Google and other search engines track what users search; over time, the data collected can be pretty revealing, so much so that the DOJ wants access. For the most part, privacy policies are only as good as the lawyers backing them, and “law of the land” can trump anything. And all of that adds up to worrisome prospects for all of us.
But what if no data were collected to begin with?
Continue reading… “StartingPage Now Returns Google Search Results, Privately”
A scheme – perhaps the first of its kind in India – that sees the government’s science department team up with a US multinational to promote innovation has run into controversy.
In December 2010 the Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched a monthly competition in association with Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble (P&G) to solicit innovative ideas from Indian researchers. Winners were promised a cash award of $1000 and possible commercialization of their ideas by P&G, which has a beauty business worth over US$10 billion in global sales…
Continue reading… “Indian Government’s Controversial Skin Whitening Competition”
By now, most of us have read the miscellaneous (numerous) statements from companies like Whole Foods, Organic Valley, Stonyfield, and the Non-GMO Project in defense of their participation in the so-called “coexistence” talks with the USDA and proponents of GE alfalfa.
These companies have claimed that they had no choice but to get in there and fight for safeguards against contamination and restitution for farmers whose fields are contaminated. Neither of which ended up happening.
They’ve said that they had a choice between staying to fight for protections, and walking away and letting Monsanto have their way. Monsanto, as we’ve seen time and time again, has had their way anyway…
Continue reading… “Did the “Organic Elite” Sell Out to Monsanto?”
A Canadian geological statistician came to the realization that the numbers on some scratch lottery cards could not be random. “It wasn’t that hard,” Mohan Srivastava says. “I do the same kind of math all day long.”
“… I start looking at the tic-tac-toe game, and I begin to wonder how they make these things,” Srivastava says. “The tickets are clearly mass-produced, which means there must be some computer program that lays down the numbers. Of course, it would be really nice if the computer could just spit out random digits. But that’s not possible, since the lottery corporation needs to control the number of winning tickets. The game can’t be truly random. Instead, it has to generate the illusion of randomness while actually being carefully determined.”
Continue reading… “A Statistician Solves a Scratch Lottery Code”
Two people have died in the last 10 years from drinking unpasteurized milk. Twelve states have banned it. (By comparison, between two and twelve children die every year playing high school football. When will high school football be banned?)
In today’s edition of The Daily, Jordan Heller writes about the Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers who smuggle unpasteurized milk into New York to serve a market of raw milk devotees…
Continue reading… “The Amish Raw Milk Black Market”
The next evolution of the social media manager position may very well focus on a puzzle piece that is largely missing in the social media strategy of news companies: monetization.
Cox Media Group digital posted an opening Wednesday for a “Social Monetization Manager (SMM)” — someone who will focus on a strategy and implementation that will drive revenue to the company’s 100+ TV, radio and newspaper properties.
Although Cox is one of the first news media companies to hire for a position of its kind, this may signal a larger shift for news companies experimenting with ways to monetize social media…
Continue reading… “The Evolution of the Social Media Manager: Social Monetization Manager?”
In the future, mushrooms may be as common in cars as they are on pizza.
Believe it or not, scientists who are trying to find more sustainable ways to build car parts believe the answers may be found in things such as mushroom roots.
The newest episode of the PBS series “Nova,” which aired on Wednesday 2/2, focuses on the new discoveries that scientists such as Deborah Mielewski, the technical leader of plastics research at Ford Motor Co., are working on to reduce the carbon tire track that autos leave on the environment…
Continue reading… “In the Future, Your Car May Be Made of Mushrooms”
What happens when you survey 1,000 British parents and 500 children on their leisure activities? You might find out that a quarter of the kids don’t play outside. Or that 12% of adults admit to having ‘no interest’ in the outdoors and 5% thought that trees which don’t lose their leaves during winter are called Carnivores. But wait, it doesn’t stop there. 6% of British adults thought strawberries grew on trees, so it should come as no surprise that 25% of British kids did not know what a mouse looked like.
Yet, oddly, the same surveyed parents do recognise the benefits of outdoor play. The report revealed that 71% of parents think their children are happier when they play outdoors and 92% believe outdoor play is good for their children’s health. So why are they spending twice as much time glued to a computer or TV screen, than being outdoors?
Continue reading… “25% of British Children Don’t Play Outside”
Guns are good, unless you don’t have one, right?
The bill, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012, would give people six months to acquire a firearm after turning 21. The provision does not apply to people who are barred from owning a firearm. Nor does the measure specify what type of firearm. Instead, residents would pick one “suitable to their temperament, physical capacity, and preference.”
Continue reading… “Guns, Guns For Everyone: Bill Would Require All Citizens to Buy a Gun”
Atlanta mother and grandmother, Jazz Ison Sinkfield, has been growing out her fingernails for the last 22 years in the hopes of meeting Oprah and “a lot of more celebrities.”
So far her quest has only landed her on the local news, but her nails, the longest of which is 24 inches, are actually pretty impressive. Their length keeps her from doing everyday tasks like tying her shoes and putting on jewelry, and she pays $250 a month at the nail salon to maintain them, but Jazz is committed nonetheless.
Continue reading… “Woman Grows Out Her Fingernails for 22 Years in the Hopes of Meeting Oprah”
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Dogs sniffed out bowel cancer in more than nine out of 10 cases.
A Labrador retriever has sniffed out bowel cancer in breath and stool samples during a study in Japan.
The research, in the journal Gut, showed the dog was able to identify early stages of the disease.
It has already been suggested that dogs can use their noses to detect skin, bladder, lung, ovarian and breast cancers.
Cancer Research UK said it would be extremely difficult to use dogs for routine cancer testing.
The biology of a tumour is thought to include a distinct smell and a series of studies have used dogs to try to detect it.
Continue reading… “Early Bowel Cancer Detected by Dogs in Japan”
A member of the Parliament of Norway says he has nominatedWikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
Snorre Valen, a member of the Socialist Left party, announced his decision to nominate the whistle-blowing organization on his blog.
“WikiLeaks have contributed to the struggle for [human rights, democracy and freedom of speech] globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture — some times even conducted by allies of Norway,” he wrote…
Continue reading… “WikiLeaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.