For all the talk of harmony in Washington, there was no shortage of stark differences between President Barack Obama and newly empowered Republicans ahead of Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Mark Smith reports. (Jan. 25)
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An Alabama law firm has filed a lawsuit claiming that Taco Bell is using false advertising when it refers to using ‘seasoned ground beef’ or ‘seasoned beef.’ Taco Bell officials deny those claims. (Jan. 25)
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The Russian leadership reacted to yesterday’s suicide bombing at a Moscow airport with bitter anger as Vladimir Putin yesterday vowed revenge for the attack which highlighted the vulnerability of the country’s capital to attack from terrorists. Both halves of Russia’s ruling duo vowed a tough response to Monday’s attack, with President Dmitry Medvedev ordering that terrorists should be hunted down and “destroyed on the spot” if they resist arrest. There were five foreigners among the 35 victims, including Briton Gordon Campbell Cousland, the Foreign Office confirmed yesterday. Nine of the victims have yet to be identified. Russia’s Health Minister said nearly 50 people remained in a…
Continue reading …Researching The (Not So) Obvious: Riding Public Transit Shown To Spread Respiratory Infections
January 26, 2011 No Comment
The sneeze. Image credit: Wikipedia I generally think it odd for a public health research paper to have a hypothesis-questioning title, in the manner of a newspaper of blog. Imagine, for example, back in 1970, how people might react to (a fictional): ” Do seat belts reduce severity of automobile related injury? ” “Need more data,” would have been my reaction. Identical first thought about a (real) publication recently encountered in BMC Infectious Diseases titled: ” Is public transport a risk factor for acute r… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …By Richard Reeves If Americans had really understood what was happening with the Peace Corps, we might be a much greater country today and the world might be a better place as well. Related Entries January 25, 2011 Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated January 25, 2011 Rahm Emanuel Catches a Break in Mayoral Race
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The noises generated by road traffic may increase the risk of stroke, especially in older people, new research indicates.
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Superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, long known to create life-threatening infections in hospital patients, could also be originating from animal farms where antibiotics are used to promote growth, potentially threatening human health, new research suggests.
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Sadists at the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics are showing off their latest development in anthropomorphic appendages : a robotic hand that can take a beating from a baseball bat and still give you the middle finger (or a thumbs-up, we suppose). Researchers apparently designed the limb to function like only a human hand can, and it seems they’ve done a decent job: it’s got five independently functioning fingers, sports 19 degrees of freedom (one less than the real deal), and can even snap them phalanges — oh no they didn’t! It’s also got the ability to exert a force of 30 newtons from its fingertips. So what makes it so resilient? The robo-hand has a built-in web of 38 tendons, which allow it to adapt its stiffness under different circumstances: a step away, its creators say, from rigid appendages of the past. There’s a video of the hand taking a beating after the jump, but honestly, we’d prefer to see what happens when the hand fights back. Continue reading German robot hand takes a licking, apparently keeps on ticking (video) German robot hand takes a licking, apparently keeps on ticking (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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After Google’s uncharacteristic (and swift) action against Flash game clearinghouse Kongregate when its Android app went live a few days ago, it wasn’t clear what was going to have to happen to get it back in the Market — but they’re giving it a shot today by making a few key tweaks and republishing. Most notably, version 1.1 no longer dumps Flash games that you download to SD storage; instead, the phone’s browser cache is used just as for any other website you visit, which would seem to be a definitive step toward giving the app less of an “app store” feel — precisely the thing that Google’s concerned about. We’ll have to wait and see whether this puppy stays deployed… but for now, you can grab it from the Market. Kongregate makes triumphant return to Android Market after a few tweaks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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