Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Beautiful photos of the Mexican Temple of Santiago have been circulating online, showing the church reappear from the water like a lost ruin of Atlantis. The Grijalva river in Chiapas, Mexico has been suffering from a drought over the past year which has caused the water level in Nezahualcoyotl reservoir to decrease by 25 meters (82…
THURSDAY, Oct. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — In a finding that underscores the dangers of not vaccinating all children for measles, researchers estimate that one in eight American children are vulnerable to this highly infectious disease. The statistics are even more troubling for younger children: Almost a quarter of those under the age of 3…
Geoff Marcy is a superstar astronomer, by any measure. He is a major figure in the exoplanet revolution, which has transformed our view of the universe so profoundly, that some have compared it to the revolution kicked off by Copernicus. Many of the first thousand planets observed circling other stars were detected by teams Marcy…
At first glance, the big news coming out of this summer’s conference on the theory of computing appeared to be something of a letdown. For more than 40 years, researchers had been trying to find a better way to compare two arbitrary strings of characters, such as the long strings of chemical letters within DNA…
Most experts today agree that the belief that childhood vaccines cause autism is based on bunk science. Even still, some advocacy groups claim immunizations are responsible for raising the risk for this neurodevelopmental condition, despite a growing body of research that shows there isn’t a link. (The study that most anti-vaccination groups point to was retracted after…
Ken (left) and Henry were created using DNA plucked from a skin cell of Melvin, the beloved pet of Paula and Phillip Dupont of Lafayette, La. Edmund D. Fountain for NPR hide caption itoggle caption Edmund D. Fountain for NPR It’s a typical morning at the Dupont Veterinary Clinic in Lafayette, La. Dr….
There’s a meme aimed at Millennial catharsis called “Old Economy Steve.” It’s a series of pictures of a late-70s teenager, who presumably is now a middle-aged man, that mocks some of the messages Millennials say they hear from older generations—and shows why they’re deeply janky. Old Economy Steve graduates and gets a job right away….
Specialists in infectious disease are protesting a gigantic overnight increase in the price of a 62-year-old drug that is the standard of care for treating a life-threatening parasitic infection. The drug, called Daraprim, was acquired in August by Turing Pharmaceuticals, a start-up run by a former hedge fund manager. Turing immediately raised the price to…
In the center of the lab, CHIMP stretched out one huge arm, then gracefully unfurled its three metal fingers, as if about to beckon someone. On its head, two rapidly rotating laser scanners enabled it to monitor its surroundings, but the engineers standing nearby were wary nonetheless. If the robot — a five-foot-tall, crimson-colored humanoid…
Male suicide rates are now at their highest point in the UK since 2001. The Office for National Statistics shows that in the past thirty years, the balance between male/female suicide rates has shifted from 63% male in 1981 to 78% male in 2013. Men are killing themselves at a rate that noticeably outstrips women,…