Headlines from August 12, 2013

Scientists recreate four-billion-year-old proteins—though there’s no way of knowing how accurate they are.
Family farms aren’t exactly disappearing—like industrial farms, they’re just exploding in size. #charts
A new paper posits a formula to determine whether a country’s livestock antibiotic use is worth the risk. #food
How CDC researchers tracked down a 1996 salmonella outbreak to a Komodo dragon at the Denver Zoo.
Of children with a gene mutation that can cause certain cancers, 10% also have autism.
New research shows children with chronic stomach pains are more likely to have anxiety disorders as adults.
Sketch briefly Sir Walter Rawleigh, Peter Stuyvesant. Eighth-grade exam from 1912.
Britain’s youngest-ever barrister is 18—she started her first degree at 14.
Norwegian Prime Minister works incognito as a taxi driver to hear citizens’ true opinions.
Engineer invents glassware that changes color if date rape drugs are detected in a drink.
Robot bees from Harvard are touted as possible replacement pollinators. #video
Pixar changes the Finding Nemo sequel’s ending based on Blackfish‘s critique of orca treatment.
They bite because they’re hungry, and testicles sit nicely in their mouth. Denmark warns swimmers of an aquatic threat.
Using previously inaccessible tax output data, a bevy of maps show New York in new ways.
Alexis Madrigal on how streaming has changed his music listening habits.
I know that spaceships should not be this pristine. See also: Giles Turnbull on the album covers that shaped his brain. #tmn
Idaho grocery chain WinCo called WalMart’s “worst nightmare” because it provides health-care plans and pensions to most employees.
All drinking isn’t created equal. Economist challenges conventional wisdom about pregnancy.
Economists say with sad certainty that yes, first-born girls do cause divorce. #audio
Photo essay from a week in the life of a sex worker in small-town Pennsylvania, who commutes there from San Francisco for the money.
Fascinating body-language guide to knowing exactly what Tiger Woods thinks of his shots.
See also: Big pictures of California’s wind-whipped Silver Fire. #photography
Attention, Steven Pinker: Science doesn’t need defending from the humanities, nor should it replace them. #opinion
Tech-savvy Reddit users list “the most mindblowing recent advancements most people still don’t know about.”
Recent Russian law that requires a disclaimer about gays is nearly the same as a ban passed in Britain in 1987.
Brief history of the children’s menu, partially caused by Prohibition and initially heavy on the lamb chops.
The Middle East now accounts for almost a third of the worldwide sales by volume of non-alcoholic beer.
Paul Bowles essay for Holiday Magazine, 1963, about recording Moroccan music for the Library of Congress. #longreads
Artist creates map of Manhattan using only handwritten directions from strangers.
Builders of a 47-story Spanish skyscraper forgot to include a working elevator.
“Send Me to Heaven” app exists to record how high you can toss your smartphone before possibly destroying it.
Somewhat related: Luminous pictures of confessional booths. #photography #tmn
Boootube: All of YouTube’s worst-rated videos compiled in a single location.