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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 1921 declined, 367 accepted (2288 total, 16.04% accepted)

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Submission + - In High-Tech Japan, the Fax Machines Roll On (nytimes.com)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: The New York Times report that "In High-Tech Japan, the Fax Machines Roll On ... Japan is renowned for its robots and bullet trains, and has some of the world's fastest broadband networks. But it also remains firmly wedded to a pre-Internet technology — the fax machine — that in most other developed nations has joined answering machines, eight-tracks and cassette tapes in the dustbin of outmoded technologies.

Last year alone, Japanese households bought 1.7 million of the old-style fax machines, which print documents on slick, glossy paper spooled in the back. In the United States, the device has become such an artifact that the Smithsonian is adding two machines to its collection, technology historians said..."

Seen on OSNews.

Submission + - MRIs show our brains shutting down when we see security prompts... (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: Ars Technica reported that "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRIs) show our brains shutting down when we see security prompts. This is your brain after repeated security warnings. Any questions?

Ever feel your eyes glazing over when you see yet another security warning pop up on your monitor? In a first, scientists have used magnetic resonance imaging to measure a human brain's dramatic drop in attention that results when a computer user is subjected to just two security warnings in a short time..."

Submission + - Young people are 'lost generation' who can no longer fix gadgets... (telegraph.co.uk)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: "Young people in Britain have become a lost generation who can no longer mend gadgets and appliances because they have grown up in a disposable world, the professor giving this year’s Royal Institution Christmas lectures has warned.

Danielle George, Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering, at the University of Manchester, claims that the under 40s expect everything to ‘just work’ and have no idea what to do when things go wrong..."

Submission + - Urinal Dynamics: a tactical guide and summary. (byu.edu)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: Boing Boing shared an over one minute YouTube video showing "Urinal Dynamics: a tactical summary — We illustrate the importance of good technique when using a urinal and offer some advice. Through high-speed video footage of a simulated male urine stream we show that reduced splash can be achieved by aiming at a vertical surface, moving closer to the urinal and by decreasing the impact angle."

Splash Lab has more videos and text details.

Submission + - PG-13 Films More Violent Than R-Rated? (france24.com)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: France 24 reported "Gun violence is on the rise in U.S. (United States) movies and has more than tripled since (19)85 in those rated as acceptable for teenagers 13 and older, according to a study out Monday.

The amount of such violence seen in modern movies rated PG-13 even exceeded that in films rated R for adults in 2012, said the findings by American and Dutch university researchers in the US journal Pediatrics.

The findings raise concern about the impact that seeing shootings in fictional movie scenes may have on youths in real life, since a large body of research has shown that viewing violent films can increase aggression, the researchers said..."

Seen on Dark Horizons.

Submission + - Ants' pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections. (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: Engwinner's forum thread mentioned a ScienceShot article — "Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies — The brood of ants and other social insects is highly susceptible to pathogens, particularly those that penetrate the soft larval and pupal cuticle. We here test whether the presence of a pupal cocoon, which occurs in some ant species but not in others, affects the sanitary brood care and fungal infection patterns after exposure to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum. We use a) a comparative approach analysing four species with either naked or cocooned pupae and b) a within-species analysis of a single ant species, in which both pupal types co-exist in the same colony..."

Submission + - Arachnophobic Entomologists: When Two More Legs Make a Big Difference (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: This Science Daily article mentioned "Arachnophobic Entomologists: When Two More Legs Make a Big Difference ... For some entomologists, an apparent paradox exists: Despite choosing a career working with insects, they exhibit negative feelings toward spiders which range from mild disgust to extreme arachnophobia..."

Seen in Engwinner's forum thread.

Submission + - The Ant Internet (Anternet) (ieee.org)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: This last year's IEEE Spectrum article, with its four minutes YouTube video, mentioned The Ant Internet (Anternet) — "Before researchers developed the Internet, ants developed the Anternet, a surprisingly similar communications network ..."

Seen in antman1's forum thread. Hmmph, ants should had ruled the Internet instead of spiders with their webs.

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