Sunspots 958

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Health: (and Politics, to some extent) Gizmodo reports that the Centers for Disease Control tell us that more  parents are finding excuses for not having their kids vaccinated.

Science: Gizmodo reports that some viruses enter host cells, with the (unwitting) help of other kinds of viruses.

Quanta Magazine reports on how we perceive small numbers of objects (1-4), and it's not the same way we perceive greater numbers of objects.

IFLScience reports that a yeast organism with artificial DNA is functional and alive.

A Conversation writer discusses treatment for concussions and other brain injury.

Sports: (and Finance, and Education) The Guardian complains about our priorities -- Texas A&M's football coach has been fired, but is to get 77 million dollars for not coaching. Education in Texas (and elsewhere) is seriously underfunded.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 907

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity: Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength has posted a word cloud, showing how often a word is used, based on use of words in Proverbs. There are (to me, anyway) some surprises.

Computing: Gizmodo reports that Russia is assessing fines on Internet companies, mostly for disagreeing with the Russian characterization of the war with Ukraine.

Environment: NPR reports that fires in California and elsewhere in the west make storms in other parts of the US worse.

Politics: A Conversation writer examines trends in crime in the US. Is crime rising? It's complicated.

Science: A Conversation writer discusses the presence of virus genes in the human genome. There are a lot of them.

The Scientist reports that scientists have been able to determine what words a subject is thinking of, by scanning the subject's brain, non-invasively, under experimental conditions.

The Scientist also reports that swarms of bees can produce a substantial electric charge.

Gizmodo says that if you live in Pennsylvania, or states near it, you have probably seen spotted lanternflies. They are easy to identify, and, as far as I'm concerned, rather pretty. They are also destructive pests, eating several kinds of trees. I have seen them in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Here's the Wikipedia article on the insect.

NPR reports on a study that indicates that a protective mutation helped people survive the black death. It is still found in human populations, and makes carriers more susceptible to auto-immune diseases.

Sports: A Conversation writer tells us that abuse by coaches, and people with similar positions, is not just individual bad behavior, but part of the whole atmosphere of sports.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 605

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

The Arts: Listverse reports on 10 bizarre stained glass windows. Really bizarre.

Christianity: Relevant tells us that many Christians unknowingly repeat errors in their perception of the Christmas story.

Relevant also reminds us that no one ever became a believer because a Christian scolded them.

"Six Reasons Prayers are not Answered." (Actually, there are more in the article.)


Computing: Gizmo's Freeware reports on a capable free replacement for Microsoft Office.

And Gizmo's points to a free program that lets you download a YouTube video as an .mp3 file -- video to sound only, meaning you can play it without being connected to the internet. However, you lose the video.

Education: The New York Times reports that spending more money on education "probably" improves it.

Health: Listverse reports on people who have had various creatures living in their ears.

Humor: (or something) Scientific American reports on why it's so hard to get a gift that pleases the recipient. (There's an explanation.)

(or something) National Public Radio reports on the return of a book that was apparently checked out of a library in the UK, over 120 years ago.
 
Politics: (Or something) CNN reports that there has been a large pipeline leak, about 150 miles from the much-publicized standoff (so far) on the Standing Rock reservation.

Science: Scientific American reports that 13 bird species have been recently been declared extinct.

Scientific American also tells us that we should be getting ready to keep a comet from hitting the earth, but we aren't.

Listverse reports on 10 things you probably didn't know about the solar system. (I didn't.)

FiveThirtyEight tells us that we are all part virus. Really.








Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 404

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Science:  NPR reports that sweet potatoes most likely originated in the Americas, and that some of them were taken to Asia by traffic between what is now Latin America and Polynesia, all before Columbus came from Europe.

NPR says that, instead of flu, you may have a Norovirus, which, if anything, is worse.

The Atlantic reports on using DNA to store information, such as the works of Shakespeare.

The Washington Post reports that dogs, who descended from wolves, had a change in diet preference, associated with becoming and remaining domestication.

The Arts:  A musician named James Kibble has recorded all of the organ works of J. S. Bach for free download.

Computing: A social scientist has shown that people are reluctant to wipe the memory of robots, even if they understand that these are not real people.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 403

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

 

Science:  National Public Radio reports that sweet potatoes most likely originated in the Americas, and that some of them were taken to Asia by traffic between what is now Latin America and Polynesia, all before Columbus came from Europe.

The Atlantic reports on using DNA to store information, such as the works of Shakespeare.

The Washington Post reports that dogs, who descended from wolves, had a change in diet preference, associated with becoming and remaining domestication.

NPR says that, instead of flu, you may have a Norovirus, which, if anything, is worse.

The Arts:  A James Kibble has recorded all of the organ works of J. S. Bach for free download.

Computing: A social scientist has shown that people are reluctant to wipe the memory of robots, even if they understand that these are not real people.

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 398

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Science: Wired has posted the year's best microscopic views of living things. Spectacular (in a small way).

Wired has also compiled a presentation of the top scientific discoveries of 2012. These include confirmation of the Higgs field, and synthesis of an alternate information molecule, XNA.

Sports: (and academics!) USA Today tells us that the number one teams in men's college basketball and football, as of December 18, 2012, are also number one in graduation rate. That would be Duke basketball, at 100%, and Notre Dame football, at 97%.

Politics: (sort of) Kathleen Parker, columnist, says that one of the factors contributing to the decline of the middle class is that fewer people with high school education, but not a college education, get, or stay married. She makes some suggestions for fixing this.

According to a report in Wired, there is little or no correlation between video game playing and carrying out acts of violence.

Computing: Gizmo's freeware tells us about two on-line services that will help us save a web page, graphics and text, to our computers, as a single .PDF file.

"Viruses and malware don't teleport into your PC — they're let in. In almost all cases, that means opening a seemingly innocent attachment, clicking a bogus 'You're infected!' popup, or visiting malware havens such as porn sites." - Fred Langa, Windows Secrets, December 20, 2012

Image source (public domain)

Sunspots 372

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

 

Science:  National Public Radio reports that some of the most ancient cave paintings might have been done by Neanderthals, rather than by early humans.

The Arts: (or something) McDonald's has released a video showing how they prepare a burger for use in advertising.

Computing: Wired reports on the best Android tablet computer for kids.

Wired also reports that Apple is no longer claiming that Mac computers are not susceptible to viruses, and for good reasons. (To be fair, there are more viruses that attack Windows computers, mostly because there are more Windows computers to attack.)

(or The Arts, or something) The New York Times reviews a book about the project to create an android version of the late Philip K. Dick, who wrote, among things, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

Image source (public domain).