[QUOTE=chappy;376480][url]http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/17/studying-pippa-middleton-bottom-improbable-research[/url]

We definitely need to get to the bottom of this.[/QUOTE]

I suggest an academic conference to discuss the phenomenon in question. I shall, of course, volunteer to chair the rump session.

===============

[url=www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27902611]Chilean mountaintop blasted to build huge telescope[/url]

My, that's a big one. (Or, will be). I'd like to also take this opportunity to claim the initialism FHT. (Short for frickin` huge telescope.)

These Andean desert peaks are more rubble piles than photogenic alps-style mountains, so no great loss in terms of scenery or environmental damage.

Amazing technology in the adaptive optics.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;376515]I suggest an academic conference to discuss the phenomenon in question. I shall, of course, volunteer to chair the rump session.
[/QUOTE]

I appreciate the enthusiasm! now if only we can keep the subject from being a Royal pain the [COLOR="White"][SPOILER]REDACTED[/SPOILER][/COLOR].

[QUOTE=ewmayer;376515][URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27902611"]Chilean mountaintop blasted to build huge telescope[/URL]

My, that's a big one. (Or, will be). I'd like to also take this opportunity to claim the initialism FHT. (Short for frickin` huge telescope.)
[/QUOTE]Not HFP for half-football-pitch?
[quote]At its heart will lie a mirror that is half the size of a football pitch.[/quote]

Ebola outbreak
 

"Drastic action" is needed to contain the spread of deadly Ebola in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Nearly 400 people have died in the outbreak which started in Guinea and has spread to neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.
It is the largest outbreak in terms of cases, deaths and geographical spread.
The WHO said it was "gravely concerned" and there was potential for "further international spread".
The outbreak started four months ago and is continuing to spread.
So far there have been more than 600 cases and around 60% of those infected with the virus have died.
Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, has no cure and is spread by contact with the fluids of infected people or animals, such as urine, sweat and blood.

Full press article: [URL]http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28033027[/URL]

[URL="http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/free-will-illusion-83861/"]Is Free Will an Illusion[/URL]

[URL="http://www.nature.com/news/quantum-method-closes-in-on-gravitational-constant-1.15427"]Quantum method closes in on gravitational constant[/URL]

[url]http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/pdf/13_0293.pdf[/url]

Soapbox: We spend so much money on the "War on Drugs", but this drug gets a pass.

:sad:

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;377001]Soapbox: We spend so much money on the "War on Drugs", but this drug gets a pass.[/QUOTE] You should study up on the period both before the war for Southern Independence and up until about 1920. Alcohol problems then were vastly worse than now (in the USA). Just imagine the drunk driving that would have been going on if cars were at all popular.

Personally I avoid the stuff. Slippery slope, addictive personality/gene, and all that.
:beer:

[url]http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20140714/study-1-3-alzheimers-cases-preventable[/url]

New USGS map of Mars released
 

[url]http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3292/[/url]

[url]http://darwin-online.org.uk/BeagleLibrary/Beagle_Library_Introduction.htm[/url]

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;378198][URL]http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20140714/study-1-3-alzheimers-cases-preventable[/URL][/QUOTE]

Follow up from a link in the article on the Mediterranean Diet. Many more links are in this one.

[url]http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/the-mediterranean-diet[/url]

I get the exercise abundantly at work. Now I just need to work on the smoking, limiting cheese intake (WAH!), and salt reduction.