Autistic brains ‘organised differently’ say scientists

People with autism use their brains differently from other people, which may explain why some have extraordinary abilities to remember and draw objects in detail, according to new research.

University of Montreal scientists say in autistic people, the brain areas that deal with visual information are highly developed.

Other brain areas are less active — via redwolf.newsvine.com

US Government’s ‘Pirate’ Domain Seizures Failed Miserably

The seizure of file-sharing related domain names by the US Government in recent months have stirred up a lot of controversy. Despite heavy critique from various sides, the responsible authorities justified their actions and claimed that it is an effective tool to clamp down on Internet piracy. However, those who take a good look at the end result soon notice that reality paints a different picture — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Seoul tears down an urban highway and the city can breathe again

As a sustainability-loving transportation planner, I was thrilled to learn that Dr. Kee Yeon Hwang would be visiting Vancouver and talking about the project that has made Seoul, Korea a legend in urban planning circles: the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project.

What he and his colleagues accomplished — tearing down a busy, elevated freeway, re-daylighting the river that had been buried beneath it, and creating a spectacular downtown green space, all in under two and a half years — is nothing short of amazing, not because it actually worked (there was plenty of evidence from other cities to suggest that it could), but because they were able to get public support for it. It’s the stuff urban planners dream about — not to mention a timeline for a major freeway project that would make Seattle drool.

I went to the lecture ready to record all the juicy stats I was sure he was going to throw out: peak hour traffic flows, mode shares, level of service, lane miles. What I got instead was a story told not in numbers and data, but a story about people and the profound impact the project had on the city

— via redwolf.newsvine.com

Cut Wine Bottle Cups and Glasses

These bad boys had me at Helvetica. I love this tutorial from Plastolux on how to cut wine bottles into tumblers. I especially love that he researched a vintage craft tool and gave his take on how best to use it – I’ve often bought old kits at thrift stores and had trouble using them — via CRAFT

Chang Jiang 750

There are quite a few motorcycle manufacturers with murky histories, but few are as clouded by the passage of time as Chang Jiang. The lineage of this bike can be traced back to the 1938 BMW R71, which was copied by the Soviets and released in 1942 as the IMZ M72. Come the mid-50s, the Soviets sold the tooling for the M72 to China, and a few years later the Chang Jiang 750 appeared. The motor is an air-cooled 746cc boxer—in true BMW style—and this particular bike belongs to a motorcycle tour operation called Shanghai Sideways, run by Thomas Chabrieres. According to the website, Shanghai has the biggest number of Art Deco buildings in the world; what better way to visit this gigantic museum than in a 1930s sidecar motorbike? Quite — via Bike EXIF

Patent Watch: StunRay Disables with a Flash of Light

Incapacitating light beam: The suspect is going for his gun, and the police officer doesn’t want to shoot. The founders of a company called Genesis Illumination hope police officers will soon be reaching for a StunRay instead of a gun or Taser. They claim their newly patented device can render an assailant helpless with a brief flash of high-intensity light. It works by overloading the neural networks connected to the retina, saturating the target’s world in a blinding pool of white light. It’s the inverse of blindness—the technical term is a loss of contrast sensitivity, says Todd Eisenberg, the engineer who invented the device. The typical response is for the person to freeze. Law enforcement can easily walk up and apprehend [the suspect] — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Tomes’ time might be up at Newport Beach library

In a sign of the times, Newport Beach is considering closing the city’s original library and replacing it with a community center that would offer all the same features — except for the books.

Instead of a reference librarian, patrons would be greeted by a kiosk equipped with video-calling software that would allow them to speak with employees elsewhere. And books — when ordered — would be dropped off at a locker for pickup.

The proposed bookless library is a reflection of how both the economy and a shift in visitors’ habits are forcing city libraries to redefine their services — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Man discovers rich deposit under outback dunny

A geologist sitting on a bush toilet in a remote part of the Northern Territory has discovered a potentially lucrative mineral discovered a potentially lucrative mineral deposit.

Rum Jungle Resources chief executive David Muller said the company was already looking for phosphate on a site near Barrow Creek, north of Alice Springs, but it was not expecting to find anything of value where it had set up its camp toilet — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Hackers Grab E-mail Addresses, Names from Epsilon

Millions of e-mail addresses and names were obtained in a cyberattack on marketing firm Epsilon, whose 2,500 clients include household names. The clients, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Walgreens and Disney, have warned customers to beware of phishing attempts. The Epsilon attack is another example of criminals targeting corporations — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Texas Instruments to buy National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion

Texas Instruments will purchase fellow analog chipmaker National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion, the companies announced today.

TI is paying cash for National, and both boards have already approved the deal. TI says the company will be “10 times larger” after the acquisition. Combined, the two could capture 17 to 18 percent market share, company executives said on a conference call this afternoon. Because it will have to clear some regulatory hurdles, executives expect the deal to close in six to nine months — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Modern chicken coop

Even though chickens make a very benefic pet, not a lot of people would consider having them. Here’s something that might make you change your mind. It’s called The Nogg and it was designed by furniture designer and engineer Matthew Hayward and Creative Director Nadia Turan — via homedit