A new political party, designed by software devs and engineers, is joining the race in California. If elected, PlaceAVote‘s Congressional candidates vow to decide on every bill based on the majority vote of their constituents—as measured via online polling. Could that sort of direct, digital democracy improve how Congress works? Would it make government more dysfunctional? (Is the latter even possible?)
LED lighting is great. The right bulb
A few weeks ago, we had a nice little chat where we described our proudest online accomplishments
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh showed this week that they could teach an old mouse’s thymus to bounce back to a healthy, youthful state, simply by manipulating a single protein that controls gene expression. It’s the first time scientists have been able to regenerate a living organ by gene manipulation, and it could have huge implications in health science.
Astounding moron Sergio Rodriguez got slapped with a 14-year prison sentence earlier this month, convicted of aiming a laser pointer at an emergency medical helicopter taking a young patient to Children’s Hospital of Central California. Remember folks, trying to blind pilots midair is a very, very bad idea.
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If your arm falls asleep for a while, it can sort of feel like it’s made of rubber. But how do you make your arm feel like it’s made of marble? According to Italian researchers, all you need is the sound of a hammer tapping stone. And some psychological trickery.
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In surprising booze news, Wonkblog’s Christopher Ingraham gives an unexpected (and classy) spin to conventional drinking wisdom: if you’re looking to get the most alcoholic punch per calorie, don’t reach for "the hard stuff." You’re better off drinking champagne or sparkling wine.
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For nearly a century, scientists assumed the human nose was capable of discerning about 10,000 different odors. Turns out, that number was missing a whole bunch of zeroes—new research shows that the human nose can detect over 1,000,000,000,000 distinct scents. Tell your dog to quit being so smug.
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The internet is the place to pump your ideas out and hope they’ll resonate with someone somewhere. When digital strangers agree with your opinions, fawn over your pictures, or laugh at your jokes, it feels good, man. What was your biggest internet hit?
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Think hacking starts and ends online? Think again. Forbes took a look at the damage an identity thief can do using just the address label on the magazines you subscribe to, and the answer ain’t pretty.
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This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
