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The superbug that doctors have been dreading just reached the U.S.

For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotics of last resort. CDC chief says this could mean "the end of the road" for antibiotics.

Click to view the original at washingtonpost.com

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This industry helps Chinese cheat their way into & through US colleges

A cheating ring at the University of Iowa demonstrates the damage being done by a booming Chinese cottage industry to the U.S. higher education system.

Click to view the original at www.reuters.com

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A controversial theory may explain the real reason humans have allergies

Allergies may have evolved as a way of protecting our ancestors by flushing out toxic chemicals.

Click to view the original at qz.com

Hasnain says:

Super exciting to hear a fresh view on allergies. I need to look this guy up.

"For now, however, Medzhitov would just be happy to get people to stop seeing allergies as a disease, despite the misery they cause. “You’re sneezing to protect yourself. The fact that you don’t like the sneezing, that’s tough luck,” he said, with a slight shrug. “Evolution doesn’t care how you feel.”"

Posted on 2016-05-23T15:35:13+0000

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Automation Should Be Like Iron Man, Not Ultron - ACM Queue

Q: Dear Tom: A few years ago we automated a major process in our system administration team. Now the system is impossible to debug. Nobody remembers the old manual process and the automation is beyond what any of us can understand. We feel like we've painted ourselves into a corner. Is all operation...

Click to view the original at queue.acm.org

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For World’s Newest Scrabble Stars, SHORT Tops SHORTER

Nigerian players are dominating Scrabble tournaments with the surprising strategy of playing short words even when longer ones are possible, in an extreme form of rack management.

Click to view the original at www.wsj.com

Hasnain says:

"Across the developing world, more governments are funneling money and organization into the sport. In Pakistan, 700-plus people competed in last year’s national championship, which was televised live. A Gabonese man’s second-place finish in the French-language world championship sparked a national Scrabble league in that African state."

Posted on 2016-05-23T07:21:47+0000

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How the West (and the Rest) Got Rich

The Great Enrichment of the past two centuries has one primary source: the liberation of ordinary people to pursue their dreams of economic betterment

Click to view the original at www.wsj.com

Hasnain says:

"Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, had the right idea in what he said to Reason magazine last year: “When people ask, ‘Will our children be better off than we are?’ I reply, ‘Yes, but it’s not going to be due to the politicians, but the engineers.’ ”"

Posted on 2016-05-23T06:59:31+0000

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Pakistan's Senate Gets Smart About Terrible Cyber-Crime Bill

Over the last few months, Pakistan's Internet community has been fighting to stop the passage of one of the world's worst cyber-crime proposals: the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB). Thanks in part to the hundreds of messages sent to Pakistan's senators, they secured a major victory this…

Click to view the original at eff.org

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