Health, science and technology

Around town and on the internet.

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Pi is wrong Science \| WIRED 'τau = 2π. That's the first thing you need to know. The second is that tau is a whole lot more friendly to use than the awkward pi. Instead of defining a circle by its diamater, it allows you to define it by its radius, making it as equally transcend...	A field guide to bullshit Science \| NEW SCIENTIST In Stephen Law’s book, Believing Bullshit, he presents the strategies of people who attempt to defend their beliefs in bizarre conspiracy theories or the power of chrystal. Alison George asks him about avoiding "intellectual black holes".
The development of weapons were responsible for human monogamy Science \| NEW YORK TIMES	Let's talk about sex – to primary school children Health \| THE INDEPENDENT
Half of all men have genital wart virus. Vaccinate boys too Health \| THE LANCET	Human DNA fragment found in genome of Gonorrhea bacteria Science \| POPSCI
How To Manage Your Own Body Language Health \| FORBES If you think consciously about moving your hands in a certain way to emphasize a point, your gesture will come too late, and you’ll look awkward, bizarre, or fake. That’s because the natural sequence of events is intent – gesture – thought – speech. ...	Did you ever suspect that some people choose anxiety? Health \| NEWSWEEK Researchers who study emotion regulation are discovering that many anxious people are bound and to cultivate anxiety. The reason, studies suggest, is that for some people anxiety boosts cognitive performance, while for others it feels comforting.
Does oral sex really cause cancer? Health \| SALON It's been an unsexy week for oral sex, with headlines sounding the alarm about links to cancer. The same thing happened last year and a couple of years before that, thanks to emerging research, and each time it stirs a panic. Is the risk real?	The new neurosexism behind discussions on sex difference Science \| TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT Wandering wombs, an anatomically conferred destiny of penis envy and masochism, smaller brains, smaller frontal lobes, larger frontal lobes, right-hemisphere dominance, cross-hemisphere interaction, too much oestrogen, not enough testosterone
Tyranny of the Alphabet - how your last name influences how fast you buy stuff. Health \| SLATE .	Darwin's Rape Whistle. Have women evolved to protect themselves from rape? Science \| SLATE.COM Not only do rape conceptions completely undermine the female's mate selection—and so the quality of her offsprings' genes—but rapists are unlikely to stick around and help raise children, putting such children at a significant disadvantage.
If you want to live longer, walk faster. Health \| io9.com Typically, you calculate life expectancy by combining information about a person's chronic conditions, medical conditions, blood pressure, body mass index, and hospitalization history. Or, alternatively with ten feet of pavement and a stopwatch.	Regular exercise may drive you to drink. Cancel that gym membership Health \| NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Can regular exercise avert or undo some of the harm associated with binge drinking? Perhaps even better, could exercising beforehand pre-emptively reduce your urge to overindulge in alcohol later? Or does exercising actually drive you to drink?
Scientists discover female tears cause decline in male sexual arousal Science \| WASHINGTON POST It's widely held that women's tears will turn men to mush. And many think that sympathetic response is a sign of sensitivity, a psychological shift away from baser male impulses. New research suggests that much of the response may be involuntary.	“WikiLeaks… Butterfly doesn’t,” boasts Butterfly sanitary pad company Health \| MSNBC
Why can't I enjoy a glass of wine without pregnancy police telling me I'm evil? Health \| DAILY MAIL	Scientists find poor sleep makes you look ill and unattractive. Nobody surprised Health \| THE INDEPENDENT It's true (maybe) – there is such a thing as beauty sleep. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm claim to have found the first proof that getting a regular eight hours a night really does make you appear healthier and more attractive. ...
As Numbers of Allergy Sufferers Soar, Are We Killing Ourselves with Cleanliness? Science \| AlterNet According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of young Americans with food allergies soared nearly 20% in the last decade. 8% of children under 6 now have food allergies. The number of adults with allergies has risen too.	A Fate That Narcissists Will Hate: Being Cured but Ignored Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Not that narcissists face imminent extinction—it’s worse than that. They will still be around, but they will be ignored. The 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has eliminated 5 of the 10 personality disorders.
Scientists claim that women discriminate against women in the workplace Science \| SSRN According to researchers, women with no picture on their CV have a significantly higher rate of employer interviews than attractive or plain-looking women. The claim that female jealousy of attractive women in the workplace is the primary reason.	If you don't trust NHS to do an epidural, are you likely to opt for a Caesarean? Health \| DAILY MAIL Three times more babies are born by Caesarean than 30 years ago. Last week, midwives revealed that expectant mothers are increasingly demanding surgical births second time around because their first birth was so traumatic they have been left afraid. ...
How To Talk To Your Tween About Periods: A Parent's Guide Health \| PSYCHOLOGY TODAY	Why Rodial didn't sue The Mail and Chiropractic Assoc didn't sue The Guardian Science \| THE OBSERVER Libel lawyers are targeting individuals because they are no longer interested in compensation but in tying up or scaring off those who supply newspapers, politicians and the scientific journals with the critical opinions informed debate relies upon. ...
25% of men fake orgasm. How? Why? Science \| LIVESCIENCE	Dating sites would never have found Kate Middleton's Prince Technology \| THE ATLANTIC Online matchmaking is getting better at telling us whom we ought to like—and that's not good. Imagine if William, struggling on the dating scene, had turned to one of the on-line love brokers. Their algorithms would never have found Kate Middleton.
Women who drink 2 units a day, most days, live longer Health \| WALL STREET JOURNAL A researcher who looked at nearly 14,000 women who had survived to 70 found that of the 1,499 free of major diseases, physical impairments or memory problems, those who had 1-2 US units most days had a 28% increase of "successfully surviving" to 70. ...	The role of porn in the rise of cosmetic surgery on the vagina Health \| STUFF.CO.NZ A head of psychiatry in New Zealand said young women he treated often felt pressured into surgery fearing men would not find them attractive if their labia did not conform to standards seen in pornography, in which the labia are often airbrushed out.
Bottlefeeding girls is setback that will lead them to early pregnancy Health \| THE GUARDIAN As part of an ongoing trend in science, another study asserts that non-abusive parenting (bottle-feeding, moving house more than average, etc) can significantly damage a girl’s subsequent life choices. Namely, pregnancy at 28 not 29-years-old.	Nadine Dorries continues her attack on abortion rights and access Health \| THE INDEPENDENT

The real agenda of the pill's opponents Health \| THE NEW STATESMAN Bigots and reactionaries are like small children, in that when they ask a question over and over again, it's usually because they don't like the answer. 'How do we stop teenage girls having sex' is one of these questions. The answer - 'we really, reall...	Are we killling our unborn babies? And other Daily Mail pregnancy panics. Health \| DAILY MAIL Foetal malnutrition is increasingly linked to ills such as heart attacks and ¬diabetes later in life. This was first seen in people conceived during the Nazis’ starvation of the, when many expectant mothers survived on just 400-800 calories a day.
Water Fascists. She has everything against them. Health \| THE INDEPENDENT They are everywhere, preaching about the need for two litres a day and its umpteen health benefits. It's the best thing for your skin. It's the best thing for your liver. It's the best thing for your kidneys. Water is "the forgotten nutrient".	Why women live longer (and it's not because they have an easier life) Science \| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Why do women live longer? Thomas Kirkwood, an experimental gerontologist approaches this issue from a wider biological perspective, by looking at other animals. It turns out that the females of most species live longer than the males.
Why are we worrying about the early onset of puberty? Health \| THE GUARDIAN The average age for the onset of puberty is 10.75 years in girls, and 11.5 years in boys. But more children than ever are being referred to specialists with worries about the psychological and physical fallout of being ahead of their peer group.	Cold or hot, why revenge is not that sweet Science \| CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Scientists find nice guys get the girl. Do they need to get out more? Science \| THE DAILY TELEGRAGH Psychologists believe that selflessness and altruism have become part of our genetic make-up because they were attractive to mates. As humans evolved, qualities such as being fittest and strongest were usurped by other qualities – such as offering a he...	Handwriting is key to learning, memory and ideas Science \| WALL STREET JOURNAL Using advanced tools such as magnetic resonance imaging, researchers are finding that writing by hand is more than just a way to communicate. The practice helps with learning letters and shapes, can improve idea composition and expression, and may even...
Apparently love makes you impervious to pain Science \| THE GUARDIAN Imagine it. Lots of sex on the NHS to cure back pain. Or synthetic love to overcome drug addiction. What will science think of next? Relationship counselling for toothache? Love (or maybe lust) really is a drug that not only blocks pain, it also seem...	The world looks dangerous if I'm mad. Tell me something I didn't know Science \| PSYCHOLOGY TODAY How do your emotions affect the way the world looks to you? If you wake up one morning happy, then even a small dose of bad news may be felt as an opportunity rather than a failure. When you're sad, that same bit of bad news can lead you to feel as tho...
Pregnant light drinkers produce better babies and children Health \| THE GUARDIAN	We edit our backstory to minimise the bad and elevate the good Science \| THE NEW YORK TIMES In piecing together a life story, the mind nudges moral lapses back in time and shunts good deeds forward, creating, in effect, a doctored autobiography. Researchers say that brecognizing this tendency, can reduce the risk of middle-aged sanctimony.
"Strike a pose!" Not just a song but the key to greatness. Maybe. Science \| LIVESCIENCE New research indicates that holding a pose that opens up your body and takes up space will alter hormone levels and make you feel more powerful and willing to take risks. Conversely, the opposite is true if you adopt constrictive postures.	The Sound of Science (VIDEO) Science \| BENJJUK@YOUTUBE
Does the pursuit of happiness make you happier? Health \| THE GLOBE AND MAIL	Should we give pills to women for medical conditions that don't exist? Health \| THE INDEPENDENT If sex drive evolved to encourage us to reproduce, why, asks Amy Jenkins, would a woman want to do it night after night if she's already had her children? Surely, a middle-aged women who isn't particularly interested in sex is completely normal. ...
Leading academic develops cure for procrastination Health \| WALL STREET JOURNAL Own up. Are you a serial procrastinator? Do you put things off for another day? Do you wake up in a sweat at night because of all the things you haven't done or all the decisions you haven't made? Help is at hand as leading academic develops a cure.	For womb the bell tolls. It tolls for thee. Science \| NEW YORK TIMES Adults who were in utero during the 1918 flu pandemic did not go as far in school or earn as much money as other adults who were in utero just before or just after the pandemic, but were more likely to suffer from disabilities and receive welfare.
Bringing up baby is not an exact science Science \| SP!KED At the Royal Society of Medicine this summer, the psychiatrist Professor Stephen Scott gave a paper titled ‘Enhancement of Children’s Lives Through Improving Socialisation by Parents: New Jerusalem or Big Brother?’. The title intrigued Jennny Bristow. ...	Quelle surprise 2! Gaming is great for kids. Technology \| THE INDEPENDENT Scientists have delivered another blow to parents convinced that the hours their children spend in front of games consoles are rotting their kids' brains.… Regular bouts of high-speed gaming can help improve our ability to make decisions faster.
Quelle surprise 1! Rote learning is essential for kids. Science \| THE NEW YORK TIMES Good teachers don’t fire off quiz questions and catechize kids about facts. They don’t plop students at computers to drill themselves on spelling or arithmetic. Drilling seems unimaginative and antisocial. It might even be harmful to students.	Exercising will never help you lose weight but it will make you fit Health \| THE INDEPENDENT If the only reason you go to the gym is to lose weight, then the good news is that you can stop going. Now. That's right, you don't have to go any more, because – according to a new scientific study – exercising will not take the pounds off.
Free Play Won’t Make Your Child Smarter Health \| TIME MAGAZINE	What did Victorians do for us? Pathologised the menopause, that's what! Health \| THE DAILY MAIL
Don't Panic but is 'Twilight' altering your teen's brain irreversibly? Health \| MSNBC "If you look very, very clearly at what kind of values the 'Twilight' books propagate, these are very conservative values that do not in any way endorse independent thinking or personal development or a woman's position as an independent creature."	Which is worse for you, fat or carbs? Clue: it is not the first. Science \| HUFFINGTON POST Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease or any other chronic disease of civilization. The problem is the carbs in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis.
Cheryl Cole should campaign for the use of DDT to combat malaria Health \| GUARDIAN Nets cannot conquer the disease. As demonstrated in many parts of the world, malaria is defeated by economic growth (improves living conditions), insecticides (the falsely maligned DDT eradicated it in Europe, the USA and India) and good healthcare.	Are we being fed a whole plateful of baloney by N.I.C.E.? Health \| SPIKED
Even ugly people want beautiful kids claims virtual sperm bank founder Health \| MASHABLE	Psychologists claim 'best friends' are bad for kids Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Parents often say their child needs a special friend,. This mind-set has led adults to become more involved in children’s social lives. The days when kids roamed the neighborhood and played with whomever have been replaced by the scheduled play date.

Not that into him? Big Pharma says you just have acquired HSDD Health \| THE INDEPENDENT Hotly debated is the idea of the new pink pill, a Viagra for ladies, to overcome premenopausal generalized acquired hypoactive sexual desire disorder, which the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) is scheduled to discuss approving on June 18.	HPV causes cancer and warts in men. Why not vaccinate them too? Health \| FORBES Women don't spontaneously get HPV. It is passed between male and female partners, but men, not having a cervix, do not suffer the same consequences. They do, however, get genital warts and sometimes develop penile, anal, and oral cancers due to HPV.
I am not grumpy. I am, in fact, being attentive and careful Health \| BBC An Australian psychology expert who has been studying emotions has found being grumpy makes us think more clearly. In contrast to those annoying happy types, miserable people are better at decision-making and less gullible, his experiments showed.	Kneejerk reaction by government on mephedrone Health \| NEW SCIENTIST A landmark case that pushed through laws banning the drug mephedrone has come under strong criticism. A toxicology report of the two teenagers thought to have died from the drug showed neither had actually taken it.
Guys can get post-natal depression too (me too depression) Health \| LIVESCIENCE New research, analyzing 43 studies, with 28,004 participants, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that10.4% of new fathers suffer with pre- or post-natal depression, rising to 25.6% at 3 to 6 months after birth.	Bleeding little fibber likely to go far in life Science \| DAILY TELEGRAGH
Is the Food Standards Agency pushing for a ‘Fat Tax'? Health \| MARIE CLAIRE If you had to pay 17.5% extra every time you bought cheese, butter or other high-fat foods, would it put you off buying them? Because this could be the future if the Food Standards Agency, who want to introduce a ‘Fat Tax' on junk food, has its way.	Did you know TV shows for under 3's are banned in France Health \| TIME MAGAZINE Research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, finds that kids who got more TV time at preschool age were more likely by age 10 to be disengaged at school, get picked on by classmates, be overweight and eat an unhealthy die...
Chocolate may cause depression or it may make you eat chocolate Health \| WALL STREET JOURNAL People who eat more chocolate are more likely to be depressed than people who eat less chocolate. What isn't clear, though, is whether people who are more likely to be depressed ate more chocolate, or whether chocolate itself is linked to depression.	Scientists ask if Nick Clegg can keep it up Health \| NEW SCIENTIST Last week, Clegg's overall linguistic style was characterised by verbal markers of honesty, consistent with previous research on differences between truthful and deceptive language. Linguistic honesty is associated with higher use of I-words.
Pointlessness of children's play, an evolutionary paradox, explained Science \| THE ATLANTIC Human brains are so large that were they to reach full size in utero, women’s bodies would unable to deliver them. The human brain more than doubles in volume during the first 12 postnatal months, and nearly doubles again over the next 12 months.	Survival of very premature babies has failed to improve Health \| THE INDEPENDENT The survival of very premature babies has not improved in the past 15 years despite more intensive treatment. Although survival rates at 24 and 25 weeks' gestation have increased, rates for those at 22 and 23 weeks have not changed, experts said.
Brain Training Exercises Don't Improve Cognition Health \| TIME MAGAZINE You've probably heard it before: the brain is a muscle that can be strengthened. But in the largest study of brain games to date, researchers found that healthy adults who undertake computer-based "brain-training" don’t improve their mental fitness.	Can a 'cruelty-free' diet ever be safe for kids? Health \| THE GUARDIAN Can a vegan diet really damage your child's health? Social workers in Lewisham believe it can, which is why they tried to take a five-year-old who appeared to have rickets into care. The boy's parents have just won their legal battle to prevent this.
Are we seeing a new attempt to lower the abortion limit? Health \| DAILY MAIL The number of babies born weighing only 2lbs has more than doubled in just two years, re-igniting the emotive debate over the abortion time limit. At the same time, the proportion of tiny babies stillborn has almost halved... a 115% rise on 2006/07.	"I couldn't even picture a female condom until I saw it" Health \| DAILY BEAST Will the female condom ever overcome its stigma? The first version of the female condom was large and baggy, made a weird noise, fell out, and was expensive, too. Now public health experts are pushing a new and improved version in American cities.
Did you know that some people show affection even while arguing? Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Women were at highest risk of heart disease whose marital battles lacked any signs of warmth, not even a stray term of endearment during a hostile discussion (“Honey, you’re driving me crazy!”) or a minor pat on the back or hand squeeze of the hand.	Delaying kids may prevent financial 'motherhood penalty' Health \| USA TODAY
Panorama's dubious science to accuse working-class of making kids sick. Health \| SP!KED These children should not be suffering from these problems and they should not be here at this hospital. People are starting to say maybe this is a generation where children will be dying before their parents’bemoaned Dr. Ryan on Tuesday’s Panorama.	Only calorie counting WITH exercise works Health \| TIMES OF INDIA
Is Gonorrhoea Developing Into A Superbug? Health \| RED ORBIT The sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea, which has become resistant to many different types of drugs, could be on the brink of evolving into a superbug, according to comments made by a professor during a Society of General Microbiology meeting.	Susan Greenfield's failed coup Science \| NEW SCIENTIST It has been billed as the scientific brawl of the year, one in which the survival of a much loved, venerable but financially troubled British institution is at stake....The result: a clear victory for the establishment over the Greenfield rebels.
Alarming Increase in Mumps Related Testicle Problems Among Young Males Health \| SCIENCE DAILY "Boys who did not receive the MMR vaccine during the mid 1990s are now collecting in large numbers in secondary schools and colleges and this provides a perfect breeding ground " says Dr Davis, Urology Research Registrar at a leading Irish hospital.	Why Women Don't Want Macho Men Science \| WALL STREET JOURNAL Researchers at the Face Research Laboratory at Aberdeen University can predict how masculine a woman likes her men based on her nation's World Health Organisation statistics for mortality rates, life expectancy and the impact of communicable disease.
Forget your bosses 360' appraisal. Go to Unvarnished Technology \| TIME	Clever women drink more ergo drink more to be clever Health \| DAILY TELEGRAGH
Brian Cox is living proof that bad grades are not the end Science \| THE OBSERVER	Uncommunicative, run-down, overheating. Firm slap might help Technology \| THE INDEPENDENT A myriad of posts complaining about WiFi connection problems, charging problems and overheating appeared on Apple's support forums over the weekend as disgruntled iPad purchasers found the "magical device" didn't quite live up to their expectations.
The internet won't win them the election Technology \| THE GUARDIAN As the starting gun for the general election is fired and election fever/ fatigue engulfs the nation, if I had a pound for every time I'd heard the claim that 2010 heralds the first new media election I reckon I'd have a couple of quid by now.	Kids will gorge on 13 Easter eggs this holiday Health \| THE INDEPENDENT A new poll, by mystery shopping company Retail Active, revealed that children aged 10-14 will indulge in an average of more than two-and-a-half kilograms of chocolate over the Easter holiday - taking in nearly 13,000 calories and 650 grams of fat.

Post-adoption depression not uncommon Health \| SCIENCE DAILY In the study, the majority of the adoptive parents who self-reported having experienced depression after a child was placed in their home often described unmet or unrealistic expectations of him or herself, the child, family and friends, or society.	Is this really like cocaine or heroin? Will it be banned then? Science \| TIME
To HRT or not to HRT. That is the question. Health \| THE INDEPENDENT One reason why you need to address this question early - before or at the point the menopause shows up - is that when you start hormone replacement therapy is as important as if you start it. Sarting HRT early is good; starting HRT late is not.	Another human gene patent invalidated Science \| NEW YORK TIMES A U.S. federal judge on Monday struck down the patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering many thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property.
Nursery causes personality disorders says person selling book Health \| THE TIMES Putting children in a nursery before two is profoundly damaging to their mental health argues Sue Gerhardt. The government is so keen to get mothers back to wealth-generation that nursery is promoted, although it makes kids vulnerable later in life.	Brain-storming sessions pointless Health \| SCIENCE DAILY Have you ever been on a ‘works’ away day when, suddenly, the expensive facilitator your boss has hired for the day suggests breaking out into groups for a brain-storming sessions? Groan. Science has now proven that those sessions do not work. Whoa!
A patent purely about greed Science \| FORBES Last week a U.S. appeals court threw out a broad patent that covered a human gene that is central to many biological processes. Until last week’s decision, the patent, granted in 2002 looked like a gold mine for its licensor, Ariad Pharmaceuticals.	'One shot' cancer therapy Health \| THE DAILY TELEGRAGH Breast cancer patients could soon be spared many weeks of radiotherapy after surgery due to a pioneering new treatment being tested by British experts. The technique delivers the cancer killing X-rays during the operation rather than afterwards.
Its' all about the skin and nose Health \| LIVESCIENCE Cosmetics have been shown to boost earning potential and perhaps even make a promotion more likely, according to a study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology in 2006. Livescience (yep, that’s right) advises which are worth the money and time.	Facebook can lead to syphilis Health \| THE GUARDIAN The idea that our Director of Public Health was dumb enough to think Facebook caused syphilis spread around the world, from Australia to India, through HuffPo and Slashdot, CNN, and many follow-ups in the UK, much of which began to openly mock Kelly.
Is obesity war making us sicker Health \| SLATE Since saturated fat is known to increase blood levels of LDL cholesterol, and people with high LDL cholesterol are more likely to develop heart disease, sat fats must increase heart disease risk. If A equals B and B equals C, then A must equal C. ...	Death in labour doubles in U.S. Health \| THE DAILY BEAST
Myth of man flu exposed as real Science \| TIME	Are kids' doctors Trojan horses? Science \| THE DAILY TELEGRAGH When the Royal College of Physicians report on the impact of passive smoking states that more than 300,000 GP consultations and 9,500 hospital admissions result from children breathing second-hand smoke, one’s credulity is strained to breaking point.
Involved dad bad for her esteem Health \| LIVESCIENCE Fathers are helping out with child-rearing more and more these days. The result can be both a benefit and a let-down for super-mothers. New research finds that mothers’ self-esteem can take a hit when paired with partners who are savvy care-givers.	Nanny makes him a womaniser Health \| DAILY TELEGRAGH In The Unsolicited Gift, Dr Dennis Friedman said delegating child-care too soon risks creating life-long double standards when it comes to women. Even though married he may always have the feeling that another women could cater for his basic needs.
Are you killing your grandkids? Science \| GUARDIAN Evolutionary psychology argues that there's no reason to exclude psychological traits. Rape is a trait that occurs all too frequently in human society, it follows that a desire to commit rape must be adaptive. There must be a genetic basis for it.	Fat beauty - the beholder's eye Health \| GUARDIAN 3 years ago Emma, a 49yr old professor at a university in the north-west of England, took the decision to do something she had always wanted to do. In spring 2007, she took the plunge and gained 33lb, to reach a weight of 17.5st. Emma is a ‘gainer’.
Women make better astronauts Health \| GUARDIAN As China selects two women to train female potential astronauts, an expert from the country's airforce claims women will deal better with space travel than men, citing better communication skills and the ability to deal with loneliness. Do you agree? ...	Nexting on ChatRoulette Technology \| NEW YORK TIMES ‘As you might expect, there are some twisted ways to make a first impression. But unlike so many shocking things on the Internet, whether viral video, photograph or blog post, ChatRoulette is a living, breathing community. Or kind of.’ By Noam Cohen. ...
Pregnant ladies' alcohol tests Health \| TIMES “Pregnant women are being asked to take new blood tests that reveal their drinking habits... The blood test reveals evidence of heavy long-term drinking, while a related urine test also reveals more occasional binge-drinking” writes Rosemary Bennett.	10 years since the dotcom bust Technology \| THE TIMES
Hastening end for ill children Health \| RED ORBIT ‘A survey (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) of parents who had a child die of cancer found that one in eight considered hastening their child's death, a deliberation influenced by the amount of pain the child experienced during the last month of life.’	Sexy partner makes you hotter Science \| LIVESCIENCE A good-looking significant other will cause other potential mates to find you more desirable, new research suggests. However, the results held more for women than men, who tend to find attractive ladies desirable no matter who they are intimate with. ...
Can depression be productive Health \| JEZEBEL	Self-serving research by retailer Health \| MARIE CLAIRE In a poll of 1000 women by make-up retailer, Debenhams, 15 yr old mascara lurks in your bag: “Out-of date beauty products can be a magnet for germs but most women have no idea that EU rules mean brands have to state an item's bathroom shelf life.”
Is smoking like fellatio? Health \| DAILY BEAST	NHS pay for homeopathy, why? Health \| THE TIMES Homeopaths believe that shaking transfers the medicine's essence to the water used to dilute it. Important because solutions diluted beyond 24X(1:1,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000) may not contain even A SINGLE MOLECULE of the original solution.
Pole dancing as Olympic sport Health \| THE FRISKY	Neurotic parents medicating kids Health \| SLATE The evidence suggests that we should be conservative about prescribing drugs to children, and much more conservative than we actually are. Even the scientists who advocate some use of drugs acknowledge that they are overprescribed and badly managed.

Tiger Woods' sexual disorder Science \| COURIER MAIL At the moment sex addiction is not an official diagnosis. However, the term "hypersexual disorder" has been proposed. The proposal has critics worrying that the criteria are vague, and the chances of bogus pharmaceutical treatments are too great.	Sexual fantasies make you focus Health \| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Fantasizing about sex gets more than just your juices flowing—it also boosts your analytical thinking skills. Daydreaming about love, on the other hand, makes you more creative, according to a study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
E-safety video for 5 yr olds Technology \| BBC In a new online safety campaign backed by the government, cartoons are being used to show 5 to 7-year-olds that people are not always what they seem. By raising awareness of web risks at an early age, they will be better protected, experts say.	Measuring love Science \| L.A.TIMES Jessica Pauline Ogilvie writes, ‘Leave it to science to take all the fun out of something as cosmically pure as love. The more we understand it, they say, the better our chances of making love last and of harnessing its potential.’
ICSI baby? ICSI Daddy! Health \| DAILY TELEGRAGH New study, same old bulls**t. "Genetic infertility is nature's way of making sure the same mistake does not happen twice. Genetic infertility is nature's levee, if you will, holding back a flood of chromosomal mishaps." The Telegragh considers ICSI.	Invention to stop 'glassing' Technology \| CNET Chris Matyszczyk writes, ‘There are many theories as to why some Brits like to drink many pints of beer, smash the glasses, and then jab the jagged edges into each other's faces. Some blame "glassing" on the disappearance of the Colonial Empire.’
Teaching teens abstinence Health \| LA TIMES When it comes to getting young adolescents to delay sex, classes stressing abstinence may work better than other modes of sex education, according to a study... evidence that "Just Say No" stands a chance against the raging hormones of adolescence.	Dangers of the anti-vac groups Health \| LA TIMES
Surge in demand for moob ops Health \| GUARDIAN Karen McVeigh reports, ‘Figures published by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons showed operations to correct gynecomastia in men grew by 80%.’ This rise in demand even outstripped that for breast augmentation in women.	'9 out of 10 kids happy' shock Health \| GUARDIAN Catherine Bennett wonders why this cheerful finding was received with much less enthusiasm than earlier reports that vast numbers of children are depressed. Maybe their childhood is so toxic that you can’t trust the kids when they say they are happy. ...
Are superfoods killing you? Health \| MARIE CLAIRE They’ve been credited with lengthening a person's life by cutting heart disease and cancers, and have even been linked to boosting sex drive. But now researchers say that too many superfoods could mean there are not enough ‘pro-oxidants' in the body. ...	10 things to know about the iPad Technology \| TECH RADAR Have you been waiting for Steve Jobs to spill all the details on his latest toy? The iPad is here. G. Beavis & M. Chacksfield ask, ‘Is it all hype and no substance, or has Apple managed to once again release a game changing device onto the world?' ...
You can't be like everyone else Technology \| SLATE Have we staked out this bit of moralistic turf because somehow it represents our family values in a way that nothing else quite does? Are we trying to open our kids' minds to nonconformity? Is that a worthy goal, and is this a good way to pursue it?	Mums keeping their identities Technology \| MANAGEMENT TODAY Lady Geek writes,’ …as companies begin to realise the political and financial opportunities that mums represent, how can they start engaging them about what they care about and going beyond subjects such as nappies, childcare and maternity pay?
Blondes not nature's warriors Science \| PSYCHOLOGY TODAY Did you read last week that blondes are nature’s warrior princesses because they attract more attention than other women and are used to getting their own way? Consider dying your hair as even bottle blondes take on these attributes? Think again.	Is homeopathy really harmless? Health \| SUNDAY TIMES I don’t understand people or organisations who go out of their way to prove that something harmless that lots of other people believe in is, in fact, a complete crock... Homeopathy is another example: believe in it, don’t believe in it — whatever.
Extreme breastfeeding Health \| SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE	Say after me 'I am hot!' Health \| DOUBLE X New research shows that self-esteem drops during ovulation...feeling bad about yourself motivates you to pay more attention to your appearance. It seems natural selection is betting that looks—rather than self-assured personalities—will attract men.
The rise and rise of snacking Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Snacking has been abetted by parental guilt, the much-lamented death of the family dinner, over-scheduled children. Kara Nielsen cites the proliferation of activities, from soccer to chess club to tutor sessions, that now fill children’s afternoons.	Trust a man to take the pill? Health \| SALON Guys are A) habitual liars who B) are too stupid about their health to take a pill every day - men who rely on daily medications must be screwed, and C) as my father told my sister when she was leaving for college, "a raised prick has no conscience".
Messing with your genetic line Science \| TIME	Evolution explains disease Health \| LIVE SCIENCE Jeanna Bryner, ‘ While natural selection is best known for weeding out the weak, it may also be partly responsible for the apparent rise of some disorders, such as autism, autoimmune diseases and reproductive cancers, according to researchers.'
Is fake fur greener than real? Science \| WASHINGTON POST	I want my 3D TV Technology \| ARS TECHNICA Jon Stokes comments on how ‘3D coming into your living room’ was one of the biggest stories at CES 2010- the promotional push was massive. Here he looks at the current state of the 3D TV and why you'll (someday) own one whether you like it or not.
Case against supplements Health \| GUARDIAN People are awfully wasteful these days. Other people, I mean. Not the likes of you or I. I mean, do you know anyone who has bought a motorised ice-cream cone holder that saves you the bother of rotating your cornetto? Or a one-colour USB chameleon?	Top ten science stories for 2009 Science \| WIRED
Mobiles are good Health \| BBC Good news about mobile use? BBC report on the work carried out on mice; it suggests mobiles might protect against Alzheimer's. Florida scientists found that the radiation actually protected the memories of mice programmed to get Alzheimer's disease.	Net failing Iran's activists Technology \| PROSPECT
You look stupid when you text Technology \| REASON.com Tim Cavanaugh asks at Reason.com “Is Web 2.0 the end of Humanity 1.0? The Washington Post supposes so in a misty watercolored think piece about how all the constant interconnectedness is making us miss the smell of the roses, or something like that."	Climate change denial Science \| WIRED Brandon Keim writes, ‘Even as the science of global warming gets stronger, fewer Americans believe it’s real. According to Kari Marie Norgaard, a Whitman College sociologist who’s studied public attitudes towards climate science, we’re in denial.' ...

Menopausal antidepressants Health \| GUARDIAN Researchers looked at rates of stroke and death in more than 136,000 women aged between 50 and 79 over a period of six years. They found that users of antidepressants were 45% more likely to experience strokes than women who did not take the pills.	Best iPhone apps for kids Technology \| SLATE.COM
What do you put on your face? Science \| WIRED ‘Dr John Emsley, award-winning author of nine books, deconstructs everyday products for Wired. This time it’s Boots No 7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum, the skincare sensation that includes chemicals also used to polish cars and lubricate latex.’	Human experiment? Health \| NEW SCIENTIST
Rehab is the new apology Health \| POPEATER Slurred a colleague? Cheated on your wife? Beaten your girlfriend? Allegedly slept with a lot of cocktail waitresses? If you've done something you wish you hadn't, there's a hot new pop culture way to avoid or postpone any public grovelling: rehab.	Twitter founder's new venture Technology \| L.A. TIMES Mark Milian reports, ‘Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, has announced that his new start-up, Square, has developed a way for anyone with a cellphone or iPod to become a merchant and accept credit card payments- even from a friend who owes you.'
Research says all men view porn Science \| GAWKER One of the basic components of a scientific study is the control group. For a study about the effects of porn on men's sexuality, the control group would be composed of men who haven't consumed porn. According to researchers, these men don't exist.	DIY reputation management Technology \| WIRED
Loneliness may be contagious Health \| WASHINGTON POST "Loneliness can be transmitted," John T. Cacioppo, a University of Chicago psychologist. "Loneliness is not just the property of an individual. It can be transmitted across people- even people you don't have direct contact with." Rob Stein reports.	Companies' own-drugs trials Science \| RED ORBIT As guidance on the standards for communicating company sponsored medical research is published, a debate by 2 experts in bmj.com considers- when drug companies carry out clinical trials on their own drugs, is the conflict of interest unacceptable?
Google and the end of the world Technology \| LOS ANGELES TIMES "It took telephones 71 years to penetrate 50% of American homes, electricity 52 years, and TV 3 decades. The internet reached more than 50 % of Americans in a mere decade" writes Ken Auletta in his book “Googled – The End of the World as we know it.	Improve the taste of semen? Health \| PSYCHOLOGY TODAY ‘Many women are happy to have lovers ejaculate in their mouths and swallow the semen. Others can't stand the idea. Some fear sexually transmitted infections, some dislike the taste of semen.’ Michael Castleman questions if the taste can be altered.
Humans are innately cooperative Science \| NEW YORK TIMES What is the essence of human nature? Flawed, say many theologians. Vicious and addicted to warfare, wrote Hobbes. Selfish and in need of considerable improvement, think many parents. The answer may be that we are innately sociable and helpful beings.	Single-sex schools bad for boys Health \| INDEPENDENT Research by London University’s Institute of Education, to be published tomorrow, shows that boys taught in singlesex schools are more likely to be divorced or separated from their partner than those who attended a mixed school by their early 40s.
Do you wanna be my friend? Technology \| CITY JOURNAL “Before Facebook, few of us asked others, explicitly, to be our friends. We didn’t monitor how many friends we had as an indication of our status or scroll through listings of friends of friends to pad our own list” writes Laura Vanderkam.	Time travelling sabotage Science \| NEW SCIENTIST Richard Webb asks,’Is the Large Hadron Collider sabotaging itself from the future? Apparently, among the many properties of the Higgs boson that the LHC is meant to discover could be the ability to turn back time to stop its cover being blown.’
How much is too much if pregnant? Health \| JEZEBEL In a press release NICE recommends not exceeding 1-2 units once or twice a week, and in the next, advises not drinking more than 7.5 units of alcohol on a single occasion. Well that’s OK then! But a lot of folks feel able to judge pregnant women.	Lungs vacuumed? Health \| DAILY MAIL Three years after giving up smoking Tom Sykes went for a bronchoscopy in which a camera is inserted into the lungs. They can then be given a spring clean using a miniature vacuum cleaner to suck out any mucusy tar accumulated in the past few years.
Placenta teddy bear Health \| ABC News Lauren Cox reports on London-based designer Alex Green's idea of turning the baby's placenta into a teddy bear. "It just looks like a brown leather teddy bear and you get closer and say, hmm what strange leather is that," said Green.	Is texting destroying love? Technology \| NEW YORK TIMES "Social life comes to resemble economics, with people enmeshed in blizzards of supply and demand signals amidst a universe of potential partners.... people establish different kinds of romantic attachments with different people at the same time."
Ideal Home exhibition for babies Health \| GUARDIAN Welcome to the UK's first Fertility Show. Organised with the Infertility Network UK, there are over 40 IVF specialists, clinics offering tests and info on egg freezing, sperm banks, nutritionists, acupuncturists and the latest on donor conception.	Technology different for girls? Technology \| TIMES Belinda Parmar, (Lady Geek) asks, ‘So why do technology companies think that pinking up and dumbing down their marketing is the way to get professional, well educated women to part with their cash? Why not research what women really want?’
Lego rock band Technology \| USA TODAY Lego again. According to Jinny Gudmundsen, ‘Families can't go wrong with Lego Rock Band. It's the perfect entry-level music game for kids and their reluctant parents and it's easier to play than the other popular Rock Band and Guitar Hero.’	Food cause of teen obesity Health \| TIME Most teenagers would rather devote an afternoon to sitting in front of the TV, computer or games console than working out. And in recent years, as PE facilities have been cut, teens have had even more time to do anything but break into a sweat.
Bustin' chubby kids Health \| NEWYORK POST Stop right there! No more cookies and milk for these kids! Appearance-obsessed parents in the Big Apple are hiring personal trainers for their preteens, shelling out $95 an hour to whip their little dumplings -- some as young as 5 -- into shape.	Homo sapiens' winning gender roles Science \| NEWSWEEK Thanks to recent discoveries that they were canny hunters, clever toolmakers, and probably endowed with the gift of language, Neanderthals have overcome the nastier calumnies hurled at them, especially that they were the "dumb brutes of the North".
Google wants your mates Technology \| DAILY BEAST After Google upgraded its social-networking tools yesterday, Douglas Rushkoff says its battle with Facebook might come with collateral damage: your friendships.To them, it’s just a new, relatively minor set of upgrades. To Facebook, it’s war.	Should women trust Wikipedia? Technology \| BOSTON REVIEW Does it matter that Wikipedians are 80 percent male, more than 65 percent single, more than 85 percent without children, and around 70 percent of them are under the age of 30? Does it matter that they are more interested in low-brow than high-brow?
Thin women enjoy shopping Science \| TELEGRAGH Scientists from Flinders University in Australia have found that the whole experience of trawling round shops, stripping off in front of full length mirrors and being bombarded by pictures featuring skinny models can be depressing for larger women.	Why the drugs don't work Health \| CNET Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reports, ‘Depression researcher Eva Redei presented research in Chicago this week that calls into question two tenets of depression science and for decades, drugs have (wrongly?) been developed around these beliefs.'

Men with big feet Science \| THE SUN A new book by doctors Aaron Carroll and Rachel Vreeman explodes common medical myths - including the one that men think about sex every seven seconds. Kate Wighton takes a look at some of the tall stories that get trotted out.	Have your say; homeopathy Health \| NEW SCIENTIST Michael Le Page states, ‘In the UK, government has paid for homeopathic treatments on the NHS and even licenses homeopathic medicines. Spending taxpayers’ money on treatments for which there is no scientific evidence of effectiveness.’
DJ Hero for Christmas? Technology \| WIRED DJ Hero, the new music game from Activision for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PlayStation 2, isn’t about slavish devotion to original recordings (unlike Guitar Hero). It’s about the power of the DJ to transform. So says Gus Mastrapa.	Grumpy is good for you Health \| COURIER MAIL Here is one to cheer you up! Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study from the University of New South Wales finding that being sad makes people less gullible, improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
1.5 million treatable child deaths Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Diarrhoea kills 1.5 million young children a year in developing countries — more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. “All the attention has gone to more glamorous diseases, but this basic thing has been left behind,” says Unicef’s Mickey Chopra.	DIY Botox and how-to video Health \| WIRED Alexis Madrigal writes about the site that sells a drug similar to Botox without requiring a prescription. ‘Some have learned how to inject the botulism-derived drug into their own faces from YouTube videos produced for the site.’
Womb transplant comes closer Health \| GUARDIAN British scientists believe they are a step closer to carrying out the first successful womb transplant. They have worked out how to transplant a womb with a good blood supply which could mean it lasts long enough to carry a pregnancy to term.	Parents too toxic to tolerate Health \| NEW YORK TIMES You can divorce an abusive spouse. You can call it quits if your lover mistreats you. But what can you do if the source of your misery is your own parent? There are some decent people who truly have the misfortune of having a truly toxic parent.
Your kid could kill mine Health \| SLATE The danger nonvaccinated children pose to immunocompromised children couldn't be clearer. Those who cannot be vaccinated depend on herd immunity. In recent years, the herd has diminished and children have died from preventable infectious diseases.	Burning bunnies for biofuel! Science \| DER SPIEGEL Stray bunnies are getting a raw deal in Sweden. Thousands of them living in the centre of Stockholm are being culled, deep-frozen and then converted into bio-fuel for heating homes, a professional hunter who works for the city of Stockholm has said.
French language protectionism Technology \| WSJ Max Colchester explains how a group of French experts spent 18 months coming up with "informatique en nuage" in order to translate cloud computing. "Send it back and start again," ordered France's General Commission of Terminology and Neology.	Why don't boys get the HPV jab? Health \| TRUE/SLANT Should the burden of STDs just be borne by girls and women? “Have you gotten your daughters vaccinated? Knowing it could reduce cases of cervical cancer in your son’s future partners, would you consider having him vaccinated?” asks Caitlin Kelly.
Masculinisation of labour Health \| GUARDIAN Denis Campbell reports that one of the world's leading obstetricians says the father's presence at birth can lead to his partner needing a caesarean delivery, a longer and more painful labour and even to marriage break-ups and mental illness.	The myth of the cool-down Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Gina Kolata writes, ‘The idea of the cool-down seems to have originated with a popular theory — now known to be wrong — that muscles become sore after exercise because they accumulate lactic acid. In fact, it’s good to generate lactic acid.'
A is for abortion Health \| GUARDIAN A new law scheduled to take effect in Oklahoma would establish an online, publicly accessible database of information about every woman in the state who sought or had an abortion. Why not save time and just make them wear a large scarlet letter.	One small step for woman Technology \| WIRED In the late 1950s, the United States government contemplated training women as astronauts, and newly released medical test results show that they were just as cool and tough as the men who went to the moon. Reported by Brandon Keim.
Why the menopause? Science \| PRIMATE DIARIES Why do women go through menopause? Chimpanzees and bonobos who we share 99% of our DNA with, are reproductive throughout their lifespans but human women can spend the last third of their lives infertile. Eric Michael Johnson asks why?	ijustmadelove.com Technology \| TELEGRAPH Tom Chivers write about IJustMadeLove.com. It lets internet users tell the world when – and where – they had sexual intercourse, using the Google Maps engine. There are also graphical representations of five possible positions users can tick.
High through asphyxiation Health \| Houston Chronicle Jennifer Radciffe writes of the US teenager Jenny Morgan, who became another victim to the so-called “choking game”. She's one of hundreds of children who have died chasing the brief feeling of euphoria that they believe comes through asphyxiation. ...	Against the conspiracy theorists Technology \| BBC “Conspiracy theorists have used the internet to co-ordinate increasingly slick attacks on the accepted versions of events, but now a group of scientists and sceptics has decided it's time to organise and fight back.” Writes Arran Frood.
Bloggers don't need more rules Technology \| GUARDIAN There's also a big difference between bloggers with large audiences and those just writing for a few friends. And that's the real problem with these guidelines – they're too simple a solution for something as complex and nuanced as internet content.	Sperm's anti-ageing properties Health \| DAILY TELEGRAGH A study by Austrian scientists at Graz University found that spermidine, a compound found in sperm, slows ageing processes and increases longevity in yeast, flies, worms, mice and human blood cells, by protecting cells from damage writes Tom Chivers. ...
Wired to worry Science \| NEW YORK TIMES Robin Henig asks if some people, no matter how robust their portfolios or how healthy their children, are always mentally preparing for doom. Are they just born worriers, their brains forever anticipating the dropping of some dreaded other shoe.	Sex makes you analytical Science \| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Love activates a long-term perspective that elicits global processing, it should also promote creativity and impede analytic thinking. As sex activates a short-term perspective, it should also promote analytic thinking and impede creative thinking.
Bottled water banned in Oz town Technology \| RED ORBIT In the world’s first ban on bottled water, the rural Australian town of Bundanoon pulled all bottled water from its shelves, replacing them with refillable bottles and drinking fountains through the town. Report by staff at Red Orbit.	Gas mask bra Science \| BBC Victoria Gill reports on the winners of the 2009 Ig Nobel prizes. These included the designers of a bra that can be converted into 2 gas masks. The aim of the awards is to honour achievements that 'first make people laugh and then make them think'.
Willpower as finite muscle Health \| GLOBE AND MAIL Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton found doing one task that depletes your self-control, such as not biting your nails, can make it difficult to sum up the willpower to do another – such as exercise.” writes Dakshana Bascaramurty.	Why exercise probaby didn't work Health \| TIME Whether, because exercise makes you hungry or because we want to reward ourselves, many people eat more ... after going to the gym. “It's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight,” writes John McCloud.
Let the pandas die? Science \| GUARDIAN This week, TV naturalist Chris Packham said pandas might not be worth saving. Mark Wright from the World Wide Fund for Nature is one of the many who disagree. Leo Benedictus interviews both, asking, ‘Should pandas be left to face extinction?'	Happy music makes you happy Science \| SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Mark Changizi asks, “Although it probably seems obvious that music can evoke emotions, it is to this day not clear why. Why doesn’t music feel like listening to speech sounds, or animal calls, or garbage disposals? Why is music nice to listen to?"

How much is too much wine Health \| DAILY TELEGRAGH Bottle-a-day Jonathan Ray’s psychiatrist friend observes "If you stick to Government guidelines you're guaranteed not to suffer any harmful psychological or physical effects. You won't wake up with a hangover, but nor will you have much fun."	Aerobic exercise aids cognition Health \| NEW YORK TIMES Gretchen Reynolds notes that researchers have known for some time that exercise changes the structure of the brain and affects thinking but must it be strenuous or aerobic to be beneficial? Are the cognitive improvements permanent or fleeting?
The orgasm marketplace Health \| THE NATION “In the beginning there was sex. And sex begat skill, and skill (or its absence) begat judgment, and judgment begat insecurity, and insecurity begat doctors' visits, which begat treatments, which have flourished into...” so writes Joann Wypijewski.	HIV doesn't always kill Health \| GUARDIAN ONLINE “Aids industry dinosaurs like myself, who have been around long enough to remember Aids, know that Aids really is something bad. What we're not so good at admitting is that it is practically non-existent in rich countries.” admits Elizabeth Pisani.
Fat is not a feminist issue Health \| DAILY BEAST “The night before [a friend] had involuntarily, noticeably winced as her teenage daughter ordered a big slice of cake... And now her mother was wracked with guilt because she’d broken a cardinal rule of last-century parenting.” writes Lee Aitkin.	Junk science and nutrition Health \| CSI Reynold Spector writes, “In recent years, human nutrition research and practice is plagued by pseudoscience and unsupported opinions. A scientific analysis separates reliable nutrition facts from nutritional pseudoscience and false opinion”.
Placebos are more effective Health \| WIRED Half of drugs that fail in late-stage trials do so because of their inability to beat sugar pills and older drugs, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent trials. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger notes Steve Silverman.	Buzz Aldrin - he's not bitter Technology \| Marc Lee TELEGRAPH: As we mark the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin talks less about kicking up moon dust for an hour and half and more about the depression and alcoholism he faced after his moon landing.
Creation Museum-diddly Science \| Staff RED ORBIT: Ned Flanders would love this place. Paleontologists visiting the Creation Museum at the conclusion of a convention however, got more than they bargained for when they found their life’s work under attack.	Murdoch to save papers Technology \| James Silver WIRED: It’s hardly a hot scoop that the newspaper industry is in trouble. One possible solution is to launch a Sky TV-style tiered-subscription platform – available on a mobile device, e-reader or computer – featuring all News Corp content.
Porn star misses out on chat Technology \| Matt Richtel NEW YORK TIMES: The porn movie industry has long had only a casual interest in plot and dialogue. But moviemakers are focusing even less on narrative these days. They are filming more short scenes that can be easily sold in several-minute chunks.	Smart people do stupid things Health \| Kate Stinchfield TIME: The pursuit of a thrill can make us take crazy chances: bungee-jumping or skydiving. And then there's paying for a prostitute when you're a public figure the whole world is watching. Why does excitement seduce some while leaving others cold. ...
The voices in your head Health \| Benedict Carey NEW YORK TIMES: They swirl up from the brain’s sewage system at the worst possible times — during a job interview, a meeting with the boss, a first date . What if I started a food fight? Mocked the host’s stammer? Cut loose with a racial slur.	When is obese not obese? Health \| Kevin Devlin NPR: Americans keep putting on the pounds — at least according to a report released this week from the Trust for America's Health. It found that nearly two-thirds of states now have adult obesity rates above 25 percent.
Should we go all 'Zola Budd'? Health \| Katherine Hobson US NEWS: There's a growing sense in many quarters that the very shoes we think are protecting us from harm may be causing it. For decades, there's been a grass-roots movement for barefoot running. Time to toss out the trainers?	Coffee is good Health \| January W. Payne US NEWS: Recent research suggests that regular coffee consumption may reduce the risk of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and liver cancer—and regular coffee drinkers might even live longer.
Half of Americans use vibrators Health \| Staff LIVE SCIENCE: About half of American adults indicate using a vibrator, according to a new survey helping to shed light on acts that take place beneath the covers. And the survey finds it's not just women taking advantage of the battery-operated toy.	And now comes Video Bay Technology \| Jacqui Cheng ARS TECHNICA: The Pirate Bay's new project to stream video and audio on the Web, The Video Bay, will apparently have no copyright restrictions: not likely to help The Pirate Bay's case in fighting its copyright conviction from earlier this year.
Why bother? Health \| Justine Davies GUARDIAN: 'Rich in antioxidants" ensures food and drinks are snapped up in the hope of preventing ageing, cancer or heart disease. Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C and E, are marketed as good for our health but what is the evidence?	Emotional or just a bad day? Science \| Sharon Begley NEWSWEEK: Women felt sad, angry or afraid because they were "emotional," but men felt those emotions because they were "having a bad day". So claimed the participants in a new study from the University of California.
Recession depression Health \| Paul Vallely INDEPENDENT: “I’ve never before had a businessman ring to talk about money worries,” says the Samaritans’ branch director, Anne Nettleship, on the evening shift. “But it’s happened three times in the space of a week."	Piracy threatens the creatives Technology \| Stephen Garrett FT: Piracy (think Johnny Depp) and file-sharing sound harmless enough. But as it involves the widespread appropriation of intellectual property without payment, file-sharing is better described as file-nicking. It is theft.
Breastfeeding while drunk charge Health \| Staff GRANDFORKS HERALD: A North Dakota woman has pleaded guilty to neglect for breast-feeding her 6-week-old baby while drunk. She could face up to five years in prison when she's sentenced on the felony charge in August.	Jobs should face S.E.C. probe Technology \| Dana Blankenthorn ZDNET: Not only did Apple come awfully close to losing Jobs over the last few months, but he will never be truly out of the woods. Paul Argenti of Dartmouth’s business school says Apple should face SEC action for failing to disclose Jobs’ condition.
Dying Farrah Fawcett to wed Health \| Ani Esmailian HOLLYWOOD SCOOP: After dating for nearly 30 years, Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal are finally going to tie the knot! "I've asked her to marry me, again, and she has agreed. I used to ask her to marry me all the time," O'Neal told ABC’s 20/20.	To err is human, Obama Health \| Meghan Daum LA TIMES: The history-making speechifying, the unfailing gym workouts, the date nights reminiscent of the season finale of "The Bachelor": It's getting to be a bit much. Obama, you're making the rest of us feel bad.
Positive thinking bad for esteem Health \| Rob Stein WASHINGTON POST: Despite what all those self-help books may say, repeating positive statements apparently does not help people with low self-esteem feel better about themselves. In fact, it tends to make them feel worse, according to new research.	Rage against the machine Technology \| Editorial SF GATE: Modern autocrats must study the Iranian government playbook. Fix an election to stay in power. When protests break out, shut down Internet servers, stop cell phone messaging and kick out the foreign journos.
Crap paper accepted by journal Science \| Peter Alduous NEW SCIENTIST: We love a hoax, especially one that both amuses and makes a serious point about the communication of science. So kudos to Philip Davis who got a nonsensical computer-generated paper accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.	Revolutionary's dream? Twitter? Technology \| Jack Scafer SLATE: How long before the secret police start sending out organizational tweets—"We're massing at 7 p.m. at the Hall of the People for a march to the Hall of Justice!"—and busts everybody who shows up?

Iranian hackers hit back Technology \| Dancho Danchev ZDNET: Approximately 24 hours ago, the Iranian oposition coordinated an ongoing cyber attack that has successfully managed to disrupt access to major pro-Ahmadinejad web sites, including the President’s homepage.	Terminally-ill-fetus blog a hoax Science \| Benjamin Radford LIVE SCIENCE: A pregnant young woman spent months blogging about her compelling personal journey of anguish. Her unborn child had a rare and fatal birth defect. The plucky and courageous mom was determined to have the child in line with her beliefs.
Misery Poker Health \| Elizabeth Bernstein WALL STREET JOURNAL: Think your day was bad? Misery once loved company. Workers whined to each other about nagging bosses. Friends moaned about lazy spouses. Spouses griped about noisy neighbors. Venting helped people bond and made them feel better. ...	Iranian election: best blogs Technology \| Liz Heron WASHINGTON POST: Amid reports that the Iranian government is disrupting communication services and curbing traditional media outlets, millions are turning to blogs and social media channels. Read a review of the best sources of info.
Only 2 late abortion clinics in US. Health \| Maggie Fox REUTERS: Sarah Coe was looking forward to her scan. Sadly, she discovered that her fetus had hydrocephalus which was progressing so fast that the baby's head could burst inside her womb. George Tiller’s clinic provided an abortion at 24 weeks.	But don't sell it to the Chinese Health \| Staff RED ORBIT: Stores in the United States began selling the IntelliGender test nationwide last month for $34.95. More than 50,000 of the over-the-counter gender prediction tests have been sold in the United States.
Longer life if it has purpose Science \| Red Orbit Staff RED ORBIT: Possessing a greater purpose in life, after adjusting for age, sex, education and race, is associated with lower mortality rates among older, community-based, adults according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.	Twitter and Iranian Opposition Technology \| Josh Lowensohn CNET: According to Biz Stone, Twitter's host NTT America is postponing downtime that was scheduled to take place late Monday night in light of the Twitter activity surrounding the presidential elections in Iran.
Mobile Payment Wars Technology \| Caroline McCarthy CNET: Some would say our cell phone bills are high enough already. But two emerging start-ups are hoping to make mobile devices a hub for one of the hottest trends on the Web: micropayments. Enter Boku and Zong.	Google gazes on micro-blogging Technology \| Chris Foresman ARS TECHNICA: Google may be close to launching a service to search micro-blogging sites such as Twitter for popular trends. Such searches, with other results, may provide insights into what people say about a particular subject, real time.
Junk Food and Probiotics Health \| Sarah Reistad Long WALL STREET JOURNAL: You can buy pasta enriched with calcium, ketchup that boasts probiotics, marshmallows infused with skin-boosting collagen, and ginger ale with green tea to reduce the incidence of heart disease.	Diligence not IQ wins out Science \| Nicholas D Kristof NEW YORK TIMES: It would appear that success depends less on intellectual endowment than on perseverance and drive. As Professor Nisbett,of Michigan Univeristy puts it, “Intelligence and academic achievement are very much under people’s control".
Guardian of the truth fired Technology \| James Tozer DAILY MAIL: David Boothroyd, a Labour councillor has been exposed for changing David Cameron's entry in Wikipedia, whilst being a member of its Arbitration Committee. Using a false name he swapped a picture of Mr Cameron for one ‘not carrying saintly o...	Happy 25th birthday Tetris Technology \| Staff THE INDEPENDENT: Completed by a Soviet programmer in 1984, Tetris has come a long way from its square roots. Played by millions, not just on computers and gaming consoles, but on Facebook and the iPhone as well.
I cook, therefore I am Science \| Christine Kenneally SLATE: It all comes down to those wild hunting men and foraging females, tearing at flesh and gnawing on tubers. Or, what if the roots of who and what we are lie not in this restless, raw state but in our discovery of the the home-cooked meal.	Why teen girls' are such bitches Science \| Jesse Bering SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: Researchers assert that anything that sabotages another females’ image as a desirable reproductive partner, such as commenting on her promiscuity, physical appearance or some other aberrant or quirky traits, tends to be the stuff o...
Why do some couples sizzle? Health \| Tara Parker-Pope NEW YORK TIMES: Why do some couples sizzle while others fizzle? Social scientists are studying no-sex marriages for clues about what can go wrong in relationships. Married men and women, on average, have sex with their spouse 58 times a year.	Post-trauma embitterment disorder Science \| Shari Roan LA TIMES: Bitter behavior is so common and deeply destructive that some psychiatrists are urging it be identified as a mental illness under the name post-traumatic embitterment disorder. After a trauma, embittered people are seething for revenge.
Rosa Luxemberg's corpse found Science \| Frank Thadeusz DER SPIEGEL: Rosa Luxemberg's grave has long been a magnet for leftists. However, a corpse found deep by a pathologist in the cellar of a Berlin hospital, may be that of the communist revolutionary murdered in 1919.	Live with cancer to survive it Science \| Brandon Keim WIRED: For all the weapons deployed in the war on cancer, from chemicals to radiation to nanotechnology, the underlying strategy has remained the same: Detect and destroy, with no compromise given to the killer. But Robert Gatenby wants to strike a pea...
20% of you owned by another Science \| SFGate SF GATE: Twenty percent of all human genes have been patented. These patents are crippling the ability of scientists to study diseases and restricting patients access to information they need to make important medical decisions about their health.	Arrival Web 3.0 Technology \| Mossberg/Swisher ALL THINGS DIGITAL: It’s the arrival of the thin client, running clean, simple software, against cloud-based data and services. The poster children for this new era have been the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, which have sold 37m units.
U.S. stem cell research threat Science \| Rob Stein WASHINGTON POST: Proponents of stem cell research have concluded that plans to expand federal support for research, could have the opposite effect, putting off-limits much of the research underway, including work the Bush administration endorsed.	10 things about orgasm video Science \| Cory Doctorow BOINGBOING: In Mary Roach's TED Talk, "10 things you didn't know about orgasm," she speaks of people able to think themselves to orgasm, explaining foreplay to royalty, and the business of measuring the human penis's muzzle-velocity.
Get back into the groove Technology \| Paddy Hintz COURIERMAIL.com.au: Record players and the paraphernalia that goes with them - stylii, cleaning tools, vinyl records and old-fashioned amplifiers - are making a comeback.	Exercise won't shed your weight Health \| Jacqueline Stenson MSNBC: A new study suggests that exercise does not boost metabolism as much as widely believed. In addition to this misperception, there is also the false belief that weight training dramatically increases metabolism by adding muscle.
How to praise Science \| Dr. Terri Apter PSYCHOLOGY TODAY: Children often respond negatively to praise. A 5-year-old burst into tears when her grandmother looked at her school workbook and proclained, “It’s brilliant!” A 7-year-old kicked and screamed, and then squeezed her newly-made clay f...	Screening that works Health \| Matthew Herper FORBES: Tests can indicate you have a disease you don't. They can tell you don't have a disease you do, leading you to ignore symptoms. They can spot a slow-growing disease you might be better off not knowing about. And they can waste money...
Why fixate about the missing link? Science \| Brian Palmer SLATE: Scientists unveiled the fossil of a lemurlike creature called "Ida" that lived 47 million years ago in Germany. According to reports, the discovery is a missing link in human evolution. The research team itself is pushing the same idea. They've ...	Chemo vs death from cancer Science \| Orac SCIENCEBLOGS.com: What is often forgotten or intentionally ignored is that doctors don't use chemotherapy because they love "torturing" patients or because they're in the pockets of big pharma and looking for cash or because they are too lazy to find a...

Hubble's last spacewalk Technology \| CNN CNN: The space shuttle Atlantis crew on Monday afternoon completed its final spacewalk to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, according to NASA. The spacewalk was said to be the last time human hands would touch the orbiting telescope...	We need a new space mission Science \| Philip Plait NASA is in a bit of trouble right now. You'd hardly know it. Right now, as you read this, seven astronauts are circling the Earth hundreds of miles over your head. They are performing delicate surgery on the multi-billion dollar Hubble Telescope...
Will our children even recognise? Technology \| Charlie Sorrel WIRED.co.uk: Tech rolls in and out of fashion, and today the turnover is faster than ever. It won’t be long before many seemingly permanent gadgets disappear and become mere curiosities.	Women make men stupid Science \| Scott Barry Kaufman PSYCHOLOGY TODAY: He was chatting with a woman he was interested in. He was sweating profusely. Suddenly a group of friends came over, he remembers turning to introduce his best friends, but S. B. Kaufman couldn't remember any of their names.
No P.E. makes you fat, right? Health \| John Cloud TIME: The logic seems pretty simple: if you eliminate gym class, school kids will get fatter. In 2006, a blue-ribbon commission released a worried report about the precipitous decline of physical education in schools since the early '90s.	Boob men for 35,000 years Science \| Clara Moskowitz LIVE SCIENCE: If human culture seems obsessed with sex lately, it's nothing new. Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known artistic representation of a woman — a carved ivory statue of a naked female, dating from 35,000 years ago.
Dell's sexist Della Technology \| Joanne Sterm LAPTOP: If a Web site were to be designed by a PC manufacturer to market its laptops and netbooks to men, what would it look like? Would the tips section be full of pointers on how to stream porn? Or how to check sports scores more efficiently on a shr...	Proof that man flu exists Health \| Red Orbit RED ORBIT: Women have a more powerful immune system than men, researchers in Montreal found. The study found the production of estrogen by females could have a beneficial effect on the innate inflammatory response against bacterial pathogens.
Three Noahs in his class Technology \| Alexis Madrigal WIRED.com: Baby names change with the winds of fashion and new research suggests the faster they get popular, the faster they get lame. Take Tricia. Back in the 1950s, almost nobody named their baby girls Tricia. By the 1970s, the name had skyrocketed ...	Lithium in drinking water Health \| Ewen Callaway SHORTSHARPSCIENCE: In Japan's Oita Prefecture, cities with higher levels of lithium in their drinking water experienced lower rates of suicide. Should governments add lithium to the water supply? .
Why is the willy that shape? Science \| Jesse Bering SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: If you’ve ever had a good, long look at the human phallus, whether yours or someone else’s, you’ve probably scratched your head over such a peculiarly shaped device.	Facebook's nipple patrol Technology \| Nick Summers NEWSWEEK: It's just before lunchtime in the sunny, high-tech headquarters of Facebook in Palo Alto, Calif., and Simon Axten is cuing up some porn. A photo of a young couple sloppily making out pops onscreen. It's gross, but not against the rules, so Ax...
Who owns you Technology \| Jessica Bennett NEWSWEEK: This is a story about a photo—an image so horrific we can't print it in NEWSWEEK. The picture shows the lifeless body of an 18-year-old Orange County girl named Nikki Catsouras, who was killed in a devastating car crash on Halloween day in 20...	Ego-surfing with Google Technology \| Tom McNicholl TIME: The act of Googling oneself has become the digital age's premiere guilty pleasure — an activity enjoyed by all and admitted by few. A team of social scientists published a study concluding that the practice of self-Googling can partly be traced...
Birth by You Tube Health \| Sarah Lyall NEW YORK TIMES: It was 2:30 in the morning, and Marc and Jo Stephens were at home in Redruth, Cornwall, when Ms. Stephens realized that their fourth child was about to be born, three weeks early.	Women-only clinic for addicts grows Health \| Anna Davis THE EVENING STANDARD: London's only treatment centre for women alcohol and drug addicts has tripled in size to cope with an increasing number of cases.
Sexism; pregnant women don't drink. Health \| Daily Mail MAIL ONLINE: Telling pregnant women not to drink is 'sexist' and ' ethically dubious', a medical legal expert has warned.	Plumping up to pillow face Health \| Leah Hardy MAIL ONLINE: The new Cheeky Girls: Why are so many stars plumping to have the 'pillow face'?
Anorexia linked to 'autistic' thinking Health \| Linda Geddes NEW SCIENTIST: A GROWING appreciation of the links between anorexia and autism spectrum disorders has uncovered new opportunities for treating the eating disorder.	The library of Google Technology \| Ryan Singel WIRED: It’s the story of one company’s attempt to create the largest and most comprehensive library known to man.
Teacher cleared in sexting case Technology \| Editorial WASHINGTON POST: Told that a judge was dismissing all charges against him, Virginia educator Ting-Yi Oei had just one thought: "Hallelujah." Given his nightmarish prosecution on child pornography charges, it was an understandable, even restrained, re...	Torrent of Tweets Technology \| Verne Kopytoff SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Emboldened by a few glasses of wine one Saturday night, Tara Hunt ranted on Twitter about her frustrations with San Francisco's dating scene. She soon regretted it.
Early female puberty Health \| Red Orbit RED ORBIT: Girls are developing breasts and starting their menstrual cycles at a younger age, Danish research reveals, Reuters reported. The findings support recent studies that found breast development in American girls over the past several years is ...	No such thing as 'Freeconomics'? Science \| Andrew Orlowski NEW STATESMAN: Chris Anderson, who popularised the phrase “the long tail”, claims to know how the internet will rewrite the rules of business. Exciting as they sound, the Wired editor’s theories have no sticking power and the backlash against him has...
Oldest objects in Space Science \| Robert Roy Britt SPACE.com: Astronomers might have seen the very first stars in the universe. If so, these are incredible stars, some 1,000 times as massive as the Sun. The alternative is just as interesting: The objects might be early black holes consuming gas vorac...	Anti-viral drug resistance Health \| Shari Roan LA TIMES: Pharmacies are bracing for an increased demand for antiviral medications even as health officials warned that the drugs, designed for treating and preventing influenza, should be used judiciously.
Kidney through belly button Health \| AP ASSOCIATED PRESS: Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center say they have successfully removed a donated kidney through a woman's belly button.	Who to follow on Twitter Technology \| Jessica Winter SLATE: Late last week, Twitter reached a fame-driven tipping point when Ashton Kutcher beat CNN to 1 million followers and Oprah Winfrey garnered 40,000 of her own in the time between signing up for the microblogging service and making her first-eve...
Overreacting to sexting Technology \| Matthew Lasar ARS TECHNICA: A small army of educators and telecom reps met in DC to get America's conversation over "sexting" past the panic phase.	Brain Gain Health \| Margaret Talbot THE NEW YORKER: A young man I’ll call Alex recently graduated from Harvard. As a history major, Alex wrote about a dozen papers a semester. He also ran a student organization, for which he often worked more than forty hours a week; when he wasn’t on t...

Suspect's Facebook mates Technology \| Associated Press BREITBART.com: Police say it was the Internet that got him in trouble, but now supporters of the man who has been accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist are going online to rally around him.	Recession abortions, vasectomies Health \| Rebekah Kebede REUTERS: The pregnancy was unexpected, and for one 32-year-old single mother in Syracuse, New York, the ailing economy became a factor in her decision to have an abortion.
World Leaders on Facebook Technology \| Sage Stossel THE ATLANTIC: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joined the group People Who Always Have To Spell Their Names For Others and Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are now friends via the People You May Know tool. What a group for World Leaders might look like.	Social networking for brainiacs Technology \| Mauro Munafò WIRED: I made a decision: I would leave Facebook and seek out a new online home among the thousands of other social networks available online.
We try to blame our genes Health \| Liz Hunt TELEGRAPH.CO.UK: We love to blame our genes for a myriad of woes: they present us with excuses that are built into our DNA. The more we learn about our heritage, as individuals and as a species, the greater the range of excuses we have, be it for ...	Put your Twitter face on Technology \| J Peder Zane NEWS & OBSERVER: In our high-speed roadrunner world, you barely have time to lay an egg before someone tries to crack it. So it goes with the instant messaging service Twitter.
Lice may be good for kids Health \| Maggie Fox REUTERS: Research on mice shows that those carrying the most lice had calmer immune systems than uninfested rodents.	Two Earth-like planets Science \| Thomas H Maugh II LA TIMES: After locating more than 340 planets orbiting other stars, astronomers have identified two that are the most similar to Earth so far.
Why Microsoft ads are so bad Technology \| Seth Stevenson SLATE MAGAZINE: The Spot: A little girl named Alexa takes digital pictures of a fort she made, downloads them to her computer, and then stitches them together into a panorama using Microsoft's Windows Live Photo Gallery. "I'm a PC and I'm 7 years old,"...	Remembering Skunk Health \| Caitlin Moran TIMESONLINE. All that talk about the Myersons and drugs made me remember that I was a stoner. But my memory is not what it used to be.
YouTube Top12 Technology \| TELEGRAGH TELEGRAPH.co.uk: The viral success of Susan Boyle's performance on Britain's Got Talent has highlighted the huge popularity that clips can achieve when they are posted on video-sharing websites like YouTube.	Only twits tweet Technology \| Meghan Daum LA TIMES: The Age of Oversharing is upon us, and those of us who lack enthusiasm for minutia are in a distinct minority. The current enabler-in-chief of this movement? Twitter, that suddenly ubiquitous "microblogging" system that lets users post update...
Felony charges for sexting kids Technology \| Dionne Searcey WALL STREET JOURNAL: The practice of teens taking naked photos of themselves and sending them to friends via cellphones, called "sexting," has alarmed parents, school officials and prosecutors nationwide.	Healthy choices may make you fat Health \| Science Daily SCIENCE DAILY: More restaurants and vending machines offer healthy choices these days, so why do Americans' waistlines continue to expand.
Healthy ovaries protect heart Health \| Deborah Shelton LA TIMES: Women who have their healthy ovaries removed when they have a hysterectomy face a higher risk of death -- including death from coronary heart disease and lung cancer.	Ashkenazi Jews genetic legacy Health \| Karen Kaplan LA TIMES: Ashkenazi Jews have a higher rate of some deadly genetic diseases -- and of high IQs.
Is it adultery on Second Life? Technology \| Mitch Wagner INFORMATION WEEK: Is cybersex adultery? That's a question faced by a U.K. couple, who divorced after she caught him having cybersex with another woman in Second Life.	Paxman donates his brain Science \| Daily Mail THE MAIL ONLINE: Jeremy Paxman is to donate his brain to charity when he dies to help find a cure for Parkinson's disease.
The creeps on twitter Technology \| Meghan NcCain THE DAILY BEAST: Meghan McCain says we need to take back Twitter from the creepy people—like Karl Rove.	Granny better than a hybrid car Technology \| Jeffrey Ball WALL STREET JOURNAL: Just do not expect anyone to like you.
Al Gore down non-embryo route Science \| Adam Coghlan NEW SCIENTIST: Opponents of embryo research have used an investment last week by former vice president Al Gore, as a new pretext to attack research on embryonic stem cells (ESCs).	Addiction Threshold is Foggy Health \| Nina Caplan MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE.com: I am not an alcoholic. I don’t get sick, fall down or start my day with tots of whiskey. But I do love wine.
Oiled Americans Deficient in vitamin D Health \| Scientific American 'Sunshine' vitamin D deficit blamed for everything from cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Writes Jordan Lite.

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