Doubt cast on advantages of organic produce and meat

Researchers say organic foods are no more nutritious and no less likely to be contaminated.

Are organic fruits and vegetables more nutritious than conventional fruits and vegetables?  Maybe — or maybe not.

Scientists at Stanford University have weighed in on the “maybe not” side of the debate after an extensive examination of four decades of research comparing organic and conventional foods.

 

 

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Study of brain’s visual center finds men and women really do see things differently

Men and women do see things differently.

New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Biology of Sex Differences finds that the way that the visual centers of men and women’s brains works is different. Men have greater sensitivity to fine detail and rapidly moving stimuli, but women are better at discriminating between colors.

 

 

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The library becoming more popular than ever, but books no longer the primary focus

The New York Public Library recently embarked on a controversial plan to move two to three million books off-site.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) retired its pneumatic-tube system sometime last year. It had been used to request books for more than a century. The New York Public Library opened in 1911 and that pneumatic call system had changed little since then. You still filled out a slip, and you still turned that slip over to a clerk, who would load it into a metal cartridge. The cartridge would be driven by air pressure to a station down in the stacks, where another clerk would retrieve your book, which was then sent back up to the call desk by a dumbwaiter. In recent years, this procedure would take about 20 minutes. In decades past, I’m told, it was closer to five.

 

 

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Solving the software developer shortage

Moving development to the cloud and offering the IDE as a service to developers, a significant amount of their workload has been removed.

The sentiment that software is taking over the world has become widely accepted throughout the tech community.  Last year it was examined in depth by Marc Andreessen.  However, as software continues to infiltrate nearly every industry, there’s a serious consequence taking shape. The demand for development continues to grow exponentially, but the amount of qualified developers that are available to produce this commodity is not. Simply put, the world is running out of developers.

 

 

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First generation of computer programmers to die and skill shortage will leave software vulnerable

 Where will qualified younger programmers come from when the older generation retires?

T’S a looming crisis not even dreamed of when computers were the new frontier, and all those working on them were young pioneers.

But fast-forward a few decades – and now experts warn that essential systems that control areas like defence and banking are about to be left without qualified people to run them, as the first generation of computer programmers retire and, sadly, die.

Seventy-two-year-old US digital forensic examiner, Robert E Johnston, said that the skills shortage in computer programming carried with it serious consequences…

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Job seekers find it difficult to keep up with innovations in their field

 Choose your career wisely or be swept aside by new innovations.

Karen Richards is unemployed, but it’s not for lack of trying. She estimates that she has sent out about 100 resumés in the past year.

The Arlington resident theorizes that a few factors have prevented her from landing a job: She’s overqualified for some positions, underqualified for others, and the fact that she’s currently out of work may be a turnoff to some employers.

But there’s another problem that she says could be holding her back. The legal sector is using new software for research and client management, and she isn’t familiar with it…

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Top 10 Photos of the Week

Next time you consider an ad like “Help wanted! Highly paid fashion models!” just remember
it’s harder work than you think, not very glamorous, and there’s
always
some jerk in the background making you do things you don’t want to!

Quote of the Day: “You’ll always be a little disappointing in person because you can’t be the edited essence of yourself.” – Mel Brooks

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
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By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.