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There may be a link between the cold, callous personality traits associated with psychopaths and sense of smell, according to a new study.

The research, published in the journal Chemosensory Perception, showed that people who scored high on a test of psychopathy also had more problems with being able to tell different smells apart, not to mention identifying smells.

The study included 79 adults who didn’t have a criminal background. The researchers conducted a number of experiments to test their ability to smell and tell smells apart, and also had them take a test that measured their levels of psychopathic traits like callousness, manipulation, the urge to commit criminal acts, and leading an erratic lifestyle.

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The nation’s largest cancer center is launching a massive “moonshot” effort against eight specific forms of the disease, similar to the all-out push for space exploration 50 years ago.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston expects to spend as much as $3 billion on the project over the next 10 years and already has “tens of millions” of dollars in gifts to jump start it now, said its president, Dr. Ronald DePinho.

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If you thought the new iPad clock app in iOS 6 looked a little familiar, you’re not alone. The design is a near-exact replica of the iconic Swiss railway clock designed in 1955 by Hans Hilfiker and since licensed for use in Mondaine watches. Not surprisingly, both Swiss railway operator SBB and the Mondaine Group have also noticed the striking similarity, and they say they’re now looking at ways to remedy the situation with Apple. For its part, an SBB spokesperson tells Reuters that “SBB isn’t hurt, but proud that his icon of watch design is being used by a globally active and successful business,” while Mondaine co-owner Andre Bernheim notes that “the app is pretty much identical to our Mondaine watch,” and adds that these “three companies together — Apple, SBB and Mondaine — can together achieve something positive. We’ll see how this all ends up.” Apple has yet to offer a comment on the matter. Jump past the break to compare the two for yourself.

Continue reading Swiss railway says it’s ‘proud’ Apple is using its iconic clock design, still wants to get paid

Filed under: Tablets, Software

Swiss railway says it’s ‘proud’ Apple is using its iconic clock design, still wants to get paid originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 5 owners may find that their spanking new smartphone produces photos considerably under the resolution expected, though it’s part of a plan for improved low-light performance not a malfunction. The new iPhone is capable of 8-megapixel stills from its sapphire-protected main camera, but some will turn out with roughly half that resolution thanks to an oversampling system that condenses down pixel data.

The system is a way to address low-light performance, a situation which usually results in extra noise in the final image despite high-resolution sensors. Apple’s approach is to combine the data from four adjacent pixels on the sensor into a single pixel in the final image in what it calls “dynamic low-light mode.”

According to Apple, the iPhone 5′s “ISP detects when you are in extremely low light and switches the sensor context to combine 4 pixels into one, creating an additional 2 f-stop brightness and sensitivity.” Meanwhile, there’s also a spatial noise reduction system which compares pixels with their immediate neighbors and identifies when they might be out of place. For instance, Apple suggests, the spatial system could spot and correct the disparity of “an image of the sky with a single green pixel in a sea of blue pixels.”

The ISP doesn’t take an all-or-nothing approach. A so-called smart filter can tell the difference between a flat field of color, without texture, and thus apply the noise averaging process, but not adjust a textured image in the same way.

We’ve seen pixel oversampling used to good effect in recent months by Nokia, with the 808 PureView taking a similar approach to Apple’s in the iPhone 5. Nokia’s PureView system, however, compares a greater number of pixels: data from up to seven can be combined into a single pixel in the resulting shot. However, that attention to detail comes at a price, with the 808 PureView having a physically huge 41-megapixel sensor so as to produce images between 2- and 8-megapixels.

The iPhone 5, in contrast, produces roughly 4-megapixel shots from its quad-pixel oversampling, though in a smartphone that’s still pocket-friendly. That’s likely to make it a more useful function for owners, who will find their night photos, as well as those taken in clubs, pubs, and other low-light situations considerably improved.

Check out more on the iPhone 5′s camera – including some low-light sample shots – in our full review.

Your 8MP iPhone 5 may only give you 4MP photos (but it’s not broken) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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We’ve got our delicate fingers on the iPhone 5, and we’ll be sharing our thoughts, joys, and concerns about Apple’s newest wonderphone all day. Let’s get started. More »