The ice and snow storms that shut down parts of the U.S. may not be over yet?there may be more to come, due to an El Nino in the Pacific Ocean. “El Nino is one of the driving forces behind these kinds of winter storm systems, which develop in the South and head east,” says Conrad C. Lautenbacher of NOAA. El Nino occurs when surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean remain above average for more than a few months. This can affect wind patterns high in the atmosphere resulting in changed weather in many parts of the world.

Despite the recent storms, NASA says 2002 has been the second warmest year on record. There?s been a record-breaking period of warm weather in recent years, with 2001 the third warmest year on record. But 1998 still holds the record.
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Smallpox is the worst disease known to man?it killed half a billion people from 1880 to 1980, before it was finally eradicated in 1980. But the smallpox vaccine can be deadly too, and that’s the problem we face today. Scientists say it’s the most dangerous vaccine ever invented. Should the U.S. population be given a vaccine that can cause dangerous, sometimes fatal reactions?

The vaccine used today is essentially the same as the one created in 1796. Dr. Paul Offit says, “We tend to think of vaccines as being very safe and every effective, which they are. But all the vaccines that we use today are the result of modern technology. That?s not true of the smallpox vaccine. It has a side effect profile that we would not accept for vaccines today.”
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Air pollution can cause genetic damage that is passed on by fathers to their children. Tests on mice show that those who breathed air near a smoke-belching steel mill had fewer babies and the ones they did have had more genetic mutations than normal. Almost all the extra mouse mutations were inherited from the fathers, suggesting that steel workers, who are mostly male, put their children at extra risk. “Our findings suggest that there is an urgent need to investigate the genetic consequences associated with exposure to chemical pollution through the inhalation of urban and industrial air,” say researchers Christopher Somers and James Quinn.
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In this week’s poll, we asked you if you thought the Sci Fi series “Taken” will make more people believe close encounters are real. Most of you are hopeful?52% voted “Yes.” However, almost as many of you (40%) think the show “Won’t change anybody’s opinion.” 8% of you are skeptics who think it “will make fewer people believe close encounters are real.” It will be interesting to watch the media in the upcoming months to see if there is less ridicule aimed at experiencers and abductees.

To see poll results,click here.

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.read more