Stonewall Gazette

Written by Teo Armus


A new study published in the journal "Big Data" found that ad campaigns can make inferences about whether a user is gay based on as little as three likes, even when users intentionally withhold their sexual orientation. As Facebook users express concerns regarding their privacy and how their personal information is being used, the study raises concerns about “outing” people who are closeted — or those who just don’t want companies to know their sexual orientation in order to show them targeted ads. "While some online users may benefit from being targeted based on inferences of their personal characteristics, others may find such inferences unsettling,” the study's authors, who hail from Columbia Business School, New York University and Northeastern University, wrote.
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Written by Khal


I've always heard that if there's some new technology, the first industry to figure it out will be the porn industry. They've had the digital game on lock from webcams to virtual reality, but based on this treasure trove of dildos and butt plugs dating back to ancient China, it looks like the world has always flourished when it comes to new ways of getting your rocks off. While butt plugs are used more for sexual pleasure these days, the purpose of these jade plugs were a bit unique; they were said to "seal the body and keep in vital essences that can leak out during life and death," according to Fan Zhang, who is curating an exhibit with these finds. Basically, they don't want your chi leaking out in death, so the plug keeps it safely inside of you. READ MORE

Written by Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, Berwood Yost and Scottie Thompson


Our research gives most countries in the world a failing grade in LGBTQ rights, reflecting widespread persecution of sexual minorities. Only one country in 10 actively protects the human rights of sexual minorities.

The Extremes Are Stunning

In 2017, 23 countries have legalized same-sex marriage, yet 71 countries still criminalize same-sex acts. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Yemen score lowest on our scale, with an overall GBGR score of 3 out of a possible score of 100, while Luxembourg, Malta and New Zealand score highest, with 100 percent. A score of 100 percent doesn’t mean a country is perfect in its treatment of LGBT individuals, but it does mean they protect LGBTQ rights. Our initial findings suggest that higher income, lower rates of religiosity, higher life expectancy, a higher freedom rating by nonprofit Freedom House and having a democratic political system are the best predictors of how much a country respects or abuses the rights of sexual minorities. This suggests that a country’s attitude toward gay rights is strongly related to its level of socioeconomic development, political development and religiosity. That makes the U.S.‘ low score an even greater anomaly. READ MORE

Written by Maev Kennedy

The skeletons of two men who were buried apparently hand in hand during an outbreak of the Black Death have been excavated from a plague burial ground in London. The men, believed to have been in their 40s, were buried in the early 15th century in a carefully dug double grave, in identical positions, with heads turned towards the right and the left hand of one man apparently clasping the right hand of the other. Both are assumed to have died in one of the bubonic plague epidemics that swept the capital in the years after the most famous outbreak in 1348, which is estimated to have killed more than half London’s population. Archaeologist Sam Pfizenmaier, who led the excavation and wrote a newly published book on Charterhouse Square finds, said: “One possible interpretation is that they were related in some way, for example by blood or marriage.” READ MORE

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Most gay men I know don't like the sound of their own voice. Perhaps it's from years of being ridiculed and bullied for "sounding gay". In this video, openly gay couple Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, the two Canadian science geeks from AsapSCIENCE, take a look at the phenomenon of why so many of us cringe at hearing the sound of our own voices.

RELATED
Gay Creators of "AsapSCIENCE" Discuss The Importance of Diversity in Science

You can follow Gregory Brown on Twitter
You can follow Mitchell Moffit on Twitter
You can follow AsapSCIENCE on Twitter

AsapSCIENCE is a terrific site that I enjoy visiting. Created by two Canadian men, Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown (pictured right), they describe AsapSCIENCE as "science with a social conscience." Moffit and Brown are also an openly gay couple which makes them a rarity in the world of science. The topic of this episode is: Are gay men actually more "manly" than straight men? Very interesting... take a look.

You can follow Gregory Brown on Twitter

You can follow AsapSCIENCE on Twitter

Watch: Are Gay Men More Masculine?

Hank over at Crash Course gives us the run down on the "top five ways humans are negatively impacting the environment and having detrimental effects on the valuable ecosystem services which a healthy biosphere provides." This short video is educational, and, if you are like me, it'll make you feel angry at how neglectful we humans have been toward Mother Earth. We can do better.

Watch: 5 Human Impacts on The Environment

"The historic ship whose crew discovered Canada’s Northwest Passage has been found 155 years after it was abandoned and sank in this oft-frozen Arctic bay atop isolated Banks Island," reports Don Martin. "The wreck of HMS Investigator was detected in shallow water within days of Parks Canada archeologists launching their ambitious search for the 422-tonne ship from this chilly tent encampment on the Beaufort Sea shoreline."

“It’s sitting upright in silt; the three masts have been removed, probably by ice,” said Ifan Thomas, Parks Canada’s superintendent of the western Arctic Field Unit. “It’s a largely intact ship in very cold water, so deterioration didn’t happen very quickly.” The clear Arctic water makes it possible to glimpse the outline of the ship’s outer deck, which is only eight metres below the surface. Three graves were also found Tuesday. They are undoubtedly the remains of British sailors who succumbed to disease in the final months of the ship’s three-year Arctic ordeal. “In anthropological terms, this is the most important shipwreck in history,” said senior marine archeologist Ryan Harris. “It’s a bit like finding a Columbus ship in the Arctic.” READ MORE

"The UK-built Zephyr solar-powered plane has smashed the endurance record for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The craft took off from the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona at 1440 BST (0640 local time) last Friday and is still in the air," reports BBC. "Its non-stop operation, day and night, means it has now gone five times longer than the official mark recognised by the world air sports federation. The plane has been developed by the defence and research company Qinetiq. Solar-powered high-altitude long-endurance (Hale) UAVs are expected to have a wide range of applications in the future. The military will want to use them as reconnaissance and communications platforms. Civilian and scientific programmes will equip them with small payloads for Earth observation duties. Their unique selling point is their persistence over a location. Low-Earth orbiting satellites come and go in a swift pass overhead, and the bigger drones now operated by the military still need to return to base at regular intervals for refuelling." READ MORE

"Researchers have discovered the fossilised remains of an ancient whale with huge, fearsome teeth!"

BBC reports:

Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists have dubbed the 12 million-year-old creature "Leviathan". It was much like the modern sperm whale in terms of size and appearance. But that is where the similarity ends. While the sperm whale is a relatively passive animal, sucking in squid from the depths of the ocean, Leviathan was an aggressive predator.

According to Dr Christian de Muizon, director of the Natural History Museum in Paris, Leviathan could have hunted out and fed on large sea creatures such as dolphins, seals and even other whales. "It was a kind of a sea monster," he said. "And it's interesting to note that at the same time in the same waters was another monster, which was a giant shark about 15m long. It's possible that they might have fought each other".

The researchers speculate that Leviathan was able to feed on very large prey up to 8m long. It would catch the prey in its huge jaws and tear it apart quickly and effectively with its giant teeth. The Leviathan skull was discovered in 12 million year-old sediments in Peru.

Now, the discovery of the skull means that the Leviathan is not merely the stuff of myth and legend. "Finally we found it," said Dr Lambert. " It was a very exciting moment". READ MORE

"New numbers showing the amount of oil gushing from a well in the Gulf of Mexico may be double as much as previously thought means the crude is likely to travel farther away, threatening more birds, fish and other wildlife that call the fragile waters their home, scientists said Friday," reports The Toronto Star. "The new figures could mean 42 million gallons to more than 100 million gallons of oil have already fouled the Gulf’s delicate ecosystem and are affecting people who live, work and play along the coast from Louisiana to Florida — and perhaps beyond." READ MORE

Fake or Junk science is a term used to dispute claims about scientific data, research, or analyses. The term may convey a pejorative connotation that the advocate is driven by political, ideological, financial, or other unscientific motives.

Read more from Fake Science!

"A fleet of traditionally-designed Polynesian canoes has left New Zealand for a journey through the Pacific, re-living the epic migrations of the past." Cool!

BBC reports:

Four double-hulled canoes set off from Auckland aiming to sail 4,000km (2,485 miles) to French Polynesia. The voyage is expected to take three months.

The route retraces the great Polynesian migration journeys of 1,000 years ago - albeit in the opposite direction. It is part of an attempt to revive traditional sailing skills. These include navigating without instruments or maps.

The aim is to reach French Polynesia, which is thought to have been the departure point for the Polynesian migrations to New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island at the end of the first millennium. READ MORE

"Boys naturally gravitate towards cars and girls towards dolls from the moment they first crawl" - says a new study

Are there differences between the sexes? Absolutely. Just observe a boy child and girl child and you will quickly see how different they socialize. The issue I have with this study (see excerpt below) is that they assume a child knows what a car or doll is - they don't.

It's anyone's guess what a child knows at such a young age. 10,000 years ago there were no cars for boys to play with, right? So, what did boys play with? Dolls?

What is a doll, exactly? If we say dolls are a female toy and cars a male toy, then we give them a value. You put wheels on a "doll" more than likely a boy child will play with it. Generally, boys like things to move and girls like things that talk.

If you believe in the faulty logic of these kinds of studies then one would have to assume that most male children are homosexual because they play with their penises. That's the problem of value systems. Whose values do we value?

BBC reports:

City University researchers put a range of toys a metre from 90 children - aged nine to 36 months - and recorded what was played with and for how long. They found boys spent more time playing with cars and balls, while girls spent more time playing with the dolls. Researchers said the study suggested there was an "intrinsic bias" in children towards gender-typical toys.

A fellow researcher, Dr Brenda Todd, said: "We were surprised to find the differences so early." But she added: "Children of this age are already subject to a great deal of socialisation, but these findings are consistent with the idea of an intrinsic bias in children to show interest in particular kinds of toys." READ MORE

How cool is this? Scientists have created the first device to render an object invisible in three dimensions.

BBC reports:

The "cloak", described in the journal Science, hid an object from detection using light of wavelengths close to those that are visible to humans.

Previous devices have been able to hide objects from light travelling in only one direction; viewed from any other angle, the object would remain visible.

This is a very early but significant step towards true invisibility cloaks.

Tolga Ergin, a scientist from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany led the study.

He told BBC News that his team's cloak was based on the concept that you can "transform space" with a material.

He and his colleagues designed a photonic metamaterial, which influenced the behaviour of light rays.

"You can think of any transformation that you would like to have, and tailor your material to mimic this," he explained.

The basis of the design is known as a "carpet cloak". This was first proposed by Professor Sir John Pendry from Imperial College London, who also took part in this study. READ MORE

"A long time ago, in a universe much larger than our own, a giant star collapsed. Its implosion crammed so much mass and energy together that it created a wormhole [a "shortcut" through spacetime] to another universe. And inside this wormhole, our own universe was born," writes Phil Berardelli. "It may seem fantastic, but a theoretical physicist claims that such a scenario could help answer some of the most perplexing questions in cosmology. A number of facets about our universe don't make sense. One is gravity. Scientists can't construct a mathematical formula that unites gravity with the three other basic forces of nature: the strong and weak nuclear forces and electromagnetism. Another problem is dark energy, the mysterious phenomenon that seems to be expanding our universe at an accelerating rate, even though gravity should be contracting it or at least slowing the expansion." READ MORE

"A prototype solar-powered plane has made its first full test flight - coming closer to the goal of using solar energy to fly around the world."

BBC reports:
The Solar Impulse, with a wingspan similar to that of a super-jumbo jet but weighing the same as a saloon car, took off from a Swiss airfield. The plane's wings are covered by solar cells which power four electric motors.

Its designers hope a slightly larger production model will circumnavigate the globe in two years' time. The test flight was intended to verify that the plane's behaviour tallied with simulations. "With such a large and light plane never having flown before, the aircraft's flight behaviour remains unexplored," the flight team said in a statement. READ MORE

Round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard is leading the project and intends to pilot the plane along with co-founder Andre Borschberg.

"New pictures have been released of the Martian moon Phobos, acquired by the European Mars Express (Mex) probe during its recent flybys. The images reveal details down to a resolution of just 4.4m per pixel,"reports the BBC. "The excellent resolution shows the Phobos-Grunt mission planners the precise conditions at their potential landing sites. Planetary scientists are trying to explain the origin of the moon, one of two natural satellites at Mars (the other being Deimos). Previous study had indicated that Phobos has an extremely low density, suggesting that its surface probably hides many large interior voids. Researchers suspect the moon is simply a collection of planetary rubble that coalesced around the Red Planet sometime after its formation. Another explanation is that it is a captured asteroid." READ MORE

Last month, a reader sent me this link about everyday stuff rendered obsolete in the aughts. The cassette tape, for example, has seen sales plummeted from 442 million in 1990 to 274 thousand in 2007. The times they are a-changin!


Answering Machine
Hit its cultural apex, and revealed its fatal flaw (beep!), in the film, Swingers (1996). More obsolete stuff here.

"Scientists who decoded the DNA of some southern Africans have found striking new evidence of the genetic diversity on that continent, and uncovered a surprise about the ancestry of Archbishop Desmond Tutu," reports the Associated Press. "They found, for example, that any two Bushmen in their study who spoke different languages were more different genetically than a European compared to an Asian. That was true even if the Bushmen lived within walking distance of each other. "

"The study focused on genomes, a person's complete collection of DNA. The researchers decoded genomes of a Kalahari Desert bushman and of Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace laureate and former head of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. They also decoded partial genomes from three other Bushmen. Tutu was included to represent a Bantu ancestry, in contrast to Bushmen. Bantu people have a tradition of farming, while Bushmen are longtime hunter-gatherers who represent the oldest known lineage of modern humans."

"But when researchers looked at Tutu's genome, they found surprising evidence that his mother's ancestry includes at least one Bushman woman. It's not clear how many generations back that woman lived. "

Tutu told The Associated Press that discovering he is related to "these wise people" made him feel "very privileged and blessed." READ MORE