Number of elderly in Japan hits record high

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/16/national/number-of-elderly-in-japan-hits-record-high/#.UxvTSF6pzlo

In Japan, the Rising Cost of Elder Care—and Dying Alone
By Kanoko Matsuyama February 28, 2013
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-28/in-japan-the-rising-cost-of-elder-care-and-dying-alone

Top Japanese Official Urges Elderly to ‘Hurry Up and Die’

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/01/top-japanese-official-urges-elderly-to-hurry-up-and-die/

Elderly people in Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elderly_people_in_Japan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/as-japan-strains-to-care-for-elderly-sacrifices-begin/2012/04/28/gIQAu10cnT_story.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-24949081

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJonPMa4Lic

How languages sound to foreigners

How German sounds compared to other languages
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_xUIDRxdmc

UK: Ever wonder how you sound to a foreigner?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/video-1086269/Ever-wondered-sound-like-foreigner.html

Lots on my mind today...

Watch And Be Amazed By The Machinery Of Life

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/03/04/285414954/watch-and-be-amazed-by-the-machinery-of-life?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=03042014

Will This Be the U.K.'s New Flag?

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/will-this-be-the-uks-new-flag/284234/

Coping With Infectious Disease

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/opinion/coping-with-infectious-disease.html

How to Get a Job at Google

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?src=me&ref=general

Indonesia Urged to Spend to Make Birth Less Risky

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/health/indonesia-urged-to-spend-to-make-birth-less-risky.html?src=recg&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Recommended&pgtype=article

In The New Globalized Diet, Wheat, Soy And Palm Oil Rule

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/03/285335070/in-the-new-globalized-diet-wheat-soy-and-palm-oil-rule?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=03042014

Mercedes' S500 Intelligent Drive is one traditional carmaker's approach to driverless cars.

By The Time Your Car Goes Driverless, You Won't Know The Difference

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/03/04/285740673/by-the-time-your-car-goes-driverless-you-wont-know-the-difference?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=03042014

Dunk Now, Pay Later: Elite College Players May Suffer In Middle Age

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/03/03/285259022/dunk-now-pay-later-elite-college-players-may-suffer-in-middle-age?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=03032014

More than you want to know about protein synthesis

How is it we can be comprised of only around 25 thousand genes (26,383 according to this site, but who's counting?), when scientists estimated we would have between 80 to 150 thousand? Alternative splicing- where one gene can be cut and pasted into different versions to make different proteins (video explanation here). It's estimated that 30 to 60 percent of our genes undergo alternative splicing, and may make 5 or 6 different proteins. It's also the case that many (if not most) genetic disorders involve faulty splicing. Some forms of Alzheimers and prostate cancer, for example, are caused by this.

Furthermore, all mammals share basically the same genes, but different numbers of "tandem repeats" seem to be behind the diversity of species.

Here's a primer on the genetic code and videos explaining transcription and translation and the genetic code.

Click on the diagram below for a series of tutorials on the central dogma of molecular biology:

What to expect in America...

What people say about us gives us an insight into who we are, at least in terms of how we are perceived. You may or may not agree or identify with these observations, and remember they are all coming from a particular cultural perspective, but here goes:

1. Japanese: http://mentalfloss.com/article/55140/10-japanese-travel-tips-visiting-america

2.Russian: http://mentalfloss.com/article/54461/4-russian-travel-tips-visiting-america

3) This one isn't targeted to any particular group, so the observations are a bit more sweeping in their generalizations:
http://www.immihelp.com/newcomer/american-culture-and-behavior.html

4) This one is VERY basic, almost common sense. But worth remembering wherever you go.
http://usatravel.about.com/od/Plan-Your-Trip/tp/Dos-And-Donts-For-USA-Travel.htm

5) http://lifelessonsmilitarywife.com/?p=2741

6) http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=59094

The Curious Geography of American Greetings and High School Matriculation

What we mean when we say "Where are you from?":

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/what-we-mean-when-we-say-hello/283860/

Here is a commentary about a corollary to the question:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/why-we-never-get-over-high-school/284026/