Are schizophrenia and autism close relations?

Are schizophrenia and autism close relations?: Medical researchers studied extensive genetic databases to discover that autism and schizophrenia had a genetic link, representing a heightened risk within families. People who have a schizophrenic sibling were 12 times more likely to have autism than those with no schizophrenia in the family.

Perfect pitch: Knowing the note may be in your genes

Perfect pitch: Knowing the note may be in your genes: People with perfect pitch seem to possess their own inner pitch pipe, allowing them to sing a specific note without first hearing a reference tone. This skill has long been associated with early and extensive musical training, but new research suggests that perfect pitch may have as much to do with genetics as it does with learning an instrument or studying voice.

Summer babies less likely to be CEOs

Summer babies less likely to be CEOs: A person's date of birth can affect their climb up the corporate ladder, new research suggests.

The Generation X report: How many Gen Xers know their cosmic address?

The Generation X report: How many Gen Xers know their cosmic address?: Less than half of Generation X adults can identify our home in the universe, a spiral galaxy, according to a new report.

New finding could pave way to faster, smaller electronics

New finding could pave way to faster, smaller electronics: Researchers for the first time have looked inside gallium manganese arsenide, a type of material known as a "dilute magnetic semiconductor" that could open up an entirely new class of faster, smaller devices based on an emerging field known as "spintronics."

How to Create Fuel out of Thin Air

How to Create Fuel out of Thin Air: A small British company has developed a process that uses air and electricity to create synthetic fuel. Yes, it's slightly more complicated than that, but the result is what Air Fuel Synthesis is calling "carbon-neutral" gasoline.

NASA Satellite Sees Black Hole Belching Out Hundred-Million-Degree X-rays

NASA Satellite Sees Black Hole Belching Out Hundred-Million-Degree X-rays:
The Bad Astronomer writes "NASA's NuSTAR satellite, designed to detect cosmic X-rays, detected a flare of high-energy emission coming from the Milky Way galaxy's central supermassive black hole. The X-rays were the dying gasp of a small gas cloud being torn apart, heated to a hundred million degrees, and then falling into the black hole itself. Events like this are relatively uncommon, so it's fortunate NuSTAR happened to be observing the black hole when it flared."

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Grandmas made humans live longer: Chimp lifespan evolves into human longevity, computer simulation shows

Grandmas made humans live longer: Chimp lifespan evolves into human longevity, computer simulation shows: Computer simulations provide new mathematical support for the "grandmother hypothesis" -- a famous theory that humans evolved longer adult lifespans than apes because grandmothers helped feed their grandchildren.

Turbo switch of calcium pump in biological cells discovered

Turbo switch of calcium pump in biological cells discovered: Scientists have discovered a turbo switch in the vital calcium pump in our body's cells. Researchers discovered that the on-off switch of the pump has a previously unknown third position, which switches the pump into a turbo gear.

How Patent Trolls Harm the Economy

How Patent Trolls Harm the Economy:



WebMink writes "It used to just be speculation, but the numbers are now in — patent trolls are costing America jobs and economic growth. Newly-published research using data commissioned by Congress shows big rises in patent troll activity over the last five years — from 22% to 40% of all patent suits filed, with 4 out of five litigants being patent trolls. Other papers show that jobs are being lost and startups threatened, while VC money is just making things worse by making startups waste money filing more patents. Worst of all, it's clear this is just the tip of the iceberg; there's evidence that unseen pre-lawsuit settlements with patent trolls represent a much larger threat than anything the research can easily measure."

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