Did Comet ISON Survive? Scientists See Tiny Hope (via AP Video)A comet that gained an earthly following because of its bright tail visible from space was initially declared dead after grazing the sun. Now, there is a sliver of hope that Comet ISON may have survived. (Nov. 29)
Spoof video lands American in Dubai jail (via CNN Video)The State Department is trying to free an American jailed in the United Arab Emirates because of a parody video.
Doctor Who: On 50th anniversary, Google shares a 'Whodle' (+video) (via The Christian Science Monitor)A screenshot from a Google game honoring the 50th year of Doctor Who, the pioneering British TV series. (Google ) Doctor Who, the long-running British science-fiction series, is entering its 50th year on TV, and in celebration, Google has launched what…
John F. Kennedy: What if he had survived the attack in Dallas? (via The Christian Science Monitor)Members of the Kennedy family, including former US Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith, fourth from left, pay their respects at the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy Friday at Arlington National Cemetery.(Jacquelyn Martin/AP) As the world…
Like Harry Truman, does Obama face a 'do-nothing' Congress? (+video) (via The Christian Science Monitor)Sen. Charles Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin defend the Democrats’ vote to weaken filibusters and make it harder for Republicans to block confirmation of the president's nominees for judges and other…
3-D printing in schools: The next industrial revolution? (via The Christian Science Monitor)Leon McCarthy shows off the prosthetic hand that was printed at his school, while his father, Paul McCarthy, explains how the hand works at the opening of the MakerBot store in Boston, Mass., Nov. 21, 2013.(Karis Hustad/The Christian Science Monitor…
Rise of Bitcoin: Is the digital currency a solution or a menace? (+video) (via The Christian Science Monitor)People lined up to use the first permanent Bitcoin ATM at a coffee shop in Vancouver, British Columbia, Oct. 29. They can withdraw cash or buy more bitcoins.(Andy Clark/Reuters) Celine Sotelo "likes to be on the cutting edge," so she was intrigued when…
Cellphones on planes at last? FCC, citing safety research, to weigh change. (via The Christian Science Monitor)A passenger checks her cell phone after boarding a flight in Boston, in October. (Matt Slocum/AP/File) Travelers on US domestic flights could soon be experiencing what their overseas counterparts have been for years: in flight use of cellphones. The…
Iran nuclear deal 101: eight questions about what's in it (via The Christian Science Monitor)From left, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, US Secretary of State John Kerry, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif…
Thanksgiving story: A 'Lost Boy' and the kindness of strangers (via The Christian Science Monitor)"I am talking with you today because people I didn't know helped me survive,"says Sudanese 'Lost Boy' Peter Ter, the subject of the cover story on the kindness of strangers featured in the Nov. 25 issue of The Christian Science MonitorWeekly.(Ann Hermes…
Washington blows up: Has American politics hit an all-time low? (+video) (via The Christian Science Monitor)Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday after the Democrat majority in the Senate pushed through a major rules change to curb the power of the Republican minority. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) One by one,…
How fruit flies will get us to Mars (via The Christian Science Monitor)Fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, are model organisms for understanding how bodies weather long periods in space.(NASA Ames Research Center) NASA has announced plans to launch a Fruit Fly Lab to the International Space Station in 2014, as part…
Is hydrogen the secret to water on Mars? (via The Christian Science Monitor)This section of Valles Marineris is over a hundred miles wide, and its floor is heaped with rocks, sediments, and landslide debris. This perspective shot comes from 'Flight Through Mariner Valley,' a video produced for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory…
Reader recommendation: The Last of the Doughboys (via The Christian Science Monitor)Richard Rubin's The Last of the Doughboys (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013) is a touching tribute and unique glimpse into the horror and legacy of the men who fought and (somehow) returned from World War I. An added bonus is Rubin's wonderful citation…
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (via The Christian Science Monitor)“This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage,” by Ann Patchett, HarperCollins, 320 pp. Ann Patchett has one thing in common with the Grinch: She can’t stand Christmas. “In my family, there were happy Thanksgivings and tolerable Easters, but Christmas…
Confirmed: Apple buys 3-D tech company PrimeSense (via The Christian Science Monitor)Actor Rich Sommer plays Kinect on Xbox 360 at the Xbox booth during the E3 2010 conference in Los Angeles June 15. PrimeSense created the 3-D sensing technology that powered the first round of Kinect devices. ( Vince Bucci/AP Images for Xbox) Apple…
Double Down (via The Christian Science Monitor)Double Down, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, Penguin Group, 512 pp. Remember all the fun we had last year choosing between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney? Think of the 4-year-old girl whose YouTube video of her crying over too much “Bronco” Obama…
PS4 games: Four worth waiting for (via The Christian Science Monitor)A screenshot from the forthcoming Ubisoft game Watch Dogs, which is expected to be released in 2014. (Ubisoft) Earlier this month, Sony released the PlayStation 4, its long-awaited entry in the eighth-generation console market. Sales have been strong…
'An infectious love for the Scriptures' (via The Christian Science Monitor)National Bible Week is an ideal time to pause and reflect on how much the Bible means to us. A Sunday School teacher during my high school years had such an infectious love for the Scriptures that it sent me on a lifelong study that gets richer each…
Reader recommendation: Brave Genius (via The Christian Science Monitor)Brave Genius by Sean Carroll takes the reader back to the time of World War II, the French Resistance, and two Nobel laureates, a French microbiologist and a French-Algerian author. This well-documented book tells the story of the daring of these two…
Here's a conversation starter for Thanksgiving (via The Christian Science Monitor)Charles Bandy of Feeding South Florida organizes bags of produce in West Park, Fla., to be distributed to residents in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday. (AP Photo) The presumed origin of the American Thanksgiving – a Pilgrim-Indian feast of gratitude…
Save Kepler: Scientists turn spacecraft's problem into potential solution (via The Christian Science Monitor)NASA's Kepler mission has discovered a world where two suns set over the horizon instead of just one. Launched in 2009, Kepler was designed to take a census of planets orbiting stars within its field of view and sensitivity range. Its primary mission…
My hour of harmony (via The Christian Science Monitor)Watching sleeping babies has never been my thing. Other parents say this is one of the absolute joys of parenting, that there is nothing as peaceful in the world, that this simple activity makes all the trials and tribulations of parenting worth it.…
As China's one-child policy fades, new challenges lie ahead (via The Christian Science Monitor)A child holds a placard bearing the name of his class as they all leave an elementary school in Beijing this month. The costs of raising a child may temper response to China's move to ease its one-child per family policy.(Kim Kyung-Hoon/REUTERS) By…
'Oldboy': The performances are over-the-top but underfelt (via The Christian Science Monitor)'Oldboy' stars Samuel L. Jackson.(Hilary Bronwyn Gale/AP) The Korean director Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy” is one of those movies that is routinely referred to as “not for the squeamish.” Neither is Spike Lee’s remake, starring Josh Brolin…
Scientists see unreported fish traps from space (via The Christian Science Monitor)A new paper has used Google Earth data to show that Persian Gulf countries are catching some 6 times more fish in what are known as weir traps than they are officially reporting to the United Nations. (NASA/AP) Not much can hide from Google Earth –…
Say 'OK Google' for hands-free holiday searching (via The Christian Science Monitor)Google's new Chrome extension "Ok Google" offers hands-free voice search just in time for the holidays.(Google) Google has created a voice search application, just in time for that moment when your hands are covered in turkey stuffing and you can’…
Potential 'missing link' black hole only confuses scientists more (via The Christian Science Monitor)An artist's illustration shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by matter flowing onto the black hole in what is termed an accretion disk. The regions near black holes contain compact sources of high energy X-ray radiation that light up the disk…
Patients drive new wheelchair with their tongues (via The Christian Science Monitor)The new system, which allows paralyzed patients to navigate their worlds with their (pierced) tongues, is less obtrusive and more efficient than most existing assistive systems.(Maysam Ghovanloo) A new design for an assistive system puts tongue piercings…
Microsoft moves to encrypt data: report (via The Christian Science Monitor)The Microsoft Corp. logo (left) is seen on an exterior wall of a new Microsoft store inside the Prudential Center mall, in Boston. Microsoft has worked closely with the NSA, according to leaked documents in the Guardian. (Steven Senne/ AP Photo/ File…
How did the Bible spread? Jerusalem exhibit traces a remarkable journey. (via The Christian Science Monitor)This 17th-century illuminated scroll, on loan from Bill Gross, depicts the Biblical story of Esther and is part of the new Book of Books exhibit at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem. (Ardon Bar-Hama/Courtesy of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem) Copied…
Thanksgiving Day Proclamation 2013 from President Obama (via The Christian Science Monitor)President Obama pardons the 2011 Thanksgiving Turkey, Liberty, alongside his daughters Sasha and Malia at the White House Nov. 24. Holding 'Liberty' is Richard Huisinga, Chairman of the National Turkey Federation.(Jason Reed/Reuters) Thanksgiving offers…
Why your gut is right about your marriage (via The Christian Science Monitor)A new paper published this week in Science reports that a soon-to-be bride or groom's gut feeling about his or her partner is a better predictor of future marital bliss than are conscious attitudes about the upcoming wedding.(Andy Wong/AP) Predicting…
Top Picks: Our staff selects the best of holiday music (via The Christian Science Monitor)Musical Gifts Christmas choir Italian heartthrob Vittorio Grigòlo was a contralto in the fabled Sistine Chapel Choir, one of the world’s oldest choirs, whose purpose is to uphold the highest standard for religious music. The arrangements on Ave Maria…
Cooking a turkey? Not exactly. How astronauts eat Thanksgiving dinner. (via The Christian Science Monitor)Floating aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio (l.) and Mike Hopkins, show off their NASA-prepared ingredients that will become their Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, and sides.(Courtesy of NASA) Cooking…
The help we can all give (via The Christian Science Monitor)The sobbing woman could have been a Filipina hurricane victim, a Syrian refugee, or a bereaved mother in eastern Congo. But apparently oblivious to everything but her despair, she was crying her heart out on a busy street in Boston, where I was walking…
'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' is a little too staid (via The Christian Science Monitor)Idris Elba and Riaad Moosa star in 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.'(Courtesy of The Weinstein Company) Justin Chadwick’s “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” is a staid biopic drawn from Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. Idris Elba plays Mandela with…
Gay rights could be major hurdle for Moldova's EU bid (via The Christian Science Monitor)Street scene at Chisinau's central bus station in Moldova.(Davin Ellicson/Special to the Christian Science Monitor) In late September Andrei, a middle-aged Moldovan, was set upon by two men in a park in the center of this city. They had found his number…
US veterans fill their own void delivering aid to Philippines (via The Christian Science Monitor)The plastic crate sitting outside a sweltering makeshift military terminal serves as both a seat for Peter Meijer and a container for 150-plus pounds of nails, hammers, and military-style quick-prep meals. Both he and the supplies are about to head…
Cyber Monday: nine tips for shopping online safely (via The Christian Science Monitor)A worker pushes a cart in an Amazon warehouse in Peterborough, England, in anticipation of Cyber Monday.(Phil Noble/Reuters) ’Tis the season to shop online – and to be hyper-alert when doing so, according to security experts, who say spammers, online…
China Forecast To Install Even More Solar Than Previously Thought (via Clean Technica)The amount of solar power forecast to be installed in China in 2014 was recently increased to 12 GW, according to a report released by the Chinese Bureau of Energy on November 14, 2013. This includes 8 GW of distributed photovoltaic solar systems and…
Eyewitness captures Polaroid of moment JFK was shot (via PBS News Hour)MARY ANN MOORMAN KRAHMER: Being here today just brings back all the memories. Really mixed emotions – more so than the last few times that I’ve been here. I saw a man killed right in front of my eyes. HARI SREENIVASAN: When Mary Ann Moorman was…
The promise that the government (in Iran and everywhere) is upon God's shoulder (via The Christian Science Monitor)Near the top of the long list of what appear to be intractable issues confronting policymakers today are the crucial negotiations, due to resume this week in Geneva, regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions. An extreme test of statecraft faces negotiators…
Clinton hopes for female US president, he says in China (via AFP)Former US president Bill Clinton hopes there will be a woman in the White House in his lifetime and will support his wife Hillary in whatever she decides to do, he told a Chinese audience on Monday. Hillary, who earlier this year stepped down as US…
More Americans should take cholesterol meds (via AFP)More Americans should take cholesterol-lowering medication, according to new guidelines released Tuesday by the American Heart Association. "This is a dramatic change from the 2002 federal cholesterol guideline," said the AHA in a statement, noting…
5 Supplements You Can’t Live Without (via Honey Colony)By Maryam Henein, HoneyColony Original When I first started my health journey many moons ago, I thought that GNC was a good place to buy supplements. That was in the ’90s before I got hit by an SUV. I was 26 and pumped weights at the gym, popped diet…
Media's global warming fail (via CNN Video)Philippe Cousteau & Andrew Revkin join Sesno to discuss the media's lack of interest in covering global climate change.
Salesforce Revising Mobile Strategy Yet Again (via slashdot)As part of its Dreamforce conference this week in San Francisco, Salesforce is revamping its whole mobile strategy—not an unusual move for a company that’s always done its best to align with the tech industry’s latest trends. As part of that revamp…
US, UK enlist spy agencies to fight online child porn: PM (via AFP)Britain and the United States will enlist the help of spy agencies to track down paedophiles who share images of child sex abuse online, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday. A joint US-UK taskforce will work with encryption experts at Britain…
The security breach heard ’round the Web: Adobe’s hacking highlights the human problem with passwords (via Pando Daily)By Nathaniel Mott On November 18, 2013I can’t remember the last time I used a password that didn’t resemble the few that I already use on everything from Facebook and Rdio to Netflix and Amazon. It’s too hard to imagine and remember complicated…
