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Analysis, Animals, Science & Technology News

Turkey researchers working hard to build a better bird

turkey

Eastern wild turkeys have that classic turkey look, but domesticated turkeys are generally bred with breasts so big that they can’t mate naturally.

A majority of today’s domesticated turkeys may not be able to fly, but their ancestors sure got around. Meleagris gallopavo, the quintessential New World bird, was already an Old World favorite by the time colonists in North America first celebrated any Thanksgiving feasts. Today’s turkey researchers are investigating the big bird’s genetic heritage and biology as part of an effort to improve several aspects of its cultivation.

 

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Analysis, Food, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

Picky eaters more prone to develop allergies

allergy-child

Allowing children to be picky eaters could make them more prone to allergies. 

Mothers have traditionally been told to ‘cocoon’ their children by avoiding high-risk foods during pregnancy and while breastfeeding to protect them from potentially dangerous reactions. But allowing kids to be picky eaters could make them more prone to allergies later in life, scientists have warned.

Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Teenagers prefer smartphones to cars

teen with smartphone

Getting a smartphone has been a rite of passage for many teens.

There are a lot of problems the auto industry has to worry about.  They have to worry about pensions and health care costs for their employees.  They also have to worry about recalls and the rising cost of gas.  But there is something else that automakers should be concerned about.

 

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Analysis, facebook, Globalism, Science & Technology News

4.74 degrees of separation – the world is smaller than you thought

facebook

The average number of links from one arbitrarily selected person to another was 4.74.

Scientists at Facebook and the University of Milan are adding a new chapter to the research that cemented the phrase “six degrees of separation” into the language.  They have reported that the average number of acquaintances separating any two people in the world was not six but 4.74.

 

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Analysis, Internet, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

90 million Americans will use a tablet by 2014

tablets

35.6% of all internet users will use a tablet by 2014.

Tablet devices have only been available for a couple of years, but the iPad has propelled them to rapid increases in ownership and usage.  By the end of 2011 it is estimated that 33.7 million Americans will use a tablet device at least monthly—a rise of 158.6% over last year, the year the iPad was released.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Health & Fitness, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Bullying by text message becoming more common

Victim-of-Cyber-Bullying

24 percent said they had ever been “harassed” by texting. That was up from about 14 percent in a survey of the same kids the year before.

More and more kids in the U.S. say they have been picked on via text messaging, while there has been little change in online harassment, researchers reported Monday.

 

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