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December 3, 2012 Texting may not always be the best method of communication, but it can be a promising support network for smokers who want to quit. Several recent studies show that receiving an encouraging text can help stave off a cigarette craving and boost motivation to quit for good.

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December 2, 2012 NCPRScientists and citizens are filling up a database on dead critters with their smartphones. The EpiCollect app pulls data such as location, speed limit and the carcass's condition. Wildlife ecologist Danielle Garneau says the project tracks animal movement and may help protect species in the future.

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December 1, 2012 The Internet shutdowns in Syria and Egypt have shown how governments can thwart activists who mobilize and promote their cause online. Some countries claim that control is their right, but will the rest of the world agree?

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November 29, 2012 The "prediction market" site Intrade's decision to close in the U.S. highlights how the company exists in a regulatory gray area, somewhere between trading and betting. Intrade says it hopes to operate legally in the U.S. eventually. In the meantime, American users must close their accounts by year's end.

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November 29, 2012 Facebook has a long history of upsetting its users by suddenly announcing a change to its privacy settings. In 2009, as a way to quiet the critics, Facebook set up a system for its customers to vote on changes. If enough of them were unhappy, the company would back down. Now, Facebook wants to get rid of the voting.

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November 29, 2012 A new way to clean spinach combines an old technique and a new one to get the disease-causing bacteria. But there aren't any commercial orders for the ultrasonic spinach spa just yet.

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November 29, 2012 A 21-year-old was arrested after she questioned the shutdown of Mumbai for the funeral of a controversial political leader; her friend was arrested for simply "liking" the post. The comment angered the politician's supporters, who some say intimidated police into making the arrests.

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November 27, 2012 Apple issued a public apology over its maps application and had already fired an executive over the bungling of the software. This time it was the manager who oversaw the project who was pushed out.

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November 27, 2012 Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, is changing the way the Chinese communicate and has become a major source of news. Its more than 300 million users are, among other things, using it to criticize government policies, stop official injustice and help ordinary people — but only up to a point.

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November 26, 2012 The Bay of Biscay, off Spain's northern coast, is notorious for its huge surf, which has claimed countless lives in shipwrecks over the centuries. Now Spanish engineers have found a way to harness the power of those big waves to produce electricity.

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November 26, 2012 A fake press release about a $400 million purchase sent one company's penny stock up sharply. News outlets that reported the story missed some telltale signs that it might be a hoax.

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