Do sperm whales have names?

On By A.P.In Animal Communication, WhalesLeave a comment

 

Subtle variations in sperm whale calls suggest that individuals announce themselves with discrete personal identifiers. To put it another way, they might have names.

It’s long been known that sperm whales use click sequences, or codas, to communicate across miles of deep ocean. Scientists have now studied a particular coda made by sperm whales around the world. Called 5R, it’s composed of five consecutive clicks, and superficially appears to be identical in each whale. Analyzed closely, however, variations in click timing emerge. Each of the whales studied seems to have its own personal 5R riff and the differences were significant.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/sperm-whale-names/#

Custom Bikinis from 3D Printers

On By A.P.In Engineering1 Comment

Tailoring clothes could be the next big thing for 3D printers, as designers have found a way to “print” custom swimwear. Jenna Fizel and Mary Haung of Continuum Fashion used nylon discs of varying sizes connected by springs to create bikinis that “flow” around the contours of the body.

You can currently order “printed” swimwear through Shapeways’ online store. While bikini sizes are limited, the founders are working on a system that lets customers send in body scans and get their clothing “printed” according to their body shape.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20070202-1/custom-fitted-bikinis-from-3d-printers/#ixzz1PJPqTKNq

 
Click here to learn about another application of 3D printers: making action figures of yourself:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20047111-1.html?tag=mncol;txt

Bill Warren in Search of Bin Laden’s Body

On By A.P.In Engineering, Government, TerrorismLeave a comment

At a cost of $400,000, a US salvage diver is planning to search the Arabian Sea for two weeks to find the body of Osama bin Laden to provide photographic evidence that he was killed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8576456/US-diver-wants-to-find-Osama-bin-Ladens-body.html

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/calif-diver-vows-to-find-photograph-bin-ladens-body/

A weekend hospital admission may increase the chance of dying.

On By A.P.In Health, MedicineLeave a comment

 

In an analysis of nearly 30 million patients, the inhospital mortality rate was significantly higher for those admitted on the weekend across a range of diagnoses (2.7% versus 2.3%, P<0.001), according to Rocco Ricciardi, MD, MPH, of Tufts University Medical School in Burlington, Mass., and colleagues.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/26507