Random links

No more fillings as dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment
"A two-step process first prepares the damaged area of enamel, then uses a tiny electric current to push minerals into the repair site. It could be available within three years. ... 'Not only is our device kinder to the patient and better for their teeth, but it’s expected to be at least as cost-effective as current dental treatments. Along with fighting tooth decay, our device can also be used to whiten teeth.'"
Spiders Tune In To Web's Music To Size Up Meals And Mates
"The Silk Group says the array of vibrations coursing through the web provides a kind of information. The spider 'reads' these vibrations to, for example, locate where a struggling insect has been snagged. And apparently the web has to be tuned just right to provide that kind of arachnidian triangulation."
Are School Homicides 'Becoming the Norm'?
" If you're wondering where kids are likely to die, the answer plainly isn't a classroom. (Quoting the BJS report one more time: "During the 2010–11 school year, 11 of the 1,336 homicides among school-age youth ages 5–18 occurred at school.") And in the period for which we have clear data, the school homicide rate moved in the same direction as the overall homicide rate: downward."
Australia Is Raising Its Retirement Age to 70. The Rest of Us Should Catch Up.
"Demographers and policy wonks have been talking about this idea for years. It’s based on the growth of life expectancy. In many countries, as things stand, the increasing number of years in which people draw benefits will overwhelm the unchanged number of years in which they’re paying into the system. The logical solution is to raise the retirement age, so that the benefit-drawing years are matched by an increase in the number of paying-in years."
The secret language of dog play
"Watch a couple of dogs play, and you’ll probably see seemingly random gestures, lots of frenetic activity and a whole lot of energy being expended. But decades of research suggest that beneath this apparently frivolous fun lies a hidden language of honesty and deceit, empathy and perhaps even a humanlike morality."