Oddball Pluto Celebrates AnniversaryLast month marked the 80-year anniversary of the discovery of planet Pluto. Named by an 11-year-old British schoolgirl, Pluto is smaller than the Earth’s moon and has three moons of its own. Pluto takes 248 years to complete an orbit around the sun, and its path is so oblique that Pluto spends part of it inside of Neptune’s track. In 2006, Pluto suffered a serious blow when scientists demoted it from the status of ‘planet’ to a mere dwarf planet, and some are campaigning for it to be stripped down of the planet title altogether and be re-designated an asteroid or a comet.   True Cost of Gadgets RevealedBusinessWeek magazine spilled the beans last week, letting the general public know exactly how much money fancy gadgets cost to make. Reportedly, Apple’s 3GS iPhone has a surprisingly low profit margin, retailing for $199 while its components cost $179. The manufacturing of the iPod Shuffle, however, costs Apple $21.77 while in stores it sells for $49. Amazon’s Kindle has a retail price of $359 and its components cost $185.49. And lastly, the long awaited iPad is made of components costing between $219.35 and $334.95, and to take one home you’ll have to shell out $499. Of course, none of these numbers include the cost of development and marketing (so if you feel like you’re getting ripped off, take a deep breath).   Cricket Mothers Pass Street Smarts to Young, Study FindsScientists from the University of South Carolina placed pregnant crickets in a cage with a wolf spider whose fangs were covered in wax so that it could stalk, but not harm the crickets. The offspring of those crickets, whose mother abandon them after birth, were observed to be better at avoiding and recognizing signs of the spider, like its silk or feces, than those whose mothers were not exposed to the spider while pregnant. In a second experiment, scientists place a hungry wolf spider with fully functioning fangs together with both groups of young crickets, and although no one was spared from the bloodbath, the crickets that had seasoned moms survived the longest. It’s not clear how the mothers communicate this type of advice to their youngsters, but some speculate that it has to do with hormones.   Sexy Mice to Turn Computers OnSome innovations are only possible when design, technology and sex collide. From the house of industrial designer Andy Kurovets, best known for giving us the HIV ring (jewelry modeled after the AIDS virus) comes the new G-Spot mouse. Yes, this is a computer mouse inspired by a specific, and highly coveted, lady part. The mouse, shaped fairly explicitly and painted in shades of red, features a scroll button reminiscent of the clitoris. Yet its most groundbreaking attribute is what the designer deems the “G-Spot,” a tucked away button that will give users easy access to their favorite web page or application, as well as educate many poor, ignorant souls of the approximate location of the legendary girlie spot.