Proposed Ban on Internet Whale Meat Sales

March 7, 2012
Amazon.com customer Melissa Sehgal has created a petition calling for the world's largest online retailer to permanently ban the sale of whale and dolphin meat on its site. So far it's gotten over 9,000 signatures. A report published by the... continued

How Long Does it Take to Evolve?

March 7, 2012
Evolution doesn't happen overnight: large changes in body size take a long time. There have been increases and decreases in mammal size following the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Now biologists estimate that a mouse-to-elephant size change... continued

New Technology Can Read Your Mind

March 7, 2012
Current advances in electroencephalographic (EEG) brain-wave detection technology make it possible for someone wearing a helmet with special sensors that broadcast your brain's waves to be able to tell what state of alertness you're in. Someday they may be able... continued

Poison Hanging in Our Air

March 6, 2012
Humans pump thousands of tons of vapor from the metallic element mercury into the atmosphere each year, and it can remain suspended for long periods before being changed into a form that is easily removed from the atmosphere. New research... continued

We’re All Being Monitored by the FBI

March 5, 2012
Your cell phone is tracking you, there are spies on Facebook, streetlights are eavesdropping on us, and even the TOYS we play with a spying on us! Now it turns out that the FBI has quietly released details of plans... continued

How You Use Your Cell Shows How You Use Your Brain

March 5, 2012
Which ear do you use for your cell phone? If you’re a left brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear. There is a strong correlation between brain dominance... continued

Climate Change: More Volcanoes and Earthquakes

March 5, 2012
Climate change brings along a couple of companions: Volcano eruptions and earthquakes. In the Guardian, Bill McGuire writes: "Between about 20,000 and 5,000 years ago, our planet underwent an astonishing climatic transformation. Over the course of this period, it flipped... continued

Want to stay Young? Don’t Plan Ahead

March 3, 2012
The ability to anticipate future events allows us to plan and exert control over our lives, but it may also contribute to stress-related increased risk for the diseases of aging. In a study of 50 women, about half of them... continued

Why Contact May Have Failed

March 3, 2012
Our Milky Way galaxy is so big and so old--it contains at least 100 billion planets--so aliens should have visited us by now (Whitley Strieber thinks THEY HAVE!) This is what's known as the Fermi Paradox. In Discovery News, Ray... continued

Sharks Get Even!

March 3, 2012
Whales have gotten even for being used as slaves in aquatic shows. Now sharks are getting even too--for having their fins cut off and used in soup. Scientists have discovered high concentrations of a neurotoxin linked to degenerative brain diseases... continued