12:52 PM
NASA is sending a spacecraft to the Moon tonight, the first time ever they are sending a vehicle to the moon from Virginia in the 54 years we have had lunar missions. The rocket should be visible along much of the East Coast tonight:
http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/09/nasa-aiming-moon-again-time-va
Scientists confirmed the largest single volcano found on Earth--it is as big as the British Isles or the state of New Mexico. Tamu Massif is among the largest in the Solar System and is located about 1,000 miles east of Japan. Tamu Massif covers 120,000 square miles--Hawaii's Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on Earth and is just 2,000 square miles (2% the size of Tamu Massif):
http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/09/scientists-confirm-existence-largest-single-volcano-earth
The human body has thousands of species of microbes and a study found that the mixture of bacteria has a significant effect on weight gain. Gut bacteria from obese people into mice made the mice gain weight, while gut bacteria from lean people kept the mice slim. Scientists are looking for the right mix of bacteria that leads to weight loss, and what foods promote the growth of that bacteria:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/09/the-right-mix-of-bacteria-in-our-gut.html
Studies have consistently shown how getting a college degrees pays off economically--college graduates make over $500k more on average than non-college graduates in their lifetime. Taking into account tuition, a college degree brings an annual return of 15% per year--the stock market gets 6.8%, the housing market gets 0.4%.
However, only 42% of people who enter college don't get their degree, so did they waste their money? It turns out that college dropouts make $8,000/year more than high school graduates, or $100k more in their lifetime. Taking into account the average 1.83 years of tuition they paid, college dropouts get a better return on their money than the stock or bond market--but less than college graduates get. A separate study found that 2 years in community college without getting a degree causes an increase in annual income of abut 10-16%. I never realized how college dropouts were that much better off than high school graduates that didn't go to college:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/10/going-to-college-is-worth-it-even-if-you-drop-out/
China's manufacturing advantage for solar panels is NOT due to cheaper labor. It turns out to be because of economies of scale--Chinese PV factories are 4x bigger than US factories, which leads to cheaper costs:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/09/chinas-cost-advantage-in-solar-power-is.html
21% of married households in the US in 2011 had at least one foreign-born spouse. California, Nevada, Hawaii, and DC has at least 12% of their married households with one American-born spouse and another foreign-born person. Hawaii had the highest percentage (16%) of American-born and foreign-born households while Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia had the lowest percentages (2%):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/one-in-five-married-households-has-foreign-born-spouse/2013/09/05/dc082e22-1698-11e3-804b-d3a1a3a18f2c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics
Sony confirmed that the PS4 will include both voice recognition (including voice commands) and facial recognition, just like the new Xbox will have:
http://www.geek.com/games/ps4-camera-will-offer-voice-control-facial-recognition-1569271/
http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/09/nasa-aiming-moon-again-time-va
Scientists confirmed the largest single volcano found on Earth--it is as big as the British Isles or the state of New Mexico. Tamu Massif is among the largest in the Solar System and is located about 1,000 miles east of Japan. Tamu Massif covers 120,000 square miles--Hawaii's Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on Earth and is just 2,000 square miles (2% the size of Tamu Massif):
http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/09/scientists-confirm-existence-largest-single-volcano-earth
The human body has thousands of species of microbes and a study found that the mixture of bacteria has a significant effect on weight gain. Gut bacteria from obese people into mice made the mice gain weight, while gut bacteria from lean people kept the mice slim. Scientists are looking for the right mix of bacteria that leads to weight loss, and what foods promote the growth of that bacteria:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/09/the-right-mix-of-bacteria-in-our-gut.html
Studies have consistently shown how getting a college degrees pays off economically--college graduates make over $500k more on average than non-college graduates in their lifetime. Taking into account tuition, a college degree brings an annual return of 15% per year--the stock market gets 6.8%, the housing market gets 0.4%.
However, only 42% of people who enter college don't get their degree, so did they waste their money? It turns out that college dropouts make $8,000/year more than high school graduates, or $100k more in their lifetime. Taking into account the average 1.83 years of tuition they paid, college dropouts get a better return on their money than the stock or bond market--but less than college graduates get. A separate study found that 2 years in community college without getting a degree causes an increase in annual income of abut 10-16%. I never realized how college dropouts were that much better off than high school graduates that didn't go to college:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/10/going-to-college-is-worth-it-even-if-you-drop-out/
China's manufacturing advantage for solar panels is NOT due to cheaper labor. It turns out to be because of economies of scale--Chinese PV factories are 4x bigger than US factories, which leads to cheaper costs:
http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/09/chinas-cost-advantage-in-solar-power-is.html
21% of married households in the US in 2011 had at least one foreign-born spouse. California, Nevada, Hawaii, and DC has at least 12% of their married households with one American-born spouse and another foreign-born person. Hawaii had the highest percentage (16%) of American-born and foreign-born households while Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia had the lowest percentages (2%):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/one-in-five-married-households-has-foreign-born-spouse/2013/09/05/dc082e22-1698-11e3-804b-d3a1a3a18f2c_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics
Sony confirmed that the PS4 will include both voice recognition (including voice commands) and facial recognition, just like the new Xbox will have:
http://www.geek.com/games/ps4-camera-will-offer-voice-control-facial-recognition-1569271/