Will the Next Pope be Black?

March 8, 2013
Africa is the continent where Catholicism is strongest, unlike Europe, where people are becoming more secular--even in Italy, home of the Vatican. The exiting Pope Benedict will have a lot of influence on who will be chosen to succeed him.... continued

Smoking Solution

March 8, 2013
The number of smokers has gone down--fewer than one in five adults now smoke in the US, which is about half as many smokers as there were 50 years ago. Despite this, cigarettes kill more than 400,000 Americans every year.... continued

New Ice Age in Alaska

March 8, 2013
While most of the world is experiencing global warming, Alaska seems to be entering another ice age. Since 2000, temperatures in Alaska have dropped by 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit. When scientists looked at weather reports from 20 climate stations in that... continued

Chavez Death May Mean End of Castro Regime

March 8, 2013
The death of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez on March 5th may ALSO spell the end of Communism is Cuba, because Chavez supported the Castro regime in a way that Venezuela--itself having money problems--cannot really afford, and Chavez's replacement, probably Nicolás... continued

Tracking Fukushima Fish

March 7, 2013
If radiation from Fukushima is detectable in fish, scientists can use it to trace the routes of the many sea creatures, from tuna to sharks to turtles, that make long journeys across the open seas. For instance, we still don't... continued

Need Something? Print It!

March 7, 2013
Three-dimensional manufacturing is making something out of practically nothing. People are buying these printers at a rapid rate--one New York outlet that sells 3-D printers sold 15,000 of them last year. But it won't be that way for long: When... continued

Comet Aiming for Mars

March 7, 2013
Will life on Mars go the way of the dinosaurs before we have a chance to discover it? Incoming Comet C213/A1, discovered on January 1st, is expected by some astronomers to pass within 28,000 miles of Marsin 2014. But cometary... continued

The Legacy of Sandy

March 6, 2013
The areas hit by Hurricane Sandy have mostly been rebuilt, but there is one dangerous problem still lurking there: MOLD. It's erupting in fuzzy streaks of brown and black in flooded houses. Some of it could even be deadly if... continued

China Thinks We’re Born With Our Brains

March 5, 2013
Americans tend to think that our IQ is a combination of the genes we were born with and the way we were educated, but the Chinese think that at least half of the variation in intelligence quotient, or IQ, is... continued

Biblical Plague

March 5, 2013
A plague of locusts of Biblical size has hit Egypt, causing severe crop damage throughout the country and leading Israel to put its croplands under watch. As small as it is, Israel is a major agricultural resource in the middle... continued