We know about space trash, but we are turning something much closer to us into a gigantic rubbish dump as well: the ocean. Held in place by underwater currents, it stretches from the California coast, past Hawaii, almost to Japan. It’s the world’s biggest dump.
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Waves of hitherto rare midwinter tornadoes swept thesouthern part of America’s heartland yesterday. So far 28people are known to have been killed in Tennessee, 13 inArkansas, 7 in Kentucky and 4 inAlabama. A family of 3 was killed in Arkansas. This is thesecond time this winter tornadoes have erupted in thecentral US. The storms are due to the fact that, after eachblast of cold air passes, a strong flow of warm, humid airdevelops, surging up from the Gulf of Mexico. Then the nextcold wave comes, with explosive results all along the front.In the past, winter tornadoes were rare, but now they’rekillers. What can we expect in the future?
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Dentists love fluoride, and say it has vastly cut down the number of cavities they fill?although chocolate may work better. But does it have a negative side as well?
Reporter Russ Hamerly quotes a January article in Scientific American as saying that “some recent studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland.” He quotes Paul Beeber, who is head of the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, as saying, “Fluoride, the most consumed drug in the USA, is deliberately added to 2/3 of public water supplies theoretically to reduce tooth decay, but with no scientifically-valid evidence proving safety or effectiveness.”
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It was the holiday shopping season’s biggest question: where can I find a Wii? For the second holiday in a row, this video game console was the item retailers just couldn’t keep in stock. Nintendo marketed the Wii as an engaging new way to get people off the couch and into the action. But does it actually have significant fitness value?
University student Justin White wanted to find out. He says, “I was playing Wii boxing with a friend and noticed how exerting it was. I thought to myself, ‘I’m working up a sweat doing this Nintendo thing…”
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