Siblings As Important As Parents In Child’s Behaviour

From The Telegraph:

Children can learn as much from their brothers and sisters as they do from their parents, new research suggests.

The influence siblings have on each has a considerable impact on a child's development and shouldn't be underestimated, say scientists.

While parents are better role models in formal settings, such as table manners, siblings have more influence in how kids behave 'on the street', the researchers say.

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A Dangerous Pastime for Teens: The Choking Game

A hand around the neck cuts off blood supply to the brain
Patrick Ryan / Getty

From Time Magazine:

When Françoise Cochet saw the cord around her son's neck, she knew that he was dead. Fully clothed and still wearing his sneakers, 14-year-old Nicolas had strangled himself sometime after dinner in their apartment in Nice, France. His mother found him the next morning. "I shut the door so my other two children couldn't see and I didn't touch the body," she says. "I thought that I couldn't live anymore. I thought I needed to die too."

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Israel Developing Semi-Lethal Sonic Cannon To Control Rioters

LRAD Sonic Weapon The LRAD, another sonic weapon, has been used successfully
to disperse protestors via Discovery.com

From Popular Science:

A desert people have developed a new weapon that uses sound instead of bullets. But this time, it will be used to control crowds instead of fighting giant worms or devious members of House Harkonnen. The Israeli Defense Ministry has contracted for the production of sonic-boom stun-guns called "Thunder Generator cannons," which they hope to use in crowd-control situations.

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The Science Of Sniffer Dogs

From Cosmic Log/MSNBC:

Rescuers from all around the world are converging on Haiti in the wake of this week's earthquake - and not all of them are human. Finding survivors amid the rubble of Port-au-Prince is a job tailor-made for dogs and devices.

The search-and-rescue operation "appears to be unprecedented in scale," Discovery.com reports.

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Tipping Point? West Antarctic Ice Sheet Could Become Unstable As World Warms

Airborne view of the Pine Island glacier, Antarctica. (Credit: NASA/Jane Peterson)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 18, 2010) — A new study examines how ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, could become unstable as the world warms.

The team from Oxford University and Cambridge University developed a model to explore how changes in the 'grounding line' -- where an ice sheet floats free from its base of rock or sediment -- could lead to the disintegration of ice sheets and result in a significant rise in global sea level.

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World's Smallest Hot Rod Made Using Nanotechnology

The molecular motorcar on the left, called a "nanodragster," could spur new nanotechnologies such as factories that build products atom-by-atom. Credit: American Chemical Society

From Live Science:

Researchers have built a new super-small "nanodragster" that improves on prior nanocar designs and could speed up efforts to craft molecular machines.

"We made a new version of a nanocar that looks like a dragster," said James Tour, a chemist at Rice University who was involved in the research. "It has smaller front wheels on a shorter axle and bigger back wheels on a longer axle."

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How To Protect Yourself When Using Internet Explorer

From PC World:

It won't take more than a few minutes to close a security hole in Internet Explorer that allowed attacks against Google.

Worried about the security hole in Internet Explorer that was used to launch attacks by China against Google and others? There are ways to help close it and limit your exposure to similar threats --- and it won't take more than a few minutes. Here's how to do it.

Microsoft has confirmed that an IE vulnerability was at fault for the Google attacks. In Microsoft Security Advisory (979352) it spells out details and in a company blog, Mike Reavey, director of Microsoft's Security Response Center (MSRC) provides more information.

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Apple In E-Book Talks, May Have Amazon Kindle In Sights

From Arstechnica:

Apple's long-rumored tablet could end up being a Kindle competitor after all if Apple follows through with some talks. The company is reportedly in negotiations with HarperCollins Publishers for e-book distribution on the device, according to insiders speaking to the Wall Street Journal. Though the deal isn't solid yet, it's an indicator that the upcoming device—expected to be introduced at Apple's media event on January 27—will indeed break into the e-book space.

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Fox News "Confirms" Apple Tablet, iLife 2010 & Next iPhone OS

From FOX News:

Fox News posted an article Monday claiming that not only will next week's now-confirmed Apple event play host to the long-rumored tablet unveiling, but it will also see the next iteration of Apple's iLife software on show. Fox's report also claims that Apple will discuss the next iPhone OS update.

The article by Fox News' Clayton Morris is boldly titled "Apple Tablet, iPhone 4 Launch Confirmed for January 27th" (never mind the fact that it's always iffy to "confirm" any new Apple product until Steve Jobs stands onstage with it), and goes on to detail a conversation Morris allegedly had with an Apple source early Monday morning.

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China To Offer More Money To Report Online Smut

Customers play computer games at an Internet cafe in Taiyuan, Shanxi province in this July 23, 2009 file photo. The Chinese government will offer greater cash rewards to people reporting online smut after handing out 224,000 yuan ($32,810) as of late last week, state media said on Monday. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

From Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government will offer greater cash rewards to people reporting online smut after handing out 224,000 yuan ($32,810) as of late last week, state media said on Monday.

China has run a highly publicised campaign against what officials said were banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the country's Internet and threatening the emotional health of children.

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Apple Fuels Buzz Over Tablet Computer

From Financial Times:

Apple on Monday ratcheted up the public relations buzz surrounding the launch of a new product, widely expected to be a tablet-sized computer, this month.

It sent out a press invitation via email, inviting journalists to “come see our latest creation”. Whilst far from explicit, as is Apple’s wont, the invitation was the strongest confirmation yet of what has been the company’s most anticipated new product since the launch of the iPhone three years ago.

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Blondes Are More Aggressive Than Brunettes 'Because They Attract More Male Attention'

From The Daily Mail:

After years of being the butt of jokes about being dumb, blondes may be having the last laugh after all, research has revealed.

An academic study has found that women with fair hair are more aggressive and confident than brunettes or redheads.

This is because blondes attract more attention than other women as they are generally viewed by men as more attractive and so are used to getting their own way, the researchers claim.

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Fleet Of High-Tech Robot 'Gliders' To Explore Oceans

Glider under water. (Credit: Holger v. Neuhoff, IFM-GEOMAR)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 18, 2010) — The Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) in Kiel, Germany, recently obtained the biggest fleet of so-called gliders in Europe. These instruments can explore the oceans like sailplanes up to a depth of 1000 metres. In doing so they only consume as much energy as a bike light. In the next years up to ten of these high-tech instruments will take measurements to better understand many processes in the oceans. Currently scientists and technicians prepare the devices for their first mission as a 'swarm' in the tropical Atlantic.

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The Science Behind The Cell Phone Cancer Scare

There are theories of how cell phones may cause cancer but
studies have yet to find a link. Credit: Stockxpert

From Live Science:

Do cell phones cause brain cancer? There's no good reason to think they do.

But if we are to believe the gospel truth delivered by physicists that radio waves from cell phones simply aren't powerful enough to break chemical bonds, the trait of all cancer-causing mutagens, why then do very smart people — smarter than me, for sure — continue to investigate this matter?

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No Bananas On My Space Flight

From New Scientist:

Astronauts experience weightlessness, and most of them also lose weight in space. Why? Because they are often nauseous, always busy, and the food on board their capsules, shuttles and space stations doesn't look, smell or taste like it does on Earth.

As a result, NASA has devoted years to creating foods that can travel safely into space and meet astronauts' nutritional needs while not making a mess of their spacecraft.

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Report: New York Times To Charge Online Readers

From CNET:

The New York Times is reportedly getting ready to charge readers for access to the venerable newspaper's online content.

The newspaper is expected to announce in coming weeks that it will institute a metered pay plan in which readers would have access to a limited number of free articles before being invited to subscribe, according to a report in New York magazine that cited sources close to the newsroom.

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Space Pilot Jobs Set To Take Off

Photo: Richard Branson's Virgin company already hopes to send people into space

From The BBC:

Becoming the pilot of a spaceship may seem the stuff of science fiction, but it could be a regular job in just 20 years time, a report has concluded.

That is one of the findings of a government study into jobs of the future, which also suggests people will be employed to make human body parts.

It names 20 jobs that could be common by 2030, including "vertical farmers" growing food in multi-storey buildings.

It also says surgeons may be employed to give people extra memory capacity.

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The Core Of Truth Behind Sir Isaac Newton's Apple

Sir Isaac Newton was said to have discovered gravity while
sitting in his mother's garden in Lincolnshire. PA.

From The Independent:

The manuscript that gave rise to one of science's best-known anecdotes is now online.

It is one of the most famous anecdotes in the history of science. The young Isaac Newton is sitting in his garden when an apple falls on his head and, in a stroke of brilliant insight, he suddenly comes up with his theory of gravity. The story is almost certainly embellished, both by Newton and the generations of storytellers who came after him. But from today anyone with access to the internet can see for themselves the first-hand account of how a falling apple inspired the understanding of gravitational force.

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The iPhone-Controlled Mini-Drone That Could Be The Future Of Gaming

Flying saucer: The AR.Drone is controlled by an iPhone. Developed by a French company, it caused a sensation when it received its public debut at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas

From The Daily Mail:

A mini-drone that can be piloted using an iPhone promises to revolutionise the video game industry after it was unveiled last week.

The flying saucer-like AR.Drone - AR stands for augmented reality - caused a sensation when it received its public debut at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas.

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Germany, France Advise Users To Avoid Microsoft Browser

From Wall Street Journal:

German and French officials warned people against using Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer Web browser because of a security hole in the software hackers exploited in recent attacks on Google Inc. and other companies.

However, Microsoft challenged the separate recommendations from the German and French government agencies to switch to alternative browsers, saying customers should instead upgrade to the latest version of its browser, Internet Explorer 8.

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