Ancient DNA–What Can It Tell Us?

December 10, 2010
Researchers recently revived ancient bacteria that had been trapped for thousands of years in water droplets embedded in salt crystals. Is this a good idea? This bacteria been found inside salt crystals ranging in age from thousands to hundreds of... continued

Whales are Polluted

December 10, 2010
People are polluted and whales are too. Sperm whales throughout the Pacific carry evidence of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning. Some of them... continued

Chinese Food for Christmas Dinner

December 9, 2010
Westerners usually don't eat Asian food for Christmas dinner, but maybe we SHOULD, and there's no more need to be afraid of Chinese cuisine: It used to be feared that soy products (such as tofu) promoted breast cancer, but now... continued

Are We Secure?

December 9, 2010
If you're getting ready to fly home for Christmas, you have to ask yourself this: Are airport scans and pat downs making us safer or playing into the hands of terrorists? Are they even legal? As millions of Americans pass... continued

Melt at the Top of the World

December 8, 2010
Pollution at the top produces melting there too. As the ice-capped Arctic Ocean warms, ship traffic will increase at the top of the world. And if the sea ice continues to melt, a new route connecting international trading partners may... continued

What if You Could Reverse Aging

December 8, 2010
What if you could REVERSE the aging process--not only for your entire body, but for individual ailing organs, such as your heart, as well? Researchers have done it with mice: They turned weak and feeble oldsters into healthy animals through... continued

Pollution at the Top

December 8, 2010
No matter how high up you go, you can't escape pollution. A new study of a glacier on top of Mt. Everest--the tallest mountain in the world--shows how true this is. Nearly one-fifth of the earth’s surface is comprised of... continued

Soldier Sounds

December 7, 2010
One of the joys of this season is listening to Christmas carols, but some of our brave soldiers are returning from war with a special problem: deafness. Researchers haven't solved the deafness problem yet, but they are working to get... continued

Marriage In Trouble

December 7, 2010
There's not only a wage gap in the US, there's also a "marriage gap." In a striking reversal of historic trends, highly educated Americans are embracing a pro-marriage mindset even as Middle Americans are losing faith in marriage. Drawing on... continued

Wind Power? No Wind

December 7, 2010
One of the main substitutes for green-house gas emitting energy is WIND POWER, but we'd better build more wind turbines soon, because climate change can cut down on wind and make this technology useless. The prevailing winds in the "free"... continued