2019-03-01
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How Soup is Causing a Needless Slaughter
June 23, 2011Scientists can identify zebras by their "bar codes"--now they can identify shark fins by zip code. Shark fins are illegally poached by the Chinese in order to make one of their great delicacies: shark fin soup. Tens of millions of... continued
We Have Lost the War on Drugs
June 23, 2011The war on the drugs is failing miserably: Narcotics use rose by 35% worldwide from 1998-2008, in spite of anti-drug efforts. A new Global Commission on Drug Policy report says that that anti-drug policies have failed by encouraging organized crime,... continued
Why Our Brains are Smaller Now
June 23, 2011Archeologists have found evidence from 20,000 to 30,000-year-old human skulls that both human height and brain size are shrinking. The cause of this? Farming. This shrinkage started about 10,000 years ago, when humans moved from the hunter-gatherer life to agriculture.... continued
Most Overdoses are Caused by Common Drugstore Painkiller
June 22, 2011Overdoses of the common household drug acetaminophen (the main ingredient in Tylenol) leads to more than 78,000 emergency department visits a year. Consumers take Tylenol to reduce pain or fever, but few of them realize that when misused, acetaminophen can... continued
Ghost Towns Springing Up Across US
June 22, 2011Not the kinds with real ghosts in them (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show) but places that used to be bustling communities that are now almost empty. In an increasing number of American communities, more residents are dying... continued
Christmas is Not the Giving Season
June 22, 2011It's spring! Many people are relieved that this spring, which brought terrible weather to many places, has past, and that summer is here. Does spring weather really change our behavior? Recent studies show that temperature influences us at an unconscious... continued
We’ve Discovered a New Kind of Shooting Star
June 21, 2011One that is shooting water! A geyser of water is spurting up from the poles of a star that is 750 light-years from the earth at a rate of 124,000 mpg, creating "water bullets" that it shoots deep into space.... continued
Are Criminals Born or Made?
June 21, 2011Forensic scientists are discovering that DNA and "genetic markers" can predict who will--or will--turn to a life of crime. If this is true, it portends a frightening future where we give infants DNA swabs, then decide whether to watch them... continued
The Happiest Places Produce the Most Suicides
June 21, 2011The happiest countries and happiest US states tend to have the most depression and the highest suicide rates. Why would this be? Recent research has confirmed a little known and seemingly puzzling fact: many happy countries have unusually high rates... continued
Are We Alone in the Universe?
June 20, 2011Are we isolated in our lonely little corner of the Milky Way? Quasars are highly luminous objects that emit light over a wide range of wavelengths, revealing elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, silicon, carbon and iron in the gas around... continued