Tech articles and other interesting things

Physics Org

Research says low paying jobs damage future employment prospects - New research by University of Warwick economist Professor Mark Stewart reveals that being in a low paying job damages your prospects of finding new employment as much as being in a sustained period of unemployment.

Make it medium rare and low in Hsp 40, please - French biotech sleuths believe they have identified a gene that helps determine whether your steak will be tough or tender. DNAJA1 controls a key protein called Hsp 40 which helps to slow cell death in muscle tissue -- it thus brakes the process of maturation which tenderises the beef.

Gifted Research Parrot Alex Found Dead - A gifted parrot that could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials has died after 30 years of helping researchers better understand the avian brain. Alex's advanced language and recognition skills revolutionized the understanding of the avian brain. After Pepperberg bought Alex from an animal shop in 1973, the parrot learned enough English to identify 50 different objects, seven colors, and five shapes. He could count up to six, including zero, was able to express desires, including his frustration with the repetitive research.

Science Blog

Can't be good: Lake boiling with methane - Last month, UAF researcher Katey Walter brought a National Public Radio crew to Alaska’s North Slope, hoping to show them examples of what happens when methane is released when permafrost thaws beneath lakes. When they reached their destination, Walter and the crew found even more than they bargained for: a lake violently boiling with escaping methane.

Nicotine in breast milk disrupts infants' sleep patterns - A study from the Monell Chemical Senses Center reports that nicotine in the breast milk of lactating mothers who smoke cigarettes disrupts their infants' sleep patterns. While many women quit or cut down on smoking while pregnant, they often relapse following the birth of the baby. The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, raise new questions regarding whether nicotine exposure through breast milk affects infant development.

Married men do less housework than live-in boyfriends - The age-old stereotype that women do more housework than men has gotten more credibility with a George Mason University study co-written by sociologist Shannon Davis. The study of more than 17,000 people in 28 countries found that married men report doing less housework than men who are live-in boyfriends.

Slashdot

TV Viewing Linked to Attention Problems - While your mother may have told you that sitting too close to the TV was bad for your eyes, the folks over at New Scientist are reporting that too much television may be linked to a bad attention span 'The study is not proof that TV viewing causes attention problems, Landhuis notes, because it may be that children prone to attention problems may be drawn to watching television. "However, our results show that the net effect of television seems to be adverse."'

Why Myths Persist - The conventional response to myths and urban legends is to counter bad information with accurate information. But the new psychological studies show that denials and clarifications, for all their intuitive appeal, can paradoxically contribute to the resiliency of popular myths... The research is painting a broad new understanding of how the mind works. Contrary to the conventional notion that people absorb information in a deliberate manner, the studies show that the brain uses subconscious 'rules of thumb' that can bias it into thinking that false information is true. Clever manipulators can take advantage of this tendency.

Belgium May Prosecute the Church of Scientology - A Belgian prosecutor recommended after a 10-year investigation that the government prosecute the church of Scientology. The church is accused of being a criminal organization involved in extortion, fraud, unfair trading, violation of privacy laws, and unlawfully practicing medicine. Both the Belgian and the European branches of the church should be brought to court, according to the authorities. The investigation was started in 1997 after former Scientologists complained about intimidation and extortion by the church.