Apple paid only 2% tax outside US

Apple paid only 2% tax outside US: Apple is the latest multinational to come under scrutiny for the amount of corporation tax it pays, following Starbucks, Facebook and Google.

Oil prices fall on strong dollar

Oil prices fall on strong dollar: Oil prices fall after the dollar strengthens and the US government allows foreign tankers to deliver supplies in the wake of super storm Sandy.

Mysterious grid patterns in China's deserts explained

Mysterious grid patterns in China's deserts explained: A mysterious grid of dots spanning several miles of Western China's sand dunes like a giant chessboard may be the result of geological surveys for nickel mines, according to new analysis of satellite images of the area.

Redhead Pigment Boosts Skin-Cancer Risk

Redhead Pigment Boosts Skin-Cancer Risk:

Fair-skinned, red-haired folks know — sometimes through painful experience — that they are more susceptible to the damaging effects of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays, including sunburn, skin ageing and a higher risk of skin cancers. But a study published today in Nature suggests that in mice, the pigment responsible for this colouring has a role in the development of melanoma.

[More]

Taking Einstein's Advice

Taking Einstein's Advice: Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Yet as scientists, we are taught to fundamentally question this assumption. We replicate and repeat with the express purpose of determining if a result is reproducible or merely the product of random chance. As social and emotional creatures, we do the same thing. We like to believe in second chances. We tell ourselves that stochastic circumstances are to blame when things don't go the way we imagined, so when presented with the opportunity to try again, we often do. Or, at least, I do. But no matter how logical an argument I can make for do-overs, Einstein was right. In retrospect, I feel like a fool. As I sit at the edge of my bed fumbling with my guitar, I can't help but blame myself. Why did I choose time and again to trust a person whose actions have always betrayed it? Blinded by love, I had a slew of reasons, a variety of parameters I could change that I thought might affect the outcome. But now, with 20-20 hindsight, I cannot find any. I should have known better, I chide myself. I failed the scientist in me. [More]

What's A Lake Doing In The Middle Of The Desert?

What's A Lake Doing In The Middle Of The Desert?: One place you don't expect to see waves lapping against the shore is in the middle of a desert. But that's exactly what's happening deep inside the United Arab Emirates, where a recently formed lake is nestled into the sand dunes, and a new ecosystem is emerging.

Slowing Down Parkinson's

Slowing Down Parkinson's: A team of scientists at Northwestern University have discovered what might slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. This compound was developed by Richard B. Silverman at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and creator of the molecule that became the drug Lyrica. This compound or rather the family of compounds work by blocking calcium flow in the brains neurons. The main mechanism is the suppression of a membrane protein, which allows calcium to flow into the dopamine neurons. With this membrane protein blocking calcium flow into the dopaime neuron it avoids further cell damage.

Iceberg Breakup

Iceberg Breakup: Icebergs start as ice sheets attached to the land or a glacier. They are large monsters of solid ice but they do break off the ice sheet before they float out to sea. How do they break up afterwards at sea? An international team of scientists has discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which large tabular icebergs break up out at sea as part of a study carried out on the Peterman Iceberg in Baffin Bay over the summer. Scientists observed that the gradual creation of a huge underwater ice foot produced so much buoyancy that it broke large chunks off the main iceberg thus causing the iceberg to slowly disintegrate. This discovery was captured on camera as a film crew followed the expedition for Operation Iceberg.

Researchers Emphasize the Need to Monitor Rivers for Triclosan

Researchers Emphasize the Need to Monitor Rivers for Triclosan: Ever heard of triclosan? As an antibacterial and antifungal agent, it is used in everything from toothpaste, to soaps, socks and trash bags. While the US Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the European Union all regulate triclosan, the chemical is not monitored and often gets absorbed into sewage sludge after wastewater treatment. Researchers from Germany and Slovakia are claiming that triclosan is harmful to the ecology of rivers and are calling for further monitoring of the chemical. After monitoring the Elbe river basin, concentrations of the chemical at various test sites were found to exceed the predicted no-effect concentration for algal communities. From the 500 river basin-specific pollutants investigated, triclosan ranked sixth as one of the most particularly harmful substances in Europe.

Half of young Britons fail to name date of First World War

Half of young Britons fail to name date of First World War: More than half of young Britons are unable to name the years the First World War started and ended, according to a survey which highlights a "shaky" grasp of even basic details about the conflict.