Interesting Articles: June 27th-July 23rd 2006

The smattering of worthwhile news articles I've collected over the last month, despite not reading the New York Times.

Education:

The Gender Divide in Academic Achievement (KQED's Forum). An hour-long discussion by researchers in the field about the differences between male and female achievement, the causes of it, and what it means. The article At Colleges, Women Are Leaving Men in the Dust (New York Times) covers similar topics, although with less depth and a slightly different focus (e.g., more toward examining affirmative action for men). Finally, Does gender matter? (Nature) is a commentary in Nature on the same topic, written by a female to male transgendered professor.

Travel:

A Job With Travel but No Vacation (New York Times). On the tough life of a travel writer.

Science:

Gay Males' Sibling Link: Men's homosexuality tied to having older brothers (Science News). This, perhaps, will inform/affect many political debates involving homosexuality.

Sight for 'Saur Eyes: T. rex vision was among nature's best (Science News). Tyrannosaurus rex have amazing vision: better than hawks. Read the article for details.

Say Hello to Stanley (Wired). There's been a lot of articles about Stanley and the Grand Challenge. This one stands out because it give a good history of computer-controlled driving and shows more of the personalities behind the people involved in the effort, both currently and in the past.

Lavender Revolution: Plant essences linked to enlarged breasts in boys (Science News). Does this mean the FDA should test soaps and hand lotions? If the above link doesn't work, here's another article on the topic: Some soaps may give boys breasts (Health24).

Food:

Coffee protects against alcoholic cirrhosis (Science News). Countering one possibly bad habit with another possibly bad habit. The source article, Coffee, cirrhosis, and transaminase enzymes (Archives of Internal Medicine), has the details.