Analysis – Page 246

Analysis, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Study finds Millennial generation might not be so special after all

March 16, 2012

Today’s young Americans are less environmentally conscious—and often less civic-minded overall—than previous generations.

Are today’s Millennial generation altruistic and civic-minded or materialistic and self-absorbed? In the latest installment: a study that says the popular view of young adults as more caring, interested in social issues and concerned about the environment compared to previous generations is mostly false.

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Analysis, Economy, Globalism, Latest Trend, Money Talk

Income gap growing faster in the U.S. than the rest of the world

March 16, 2012

U.S. income, while solid among its peers around the world, still leaves many grappling to make ends meet.

An “average” American earns close to $40,000 a year. That’s pretty good money compared with the rest of the world.

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Analysis, Entertainment, Internet, Latest News, Twitter

Twitter to musicians: share Tweet-friendly media, and skip the publicists

March 16, 2012

Tweet-friendly media can now be shared by musicians.

As South by Southwest transforms from a massive tech party to a massive music festival, Twitter has unveiled Twitter for Musicians and Artists, a page offering tips on how musicians can use the service to connect with their fans.

Even if you’re not a world-famous musician, many of the suggestions will be pretty familiar…

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Analysis, Animals, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, Science & Technology News

Birth control for insects: genetically engineered mosquitoes in the Florida Keys?

March 16, 2012

Are genetically engineered mosquitoes the best way to go?

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, just held a meeting about potential trials involving the release of genetically modified male mosquitoes into the delicate ecosystem of the Florida Keys. The stated purpose of the trials is to investigate controlling the spread of dengue fever.

The company behind the technology, British firm Oxitec, explains that sterile males would be released to compete with wild males for female insects, which would then have no offspring and reduce the population of the next generation…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries

Hubble finds Quasars acting as gravitational lenses

March 16, 2012

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found several examples of galaxies containing quasars, which act as gravitational lenses.

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found several examples of galaxies containing quasars, which act as gravitational lenses, amplifying and distorting images of galaxies aligned behind them. Quasars are among the brightest objects in the universe, far outshining the total starlight of their host galaxies. Quasars are powered by supermassive black holes…

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Analysis, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues

Copyright Math: the best TED Talk you’ll watch all year

March 16, 2012

This may just be the best TED Talk video I’ve seen: listen.com/Rhapsody founder and extremely funny person (and soon-to-be debut science fiction author) Rob Reid examines the math behind the claims made by the copyright lobby and explains the mindbending awesomeness of the sums used to justify SOPA, PIPA, ACTA and the like. Here’s Ars Technica’s Ken Fisher discussing Reid’s philosophy…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, New Discoveries

Drugs cause about five times more side effects than realized

March 16, 2012

Pharmaceuticals found to be more harmful than beneficial?

There’s always that part at the end of drug commercials that goes something like: if you develop sausage fingers, webbed feet, or a three-week erection, call your doctor! But as exhaustive as those auctioneer-style lists sound, they barely scratch the surface when it comes to the side effects pople are actually experiencing.

Stanford researchers created an algorithm that identified 1,332 drug side effects not currently listed on labels. They estimate that each drug has 329 adverse reactions on average, nearly five times the 69 currently listed…

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Analysis, Animals, Crazy Stuff, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives

Linus the long haired wonder horse

March 15, 2012

Linus the Long Haired Wonder Horse put on quite a show!

Have you ever seen a horse with such a luxurious mane? Linus the Wonder Horse was born in 1884, the result of careful breeding for long hair. Linus was exhibited with a circus act, with promotional materials declaring he was of the “Oregon Long-Haired Wild Wonder horse” breed. His mane was 14 feet long, and his tail 12 feet long!

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Analysis, Big Problems, Food, Globalism

30 to 50 percent of food produced in the world is thrown away

March 15, 2012

Two women collect food waste beside an industrial dumpster at the main food market in Madrid.

Today, cleaning your plate may not help feed starving children, but the time-worn advice of mothers everywhere may help reduce food waste from the farm to the fork, help the environment and make it easier to feed the world’s growing population.

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives

Story of the first phone phreak

March 14, 2012

Joe Engressia Jr.

Joe Engressia Jr. was the father of phone phreaking. In the 1950s, the blind 7-year-old realized that his high-pitched whistle could control the phone system. Over the years, he learned the electronic language of clicks and tones and tapped into a network of phone freaks around the country, most of whom had previously phreaked in solitude…

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Analysis, Science & Technology News

Slime mold follows the world’s highways

March 14, 2012

A yellow slime mold’s map of the US compared to the map of major roads.

A yellow slime mold has invaded the world’s highways, spreading from capital cities to the furthest reaches of the transport network and devouring everything in its path. The infestation was unleashed by Andrew Adamatzky, a researcher of unconventional computing at the University of the West of England in Bristol, along with colleagues from universities around the globe.

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