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September 29, 2011

New Vaccine Could Turn HIV Into Minor Infection

New Vaccine Could Turn HIV Into Minor Infection | Fox News:

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A powerful new vaccine developed by Spanish scientists could turn HIV into a minor infection such as herpes, according to a study out Thursday.

In a trial involving 30 healthy volunteers, scientists found that 90 percent of those who were given the MVA-B vaccine developed an immunity against the virus and 85 percent maintained this for a year.

The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, works by training the immune system to detect HIV and learn how to combat the virus.

Measuring global photosynthesis rate: Earth's plant life 'recycles' carbon dioxide faster than previously estimated

Measuring global photosynthesis rate: Earth's plant life 'recycles' carbon dioxide faster than previously estimated:

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A Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego-led research team followed the path of oxygen atoms on carbon dioxide molecules during photosynthesis to create a new way of measuring the efficiency of the world's plant life.

Scientists developing "stay-sober pill"

Scientists developing "stay-sober pill" - Telegraph:

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In tests for the drug, mice given the drug did not even display signs of getting tipsy, despite being fed enough alcohol to make them stumble and fall over.

The research paves the way for a tablet that stops people embarrassing themelves on nights out.

It could help explain why some drinkers are "cheap dates" who start slurring their words and losing their inhibitions after one glass of wine, while others can knock back glass after glass with few ill effects.

Single dose of 'magic mushrooms' hallucinogen may create lasting personality change, study suggests

Single dose of 'magic mushrooms' hallucinogen may create lasting personality change, study suggests:

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A single high dose of the hallucinogen psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called "magic mushrooms," was enough to bring about a measurable personality change lasting at least a year in nearly 60 percent of the 51 participants in a new study, according to the Johns Hopkins researchers who conducted it.

Galaxy Clusters Back Up Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

Galaxy Clusters Back Up Einstein’s Theory of Relativity | Wired Science | Wired.com:

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Testing gravity is simple: walk out of a second-floor window and see what happens. It’s a lot tougher to test Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity — the general theory of relativity — which says that the gravity of an object warps space and time around it. Although researchers have proved general relativity on the scale of the solar system, validating it on cosmic scales has been more challenging. That’s exactly what a group of astrophysicists in Denmark have now done.

September 28, 2011

'Accelerating universe' could be an illusion

'Accelerating universe' could be an illusion - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com:

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In 1929, cosmologists discovered that the universe is expanding — that space-time, the fabric of the cosmos, is stretching. Then in 1998, light coming from exploding stars called supernovas suggested that the universe is not only expanding, but that it has recently begun expanding faster and faster; its expansion has entered an "accelerating phase." This was bad news for the fate of the cosmos: An accelerating universe is ultimately racing toward a "Big Rip," the moment at which its size will become infinite and, in a flash, everything in it will be torn apart.

Earth's Annual Resources Used Up Today, Group Says | Earth Overshoot Day 2011

Earth's Annual Resources Used Up Today, Group Says | Earth Overshoot Day 2011 | Population Growth & Resource Use | LiveScience:

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It's only September, but humans have used up the Earth's natural resources for the year, according to a sustainability nonprofit group.

The Global Footprint Network (GFN) has declared today (Sept. 27) "Earth Overshoot Day." That's the day when humankind's demand on nature exceeds the planet's ability to regenerate resources and absorb the waste.

"Our research shows that in approximately nine months, we have demanded a level of services from nature equivalent to what the planet can provide for all of 2012," according to a GFN statement. "We maintain this deficit by depleting stocks of things like fish and trees, and by accumulating waste such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the ocean."

Rat cyborg gets digital cerebellum

Rat cyborg gets digital cerebellum - tech - 27 September 2011 - New Scientist:

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An artificial cerebellum has restored lost brain function in rats, bringing the prospect of cyborg-style brain implants a step closer to reality

AN ARTIFICIAL cerebellum has restored lost brain function in rats, bringing the prospect of cyborg-style brain implants a step closer to reality. Such implants could eventually be used to replace areas of brain tissue damaged by stroke and other conditions, or even to enhance healthy brain function and restore learning processes that decline with age.

Battle of the knowledge superpowers

BBC News - Battle of the knowledge superpowers:

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Knowledge is power - economic power - and there's a scramble for that power taking place around the globe.

In the United States, Europe and in rising powers such as China, there is a growth-hungry drive to invest in hi-tech research and innovation.

They are looking for the ingredients that, like Google, will turn a university project into a corporation. They are looking for the jobs that will replace those lost in the financial crash.

September 22, 2011

Yawning is body's "thermostat"

Yawning is body's "thermostat" - Telegraph:

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Like a computer the brain works best when it is cool, but putting too great a strain on it can lead to overheating which reduces its ability to process information.

When the head begins to heat up, yawning acts as a natural "thermostat" by allowing cool air to rush in and bring the brain back down to a healthy temperature, research suggests.

A study of 160 volunteers in Arizona found that people yawned almost twice as much in winter, when their body temperature was higher than the air around them, than in summer.

The 6 Most Horrifying Lies The Food Industry is Feeding You

The 6 Most Horrifying Lies The Food Industry is Feeding You | Cracked.com: "als in the list of ingredients. Hear that low moan from the kitchen? That's the Minute Maid you bought yesterday. It knows you know."

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If there's one thing in the world the food industry is dead set against, it's allowing you to actually maintain some level of control over what you eat. See, they have this whole warehouse full of whatever they bought last week when they were drunk that they need to get rid of -- and they will do so by feeding it all to you. And it doesn't matter how many pesky "lists of ingredients" and consumer protections stand between you and them.

Depressed People Have Slightly More Strokes

Depressed People Have Slightly More Strokes | Fox News:

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A new study shows people who are depressed may be a little more likely than others to suffer a stroke down the road.

Looking back at 28 past studies, researchers estimated there would be 106 extra cases of stroke per 100,000 depressed people each year, 22 of them fatal.

But don't reach for the antidepressants just yet, because the study has major limitations.

September 20, 2011

An antibiotic found in liver of sharks 'could revolutionise human medicine'

An antibiotic found in liver of sharks 'could revolutionise human medicine' | Mail Online:

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An antibiotic found in sharks could be used as drug to treat human viruses and revolutionise medicine, new research has found.

The compound, found in the liver of the predator, could be used as a new type of drug to treat a broad spectrum of diseases from dengue and yellow fever to hepatitis B, C and D.

The antibiotic, squalamine, is already known to be safe for use in humans as an antiviral agent.

The Art of Influence

The Art of Influence | Psychology Today:

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Babies and psychopaths have one thing in common: They're excellent at getting what they want. Many of us could learn a thing or two from these creatures, tantrums and dirty tactics notwithstanding. That's not to say that, like these ingrates, we should feel entitled to everything we want. Many argue that as a culture, we need urgent lessons in giving, not getting.

But for some, grabbing the brass ring is a constant source of stress and confusion. Others have no trouble going for what they want, but fail to do so effectively. Conflict-avoidant people are terrified to speak up—they miss out on their own objectives, and often forfeit the respect of those around them. Conflict seekers get a thrill from relentlessly asserting their agendas, even to their own detriment. Optimists are more likely to persist in their efforts than are pessimists, who may underestimate their odds of success at the outset.

Can Fatty Acids in Breast Milk or Formula Make Kids Smarter?

Can Fatty Acids in Breast Milk or Formula Make Kids Smarter? - Yahoo! News:

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Whether they're fed by bottle or breast, babies seem to turn out smarter when nourished with healthy fatty acids found in breast milk and some formulas, two new studies indicate.

The studies, done in the United Kingdom and Spain and published online Sept. 19 in the journal Pediatrics, found that higher levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as DHA, EPA and ALA) were linked to greater mental development in both young and older children.

Birth Control Sharpens Memory, Study Finds

Birth Control Sharpens Memory, Study Finds | Fox News:

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Though research has shown that women are more likely than men to remember the emotional details of an event, there may be another dividing factor when it comes to memory: birth control.

Scientists know people's hormones shape how their memories form. For instance, our fight-or-flight hormones influence how the brain encodes a specific memory, with traumatic events making more of an impact than everyday activities.

Certain heavy metals boost immunity, study suggests

Certain heavy metals boost immunity, study suggests:

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A new natural defense mechanism against infections has been evidenced by an international team led by researchers from CNRS, Inserm, the Institut Pasteur and the Université Paul Sabatier -- Toulouse III[1]. Zinc, a heavy metal that is toxic at high doses, is used by the cells of the immune system to destroy microbes such as the tuberculosis bacillus or E. coli.

Acoustic cloak: Closer to achieving the acoustic undetectability of objects

Acoustic cloak: Closer to achieving the acoustic undetectability of objects:

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Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Spain's National Research Council (CSIC), and the Universitat de València (UV) have taken another step towards achieving what is known as "acoustic undetectability." It is a new prototype two-dimensional acoustic cloak that can make sound waves with a specific frequency reaching an object avoid it as if it was not there, thanks to the cooperative effect of the units of which the cloak is made up.

Gamers Crack Code That Could Lead to New AIDS Treatments

Gamers Crack Code That Could Lead to New AIDS Treatments:

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Scientists spent a decade trying—and failing—to map the structure of an enzyme that could help solve a crucial part of the AIDS puzzle. It took online gamers all of three weeks.

The enzyme in question is the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus retroviral protease, and researchers have been seeking ways of deactivating it as a way of developing new anti-HIV drugs. Unfortunately, the conventional efforts of computers and scientists have come up short for years.

California desert spaceship factory completed

California desert spaceship factory completed - Yahoo! News:

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Space tourism is closer to reality.

The $8 million Mojave Desert production plant where the world's first fleet of passenger-ready spaceships will be built has been completed and production is expected to begin at the end of the month.

The Spaceship Co. facility is a joint venture of Mojave-based Scaled Composites and British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides tells the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/pZqOWE ) that completion of the production facility moves Galactic closer to sending paying passengers into space. A ticket costs $200,000.

September 16, 2011

Ben Zolno: Top 5 Ways Hippies Can Make You Rich

Ben Zolno: Top 5 Ways Hippies Can Make You Rich: " you have only $50k to put down for a land deposit, your choices are limited. If you got together with 20 community members, you're looking at a million bucks, just to start. That's the choice between mortgaging a shed on an empty lot or owning several hundred acres outright in some parts of the country. With that much space"

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For some, the American dream is having a three-car-garage McMansion, a place to raise and spoil your kids, an honest, high-paying job, peace of mind and enough cash to be worry-free into an early retirement. Maybe that's not working out so well for you if you're trying to do it all on your own, and even if you've done it on your own, fulfilling your desires may be coming at the expense of others' needs.

But the economy of scale in communal living with you and your closest dozen best friends will have you dropping your jacket and tie and for a tie-dye t-shirt and flowers in your hair.

Besides some of the cliches you'll see in this satire promoting the Art of Community conference starting a week from today (September 23- 25 in California), community living has serious advantages that are looking more and more appealing to the average American feeling the hard times of the recession, especially those able to connect the dots of our daily headlines to see the future of food, oil, water and world economy.

Dwarf galaxies suggest dark matter theory may be wrong

BBC News - Dwarf galaxies suggest dark matter theory may be wrong:

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Scientists' predictions about the mysterious dark matter purported to make up most of the mass of the Universe may have to be revised.

Research on dwarf galaxies suggests they cannot form in the way they do if dark matter exists in the form that the most common model requires it to.

That may mean that the Large Hadron Collider will not be able to spot it.

Is Wall Street Driving World Hunger?

Is Wall Street Driving World Hunger? - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic:

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In the last five years, the price of commodities like rubber, corn, and cotton have doubled, crashed, and then quadrupled. Is this a typical tango between limited supply and growing demand? Or have central banks and investors pumped the commodities markets with extra juice that makes their gyrations more violent?

In July, the St. Louis Fed looked at this very question. This synchronization of price waves across many commodities (see above) might suggest that our commodity price boom is "a bubble driven primarily by near-zero interest rates and excessive speculation in commodity futures markets." But it's more likely that market fundamentals are driving the high price of agricultural products and other resources, for at least three reasons:

China leads world in green energy investment

BBC News - China leads world in green energy investment:

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Global investment in renewable energy jumped 32% in 2010 to a record $211bn (£130bn; 149bn euros), according to the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011 report.

Published jointly by the UN Environment Programme and the Frankfurt School of Finance, it shows that China has become the largest investor in renewable energy projects.

But the country still faces grave cases of pollution despite progress in cutting down on the number of new coal-burning power stations during the last five years.

Scientists take first step towards creating 'inorganic life'

Scientists take first step towards creating 'inorganic life':

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Scientists at the University of Glasgow say they have taken their first tentative steps towards creating 'life' from inorganic chemicals potentially defining the new area of 'inorganic biology'.

Professor Lee Cronin, Gardiner Chair of Chemistry in the College of Science and Engineering, and his team have demonstrated a new way of making inorganic-chemical-cells or iCHELLs.

Prof Cronin said: "All life on earth is based on organic biology (i.e. carbon in the form of amino acids, nucleotides, and sugars, etc.) but the inorganic world is considered to be inanimate.

"What we are trying do is create self-replicating, evolving inorganic cells that would essentially be alive. You could call it inorganic biology.

Scientist starts plant-only oxygen test at Eden Project

BBC News - Scientist starts plant-only oxygen test at Eden Project:

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A scientist is spending 48 hours sealed inside an airtight chamber breathing in oxygen produced solely by plants.

Iain Stewart, a geoscience professor at the Plymouth University, started his experiment at the Eden Project in Cornwall on Thursday.

The challenge is also being filmed for a new BBC Two series, How Plants Made The World.

The aim is to demonstrate the importance of plants to human survival as the "lungs of the planet".

Time on the Brain: How You Are Always Living In the Past, and Other Quirks of Perception

Time on the Brain: How You Are Always Living In the Past, and Other Quirks of Perception | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network:

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I always knew we humans have a rather tenuous grip on the concept of time, but I never realized quite how tenuous it was until a couple of weeks ago, when I attended a conference on the nature of time organized by the Foundational Questions Institute. This meeting, even more than FQXi’s previous efforts, was a mashup of different disciplines: fundamental physics, philosophy, neuroscience, complexity theory. Crossing academic disciplines may be overrated, as physicist-blogger Sabine Hossenfelder has pointed out, but it sure is fun. Like Sabine, I spend my days thinking about planets, dark matter, black holes—they have become mundane to me. But brains—now there’s something exotic. So I sat rapt during the neuroscientists’ talks as they described how our minds perceive the past, present, and future. “Perceive” maybe isn’t strong enough a word: our minds construct the past, present, and future, and sometimes get it badly wrong.

Artificial blood vessels created on a 3D printer

BBC News - Artificial blood vessels created on a 3D printer:

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Artificial blood vessels made on a 3D printer may soon be used for transplants of lab-created organs.

Until now, the stumbling block in tissue engineering has been supplying artificial tissue with nutrients that have to arrive via capillary vessels.

A team at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has solved that problem using 3D printing and a technique called multiphoton polymerisation.

September 14, 2011

Amateur botanists in Brazil discover a genuflexing plant

Amateur botanists in Brazil discover a genuflexing plant:

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A new plant species that buries its seeds -- the first in its family -- was discovered in the Atlantic forest of Bahia, Brazil, by an international team of amateur and professional scientists.

Shake, rattle and … power up? New device generates energy from small vibrations

Shake, rattle and … power up? New device generates energy from small vibrations:

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Today's wireless-sensor networks can do everything from supervising factory machinery to tracking environmental pollution to measuring the movement of buildings and bridges. Working together, distributed sensors can monitor activity along an oil pipeline or throughout a forest, keeping track of multiple variables at a time.

Flesh-Eating Bacteria's Rise Tied to Antibiotic Cream

Flesh-Eating Bacteria's Rise Tied to Antibiotic Cream - Yahoo! News:

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After getting a cut, many Americans will reach for a tube of over-the-counter antibiotic cream to ward off infection. But that widespread habit, a new paper suggests, may be contributing to the rise of one of the most concerning strains of drug-resistant bacteria.

Japanese researchers looked at 261 samples of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), including 21 samples of the USA300 strain, a type of MRSA that has gained attention for its spread, its frequent presence in the community as well as the hospital, and its link to necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease.

They found that while other MRSA strains were somewhat susceptible to some combination of the antibiotics bacitracin and neomycin — which are typically found in over-the-counter creams — only the USA300 strains were resistant to both. The authors said this may mean that overexposure to those antibiotics is what led to USA300's resistance.

Laughter Produces Endorphins, Study Finds

Laughter Produces Endorphins, Study Finds - NYTimes.com:

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Laughter is regularly promoted as a source of health and well being, but it has been hard to pin down exactly why laughing until it hurts feels so good.

The answer, reports Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford, is not the intellectual pleasure of cerebral humor, but the physical act of laughing. The simple muscular exertions involved in producing the familiar ha, ha, ha, he said, trigger an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals known for their feel-good effect.

WHO: Dangerous TB Spreading At Alarming Rate In Europe

WHO: Dangerous TB Spreading At Alarming Rate In Europe | Fox News'via Blog this'

Multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (TB) are spreading at an alarming rate in Europe and will kill thousands unless health authorities halt the pandemic, the World Health Organization(WHO) said on Wednesday.

Launching a new regional plan to find, diagnose and treat cases of the airborne infectious disease more effectively, the WHO's European director warned that complacency had allowed a resurgence of TB and failure to tackle it now would mean huge human and economic costs in the future.

Potentially habitable planet found

Potentially habitable planet found - Technology & Science - CBC News:

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A rocky planet with the potential to support liquid water — and therefore the potential to support life — has been found orbiting a sun-like star near our solar system.

The planet, known as HD 85512 b, is among 50 planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets, recently discovered using the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile, operated by the European Southern Observatory.

Does that hurt? Objective way to measure pain being developed

Does that hurt? Objective way to measure pain being developed:

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Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have taken a first step toward developing a diagnostic tool that could eliminate a major hurdle in pain medicine -- the dependency on self-reporting to measure the presence or absence of pain. The new tool would use patterns of brain activity to give an objective physiologic assessment of whether someone is in pain.

September 13, 2011

Canadian education levels rising compared with OECD

Canadian education levels rising compared with OECD - CTV News:

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A new study has found Canadians' education levels are outpacing those of many countries.

Statistics Canada reports 92 per cent of adults aged 25 to 34 had completed secondary school as of 2009 compared with 80 per cent of those aged 55 to 64.

The 12-percentage-point gap was smaller than the average across the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, where the proportions stood at 81-61.

StatsCan also says the proportion of adults aged 25 to 64 with a college diploma or a university degree rose to 50 per cent from 39 per cent between 1999 and 2009, outpacing the average OECD increase.

Quitting smoking enhances personality change

Quitting smoking enhances personality change'via Blog this'

University of Missouri researchers have found evidence that shows those who quit smoking show improvements in their overall personality.

"The data indicate that for some young adults smoking is impulsive," said Andrew Littlefield, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Science. "That means that 18-year-olds are acting without a lot of forethought and favor immediate rewards over long term negative consequences. They might say, 'I know smoking is bad for me, but I'm going to do it anyway.' However, we find individuals who show the most decreases in impulsivity also are more likely quit smoking. If we can target anti-smoking efforts at that impulsivity, it may help the young people stop smoking."

Immune System, Loaded With Remade T-cells, Vanquishes Cancer

Immune System, Loaded With Remade T-cells, Vanquishes Cancer - NYTimes.com:

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A year ago, when chemotherapy stopped working against his leukemia, William Ludwig signed up to be the first patient treated in a bold experiment at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ludwig, then 65, a retired corrections officer from Bridgeton, N.J., felt his life draining away and thought he had nothing to lose.

Doctors removed a billion of his T-cells — a type of white blood cell that fights viruses and tumors — and gave them new genes that would program the cells to attack his cancer. Then the altered cells were dripped back into Mr. Ludwig’s veins.

Number Of Centenarians In Japan Tops 47,000

Number Of Centenarians In Japan Tops 47,000 | Fox News:

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Quickly graying Japan said it has a record 47,756 people aged 100 or older -- most of them women.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Tuesday that was an increase of 3,307 from last year and four times more than a dozen years ago.

Some 87.1 percent are women. The oldest is 114-year-old Chiyono Hasegawa, who was born on Nov. 20, 1896. The oldest man is 114-year-old Jirouemon Kimura, whose birthday is April 19, 1897.

Overweight Is The New Normal Weight

Overweight Is The New Normal Weight | Fox News:

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A new report issued last week warned us that, if trends in the U.S. waistline continue as they are, 50 percent of our population would be obese by 2030. There are many reasons why overweight and obesity are such problems right now. Some research suggests that we’ve grown more comfortable being overweight and that being overweight has become “normal,” while being of an ideal weight may appear to be “underweight.”

While national surveys show that 67 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, a new survey of 1,000 Americans by Russell Research commissioned by Pollock Communications, showed only 52 percent of Americans believe they are overweight. This lack of reality around body weight and diet is considered to be one of the many barriers in the nation’s growing obesity epidemic. We’ve become more “numb” to overweight and obesity because it’s everywhere; a person who is of normal weight actually appears to be the one who doesn’t fit in anymore.

Lifelong musicians 'have better hearing'

BBC News - Lifelong musicians 'have better hearing':

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Playing a musical instrument throughout your life protects your hearing in old age, a Canadian study suggests.

The study, published in Psychology and Aging, carried out hearing tests on 74 adult musicians and 89 non-musicians.

It found a 70-year-old musician's hearing was as good as that of a 50-year-old who did not play.

Action on Hearing Loss said all people - including musicians - should try to prevent hearing damage in the first place.

Deep male voice helps women remember, study finds

Deep male voice helps women remember, study finds:

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Men take note: If you want women to remember, speak to them in a low pitch voice. Then, depending on what they remember about you, they may or may not rate you as a potential mate. That's according to a new study by David Smith and colleagues from the University of Aberdeen in the UK. Their work shows for the first time that a low masculine voice is important for both mate choice and the accuracy of women's memory.

Skynet seeks to crowdsource the stars

BBC News - Skynet seeks to crowdsource the stars:

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Idle home computers are being sought to help search through mountains of astronomical data.

The Skynet project involves using the spare processing capacity of computers as a giant, distributed supercomputer.

PCs joining Skynet will scour the data for sources of radiation that reveal stars, galaxies and other cosmic structures.

Could a robot be conscious?

BBC News - Could a robot be conscious?:

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If a robot is produced that behaves just like one of us in all respects, including thought, is it conscious or just a clever machine, asks Prof Barry C Smith, director of the Institute of Philosophy.

Human beings are made of flesh and blood - a mass of brawn and bone suffused with an intricate arrangement of nerve tissue. They belong to the physical world of matter and causes and yet they have a remarkable property - from time to time they are conscious.

Consciousness provides creatures like us with an inner life: a mental realm where we think and feel and have the means to experience sights and sounds, tastes and smells by which we come to know about the world around us. But how can mere matter and molecules give rise to such conscious experiences?

New emotion detector can see when we're lying

BBC News - New emotion detector can see when we're lying:

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A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say.

The computerised system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of algorithms.

Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to security services.

It successfully discriminates between truth and lies in about two-thirds of cases, said lead researcher Professor Hassan Ugail from Bradford University.

September 8, 2011

Prenatal exposure to common chemicals called phthalates linked to brain damage

Prenatal exposure to common chemicals called phthalates linked to brain damage | Dprogram.net:

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According to the American Chemistry Council, a family of plasticizer compounds called phthlates are fine and dandy additions to everything from wall coverings, flooring, toys, perfumes, shampoos and IV tubes.

In fact, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies show average phthalates exposures are below levels set by U.S. federal agencies to be protective of human health. So that means they must be safe and nothing to worry about, but this is not true.

Although the federal government and the chemical industry lobbyists may want you to believe phthalates are innocuous, scientists have found that these widepread chemical contaminants are potent endocrine system disrupters. And now a newly published study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health links phthalate exposure while still in the womb to changes in the brain and increased behavioral problems in children by the age three.

Marijuana use rising in U.S., national survey shows

Marijuana use rising in U.S., national survey shows - Health - Health care - More health news - msnbc.com:

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Marijuana is increasingly becoming the drug of choice among young adults in the United States, while use of methamphetamines is waning, according to a national survey of drug use released on Thursday.

Overall, 8.9 percent of the U.S. population or 22.6 million Americans aged 12 and older used illicit drugs in 2010, up from 8.7 percent in 2009 and 8 percent in 2008, according to the survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Marijuana use appeared to be fueling the increase, with some 17.4 million Americans -- or 6.9 percent of the population -- saying they used marijuana in 2010, up from 14.4 million or 5.8 percent of the population in 2007.

Scientists probe connection between sight and touch in the brain

Scientists probe connection between sight and touch in the brain:

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Shakespeare famously referred to "the mind's eye," but scientists at USC now also have identified a "mind's touch."

USC scientists have discovered that as you look at an object, your brain not only processes what the object looks like, but remembers what it feels like to touch it as well. This connection is so strong that a computer examining data coming only from the part of your brain that processes touch can predict which object at which you are actually looking.

Nasa 'will need more astronauts'

BBC News - Nasa 'will need more astronauts':

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Nasa does not have enough astronauts, even though the space shuttle programme has ended, a report says.

The National Research Council, a non-profit group advising on science policy, said Nasa should increase the size of its space-flying crew.

It said astronauts were needed to staff the International Space Station (ISS) and pave the way for new exploration.

Liquor store density linked to youth homicides, U.S. studies find

Liquor store density linked to youth homicides, U.S. studies find:

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Violent crime could be reduced significantly if policymakers at the local level limit the number of neighborhood liquor stores and ban the sale of single-serve containers of alcoholic beverages, according to separate studies led by University of California, Riverside researchers.

September 6, 2011

World's smallest electric motor made from a single molecule

World's smallest electric motor made from a single molecule:

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The smallest electrical motor on the planet, at least according to Guinness World Records, is 200 nanometers. Granted, that's a pretty small motor -- after all, a single strand of human hair is 60,000 nanometers wide -- but that tiny mark is about to be shattered in a big way.

Chemists at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences have developed the world's first single molecule electric motor, a development that may potentially create a new class of devices that could be used in applications ranging from medicine to engineering.

In research published online Sept. 4 in Nature Nanotechnology, the Tufts team reports an electric motor that measures a mere 1 nanometer across, groundbreaking work considering that the current world record is a 200 nanometer motor. A single strand of human hair is about 60,000 nanometers wide.

Soil bacterium helps kill cancers

BBC News - Soil bacterium helps kill cancers:

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A bacterium found in soil is a showing promise as a way of delivering cancer drugs into tumours.

Spores of the Clostridium sporogenes bacterium can grow within tumours because there is no oxygen.

UK and Dutch scientists have been able to genetically engineer an enzyme into the bacteria to activate a cancer drug.

Experts said it would be some time before the potential benefits of the work - presented to the Society of Microbiology - were known.

Our brains are hardwired to fear creativity

Our brains are hardwired to fear creativity:

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For humans to thrive, we often need to come up with unexpected solutions to tricky problems. Yet people are often skeptical and dismissive of creative ideas...and the reason for that is found deep inside our minds.

Anyone who considers him or herself a misunderstood genius - and I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that includes roughly 98% of those reading this - knows the experience of having a brilliant idea rejected. The narrow-minded audience is incapable of grasping the visionary concept being put forward, greeting the proposal with dismissive shrugs and petty objections when they should be showering praise and adulation. Creativity is almost universally considered a positive trait in theory, but in practice it seems to make people distinctly uncomfortable.

Expert Opinion Is Changing on Having Wisdom Teeth Extracted

Expert Opinion Is Changing on Having Wisdom Teeth Extracted - NYTimes.com: "g able to successfully "

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Each year, despite the risks of any surgical procedure, millions of healthy, asymptomatic wisdom teeth are extracted from young patients in the United States, often as they prepare to leave for college. Many dental plans cover the removal of these teeth, which have partly grown in or are impacted below the gum.

But scientific evidence supporting the routine prophylactic extraction of wisdom teeth is surprisingly scant, and in some countries the practice has been abandoned. “Everybody is at risk for appendicitis, but do you take out everyone’s appendix?” said Dr. Greg J. Huang, chairman of orthodontics at the University of Washington in Seattle. “I’m not against removing wisdom teeth, but you should do an assessment and have a good clinical reason.”

September 2, 2011

The Biological Model of Addiction

The Biological Model of Addiction:

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In the continuing search for the causes of addictive behavior, various models have been proposed. These are similar to theories, but instead of trying to explain addiction, a model tries to put it in a larger framework so that useful therapies can then be developed. So a model is a more general statement that gives guidance for treatment and suggests useful areas of research.

The biological model of addiction suggests that addiction is an inherited trait, similar to a genetic disease. It largely eliminates the idea that morality or societal influences are the main drivers of addiction. Rather, it suggests that addiction is inborn and when exposed to the opportunity, those vulnerable will take up the behavior. Other addiction models usually accept that there is some biological component, but don’t give it first place in the mix.

Drug waste harms fish

Drug waste harms fish : Nature News:

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Consumers who flush unwanted contraceptives down the drain have long been blamed for giving fish more than their fair share of sex organs. Drugs excreted by patients can also taint rivers, even after passing through wastewater-processing facilities.

But evidence is accumulating that the effluent coming from pharmaceutical factories could also be carrying drugs into rivers. Many ecotoxicologists had assumed that water-quality standards, along with companies' desire to avoid wasting valuable pharmaceuticals, would minimize the extent of bioactive compounds released by factories into wastewater, and ultimately into rivers.

Breastfeeding Tied To Kids' Brainpower

Breastfeeding Tied To Kids' Brainpower | FoxNews.com:

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In a new study from the UK, kids who were breastfed as babies had higher scores on tests of vocabulary and reasoning at age 5 than those who weren't breastfed.

Breastfeeding seemed to make the biggest difference for babies who were born early and therefore had more catching up to do in their brain development.

Though the practice has been tied to a range of health benefits early in life, such as lower infection risks, researchers aren't quite sure what about breastfeeding might boost brainpower. But they have a few theories.

Alien Life More Likely on 'Dune' Planets, Study Suggests

Alien Life More Likely on 'Dune' Planets, Study Suggests - Yahoo! News:

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Desert planets like the one depicted in the science fiction classic "Dune" might be the most common type of habitable planet in the galaxy, rather than watery worlds such as Earth, a new study suggests.

And that's not the only surprising result.

The study also hints that scorching-hot Venus, where surface temperatures average 860 degrees Fahrenheit (460 degrees Celsius), might have been a habitable desert world as recently as 1 billion years ago.

Space debris: Time to clean up the sky

BBC News - Space debris: Time to clean up the sky:

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The US National Research Council's report on space debris is not the first of its kind.

A wide range of space agencies and intergovernmental organisations has taken a bite out of this issue down the years.

The opinion expressed is always the same: the problem is inescapable and it's getting worse. It's also true the tone of concern is being ratcheted up.

Half of US Adults Due for Mental Illness, Study Says

Half of US Adults Due for Mental Illness, Study Says - Yahoo! News:

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Half of the adults in the United States will develop a mental illness during their lifetime, a new report says. The most common are depression and anxiety.

About 16 percent of adults report suffering depression at some point, and 11 to 12 percent report an anxiety disorder, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first compilation of data from several national surveys and information systems.

The report included data collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. "This new CDC study, combined with SAMHSA’s latest surveillance data, provides a powerful picture of the impact of mental illness on public health," said SAMHSA administrator Pamela S. Hyde.

September 1, 2011

Colleges tell smokers, 'You're not welcome here'

Colleges tell smokers, 'You're not welcome here' - CNN.com:

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This summer, a group of University of Kentucky students and staff has been patrolling campus grounds -- scouting out any student, employee or visitor lighting a cigarette.

Unlike hall monitors who cite students for bad behavior, the Tobacco-free Take Action! volunteers approach smokers, respectfully ask them to dispose of the cigarette and provide information about quit-smoking resources available on campus.

Would Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn be diagnosed mentally ill and drugged?

Would Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn be diagnosed mentally ill and drugged?:

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Imagine if the beloved young characters in Mark Twain's classic, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," lived today. Based on current psychiatric criteria, Tom and Huck could be designated mentally ill and prescribed mind-altering drugs. Quiet, listless and numb, their legendary adventures would be over.

Describing a day in school, Twain wrote: "The harder Tom tried to fasten his mind on his book, the more his ideas wandered." His "heart ached to be free, or else to have something of interest to do to pass the dreary time." That's a text book so-called symptom of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). A teacher today could refer him to a psychiatrist who would dope him with stimulants. Yet like any typical boy, Tom had no trouble focusing attention on something he found interesting - like finding a hidden treasure.

More beans, less white rice tied to less diabetes

More beans, less white rice tied to less diabetes | Reuters:

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Beans and rice are a classic combination throughout the western hemisphere, but a study in Costa Rica finds that the bean half of the equation may be better for health.

Digital quantum simulator developed

Digital quantum simulator developed:

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Physicists of the University of Innsbruck and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Innsbruck have come considerably closer to their goal to investigate complex phenomena in a model system: They have developed a digital, and therefore, universal quantum simulator in their laboratory, which can, in principle, simulate any physical system efficiently.

Glowing, blinking bacteria reveal how cells synchronize biological clocks

Glowing, blinking bacteria reveal how cells synchronize biological clocks:

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Biologists have long known that organisms from bacteria to humans use the 24 hour cycle of light and darkness to set their biological clocks. But exactly how these clocks are synchronized at the molecular level to perform the interactions within a population of cells that depend on the precise timing of circadian rhythms is less well understood.

In Germany, Sex Workers Feed a Meter

In Germany, Sex Workers Feed a Meter - NYTimes.com:

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The city of Bonn has begun collecting taxes from prostitutes with an automated pay station similar to a parking meter, proving again that German efficiency knows few if any bounds.
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Bonn is not the only city in Germany to charge such a tax, but it is the first to hit upon the idea of a ticket machine that prints out receipts for the nightly flat fee of 6 euros (currently about $8.65) for the privilege of streetwalking. The meter went into service over the weekend, and by Monday morning had collected $382 for the city’s coffers.

Prostitution is legal in Germany; the Reeperbahn in Hamburg is one of the largest red-light districts in Europe. Attempts are often made to regulate the industry, unionize the workers and tax the proceeds, but they are not always effective, given both the discretion and the unpredictability that are inherent in the business.

Graphene 'could help boost broadband internet speeds'

BBC News - Graphene 'could help boost broadband internet speeds':

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Graphene, the strongest material on Earth, could help boost broadband internet speed, say UK researchers.

Scientists from Manchester and Cambridge universities, have found a way to improve its sensitivity when used in optical communications systems.

Their discovery paves the way for faster electronic components, such as the receivers used in fibre optic data connections.

Apple blasted for alleged pollution by suppliers

Apple blasted for alleged pollution by suppliers - Yahoo! News:

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Apple is defending itself against a fresh barrage of criticism from Chinese environmental activists over alleged pollution by the manufacturers who make its iconic iPhones, iPads and other products.

In a report issued Wednesday, a group of nongovernmental organizations accused the technology giant of violating its own corporate responsibility standards by using suppliers it said its investigations found are violating the law and endangering public health by discharging heavy metals and other toxins.

Responding to the report, Apple said Thursday that it was committed to "driving the highest standards of social responsibility" in its supply chain.

Higgs particle could be found by Christmas

BBC News - Higgs particle could be found by Christmas:

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The hunt for the Higgs particle is well ahead of schedule, say researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Earlier this year they said they would either discover the Higgs or confirm it does not exist by the end of 2012.

Now, because the machine is working so well, an LHC spokesman, Professor Guido Tonelli, has told BBC News that the search could be completed much sooner.

Self-cleaning fabrics now even cleaner

Self-cleaning fabrics now even cleaner:

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US scientists have made a self-cleaning fabric that lasts longer, shows better antibacterial action and is more comfortable to wear than current materials.

Fabrics treated with certain compounds such as N-halamines can produce oxidative species, which kill pathogens and degrade toxic chemicals. However, the compounds either degrade rapidly under sunlight or are only used to coat the fabric's surface so are easily washed off.