Holding the hand of a loved one during times of distress really can reduce their discomfort, scientists believe.  Researchers revealed that, at least for women, the touch or look of a boyfriend seems to anaesthetise them from pain. Even a photograph of their partner is enough to have an effect.
 

 Today’s 60-year-olds are the first modern generation to be less healthy than their immediate predecessors.  A health timebomb is hitting baby boomers: the over-60 year olds are sufferring more illnesses caused by bad diet and lack of exercise.
 

Finger touching
A new wearable device that anyone can communicate with that is easier and lighter in mobile circumstances corresponding to the 3.5G, 4G communication standard. Human hand is the most basic communication method. For easier and simpler controls, it uses the instinctive input method “finger joint”. Excluding the thumb, each finger joint makes up twelve [...]

The Webbook from Litl
This is the Webbook from Boston-based Litl. It is the combination of netbook and photoframe. Powered by 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, and comes with HDMI output, 1GB of RAM, 2GB of flash memory, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, a webcam, mic, and speakers.
 

Cool Rider
Now you can have all the fun of a Segway without looking like a dork. Notice how the Cool Rider is positioned to be a much more stylish conveyance, ridden by a suave gentleman with an insouciant sunglasses-wearing air.
 

This video shows Oli Lemieux practicing on the trampoline wall of Dralion Cirque du Soleil.  It is amazing someone could really do these stunts.
 

Rabbitsfoot Mussel
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is out with its annual list of proposed candidate species, or “candidate notice of review.” That is, plants and animals that the agency says may be designated as endangered unless conservation measures are taken to protect them.

Today, the world comes to an end. Well, in theaters, anyway. 2012 has us thinking about the apocalypse ’round these parts (so uplifting, we know), and that led us to wondering about all the crazy technology that’s all around us — technology that at one point or another caused widespread fear that it was all [...]

Crazy Rasberry Ant
Poor Texas. First it was killer bees, then fire ants. Now, it’s the Rasberry ants.
The invasion of this new species of ants has scientists intrigued, businesses concerned and fire ants running for the hills, said Jerry Cook, an entomologist at Sam Houston State University. (Video)
 

 Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do?
The Fun Theory is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the [...]

After throwing your laptop, charger and spare battery into your travel bag as you head out the door, suddenly you don’t feel so mobile anymore. One solution is to rely more on your iPhone for basic business tasks, such as grabbing data from your company’s computer systems, managing a Web site and even viewing, editing [...]

Cassini-Huygens swings by Earth and accelerates towards Saturn.

When Europe’s comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth on Nov. 13 for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite’s change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades.

Yellow jewelweed (impatiens pallida) appears to have the ability to recognize ‘relatives’ from ’strangers’ and then shift resources for growth to benefit relatives.
Although plants have the ability to sense and respond to other plants, their ability to recognize kin and act altruistically has been the subject of few studies. The authors explored kin recognition in [...]

Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopy of this inconspicuous blue object.
Astrophysicists at the University of Warwick and Kiel University have discovered two earth sized bodies with oxygen rich atmospheres — however there is a bit of a disappointing snag for anyone looking for a potential home for alien life, or even a future home for ourselves, [...]

This photograph shows a female of an as yet un-named boneworm in the genus Osedax, which has been carefully removed from the whale bone in which it was growing.
It sounds like a classic horror story — eyeless, mouthless worms lurk in the dark, settling onto dead animals and sending out green “roots” to devour their [...]

Artist’s impression of a baby star still surrounded by a protoplanetary disc in which planets are forming.
A ground-breaking census of 500 stars, 70 of which are known to host planets, has successfully linked the long-standing “lithium mystery” observed in the Sun to the presence of planetary systems. Using ESO’s successful HARPS spectrograph, a team of [...]

Gene targets of FOXP2.
If humans are genetically related to chimps, why did our brains develop the innate ability for language and speech while theirs did not?

Mobile phones and other cordless telephones have a biological effect on the brain, according to new research.

A study at Örebro University in Sweden indicates that mobile phones and other cordless telephones have a biological effect on the brain. It is still too early to say if any health risks are involved, but medical researcher Fredrik [...]

Pacific ocean. Did water come from ice-covered asteroids that may have reached the Earth around one hundred million years after the birth of the planets?

Contrary to preconceived notions, the atmosphere and the oceans were perhaps not formed from vapors emitted during intense volcanism at the dawning of our planet. Francis Albarède of the Laboratoire des [...]

Stefanie Milam, Michel Nuevo and Scott Sandford.
NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, a key component of our hereditary material, in the laboratory. They discovered that an ice sample containing pyrimidine exposed to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions produces this essential ingredient of life.

Electron beam freeform fabrication process.
A group of engineers working on a novel manufacturing technique at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., have come up with a new twist on the popular old saying about dreaming and doing: “If you can slice it, we can build it.”

9h Capsule Hotel
Japan’s getting yet another capsule hotel, but this one aims to provide something unprecedented: Luxury. (Pics)
 

SimplicITy computers have a basic start screen with just six options
An easy-to-use computer that helps older computer users surf the internet has been unveiled.  The PC, which has just six main buttons on the desktop, was unveiled by former Blue Peter Presenter Valerie Singleton yesterday.
 

Honda Hybrid hits pedestrians
Hybrid vehicles, which creep along almost silently at low speeds on electric power, are more likely to hit pedestrians or bicycles than regular cars, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds.
 

Sleep Box
Russian architects Arch Group have designed a booth for taking a quick nap in busy urban environments.  Called Sleepbox, the units could be rented for between fifteen minutes and several hours.  The architects envisage them installed at train stations, airports and shopping centres.  (Pics)