Science

Studies from around the world on persuasion show that pestering and nagging are effective tactics for getting husbands to submit to the demands of their wives. According to the studies, it works because it leaves the targeted person too worn out to fight back.

The fatigue created by a non-stop flow of questions and demands thus makes people more vulnerable to pursuation. By simply wearing someone down, you're more likely to get your way.

The studies also showed other tactics that work for persuading someone, whichi nclude: providing few options, speaking in person, and not pausing when stating your demand.

According to the report, which was published in the New Scientist magazine, avoid engaging in an arguement or doing baattle with sales people when you're fatigued or your mental batteries are running low.

According to research by an American scholar, Larry Schaaf, a 200-year-old image of a leaf may be the world's oldest photograph. The image laid for years in an album, and was believed to have been dated 1839. However, Schaaf, believes it may have been made more than 30 years earlier by Thomas Wedgewood.

The photogenic drawing, which is a negative obtained by laying the leaf on light-sensitive paper and exposing it to the sun, was attributed to Henry Fox Talbot, one of the pioneers of early photography. Schaaf, an expert on Fox Talbot, says that a "W" on the image may refer to Thomas Wedgewood, who was a member of the Wedgewood china family.

200-year-old image of a leaf, which lay for years in an album, may be the world's oldest photograph, according to research by a scholar.

The photogenic drawing, a negative obtained by laying the leaf on light-sensitive paper and exposing it to the sun, has been attributed to Henry Fox Talbot, one of the pioneers of photography.

Horse racing is coming under fire from animal rights group PETA (which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The organization states that they will hold a protest of the second leg of horse racing's triple crown, the Preakness Stakes, because of the deaths of Barbaro, who won the run roses but died in following race held at Pimilico Racetrack in 2006, and Eight Belles who broke down after finishing second at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

PETA is pushing for a wide array of changes to thoroughbred industry. The group staged a protest yesterday in Lexington, Kentucky, with 20 protesters with signs that had sayings such as "Stop Racing Horses to the Grave". A PETA spokesperson said this of the horse racing industry:

"Unfortunately, money and speed is all that matters to these people, and Eight Belles is the most famous recent example in a string of broken and dead animals," Lindsay Rajt stated.

The trainer of Eight Belles shot back at PETA saying they were capitalizing on a tragic situation and using the horrific event as a fundraiser for their organization. Larry Jones, who trained the filly, stated:

Triathelete David Martin, 66, died on Solana Beach Friday after a shark lifted him out of the water with his legs in its jaws, which left deep lacerations and shredded Martin's wetsuit. Helicopters continue to scan the coastline in search of the shark, which is believed to be a great white shark, that killed Martin.

According to city and county officials, beaches in San Diego will remain closed, and will be patrolled throughout the weekend.

While the weekend weather forecasts promises dry winds and summery temperatures, tempting weather to head to the beach, those thousands who would normally make a beeline for the beach will now have to weigh the risks of ignoring authorities and risking their lives to take a dip in the ocean.

David Martin was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994. Before that, the last known fatal shark attack in the area was in 1959.

Experts indicate that the likelihood of finding the shark that attacked Martin, a retired veterinarian, was slim.

Sharks are a rare occurrence in SoCal, however, female great white sharks occasionally swim south to pup. Experts believe that the bite pattern on Martin's legs indicate that the shark was a great white that was 12 to 17 feet long.

Hallmarks of British humor such as sarcasm and self-deprecation don't always travel well, and according to researchers, may be down to genetics.

Rod Martin, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, indicated that television shows such as The Office of Fawlty Towers show that people in Britain enjoy cruel and dark humor more than people from other countries. Briths may have a greater tolerance for a wide range of expressions of humor, said Martin.

For example, in the US version of The Office, the lead character is far less insensitive and intolerant the the one in the UK version.

Researchers studied 2,000 pairs of British twins and 500 pairs of American twins. What they found was that both groups enjoyed positive humor, but only the British appreciated sarcasm, self-depracation, teasing and ridicule, and the less pleasing aspects of racist or sexist humor.

"In North American families there was a genetic basis to positive humour, but negative humour seems to be entirely learnt," said Martin.

They also found that television humor in Britain was more biting, where as in the US it tended to be blander.

According to an Associated Press survey of 28 major metropolitan areas, prescription and non-prescription drugs were found in the watersheds of more than a few cities. Data was obtained from 62 major water providers and independent researchers.

Test procedures at each location varied wildly. Some researchers tested for more drugs than others. In all, 35 said that they tested, four said tests were negative, and three were awaiting results. 27 locations said that they did not test watershed supplies.

At least one pharmaceutical or byproduct was detected in the treated drinking water supplies. Coffee and tobacco are widely used, and researchers said that their byproducts are often a good indicator for the presence of pharmaceuticals. Researchers therefore routinely test for, and quite often find, caffeine and the metabolite in nicotine, cotinine, more often than any other drugs.

The following metro ares tested positive for the presence of drugs:

Arlington, Texas: 1 (unspecified pharmaceutical)

Atlanta: 3 (acetaminophen, caffeine and cotinine)

Cincinnati: 1 (caffeine)

Columbus, Ohio: 5 (azithromycin, roxithromycin, tylosin, virginiamycin and caffeine)

Concord, Calif.: 2 (meprobamate and sulfamethoxazole)

Denver: (unspecified antibiotics)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said that an Eastern gray wolf killed on a western Massachusetts farm was the first of its species spotted in the state in 160 years. The wolf, which was killed after mauling 13 sheep, was the first Eastern gray wolf confirmed in the sate since the species was driven out of the area by hunters in the 1800s.

THomas Healy, head of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Northeast region, said, "To find a real one is pretty exciting. But what we don't know about this animal far outweighs what we do know."

According to Healy, the wolf likely made its way to Massachusetts from Canada or the Great Lakes region. He noted that there is no indication that the wolves are breeding in the area.

Some wildlife specialists, however, have suggested that a resurgence of gray wolves in the New England area could help balance out the ecosystem, especially when it comes to controlling deer populations.

In 2005, President George W. Bush signed into law a broad energy bill that will extend Daylight Savings Time by four weeks. The United States had previously observed DST from the first Sunday in April through the last Sunday in October, however under the new law DST begins in March and ends in November. The new period of DST went into effect in 2007, and continues again this year.

In 2008, Daylight Savings Time will begin on 2:00 a.m. March 9, which is this upcoming weekend. At this time, you will need to turn your clocks ahead one hour.

In other Daylight Savings Time related news, a new study out of Indiana shows that while conventional wisdom has claimed that DST saves on energy, that's simply not the case.

According to the Wall Street Journal, who first reported on the Indiana study, springing forward may actually waste energy rather than save it.

The study, which was conducted by the University of California-Santa Barbara economics professor Matthew Kotchen and Ph.D. student Laura Grant, looked at how extending daylight savings time across Indiana worked out. What they found was that it mostly had negative results:

• Residential electricity usage increased between 1 percent and 4 percent, amounting to $8.6 million a year.

Due to questionable weather conditions yesterday, US Navy officials were not sure if their plan to shoot down a rogue US spy satellite would be able to be carried out on Wednesday. But the weather conditions cleared up well enough for the mission to proceed.

The USS Lake Erie in the Pacific launched a Raytheon Co. heat-seeking missile at the 5,000-pound satellite. President Bush had approved the mission last week, citing the potential danger the satellite and its 1,000-pounds of toxic fuel could cause if it crashed to earth.

The Navy shot two missiles up at the satellite, which were positioned so that only small remnants of the satellite would fall back to earth in the Pacific Ocean. According to a senior US defense official, everything went as planned.

Of course we have some awesome video footage of the event, which you can check out here:

Weather conditions may force the US Navy to halt plans to launch a heat-seeking missile on a mission to shoot down a rogue US spy satellite, said the Pentagon on Wednesday. High seas in the north Pacific, and other factors are being considered as the Navy decides whether to proceeds with the mission or put it off for another day.

But according to an official at the Pentagon, it is assumed that the mission would go forth Wednesday evening, unless weather conditions are determined to be unfavorable. Early on Wednesday they were facing bad weather and rough seas, which could be a problem for the USS Lake Erie, a cruiser armed with two SM-3 missiles. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will get the final call on whether to go forth.

The Pentagon had also been waiting for the return of the space shuttle Atlantis to the Earth, before launching the missile. Atlantis landed at 9:07am EST, so that is no longer a factor holding up the mission.

The satellite is expected to have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere by February 29, which gives them a short window of opportunity to shoot it down. Once the satellite enters the atmosphere, it would be infeasible to attempt to hit it with the Navy missile.