tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308218832008-07-20T00:20:56.343-07:00Scrupnoreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-81884950871527410422008-06-01T04:08:00.000-07:002008-06-01T04:11:44.192-07:00

A new breed of ethical eaters, who scavenge for food as a reaction against a wasteful society, has emerged. The "freegans" say their philosophy is a way of highlighting how supermarkets dump tonnes of food every year that is still edible. They argue capitalism and mass production exploit workers, animals and the environment. The term "freeganism" combines free and vegan. It is evident in both

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-12374201312956778702008-05-31T00:27:00.000-07:002008-05-31T00:29:57.162-07:00

The safety of the common anaesthetic known as laughing gas is under a cloud after a new study linked it to higher rates of pneumonia, wound infections and possibly even heart attacks. The Australian-led research team found patients kept unconscious during surgery with anaesthetics other than nitrous oxide suffered fewer life threatening complications. Yet nitrous oxide remained "near routine" in

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-77242829265726524782007-08-25T05:23:00.000-07:002007-08-25T05:32:58.447-07:00

It's the record strong, silent blokes say could never be broken by a woman. Tom Sietas has smashed his own world record for holding his breath underwater, breaking the 15-minute barrier on US television overnight. And he didn't say a word as he did it. Sietas remained submerged in an on-set tank for 15min 2sec, beating his previous Guinness world record time by 37 seconds. Sietas, who slows his

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-7243262824328382112007-08-24T06:34:00.000-07:002007-08-24T06:36:18.153-07:00

By Rebecca Beisler Jaywalkers who ignore the little red man save just two minutes and 25 seconds on a three-block walk. An mX test has revealed exactly how much time a pedestrian can save by turning a blind eye to stop signals. It is about the same time it takes to listen to Whatever Makes You Happy by Bernard Fanning or Dancing Shoes by the Arctic Monkeys on your Wed. But police have warned

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-4826836597978894342007-08-19T04:33:00.000-07:002007-08-19T04:34:17.408-07:00

The world's richest corporations and finest minds spend billions trying to solve the problem of carbon emissions, but three fishing buddies in North Wales think they've cracked it. They have developed a box that they say can be fixed underneath a car, in place of the exhaust, to trap the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming - including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide - and emit mostly

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-88596279930606022062007-08-14T06:04:00.000-07:002007-08-14T06:07:55.703-07:00

Never mind the horror stories about great chunks of melting ice, it's the little ones you've got to watch. The big threat this century is likely to come from small thawing glaciers, researchers have reported. Even though these glaciers contain just 1 per cent of the water tied up in the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, they could account for 60 per cent of an expected rise in the

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-46552844064720591562007-08-13T01:13:00.000-07:002007-08-13T01:18:37.998-07:00

They have invaded every corner of our existence, promising a technological utopia of carefree living. But gadgets, it would appear, have also delivered a hi-tech hell that can drive the most passive users into a rage. Researchers probing "the dark side of technology" found people were eager to identify their most hated devices. High up the list comes the ball mouse, an invention that can seem

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-18341195679351493942007-08-11T05:42:00.000-07:002007-08-11T05:44:17.162-07:00

By Kirsty Ross Most Australians are bullied while at work and have told a survey their workplaces remind them of high school. But while despising the act, a large majority actually think bullying is one of the secrets to a successful career. More than 80 per cent of harassment victims said overbearing bosses or managers were the biggest offenders. Half blamed a co-worker, and only 10 per cent

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-89084356021319370402007-08-11T05:39:00.000-07:002007-08-11T05:42:06.482-07:00

The Great Wall of China, the Colosseum in Rome and the Sydney Opera House are among contenders to be among the new seven wonders of the world, as a massive poll draws to a close. Votes have already been cast by more than 90 million people. As the Friday midnight GMT voting deadline approaches, the rankings can still change. The winners will be announced on Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal. Also in

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-29247933796856844632007-08-01T05:17:00.000-07:002007-08-01T05:26:07.913-07:00

To some, moles are beauty spots, while to others they are unsightly blemishes. But anyone with them should count their blessings because scientists claim people with lots of moles are years younger biologically than those with mark-free skin. They may retain their looks for longer and could be at lower risk of age-related diseases. The findings go some way to balancing out the link between moles

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-9442561582036501172007-07-28T03:11:00.000-07:002007-07-28T03:14:57.426-07:00

Written By Inga Gilchrist Australia would become a global nuclear waste dump if it joined the world's elite nuclear energy club, a Canadian political leader said in Melbourne. Green Party leader in Ontario Frank de Jong said today Australia would follow the Canadian example to huge nuclear storage problems. "There's no such thing as permanent storage for nuclear waste," he said. "We have it

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-89484651280320778352007-07-24T03:57:00.000-07:002007-07-24T03:58:57.103-07:00

Envelopes with cash have been left in public toilets across Japan as a bizarre form of anonymous charity turned into a nationwide phenomenon. A day after two small cities on the main island of Honshu reported finding cash in men's rooms in public buildings, officials disclosed that they too had discovered the packages. The unusual charity drive was a top story on national television, with media

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-29116760115620323752007-07-04T02:55:00.000-07:002007-07-04T03:04:58.524-07:00

It is the herbal remedy millions swear by every winter for warding off the sniffles. And while some have doubted if echinacea is effective at combating colds, scientists now say it really does work. A review shows that taking supplements of the plant, also known as purple coneflower, can cut the chances of catching a cold by more than half. When used as a treatment it reduces the length of a

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-36815372384186822862007-07-01T02:38:00.000-07:002007-07-01T02:41:59.554-07:00

More than half of Australia's Second Life inhabitants make themselves look better in the virtual world. A poll has found more than one in five change their skin colour and one in three believe their level of morality would be different. The poll found that in cyberspace, 28 per cent of Australian Second Life residents made themselves look younger than they do in the real world. Residents of

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-19620368218183287822007-06-26T04:59:00.000-07:002007-06-26T05:01:04.522-07:00

Most of us will never win an Olympic medal, but a leading sports psychologist says winning an online auction has much the same impact. Gavin Freeman, a psychologist for Australia's 2006 Winter Olympics team in Turin, conducted a study to help coaches understand their athletes. "Coming from a background as a sports psychologist, I was interested in looking at the effect of winning in different

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-1577225070214292612007-05-22T03:25:00.000-07:002007-05-22T03:26:34.235-07:00

An afternoon nap can help slim your waist and improve your sex life, health and work performance. That's the suggestion made in a new book by Harvard University scientist and sleep expert Dr Sara Mednick. Mednick, a psychologist and research scientist, describes taking a regular nap as a "lifesaving habit" - and there's plenty of evidence to support her claims. A six-year Greek study published

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-49610151699080135182007-04-06T04:16:00.000-07:002007-04-06T04:19:17.928-07:00

Google is calling on its millions of users to chart a new direction for its online maps. As part of a new initiative the Internet search leader will provide free tools designed to make it easy for people to share their knowledge about their neighbourhoods and other favourite places by creating customised maps that can assemble information from a variety of sources.Map creators will be given the

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-20927673886114756122007-02-17T21:31:00.001-08:002007-02-17T21:31:50.906-08:00

After a vasectomy, men face an increased risk of developing a rare type of dementia marked by a steady loss of language skills, researchers found. Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois linked male sterilisation surgery to a neurological condition called primary progressive aphasia. They surveyed 47 men with the condition and 57 men who did not have it. Of those with primary

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-77586759426053773682007-02-09T20:15:00.000-08:002007-02-04T17:52:22.940-08:00

First it was leggings and bubble dresses. Now calorie-counting is the latest '80s fad to undergo a resurgence. But this time, it's back as what might be the most hardcore diet regimen the world has seen. It's called Calorie Restriction, or CR to fans, where followers can consume only 1000 calories a day in the belief it can slow the ageing process. Devotees expect to be still alive at the start

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-71153244594298234572007-02-03T03:49:00.000-08:002007-02-03T03:51:18.457-08:00

Cyber criminals now control millions of personal computers and pose a serious threat to the Internet's future, experts say. Up to a quarter of all computers on the net could be used by cyber criminals in so-called "botnets". Technology writer John Markoff said: "It's as bad as you can imagine. It puts the whole Internet at risk." The panel of leading experts was discussing the future of the

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-53741374615814866962007-02-02T18:39:00.000-08:002007-02-02T18:47:48.227-08:00

Dogs should be able to woof down a latte alongside their owners in Melbourne's cafes, says Monash PhD student and psychologist Jordan Schaan. And she wants to find out if others feel the same way. Forty per cent of Australian households include one or more dogs and studies show most fill a need for affection and companionship.Schaan says many Australians understand how peoplepet relations mimic

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-8624146592751886122007-01-02T22:09:00.000-08:002007-01-02T22:16:01.821-08:00

How do you know if someone is lying to you? Deception detection is an inexact science, but there can be some tell-tale signs, say Bella DePaulo of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Wendy Morris of the University of Virginia in The Detection of Deception in Forensic Contexts, from Cambridge University Press. Contrary to folklore, liars are not more fidgety, nor do they blink more

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-21526317829022747922006-12-09T04:10:00.000-08:002006-12-09T04:13:06.359-08:00

A campaign is being launched in Britain to raise awareness of a little-known phobia - fear of toilets. The National Phobics Society estimates at least four million Brits are affected - but the true number could be many more. The society has classified the disorder as an anxiety condition in its own right. Toilet phobia can simply be manifest as a mild distaste for public loos. But some people

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-54422146740306529982006-12-09T04:04:00.000-08:002006-12-09T04:09:28.184-08:00

Diamonds, they say, are forever, but now you can get one that is considerably younger. Synthetic diamonds - made not by thousands of years of underground compression, but four days in a lab - are the latest sparklers to hit the market. They retail for 75 per cent less than those dug from the earth, but unlike cubic zirconia or moissanite, they're real. "We essentially create the environment in

Scrupnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30821883.post-3288337173551650812006-12-07T04:52:00.000-08:002006-12-07T04:56:05.358-08:00

Middle-aged women may be able to sleep their way to a trimmer body. In a study that followed more than 68,000 US women for 16 years, researchers found that those who caught more zzz's each night tended to put on less weight during middle age. What's more, women who typically clocked five hours of sleep were a third more likely than those who slept for seven hours to have a substantial weight gain

Scrupnoreply@blogger.com