LOS ANGELES – A record number of U.S. homes were lost to foreclosure in the first three months of this year, a sign banks are starting to wade through the backlog of troubled home loans at a faster pace, according to a new report. RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday that the number of U.S. homes taken over by banks jumped 35 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. In addition, households facing foreclosure grew 16 percent in the same period and 7 percent from the last three months of 2009. More homes were taken over by banks and scheduled for a foreclosure sale than in any quarter going back to at least January 2005, when RealtyTrac began reporting the data, the firm said. ‘We’re right now on pace to see more than 1 million bank repossessions this year,’ said Rick Sharga, a RealtyTrac senior vice president. Foreclosures began to ease last year as banks came under pressure from the Obama administration to modify home loans for troubled borrowers. In addition, some states enacted foreclosure moratoriums in hopes of giving homeowners behind in payments time to catch up. And in many cases, banks have had trouble […]
President Obama mandated Thursday that nearly all hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and respect patients’ choices about who may make critical health-care decisions for them, perhaps the most significant step so far in his efforts to expand the rights of gay Americans. The president directed the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation in a memo that was e-mailed to reporters Thursday night while he was at a fundraiser in Miami. Administration officials and gay activists, who have been quietly working together on the issue, said the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding, a move that covers the vast majority of the nation’s health-care institutions. Obama’s order will start a rule-making process at HHS that could take several months, officials said. Hospitals often bar visitors who are not related to an incapacitated patient by blood or marriage, and gay rights activists say many do not respect same-sex couples’ efforts to designate a partner to make medical decisions for them if they are seriously ill or injured. ‘Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and […]
Hong Kong scientists have developed a robotic hand that allows people talking over the web to experience the sensation of touching each other – even feeling the strength of a handshake. The cyber hand can grip and shake as well as make the signs for OK and ‘V’ for victory. Professor Liu Yunhui, who led researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: ‘At this moment the function is not perfect and it can’t copy exactly, partly because the robot hand is different from the human hand in terms of the degree of freedom of movement it has. Sophisticated ‘There are also a few errors such as delays in processing and mechanical problems. But in the future it will be possible to produce more sophisticated and more dextrous movements.’ Users wear a wrist band which picks up electrical impulses generated by muscles as they contract. It was originally designed to help the elderly keep in contact with their loved ones in a more personal way. Prof Liu added: ‘Although they can show their care through phone calls, physical touch is still a better way to express love. ‘The main obstacle we have […]
In the largest study of its kind Dr Michael Lewis of Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, collected a random sample of 1205 black, white, and mixed-race faces. Each face was then rated for their perceived attractiveness to others — with mixed-race faces, on average, being perceived as being more attractive. Dr Lewis, who will present his findings to the British Psychological Society’s annual meeting (April 14) said: ‘Previous, small scale, studies have suggested that people of mixed race are perceived as being more attractive than non-mixed-race people. This study was an attempt to put this to the wider test. ‘A random sample of black, white, and mixed-race faces was collected and rated for their perceived attractiveness. There was a small but highly significant effect, with mixed-race faces, on average, being perceived as more attractive.’ The study could also have wider implications than just attractiveness. First established by Darwin in 1876, heterosis (or hybrid vigour) is a biological phenomenon that predicts that cross-breeding leads to offspring that are genetically fitter than their parents. As heterosis is considered to be a universal biological effect, it is possible that humans are also subject to its influence and […]
Scientists today offered new hope for women at risk of passing on certain inherited diseases to their children, in the form of a pioneering technique to move healthy genetic material from fertilised eggs into donated ones. Researchers from Newcastle University say their breakthrough will help women whose children are at risk of a range of mitochondrial diseases. These disorders can be mild or very severe, and can cause muscle weakness, blindness, heart and liver failure, diabetes and learning disabilities. They affect one child in every 6,500. The diseases are caused by mutations in the small amount of genetic material in the mitochondria, which provide the cell with energy. Mitochondrial DNA is separate from the nucleus in a fertilised egg, and is passed on solely by the mother. The disorders their children suffer are untreatable. Women normally discover they are carriers after relatives have had babies with mitochondrial diseases. If they decide to be tested, they must then opt to remain childless or take the chance of passing on the disease to their child. The Newcastle University researchers write in the journal Nature that they have successfully transplanted the healthy DNA in human eggs from women with […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
