Clipmarks | nohobot's clips

Stigma Helps AIDS Flourish in Russia

Mon, 12 May 2008 20:36:27 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: Russia has a notoriously backward stance on its acknowledgment and treatment of its LGBT citizens.

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Homophobia and the stigmatisation of people with HIV and AIDS are hampering efforts to tackle the spread of infection in Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union.

The number of people there with HIV has risen to 1.6 million since 2001 - an increase of 150 per cent. Only by being more accepting of homosexuality and of the need to treat intravenous drug users can the region "turn the corner", Peter Piot of UNAIDS told the second Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS conference in Moscow on 2 May.

The worry is that if people in these high-risk groups are stigmatised, they will resist coming forward for treatment - and carry on spreading the infection. There are also worries that governments under-report cases resulting from sex between men. Official figures suggest 1 per cent of total HIV cases in the former Soviet Union are a result of sex between men, but a UNAIDS study that puts the figure at up to 23 per cent in Ukraine suggests this is a serious underestimate.

Tags: russia, aids, hiv, health, healthcare, drugs, disease, stigma, europe, soviet union

Five Science Fiction Movies That Get the Science Right

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:24:50 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: "2001: A Space Odyssey" is my all-time favorite film, so I included almost all of the information from that section. The others on the list are also interesting, though, of course.

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

"Open the pod-bay doors, HAL."

Despite being made before the first moon landing, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke's masterpiece is a strikingly realistic depiction of space travel.

Among the film's neater details:

All scenes in outer space are silent – sound does not travel in a vacuum

The stars do not move past the ship – for there to be a visible motion of the star field, the ship would have to be travelling at close to the speed of light

The crew eat paste-like food and only drink liquids through straws.

Additionally, crew members are shown coping with the boredom and routine of a long, straightforward trek across empty space.

Newtonian physics is strictly obeyed in the behaviour of the ship and little "pods" that the astronauts use to travel outside it. Trouble only starts when a carefully-aligned radio transmitter, the crew's lifeline to Earth, begins to drift out of position.

Platypus Genome Is as Weird as Its Looks

Wed, 07 May 2008 19:53:31 GMT

clipped by: nohobot

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

It's part-reptile, part-mammal, part-bird – and totally unique. Two centuries after European scientists deemed a dead specimen so outlandish it had to be a fake, the bizarre genetic secrets of Australia's platypus has been laid bare.

Platypuses lay eggs and produce venom like some reptiles, but they sport furry coats and feed their young with milk like mammals. The odd creatures are classed as monotremes, with only one close relative – the echidna.

And while the gene that the human sex-determining gene evolved from is present in the platypus genome, it seems to have nothing to do with sex determination. So, that function must have evolved after the platypus split from our common ancestor, about 166 million years ago.

"It looks like the platypus started from the same suite of genes, but did completely different things with them," says Graves.

The draft genome sequence should also help to end the platypus's identity crisis, Graves says.

Taco Truck Battle Heats up in L.A.

Mon, 05 May 2008 15:33:47 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: WHO WILL EMERGE VICTORIOUS IN.... TACO TRUCK BATTLE 2K8!

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Los Angeles County officials recently passed a law that makes it a misdemeanor to park a taco truck in the same place for more than an hour. Violators face fines of up to $1,000 or six months in jail.

"The potential of a jail sentence and/or a $1,000 fine for parking to sell food? It's ridiculous. It's outrageous," says Phillip Greenwald, an attorney hired by a group of truck owners to fight the new rule.

The clampdown comes in the wake of complaints from some restaurant owners that the trucks are unfair competition.

Maria Melgar, who owns the Birrieria Guadelarja restaurant in East Los Angeles — which has one of the highest concentrations of taco trucks in the county — says the loncheras are siphoning off customers.

As a line of customers waited for 90-cent tacos and $3.25 quesadillas, Torres notes that he pays taxes and has a business license. He says he also pays rent — $700 a month — to the business that shares the curb.

Tags: california, food, tacos, rights, competition, business, silly, los angeles

Maximize Your Mind's Performance by Distracting Yourself

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:47:26 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: Well, I'm majoring in Biological Sciences despite being good at English and History; am I just engaging in a long-term validation of this study?

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Desperate to memorize a crucial fact? Look over there! (Kidding.) The trick is to distract yourself by studying stuff that's slightly different from whatever you're trying to learn. Your brain will then work harder to permanently store the original information. It's a tricky concept, but here's an example: In 2007, researchers asked UCLA students to try to memorize a set of 48 word pairs (country: Russia, fruit: lemon, flower: lily, etc.). After studying the list, some students then had to sit through a slide show and view closely related material (flower: rose). Guess what? The distracted students performed better on subsequent recall tests. "Distraction forces you to engage in processing," says Benjamin Storm, a UCLA researcher who oversaw the study. Hey, up in the sky — is that a blimp?

Tags: wired.com, intelligence, research, school, learning, knowledge

North Pole Could Be Ice-Free in 2008

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:32:13 GMT

clipped by: nohobot

Clip Source: environment.newscientist.com

You know when climate change is biting hard when instead of a vast expanse of snow the North Pole is a vast expanse of water. This year, for the first time, Arctic scientists are preparing for that possibility.

In September 2007, Arctic sea ice reached a record low, opening up the fabled North-West passage that runs from Greenland to Alaska.

Arctic ice at its maximum in March, but that maximum is declining by 44,000 km² per year on average, the NSIDC has calculated (see graph, top right). That corresponds to an area roughly twice the size of New Jersey.

2 per year on average (Image: NSIDC)" />

Despite its news value in the media, the North Pole being ice free is not in itself significant. To scientists, Serreze points out, "this is just another point on the globe". What is worrying, though, is the fact that multi-year ice – the stuff that doesn't melt in the summer – is not piling up as fast as Arctic ice generally is melting.

Tags: new scientist, science, climate change, ice, global warming, climate, north pole, arctic, environment

Russia Embraces Its Church, Distancing Western Faiths

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:06:13 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: Be sure to read the rest of this very interesting article; it goes on for three more pages.

Clip Source: www.iht.com

STARY OSKOL, Russia: It was not long after a Methodist church put down roots here that the troubles began.

First came visits from agents of the FSB, the successor to the KGB, who evidently saw a threat in a few dozen searching souls who liked to huddle in cramped apartments to read the Bible and, perhaps, drink a little tea. Local officials then labeled the church a "sect." Finally, last month, they shut it down.

The relationship is grounded in part in a common nationalistic ideology dedicated to restoring Russia's might after the disarray that followed the end of the Soviet Union. The church's hostility toward Protestant groups, many of which are based in the United States, or have large followings there, is tinged with the same anti-Western sentiment often voiced by Putin and other senior officials.

The Rev. Vladimir Pakhomov, the Methodist minister, recalled a warning from an FSB officer to one of his parishioners: " 'Protestantism is facing difficult times — or maybe its end.' "

Tags: religion, russia, russian, christianity, church, faith, politics, putin, international herald tribune, freedom

Genes Trigger Phobias in Kids & Teens

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:17:42 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: I met with Dr. Kendler when I was just a 10th grader in high school. I love finding major research results he has published, as our interests usually intersect (such as with psychiatric genetics in general, and schizophrenia and phobias in particular).

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Our response to the things that scare us, from threatening men on dark streets to hairy spiders in the bath, is programmed to become active at different times in our lives, suggest two studies on the genetics of fear.

David Rakison of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, showed five-month-old babies simple representations of spiders, made up from block-like shapes, as well as more jumbled images made from the same shapes. The babies looked at the schematic spiders for an average of 24 seconds, but spent around 8 seconds less on the more jumbled images.

Once identified, spiders produce fear and disgust in many people. But that reaction, and the genes that shape it, change during our youth, according to a separate study by Kenneth Kendler of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and colleagues.

Tags: genes, genetics, fear, research, biology, spiders, vcu, virginia, science, new scientist

Single Virus Gene May Cause Obesity

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:40:17 GMT

clipped by: nohobot

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

If obesity seems to be spreading like a virus, that could be because it is. We're now closer to understanding how adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), thought to be responsible for some cases of obesity, causes fat cells to grow.

Last year Nikhil Dhurandhar at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge showed that Ad-36 causes precursor cells to differentiate into fat cells, and could promote obesity in humans and animals. Now he has shown that a single viral gene is responsible for triggering this process, meaning that one day it may be possible to treat "viral obesity" by altering the action of that gene.

The gene also makes cells more responsive to insulin, so drugs that mimic this part of the gene's action may also be useful in treating type 2 diabetes. Hopefully they'll find a way to tease out this part of the gene's action from the fat-promoting part.

Tags: fat, obesity, virus, science, genetics, genes, insulin, diabetes, cell, new scientist

Microsoft Gives Yahoo! Three Weeks

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 02:47:09 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: Damn, I don't want Flickr to be owned by Microsoft...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Computer software giant Microsoft has given Yahoo a three-week deadline to respond to its offer to buy out the internet company for $44.6bn (£22.3bn).

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company would take its case directly to Yahoo's shareholders if Yahoo's directors did not respond by 26 April.

Microsoft made an unsolicited bid on 31 January, but Yahoo's board rejected it as substantially underrating its value.

Yahoo has since explored alliances with other firms, but no offer has surfaced.

"During these two months of inactivity, the internet has continued to march on, while the public equity markets and overall economic conditions have weakened considerably," he added.

Mr Ballmer said his company's offer - 62% above Yahoo's market value at the time - had grown stronger as time had passed.

Last month, Yahoo estimated it would almost double its operating cash flow over the next three years and generate $8.8bn in revenue after costs in 2010.

Tags: microsoft, yahoo, internet, technology, business, economics, economy, tech, money, companies

Human Species "May Split in Two"

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:47:12 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: It's an old article, but a Biology professor of mine brought it to my class' attention today. Another interesting part that I wanted to clip:

"But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.

Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.

Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.

Social skills, such as communicating and interacting with others, could be lost, along with emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. People would become less able to care for others, or perform in teams.

Tags: human, people, evolution, future, genes, genetics, bbc

Third Cousins Have Greatest Number of Offspring

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:30:40 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: Since evolutionary fitness is determined by the relative success of passing along one's genes, it appears that inbreeding third cousins are the most evolutionarily fit mates.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (Feb. 8, 2008) — DeCODE scientists have established a substantial and consistent positive correlation between the kinship of couples and the number of children and grandchildren they have. The study, which analyzes more than 200 years of deCODE's comprehensive define genealogical data on the population of Iceland, shows that couples related at the level of third cousins have the greatest number of offspring.

The findings hold for every 25-year interval studied, beginning with those born in the year 1800 up to the present day. Because of the strength and consistency of the association, even between couples with very subtle differences in kinship, the authors conclude that the effect very likely has a biological basis, one which has yet to be elucidated.

The paper, 'An association between the kinship and fertility of human couples,' was published in the journal Science February 8, 2008.

Tags: science, genes, genetics, evolution, biology, population, iceland, children, family, cousins

Drugs, Alcohol, & Despair: State Rankings

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:47:50 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: People in Utah are the least likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and smoke marijuana, but they have the highest rate of serious psychological distress. Could correlation indicate causation in this case?

Clip Source: www.webmd.com

The report is based on 136,110 people aged 12 and older who were interviewed for a national survey in 2005-2006.

North Dakota had the lowest percentage of people who reported using an illicit drug during the previous month (5.7%). Rhode Island had the highest percentage (11.2%).

Marijuana use was reported by 10.4% of participants in 2005-2006. Vermont had the highest rate of marijuana use in the past month (9.7%). Utah had the lowest rate (4.3%).

Utah residents were the least likely to report drinking alcohol in the past month (32.4%). That's nearly half of Wisconsin's rate (63.1%).

Underage drinking among people aged 12-20 was rarest in Utah (21.5%) and most common in Vermont (38.3%).

Among youths, 10.6% reported smoking cigarettes in the previous month, down from 11.3% in 2004-2005.

Overall, 11.3% of U.S. adults had serious psychological distress in 2005-2006. Utah had the highest rate (14.4%) and Hawaii had the lowest rate (8.8%) of adults with serious psychological distress.

Tags: drugs, alcohol, tobacco, smoking, depression, psychology, mental health, marijuana, drinking, webmd

Gaza Conditions "At 40-Year Low"

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:32:28 GMT

clipped by: nohobot

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The groups say a battered, starved Gaza cannot be a peace partner

Gaza's humanitarian situation is the worst it has been since the Israeli occupation began in 1967, say UK-based human rights and development groups.

They criticise Israel's blockade on Gaza as illegal collective punishment which fails to deliver security.

More than 1.1 million Gazans are dependent on food aid and of 110,000 workers previously employed in the private sector, 75,000 have now lost their jobs, the report says.

Last week Israeli forces launched a bloody and destructive raid in northern Gaza, in which more than 120 Palestinians - including many civilians - were killed.

"Punishing the entire Gazan population by denying them these basic human rights is utterly indefensible," said Amnesty UK Director Kate Allen.

"Gaza cannot become a partner for peace unless Israel, Fatah and the Quartet [the US and UN, Europe and Russia] engage with Hamas and give the people of Gaza a future," said Daleep Mukarji of Christian Aid.

Tags: gaza, bbc, israel, palestine, human rights, security, hamas, poverty

"Noah's Ark" Vault for Crop Seeds Launched in Arctic Norway

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:55:39 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: What an interesting idea.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

LONGYEARBYEN, Norway, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Norway launched a Noah's ark of the plant kingdom on Tuesday to protect crop seeds, among mankind's most valuable resources, from cataclysm inside an Arctic mountainside.

Blasted out of icy rock 1,000 km (600 miles) from the North Pole, the air-locked vaults would stay frozen for 200 years even in the worst-case scenario of global warming and if mechanical refrigeration were to fail, officials said.

Initially 100 million seeds from more than 100 countries have been sent for safekeeping at the $10 million facility which holds 268,000 seed samples, each from a different farm or field.

"The seed vault is our insurance policy" against threats such as war, natural disasters or climate change, he said.

The deposits range from major African and Asian staples such as rice, maize, wheat, cowpea and sorghum to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley and potato. Genetically modified varieties will not be included.

Tags: food, crops, norway, arctic, plants, science, global warming, reuters