Brain Scan Reveals Who Will Keep Their Promises
Promises are made to be broken, so it can be tough to tell which ones will be kept. But new-found patterns in brain activity can reveal whether someone intends to keep their word.
The finding raises the possibility of using brain scans to determine the true intentions of criminals who are up for early release on parole, according to Thomas Baumgartner of the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
He and his colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to catch promise-breakers in the act.
New Scientist (thanks, Eliza)
Scientists discover Earth-like, water-rich planet
“Astronomers have discovered a new Earth-like planet that is larger than our own and may be more than half covered with water, according to a study published Wednesday in the science journal Nature.
The so-called “super Earth” is about 42 light years away in another solar system and has a radius nearly 2.7 times larger than that of our planet, according to the study by the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics. The discovery of the planet, called GJ 1214b, represents a “major step forward” in the search for worlds similar to the Earth, added the University of California’s Geoffrey Marcy in a commentary also in Nature.
The “newfound world” is too hot to sustain life as we know it, said the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in a statement. Its density suggests however it “is composed of about three-fourths water and other ices and one fourth-rock,” it said. “There are also tantalising hints that the planet has a gaseous atmosphere.” Its temperature is estimated at between 280 and 120 degrees Celsius (536 and 248 degrees Fahrenheit) with its host star about one-fifth the size of the Sun, according to the scientists.
“Despite its hot temperature, this appears to be a waterworld,” says Zachory Berta, a graduate student who first spotted hints of the planet’s presence. “It is much smaller, cooler and more Earthlike than any other known exoplanet,” he said in the statement. An exoplanet is one outside of our solar system.”
Read more at Yahoo News
Ice Polar Bear In London’s Trafalgar Square
In amongst the broad beans and vegetable samosas, in a freezer in North London, are the latest creations of Wiltshire sculptor Mark Coreth.
Coreth isn’t known for doing things by halves.
Back in 2007 he got his chainsaw around a mountain of polystyrene blocks to create a jumbo-sized (literally) African bull elephant in his garden.
Two years on and he’s got another supersized project on the go, a life-sized ice bear on Trafalgar Square.
BBC (thanks, Mill)
Guns, Ammo, Art and Religion, by Al Farrow
They may look like just elaborate models of Christian, Jewish and Islamic holy places, but Al Farrow’s artworks have a much deeper meaning.
Al Farrow’s Religious Trifecta: A Synagogue, a Cathedral and a Mosque tries to reinterpret three of the world’s major religions according to their political, military and cultural history. As you surely know, religion played a major role in some of the greatest conflicts in history and that’s what the artist is trying to emphasize through his models. Built with used gun components, bullets and steel shots, these unusual holy places reveal the violent side of religion.
Oddity Central (thanks, Eliza)
Tim Minchin – White Wine In The Sun
A sentimental but rather sweet look at a rather well known atheists view of Christmas. Ahhh.. Tim, we love you, ya big soppy git.
The Perpetual Motion Machine: Genuine or Hoax?
For a short while there’s been a little more noise than usual surrounding the latest claim of perpetual motion. This public demo from the company Steorn was revealed to a live audience and streamed on the web today.
Steorn have made the claim that they found an anomaly in the way magnetic fields operate and have expolited this to create a machine that puts out more energy than it sucks in.
By placing the machine on a clear plastic base with no wires attached, they have invited everyone to come and view the device for themselves. Before today the company has received a huge amount of negative press and taken a beating from the scientific community.
Perpetual motion is considered by most scientists to be nonsense, partially because it would be breaking the basic laws of physics (as we currently understand them) but also due to the various individuals who have attempted to extort money from investors by making similar but blatantly false claims.
The first claim of perpetual machines date back to 1150, hundreds followed over the centuries to come and eventually in 1755 the Royal Academy of Sciences issued a statement to “no longer accept or deal with proposals concerning perpetual motion.”
Even Nicola Tesla claimed to have discovered a method to power such a machine called a “self-acting” engine. In the late 60′s a German engineer developed the “Testatika”, a device which reports to power the town of Methernitha – a small community in Switzerland that “devote their lives to God and spiritual enhancement.” Skeptics of any kind are not welcome.
Countless other claims of water powered cars, air driven “free energy” systems and magnetic powered overunity devices have cropped up over the years and in 1999 Entropy Systems in the US managed to squeeze $3.5Million dollars of investment for a machine that apparently “violates the second law of thermodynamics.” No working prototype exists and skeptics have refuted the initial claims of the company.
So is the latest claim of this device known only as the Orbo just another scam? An advert placed in the Economist in 2006 invited the scientific community to analyse and report on its performance. Hundreds of scientists came forward and Steorn selected its own small jury from this list, in charge was Ian MacDonald, emeritus professor of electrical engineering at the University of Alberta.
The jury came to the conclusion that the technology didn’t work, despite this Steorn rejected the decision due to the “test data they initially provided.” Following a spate of negative press Steorn decided to release the technology to the public as a working device. There is a live stream from the website available to anyone who wishes to view the model in Dublin and invites engineers to find practical uses for the device.
The negative press has been turned on its head and used to full effect in a new advert, a renewed call for scrutiny is out there and to back it up, a second device known as the ZeroF, a passive bearing device, sits along two other patents filed by the company for similarly new and exciting technology.
I’m sure results will come through soon, but even if the device doesn’t stand up to scrutiny as a “free-energy” device it’s certainly working as a free-column-inch-producing device.
Researchers finds hidden sensory system in the skin
The human sensory experience is far more complex and nuanced than previously thought, according to a groundbreaking new study published in the December 15 issue of the journal Pain. In the article, researchers at Albany Medical College, the University of Liverpool and Cambridge University report that the human body has an entirely unique and separate sensory system aside from the nerves that give most of us the ability to touch and feel. Surprisingly, this sensory network is located throughout our blood vessels and sweat glands, and is for most people, largely imperceptible.
“It’s almost like hearing the subtle sound of a single instrument in the midst of a symphony,” said senior author Frank Rice, PhD, a Neuroscience Professor at Albany Medical College (AMC), who is a leading authority on the nerve supply to the skin. “It is only when we shift focus away from the nerve endings associated with normal skin sensation that we can appreciate the sensation hidden in the background.”
The research team discovered this hidden sensory system by studying two unique patients who were diagnosed with a previously unknown abnormality by lead author David Bowsher, M.D., Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool’s Pain Research Institute. These patients had an extremely rare condition called congenital insensitivity to pain, meaning that they were born with very little ability to feel pain. Other rare individuals with this condition have excessively dry skin, often mutilate themselves accidentally and usually have severe mental handicaps. “Although they had a few accidents over their lifetimes, what made these two patients unique was that they led normal lives. Excessive sweating brought them to the clinic, where we discovered their severe lack of pain sensation,” said Dr. Bowsher. “Curiously, our conventional tests with sensitive instruments revealed that all their skin sensation was severely impaired, including their response to different temperatures and mechanical contact. But, for all intents and purposes, they had adequate sensation for daily living and could tell what is warm and cold, what is touching them, and what is rough and smooth.”
Read more at Physorg
Olympic weightlifter gives birth while training
“An Olympic weightlifter suffered a huge shock while practising for an event when she unexpectedly gave birth to a baby boy.
Chilean Elizabeth Poblete, who competed at the Beijing Olympics, was training in Sao Paulo, Brazil ahead of a meet when the baby boy was born.
Poblete said she had no idea she was pregnant although she did admit to feeling unwell at practice a week before the birth. The child was born at six months gestation and remains in critical condition. It weighed just 2.25 pounds and measured only 15 inches at birth. The boy is currently on a respirator.”
Uganda bans female genital mutilation
Ugandan MPs have voted to outlaw female genital mutilation – also known as female circumcision. Anyone convicted of the practice, which involves cutting off a girl’s clitoris, will face 10 years in jail, or a life sentence if a victim dies.
The BBC’s Joshua Mmali in Uganda says it is not officially condoned but is still practised in several rural areas. Rights groups welcomed the move, but urged awareness campaigns to ensure the centuries-old practice stops. Genital mutilation is seen in some countries as a way to ensure virginity and to make a woman suitable for marriage.
Our reporter says it is still practised by the Sabiny, some Karamojong sub-groups and the Pokot in eastern Uganda and the Nubi people of West Nile. MP Alice Alaso said the move was “a very significant achievement”. “It’s a very bad practice. It’s cruel, it traumatises people, it’s led children to drop out of school, it’s a health hazard,” she told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme. “This is a warning signal – whoever dares practice female genital mutilation will be subject to the law.”
Read more at BBC News
Woman fired over taking days off for pagan holiday
“A Connecticut Bath & Body Works staffer who practices witchcraft claims her boss put a hex on her career for using vacation time to attend Salem’s annual Halloween celebration. Gina Uberti charges in a federal lawsuit that Bath & Body Works fired her after she took a week off around Halloween 2008 to mark the Wiccan holiday of Samhain.
“Any and all excuses offered by (Bath & Body Works) for the plaintiff’s termination are a pretext for the true reason – religious discrimination,” the East Haven, Conn., woman’s lawyer wrote in court papers. Neither Uberti, her attorney or Bath & Body Works returned calls seeking comment on the case. But in court filings, Uberti alleged that the chain canned her after eight years because she took time off for the holiday, also called “Witches’ New Year.”
Uberti, a Bath & Body Works district sales manager, claims she’d taken vacation around Samhain for years, but said her new supervisor flipped out when learning why. During a Nov. 4, 2008, phone call about her absence, Uberti’s boss allegedly said: “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” adding, “Well, you will need a new career in your new year. . . . I will be damned if I have a devil worshipper on my team.” Two weeks later, Uberti claims, Bath & Body Works fired her.”
Read more at Boston Herald
