US Life Expectancy Reaches 78.

US FlagUS life expectancy has surpassed 78 years for the first time. But there are 30 other countries that have higher estimated life span than US. Japan is No. 1 on the list, with a life expectancy of 83. U.S. life expectancy has been steadily rising, usually by about two to three months from year to year. White women continue to have the highest life expectancy (81 years), followed by black women (about 77 years), white men (76) and black men (70). Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy with 32.63 years.

Magic Of Hearing Silent Objects

blindfoldA new study suggests that people can hear objects based on reflected and ambient sound. This study further explains how blind individuals are able to find doorways and objects without seeing or touching them. It may help to understand the echolocation, the technique used by animals, like bats.

In this research participants were blindfolded and transported around a basic campus classroom consisting of a linoleum floor, sheet rock walls, a tile ceiling, two white boards and large windows covered with plastic blinds. These participants were able use the sound of their own voices to determine what part of the room they were in. They were always accurate.

Communists Upset with Indiana Jones

CommunismStephen Spielberg’s new Indiana Jones movie aims to undermine communist ideology and distort history, said Members of Russia’s Communist Party. They also called for a nationwide boycott of the movie. Moscow Communist lawmaker Andrei Andreyev said “it is very disturbing if talented directors want to provoke a new Cold War.” In the movie, Indiana Jones is fighting KGB agents for control of a crystal skull. The first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition), was released in 1981, followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984 and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989.

Related : Legend of Crystal Skulls

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Mandela hideaway now a museum

Nelson MandelaThe farm is just half an hour’s drive from the centre of Johannesburg, a site used by the African National Congress from which to launch its armed struggle against the apartheid state. The farm has been restored and opened as a museum. Nelson Mandela came to live here in 1961 when he was on the run. Later the farm was raided by the police, and the ANC’s high command was arrested. Mandela spent the next 27 years in prison after the arrest, much of it on Robben Island. Mandela has received more than one hundred awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Related Story:
Mandela Is on US Terrorist Watch List

Iranians Take Science to deny Holocaust

Auschwitz Gas ChamperAn article published by an Iranian satellite channel Press TV on its Web site says, the massacre of Jewish people during the Holocaust was “scientifically impossible”. Iranian government setup the Press TV, an English-language 24-hour news channel. Nicholas Kollerstrom, who wrote this article, had his fellowship terminated by University College London last month after he said there were never any gas chambers at Auschwitz. According to Adolf Eichmann, a senior SS official about 6 million Jewish people were killed by Nazis, 50% of them in gas chambers.

Depressed US teens,over 2 million.

FaceA survey conducted among youths aged 12 to 17 about mood and depression revealed that more than 2 million US teenagers have suffered a serious bout of depression in the past year. 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year. Nearly half of the teenagers who had major depression said it severely impaired their ability to function in at least one of the areas on the disability scale. Depression, or a depressed mood, refer to a state of melancholia, unhappiness or sadness, or to a relatively minor downturn in mood that may last only a few hours or days.

Huge WWII bomb defused

WW2 Nazi bombA World War II-era bomb that was discovered during construction for the 2012 Summer Olympics, was safely destroyed by British Military. The German bomb weighs 900 Kg and was the largest one found in three decades according to London Metropolitan police. If the bomb had exploded, it would have created a large crater and sent fragments flying close to a kilometre. Nazi planes dropped thousands of bombs on London during the war and unexploded devices are found from time to time.

Being popular in teenage

Know yourselfBeing popular or cool is the most important thing, for an average teenager. According to this study by Child Development, teenagers who perceive themselves as well liked are just as socially successful over time as the kids who actually are part of the in-crowd. Teenagers who felt good about their place on the social ladder do socially well as the actual popular kids. The research suggests that our perception of how we fit into the social world is just as important than our real-life position in the social world. The study conducted among 164 students. Teenagers who did not fare well socially were those who did not perceive themselves as well liked.

Sharon Stone is not welcome in film festival

Sharon StoneHollywood actress Sharon Stone sparked outrage across China earlier when she commented that last month’s devastating earthquake in the Sichuan region might be “karma” for the country’s treatment of Tibet. A spokeswoman for the Shanghai International Film Festival said that the U.S. actress is not welcome at this year’s event. The actress later apologized for her comments.

Don’t blame eat less: India to America

Food Plate fullDue to their huge populations, countries like India and China may appear to consume gigantic amounts of food, but according to this Times of India article US per capita consumption is much higher than rest of the world including Europe. US grain consumption is twice that of the European Union and thrice that of China. Each Indian gets to eat about 178 kg of grain in a year, while a US citizen consumes 1,046 kg. Vegetable oils consumption per person is 41 kg per year in US, in India 11 kg per year. Beef consumption in US, is 42.6 kg per person per year, compared to a mere 1.6 kg in India and 5.9 kg in China. The article questions who is to blame for the current food crisis?

Google stops serving ads to anti-scientology site.

Enturbulation, a fledgling site dedicated to promoting activism against the Church of Scientology and all its related organizations, used to serve ads by Google’s adsense ad network to monetize their site. Last month, Google cut off all ads served to Enturbulation. Google’s terms and conditions also prohibit “any action or practice that reflects poorly on Google or otherwise disparages or devalues Google’s reputation or goodwill.”