Good News for S&M Aficionados, Ancient Babies

Sleeping Baby

What hurts you makes you stronger as a couple. Researchers have found in a small study that S&M activities prompted hormonal changes that could make participants feel closer.

Also in today's links: possible best computer ever, a lame toy based on a good premise

• The 530,000-year-old skeleton of a child who appeared to have lived to about 10 despite having a rare skull deformity suggests that ancient humans may not have immediately killed or abandoned children born with defects.
• I really, really hope this isn't an early April Fool's Day joke. A Russian magazine claims Apple will be releasing an $899 netbook with impressive specs.
• Anything having to do with predicting future obesity in infants makes me so, so uncomfortable. A study has found that rapid weight gain in infancy increases the likelihood that a child will be obese by age 3. You know there are people who will read this article and put their 3-month-old on a diet, even though the researcher explicitly says not to.
• Two new games let people harness their brain waves to levitate objects. I just wish it was something a bit cooler than getting a ball to hover in the air - albeit with encouragement from Yoda. (I wouldn't pay $80 to $100 to do it.) The possible future applications -- such as monitors for brain waves to make sure people are sufficiently alert to drive -- sound much more impressive.