New method tackles social networks, biological systems, air transportation and more
Facebook figures out that you know Holly, although you haven't seen her in 10 years, because you have four mutual friends -- a good predictor of direct friendship. But sometimes Facebook gets it wrong. "Hey, I don't know Harry!"
Roger Guimera and Marta Sales-Pardo, a husband-wife research team at Northwestern University, have developed a universal method that can accurately analyze a range of complex networks -- including social networks, protein-protein interactions and air transportation networks. Although the datasets they used were much smaller than Facebook's, the researchers demonstrated the great potential of their method.
Health & Wellness
The sex talk is never easy. It's not comfortable for anyone involved - parents are afraid of it, children are mortified by it - which is probably why the "Talk" so often comes after the fact. In the latest study on parent-child talks about sex and sexuality, researchers found that more than 40% of adolescents had had intercourse before talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases.
That trend is troublesome, say experts, since teens who talk to their parents about sex are more likely to delay their first sexual encounter and to practice safe sex when they do become sexually active. And, ironically, despite their apparent dread, kids really want to learn about sex from their parents, according to study after study on the topic.
"The results didn't surprise me," says Dr. Mark Schuster, one of the authors of the new study, published in Pediatrics, and chief of general pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston. "But there's something about having actual data that serves as a wake-up call to parents who are not talking to their kids about very important issues until later than we think would be best."
That trend is troublesome, say experts, since teens who talk to their parents about sex are more likely to delay their first sexual encounter and to practice safe sex when they do become sexually active. And, ironically, despite their apparent dread, kids really want to learn about sex from their parents, according to study after study on the topic.
"The results didn't surprise me," says Dr. Mark Schuster, one of the authors of the new study, published in Pediatrics, and chief of general pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston. "But there's something about having actual data that serves as a wake-up call to parents who are not talking to their kids about very important issues until later than we think would be best."
Anyone who's seen a toddler "at work" can tell that her learning style is a study in chaos. She moves from banging pots to tormenting the cat to demanding food to bursting into tears when she can't open the back door and hurdle off the deck -- all in the span of minutes.
But when it comes to the daunting task of mastering language, that same child is a turbo-charged learning machine.
Pharmaceutical executives laid out plans Friday to prevent the misuse of prescription painkillers, under pressure from regulators trying to stop hundreds of fatal overdoses each year.
But Food and Drug Administration officials said industry's proposals were short on specifics and that more work is needed before any measures are put in place.
Johnson & Johnson, King Pharmaceuticals and other drugmakers proposed using patient medication guides, letters to doctors and additional physician training to curb inappropriate use and prescribing of painkillers.
But Food and Drug Administration officials said industry's proposals were short on specifics and that more work is needed before any measures are put in place.
Johnson & Johnson, King Pharmaceuticals and other drugmakers proposed using patient medication guides, letters to doctors and additional physician training to curb inappropriate use and prescribing of painkillers.
Authors Sandor Katz reveals the secrets of fermentation and the growing underground food movement.
The day I first made dilly beans, everything changed. And all because of Sandor Katz.
Sandor Katz is a self-taught fermentation experimentalist. To him (and his devoted following--ahem, which includes me and half the people in the room I'm sitting in), live fermented foods are a critically important staple to sustainable human health...not to mention delicious. Ever had sauerkraut? Pickles? Yogurt? Sourdough? Sounds familiar, doesn't it. Well, what about Ethiopian honey wine? Root kimchi? Elderberry wine? Persimmon cider mead? Ginger champagne? Kombucha? If you're dribbling at the mouth, or even a little but intrigued, prepare to enter the world of Sandorkraut.
Sandor Katz's "fermentation fervor" grew out of his overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition and gardening. (He's also an herbalist, activist, writer, builder, craftsperson and bicyclist.) He's written two books: Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements. A native of New York City, a graduate of Brown University and--as he calls it--"a retired policy wonk", Sandor Katz moved from New York and now lives at Short Mountain Sanctuary, an intentional community in Tennessee. I talked to Sandor about fermentation fetishism, underground food movements, and the benefits of fermented foods.
The day I first made dilly beans, everything changed. And all because of Sandor Katz.
Sandor Katz is a self-taught fermentation experimentalist. To him (and his devoted following--ahem, which includes me and half the people in the room I'm sitting in), live fermented foods are a critically important staple to sustainable human health...not to mention delicious. Ever had sauerkraut? Pickles? Yogurt? Sourdough? Sounds familiar, doesn't it. Well, what about Ethiopian honey wine? Root kimchi? Elderberry wine? Persimmon cider mead? Ginger champagne? Kombucha? If you're dribbling at the mouth, or even a little but intrigued, prepare to enter the world of Sandorkraut.
Sandor Katz's "fermentation fervor" grew out of his overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition and gardening. (He's also an herbalist, activist, writer, builder, craftsperson and bicyclist.) He's written two books: Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements. A native of New York City, a graduate of Brown University and--as he calls it--"a retired policy wonk", Sandor Katz moved from New York and now lives at Short Mountain Sanctuary, an intentional community in Tennessee. I talked to Sandor about fermentation fetishism, underground food movements, and the benefits of fermented foods.
Labeled only as "amino acid and others"
On September 14, 2009, two new food additives from Ajinomoto were judged to be "safe" by the Expert Committee for Genetically Modified Food and Others at the Food Safety Commission (FSC). The appraisal was open for public comments and it seems likely that the two novel amino acid products will be approved by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour by the end of November.
So far, several GMO food additives have been approved, but they were basically used for food processing, as in the case of enzymes like alpha amylase for improved productivity. There have been no cases of GMO food additives that are used directly as seasoning as is the case of amino acids. Thus, when Ajinomoto first submitted these GMO products, there was no established method for safety appraisal.
On September 14, 2009, two new food additives from Ajinomoto were judged to be "safe" by the Expert Committee for Genetically Modified Food and Others at the Food Safety Commission (FSC). The appraisal was open for public comments and it seems likely that the two novel amino acid products will be approved by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour by the end of November.
So far, several GMO food additives have been approved, but they were basically used for food processing, as in the case of enzymes like alpha amylase for improved productivity. There have been no cases of GMO food additives that are used directly as seasoning as is the case of amino acids. Thus, when Ajinomoto first submitted these GMO products, there was no established method for safety appraisal.
Today, at the start of the 21st century, the miracle of food processing has brought that dream closer to reality than ever before. From vitamin-free "blueberry bits" to spray-can cheese to avocado-free guacamole, food scientists have worked tirelessly to bring us new and exciting foods that contain as little nutrition as possible. Even apparently "healthy" foods such as soups have been ingeniously overloaded with so much salt you feel as if you're eating French fries.
In this article, we'll provide a handy guide to six uniquely unnatural processed foods that will hopefully serve as a blueprint for humanity's eventual triumph over the tyrannical fist of Mother Nature.
© Bethany Clarke/The Times
Children taking part in activities at a residential weight-loss camp near Leeds
Children taking part in activities at a residential weight-loss camp near Leeds
Evidence from a ground-breaking study has convinced social workers that the children's obesity was not caused by parental neglect or deliberate overfeeding but by a missing segment of DNA. The cases of another two children on the at-risk register have also been placed under review, after research showed them to have the same genetic deletion.
The children's weights were in the top 1 to 2 per cent for their age. An 8-year-old child in this category would weigh at least 11st (70kg), and a 10-year-old child at least 15st (95kg). Scientists behind the research told The Times that while genetic mutations that cause obesity are very rare, they may be more common among children who are extremely obese and who attract the attention of social services.
© Cosmopolitan
Sex mad: A mock up of a Cosmopolitan magazine cover, showing cover lines from recent editions
Sex mad: A mock up of a Cosmopolitan magazine cover, showing cover lines from recent editions
Well, I was part of that culture too. As a university student between 1966 and 1969, I experienced first-hand the impact of the sexual revolution, and the sweeping changes it wrought between men and women.
To suggest any individual was immune from that tidal wave of change, or from the pressures that came with it, for women in particular, is frankly wrong.
© Dreamstime
Exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may help build new brain cells, recent studies show.
Exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may help build new brain cells, recent studies show.
Many earlier studies have linked physical exercise with brainpower in humans and animals, but most of the research in people focused on children or older adults. The few studies of young adulthood - when the brain changes rapidly, establishing many traits linked with intelligence - have yielded ambiguous data.
To help resolve this conflict, in a massive study, researchers investigated nearly all Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976 who were conscripted at age 18 into military service, which is compulsory in Sweden.
