Observations
Masks and Emasculation: Why Some Men Refuse to Take Safety Precautions
They think it makes them look weak, and avoiding that is evidently more important to them than demonstrating responsible behavior
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Observations
How a Landmark Physics Paper from the 1970s Uncannily Describes the COVID-19 Pandemic
Phil Anderson’s article “More Is Different” describes how different levels of complexity require new ways of thinking. And as the virus multiplies and spreads, that’s just what the human race desperately needs...
Observations
The Fight against COVID-19 Threatens to Cause Collateral Health Damage
The pandemic is no excuse to abandon chronic disease management and prevention
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Puppeteer helping to save real-life "Big Bird" from extinction
Wattled cranes ( Bugeranus carunculatus ) are truly big birds—mature adults stand up to 1.8 meters in height—so it's only fitting that puppets and a full-size bird costume are being used to help save this critically endangered species from extinction in South Africa.The destruction of wetland habitats has caused wattled crane populations to shrink throughout Africa, but the species faces its greatest challenge in South Africa, where only 235 birds remain in the wild.The Wattled Crane Recovery Program run by the South Africa–based Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Johannesburg Zoo is hoping to reverse that...
Deaths from avoidable medical error more than double in past decade, investigation shows
Preventable medical mistakes and infections are responsible for about 200,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to an investigation by the Hearst media corporation.
Shutdown of nuclear reactors a risk to cancer and heart disease patients
Nuclear reactors save lives, according to the thinking of some doctors. Anti-nuke activists might not see it that way, but when two aging facilities in Canada and the Netherlands recently shut down, a number of healthcare professionals and their patients became concerned, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday...
Chinese and American utilities to cooperate in capturing carbon from coal
A large, coal-burning utility in the U.S. and another in China have agreed to cooperate to develop methods to more cleanly burn coal, including so-called carbon capture and storage technology...
Routine tests turn up avian flu in Minnesota turkeys
Thousands of turkeys in Minnesota have been quarantined after a strain of avian flu (H7N9) was found at a poultry farm there. Experts say that the strain is markedly less virulent than H5N1, the Asian strain that has caused more than 250 human deaths and millions of poultry deaths...
Should parents spank their kids? Probably not, task force concludes
TORONTO—Corporal punishment has long been a hotly debated subject, with conflicting study results and opposing ideologies feeding the fire. Now the results of a five-year effort to review the scientific literature are in: a task force appointed by the American Psychological Association concludes that "parents and caregivers should reduce and potentially eliminate their use of any physical punishment as a disciplinary measure."
The recommendation was announced at the APA's annual meeting here today by the task force chair, psychologist Sandra A...
Imaginary worlds are early sign of highly creative kids
TORONTO—All kids like to use their imagination, and many play fantasy games where they pretend to be characters in a made-up world. Some children persist in building especially elaborate imaginary worlds, with impressive depth in terms of histories, taxonomies, language and maps...
Honeybees face new threat in Texas: "Crazy" ants
Viruses, grueling journeys, monoculture diets. U.S. honeybees have had it rough lately, and millions have perished from the mysterious colony collapse disorder (CCD).
Twitter attack triggers conspiracy theories, but few seem plausible
The same week that the Obama Administration lost its acting cyber security czar, cyber attacks torpedoed several of the Web's most popular social-networking sites, in particular Twitter and Facebook ...
Toyota Highlander gets 68 miles per... kilogram of hydrogen
For Toyota, it's not just about hybrids (that is, the Prius). Yesterday, the company announced the results of a sunny 331-mile jaunt in Southern California from Torrance to Santa Monica and back again at the end of June...
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