A drug used in treating narcolepsy could help food addicts lose their weight, reports a recent study. Some people are addicted to food not only because of lack of self-control but also because they could be physically addicted to fat and sugar. Generally, when delicious food is eaten, there is a strong release of dopamine in the reward points of the brain, indicating the feeling of pleasure. […]
A few years ago, Alabama Media Group moved its photo archives into one place. Nearly 100 years of negatives from The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and Mobile’s Press-Register were brought to the building that housed the presses in Mobile. It was a reminder, said Michelle Holmes, vice president of content, of what they had. The newspapers started using more from the archives. “And we kept going […]
Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. Indra Nooyi is the latest Indian American to be hand-picked by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to advise him and help him run the country. Ms. Nooyi’s appointment to his strategic and policy forum was announced Wednesday by Mr. Trump’s transition team as one of three new appointments to the 16-member group. SpaceX Corp’s Elon Musk and Uber Technologies Inc.’s Travis Kalanick were […]
By Elias Biryabarema | BIDI BIDI, Uganda BIDI BIDI, Uganda Besides bags, blankets and tales of horror, some of the thousands of refugees fleeing South Sudan’s civil war each day carry something else – the ethnic hatred the United Nations says is “fertile ground” for genocide. That hatred, fuelled by continuing reports of ethnic-based killings inside the country, is turning refugee camps on its borders into tinder-boxes […]
In a sweeping perspective article, a trio of researchers reviews the field they pioneered more than a decade-and-a-half ago and look at the future of autonomous polymers. (via WSJ)
Everyone is gaga over the idea of frictionless grocery shopping: tap your phone on a turnstile device upon entry, retrieve food from the shelves, and walk out; your bill is charged to the credit card connected to your device. No waiting in line; no chit chat as your groceries are rung up. In other words, say hello to Amazon Go, which will be tested in […]
By Patrick Markey | AL-DHIBANIYAH, Iraq AL-DHIBANIYAH, Iraq His right arm strapped with a tourniquet and numbed by anaesthetic, Azad Hassan sat before the crowd waiting for Islamic State militants to chop off his hand as a punishment. First, he had watch them do the same to his brother. Freed from Islamic State rule in Mosul by Iraqi forces who are fighting to recapture the city, the […]
A new technique devised by MIT researchers can take data sets with huge numbers of variables and find approximations of them with far fewer variables. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology One way to handle big data is to shrink it. If you can identify a small subset of your data set that preserves its salient mathematical relationships, you may be able to perform useful analyses on it […]
By Ercan Gurses and Orhan Coskun | ANKARA ANKARA Turkey may hold a referendum as early as March on constitutional changes to expand the president’s powers, a senior ruling party lawmaker said, a move that would help Tayyip Erdogan acquire the executive presidency he has long sought. The ruling AK Party over the weekend submitted to parliament a 21-article package of constitutional reform proposals, aiming to hold […]
In Ottessa Moshfegh’s short story, Bettering Myself, a divorced, alcoholic teacher comes across an encyclopedia of worms in the old library of her school. She reads about all the different kinds: “Worms with two heads and worms with teeth like diamonds and worms as large as house cats, worms that sang like crickets …”. The descriptions of those slightly grotesque, unusual worms, could serve as a useful […]
Theresa May on Thursday embarked on a Brexit charm offensive in Brussels, amid warnings from a senior diplomat that a final exit deal could take a decade to complete. Mrs May will tell an EU summit that Britain will play a full role in tackling migrant flows from north Africa to Europe, even after Brexit. She will also reassure fellow leaders from Latvia and Lithuania that Britain […]
Thousands of people had gathered outside a hospital in the Mashhad neighborhood, which is still controlled by rebels, hoping that an evacuation deal announced on Tuesday by Turkey, Russia and Syrian rebels would hold. But the constant threat from snipers, bombs and shelling was unsettling. Video Aleppo Activists Say Final Goodbyes as Assad Closes In Syrian government forces had reclaimed most of rebel-held eastern Aleppo by Tuesday, […]
The Australian Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has called on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to only declare domestic mobile roaming if there is an overwhelming case for it, and not simply as a result of a “balance of probabilities”. “I am concerned that there is a real risk that any declaration will lead to an erosion of long-term benefits for all consumers including those […]
ANKARA The first goal in the evacuation of eastern Aleppo is to get the sick and wounded to hospital, whether in Syria or Turkey, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftugolu said on Thursday. He told a news conference that evacuees need to be put into camps quickly and that work was continuing on establishing camps in Syria. He added that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad […]
Last week, the Library of Congress (LOC), the nation’s largest library, announced a partnership with the Digital Public Library of America, the nation’s largest digital library. The first fruits of that collaboration—5,000 maps from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and panoramic map collections—are available immediately, with many more to come. However, you don’t have to be an historian or cartographer to appreciate why this partnership is a […]
Politico has terminated its contract with magazine writer Julia Ioffe after she sent a tweet that referenced a possible incestuous relationship between President-elect Donald Trump and his daughter, Ivanka. In a note to Politico staff Wednesday, Editor-in-Chief John Harris and Editor Carrie Budoff Brown said Ioffe violated guidelines against displaying “gratuitous opinion” on social media. “Julia Ioffe’s tweet this afternoon about President-elect Trump – currently and understandably […]
The time people spend playing Pokémon GO does not count as a workout, according to new research. The team analyzed the effort and the movement of players, reaching the conclusion that the physical activity done while hunting Pokémon does not add much to the overall movement requirements for an adult. According to the World Health Organization, people need to do a lot more exercising than what playing Pokémon GO involves. […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for December 14, 2016, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Yoga class Take part in the popular Flow in the Dark yoga class at Bodytree Studio. Enjoy a night of yoga, music and creative expression led by Angela. The lights will be […]
The EU’s border agency has accused charities operating in the Mediterranean of colluding with people smugglers, according to confidential reports seen by the Financial Times. The accusations from Frontex bring to the fore a long-simmering dispute between EU officials and non-governmental organisations over how to resolve a migration crisis that has caused the deaths of 4,700 people this year alone. Frontex put its concerns in a confidential […]
Photo Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors signing autographs before a game in Memphis last week. The N.B.A. is in the midst of a highly prosperous stretch. Credit Brandon Dill/Associated Press At a time of enormous popularity and prosperity for the N.B.A., the league and the players’ union reached an agreement in principle Wednesday on a seven-year collective bargaining agreement that ensures labor peace through the […]
With over 150 Saudi suppliers now, GE aims to double the number by 2020, creating a dynamic Saudi supply chain ecosystem that serves global markets GE’s investments in localized manufacturing helps build Saudi entrepreneurship, create new jobs for Saudis and build the local SME sector Dubai, United Arab Emirates; December 15, 2016 GE Oil & Gas today won the ‘Best in Supplier Development’ honor at the In […]
Steve Garey, who retired from the Anacortes refinery in 2015 after almost 25 years and served as president of the United Steelworkers local, said that while some positive changes were made after the 2010 accident, upper management at Tesoro remains “contemptuous” of its work force and is “hiding behind incredibly permissive process safety regulations.” Those regulations grew out of a string of catastrophic events in the 1980s, […]
KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti rights group Wednesday called on the country to abolish its “kafala” system for expats which has long been criticized as a form of bonded labor or even slavery.In its 2016 annual report, the Kuwait Association for the Fundamentals of Human Rights called for “abolishing the current kafala system and replacing it with rules according to international standards.”The rights group also expressed concern over […]
Katherine Goldstein is stepping down as chief of the securities fraud unit in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office to become a partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. Ms. Goldstein, who has worked as a federal prosecutor for 12 years, will leave the government next month. In 2014, she became the first woman since […] (via WSJ)
