[In case it needs to be said: I don't agree with every word of everything I link to. --L.]
- Like it or not, flu shots work
- …NY Times is understandably fascinated by the cultural and effort-related aspects of this story, which involves a bunch of researchers swooping in and using an isolated religious farming communities to conduct a test on disease transmission, but the results of the test are just as, if not more fascinating. The finding was straightforward—vaccinating a little over 80% of the children and adolescents in the community against the flu vaccine created what they deemed a 60% “protective effect” in the community. Not just in children; in the community. [...]
Kahan has a very immediate way to deal with science education on a case-by-case basis, which is to rely on tribal loyalties and authority. For right wingers, get James Dobson to push it. For yuppies, get Oprah. God, if Oprah actually had a show promoting mass immunization of children against the flu, that would change this debate overnight.
In the long term, we really have to change the culture. And not just because of resistance to public health initiatives that trip up the American loathing of having to think of themselves as members of a community instead of lone wolves triumphing over a cruel world. [...] I’m an optimist enough to think that people can continue to respect individuality while not being individualistic. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly obvious in our culture that individualistic thinking is correlated with a high degree of conformity…
- WordPress Plugin Releases for 03/11
- WP ImageTagger
This extensively configurable plugin comes packed with a bunch of features enabling image tagging, including search and image taxonomy.
- Most Extreme White Dwarf System Ever Found! – Space – io9
- In a universe of supermassive stars and galactic cannibalism, what makes astronomers call a star system "extreme"? Megaspeed. A group at University of Warwick found two white dwarf stars revolving around each other in a blinding 5.4 minutes.
You know what that means, don't you? For these two collapsed stars, a year is about five and a half minutes long. I have no idea what that does to the 5-hour workweek, but I think it might be bad.
- Two Technologies That Are About To Completely Transform Electricity – Energy – io9
- Companies like WiTriCity are developing ways to power up devices wirelessly from across a room. And you can already buy products like the Powerpad, a charger that powers up any device you set on top of it. Here is the founder of WiTriCity talking about his company's technology a few months ago:
Wireless electricity could eliminate power outlets and electrical cords, significantly transforming our lived environments. Imagine a house without power outlets. Or a street without power lines. That time could be coming very soon.
- A Near Death Experience On A Spacewalk, In Exclusive Mars Clip [Exclusive]
- Check out this exclusive clip from Geoff Marslett and Mark Duplass' strange-looking space romantic comedy Mars. We're still not sure what to make of this indy film — the graphics alone freak us out a bit.
- Two Technologies That Are About To Completely Transform Electricity [Power]
- Click here to read Two Technologies That Are About To Completely Transform Electricity
Ever wonder what it would mean to upgrade your power outlets? I'm not talking about green energy. These two technologies will fundamentally change what we mean by "electricity."
- The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, And How It Probably Can’t Destroy The World [Physics]
- "The Heisenberg Uncertainty Over-ride taps into a limitless pool of destructive energy," Owlman says in Crisis on Two Earths, describing his evil world-destruction plan. But what is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? And could overcoming it really end in explosions?
- A Star Made Of Red Matter, From Before Our Galaxy Existed – Space – io9
- …download a supermassive version of the image…
- Martian "River" Was Carved By Lava, Not Water – Mars – io9
- This doesn't mean that water-formed valleys don't exist on Mars, but it does mean that researchers will have to account for volcanism more when analyzing images of Martian topography. Want NASA to take a peek at a certain area of Mars? Submit your request to HiWish, a site where you can suggest which Martian landscapes NASA should photograph next.
- "Techno-Snot" May Be The Most Futuristic Technology [Quote Of The Day]
- These days it's become a truism to say that it feels like "we're living in the future" because we have smart phones and 4chan. But SF writer David Levine says techno-snot is a sign that tomorrow has arrived.
The Link(s): Thu, Mar 11th, 2pm by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.