iPhones, Homeland Security and Radiohead on a ukulele

SCIENCE
Plosone.org

Higher rates of diagnosed autism among the wealthy have long been thought to be the result of affluent families having better access to those who actually diagnose autism. However, a new study argues that the condition itself might actually be more common at the higher end of the income spectrum. Read why here: Ind.pn/doiTeD

PHOTOGRAPHY
Reuters.com

Vincent West, a photographer for the Reuters news agency, explains how he got such great pictures at the yearly running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain last week. He explains the dash takes three minutes and sees six bulls vie for space with the brave and the stupid. Photojournalism at its most bloody and gratuitous. Ind.pn/9CtJt7

TECHNOLOGY
Slate.com

The iPhone 4 has been plagued by accusations of malfunctions ever since it was launched last month. Here, ‘Slate’ magazine asks if after refusing, at a press conference last week, to apologise for the smartphone’s reception problems and shirking its responsibility, is Apple becoming too big for its technological boots? Ind.pn/9wXdlk

SOCIETY
Wired.com

It’s the security story of the decade: ‘The Washington Post’ has published a database of the locations and budgets of nearly one million contractors engaged in domestic security operations in the United States. It’s part of ballooning post-9/11 security industry; which some feel has got way out of hand. Ind.pn/bksad9

MUSIC
Music.ArmandaPalmer.net

Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” is the one of the most covered singles on YouTube; something about its plaintive lyrics makes it attractive to musicians filming themselves performing solo. Ukulele aficionado Amanda Palmer kills a swathe of Radiohead’s classics with her mini-axe here: Ind.pn/9FPM1R

FILM
FirstShowing.net

It’s a long way from ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt now has one of the two funny lines in Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-buster, ‘Inception’, along with one of the most promising careers in Hollywood. In this interview he discusses how he performed all his own stunts. Ind.pn/amC5BNx

TECHNOLOGY
ReadWriteWeb.com

Location-based apps like FourSquare are the latest must-have, but where do they go next? Apps like Loopt take advantage of the latest iPhone software, allowing “checking-in” to happen automatically. Sound like Big Brother? Could facial recognition software and ‘Minority-Report’-style advertising be next ? Ind.pn/dnqTrT

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