That's one horny chimp! Primate found to be addicted to porn
Spanish primatologist recounts his observations of Gina, a chimpanzee that only wanted to watch pornography when a television and remote control was placed in her enclosure.
BY LEE MORAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013, 8:33 AM
Gina (not pictured) was found to prefer watching pornography by her handlers rather than any other form of television entertainment.
Gina is one naughty chimp.
Gina, a resident of the Seville Zoo in Spain, chose to solely watch adult entertainment channels when a television and remote control was placed in her enclosure.
Primatologist Pablo Herreros, writing in Spanish newspaper El Mundo, claimed he made the discovery some years ago on a tour of the nation's chimpanzee enclosures.
During his research trip he conducted surveys on the behavior of the animals.
Herreros wrote, “What I could never imagine were the surprises prepared for me by a female of this species called Gina who inhabited Seville Zoo.”
“Due to the intense interior lives that these animals have, you have to enrich their environment to stimulate them physically and psychologically,” Herreros wrote. “These usually consist of artificial mounds, toys and other inventions that require them to be active and sharpen their wits. It is the equivalent of occupational therapy for humans.”
To enliven Gina's nights, officials apparently decided to install a television, protected behind glass, and gave her a remote control so she could change the channels herself.
And enliven herself she did.
“The surprise was when they found that within a few days, Gina was not only using the remote control perfectly well, but that she also used to choose the porn channel for entertainment, as many of us would have done, ” Herreros wrote. “Although a small study estimated that porn films are only watched for about 12 minutes on average, the truth is that human and non-human primates possess an intense sexual life.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/primate-found-addicted-porn-article-1.1239610#ixzz2I4KYHuTZ
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Asteroid 'Apophis' Won't Kill Us All in 2036
Asteroid 'Apophis' Won't Kill Us All in 2036
By David Murphy
January 12, 2013 05:16pm EST
:
Congrats! Come 2036, you'll still be here – as opposed to being blown apart by a giant asteroid that was initially thought to have a great-than-zero chance of striking Earth when it swings around in 2036.
Well, you might not still be here – who knows! – but the Earth should still be around and intact. NASA scientists have officially ruled that the asteroid Apophis, an approximately 885-foot-long hunk of rock that just passed within nine million miles of Earth this past Wednesday, will not be the herald of humanity's doom come 20 or so years from now. That's a bit more of a relief than the approximate 2.7 percent chance scientists had first assigned as a strike probability to Apophis when the asteroid was discovered in 2004.
"The impact odds as they stand now are less than one in a million, which makes us comfortable saying we can effectively rule out an Earth impact in 2036. Our interest in asteroid Apophis will essentially be for its scientific interest for the foreseeable future," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, in a statement.
While Apophis' 2029 flyby of Earth will still set records for the closest such pass by an object of the asteroid's size, it's not going to have sky-watchers sweating bullets as was previously thought. Astronomers had initially feared that the close pass had a chance to send Apophis flying through a galactic "keyhole" – not a term stolen from the comic books, we note, but a half-mile-wide area of space that would then set Apophis on the perfect path for smacking into the planet when the asteroid came back around in 2036.
That said, don't count Apophis out completely just yet.
"But/And ... there are more radar observations to integrate in ... as well as optical tracking both now and for the next several years. Apophis isn't going away ... the impact possibilities are simply shifting around a bit with refinement of the tracking data. 2036 is now less probable; 2068 is now more probable (but still very low)," wrote Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart to Cosmic Log's Alan Boyle.
It's expected that scientists will be able to pull in more data about Apophis' exact track by the end of February. For now, however, you can safely keep your next thirty years' worth of dinner plans intact.
For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).
By David Murphy
January 12, 2013 05:16pm EST
:
Congrats! Come 2036, you'll still be here – as opposed to being blown apart by a giant asteroid that was initially thought to have a great-than-zero chance of striking Earth when it swings around in 2036.
Well, you might not still be here – who knows! – but the Earth should still be around and intact. NASA scientists have officially ruled that the asteroid Apophis, an approximately 885-foot-long hunk of rock that just passed within nine million miles of Earth this past Wednesday, will not be the herald of humanity's doom come 20 or so years from now. That's a bit more of a relief than the approximate 2.7 percent chance scientists had first assigned as a strike probability to Apophis when the asteroid was discovered in 2004.
"The impact odds as they stand now are less than one in a million, which makes us comfortable saying we can effectively rule out an Earth impact in 2036. Our interest in asteroid Apophis will essentially be for its scientific interest for the foreseeable future," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, in a statement.
While Apophis' 2029 flyby of Earth will still set records for the closest such pass by an object of the asteroid's size, it's not going to have sky-watchers sweating bullets as was previously thought. Astronomers had initially feared that the close pass had a chance to send Apophis flying through a galactic "keyhole" – not a term stolen from the comic books, we note, but a half-mile-wide area of space that would then set Apophis on the perfect path for smacking into the planet when the asteroid came back around in 2036.
That said, don't count Apophis out completely just yet.
"But/And ... there are more radar observations to integrate in ... as well as optical tracking both now and for the next several years. Apophis isn't going away ... the impact possibilities are simply shifting around a bit with refinement of the tracking data. 2036 is now less probable; 2068 is now more probable (but still very low)," wrote Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart to Cosmic Log's Alan Boyle.
It's expected that scientists will be able to pull in more data about Apophis' exact track by the end of February. For now, however, you can safely keep your next thirty years' worth of dinner plans intact.
For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Thoughts & Philosophy of the Day
Thoughts of the Day
Be wrong as fast as you can. Mistakes are an inevitable part of the creative process, so get right down to it and start making them.
As children we are raised to exist in a world that others wish exists, rather than the world that actually exists.
We tread carefully through life so that we can make it safely to the grave. Life is a risk, and not taking one is the biggest risk.
If we do not have sovereignty over our own bodies then what do we have in this world?
A rising tide raises all ships.
The Truth is hidden in plain sight.
Look a little close. What you see as a liability is really an asset.
Don't ask yourself how I can make money. Don't ask yourself how I can be successful. Do not ask for the meaning of life. Ask how I can give my Gift to the World.
Be wrong as fast as you can. Mistakes are an inevitable part of the creative process, so get right down to it and start making them.
As children we are raised to exist in a world that others wish exists, rather than the world that actually exists.
We tread carefully through life so that we can make it safely to the grave. Life is a risk, and not taking one is the biggest risk.
If we do not have sovereignty over our own bodies then what do we have in this world?
A rising tide raises all ships.
The Truth is hidden in plain sight.
Look a little close. What you see as a liability is really an asset.
Don't ask yourself how I can make money. Don't ask yourself how I can be successful. Do not ask for the meaning of life. Ask how I can give my Gift to the World.
Philosophy of the Day
Amor Fati is a Latin phrase loosely translating to "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good. Moreover, it is characterized by an acceptance of the events or situations that occur in one's life.
The phrase has been linked to the writings of Marcus Aurelius, who did not himself use the words (he wrote in Greek, not Latin). [1]
The phrase is used repeatedly in Friedrich Nietzsche's writings and is representative of the general outlook on life he articulates in section 276 of The Gay Science, which reads:
I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the whole: someday I wish to be only a Yes-sayer.
Quotation from "Why I Am So Clever" in Ecce Homo, section 10: [2]
My formula for greatness in a human being is Amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, and not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it—all idealism is mendaciousness in the face of what is necessary—but love it.
Amor Fati is a Latin phrase loosely translating to "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good. Moreover, it is characterized by an acceptance of the events or situations that occur in one's life.
The phrase has been linked to the writings of Marcus Aurelius, who did not himself use the words (he wrote in Greek, not Latin). [1]
The phrase is used repeatedly in Friedrich Nietzsche's writings and is representative of the general outlook on life he articulates in section 276 of The Gay Science, which reads:
I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the whole: someday I wish to be only a Yes-sayer.
Quotation from "Why I Am So Clever" in Ecce Homo, section 10: [2]
My formula for greatness in a human being is Amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, and not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it—all idealism is mendaciousness in the face of what is necessary—but love it.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The Thrillist - 10 Most Dangerous Holidays
The Thrillist - 10 Most Dangerous Holidays
by STEPHANIE MCDERMOTT
Published: Sat Jan 5, 2013
For most travelers, the risk of a sunburn is the most concerning factor to consider before flying. But if you’re looking to simultaneously push the boundaries of safety and sanity on your next holiday, look no further. But be warned: while this list features 10 trips to try before you die, some may actually hasten your route there.
10. EdgeWalk, CN Tower, Toronto, Canada
The rules of the game are this: head 1,168 feet up to top of tower, strap on harness, lean out over its furthest ledge – and pray. We’ll concede that thanks to strict safety controls, EdgeWalk isn’t dangerous in the mortal peril sense, but it’s nonetheless one of the more terrifying ways to spend $175. EdgeWalk
9. Bungee Jump a Volcano, Pucón, Chile
The perennially insane act of throwing oneself off a bridge tied to a piece of elastic just got jacked up. For $12,500, try diving off a helicopter into the mouth of the active Villarrica volcano in Chile, where you’ll dangle 700 feet over a pool of bubbling lava. Hilariously, the website’s FAQ includes the question, ‘Could I die?’ to which they reassuringly answer, ‘Yes. You could. You'll be signing a waiver though, so we're cool.’ Bungee
8. Whitewater rafting with crocodiles, Zimbabwe, Africa
Head to Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls to experience the world’s wildest raftable rapids. But the Zambezi's water isn’t all you’ll need to fear, for below the surface swim hundreds of not overly hospitable crocodiles. While we’re assured that they’re quite small, sometimes size isn’t everything. Zambezi
7. Wild weather watching, Oklahoma / Colorado, USA
The company Storm Chasing Adventure Tours offers just what its name suggests. Having filmed for Nat Geo, Discovery and NBC amongst others, these hurricane hunters know what they’re doing. For $2000 join them on 6-day tours across the aptly titled Tornado Alley (several states in central N. America) to witness these forces of nature from the relative safety of fortified trucks. Storm Chasing
6. Tow Surfing Jaws Break, Maui, Hawaii
Jaws, one of the world’s biggest wave breaks has become the daredevil surfer’s apex. Guides tow you into the breakpath on jetskis – then whisk you to safety just before the 33 foot wall of water crashes onto you. While there haven’t been any recorded deaths yet, the rising number of novice riders giving it a good old go are causing some concern. Jaws Tours
5. Running the Bulls, Pamplona, Spain
Being chased by a horde of stressed out bulls isn’t to everyone’s taste, yet thousands turn up annually in Pamplona to do just that. Lasting on average 3 minutes, the exhilaration is said to be tremendous. But then we find the idea of a second piña colada by the pool pretty thrilling too. And we’re on the bulls’ side anyway. Bull run
4. Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia
When traveling across a track called the Death Road there are two things to consider: 1). Do I value my life? and 2). How bouncy is my car? If the answers are yes and not very, you should avoid this route. Winding 40 miles from La Paz to Coroico, this rail-less road is at times just 10 feet wide – forcing around 20 cars off its cliff-face each year, causing an average annual death toll of 100. Needless to say you’d have more luck wearing a parachute than a seatbelt. Trekker
3. Tour a War Zone
Run by ex-military men, War Zone Tours offers a rare insight into the heart of, well, war zones. While arguably very questionable to profit from the struggles of another nation, the team offers an on the ground insight into globally significant events, from Iraq to Mexico to Africa. But the company is quick to mention that “You’re not going there to fight. We're not going to hand you an AK-47. We’re not there to get shot at.” - The spoilsports. War Zone Tours
2. Tour a nuclear fallout area, Chernobyl, Ukraine
A genuine piece of tragic history, Chernobyl – the site of 1986’s huge nuclear disaster – was in 2010 considered safe by the Ukrainian government, though in 2011 there was some backtracking. Now officially illegal, several on-site travel companies promise to take you around, though forbid touching vegetation or eating outdoors (always a red flag). Quite why you’d want to do either of these things however is another question entirely.
1. Scale Mount Huashan, China on a plank of wood
The true daredevil knows no fears, and walking a rickety 12 inch plank around a sheer cliff-face aint no thing. High winds, suspiciously unsupportive harnesses (only around the chest, not the waist) and hordes of hungover gap year travelers only add to the horror. This is undeniably the most dangerous and terrifying tourist attraction in the world. And if you don’t believe us, watch below. Travel China
by STEPHANIE MCDERMOTT
Published: Sat Jan 5, 2013
For most travelers, the risk of a sunburn is the most concerning factor to consider before flying. But if you’re looking to simultaneously push the boundaries of safety and sanity on your next holiday, look no further. But be warned: while this list features 10 trips to try before you die, some may actually hasten your route there.
10. EdgeWalk, CN Tower, Toronto, Canada
The rules of the game are this: head 1,168 feet up to top of tower, strap on harness, lean out over its furthest ledge – and pray. We’ll concede that thanks to strict safety controls, EdgeWalk isn’t dangerous in the mortal peril sense, but it’s nonetheless one of the more terrifying ways to spend $175. EdgeWalk
9. Bungee Jump a Volcano, Pucón, Chile
The perennially insane act of throwing oneself off a bridge tied to a piece of elastic just got jacked up. For $12,500, try diving off a helicopter into the mouth of the active Villarrica volcano in Chile, where you’ll dangle 700 feet over a pool of bubbling lava. Hilariously, the website’s FAQ includes the question, ‘Could I die?’ to which they reassuringly answer, ‘Yes. You could. You'll be signing a waiver though, so we're cool.’ Bungee
8. Whitewater rafting with crocodiles, Zimbabwe, Africa
Head to Batoka Gorge below Victoria Falls to experience the world’s wildest raftable rapids. But the Zambezi's water isn’t all you’ll need to fear, for below the surface swim hundreds of not overly hospitable crocodiles. While we’re assured that they’re quite small, sometimes size isn’t everything. Zambezi
7. Wild weather watching, Oklahoma / Colorado, USA
The company Storm Chasing Adventure Tours offers just what its name suggests. Having filmed for Nat Geo, Discovery and NBC amongst others, these hurricane hunters know what they’re doing. For $2000 join them on 6-day tours across the aptly titled Tornado Alley (several states in central N. America) to witness these forces of nature from the relative safety of fortified trucks. Storm Chasing
6. Tow Surfing Jaws Break, Maui, Hawaii
Jaws, one of the world’s biggest wave breaks has become the daredevil surfer’s apex. Guides tow you into the breakpath on jetskis – then whisk you to safety just before the 33 foot wall of water crashes onto you. While there haven’t been any recorded deaths yet, the rising number of novice riders giving it a good old go are causing some concern. Jaws Tours
5. Running the Bulls, Pamplona, Spain
Being chased by a horde of stressed out bulls isn’t to everyone’s taste, yet thousands turn up annually in Pamplona to do just that. Lasting on average 3 minutes, the exhilaration is said to be tremendous. But then we find the idea of a second piña colada by the pool pretty thrilling too. And we’re on the bulls’ side anyway. Bull run
4. Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia
When traveling across a track called the Death Road there are two things to consider: 1). Do I value my life? and 2). How bouncy is my car? If the answers are yes and not very, you should avoid this route. Winding 40 miles from La Paz to Coroico, this rail-less road is at times just 10 feet wide – forcing around 20 cars off its cliff-face each year, causing an average annual death toll of 100. Needless to say you’d have more luck wearing a parachute than a seatbelt. Trekker
3. Tour a War Zone
Run by ex-military men, War Zone Tours offers a rare insight into the heart of, well, war zones. While arguably very questionable to profit from the struggles of another nation, the team offers an on the ground insight into globally significant events, from Iraq to Mexico to Africa. But the company is quick to mention that “You’re not going there to fight. We're not going to hand you an AK-47. We’re not there to get shot at.” - The spoilsports. War Zone Tours
2. Tour a nuclear fallout area, Chernobyl, Ukraine
A genuine piece of tragic history, Chernobyl – the site of 1986’s huge nuclear disaster – was in 2010 considered safe by the Ukrainian government, though in 2011 there was some backtracking. Now officially illegal, several on-site travel companies promise to take you around, though forbid touching vegetation or eating outdoors (always a red flag). Quite why you’d want to do either of these things however is another question entirely.
1. Scale Mount Huashan, China on a plank of wood
The true daredevil knows no fears, and walking a rickety 12 inch plank around a sheer cliff-face aint no thing. High winds, suspiciously unsupportive harnesses (only around the chest, not the waist) and hordes of hungover gap year travelers only add to the horror. This is undeniably the most dangerous and terrifying tourist attraction in the world. And if you don’t believe us, watch below. Travel China
Monday, January 7, 2013
Why Everything You Read About Your Health Is Wrong
Why Everything You Read About Your Health Is Wrong
Except when it's right. Unless you read both the right thing and the wrong thing. Or unless something's only half right. Existential crisis!
By Colin LecherPosted 01.03.2013 at 2:00 pm
Marines And Sailors Training At Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii Wikimedia Commons
There's a major problem in health journalism: It's wildly unreliable. As David H. Freedman points out in an excellent critique in the January/ February issue of Columbia Journalism Review, the rate of "overall wrongness" in top medical journals is as much as two thirds--something even the most seasoned science reporters don't point out. The resulting information conveyed to lay readers, is, at best, confusing and, at worst, dead wrong.
In all areas of personal health, we see prominent media reports that directly oppose well-established knowledge in the field, or that make it sound as if scientifically unresolved questions have been resolved. The media, for instance, have variously supported and shot down the notion that vitamin D supplements can protect against cancer, and that taking daily and low doses of aspirin extends life by protecting against heart attacks. Some reports have argued that frequent consumption of even modest amounts of alcohol leads to serious health risks, while others have reported that daily moderate alcohol consumption can be a healthy substitute for exercise. Articles sang the praises of new drugs like Avastin and Avandia before other articles deemed them dangerous, ineffective, or both.
But one of those articles has to be the "right" article, doesn't it? One of them has to have the best information. Well, sure, but good luck trying to suss out which one it is in your newspaper or blog of choice when it's not even remotely clear in the medical journals.
And that's only part of the problem, Freedman argues. Science journalists can report flawlessly on a study, painting an accurate picture with multiple, credentialed sources, and still end up transmitting to readers an incomplete message--maybe even a flat-out wrong message--by not letting them in on a fundamental fact: that there is no one tidy answer.
With so much wrong information, scientists and journalists pick whichever wrong study helps them the most, Freedman says. Scientists want their studies to be published and picked up by the media, while journalists want a story that's clear and digestible. But science is messy, and a clear, digestible finding is often (to borrow from another kind of reporting that Freedman mentions) saying about as much as a politician at a press conference.
Given that published medical findings are, by the field’s own reckoning, more often wrong than right, a serious problem with health journalism is immediately apparent: A reporter who accurately reports findings is probably transmitting wrong findings. And because the media tend to pick the most exciting findings from journals to pass on to the public, they are in essence picking the worst of the worst. Health journalism, then, is largely based on a principle of survival of the wrongest. ...
So there's the upshot: pull a personal health study out of a hat, and it's more likely than not to have major problems. But journalists aren't picking random studies--they're picking the clearest, most engaging, and thus the worst, studies. The system is broken, and this is Freedman's explanation on how to fix it:
What is a science journalist’s responsibility to openly question findings from highly credentialed scientists and trusted journals? There can only be one answer: The responsibility is large, and it clearly has been neglected. It’s not nearly enough to include in news reports the few mild qualifications attached to any study (“the study wasn’t large,” “the effect was modest,” “some subjects withdrew from the study partway through it”). Readers ought to be alerted, as a matter of course, to the fact that wrongness is embedded in the entire research system, and that few medical research findings ought to be considered completely reliable, regardless of the type of study, who conducted it, where it was published, or who says it’s a good study.
A tall order, maybe, but good advice for readers: stay skeptical, and reconsider any life-changing decisions you're making based on studies, whether you read them in a respected journal or a newspaper or, sure, here at Popular Science.
But one last note on all of this. Freedman readily cites where he got his information on the wrongness of studies. He got it from studies. Even if health journalists and readers become more skeptical, there's an old piece of wisdom you can check out the published science on: change is hard.
[Columbia Journalism Review]
Except when it's right. Unless you read both the right thing and the wrong thing. Or unless something's only half right. Existential crisis!
By Colin LecherPosted 01.03.2013 at 2:00 pm
Marines And Sailors Training At Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii Wikimedia Commons
There's a major problem in health journalism: It's wildly unreliable. As David H. Freedman points out in an excellent critique in the January/ February issue of Columbia Journalism Review, the rate of "overall wrongness" in top medical journals is as much as two thirds--something even the most seasoned science reporters don't point out. The resulting information conveyed to lay readers, is, at best, confusing and, at worst, dead wrong.
In all areas of personal health, we see prominent media reports that directly oppose well-established knowledge in the field, or that make it sound as if scientifically unresolved questions have been resolved. The media, for instance, have variously supported and shot down the notion that vitamin D supplements can protect against cancer, and that taking daily and low doses of aspirin extends life by protecting against heart attacks. Some reports have argued that frequent consumption of even modest amounts of alcohol leads to serious health risks, while others have reported that daily moderate alcohol consumption can be a healthy substitute for exercise. Articles sang the praises of new drugs like Avastin and Avandia before other articles deemed them dangerous, ineffective, or both.
But one of those articles has to be the "right" article, doesn't it? One of them has to have the best information. Well, sure, but good luck trying to suss out which one it is in your newspaper or blog of choice when it's not even remotely clear in the medical journals.
And that's only part of the problem, Freedman argues. Science journalists can report flawlessly on a study, painting an accurate picture with multiple, credentialed sources, and still end up transmitting to readers an incomplete message--maybe even a flat-out wrong message--by not letting them in on a fundamental fact: that there is no one tidy answer.
With so much wrong information, scientists and journalists pick whichever wrong study helps them the most, Freedman says. Scientists want their studies to be published and picked up by the media, while journalists want a story that's clear and digestible. But science is messy, and a clear, digestible finding is often (to borrow from another kind of reporting that Freedman mentions) saying about as much as a politician at a press conference.
Given that published medical findings are, by the field’s own reckoning, more often wrong than right, a serious problem with health journalism is immediately apparent: A reporter who accurately reports findings is probably transmitting wrong findings. And because the media tend to pick the most exciting findings from journals to pass on to the public, they are in essence picking the worst of the worst. Health journalism, then, is largely based on a principle of survival of the wrongest. ...
So there's the upshot: pull a personal health study out of a hat, and it's more likely than not to have major problems. But journalists aren't picking random studies--they're picking the clearest, most engaging, and thus the worst, studies. The system is broken, and this is Freedman's explanation on how to fix it:
What is a science journalist’s responsibility to openly question findings from highly credentialed scientists and trusted journals? There can only be one answer: The responsibility is large, and it clearly has been neglected. It’s not nearly enough to include in news reports the few mild qualifications attached to any study (“the study wasn’t large,” “the effect was modest,” “some subjects withdrew from the study partway through it”). Readers ought to be alerted, as a matter of course, to the fact that wrongness is embedded in the entire research system, and that few medical research findings ought to be considered completely reliable, regardless of the type of study, who conducted it, where it was published, or who says it’s a good study.
A tall order, maybe, but good advice for readers: stay skeptical, and reconsider any life-changing decisions you're making based on studies, whether you read them in a respected journal or a newspaper or, sure, here at Popular Science.
But one last note on all of this. Freedman readily cites where he got his information on the wrongness of studies. He got it from studies. Even if health journalists and readers become more skeptical, there's an old piece of wisdom you can check out the published science on: change is hard.
[Columbia Journalism Review]
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
15 Science and Technology News Bytes From 2013 PopSci predicts the top news stories of the next year.
15 Science and Technology News Bytes From 2013
PopSci predicts the top news stories of the next year.
By Miriam Kramer, Taylor Kubota, and Colleen ParkPosted 12.27.2012 at 11:30 am
Supermassive Black Hole Wikimedia Commons
Black Hole Chows Down
A giant blob of gas headed directly for the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy could begin to drop into the abyss mid-year, blasting x-ray radiation into space in a brilliant display of light. Witnessed for the first time by scientists, the decades-long process will help answer the question of how black holes grow. —Miriam Kramer
Ocean X PRIZE Launches
As ocean water absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes more acidic and incompatible with life. But pH sensors that can affordably, accurately, and wirelessly measure that change on a global scale don’t yet exist. This year, the X PRIZE Foundation will announce a competition meant to kick-start the invention of those instruments. —Taylor Kubota
Mental Disorders Better Defined
For the first time in 12 years, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) will update The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which guides how psychiatrists and psychologists diagnose patients. The APA invited the public to comment on the draft, and its working groups are using the feedback to revise criteria. By clearly defining new disorders, the manual could help patients with previously vague diagnoses find new treatments and resources.—Miriam Kramer
Planck Dumps New Data
For the past three years, the Planck spacecraft has mapped and measured cosmic background radiation left behind from the Big Bang using its high-frequency instrument sensor. In early 2013, the European Space Agency plans to publicly release the craft’s most recent findings, the first data dump since 2011. The information will further reveal what the universe might have looked like as it was first forming. —Miriam Kramer
Supercomputer Crunches Climate
A 1.5-petaflops IBM supercomputer, dubbed Yellowstone, will begin full operations this year at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center. Its 72,288 processor cores can perform 1.5 quadrillion calculations per second. Yellowstone will dramatically improve climate models and visualizations in the earth sciences, including simulations that show how tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires move across the landscape. —Taylor Kubota
Will Bonobos Have Rights?: Intelligent Animals like chimpanzees, elephants, and parrots exhibit human-like qualities. Wikimedia Commons
Solar Activity Peaks
The approximately 11-year cycle of solar activity will climax this fall with about 75 sunspots, or regions where magnetic fields emerge from inside the sun. When these twist and snap, they can send plasma hurtling toward Earth, causing geomagnetic storms that disrupt radio transmissions, knock out power, and produce auroras. —Taylor Kubota
Animals Sue For Rights
Certain animals—such as dolphins, chimpanzees, elephants, and parrots—show capabilities thought uniquely human, including language-like communication, complex problem solving, and seeming self-awareness. By the end of 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project plans to file suits on the behalf of select animals to procure freedoms (like protection from captivity) previously granted only to humans. —Taylor Kubota
Google Glass Ships Out
Google will bring augmented reality one step closer to consumers when preproduction units for its Project Glass ship to developers early this year. The Google Glass Explorer Edition has a built-in camera, audio, and visual display that provide the user with real-time information. As developers experiment with apps, wearable computing will get its first real test. —Colleen Park
Gaia Starts Stellar Census
The Gaia satellite is tasked with one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of space exploration: After it launches in 2013, the spacecraft will create a 3-D map of one billion stars—1,000 times more than Hipparcos, a previous mission. This vast stellar census will help astronomers understand the evolution and origin of the Milky Way. —Miriam Kramer
Supercomputer Watson Learns To Treat And Diagnose Cancer Patients: Courtesy IBM
Urban EVs Lighten Up
While carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) has long been used in Formula One racecars, commuters can take it for a spin in the all-electric BMW i3 later this year. The CFRP used in constructing the car’s passenger module is 50 percent lighter than steel and equally strong. Though its 100-mile range is comparable with that of other electric vehicles, the i3 will have 170 horsepower—considerably more muscle. —Colleen Park
Lunar Mission Blasts Off
Twenty-five teams are still in the race to claim the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, which will be awarded to the first privately funded groups to safely land a robot on the moon and explore its surface. The current front-runner, Astrobotic, enlisted SpaceX to launch the company’s lander and rover on the four-day journey as soon as December 2013. —Taylor Kubota
Watson Treats Patients
Jeopardy! was just a warm-up for IBM’s Watson. Oncologists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York are teaching the supercomputer to help diagnose and treat various cancers. Watson analyzes clinical knowledge and case histories, then provides doctors with treatment options. After training for breast, lung, and prostate cancers this past year, Watson will be distributed to a wider group of clinicians. —Colleen Park
New Comet Blazes by Earth
The newly discovered Comet ISON, which is now passing between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, will be visible in December 2013. Assuming it survives a close brush with the sun en route, the comet could be the one of the brightest seen in history. Some astronomers predict that it could be as luminous as a full moon. —Miriam Kramer
Digital Sight Hits Shelves
A device that restores vision to people blinded by retinitis pigmentosa could reach the U.S. market by spring. It’s been unanimously recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel. Made by Second Sight Medical Products, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System sends electric pulses to cells in the eye that the wearer learns to interpret as visual patterns. —Taylor Kubota
PopSci predicts the top news stories of the next year.
By Miriam Kramer, Taylor Kubota, and Colleen ParkPosted 12.27.2012 at 11:30 am
Supermassive Black Hole Wikimedia Commons
Black Hole Chows Down
A giant blob of gas headed directly for the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy could begin to drop into the abyss mid-year, blasting x-ray radiation into space in a brilliant display of light. Witnessed for the first time by scientists, the decades-long process will help answer the question of how black holes grow. —Miriam Kramer
Ocean X PRIZE Launches
As ocean water absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes more acidic and incompatible with life. But pH sensors that can affordably, accurately, and wirelessly measure that change on a global scale don’t yet exist. This year, the X PRIZE Foundation will announce a competition meant to kick-start the invention of those instruments. —Taylor Kubota
Mental Disorders Better Defined
For the first time in 12 years, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) will update The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which guides how psychiatrists and psychologists diagnose patients. The APA invited the public to comment on the draft, and its working groups are using the feedback to revise criteria. By clearly defining new disorders, the manual could help patients with previously vague diagnoses find new treatments and resources.—Miriam Kramer
Planck Dumps New Data
For the past three years, the Planck spacecraft has mapped and measured cosmic background radiation left behind from the Big Bang using its high-frequency instrument sensor. In early 2013, the European Space Agency plans to publicly release the craft’s most recent findings, the first data dump since 2011. The information will further reveal what the universe might have looked like as it was first forming. —Miriam Kramer
Supercomputer Crunches Climate
A 1.5-petaflops IBM supercomputer, dubbed Yellowstone, will begin full operations this year at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center. Its 72,288 processor cores can perform 1.5 quadrillion calculations per second. Yellowstone will dramatically improve climate models and visualizations in the earth sciences, including simulations that show how tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires move across the landscape. —Taylor Kubota
Will Bonobos Have Rights?: Intelligent Animals like chimpanzees, elephants, and parrots exhibit human-like qualities. Wikimedia Commons
Solar Activity Peaks
The approximately 11-year cycle of solar activity will climax this fall with about 75 sunspots, or regions where magnetic fields emerge from inside the sun. When these twist and snap, they can send plasma hurtling toward Earth, causing geomagnetic storms that disrupt radio transmissions, knock out power, and produce auroras. —Taylor Kubota
Animals Sue For Rights
Certain animals—such as dolphins, chimpanzees, elephants, and parrots—show capabilities thought uniquely human, including language-like communication, complex problem solving, and seeming self-awareness. By the end of 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project plans to file suits on the behalf of select animals to procure freedoms (like protection from captivity) previously granted only to humans. —Taylor Kubota
Google Glass Ships Out
Google will bring augmented reality one step closer to consumers when preproduction units for its Project Glass ship to developers early this year. The Google Glass Explorer Edition has a built-in camera, audio, and visual display that provide the user with real-time information. As developers experiment with apps, wearable computing will get its first real test. —Colleen Park
Gaia Starts Stellar Census
The Gaia satellite is tasked with one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of space exploration: After it launches in 2013, the spacecraft will create a 3-D map of one billion stars—1,000 times more than Hipparcos, a previous mission. This vast stellar census will help astronomers understand the evolution and origin of the Milky Way. —Miriam Kramer
Supercomputer Watson Learns To Treat And Diagnose Cancer Patients: Courtesy IBM
Urban EVs Lighten Up
While carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) has long been used in Formula One racecars, commuters can take it for a spin in the all-electric BMW i3 later this year. The CFRP used in constructing the car’s passenger module is 50 percent lighter than steel and equally strong. Though its 100-mile range is comparable with that of other electric vehicles, the i3 will have 170 horsepower—considerably more muscle. —Colleen Park
Lunar Mission Blasts Off
Twenty-five teams are still in the race to claim the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, which will be awarded to the first privately funded groups to safely land a robot on the moon and explore its surface. The current front-runner, Astrobotic, enlisted SpaceX to launch the company’s lander and rover on the four-day journey as soon as December 2013. —Taylor Kubota
Watson Treats Patients
Jeopardy! was just a warm-up for IBM’s Watson. Oncologists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York are teaching the supercomputer to help diagnose and treat various cancers. Watson analyzes clinical knowledge and case histories, then provides doctors with treatment options. After training for breast, lung, and prostate cancers this past year, Watson will be distributed to a wider group of clinicians. —Colleen Park
New Comet Blazes by Earth
The newly discovered Comet ISON, which is now passing between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, will be visible in December 2013. Assuming it survives a close brush with the sun en route, the comet could be the one of the brightest seen in history. Some astronomers predict that it could be as luminous as a full moon. —Miriam Kramer
Digital Sight Hits Shelves
A device that restores vision to people blinded by retinitis pigmentosa could reach the U.S. market by spring. It’s been unanimously recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel. Made by Second Sight Medical Products, the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System sends electric pulses to cells in the eye that the wearer learns to interpret as visual patterns. —Taylor Kubota
Why Do We Crave Greasy Food When We’re Hung Over?
FYI: Why Do We Crave Greasy Food When We’re Hung Over?
In part, we’re really just going back to our caveman roots.
By Melody ChandlerPosted 12.31.2012 at 10:00 am
A hangover-friendly sandwich Wikimedia Commons
The desire to eat high-fat foods after drinking too much is rooted in human’s earliest, humblest beginnings, some scientists say.
“All mammals gravitate to eating the most energy-dense foods," David Levitsky, professor of human ecology and nutritional sciences at Cornell University, says. "Fat is the most energy-dense food available." It’s just that sober, you won’t usually give in to those cravings. But after a night of boozy indulgence, you lose such learned inhibitions as disciplined eating, Levitsky says.
Another explanation involves brain chemistry, specifically a brain chemical called galanin.
William Gruchow, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has studied and written about galanin and its effects on various neurotransmitters. "Galanin increases appetite for fats, and consumption of fat causes more galanin to be produced," Gruchow said. "Alcohol intake also results in increased galanin production."
Gruchow says he thinks galanin might be stimulated by triglycerides, which are released by fat and alcohol.
Triglycerides, converted calories stored in fat cells, are typically released by the body when energy is needed between meals, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website.
By consuming large quantities of high-fat foods and alcohol, you increase your triglycerides possibly stimulating galanin production. That, in turn, makes you crave that calorific Denny's breakfast you'd never touch otherwise.
“The bottom line here is that alcohol intake increases one’s appetite for fat, and fat intake does the same. This is a double whammy for drinkers who eat fatty foods while drinking,” Gruchow says.
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