More than half the new jobs November were added by retailers, restaurants and bars.
Last month the economy took another step in the right direction. The jobless rate fell to the lowest since March 2009.
Continue reading… “U.S.job growth up, but they aren’t quality jobs”
Debt collectors have found a way to help lenders get their money after the debtor has died.
Linda Long’s husband died of colon cancer in 2010. After his death the phone calls poured in. Linda is a 68-year-old retired office worker o whsays she got as many as 10 calls a day from a debt-collection firm asking for $16,651.52 that her husband, Millard, had racked up on a Bank of America Corp. credit card.
Continue reading… “Death-debt collectors chase down mourners”
interdependence of quantum states between particles not in physical contact
needs some props to explain the concept more clearly.
A pair of diamond crystals, large enough to be seen by the naked eye, have been linked together by quantum entanglement. The diamonds are entangled such that manipulating one affects the other, even though they are physically separated. In this case, the crystals were 3 millimeters wide and 15 centimeters apart. (One of the diamond wafers is pictured below.) Indeed, Einstein called this phenomenon “spooky action at a distance,” and scientists still don’t understand how it’s possible. The University of Oxford physicists published their work today in the journal Science…
Continue reading… “Quantum entanglement demonstrated in macroscopic objects”
This project at Washington State University is incredibly nifty. Researchers use a 3-D printer to make a bone-like material that can temporarily do the job of bone, while serving as a scaffold for new bone to grow on. Over time, it dissolves safely…
Continue reading… “3-D printer makes scaffolding for growing bones”
Ruins of the Mayan city of Palenque.
If you are worried the world will end next year based on the Mayan calendar, you can relax. The end of the world is still far off.
Continue reading… “Mayan tablet does not predict end of world in 2012: experts”
More than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing canine PTSD.
Many soldiers leave the battlefield suffering deeply painful psychological traumas after returning home. And unfortunately, the same pattern of psychic trauma seems to apply for the dogs that help provide essential services for military men and women.
Continue reading… “Military dogs suffer PTSD just like humans”
Dwolla is forever changing the way credit cards are transacted.
Online and mobile payment service Dwolla has announced that all transactions under $10 will have no fee from now on. This is of course great news for small businesses and merchants whose average transaction is below that. Anything above still carries the flat $0.25 fee…
Continue reading… “Dwolla drops fees for transactions under $10 in prelude to larger announcement”
Math on the go.
It’s stuff like this that makes me love archaeology. Turns out, we can trace the concept of math homework back to at least 2300 B.C.E., in ancient Mesopotamia.
In the early 20th century, German researchers found several clay tablets at the site ofŠuruppak. (Today, that’s basically the Iraqi city of Tell Fara.) Some of the tablets appear to be the remains of math instruction, including two different tablets that are working the same story problem…
Continue reading… “One of the earliest known examples of math homework”
So how does your daily caffeine ritual compare to the options listed on this chart?
(Click thru to see the whole list)
Continue reading… “Infographic of the Day – The Caffeine Comparison Chart”
Women do about 10 hours more multitasking in the home each week.
Even thought men may be helping more in the home, working women still do more multitasking in U.S. families than their partners and are finding it stressful, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “Women still multitask more than men but find it stressful”
The photosystem in green bacteria consists of a light-harvesting antenna called a chlorosome and a reaction center. The energy of the light the pigments absorb is transferred to the reaction center (red) through a protein-pigment antenna complex called the baseplate (gold). The antenna (green) is made of rod-shaped aggregates of pigment molecules.
Sometimes when people talk about solar energy, they tacitly assume that we’re stuck with some version of the silicon solar cell and its technical and cost limitations. Not so…
Continue reading… “Biomimetic Antenna for gathering sunlight could transform solar-powered devices”
Do these look like they are for earth vehicles?
Featuring an intricate resin spoke system, Bridgestone’s new airless tire provides the same level of shock absorption as an inflated tire without you having to worry about monitoring air pressure or changing a flat ever again.
The idea is similar to Michelin’s Tweel which first appeared back in 2006, and even the wheels used on the Lunar Rover that NASA developed during the Apollo era…
Continue reading… “Bridgestone’s puncture-proof tires”