Calorie Counts and Emotional Tolls

The FDA’s new requirements will track the damage fast food does to your body and soul

By Brian McFadden

Click here to see the new food disclosures fast food joints will have to make about the foods you love.

Don't buy Koch products!

The science of charismatic voices

How one man was viewed as authoritarian, then benevolent

Acoustical Society of America (ASA) in Science Daily

When a right-wing Italian politician named Umberto Bossi suffered a severe stroke in 2004, his speech became permanently impaired. Strangely, this change impacted Bossi's perception among his party's followers -- from appearing authoritarian to benevolent.

Now researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles think they know why. Probing the vocal presence of charisma across cultural divides, the scientists found speakers with a wide range of frequency variation in their voices were more likely to be perceived as dominant. They also found that speakers with a low fundamental rate of vocal fold vibration, called fundamental frequency or F0, are perceived as more dominant than speakers with a high fundamental frequency.

Charismatic voices are made up of two fundamental components, said Rosario Signorello: one biological and one based on language and culture. Signorello is a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA's Bureau of Glottal Affairs who will be speaking on Thursday about his current research at the 168th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), which will be held October 27-31, 2014, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel.

Lack of transparency makes it hard to judge

How Sustainable is Amazon?

BY RICHARD MATTHEWS 

Amazon sustainability

Amazon is the leading online retailer, and while they appear to be making strides to lessen their environmental impacts, they are vulnerable to a wide range of criticisms. From products to packaging and shipping initiatives, Amazon appears to be getting greener. 

According to Adobe Holiday Data Amazon is the top retailer of holiday gifts in terms of social media buzz in 2014. Amazon is an online giant, they ship an average of 3,300,000 boxes per day, with revenues of almost $75 billion in 2013. The company is undeniably popular and successful, but are they green? Here is a summary of their green initiatives followed by criticisms.

VIDEO: An illustrated history of the drone

There Is No Third Party

Libertarians Are Ronald Reagan After A Few Bong-Hits

By Samuel Warde

If one takes the time to study the official platform of the Libertarian Party, it becomes abundantly clear that at their core – Libertarians are not a third party. Rather, they represent the core economic values of the traditional Republican Party coupled with support for many core social values of the Democratic Party, borne from their belief in limited government.

Stripped down to its basic components, at best the Libertarian Party is an amalgamation, a blend, of Republicans and Democrats and not a viable alternative party. To a certain extent, they embody the spirit of Reaganomics, but with the compassion of the Gipper after taking a few bong hits and mellowing out when it comes to civil liberties.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Bright Spiral Galaxy M81 

From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81.

This grand spiral galaxy can be found toward the northern constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major).

This superbly detailed view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes with a scale comparable to the Milky Way.

Hinting at a disorderly past, a remarkable dust lane actually runs straight through the disk, to the left of the galactic center, contrary to M81's other prominent spiral features.

The errant dust lane may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and its smaller companion galaxy, M82. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 has yielded one of the best determined distances for an external galaxy -- 11.8 million light-years.

A Prescription for Better Health

Simply telling people to eat better isn't enough.

By Jill Richardson

Here’s a typical scene in any American checkup: The doctor walks in to find the patient sitting on the table. “Well, your cholesterol is too high,” the doctor tells the patient. “I can prescribe something for it, but the real solution will be diet and exercise.”

The patient leaves that day with a bottle of Lipitor and maybe a pamphlet about healthier living habits.

How many times do you think the patient responds by saying, “Really, doc? Diet and exercise? I had no idea! I think I’ll take Papa John’s off my speed dial, start training for the next Boston Marathon, and gorge on kale.”

Probably never.

Kitty of the week

Meet Twinkle!

Animal Rescue League of Southern RI 

Hi, Twinkle is the name, and being cute is my game.  I am a long-haired adult male with a little bit of kitten energy. 

Secretly, I am a private investigator who likes to check everything out.  I like to socialize and I am never short on words. 

And if I catch sight of a string or laser light, I go right into playful mode.  So if you're looking for a fun, energetic, and curious cat, but one who can also be cozy and relaxed, I am your man! 

I would be glad to add a little twinkle to your holiday season this year, and many more to come.

 I love the thought of being curious, adventurous, and playful in my very own forever home. Hope to see you soon!

UPDATED with new info on Red-light cameras....Charlestown Tapas

Pumas? This, and many more threats to Charlestown’s peace and serenity in this week’s news briefs

By Will Collette

UPDATE: Red light cameras STILL not working

Even though the obstructing tree limbs have been clipped and the warning signs have been posted, Charlestown's red-light enforcement camera operator, Sensys, has still not activated the system. There are two sets of cameras covering the northbound and southbound approaches on Route One to East Beach and West Beach Roads. CPD Chief Jeff Allen says the problem is "Something about the modem."

It’s not just Charlestown’s Town Council that’s crazy

Sparks fly over Abel Collins selection as SK Town
Council Prez

Not for the first time, we have reason to wonder if there’s something in South County’s water that makes our area Town Councils act crazy. First we have Charlestown’s fake swearing in ceremony. Now, in South Kingstown, the nominally Democratic-controlled Town Council has erupted with some ugly in-fighting.

During their opening session, the SK Council tended to the first order of business, namely picking Council leadership. Margaret Healey (D), the top vote-getter was duly nominated as Council President, but proceeded to lose on a 2-3 vote.

Then independent Abel Collins, who works as a lobbyist for the RI Sierra Club, was nominated and then won by 3-2. Ms. Healey was then voted in as Council Vice-President.

At first, Healey was magnanimous in defeat, but later wrote on Facebook, "Thank you Abel for disrespecting me. I never saw you as a liar. I was wrong." Healey told the Narragansett Times that she thought she had Collins’ pledge of support.

Deepwater Wind gets its final federal approval – ready to build

VIDEO: True Facts about the Sea Pig

Love those ladybugs

If ladybugs move into your house this fall, make them welcome

From: Rob Forman, Rutgers University

During the warm months of the year, ladybugs are like adorable, bright-colored lapel pins. They land on us, accessorize our clothing in brilliant red or orange with stylish black spots, and are delightful to have around. Several cultures even think of ladybu

gs as good luck charms for anything from marriage to childbirth to the weather to a good harvest.

Then fall arrives and the ladybugs need to find warmth, which is most available inside people’s homes – where they often descend in large numbers. Suddenly they’re not as cute to many people as they seemed outdoors. But Jessica Ware, an insect expert and assistant professor of biology at Rutgers University-Newark, says having ladybugs indoors serves a very useful purpose, and humans should welcome their temporary houseguests. 

Sure hope not

Will Deborah Gist keep her job?

By Wendy Holmes in Rhode Island’s Future

“School systems that have successfully ignited reforms and sustained their momentum have all relied on at least one of three events to get them started: they have either taken advantage of a political or economic crisis, or commissioned a high-profile report critical of the system’s performance, or have appointed a new, energetic and visionary political or strategic leader.”

Rhode Island’s “energetic and visionary” leader, Commissioner Deborah Gist, wants to keep her job when Gina Raimondo takes office next year. The Board of Education meets tonight and it’s not on their agenda, but you can bet it’s on their minds.

Statins can do more than reduce your cholesterol

Widely used drugs may protect people from air pollution

By Brian Bienkowski, Environmental Health News

One of the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States may have an extra benefit: protecting people from air pollution.

Statins, prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce risks of heart attacks and strokes, seem to diminish inflammation that occurs after people breathe airborne particles.

“Health impacts from spikes in particulates in the air are substantial. Statins seem to protect not only lungs from these impacts but the heart, too,” said Dr. Norman Edelman, the American Lung Association's senior medical advisor.

About one in four Americans over the age of 45 takes statins, including Lipitor, Zocor and other brand names.

Dec. 9-10: Dealing with a changing coastline

Two-Day Symposium to Address Sea-Level Rise

For more cartoons by P.S. Mueller, click here.

By ecoRI News staff

NEWPORT — As experts continue to predict significant sea-level rise along the New England coastline, oceanfront businesses are vulnerable to a range of significant impacts. On Dec. 9 and 10, the 13th annual Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium will host a public lecture and a one-day conference at Salve Regina University to educate coastal-area business owners and local decision-makers on how to reduce the impacts of flooding on their businesses and their communities.

The two-day symposium is sponsored by the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center, in collaboration with Rhode Island Sea Grant and the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.