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Submission + - Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy linked to autism (newatlas.com)

future guy writes: "The researchers examined around 4,200 blood samples from pregnant women and their children and discovered a link between autism and low levels of vitamin D. More specifically, they found that pregnant women who were vitamin D deficient at 20 weeks gestation were more likely to have a child with autistic traits by the age of six."

Submission + - Udacity Nanodegrees Might Violate State Laws (edsurge.com)

jyosim writes: Udacity touts its nanodegree as a new kind of credential—so new, that it defies traditional classifications and laws.

But last month the upstart ed provider got a letter from Minnesota's Office of Higher Ed saying that nanodegrees sure look like degrees, and that if so Udacity must register with the state or stop offering its online courses to Minn residents.

Udacity's lawyer shot back with an odd argument — that Nanodegrees are absolutely not degrees, so they need no regulation.

  To some, that’s simply a way to offer what is effectively a degree, with a made-up name instead of the “d” word. Udacity trademarked the term Nanodegree, meaning it controls who gets to use the designation for its offerings.

“If people were allowed to change names of things to get around laws, I could offer a degre, with one e,” says Russ Poulin, director of policy and analysis for WCET, a nonprofit promoting e-learning programs. After all, he says, a nanodegree, just like other credentials covered by the Minnesota law, involves offering education and promising that that education will help students gain skills or employment. “This does really seem like they’re trying to get around the regulation that Minnesota has in place,” he added.

Whether these new microcredentials get to be called "degrees" will make a big difference in how they are regulated in the future — and what student protections are in place.

Submission + - How Internet Service Providers Promote Poverty

Presto Vivace writes: Digital Redlining: How Internet Service Providers Promote Poverty

A study by the Center for Digital Democracy published in March found that internet service providers, including Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and Verizon reap income, education level and purchase behavior data points to sell to the likes of financial marketers, fast food companies and health care businesses. Advertisers may buy financial data, for example, to market high-interest credit card or loan offers to consumers in debt. The report also asserted that, in conjunction with its data partners, Verizon offers advertisers "targeting packages" directed toward low-income communities that specifically push gambling, cigarette smoking and soda consumption.

Comment Re:Really? (Score 2) 193

Lithium charge controllers are simple and cheap analog electronic devices. Leaving this functionality to a processor would make it needlessly complicated and invites problems when the thing inevitably crashes.

Even with a processor based system you'd still need current sensing hardware, which would be nearly as expensive as a dedicated charge controller.

Comment Re: Are we there yet? (Score 1) 203

Oh I know about the US acting across borders.
I had to sign a form from my bank saying that I'm not a US citizen, and have no financial ties to the US just to keep my account. Complying with US financial law on top of local laws is simply too much of a hassle for most non-US banks.

This is a new thing so it stands to reason that they try it out locally before making the rest of the world miserable. Besides, after the Snowden leaks and a successful challenge to the Safe Harbor agreement, the EU for one is a lot less keen on sharing financial information of their citizens.

Comment Re:Monitized! (Score 1) 25

To me "tech product enthusiasts" conjures up the image of mindless consumers of pointless gadgets and those who market to them. People who have sold out long ago. At least they still have their Wifi kettles to keep them warm at night.

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