Factors Related to Homosexuality
Homosexuality is mostly influenced by both genetics and environmental factors. According to researchers from Queen Mary’s School and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, genetics and environmental factors which are specific to an individual (biological processes such as different hormone exposure in the womb) are the important determinants of homosexuality. Finding a single ‘gay gene’/ gene for heterosexual behaviour is influenced by a mixture of genetic and environmental factors, therefore it is very complicated.
The overall study proved that genetics accounted for around 35% of the differences between men in homosexual behaviour and other individual-specific environmental factors are accounted for 64%.
Gates left MicroSoft
Bill Gates, founder of the software giant MicroSoft left the company last Friday. He’s retiring from the company to dedicate more time to his charitable foundation,Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a $37 billion foundation created by Bill and his wife a decade ago. Gates will remain Microsoft’s chairman on a part-time basis. Gates began programming computers when he was 13 and a student living in the northwestern US state of Washington. He founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975.
He made a comic video “Bill’s Last Day at Work”. Watch it here:
Bill Gates Last Day Of Work - Watch more free videos
Turn a Computer Program into a Virus
Panda labs, a division of Panda Antivirus has detected an application which can turn an executable file into a worm, giving it the capacity to spread itself. This eye-catching tool is very easy to use and can be used to customize further the virus it creates. The tool has advanced options to disable operating system components such as the Task Manager, or the Windows Registry Editor. It also has language options English, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan.
Traffic-Related Pollution Increases The Risk Of Allergy
Road pollution is increasing the risk of allergy and skin diseases among children by more than 50%. Children who live close to major roads and highways are at high risk of developing allergies and atopic diseases. They are exposed to a higher amount of traffic-derived particles, gases, and more freshly emitted high toxic aerosols. The results of this research appeared in the June issue of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
One in Four Canadians don’t believe in God.
A new Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey reveals ,fewer than three-quarters of Canadians believe in a god. 72 per cent of poll participants said they believed in a god, while 23 per cent said they did not believe in any god. Compared to men(67 percent) more women(76 percent) believe in God. Also Canadians over the age of 50 (82 per cent) were far more likely than those under the age of 25 (60 per cent) to say they believed in a god. Belief in a god is higher in rural Canada (76 per cent) than in urban Canada (69 per cent). In one Harris Interactive study in the United States, conducted in 2007, the number who said they were non-believers was only eight per cent which is three times lower than Canada.
Coma Is Equal To Daydreaming?
To find out whether brain-damaged patients will regain consciousness, researchers conducted a study on brain-injured patients with a variety of different levels of consciousness. Some part of the brain can stay active even the brain is severely damaged, and this could help to understand the chances of recovery. The “default network” in the brain seems to match the level of consciousness, and it is more active when the brain is not actively working and that links with daydreaming. With the help of default network, there is a 10% fall in normal activity in in minimally conscious patients, while in coma and “persistent vegetative state” patients, it falls by 35%, and no activity in the brain-dead patients.
Researchers believe that activity within the network will help to confirm the level of consciousness, and help the medical team to decide whether or not to treat the patient.
Photo Source: www.abc.net.au
Farmers don’t reap the benefit of Rising Food Prices
A new study by EurekAlert shows that when global coffee prices rise,farmers do not see the same rise in the price they receive. Increases in the international coffee price are reflected relatively rapidly in domestic prices paid by exporters and large traders. Marketing costs such as transport, handling, storage, and processing do not increase with price. The study was conducted in long-time coffee producing nation of Uganda by Marcel Fafchamps and Ruth Vargas Hill.
NASA Astronaut Candidate Class,Deadline approaching
For those who dreams about flying into space,there is a chance your dream may come true. NASA is accepting applications for the 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class, those selected could fly to space for long-duration stays on the International Space Station and missions to the moon. Qualifications?..A bachelor’s degree in engineering, science or math and three years of relevant professional experience or extensive experience flying high-performance jet aircraft. NASA said teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level, is considered qualifying. After a six-month period of evaluation and interviews, NASA will announce final selections in early 2009. You can apply here to be an astronaut. Deadline for accepting applications is July 1.
Phoenix Found Water in Mars
NASA scientists believe that the white substance exposed by Phoenix lander while digging a trench, is ice. Initially in the bottom of the trench a white material is observed, it disappeared later,meaning it must have been frozen water. Phoenix Lander’s lead investigator, Peter Smith said “These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it’s ice.” An earlier experiment carried out on Martian soil sample zyielded no evidence of water. The $420 million Phoenix mission’s main objective was to look for water in Mars. Is this the first step towards a human settlement in Mars?
See Also:
No evidence of Water.
Bad Guys Get More Girls
Bad boys get the most girls,the finding is backed by two new studies. People with antisocial personality traits known as the “dark triad”,self-obsession of narcissism; the impulsive, thrill-seeking and callous behaviour of psychopaths, have a prolific sex life. The finding may help explain why antisocial personality traits exists in the human population. One study was conducted among 35,000 people in 57 countries.
Evolution Of Facial Expression
A research done by Joshua Susskind of University of Toronto, suggests that different changes on the face would lead to different amounts of sensory intake. When fearful objects were shown, subjects breathed in more air, saw a wider field of view, and could visually track targets more quickly.
On the other hand, expression of disgust seems to produce the opposite effect, that is reducing the sensory intake, which means when pinching noses and squinting eyes in disgust, subjects saw and smelled less. This finding supports Darwin’s idea of emotional facial expressions might have evolved for a reason.
The World’s First Telephone Book
The world’s first telephone book has just found in Connecticut. It was 20-page directory and issued in November of 1878. The phone book contained information useful to 391 subscribers within the Connecticut. It says that “Should you wish to speak to another subscriber you should commence the conversation by saying, ‘Hulloa!”.
It also says that “Never take the telephone off the hook unless you wish to use it”. When you are talking to other subscriber, say “That is all”, and the person on the other end should say “O.K.”, only then you can hang up. The book also tells the users “lower lip and jaw free.” Users are warned not to use the phone for more than 3 mins at a time and no more than 2 times an hour without getting the permission from the main office.
Photo Source: www.oldtelephonebooks.com
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