Debora Spar

What happens when tech influences every aspect of our lives - even who we meet, and what our families look like? Read More...

Three talking points for Mother's Day brunch:

1. Research shows that babies born to mothers who ate highly processed foods during pregnancy, have a preference for salty, sugary foods later in life.

2. Why aren't women more well- represented at Facebook, Google and other high-flying tech companies? One college president says we isolate computer science from other subjects; instead, we may want to integrate it with sciences, like biology, or even emphasize its connection to foreign languages. (After all, isn't Java or C++ pretty much a foreign language to most of us?)

3. A good way to sell creams, according to Estée Lauder, is to hold a customer by her right hand. This creates a personal connection - and makes it hard for people to get up and walk away. (Plus, most people are right handed, making it more likely they will look at and smell their right hand later in the day.)