Just returned from a trip to New Zealand. This is definitely an enchanting place to visit, and it should be on everyone’s bucket list. The highlights were a visit to Hobbiton where we went inside Bilbo Baggins’s house and a zip line on Waiheke Island.
Thanks to Air New Zealand and Jo Brothers for making this happen.
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Earlier today, we published an infographic about cyber crime from Go-Gulf.com and noted that “Knowing is half the battle.”
If you’re ready to tackle the other half, take some time to go through SimpliSafe’s online quiz, “How Vulnerable Are You?”, which covers a range of ways you may be digitally vulnerable and links to articles and information when your answers indicate a weak spot in your online armor.
Full story at SimpliSafe.com.
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Can’t stand it when your bacon puts too much air in that club sandwich?
Are poorly frilled edges ruining your breakfast?
It’s time to put things straight with the Norpro Cast Iron Pig Bacon Press, a steal at $12 on Amazon.
Who can’t oink to that?
Full story at Amazon via Technabob.
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A new brain study reveals that the circadian clocks of people with depression are altered at the cellular level.
Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync with the outside world so that it can govern our appetites, sleep, moods, and much more.
But new research shows that the clock may be broken in the brains of people with depression—even at the level of the gene activity inside their brain cells.
“There really was a moment of discovery,” says Li,a research assistant professor in the department of computational medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Michigan. “It was when we realized that many of the genes that show 24-hour cycles in the normal individuals were well-known circadian rhythm genes—and when we saw that the people with depression were not synchronized to the usual solar day in terms of this gene activity. It’s as if they were living in a different time zone than the one they died in.”
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: Jöshua Barnett/Flickr
Invasive “crazy ants” are displacing fire ants across the southeastern United States and may have dramatic effects on the region’s ecosystem, researchers say.
Unlike fire ants, crazy ants don’t consume most poison baits and don’t have the same kinds of colony boundaries. That means that even if they’re killed in a certain area, the supercolony survives and can swarm back over the area, says Ed LeBrun, a research associate with the invasive species research program at the University of Texas-Austin. “When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back.”
Full story with additional images and video at Futurity.
Photo credit: Joe MacGown / Mississippi Entomological Museum
Kindergarten teachers say they spend most of their math instructional time teaching lessons students have already mastered, like shapes and basic counting. The findings reveal a misalignment between what the students are being taught and what they already know.
“This study is one of the first to raise the question: Is the content that teachers report teaching in kindergarten meeting the needs of the majority of their students?” says Mimi Engel, assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and lead author of the study.
Full story and video at Futurity.
Photo credit: Kelly Teague/Flickr
The consequences of overfishing have led fisheries to rely on a handful of highly valuable shellfish—but new research shows this approach is extremely risky.
“Shellfish make a valuable contribution to our fisheries,” says Bryce Stewart, a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist at the University of York. “But we cannot just assume everything is rosy. There is an urgent need for continued improvements in management of finfish fisheries, and an ecosystem approach which rebuilds the diversity, resilience, and productivity of our oceans into the future.” Above, Prawns (otherwise known as scampi) are now the most valuable fisheries species in the UK, worth over £110 million in 2011.
Like simplified agricultural systems, these shellfisheries are unstable in the long-term and at great risk of collapse from disease, species invasions, and climate change. Warming and acidification of our oceans due to greenhouse gas emissions is expected to affect shellfish worst. Ocean acidification, in particular, will limit the ability of scallops and other shellfish to form proper shells, and lead to widespread mortality.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: Bryce Stewart
These are pictures from the Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. The Maker Faire is one of my favorite events of the year. You can learn more about the Maker Faire here. I hope that you can attend one!
(To zoom, click a photo.)
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“The speculation is over. Yahoo has acquired Tumblr, according to official statements from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Tumblr CEO and Founder David Karp.
In a somewhat odd press release, Yahoo promises it will not “screw up” the popular microblogging service.
“Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators,” says Yahoo in the release.
The total price Yahoo paid for Tumblr is approximately $1.1 billion, all of it in cash.”
Announcement on Marissa Mayer’s Tumblr.
Full article on Mashable
Photo credit GeminiScarcophagi
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The Powerful Benefits of Coffee!
Why drink coffee? Top reasons you should drink coffee:
1. Wake up! If you’re not a morning person, coffee helps wake you up and become more alert for the morning commute, early meetings, and responding to questions from your boss, customers, or coworkers.
2. Get an Edge: Even if you are a “morning person”, coffee can still give you an extra edge in dealing with the challenges of the day.
3. When you’re chilled to the bone: Coffee warms you up on a cold day.
4. Fresh Perspective: A cup of coffee gives you a good excuse to take a break, socialize with friends and coworkers, and step away from your work for a few minutes. Breaks can help you approach tasks with renewed vigor and creativity. When the brain starts getting stale, a coffee break can be the perfect way to recharge your battery.
Read more of the Top 10 here
h/t to Rebekah Radice for the article.
More about coffee on Alltop.
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