
Boise Centre on The Grove

Learn more: For more information about the solar stage project, visit the GreenWorks booth in the lobby.

Anna Webb: 377-6431





Honorable Mentions:

1. Natural Killer Cells in Umbilical Cord Blood Fight Leukemia
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516112532.htm
ScienceDaily
May 16, 2008

Researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found a therapy that effectively kills human leukemia cells in mice using natural killer (NK) cells from umbilical cord blood.

Patrick Zweidler-McKay, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics from the Children's Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson, has shown an effective method for expanding the number of NK cells from a single cord blood unit while retaining the cells' anti-leukemia effects, as presented at the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology annual conference on May 16.

Previous efforts to expand cord blood have resulted in ineffective NK cells. However, Zweidler-McKay and co-senior investigator Elizabeth Shpall, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, have found a novel process to increase NK cells in cord blood more than 30-fold, generating more than 150 million NK cells from one cord blood unit while maintaining their activation to find and kill acute leukemia cells.

When given to mice with aggressive human leukemias, these NK cells reduced the circulating human acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells by 60 to 85 percent.

"Cord blood is a promising source of natural killer cells because the NK cells have enhanced sensitivity to stimulation, decreased potential to cause graft-versus-host disease and are available from cord banks throughout the country and world," says Zweidler-McKay.

Graft-versus-host disease is a common side effect of patients receiving stem cell transplants, which results when the T cells in the transplanted blood react against the patient's own cells. This disease can become fatal if it's unable to be controlled. NK cells operate differently from T cells, leaving normal cells alone while targeting and killing the cancerous cells.

Historical transplants used a matched donor's peripheral blood or bone marrow to transplant to a patient. However, in 1988, researchers found cord blood to be another source for stem cell transplantation. These immature stem cells were easier to match to patients, especially those from non-Caucasian ethnicities, and could be stored for use as needed.

Zweidler-McKay's study involves selecting out NK cells from cord blood. As the cord blood is expanded to multiply in number, the NK cells are given a cytokine, interleukin-2, and a target cell, K562, which keep the NK cells active throughout the three week expansion.

Once the process is complete, the NK cells can be transplanted to patients without prior chemotherapy. Zweidler-McKay also predicts this type of transplant could be used for adults who have already had a transplant or for those adult and pediatric patients who aren't candidates for other stem cell transplants due to blood counts or illness.

"These NK cells demonstrate significant cytotoxic activity against human AML and ALL cell lines and patient leukemia blasts. Most importantly, mouse models of human AML and ALL were sensitive to NK cell infusions," says Zweidler-McKay. "These results support the evaluation of cord blood-derived NK cells as a potential immuno-therapeutic approach in acute leukemias."

Lead investigator on the study is Dongxia Xing, Ph.D., and Zweidler-McKay and Shpall are senior investigators, all from M. D. Anderson.




2. Man Refuses to Buy Gas for 31 Days
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14675780
Friday, 16 May , 2008, 15:29

Sheboygan: Brian LaFave couldn't care less how high gasoline prices climb these days — he's parked his pickup truck and is refusing to buy gas for a month, possibly longer.

"The goal is to not use one drop of gas for 31 days," LaFave said, calling it his personal stand against the oil companies.

Now LaFave, 31, is riding his bicycle or walking everywhere he goes. He won't even let friends pick him up unless they already planned on being in the neighbourhood.

"If they're not going out of their way, I can take the ride," he said. "But if they're going out of their way, then ... I'm still consuming gasoline so it kind of defeats the purpose."

LaFave started the effort on May 11. He bikes to his third-shift job at Aldrich Chemical in Sheboygan Falls, a 9-mile commute.

For more news, analysis For more Science and Medicine news

"I did like a practice run ... two days in a row to make sure I could do it," he said. "I'm not in the greatest shape. The mornings are the worst. It feels like it takes forever. I get like a mile down the road and I want to die."

It's a big change for someone who put 300 miles on his truck the week before he stopped driving it.

LaFave fills out a chart each day listing how many miles he bikes, the destination and the gas price that day, among other things. He plans to compute his savings and donate that amount to a charity that provides food to children in Africa.

"I think just with the gas prices being so high, everybody complains about it but no one ever really does anything about it," LaFave said. "People continue to drive non-stop and not think about it, but I just wanted to take a stand and say, ‘I'm not gonna pay this much money for gas.'"




3. International Museum Day in Spain
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=24269
Saturday, 17 May 2008

MADRID.- "Museums as agents of social change and development". This is the slogan for International Museums Day 2008 (May 18th), an annual event promoted by ICOM (the International Council of Museums) in 145 countries. Its main objective to make museum collections easily accessible to visitors of all ages, and to make people aware of the fundamental role played by museums in the cultural panorama.

On 18 May, Spain's galleries and museums hold an open-day. You can visit all the venues you like free of charge, and take a close look at unique creations from different periods and styles. If you are in Madrid, then don't miss the Prado National Museum, with the best of the Spanish, Italian and Flemish schools; the Thyssen-Bornemisza, with canvasses by the great universal masters of all time, and the Reina Sofía National Art Centre, dedicated to contemporary art with works by brilliant artists such as Miró, Dalí and Picasso, amongst others. The Picasso Museum in Barcelona and the Picasso Museum in Malaga, both of which are dedicated to the work of the master of Cubism, the Dalí Museum-Theatre in Figueres, in the province of Girona; the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) in Valencia, both of which are dedicated to the latest artistic trends, are not to be missed.

Besides free admission and guided tours, there is much more on offer. You can see works that are not usually on display, access rooms that are generally closed, attend conferences and talks, enjoy concerts and theatre performances, film projections, workshops, competitions, games for children, dance shows...

Museums Night
Would you like to visit a museum at night? On 17th May you can do so, thanks to an unusual proposal that celebrates its fourth edition in Spain this year: Museums Night. Many venues extend their cultural activities beyond normal opening times, some of them staying open until 1am, free of charge, organising a range of activities with concerts, games, storytellers, audiovisual installations, special visits, theatre... It is a different way to enjoy Spain's museums and their collections, and to take advantage of all the possibilities they offer.




4. European Space Agency Opens Satellite Navigation Competition to Public
http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/ESA_opens_satellite_navigation_competition_999.html
by Staff Writers
May 15, 2008

The European Space Agency's fifth annual European Satellite Navigation Competition is seeking ideas for satellite navigation usage in non-space businesses.

The ESA said the competition is designed as a catalyst for new, high-tech industry in Europe. Since the competition began in 2004, 650 ideas on how to use satellite navigation have been presented. In 2007, more than 250 proposals were submitted from across Europe.

For 2008, the ESA said the winner will receive direct support at one of the three ESA business incubation centers located in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. The winner will be assisted by ESA's top experts and have access to space technologies.

The competition that runs from May 1 to July 31 is open to companies, entrepreneurs, research institutes, universities and individuals from around the world.

The overall winner will be awarded, among other things, a grant of about $31,000. All winners will be announced during an official presentation Oct. 21 in Munich.

The ESA said entries should be made online at the competition Web site where more details can be found: http://www.galileo-masters.eu.





5. Dairy Farmers Pamper Cows to Boost Milk Output
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_re_us/farm_scene_cow_coddling
By JAMES BELTRAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 16, 3:11 AM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa - When it comes to comfort, Kirk Christie's cows have it all — a new barn, a flat-screen television and waterbeds.

That's because of the dairy farmer's philosophy that a happy cow is a productive cow. More milk means more money, so Christie doesn't mind providing the frills.

"Them cows are my girls," said Christie, who runs a farm near Slater, about 25 miles north of Des Moines. "You ask anybody, I probably think more highly of those cows than I do myself."

Christie's 23 cows spend about 18 hours a day on waterbeds he installed in November. He said the beds, durable rubber mats that lay flat on the ground and are filled with water, were popular with the animals from the beginning. They provide heat for the cows in the winter and coolness in the summer, depending on the water Christie pipes in.

The beds are covered with woods chips for extra padding to prevent friction.

"They really took to them right away," he said. "When they're laying down chewing cud, they're comfortable and happy."

Christie's cows aren't the only ones enjoying such comforts. Industry experts say waterbeds are increasingly being used in dairy farms across the country, as well as in Canada and Europe, where the idea originated more than a decade ago.

The idea is to boost milk production by making the cows more comfortable. Leo Timms, a dairy scientist at Iowa State University, estimates cows with comfortable bedding produce 6 percent more milk daily.

"There's no question, probably one of the most important things is the comfort of the surface they lay on," said Timms, who conducts research at a university dairy facility. "The overwhelming majority (of dairy farmers) understand that."

Christie estimates his cows' milk production has increased 10 percent since he installed the waterbeds. He figured a flat-screen TV couldn't hurt, either, so the cows are spending the spring snoozing in their beds and enjoying "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Dr. Phil" and other shows.

"The nice part about it is they get used to different voices," Christie said. "A lot of people like to come in and look at my barn. When somebody different comes in and talks, the cows don't get all nervous because they're used to hearing different voices."

While Christie swears by waterbeds, most dairy farmers in the United States use other bedding methods for cows, such as mattresses or sand, industry experts said. Those methods are generally cheaper than waterbeds — which cost about $200 each — but require more upkeep, and sand can sometimes damage dairy equipment.

A study released last summer by Colorado State University found that sand and waterbeds are far more comfortable for cows than mattresses, which cause more swelling in their legs.

Temple Grandin, a professor who oversaw the project, predicted the findings would prompt more dairy farmers to invest in waterbeds, but said new dairy facilities would likely be the trailblazers.

"It's going to take time," she said. "Existing dairies just aren't going to change things overnight."

Dean Throndsen is hoping they do. He owns Advanced Comfort Technology Inc., a waterbed company in Reedsburg, Wis., that sells to dairy farms across North America and Europe.

Throndsen said business has flourished since farmers in the United States began investing in waterbeds about three years ago. He said he has lost count of sales but estimates he has sold 200,000 waterbeds.

"And demand is growing tremendously," he said.