Abortion, immigration changes among new 2012 laws (AP)

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

Many laws reflect the nation's concerns over immigration, the cost of government and the best way to protect and benefit young people, including regulations on sports concussions.

Alabama, with the country's toughest immigration law, is enacting a key provision requiring all employers who do business with any government entity to use a federal system known as E-Verify to check that all new employees are in the country legally.

Georgia is putting a similar law into effect requiring any business with 500 or more employees to use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of new hires. The requirement is being phased in, with all employers with more than 10 employees to be included by July 2013.

Supporters said they wanted to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Georgia by making it tougher for them to work. Critics said that changes to immigration law should come at the federal level and that portions of the law already in effect are already hurting Georgia.

"It is destroying Georgia's economy and it is destroying the fabric of our social network in South Georgia," Paul Bridges, mayor of the onion-farming town of Uvalda, said in November. He is part of a lawsuit challenging the new law.

Tennessee will also require businesses to ensure employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. but exempts employers with five or fewer workers and allows them to keep a copy of the new hire's driver's license instead of using E-Verify.

A South Carolina law would allow officials to yank the operating licenses of businesses that don't check new hires' legal status through E-verify. A federal judge last week blocked parts of the law that would have required police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects or people stopped for traffic violations they think might be in the country illegally, and that would have made it a crime for illegal immigrants to transport or house themselves.

California is also addressing illegal immigration, but with a bill that allows students who entered the country illegally to receive private financial aid at public colleges.

Many laws aim to protect young people. In Colorado, coaches will be required to bench players as young as 11 when they're believed to have suffered a head injury. The young athletes will also need medical clearance to return to play.

The law also requires coaches in public and private schools and even volunteer Little League and Pop Warner football coaches to take free annual online training to recognize the symptoms of a concussion. At least a dozen other states have enacted similar laws with the support of the National Football League.

People 18 and under in Illinois will have to wear seat belts while riding in taxis for school-related purposes, and Illinois school boards can now suspend or expel students who make explicit threats on websites against other students or school employees.

Florida will take control of lunch and other school food programs from the federal government, allowing the state to put more Florida-grown fresh fruit and vegetables on school menus. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says the change will help children eat healthier.

A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. The law also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.

Opponents have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.

In New Hampshire, a law requiring girls seeking abortions to tell their parents or a judge first was reinstated by conservative Republicans over a gubernatorial veto. The state enacted a similar law eight years ago, but it was never enforced following a series of lawsuits.

In Arkansas, facilities that perform 10 or more nonsurgical abortions a month must be licensed by the state Health Department and be subject to inspections by the department, the same requirements faced by facilities that offer surgical abortions in the state.

It affects two Planned Parenthood facilities that offer the abortion pill, though they're not singled out in the statute.

Among federal laws, a measure Congress passed last week to extend Social Security tax cuts and federal unemployment benefit programs raises insurance fees on new mortgages and refinancings backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration by 0.1 percent beginning Jan. 1.

That covers about 90 percent of them and effectively makes a borrower's monthly payment on a new $200,000 mortgage or refinancing about $17 a month more than it would have been if obtained before the first of the year.

Nevada's 3-month old ban on texting while driving will get tougher, with tickets replacing the warnings that police have issued since the ban took effect Oct. 1. In Pennsylvania, police are preparing to enforce that state's recently enacted ban on texting, scheduled to take effect by spring.

Election law changes in Rhode Island and Tennessee will require voters to present photo ID, a measure that supporters say prevents fraud and that opponents say will make it harder for minorities and the elderly to cast ballots.

In Ohio, a measure that creates one primary in March, instead of two that would have cost the state an extra $15 million, goes into effect later in January.

Ohio is also one of eight states with automatic increases in the minimum wage taking effect Jan. 1. The others, with increases between 28 and 37 cents, are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

A few laws try to address budget woes. In Delaware, new state employees will have to contribute more to their pensions, while state workers hired after Jan. 1 in Nevada will have to pony up for their own health care costs in retirement.

Jan. 1 is the effective date in many states for laws passed during this year's legislative sessions. In others, laws take effect July 1, or 90 days after passage.

___

Welsh-Huggins reported from Columbus, Ohio, and can be reached at http://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_us/us_new_laws

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General: Improve US coordination with Pakistan (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Military officials have not ruled out disciplinary action as a result of the cross-border attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, but no one has been punished to date, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

An investigation into the late-November incident concluded that a persistent lack of trust between the U.S. and Pakistan, and a series of communications and coordination errors on both sides, led to the attacks.

Navy Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said military leaders will use the final report on the investigation to determine if anyone should be punished. Those decisions, he said, would be made by officers in the chain of command, depending on whether they found that mistakes were made by U.S. or NATO personnel.

As a result of the probe, the top U.S. general for the Middle East issued a list of improvements Monday he said must be made to keep similar mistakes from happening.

U.S. Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, ordered commanders in Afghanistan to improve coordination of operations along the Afghan-Pakistan border with Pakistani military, and ensure that all border stations are listed correctly on maps.

Mattis also ordered commanders to confirm border post locations before beginning operations along the border. And he ordered commanders to share military practices and procedures with the Pakistanis so they can better understand U.S. operations.

It's not certain the new orders will solve the problems, because Pakistan refused to participate in the investigation. It still is unclear why Pakistani troops initially fired on U.S. soldiers who had landed by helicopter near a village close to the border as part of a mission to go after insurgents.

The U.S. investigation found that the Pakistani forces fired first and that U.S. troops acted in self-defense. But U.S. efforts to determine if there were Pakistani forces in the area were foiled by bad maps, poor coordination and Islamabad's failure to provide the locations of its border posts.

The investigation, headed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Clark, an Air Force special operations officer, found that U.S. forces relying on erroneous maps and poor communications, determined that there were no Pakistani forces or border posts in the area. So they concluded that they were being fired on by insurgents.

U.S. forces also believed that since they had landed in distinctive, noisy Chinook helicopters and fired off warning flares, any friendly forces would have realized that they were shooting at American or NATO troops.

The report also revealed that a U.S. C-130 gunship briefly flew about two miles into Pakistan airspace during the assault.

Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas has rejected the U.S. report and insisted that Pakistani forces retaliated only after coalition helicopters "started engagement." And he denied that Pakistan failed to notify NATO of the location of the two border posts that were attacked.

Pakistani officials have said the report is unlikely to repair the severely damaged relationship between the two countries.

In response to the incident, Pakistan shut down key border supply routes for the Afghanistan war and threw the U.S. out of its Shamsi air base in southwestern Baluchistan province. The base was used to maintain drones deployed in strikes against insurgents hiding in safe havens in Pakistan's lawless border region.

Pakistan has closed the border on at least two other occasions after disputes with the U.S. but reopened the supply routes after less than two weeks. American officials have acknowledged the closures are likely to last longer this time.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_pakistan_airstrikes

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iPad 3 Home Buttons leaks in China!

According to 9to5mac, iPad 3 home buttons has been leaked around China. ?In comparison with the iPad 2 home buttons, the iPad 3 would bring some design changes.

In the image above, some minor differences are noticeable such as The iPad 3 home button?s icon (the square) seems to be relatively thicker than the iPad 2?s. Now,?you may wonder what these changes have anything to do with the overall design of the next generation iPad.

  1. The iPad 3 will come in both black and white just like the iPad 2 if these are the legitimate home buttons that are being used in the final product.
  2. The home buttons represents that the iPad 3 is not in their final stages of production.
  3. The iPad 3 will come with the home button as there were some rumors of Apple replacing them with ?Multitasking Gestures?.

The iPad 3 home button internal?s tells us another story as well. ?The internals of the iPad 3 home buttons is smaller than the iPad 2?s. ?Apple could be saving space for other things. ?The next generation iPad is said to 1mm thicker to accommodate the rumored iPad Retina Display.

?

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GumballTech/~3/-Iw-5WcHFQI/

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Max Keiser On The Shocking Real Debt To GDP Ratio Of Britain

It?s always a pleasure to talk with Max, and in this interview he drops a bombshell that I still have a hard time even contemplating: the claim that the UK?s private debt to GDP ratio is 950%, and the finance sector alone has a debt ratio of 600% of GDP.

Our discussion starts at the 14 minute mark.

I still have to see the data for myself, and until then I?ll remain skeptical, but below is a chart allegedly sourced from Morgan Stanley that makes that claim.

chart

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/clusterstock/~3/_qQJLJY5mHs/max-keiser-on-the-shocking-real-debt-to-gdp-ratio-of-britain-2011-12

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World economy to trudge on in 2012 despite Europe: Reuters poll (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Europe faces another year of dismal economic performance in 2012 that will weigh on global growth, but emerging markets and the United States should at least keep the world economy moving in the right direction.

There are several reasons why next year may be nothing to look forward to, according to Reuters polls from the last few months.

Many of the world's biggest developed economies are heading into recession, global stock markets look set to recoup only a fraction of their heavy losses in 2011, oil prices will head lower, and asset managers are unsure where best to invest.

And these could be the best-case scenarios.

Most economists base their assumptions on the hope that the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis will not boil over into a new global economic crisis, having already dented growth in major exporters to Europe.

Still, most of the major emerging market economies like Brazil and China should pick up speed later next year. All of them have suffered from slowing economies in recent months, caused mainly by tightening monetary policy in the face of high inflation.

"It's important to stress the world economy is still growing. But it's a tale of two worlds," said Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

"The storyline for 2012 is that Europe drags the world down in the first half of the year, and China drags it up in the second half of the year."

Enormous political risks cloud the outlook further, with elections and leadership changes in the most powerful countries and the prospect of continuing turmoil in the Middle East.

Still, there are glimmers of hope. The United States' economy has performed better than most had hoped over the last quarter, and Reuters' polls of economists show it growing around 2.2 percent in 2012, compared with zero growth in the euro zone.

"The big unknown in Europe and the U.S. is that big companies, with balance sheets in good shape, have the ability to invest at home if they want. It's more likely that will take place in the U.S. rather than Europe," said Lyons.

THE EURO ZONE QUESTION

European Union leaders took a historic step towards greater fiscal integration earlier in December, but economists have been clear that this would not ease a debt crisis entering its third year and still hogging the headlines in 2012.

Reuters polls show real concern that leaders are doing far too little to stimulate growth, with the likes of Spain and Italy destined for long and painful recessions.

The euro zone as a whole, meanwhile, is probably in a moderate recession right now that will last midway into 2012.

"The euro area continues to be a source of economic and financial instability for the rest of the world," said Juan Perez-Campanero, economist at Santander, in a research note.

"We could be facing a more permanent and lasting decline in growth capacity in developed economies and, particularly, the euro area."

Whether Spain and Italy will need to seek funding from the euro zone's bailout facility next year is open to question, with a very slim majority of economists polled this month - 27 out of 56 - saying not.

And a November survey of 20 top economists and former policymakers in academia and respected research institutes showed 14 of them do not expect the euro zone to survive in its current form.

Even in Japan, where economists have downgraded growth forecasts relentlessly, the economy is expected to pick up in the fiscal year from April and expand 1.8 percent. Japan should narrowly avoid a recession, but polls show little hope it will emerge from deflation any time soon.

ASSESSING THE ASSETS

The severe uncertainty surrounding 2012 is perhaps best reflected by Reuters' asset allocation poll of more than 50 leading investment houses in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Investors raised their cash balance to the highest in a year in December as they prepared for a jittery 2012, although they also moved back into cheap equities, Reuters polls showed on Monday.

The euro zone crisis was the key concern of asset managers polled, hence the increased preference for cash as well as moves into British and Asian shares rather than European ones.

Similarly, the last quarterly stock markets poll suggested emerging markets will easily outperform European share indexes in 2012, which will struggle to bounce back to end-2010 levels, never mind end-2011.

With Europe heading into a recession, oil prices look set to fall from here. Brent crude will average $105 a barrel next year, not far below this year's record high average near $111.

"We expect a mild recession across the OECD next year to put a damper on demand and consequently prices," David Wech from Vienna-based consultants JBC Energy said. "Nevertheless, the risk to oil prices is definitely on the upside given a still troubled geopolitical environment."

Economic growth is likely to slow among the Gulf's wealthy oil exporters next year, but governments will remain able to spend to counter the impact of any global slump, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Respondents cited the euro zone debt crisis and signs of slowing growth in China as reasons for the darkened economic outlook in the Gulf.

DELAYED CHINESE CHEERS

Whatever the euro zone's future, the effects of the debt crisis have already been felt across the world. The European Union is China's biggest export market, and manufacturing data there show dwindling levels of foreign new orders.

Indeed, the Chinese economy is now growing at its weakest pace since 2009. In an effort to support it the central bank cut reserve requirements at the end of last month for the first time in three years.

Economists polled by Reuters after this move, however, said the People's Bank of China will refrain from more aggressive stimulative policies unless growth falls sharply to below 8 percent.

Similarly, India has been suffering from a pronounced slowdown in growth and Reuters polls suggest its central bank will also slacken monetary policy by mid-2012 to counter this, despite stubbornly high inflation. It could be in for a difficult year.

"Looking ahead, the economy faces the lagged effects of monetary tightening," said Leif Eskesen, economist HSBC in Singapore.

"Moreover, administrative hurdles and domestic policy paralysis are holding back investments and hurting sentiment."

Brazil's central bank on Thursday cut its 2011 growth estimate to 3.0 percent, versus its previous estimate of 3.5 percent, and said 2012 would see growth of 3.5 percent.

Compared with previous years where growth averaged near double-digit rates, that would be a disappointment, although still a fair improvement on the anaemic rates of most developed peers.

Overall, even the slightly depressed growth rates from these developing economic powers will power world growth next year.

"It is positive growth, but the picture does vary considerably - not just in terms of the first and second half of the year, but also depending on which part of the world you look at," concluded Lyons from Standard Chartered.

(Analysis by Sumanta Dey in Bangalore, Additional reporting by Anooja Debnath in Singapore, Zaida Espana and Peter Apps in London; Polling by Reuters Polls Bangalore, Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111225/bs_nm/us_wrapup2012_polls

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Winter Park opera singer among 4 additions to Florida Artists Hall of Fame

10:51 a.m. EST, December 24, 2011

TALLAHASSEE, Florida ? Jensen Beach actor, writer, director and filmmaker Ricou Browning is among four new members who will be inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.

Browning's film work includes the James Bond thriller "Thunderball" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon." His television credits include "Flipper" and "Seahunt."

Others who will be inducted into the hall in March are Jupiter painter Jackie Brice, Jacksonville architect-writer Robert C. Broward and Winter Park opera singer Louis Roney.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning, no relation to Ricou, announced the selection of the new inductees on Thursday.


The Hall of Fame in Tallahassee currently has more than 30 inductees.

They include actor Burt Reynolds, musician Ray Charles and writers Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway and Zora Neale Hurston.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/orlandosentinelbreakingnews/~3/BxwCL_hDIyY/os-louis-roney-florida-artists-hall-of-fame-20111224,0,6896774.story

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People's President Mr Tony chose to celebrate holy Christmas eve with minority race

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...chief-interpol

French breast implant chief wanted by Interpol

Jean-Claude Mas is the founder of PIP whose breast implants are at the centre of a global health scare

reddit this

Jasmine Coleman
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 24 December 2011 11.30 GMT
Article history

Jean-Claude Mas
Jean-Claude Mas is CEO and founder of the French Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) Photograph: Interpol/EPA

Interpol is seeking the arrest of Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of a French company whose breast implants are at the centre of a global health scare.

The international police agency has issued a so-called red notice for Mas.

His firm Poly Implant Protheses (PIP), which went into administration last year, supplied implants to tens of thousands of women in Europe and South America.

Interpol's website says the 72-year-old is wanted by Costa Rican authorities for crimes involving "life and health" but gives no further details.

France has offered to pay for an estimated 30,000 women in the country to have their PIP implants removed because of risks the products could rupture and leak industrial-grade silicone.

They are filled with an unapproved non-medical grade material - believed to be made for mattresses - and there have been reports that the protective barriers are faulty.

At least 40,000 British women are believed to have the implants.

But the Department of Health said it was not echoing the French advice and that there was "no evidence" of a safety concern.

Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies said: "Women with PIP implants should not be unduly worried. We have no evidence of a link to cancer or an increased risk of rupture.

"If women are concerned, they should speak to their surgeon. I will be writing to GPs so that they are aware of the concerns women may have and can talk them through with their patients.

"While we respect the French government's decision, no other country is taking similar steps because we currently have no evidence to support it.

"Because of this, and because removing these implants carries risk in itself, we are not advising routine removal of these implants."

Health experts will continue to examine any further evidence from France and across the world, she added.

Figures from the UK medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), suggest 84,300 PIP implants have been sold in the UK since 2001.

France has reported rupture rates of around 5%, compared with 1% in the UK, according to the MHRA.

A spokesman said: "We therefore do not believe that the associated risks of surgery from breast implant removal can be justified without further evidence.

"We will continue liaising with the French medicines and medical devices regulator and we are awaiting the evidence to support the decision made in France.

"This will be evaluated as a matter of priority by our clinical and toxicological experts and we will issue further advice if necessary.

"In the absence of strong clear evidence to the contrary, we see no reason to alter our current advice that there is no need to routinely remove these PIP breast implants."

However, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) differed from the government's view and said it considered the French advice "not unreasonable".

BAAPS president Fazel Fatah said: "If women are concerned or experience adverse symptoms they should see their surgeon, to discuss options such as having a scan to determine whether there is any weakening or rupture. If there is, we reiterate our previous recommendations ? to have both implants removed."

More than 270 women in the UK reportedly intend to sue the clinics where they were fitted with PIP implants.

Their lawyers welcomed the recommendation by the French authorities and said they thought the women should have the implants removed.

Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, which is representing more than 250 women, said some of his clients had complained of inflammation, fatigue and fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal pain disorder.

He criticised the way the situation had been handled as it had caused panic and suggested the government should order clinics to remove and replace the implants at their cost and not the taxpayer's.

The use of PIP implants are now banned after the manufacturer went into liquidation.

Source: http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?106864-People-s-President-Mr-Tony-chose-to-celebrate-holy-Christmas-eve-with-minority-race&goto=newpost

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WTA, Sony end eight-year partnership

Sony Ericsson will end its sponsorship of the WTA next year, bringing to an end an eight-year association which once included title sponsor rights for the telecoms giant.

Sony's deal with the governing body of the women's tour began in 2005 and followed a two-year period when the WTA lacked a title sponsor.

But their parternership will now finish at the end of 2012.

"The WTA-Sony Ericsson partnership has over the past seven years taken women?s tennis to new heights of popularity and success, and broadened the audience for the sport across the globe," said a WTA statement.

"Sony Ericsson?s business and brand has evolved over the past seven years, and they have decided that 2012 will be the eighth and final year of the partnership.

"They have been a great partner and we will miss them. We look forward to the next phase of growth with our existing and future partners."

Source: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8394604

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Scientists discover how water makes chili peppers hotter

The spiciest peppers tend to struggle in areas where water is scarce, a research team studying Bolivian chili peppers have discovered.

Biting into a hot chili may leave you grabbing for a glass of water, but that same spiciness leaves the pepper parched when water runs short, new research suggests.

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Researchers have found that the spiciest peppers have the most trouble where water is scarce: They make fewer seeds and therefore leave fewer offspring, giving non-spicy chilies a distinct advantage in dry climates.

"There is a trade-off. The pungent plants aren't allowed to?use their water resource as well?as non-pungent plants," said study researcher David Haak of Indiana University. They do have the advantage in wetter climates, though: Non-spicy chilies are less able to fight off fungi.

Haak and other researchers grew wild chilies in a lab to study the effects of different environmental conditions, following up on five sampling trips they made to Bolivia from 2002 through 2009 where they studied the spiciness of chilies in different climates.

Spicy peppers

In 2008 the researchers discovered that the pungency of wild peppers ? determined by their amount of?spicy chemicals called capsaicinoids?? varies by where they are growing. The population of peppers they studied came from varying climates of southeastern Bolivia, from those with little water to areas where water is plenty. They found the spice-less peppers were more abundant in areas with little water.

There are threats toward the plants in each area: In the wet areas they have to fight off more fungi, which grow better in the moisture, while in dry areas they have to fight to keep the moisture they need to live. The capsaicinoids work in the chili as?anti-fungal compounds; they kill the fungi that normally would live on peppers and keep rats from eating the fruits.

In the wetter region in the southwest, "we noticed that there was an increase in this fungal pathogen and this increase in pungent plants in this population, and those?plants were also getting hotter," Haak told LiveScience. "Why do not-hot chilies still exist, if being hot is advantageous against this fungal pathogen?"

Holey plants

So the researchers studied wild plants in the lab, both spicy and not, and deprived them of water during their fruiting cycle (which normally happens during the drier seasons). The researchers found that when it's dry out, production of these chemicals can be costly to the plants: The pungent plants end up producing 50 percent fewer seeds if they are water-starved, while the non-hot plants were unaffected.

The researchers then looked at the plant's stomata ? the pores that let water and air in and out of the plant cells. They saw that the pungent plants had lots more of these little holes (40 percent greater density) than the non-pungent plants did. This could account for their water loss.

Like tomatoes and other relatives,?chili peppers?aren't very good at regulating how these pores open and close, so if they have more of them, they lose more water, Haak said.

The proteins involved in both spiciness and in building stomata are probably regulated by the same pathway, and genetic changes to this pathway could be the reason why?some plants are spicier?and have more stomata (and therefore don't deal with drought as well).

The study was published today (Dec. 21) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter?@livescience?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/c57eh6sRqrk/Scientists-discover-how-water-makes-chili-peppers-hotter

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