Reforms in foster care showing good results – children in foster care drops for 6th straight year

The number of U.S. children in foster care has dropped for the sixth straight year, falling to about 400,000 compared to more than 520,000 a decade ago, according to new federal figures demonstrating the staying power of reforms even amid economic turbulence. The drop results primarily from a shift in the policies and practices of …

Brown widow spiders aggressively populating Southern California – pushing aside black widows

A poisonous spider is aggressively colonizing Southern California. Panic. Now, take a deep breath: The spread of brown widows could actually be good thing. Newly released research suggests nonnative brown widows are pushing out more dangerous (and native) western black widows. Most of the time, brown widows have a bite similar to that of common …

Life Expectancy rises 0.9 years for whites, 2 years for blacks

A recent report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, based on data from 2008, shows a few interesting changes. African-americans are catching up in terms of long life, though still behind. Both white men and women increased their average life expectancy by 0.9 years. African-american men increased theirs by 2 years and …

8% of adults check Twitter every day – 20% of young adults check every day

Eight percent of adult Internet users said they log on to Twitter every day, up from the 4% who said the same last year, according to the Pew Research Center, which conducted the survey. That number was even higher for young adults. One in five Internet users ages 18 to 24 are using the website …

The digital black consumer – leads demographics in mobile data use

Black Americans are consistently the second-highest US consumers of mobile data services by ethnic demographic. And, they are highly active on the Internet and on their mobile devices, watching video, networking with their social connections, and making purchases, according to [pdf] Nielsen’s latest Cross-Platform Report. Nielsen examined the media habits of the digital black consumer in the …

Nelson Mandela and Google create a virtual museum of his life

For a look at the future of digital museums, check out the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory’s new digital archive composed of thousands of scanned documents from the African leader’s life. With the help of a $1.25 million grant from Google, the center digitized thousands of documents and images that illustrate the life and times of South Africa’s first …

Letter from a Mother to a Daughter

“My dear girl, the day you see I’m getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I’m going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”… Just listen, please. …

Modern Royals – Rainbow Queen in the British Vogue

Note that it says the Queen prefers: 29% – blue 13% – floral 11% – cream or green 10% – pink or purple 4%  – red, orange, or yellow 2%  – black 1%  – checkered or beige And, some close-ups.

More women in Computer Science – a simple solution from Harvey Mudd

An interesting story from the New York Times shows how current president of Harvey Mudd College, Maria Klawe, turned her school into a computer science powerhouse for women. She started her work in 2006, amidst a big downturn in female computer science graduates. “As recently as 1985, 37 percent of graduates in the field were …

Wanna join the Academy Awards? Well don’t be a female and pray if you’re not white…

About 37 million people tuned in to the Academy Awards last year, and a great deal rides on the show’s outcome…Yet the roster of all 5,765 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a closely guarded secret. The organization does not publish a membership list. A Los Angeles Times study …