16629224
submission
JamJam writes
"Using barcodes assigned to unique DNA identifiers, scientists are working on a handheld scanner that would allow you to identify any plant or bug that you come across. Acting similar to a StarTrek Tricoder the handheld device would display the name of the species, its origin and an encyclopedic description of any living thing you touch with it. According to Barcode of Life Data Systems close to 80,000 species have already been assigned DNA barcodes with 500,000 to be added within the next 5 years."
15053768
submission
JamJam writes
"A Vancouver BC woman was flattened by a colleague twice her size who fell on her during a dance floor accident at a nightclub. She was out celebrating with colleagues the completion of her articling program after a dinner sponsored by the law firm where she worked. The accident left the 110 lbs woman with severe headaches and a brain injury that made it difficult to concentrate. She has been awarded 5 million dollars for loss of future earnings."
9222272
submission
JamJam writes
"The Lancet, a major British medical journal, has retracted a flawed study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease. British surgeon and medical researcher Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues originally released their study in 1998. Since then 10 of Wakefield's 13 co-authors renounced the study's conclusions and The Lancet has said it should never have published the research. Wakefield now faces being stripped of his right to practice medicine in Britain. The vaccine-autism debate should now end."Link to Original Source
8436288
submission
JamJam writes
"Air Canada has been told to create a special "buffer zone" on flights for people who are allergic to nuts. The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that passengers who have nut allergies should be considered disabled and accommodated by the airline. Air Canada has a month to come up with an appropriate section of seats where passengers with nut allergies would be seated. The ruling involved a complaint from Sophia Huyer who has a severe nut allergy and travels frequently. Ms. Huyer once spent 40 minutes in the washroom during a flight while snacks were being served."
7910470
submission
JamJam writes
"The Supreme Court of Canada has taken away a $200,000 insurance award made to a Vancouver man who became paralyzed after a series of medical calamities arising from him having unprotected sex. The man was "accidentally" infected with genital herpes which lead to him being totally paralyzed from his mid-abdomen down. The Supreme Court deemed this a non-accident since the man was was aware that having unprotected sex could result in him contracting a sexually transmitted disease, although he did not actually know that any of the women had genital herpes."Link to Original Source
7787798
submission
JamJam writes
"The trailblazing games on this list are not necessarily the "best" games ever made or even best sellers. Some, like "Dune II" (1992), were out-and-out commercial flops. But they all have one feature in common--they changed the way people play. Some introduced innovative controls or enhanced graphics. Others defined a genre or expanded gaming to entirely new audiences. All altered the industry."Link to Original Source
5387615
submission
JamJam writes
"Besides my beer gut, which I'm sure has some purpose, Wired is running a story on the
10 Worst Evolutionary Designs. Ranging from baby giraffes being dropped 5-foot during birth to Goliath bird-eating spiders that practically explode when they fall from trees."Link to Original Source
5084685
submission
JamJam writes
"Cheap Trick new "album" is being released not only in CD and vinyl, but in a long-departed format as fashionable as Tang, bell-bottoms and porn-star mustaches — 8-track. Unsurprisingly, finding a manufacturer for an obsolete-format release of the Seventies superstars' latest wasn't easy."
3253099
submission
JamJam writes
"Guy ads for guys, girl ads for gals, and whatever ads for transvestites. Globe and Mail has an article on pro-active merchandising. Similar to the movie Minority Report cameras embedded in the screen displaying an advertisement sends a picture of you, the audience, to a system. The analyzing software determines the viewer's gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity. Claiming 85-90% success rate in determining the audiences' gender the ads are then changed as appropriate. Now if only these systems could figure out my mood then maybe they'll know I'm more interested in an ad for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition rather than a motorcycle."
