Twins boast considerable entertainment value, to judge from the success of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, among other famous pairs. But they have scientific value as well. Because identical twins have the same DNA, studying them can reveal how much of a given trait is determined by genetics and how much is determined by parenting and environment. That is, twins are helping scientists flesh out the nature-versus-nurture debate. That debate began in the 1870s, when British scientist Sir Francis Galton (inventor of fingerprinting and Charles Darwin’s cousin) coined the phrase. Galton surveyed several dozen twins in an attempt to distinguish between ‘the effects of tendencies received at birth’ and ‘those that were imposed by circumstances of their after lives.’ Galton, not very helpfully, documented the confusion that can arise in families with identical twins. He also concluded that twins can share some unusual traits — such as descending stairs slowly and bursting into the same song at the same time. But he was perplexed by the existence of two types of twins: identical twins, who are mirror images of each other, and fraternal twins, who are no more alike than ordinary siblings. The former come from a […]
What you don’t know might kill you-and cost the nation a bundle. More than one-third of American adults have only basic or below-basic literacy in health matters, which costs the United States upwards of $238 billion in healthcare expenditures, according to a government- and industry-funded study. And by basic literacy, we’re talking about merely being able to read a label to determine if a product is for a head cold or diarrhea, or administer a proper dose to oneself or a child. The health illiteracy cuts across ethnic groups and, not surprising, disproportionately affects the medically uninsured, essentially because of their poor access to healthcare and health information. Ironically, the wasted dollars are enough to provide healthcare and improve literacy for the more than 47 million Americans who lack coverage. Not you, but maybe a neighbor Any reporting about this literacy report-led by economist John Vernon of the University of Connecticut and based on the U.S. Department of Education’s 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy-is preaching to the choir, because most people seeking health and science news online are indeed literate. Nationwide, about 12 percent of adults are proficient in health literacy and can […]
Travellers face price hikes and confusion after the Government unveiled plans to take up to 53 pieces of information from anyone entering or leaving Britain. For every journey, security officials will want credit card details, holiday contact numbers, travel plans, email addresses, car numbers and even any previous missed flights. The e-borders system will monitor every passenger travelling into or out of the country. The information, taken when a ticket is bought, will be shared among police, customs, immigration and the security services for at least 24 hours before a journey is due to take place. Anybody about whom the authorities are dubious can be turned away when they arrive at the airport or station with their baggage. Those with outstanding court fines, such as a speeding penalty, could also be barred from leaving the country, even if they pose no security risk. The information required under the ‘e-borders’ system was revealed as Gordon Brown announced plans to tighten security at shopping centres, airports and ports. This could mean additional screening of baggage and passenger searches, with resulting delays for travellers. The e-borders scheme is expected to cost at least ã1.2billion over […]
November 15, 2007 edition – http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1115/p04s01-wogi.html With the pending release of a new global-warming report, environmentalists, politicians, and scientists wrangle in Spain for consensus. As a major part of the United Nations’ effort to study climate change and to do something about it, thousands of scientists have produced thousands of pages documenting the details and causes of global warming. In Valencia, Spain, this week, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is trying to boil that information down to a 25-page document – a synthesis to guide government policymakers around the world. As the Associated Press reported: ‘Everyone will feel its effects, [said Yvo de Boer, director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change] but global warming will hit the poorest countries hardest and will ‘threaten the very survival’ of some people, he said. ‘Failing to recognize the urgency of this message and act on it would be nothing less than criminally irresponsible’ and a direct attack on the world’s poorest people, de Boer said.’ Much is at stake, including the future of national economies and migration patterns of humans and other species. Not surprisingly, a lot of […]
BEIJING – China’s largest cell phone service provider successfully tested a transmission station on Mount Everest on Tuesday, making it possible for climbers and those on next year’s Olympic torch relay to make calls, a state news agency reported. China Mobile had to hire yaks and porters to help transport equipment up to the station site at 21,325 feet, the Xinhua News Agency said. The new station, along with two other China Mobile stations at 17,060 feet and 19,095 feet, would provide cell phone service along the entire Mount Everest climbing route, Xinhua said. It would also be put into use during next year’s Olympic torch relay, which will take the flame to the 29,035-foot summit. A worker called the cell phone of China Mobile general manager Wang Jianzhou on Tuesday afternoon and had a clear signal, Xinhua quoted an unnamed company spokesman as saying. The construction was ‘incredibly difficult’ because the oxygen level was only 38 percent of what it would be on the ground, the spokesman said. Immediately after the call to Wang, workers began packing away the equipment for the winter, Xinhua said. The station will be reassembled before the Olympic torch […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
