Basic Income
Swiss say 'no' to a guaranteed income from the government usatoday v
Nearly 77% of the voters opposed the controversial measure that would mandate the government to pay $2,600 a month to each adult — regardless of work status or wealth — and $650 to each child. Only 23% favored the referendum.
Islam
The nuts and bolts of Ramadan washingtonpost
Over the course of the month, Muslims are told to read the entire Koran — or about one-30th each night. And from dawn until dusk, for the 29 or 30 days of the month, to abstain from eating, drinking “and from the feeding of their passions — whether those passions are road rage or romance,” said Johari Abdul-Malik, an imam and the director of outreach at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va. In other words: You’re supposed to be extra good during this holiest of months.
Clearly I'm not promoting Islam nor the 'g'od of Islam, but this is a good summary of what Ramadan is about. See also Thousands of people are praising “Sesame Street” for this social media post
Israel
Netanyahu: Deepening ties with Russia important for Israel’s security jpost
On Tuesday he will hold his fourth face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in less than a year to strengthen military cooperation between the two countries and to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations.
Cuomo to Halt State Business With Groups That Back Boycott of Israel nytimes
Wading into a delicate international issue, Mr. Cuomo set executive-branch and other state entities in opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or B.D.S., which has grown in popularity in some quarters of the United States and elsewhere, alarming Jewish leaders who fear its toll on Israel’s international image and economy.
Genetics
Scientists attempting to harvest human organs in pigs create human-pig embryo theguardian
Researchers at the University of California, Davis combined human stem cells and pig DNA and allowed the embryos to mature for 28 days, before terminating the experiment and analysing the tissue.
They believe the animals, which if they had been carried to term would have developed a human internal organ, but would have looked and behaved like any other pig. The goal is that in the future, similar animals could potentially act as a ready source of organs for life-saving transplants.
[September last year, the US National Institutes of Health] cited fears that the presence of human cells could affect the animal’s brain and behaviour, potentially making it more human. Prof Pablo Ross, the reproductive biologist leading the research, sought to calm those fears, saying there was a “very low potential for a human brain to grow”.
Brain
New Protein Crucial to Normal Forgetting Discovered neurosciencenews
“Understanding the process of forgetting could have an enormous impact on how we treat a whole range of diseases,” said Ron Davis, chair of the Department of Neuroscience on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). “Certain memories are intrusive and, with sufficient knowledge of how the brain forgets, we should be able to remove selective memories. Alternatively, we could find a way to inhibit forgetting in those suffering from memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
FUTURE FIGHTER PILOT TRAINING MAY INCLUDE BRAIN SURGERY digitaltrends
For the past four years, a team of neurologists and engineers from the University of Melbourne, along with surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, have been developing an advanced brain/machine interface that is long lasting and easy to implant. Eventually, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which funded the project, hopes to bring this mind-control technology to the cockpit, allowing pilots to fly by the thoughts in their minds as well as by the seat of their pants.
Creatures
Leaping Electric Eels Resolve a Centuries-Old Mystery gizmodo v
In his writings, naturalist and intrepid explorer Alexander von Humboldt recounted how natives in Venezuela used horses to lure and trap electric eels. Many scientists thought it was just a tall tale, but a new paper lends credence to Humboldt’s account of eels aggressively leaping up and stunning the horses with a series of high-voltage discharges.
Space
First commercial mission to the Moon nears approval marketwatch v
The government’s endorsement would eliminate the largest regulatory obstacle to plans by Moon Express, a relatively obscure space startup, to land a roughly 20-pound package of scientific hardware on the Moon sometime next year. It also would provide the biggest federal boost yet for unmanned commercial space exploration and, potentially, the first in an array of for-profit ventures throughout the solar system.
Religious Liberty
Christian charities urge opposition to government plans for registration and inspection of church youth work christianconcern
Requiring churches in Wales to register before they are legally allowed to help children learn the Christian values our society was built on is an unjustified restriction of religious liberty. Whether the threshold is 6 hours in any week or higher, the principle of outlawing 'unregistered churches' from teaching children the gospel is an unacceptable overreach of the state...
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