Pew is calling this phenomenon “the pruning” of social networks.
Facebook users are getting a lot more selective, deleting comments, photo tags and even friends at a record rate, according to a new study released Friday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Continue reading… “Facebook users deleting friends at record rate”
Cloud-top height fell one percent on average between March 2000 and February 2010.
Call Chicken Little, the sky really is falling. NASA satellite data has shown that the Earth’s cloud tops have been lowering over the last 10 years.
Continue reading… “Hey Chicken Little, the sky is falling!”
Dr James Dunbar checks a patient’s heart with the revolutionary vest.
Scientists have developed a new cardiac vest that can diagnose heart attacks as soon as they happen has been developed by scientists, a feat they say could lead to new ways of treating heart patients.
Continue reading… “Vest that alerts you of heart attack in minutes”
Non-human rights for cetaceans?
At the largest annual science conference in the world, finished a few days ago in Vancouver, the call was again made for a Declaration of Cetacean Rights, with the emphasis this time on the fact that dolphins’ level of self-awareness is such that they should be considered non-human persons, individuals with an innate right to exist.
It’s really a pretty big mouthful conceptually, “non-human persons”. But before we delve into attempting to break that down into more manageable bites, here are some of the statements made by the presenters…
Continue reading… “Do we have the language needed to grant Dolphins non-human rights?”
An oral breakthru!
Georgia Tech has developed the Tongue Drive System, in which a stud in the tongue acts as a mouse against a pad attached to the roof of one’s mouth. The device gives unprecedented control to paralyzed computer users.
The new dental appliance contains magnetic field sensors mounted on its four corners that detect movement of a tiny magnet attached to the tongue…
Continue reading… “Tongue drive system”
Power Felt
A Wake Forest University’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials team has created a new thermoelectric fabric they call Power Felt. It’s constructed of “tiny carbon nanotubes locked up in flexible plastic fibers,” though the final product looks and feels like fabric, and creates and electrical charge from changes in temperature–like, say, touching it with your hot finger, or sitting on it with your hot butt (hot in this case referring to temperature and thus wholly inoffensive science).
Continue reading… “Power Felt – thermoelectric fabric lets you sit on your phone to power it”
Study reflects a dangerous trend toward the acceptance of marijuana and other substances compared to two years ago.
A growing number of teens do not see marijuana use as a distraction while driving. Nearly one in five (19%) say they have gotten behind the wheel after smoking pot, a study reported Wednesday. Thirteen percent of teens report driving under the influence of alcohol.
Continue reading… “Dangerous trend in marijuana acceptance amid teen drivers”
Could your Facebook profile be a predictor of job performance?
Does a person’s Facebook profile predict what kind of employee he or she might be? Yes, and with unnerving accuracy, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
Continue reading… “Facebook profile can help employers predict job performance: study”
The rise in the use of smartphones and social media by consumers fueled the increase in identity fraud.
In 2011, nearly 12 million Americans were victims of identity theft, an increase of 13 percent over 2010, according to a report released on Wednesday by the research firm Javelin Strategy & Research.
Continue reading… “Rise in identity theft linked to smartphone use”
Alcohol problems not uncommon in surgeons.
According to a new survey, about 15 percent of surgeons have alcohol abuse or dependency problems, a rate that is somewhat higher than the rest of the population.
Continue reading… “15 percent of surgeons report drinking problems”
Hearts respond to natural rhythms.
Sudden cardiac death -catastrophic and unexpected fatal heart stoppage — is more likely to occur shortly after waking in the morning and in the late night.
In a report in the journal Nature, an international consortium of researchers that includes Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and Baylor College of Medicine explains the molecular linkage between the circadian clock and the deadly heart rhythms that lead to sudden death.
Continue reading… “Heart beats to the rhythm of a Circadian Clock”
Google forges forward with new privacy policies.
With Google’s privacy policy change looming, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a guide to turning off Google’s search-history logging, thus preventing your search-history from all of Google’s services, including YouTube, from being merged and tracked together. You can also erase your stored search-history while you’re there…
Continue reading… “How to turn off Google’s search-history logging and erase your stored history”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.