Quickies:

Naked mole rats don't seem to be affected by pain when it comes to things like acid and capsaicin. Needless to say, we could probably learn from why.

People work on tasks with more concentration if they cannot see other people. Bring back the private office!

Rubber sheets have been invented that actually repair tears when the sides are just pressed together. Play-doh-rubber?

It looks like snow ice cream may be a thing of the past. It appears that the molecules snow flakes congeal around are often bacteria. Bah-humbug. As if that wasn't bad enough, an article came out claiming that smoking from a hookah is more dangerous than cigarettes. Is there nothing sacred?

There is another planet (way bigger than Pluto), right after we got used to ignoring that last one.

Mercury has a long glowing tail of sodium ions.

A study claims that one degree of warming in the Atlantic Ocean causes a 50% increase in hurricane activity.

Hah! It turns out that native French speakers don't know what gender their nouns are either.

Studies say that having children doesn't make us happy, but the methodology works by asking people what they would like to be doing at any moment in time, which doesn't really seem like it is something that works for a long term project. I think Yglesias makes a good point about the true payoff of having children being in the relationships you have with them that continue throughout your life. However, I do have a small rant that has to do with the claim one of the comments makes, drawing on the old daughters are nicer to their parents meme, that if you are looking at the cost/benefit analysis under this rubric sons are probably not worth it. This is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard and I think it comes out of the same gender norms that assume men aren't capable of emotional connection.


Update: Ali Eteraz has some bones to pick with the study about the dangers of hookah smoke. One of them has to do with temperature; supposedly the coals on a hookah only burn at about 100 degrees and cigarette tobacco can reach 800 so there is a large likelihood that cigarette smoking is somewhat more dangerous.