Nation Aug 11 What’s the deal with the ALS ice bucket challenge? Scores of people are filming themselves dumping buckets of ice on their heads, posting the video to Facebook or Twitter, then challenging their friends to do so, too. The chilly action is intended to raise awareness of ALS, or Lou…
Health Aug 08 U.S. doctor being treated for Ebola releases statement Dr. Kent Brantly, the Samaritan’s Purse doctor currently being treated at Emory Hospital in Atlanta for Ebola, released a public statement on Friday. While providing an update on his condition, the humanitarian worker also gave insight into his background, current…
Science Aug 07 Ten-year astronaut sleep study reveals widespread use of sleeping pills in space According to the longest sleep study ever conducted in space, astronauts’ use of sleeping pills, like ambien, is extremely high. The decade-long study also revealed space-farers are chronically sleep deficient while in orbit, and during the period leading up to…
Nation Aug 06 Hawaii gears up for double hurricanes Hawaii is under a tropical storm warning as two hurricanes spin their way across the Pacific ocean. Residents are bracing themselves for torrential winds, rains and flooding, all of which are likely to cause power disruptions on the Islands.
Health Aug 05 New FDA ‘gluten-free’ regulation rolls out Starting this week, all food products marked as “gluten-free” can only make the claim if they contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.
World Aug 04 Abandoned baby tests international laws of citizenship and parenthood Australian immigration officials are weighing the case of Grammy, who was born via surrogacy in Thailand and was rejected by his biological parents. Grammy has down syndrome and a congenital heart defect, and is living with his 21 year-old surrogate…
World Aug 01 Ebola outbreak moving faster than control efforts, WHO says The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is moving faster than the health worker’s efforts to control the virus, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Science Jul 30 If there’s an Ebola vaccine that works on monkeys, then what about humans? Tuesday's death of Sheik Umar Khan, the doctor at the front lines of Sierra Leone’s battle against the worst Ebola outbreak in history, marks the latest person killed by the contagious, incurable disease that has devastated communities in Guinea, Liberia…
Politics Jul 29 White House issues critical warning of climate change’s economic cost The White House Council of Economic Advisers is projecting a significant cost to society if climate change is not mitigated. Their analysis comes in a report released Tuesday, which foresees a 40 percent increase in environment related costs for every…
Nation Jul 25 U.S. House of Representatives’ staffers blocked from editing by Wikipedia Following “abuse of editing privileges” by anonymous IP addresses within the U.S House of Representatives, Wikipedia has barred House staffers from contributing for 10 days. Those with registered personal accounts may still log into the online encyclopedia and edit.