Rather than upgrading our car or television, we’ll spend the cash in coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, sports clubs and theme parks. We’ll splash out on European city breaks or walking the Inca trail. Experiences, in other words.
“The amount that people spend on retail goods as a proportion of consumer spending has gone down in the […]

Scientists report promising results with a male contraceptive drug tested on rats.
The drug, called Adjudin, is a long way from human use. But lab tests on rats showed no signs of side effects, and the drug’s effects wore off in 20 weeks.
Full Story: CBS.
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New Jersey’s highest court ruled yesterday that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples under state marriage statutes.
The court left the task of naming the newly recognized right — whether marriage, civil union, or something else — up to the New Jersey Legislature, which must vote within 180 days, leaving open […]

The Michael J. Fox pro-stem cell research ads are working:

* Among all respondents, support for stem cell research increased from 78% prior to viewing the ad, to 83% after viewing the ad. Support among Democrats increased from 89% to 93%, support among Republicans increased from 66% to 68% and support among […]

A review of experimental malaria vaccines has found that one shows such promise, the results “justify speedy progress towards licensing for routine use”. That would make it the first-ever commercial vaccine against one of the world’s deadliest diseases – but it may need to be used along with other kinds of malaria vaccine to really […]

Ory’s now reporting their first victory - a small step, but an exciting one nonetheless - Kenyan MP Ukur Yattani has started answering constituent questions on his MP page on the site. His first post corrected information about his educational qualifications, but subsequent exchanges have gotten into substantive questions about gunfire between Ethiopian “bandits” and […]

A state jury found Thursday that Wal-Mart broke Pennsylvania labor laws by forcing employees to work through rest breaks and off the clock, a decision plaintiffs’ lawyers said would result in at least $62 million in damages.
Jurors will return Friday to determine damages in the class-action lawsuit, which covers up to 187,000 hourly current and […]

The online interactive reference site Wikipedia announced Tuesday that the site had apparently been made accessible in China, after being blocked for just over a year by the country’s government.
Wikipedia reported on its site that it had received word from multiple users in the country on Chinese-forums.com that the site had been restored, as first […]

Palm and pumpkin seed oil could soon be generating electricity to help power mobile phone networks across Africa under a plan to replace fossil fuels with sustainable biofuels made from crops grown by local farmers.
Full Story: MSNBC.
(via Great News Network).
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A new computer-aided analysis may help detect the earliest signs of cell damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
The system is able to analyse the extent of damage in areas of grey matter, where brain cells are tightly packed together.
The researchers say it could lead to earlier diagnosis of a disease that can be treated most effectively […]