photo credit: EMS_EMT
Another reason to consider a dog a man’s best friend! British scientists believe that dogs have demonstrated a capacity for human empathy because dogs find human yawns contagious! This was a trait (the contagious yawn phenomena) that was previously only attributed to humans and chimpanzees, according to MSNBC. Dogs are [...]

I’m a little behind the times on noticing this gem, but perhaps you are as well.  You can follow what’s happening with the Mars Phoenix lander on Twitter!  NASA has created a Twitter feed where they send short updates on the lander’s progress, submit links to images and other information from the lander, and occasionally [...]

There were 71 comments to her article on the University of Connecticut’s The Daily Campus online edition when I read it. Most of the comments were supportive, praising Melissa Bruen for her bravery in writing about her ordeal, for coming forward and saying something, for fighting back when she was attacked.
Other comments were not [...]

Three absolutely adorable 5 week old lions that have become the main attraction at Fuji Safari Park in Japan. I love the clumsy kitten moments in the video:

[Reuters]

Tomorrow, March 29th, everyone in the world is asked to turn off their lights for 1 hour. From 8pm to 9pm, in your timezone’s local time, for an event hosted by the World Wildlife Fund. To read more about Earth Hour, visit their website.

Most of us are probably familiar with the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. They don’t come from the Bible, but were instead handed down by Pope Gregory in the 6th century to help educate people about sin. The Vatican, just a few days ago, has released a new set of seven sins, this time with a more worldly focus. They are calling them the seven “social sins.”

In Saudi Arabia, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has banned the color red until after Valentine’s Day, visiting flower and gift shops to stop the sale of items that could be construed as celebrating the non-Islamic holiday. The Saudi Gazette suggests Valentine’s Day is especially targeted since it [...]

Great article in the Guardian talking critically about the realities of online sharing, and not just of music or movies — pointing out that many industries have had to mold and adapt to live in the digital age:
You know what I say? Damn right. Let’s get ISPs to stop copyright infringement. But, um, music people? [...]

ESPN has a fabulously written recent “Fan vs. wild” column, which includes a video you can watch. Hampton Stevens has taken on the challenge of getting into a sold-out NASCAR race, with only $20, his cellphone, and his camcorder.
At 1 o’clock on a bright October afternoon, I’m standing in a convenience store parking lot [...]

This article makes it seem as though Thane Heins has ruined his life in an obsession to understand what he’s created — a machine that is (at least initially) stumping physics experts, recently including MIT’s Markus Zahn.
“It’s generally always the same reaction,” says Heins. “There’s a bit of a scramble on the part of the [...]