Tower of power
Martin Lindsay, a London-based businessman, parked his Jaguar in the wrong spot. He left it for several hours beneath a concave skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street, and came back to find that the sun, reflected off the building, had melted his car. We have much to gain from Lindsay’s misfortune. A Read More...
Renewables come in from the cold
If you're in the U.S. (with the possible exception of California), you probably noticed it's cold this week. But while Americans endure the cold snap—yes, that's an understatement—other parts of the world are undergoing a heat wave. And although The Onion is defeatist, countries around the Read More...
A key to light
If it weren’t for the sun—that is, light—we wouldn’t exist. Light is the essence of life. We eat it, in converted form; plants absorb light and use it to produce fruit. Indian Ayurvedic medicine centers on prana—life energy—which, the tradition holds, consists primarily of light. The Read More...
Soda linked to increasing endometrial cancer risk
Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and sweetened fruit drinks have long been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Now a new study has concluded that they also increase the risk of endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women. Endometrial cancer rates are rising worldwide; it is now the Read More...
Best. Year. Ever.
They can tell you anything about 2013. That it was a miserable year because of the ongoing crisis, the NSA leaks or the violence in Syria and Egypt. More than 10 million people in the Philippines were victimized by a typhoon. Of course, they’re right: 2013 was horrible. But don’t forget all the Read More...
Neurotherapy: The solution for your New Year’s resolutions
Remember what you promised yourself on New Year’s Day? The problem is that, a few weeks from now, most of us won’t. Next month most resolutions will be distant memories, gone from our daily routines. Why is that? The explanation is that we are hard-wired against change. And there are good and Read More...
Printers and guns used to cure blindness and burns
Lose your sight, print an eye. Get burned, spray on new skin. What seems like strange scenarios from a sci-fi movie are closer to reality then you might think. Researchers from John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair at the University of Cambridge have recently printed cells that are used to Read More...
Deadly cost of pollution prompts new regulation
The cost of air pollution in Europe is deadly. In 2010, 400,000 Europeans died prematurely as a result of poor air quality, according to a recent report by the European Environmental agency. The cost of such pollution to member countries of the EU is around 23 billion Euros per year. And though Read More...
Acupuncture relieves pain in children after tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy—surgical removal of the two tonsils—is typically associated with severe throat pain for up to 10 days after the procedure. For many years, codeine was the drug of choice to treat this pain, but in February 2013 the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of codeine in children Read More...
A man with balls
On a sultry night in October of 2011, two young men sit on the edge of a fountain in the city center of Damascus. It’s near midnight and a threatening silence hangs over the old Arab city with its narrow, mysterious streets and numerous bazaars and coffeehouses. The men speak softly with each Read More...