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Submission + - Parrot beats humans in investment contest

Submitted by
Norsefire
Norsefire writes: "A Parrot named Strawberry performed better than many humans in an investment competition. The human competitors were able to select any stock they wanted while the Parrot randomly selected the stocks with its beak. Strawberry had a 13.7% return, the human average was a 4.6% loss. Only two humans outperformed Strawberry."
Earth

Submission + - 3D Images Reconstructed of 300M Year Old Spiders

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Scientists at Imperial College London have created detailed 3D computer models of two fossilized specimens of ancient creatures called Cryptomartus hindi and Eophrynus prestvicii, closely related to modern-day spiders. The researchers created their images by using a CT scanning device, which enabled them to take 3,000 x-rays of each fossil then compile them into precise 3D models, using custom-designed software. Both spiders roamed the Earth before the dinnosaurs during the Carboniferous period, 359 — 299 million years ago when life was emerging from the oceans to live on land. C. hindi's front pair of legs were angled toward the front, suggesting they were used to grapple with prey, an "ambush predator" like the modern-day crab spider, lying in wait for prey to come close. Another finding from the models is that E. prestivicii had hard spikes along its back, probably as a defensive measure making it less palatable to the amphibians that would have hunted it. "Our models almost bring these ancient creatures back to life and it's really exciting to be able to look at them in such detail," says researcher Russel Garwood adding that the technique could be used to return to fossils that have previously been analyzed by conventional means. "Our study helps build a picture of what was happening during this period early in the history of life on land.""
Space

NASA Purchases $19M Russian Space Toilet 245

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i'd-poop-in-that dept.
Gary writes "NASA has paid $19 million for a Russian-built international space station toilet system. The toilet system, similar to the one already in use in the station's Zvezda Service Module, is scheduled to arrive at the space station in 2008 and will offer more privacy for a crew expected to double from three to six by 2009. The space station toilet physically resembles those used on Earth, except it has leg restraints and thigh bars to keep astronauts and cosmonauts from floating away. NASA says purchasing the multi million dollar toilet is a bargain compared to developing one from scratch."
The Courts

Motorists Sue Over 'Hot' Fuel 572

Posted by CowboyNeal from the every-last-penny dept.
i_like_spam writes "Motorists in 13 states have filed lawsuits against big oil companies and gas retailers alleging unfair pricing practices related to fuel-pumping temperatures. From an industry standard developed in the 1920's, the price for a gallon of gasoline is based on the density of the fuel at a temperature of 60 degress F. A gallon of gas at higher temperatures is less dense, and therefore contains less energy. The lawsuits claim additional costs of 3 to 9 cents per gallon without temperature adjustments. The fuel industry claims that the costs of installing temerature-adjustment sensors on every pump would be prohibitively high. These sensors are already installed in Canada, however, where the colder temperatures favor consumers."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Women's Pay: Lagging From the Start

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "Time magazine reports on new data that shows women are already earning less than men before the ink on their college diplomas has dried ( http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1 613829,00.html ). The study, which looked at more than 10,000 people who received bachelor's degrees in 1999-2000, found that just one year after graduation, women who are working full time earn only 80% as much as their male counterparts do. The recent graduate numbers includes an apples-to-apples comparison of full-time workers who majored in the same subject, and the discrepancies are jarring. One year after graduation, female business majors are earning 81% of what male business majors earn. Among biology majors, women get paid only 75% as much as men. female engineers make 95% of what male engineering majors do, and women who majored in math earn only 76% of what their male counterparts earn. Part of the gap may be explained by the number of hours women work compared with men. But after controlling for all the factors known to affect wages — including occupation and parenthood — the study found that college-educated women still earn about 5% less than college-educated men one year after graduation and 12% 10 years after graduation. This gap, the study's authors go on to say, "remains unexplained and may be attributed to discrimination.""
Portables

Submission + - Pocket-Sized Phone System

Submitted by
anthm
anthm writes: "FreeSWITCH, an open source telephony application, announced today that it can run on the Nokia N800 handheld PC.
Now you can carry your phone system around in your pocket."
Wii

Submission + - Wii Opera Browser: A Storm In A Tea Cup?

Submitted by
Steve Fulton
Steve Fulton writes: "We here at 8bitrocket.com love the Wii. We think the the Wii Browser with a Wii-mote is the best internet experience that any game console has been able to create to date. However, what we don't know is if the Wii Opera Browser is just a "storm in a tea cup" that few people will ever experience, or if it will really amount to something worth talking about.

http://www.8bitrocket.com/newsdisplay.aspx?newspag e=2637"

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