Author: Lucas Bennett

An Arizona woman says she felt “helpless and violated” after a police officer entered her home and handcuffed her while she was wearing only a towel, in an incident that was captured on video and shared online. Elmerelda Rossi of Chandler, Arizona, had been in the shower when two local police officers arrived at her home in response to a reported domestic disturbance involving her estranged husband. By the time officers reached the property, the disagreement had already subsided. Her teenage daughter answered the door while Rossi was still showering. After her daughter informed her that police were at the…

A study from the University of Auckland has found that firstborn sisters are significantly more likely to develop weight-related health problems than their younger siblings, with researchers pointing to differences in placental blood supply as a possible explanation. The research analysed data from 13,400 pairs of sisters and found that older sisters had a 29 percent greater likelihood of being overweight and a 40 percent higher risk of obesity compared to their younger siblings. Beyond weight, the study also identified elevated risks of diabetes and high blood pressure among firstborn females. Professor Cutfield of the University of Auckland suggested that…

The presence of four specific types of bacteria in the gut during the earliest months of a child’s life could determine whether they go on to develop asthma, according to new research from Canadian scientists that may point toward a future preventative treatment for the condition. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, examined the microbiomes of 319 children and found that those lacking four particular bacterial strains at three months old faced a significantly higher risk of developing asthma by the age of three. The four bacteria in question — Faecalibacterium, Lachnospira, Veillonella and Rothia, collectively referred to as…

Microsoft’s Windows 10 has secured one of its most significant endorsements yet, with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg confirming that dedicated universal apps for Facebook, Messenger and Instagram are all in development for the platform. The announcement signals a major vote of confidence in Microsoft’s latest operating system from the world’s largest social media company, and means Windows 10 users across desktop computers, tablets and mobile devices will soon have fully integrated versions of all three apps available to them. An Instagram update is considered particularly overdue — a mobile version of the photo-sharing platform launched on Windows almost two…

Wall Street closed on a high on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite reaching a fresh record after strong earnings from two of America’s most recognisable technology companies lifted investor confidence across the board. The Nasdaq added 64 points to close at 5,163, narrowly surpassing its previous record set in late June, driven largely by better-than-expected quarterly results from both Netflix and eBay. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70 points to 18,120, while the S&P 500 gained nearly 17 points to finish at 2,124. Google provided one of the day’s most closely watched results, reporting earnings of $6.99 per share…

American car buyers turned their backs on modest family saloons in July, instead pushing demand for SUVs and premium vehicles to levels not seen since before the financial crash, with industry-wide sales climbing five percent to more than 1.5 million vehicles in a single month. The figures, compiled by Autodata Corp, point to a market that has firmly rejected recession-era expectations that consumers would downsize and spend more cautiously. Instead, luxury brands now account for 11.5 percent of all vehicles sold in the United States so far this year, up from 10.2 percent three years ago, according to car shopping…

Young adults who carry a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease navigate virtual environments differently from those without the genetic risk factor, according to new research that could open a fresh route to early detection of the condition. The study, led by scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and published in the journal Science, found that people aged between 18 and 30 who carry the APOE e4 gene variant — which is associated with increased Alzheimer’s risk — showed measurable differences in both brain activity and movement behaviour during a virtual maze test, even though their overall performance scores…

The claim that being admitted to hospital on a Sunday makes you significantly more likely to die has become one of the most repeated arguments in the long-running dispute over seven-day NHS working. But how solid is the evidence actually behind it? The figure most commonly cited suggests weekend admissions carry roughly a sixteen percent greater risk of death. Ministers have pointed to statistics suggesting around 6,000 lives a year could be saved by moving the majority of hospital doctors onto seven-day contracts. The problem is that researchers and statisticians have struggled to find reliable data that supports those specific…

Giant pandas living in one of China’s most protected nature reserves have been found to seek out the company of other pandas far more than previously thought, according to research using tracking technology rarely permitted on the endangered species. The findings emerged from a two-year study conducted at the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China, where researchers from Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability monitored five bears between 2010 and 2012 using GPS collar technology. What made the project possible was an unusual decision by the Chinese government, which had banned the use of GPS collars on…

A person’s eye colour could one day help doctors assess their risk of developing alcohol dependency, according to new research that has found a statistically significant link between light-coloured eyes and alcoholism. The study, carried out by scientists at the University of Vermont and published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, followed 1,263 European Americans and found that those with light eyes — including blue, grey and green — were more likely to show signs of alcohol dependency than those with darker eyes. Among the light-eyed participants, those with blue eyes recorded the highest rates of dependency. The finding…