When you restrain from scarfing down unhealthy foods or hold back on that extra drink, others may deserve some of the credit. Self-control is contagious, a new study suggests. In a series of studies in a lab setting, researchers found that watching or even thinking about someone with good self-control makes others more likely show the same restraint. And they found the opposite also holds true - people with lousy self-control influence others negatively. The effect is so powerful, in fact, that just seeing the name of someone with good or bad self-control flashing on a screen for 10 milliseconds changed the behavior of volunteers. ‘The take-home message of this study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self-control,’ said lead author Michelle vanDellen, a psychology professor at the University of Georgia. ‘And by exhibiting self-control, you’re helping others around you do the same.’ However, since the studies were conducted in a laboratory setting, more research will be needed to verify the results. People tend to mimic the behavior of those around them, and bad habits such as smoking, drug use and obesity tend to spread through social networks. But the […]
Germany has been looking for a permanent storage site for its nuclear waste for over 30 years. The history of the Gorleben salt dome, a potential nuclear repository, is one full of deception and political maneuvering. And if opponents to the plans have their way, the search might even have to start again from scratch. The ride down into the Gorleben salt dome takes less than two minutes. When the elevator stops at 840 meters (2,755 feet) below ground, the folding gates open onto a scene that looks like it could be in a modern art museum. A sculpture made of old soft drink cans and other scrap metal welcomes visitors as they step out of the elevator. The artwork is meant to symbolize society’s unresolved waste disposal problem. ‘Trash People’ is the name of the work, a creation by the Cologne-based conceptual artist HA Schult. Of the army of similar scrap metal sculptures he installed a few years ago in the site, which is earmarked as a possible permanent repository for radioactive waste, one remains today as a warning, next to an information panel describing Schult’s ‘happening,’ called ‘Quiet Days in Gorleben.’ The force behind […]
A test that can detect Alzheimer’s up to 20 years before any symptoms show is being developed by British scientists. The simple and inexpensive eye test could be part of routine examinations by high street opticians in as little as three years, allowing those in middle age to be screened. Dementia experts said it had the power to revolutionise the treatment of Alzheimer’s by making it possible for drugs to be given in the earliest stages. Posed picture of man having eye test Simple: The middle-aged could visit their local optician and have the special eye test as part of a routine examination The technique, being pioneered at University College London, could also speed up the development of medication capable of stopping the disease in its tracks, preventing people from ever showing symptoms. Rebecca Wood, of the Alzheimer’s Trust, said: ‘These findings have the potential to transform the way we diagnose Alzheimer’s, greatly enhancing efforts to develop new treatments.’ Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia blight the lives of 700,000 Britons and their families, and the number of cases is expected to double within a generation. There is no cure and existing drugs […]
JEMEZ PUEBLO, N.M. — A poverty-stricken Indian tribe that holds the sun and nature’s other gifts sacred sees a brighter future for itself in solar power. The 3,000 members of the Jemez Pueblo are on the verge of building the nation’s first utility-scale solar plant on tribal land, a project that could bring in millions of dollars. Experts say tapping into the sun, wind and geothermal energy on Indian land could generate the kind of wealth many tribes have seen from slot machines and blackjack tables. ‘We don’t have any revenue coming in except for a little convenience store,’ says James Roger Madalena, a former tribal governor who now represents the pueblo in the state Legislature. ‘It’s very critical that we become innovative, creative, that we come up with something that will last generations without having a devastating impact on the environment.’ The 30-acre site where 14,850 solar panels will be set up has been selected, and after four years of arduous planning and negotiations, a contract to sell outsiders the electricity produced by the four-megawatt operation is at hand. The plant would be capable of cranking out enough electricity to power about 600 homes. […]
DETROIT — With a curiously squashed, elongated body, the Tango electrically-powered car is as narrow as a single passenger and as nippy as a motorbike. Billed as the world’s fastest urban car, it can reach a speed of 130mph. Satisfied customers include the actor George Clooney, and its inventor describes the bizarre vehicle as a ‘chick magnet’. Built by a US start-up called Commuter Cars, the Tango takes up only half a traffic lane. It can carry two people tandem-style in slightly cramped comfort. Without the need for gears, its battery-powered engine can accelerate from zero to 60mph in four seconds and, with a racing car-style roll cage design, the Tango is supposedly as robust as a Volvo estate car. ‘It’s unequivocally the fastest car you can buy for an urban environment,’ says Commuter Cars’ president, Rick Woodbury, who has sold 11 of the vehicles so far, at a hefty price of $150,000 (£90,000) each, including a recent delivery to a customer in Surrey. ‘I drove through Times Square and had girls throwing their arms around me.’ The Tango is among the quirkier exhibits on Electric Avenue, a corner of the Detroit motor show devoted to electrically-powered […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
