On:

When we’re searching for simply-styled, low-cost furniture, fixtures and accessories, many of us head for Ikea. But there’s something most of us don’t know: This Swedish company originally used East German prisoners who were incarcerated for their political beliefs, to create these products.

In the November 16th edition of the Guardian, Kate Connolly reports that "a roomful of angry former GDR prisoners first watched–and then started to vent decades worth of anger–as a squirming (Ikea CEO) Peter Betzel formally apologized for using prison labor in the 1970s and 1980s."
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On:

We may not be able to manipulate the speed of light, but by tinkering with the neural connections that indicate its passage in our brains, we may be able to alter the speed of time–or at least with how fast the human brain PERCEIVES it to be. New research suggests timekeeping in the brain is decentralized, with different neural circuits having their own timing mechanisms for specific activities.

This explains why, under certain conditions, the subjective sense of how much time has passed feels different. For instance,. time seems to drag slowly when we’re taking a test and to speed by when we’re having fun.
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On:

Studies show that parents live much longer than people who do not have children–they even get fewer colds.

Using statistics, Danish researcher Esben Agerbo discovered that women without children experienced an annual rate of death four times greater than those who gave birth, and for childless men the death rate was twice that of fathers.

However, the November 15-21st edition of the Economist reports that Agerbo was unable to discover WHY having children might be life-prolonging. He thinks it may be that people who have parental responsibilities may feel more of an obligation to look after themselves than those without don’t–but that’s just a guess.
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On:

Whitley Strieber outlines his expectations for 2013? Where are we with the close encounter experience? What about bigfoot and all the other anomalies? He describes the changes he expects to see in the new year, and you should expect to be surprised!
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