June link-dump

Trying to clear out backlog of stuff I've emailed to myself.

• New progress in engineered life still requires making use of pre-existing cells. "Considered together, the modern cell is dauntingly complex, which is why most researchers in the youngish field of synthetic biology address only one or two pieces of it at a time." Extremely advanced cell-biology, yet another prerequisite for godhood. (article)
• Telephone survey of 340k people reveals that: "On the global measure, people start out at age 18 feeling pretty good about themselves, and then, apparently, life begins to throw curve balls. They feel worse and worse until they hit 50. At that point, there is a sharp reversal, and people keep getting happier as they age. By the time they are 85, they are even more satisfied with themselves than they were at 18." (article)
• New subway map of NYC. The struggle to convey complex geographical overlays into instantly understandable images. It's harder than it looks. (article)
• Interesting review of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest" by Stieg Larsson. (article)
• Art review of new and upcoming artists in NYC. Installations, interactive pieces, standard art. (article)
• Difficulties in regulating high-tech biotech labs. (article)
• Requiring ultrasounds before abortions. Mixed results: it doesn't dissuade people, makes some people feel like its ok if its early enough to not appear human-shaped (still more egg than preson). (article)
• Highly overweight police force leads Mexico City to restrict some cops' calories. (article)
• Oxford "all souls college" stops giving their many-hour one-word entrance essay (write for several hours on a single word like "death", "water", or "bias"). (article)
• California deciding whether to move away from primaries to a general two-round vote for legislators. You could end up with two democrats against each other or even two independents. (article)
• The strange and bitter struggles among Russian chess masters and politicians to control chess federation (article)
• Treating sleep disorders by adjusting the body's clock. "An unbalanced circadian rhythm can be returned to equilibrium through the application of light to a sleeper’s retina near the end of a person’s “internal night.” ... "You can estimate internal night with a quick chronotype questionnaire" ... "Second, we administered a minute dose (0.2 milligrams) [far less than in sleeping pills] of sustained-release melatonin about five hours before bedtime, mimicking the action of the pineal gland, before it begins its nightly cycle." (article)
• Some new cancer therapies treat based on certain proteins, but the tests to identify who needs them / will benefit are not yet very precise. Further, organs differ in where and how consitently they manifest the proteins. (article)
• Financial firms lobbying senate hard to prevent financial overhaul (largely unsuccesful, although they may have set the agenda more than is apparent). (article)
• Article and video of how marines reacted to an enemy sniper (rare for them). (article)
• Web is default entertainment medium for China. (article)
• Immigrant stereotype: only low-wage work. "In 14 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas, including Boston, New York and San Francisco, more immigrants are employed in white-collar occupations than in lower-wage work like construction, manufacturing or cleaning." (article)
• Another article about the impacts of the April Icelandic ash cloud. (article)
• The library of congress will now save tweets. From intentionally ephemeral to permanently recorded. It just goes to show that nothing digital is ever temporary unless you need it and then it can be hard to find. (article)
• Meth labs built inside cars. (article)
• Extreme solitude: stories of a few people who live apart from everybody else. (article)
• U.S. pulls back from Korangal Outpost called the "valley of death" (article)
• Trying to end whale hunting by Japan, Norway, and Iceland. (article)
• Nude performance art at MoMa (and related difficulties). Public nudity, generally legally restricted, here "ok" because its "art". (article)
• NSA official Thomas Drake charged with leaking classified information to a reporter via email. (article)
• "A clinically tested program, in which losing 5 percent of body weight cut the risk of Type 2 diabetes by more than half, will be expanded to Y.M.C.A.'s in seven cities." Upfront costs for preventing disease are so much less than life-long treatment that it's worth it even when you can't guarantee the participants will stay in your programs. One area where a nationwide program would provide benefits. (article)
• A portrait of Obama as a very realpolitik president. Compare with perception as concerned with human rights and democracy. (article)
• Genetics explain why a minority of people hate cilantro while others think it is good. (article)
• Nebraska passes law preventing abortions after 20 weeks on grounds of that being when fetuses can feel pain. (article)
• Big banks moving in on microfinance turf, charging higher rates to justify the risk. Corporatizing loan sharks. (article)
• Home-made salami, pickles, and pastrami at a new generation of Jewish delis. (article)
• World-wide, maternal deaths have decreased markedly for the first time. Education, skilled attendents, higher incomes. (article)
• Controlled studies show that coughing before and during an injection actually reduces pain moderately. (article)
• Counting sheep doesn't help you sleep, but thinking of relaxing scenes does. (article)
• Milk does NOT increase mucus when you have a cold, except for some people (particularly those with chronic lung conditions) and some types of milk (from cows producing protein beta-CM-7). (article)
• Redeveloping Governors Island as a single architectural piece (now empty island near statue of liberty). (article)