Analysis – Page 22

How long can we live? The limit hasn’t been reached, study finds

July 2, 2018

The mortality rate flattens among the oldest of the old, a study of elderly Italians concludes, suggesting that the oldest humans have not yet reached the limits of life span.

In Acciaroli, a hamlet in southern Italy, about one-in-60 residents are over the age of 90. A survey of about 4,000 Italians found that mortality rates in old age plateau around 105, suggesting that the ceiling for human lifespan has not yet been reached.CreditGianni Cipriano for The New York Times

Since 1900, average life expectancy around the globe has more than doubled, thanks to better public health, sanitation and food supplies. But a new study of long-lived Italians indicates that we have yet to reach the upper bound of human longevity.

“If there’s a fixed biological limit, we are not close to it,” said Elisabetta Barbi, a demographer at the University of Rome. Dr. Barbi and her colleagues published their research Thursday in the journal Science.

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Analysis, Aviation, Cancer

Flight attendants have higher rates of many cancers, study says

June 28, 2018

Flight attendants are exposed to a number of known cancer-causing risks, but few studies have rigorously quantified that risk, and researchers say they are an understudied occupational group.

The Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study (FAHS), begun in 2007, addresses some of the gaps in understanding health risks among flight attendants. In the latest report, published in the journal Environmental Health, researchers found that flight attendants had higher rates of many cancers, including breast cancer and melanoma, compared to the general population.

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Analysis, Employment, Future, Science & Technology News

These are the 5 “super skills” you need for jobs of the future

June 25, 2018

Work is changing, so to stay ahead you’ll need to master these skills that you probably didn’t learn in college.

Chances are your job description has changed over the past five years. Or maybe your role didn’t even exist a short time ago. The workplace of today and the future looks quite different due to technology, the economy, the environment, and politics, according to the Institute for the Future (IFTF), a not-for-profit think tank that helps organizations plan for the future.

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Analysis, Entertainment, Games, Health & Fitness, Human Behavior

WHO classifies ‘gaming disorder’ as mental health condition

June 22, 2018

(CNN) — Watching as a video game ensnares their child, many a parent has grumbled about “digital heroin,” likening the flashing images to one of the world’s most addictive substances.

Now, they may have backup: The World Health Organization announced “gaming disorder” as a new mental health condition included in the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases, released Monday.

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Analysis, NASA, Space, Space Flight, SpaceX

Majority of Americans believe it is essential that the U.S. remain a global leader in space

June 19, 2018

Despite the increasing role of private companies in space exploration, most believe NASA’s role is still vital for future.

Sixty years after the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), most Americans believe the United States should be at the forefront of global leadership in space exploration. Majorities say the International Space Station has been a good investment for the country and that, on balance, NASA is still vital to the future of U.S. space exploration even as private space companies emerge as increasingly important players.

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Analysis, Big Problems, brains, Latest Trend

We compared the average IQ scores in all 50 states, and the results are eye-opening

June 18, 2018

Yes, the IQ test is controversial, but it’s one of the few consistent metrics we have. Here’s how the states compare.

People are getting dumber, according to science.

There are a lot of theories why IQ tests are falling. Some say it’s bad food, poor schools, or obscene amounts of screen time. Others suggest it’s a matter of people with lower IQs having more kids, who inherit their lower numbers.

Continue reading… “We compared the average IQ scores in all 50 states, and the results are eye-opening”

Analysis, Big Problems, brains, Genetics, Latest Trend

IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds

June 17, 2018

The research suggests that genes aren’t what’s driving the decline in IQ scores

“It’s not that dumb people are having more kids than smart people,” researcher says

(CNN) — IQ scores have been steadily falling for the past few decades, and environmental factors are to blame, a new study says.

The research suggests that genes aren’t what’s driving the decline in IQ scores, according to the study, published Monday.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Human Behavior

This one shocking factor can make you 4600 percent more likely to become an addict

June 12, 2018

It was discovered quite by accident – in part of a study of a totally different subject.

One of my earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of my relatives, and not being able to. As I got older, I understood why. We had addiction in my family. And as I watched some of my other close relatives become addicts, I asked myself several questions, but one in particular seemed haunting and insistent: why does addiction so often run in families? Why does it seem to pass from mother to daughter, from father to son, as though it were some dark genetic twist?

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Analysis, App, Human Behavior, Latest Trend

Millennials aren’t going out to drink and date, study says – but why?

June 10, 2018

Are apps to blame, or are millennials just lazy and poor?

As a “younger millennial,” I will admit that any negative news about the millennial generation gets my defensive hackles up. But a new study about millennials and our socializing habits doesn’t seem totally off-base to me. Apparently, younger millennials aren’t going out to drink and date, and there are a lot of pretty good reasons why.

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Analysis, Employment, Futurist, Science & Technology News, Tom Frey

7 emerging tech jobs that are going to pay well in 2019

June 9, 2018

Tech jobs are exploding – as well as the pay that goes with them. In fact, technology can really advance your career in ways we never thought possible. Now is the time to begin positioning yourself for a career in this field as the salaries seem to increase monthly. But what are the best emerging tech jobs; the ones set to pay the most in 2019? There is a wide variety, and we’ve listed the best below.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Human Behavior

The world is running out of Japanese people

June 7, 2018

Japan is shrinking. Fast.

The health ministry recently announced that only 946,060 babies were born in Japan in 2017, the fewest births since official statistics began in 1899. At the same time, 1,340,433 Japanese people died last year. This means that the non-immigrant population declined by nearly 400,000 people.

It’s an astonishing shift. The Japanese population grew steadily throughout the 20th century, from around 44 million in 1900 to 128 million in 2000. The gains were primarily due to increased life expectancy, but also buoyed by families that typically had at least two children. But beginning in the late 1970s, birth rates crashed. While the average Japanese woman had 2.1 kids in the 1970s, today, they only have about 1.4—far lower than in comparably wealthy countries like the US and Sweden.

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Analysis, facebook, Human Behavior, Social Media

Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018

June 6, 2018

YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular online platforms among teens. Fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online ‘almost constantly’

Until recently, Facebook had dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth – but it is no longer the most popular online platform among teens, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Today, roughly half (51%) of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook, notably lower than the shares who use YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat.

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