The intellectual difference between the sexes is all in the mind, according to a leading psychologist who claims that men overstate how clever they are whereas women underplay their intelligence.
Prof Adrian Furnham, of University College London, has analysed the results of 25 studies of sex differences in IQ. His overview backs the idea of what is known as the “male hubris, female humility“ effect, Telegraph.co.uk reported.
The studies show women tend to give significantly lower estimates than men of their own intelligence--about five IQ points--while men tend to overestimate their brain power.
“Whether men are brighter is another matter,“ Prof Furnham said.
Men appear to be more confident, not brighter, he says, which ’’can have beneficial effects in the interview and even the examination room“.
In comparisons of how people estimate their own intelligence there is a bias in those--called outliers--who get it badly wrong.
For men, it tends to be those average-to-dim males who overestimate their intelligence, while often very bright women who fail to rank their own IQ tend to underestimate the difference.
What is surprising, Prof Furnham adds, is that both men and women tend to think their grandfathers are brighter than grandmothers, fathers brighter than mothers and sons brighter than daughters.
This difference in perceived IQ matches the estimate of the actual difference between how the sexes score in IQ tests, which is only three to five IQ points, says Prof Furnham. So this enduring difference between male and female grey matter could reflect belief rather than reality.
However, Prof Furnham adds that there is general agreement that men and women do differ in specialized features of intellectual development.
Men excel in spatial awareness, which underpins navigation and numerical skills.
Women do better in “emotional intelligence“ and language development.
They develop larger vocabularies earlier, use more complex linguistic constructions and read better.
Another view is that the perceived difference between men and women rests on the distribution of IQ: both men and women tend to have the same average IQ but there are more very dim men, and a corresponding number of super bright ones to compensate.

While the written word has taken great leaps in recent years with the advent of computer-based publishing and the global dissemination of text across the web, the humble pen is more or less the same device it has ever been.
Now the consumer electronics company Philips says it has a breakthrough that could change the way we use pens forever, NewScientist.com reported.
What the standard pen does not do so easily, Philips notes, is record the mood of the writer at the moment of writing.
So it has developed a pen with sensors in its shaft that detect physiological factors, such as heart beat, blood pressure, skin temperature, and finger pressure.
The pen also has a small actuator that can change the properties of the line that the pen traces out by switching inks and modifying the shape of the writing tip.
A built-in chip then determines the writer’s emotional state and changes the color and quality of the trace accordingly. The result is a pen that produces a continuous record of how the user felt while writing.
Philips says, “Signatures are currently always the same, yet some documents will be signed with enthusiasm, others possibly with hesitation. Having a recording of this could be useful for historical reasons.“
And if you don’t always want to reveal your true feelings, the company adds that the pen could have a button to switch the effects off. Or you could use a biro.

Rice is the main source of calories as well as protein for billions of people.

Scientists in the United States and India are reporting development of a high-protein variety of rice, dietary staple for half the world’s population.
Researchers have been trying to bolster the protein in rice for five decades, ScienceDaily wrote.
Rice already is a main source of calories as well as protein intake for billions of people, and its enrichment of protein would have a positive impact on millions of poor and malnourished people in developing countries, the report says.
In the study, Hari B. Krishnan and colleagues created a hybrid by crossing a commonly cultivated rice species called Oryza sativa with a wild species, Oryza nivara. The product showed a protein content of 12.4 percent, which is 18 percent and 28 percent higher than those of the parents.
The results demonstrate the potential for wild rice’s relatives for boosting the protein content in rice.
The researchers conclude that the hybrid could serve as initial breeding material for new rice genotypes that could combine types with superior cooking quality with those of high protein content.

A Canadian company has taken a significant step in the development of hydrogen-powered cell phones.
Unlike previous attempts at hydrogen-powered phones, Angstrom Power«s prototype allows the fuel cell to fit comfortably inside the phone, and can last twice as long between refueling than phones powered with lithium ion batteries, Physorg.com said.
Angstrom Power’s hydrogen-powered Motoslvr cell phones were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. The fuel cell version looks identical to the battery version, but another advantage of the new technology is that it can refuel in as little as 10 minutes.
As Paul Zimmerman of Angstrom Power explains, the key advantage of the technology is the ability to fit the fuel cell into the phone itself, rather than being hooked up to an exterior device for power.
With the design of “Micro Hydrogen“ technology, Zimmerman hopes that the company will launch its first commercial fuel cell phones in 2010, and grow from there. If fuel cell phones live up to their promise of better power, the market could be in the hundreds of millions of devices.
However, there are a few obstacles confronting fuel cell phones, including safety and convenience. Angstrom Power--and other companies in the market--will have to provide strong evidence that the phones are not vulnerable to explosions. Angstrom Power says it has tossed its phones into a burning barbecue, and they were able to survive the heat intact.
Another concern about fuel cell phones is the fact that users can«t simply plug in their phones to recharge them. Rather, they«ll have to buy hydrogen fuel--meaning stores will have to sell it.
Or, convenience stores and gas stations would have to provide hydrogen kiosks. Angstrom is trying out another idea, though. The company is developing a home-based water-powered unit, where users simply pour in water to activate the refueling.
Angstrom is currently collaborating with world-leading battery manufacturers, portable electronic device makers and mobile service providers toward the commercialization of its Micro Hydrogen technology.

Using a solarium to gain a suntan increases the risk of developing skin cancer by 98 percent if you are under the age of 35, with one visit heightening the chance of developing a melanoma by 22 percent, said an Australian study.
Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with one in every two people developing some form of skin cancer. About 1,600 Australians die each year from skin cancer, Reuters said.
A decades-long sun safety campaign, encouraging Australians to wear hats and sunblock lotions, is now losing its effectiveness with younger Australians and the solarium tanning industry has rapidly expanded in recent years.
A study by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research found that people under the age of 35 using solariums faced a 98 percent risk of skin cancer and even just one visit to a solarium raised the risk by 22 percent.
“The growth of the solaria industry in Australia has increased four-fold since 1992,“ institute scientist Dr Louisa Gordon said.
“More and more people are going to solariums and are unaware of the health risks. Solariums emit stronger UVB (ultraviolet B light or middle wave ultraviolet light) rays, stronger than the outdoor sun... It’s very dangerous, it’s very high levels of radiation that we shouldn’t be exposed to,“ said Gordon.
The Cancer Council of Australia says solariums can emit UV radiation up to five times as strong as the midday summer sun. The council says a “safe tan“ is a myth, as tanning damages skin.

Children of mothers who followed a Mediterranean diet during their pregnancy are 80% less likely to have persistent wheezing.

Children of women who eat a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables while pregnant are far less likely to develop asthma or allergies later in life, Greek researchers said.
And eating vegetables more than eight times a week, fish more than three times a week and legumes more than once a week seems to boost the protection, the researchers said in the journal Thorax, AFP wrote.
The combination of healthy foods containing a number of known antioxidants and nutrients likely made the difference but more study is needed to show exactly how, they added.
“Further studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms of this protective effect and the most relevant window of exposure,“ Leda Chatzi, a researcher at the University of Crete, and colleagues wrote.
The findings add further evidence to the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet that emphasizes vegetables, fish and healthy fats such as olive and canola oil over red meat.
The researchers based their findings on 468 pregnant women tracked for 6-1/2-years after giving birth using questionnaires on diet.
Parents provided details on respiratory and allergic symptoms of their children, who were also tested for persistent wheezing and allergies.
Children of mothers who followed a high-quality Mediterranean diet were 80 percent less likely to have persistent wheezing, the most common symptom of childhood asthma, the study found. They were also 45 percent less likely to develop allergies.
At the same time, children of women who consumed more red meat seemed to be at higher risk of developing these problems while the children’s diet when young did not seem to matter, the researchers said.

Genetic factors may help reveal which multiple sclerosis patients are likely to benefit from a widely used therapy and explain why some are not helped, according to a new sturdy.
The treatment involved uses a protein known as recombinant interferon beta to try to treat multiple sclerosis symptoms and perhaps slow the course of the disease, for which there is no known cure, according to Reuters.
The study looked at three drugs--Betaseron by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Avonex by Biogen Idec and Pfizer’s Rebif.
The problem, according to the report published in the Archives of Neurology, is that about half of patients given the therapy continue to suffer relapses and a worsening disability.
“In addition, adverse effects, such as flu-like symptoms and depression, are common, leading many patients to discontinue therapy,“ Dr. Esther Byun of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues wrote in their report.
The researchers said they examined 206 patients in southern Europe with the disabling disease who were receiving the therapy. A check of their DNA found genetic differences between those who were helped by the treatment and those who were not.
During the study, 99 of the patients were helped by interferon beta and 107 were not.
They found 18 different small mutations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, that might explain the differences.