Editor Choice

Parkinson's may get its start not in brain but in appendix
2018-10-31 21:29:40 UTC
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have found a new clue that Parkinson’s disease may get its start not in the brain but in the gut — maybe in the appendix. People who had their appendix removed early in life had a lower risk of getting the tremor-inducing brain disease decades later, researchers reported Wednesday. Why? A peek at surgically removed appendix tissue shows this tiny organ, often considered useless, seems to be a storage depot for an abnormal protein — one that, if it somehow makes its way into the brain, becomes a hallmark of Parkinson’s. The big surprise, according to studies published in the journal Science Translationa...
Hate Crimes in Trump Era
2018-10-29 01:42:06 UTC
The 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, the suspected mad bomber who sent possible explosive devices to Democrat leaders attended repeated campaign rallies for Donald Trump and embraced a range of virulent right-wing fringe causes. He’s a true believer in Trump, according to his social media pages. In another crime, the suspect in the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue expressed hatred of Jews during the rampage and told officers afterward that Jews were committing genocide and that he wanted them all to die, according to charging documents. Trump delivered these lines after the attack: "There must be no tolerance for anti-Semitism in Amer...
Joachim Ronneberg who thwarted Nazi nuclear plan dies
2018-10-26 00:51:05 UTC
<h2>WWII resistance fighter who thwarted Nazi nuclear plan dies</h2>Joachim Ronneberg who led a daring raid to sabotage Nazi Germany's nuclear weapon ambitions has died at the age of 99. The story of the World War II operation has been retold in books, TV series and a Hollywood film.     <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/wwii-resistance-fighter-who-thwarted-nazi-nuclear-plan-dies/a-45978377#" rel="nofollow"><img itemprop="image" src="https://www.dw.com/im...
European lawmakers vote to ban single-use plastics
2018-10-25 19:15:10 UTC
European lawmakers have approved measures to reduce plastics polluting seas and oceans. A proposed ban targets the top 10 single-use plastic products that litter Europe's beaches. The European Parliament on Wednesday approved measures that could lead to a ban on single-use plastic items, including straws, cotton swabs and disposable plastic plates and cutlery, by 2021. The parliament backed the proposals with a 571-53 majority. <blockquote> In May, the European Commission proposed EU-wide rules to target the top 10 single-use plastic items that litter Europe's beaches or are found in its seas, as well as lost and abandoned fishing gea...
"Shade - A Tale of Two Presidents" : Obama's former photographer
2018-10-16 23:23:47 UTC
Pete Souza, the former White House photographer under President Obama, has released "Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents," a book filled with archived pictures that may induce nostalgia. Although pictures may be worth a thousand words, in the Instagram age, it is often the contrast between the image depicted and the few words accompanying them that tell the real story.Pete Souza, the former White House photographer during the eight-year tenure of President Barack Obama, knows that all too well. The man who accompanied Obama arou...
Alec Baldwin Urges To Vote: It's time To Overthrow The Government of Donald Trump
2018-10-15 16:09:39 UTC
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Actor Alec Baldwin followed up his latest parody portrayal of President Donald Trump with a serious call Sunday night for voters to use the Nov. 6 midterm elections to peacefully “overthrow” the government. After reprising his role as Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” Baldwin flew to New Hampshire, where he was the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual fall fundraising dinner. “The way we implement change in America is through elections. We change governments here at home in an orderly and formal way,” he said. “In that orderly and formal way and lawful way, we need to overthrow the gove...
Laser Trio Win Nobel Prize In Physics
2018-10-02 18:38:17 UTC
STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - A trio of American, French and Canadian scientists won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics on Tuesday for breakthroughs in laser technology that have turned light beams into precision tools for everything from eye surgery to micro-machining. They include the first female physics prize winner in 55 years. Canada’s Donna Strickland, of the University of Waterloo, becomes only the third woman to win a Nobel for physics, after Marie Curie in 1903 and Maria Goeppert-Mayer in 1963. <blockquote><img alt="Nobel_prize_for_physics_2018_award_winners_(l-r)_arthur_ashkin_of_the_u.s.__gerard_mourou_of_france_and_donna...
Milk and mushrooms may prevent metabolic diseases
2018-09-26 21:37:16 UTC
<blockquote>Recent research conducted at Pennsylvania State University in the US studied the effect of mushrooms on glucose production in the body. Mushrooms are a probiotic food, which means they positively influence the bacteria in the gut. In a study with mice, researchers discovered that the regular consumption of white button mushrooms boosted the growth of certain bacteria which produce substances that influence glucose production. The researchers believe that white button mushrooms may be especially helpful for people with diabetes, due to the fungi's role in glucose production. Like mushrooms, milk also seems to regulate b...
Green crabs from Nova Scotia threaten coastal ecosystem
2018-09-19 05:21:29 UTC
BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — Canadians are known as friendly folks, but these crabby brutes migrating from Canadian waters are better suited for the hockey rink. Green crabs from Nova Scotia are the same species as their cousins that already inhabit Maine waters, but are ornerier and angrier, threatening to accelerate harm to the coastal ecosystem by gobbling up soft-shell clams and destroying native eel grass, a researcher said. The docile green crabs shrink from a threat, while the newcomers are more apt to wave their pincers and charge. “What we’re seeing is this insane level of aggressiveness,” said Markus Frederich, a professor at...
Migraine is misunderstood by those who don't suffer symptoms
2018-09-19 05:10:47 UTC
Migraine is a debilitating neurological disease that is often misunderstood by those who do not suffer symptoms, according to the Migraine Impact Report, a new survey recently released by Eli Lilly and Company and conducted by Nielsen. The report showed that respondents without the disease underestimate the pain and duration of a typical migraine. Ninety one percent of respondents with migraine further agreed that those who do not experience migraine pain do not have a complete understanding of the severity of the disease. <blockquote><img alt="Migraine_is_misunderstood_by_those_who_do_not_suffer_symptoms" src="/system/images/22229...
Motorway bridge collapse in Italian city of Genoa
2018-08-14 16:09:17 UTC
ROME (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, and the deputy transport minister said the death toll would rise. An 80-meter section of the bridge, including one set of the supports that tower above it, crashed down in the rain onto the roof of a factory and other buildings, crushing at least one truck and plunging huge slabs of concrete into the river below. “It’s not acceptable that such an important bridge... was not built to avoid this kind of collapse,” Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said on...
Trump’s ‘unmitigated crap’ on California wildfires
2018-08-07 21:23:33 UTC
U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on the California wildfires. But it wasn’t to express condolences for the victims or to praise the incredible bravery of firefighters — it was to try to score political points. And he did so by badly twisting the science of how wildfires work. In a now-deleted tweet, Trump blamed “bad environmental laws” for “diverting” water into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists mock Trump’s tweet on wildfires as ‘comedically ill-informed’ and ‘unmitigated crap.’ His climate denial is "a crime against the planet" warns climatologist. <blockquote><img alt="Trump_has_said_that_climate_change_is_a_hoax_%e...
Americans fleecing their savings and piling up debt
2018-07-23 17:42:08 UTC
REUTERS — Despite roaring job growth and consumer spending, the U.S. economy is bolstered in large part by the poorer half of Americans fleecing their savings and piling up debt. A Reuters analysis of U.S. household data shows that the bottom 60 percent of income-earners have accounted for most of the rise in spending over the past two years even as the their finances worsened - a break with a decades-old trend where the top 40 percent had primarily fueled consumption growth. With borrowing costs on the rise, inflation picking up and the effects of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts set to wear off, a negative shock - a further rise i...
France celebrates second World Cup victory after beating Croatia 4-2 in the final match
2018-07-15 20:49:10 UTC
MOSCOW (Reuters) - France won the World Cup for the second time in spectacular style on Sunday as a 4-2 victory over Croatia in one of the most entertaining and action-packed finals for decades ended the battling outsiders’ dreams of a first title. After an early own goal by Mario Mandzukic France’s big guns delivered on the biggest stage of all as Antoine Griezmann - with a penalty awarded after a VAR review - Paul Pogba and teenage tyro Kylian Mbappe hit the target. Ivan Perisic and Mandzukic replied for Croatia, who ended beaten but unbowed after making much of the running in their first appearance in the final. It was the high...
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: This Fourth of July is yours, not mine
2018-07-04 18:39:22 UTC
Frederick Douglass, once a slave, became a brilliant and powerful leader of the anti-slavery movement. In 1852, he was asked to speak in celebration of the Fourth of July. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, he gave one of his most famous speeches, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” He was addressing the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Society. <blockquote> This is actor James Earl Jones reading the speech during a performance of historian Howard Zinn’s acclaimed book, “Voices of a People’s History of the United States.” James Ea...
Mars: Earth’s neighbor may have harbored life
2018-06-07 19:30:00 UTC
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A NASA rover has detected a bonanza of organic compounds on the surface of Mars and seasonal fluctuations of atmospheric methane in findings released on Thursday that mark some of the strongest evidence ever that Earth’s neighbor may have harbored life. But National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists emphasized there could be nonbiological explanations for both discoveries made by the Curiosity rover at a site called Gale crater, leaving the issue of Martian life a tantalizing but unanswered question. Three different types of organic molecules were discovered when the rover dug just 2 inches (5 cm)...
France hails ‘heroic’ immigrant who scaled building to rescue dangling child
2018-05-28 06:11:36 UTC
A video of a dramatic rescue of a small child in Paris has gone viral on social media, with people calling the rescuer a real Spider-Man. President Emmanuel Macron is to thank the young migrant for his bravery. <blockquote>Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has praised the heroic actions of an immigrant from Mali after he climbed the side of a four-story building to save a child dangling from a ledge. "Congratulations to Mamoudou Gassama for his act of bravery that saved the life of a child," said Hidalgo, adding that the city would support Gassama's dream of settling permanently in France. Hidalgo spoke to Gassama personally by phone to thank ...
Victory for women: Ireland ends abortion ban
2018-05-26 17:40:06 UTC
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland has voted by a landslide to liberalize its highly restrictive abortion laws in a referendum that its prime minister called the culmination of a “quiet revolution” in what was one of Europe’s most socially conservative countries. Voters in the once deeply Catholic nation were estimated to have backed the change by more than two-to-one, according to two exit polls released on Friday evening, and the government plans to bring in legislation by the end of the year. “It’s incredible. For all the years and years and years we’ve been trying to look after women and not been able to look after women, this means ever...
Football legend Ronaldinho to marry two women at same time
2018-06-15 23:01:50 UTC
LONDON — Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho will reportedly "marry" two women at the same time during a small wedding ceremony in August. While polygamy is outlawed in Brazil, O Dia (h/t Dan Gartland of Sports Illustrated) reported civil unions between more than two persons is not uncommon. Ronaldinho, Priscilla Coelho and Beatriz Souza already live together. Ronaldinho asked for their hand in marriage in January of last year. He originally dated Coelho before meeting Souza in 2016. <blockquote><img alt="Brazilian_football_legend_ronaldinho_will_reportedly_%22marry%22_two_women_at_the_same_time_during_a_small_wedding_ceremony_i...
US police officers tased NBA player over parking violation
2018-06-15 23:01:17 UTC
Police bodycam footage of the arrest of a Milwaukee Bucks star in January was released on Wednesday showing the player being tased after committing a parking violation. Sterling Brown is suing the police department after the video showed him being confronted by an officer outside a Walgreens for parking across two handicap spaces. The pair argued, and when the officer called for backup, multiple cars arrived, flooding the carpark in red and blue lights. The officer said he had asked Brown to step back from his vehicle and he had refused, and then claimed the athlete 'became very aggressive'. <h4><blockquote><hr>• Milwa...
Yale: Officers admonished white student for calling police on black student
2018-05-10 19:22:27 UTC
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Yale University police officers who responded to a call about a black graduate student who had fallen asleep in the common area of a campus residence admonished the white student who reported it, a university administrator said Thursday. <blockquote><img alt="Yale-_officers_admonished_white_student_for_calling_police_on_black_student" src="/system/images/22090/original/Yale-_Officers_admonished_white_student_for_calling_police_on_black_student.jpg?1525979248" /> The officers interviewed both students and then told the complaining student that the other woman had every right to be there, accordin...
Nationwide survey: Most Americans are considered lonely
2018-09-26 21:40:04 UTC
<blockquote>Americans Are A Lonely Lot, And Young People Bear The Heaviest Burden — Loneliness isn't just a fleeting feeling, leaving us sad for a few hours to a few days. Research in recent years suggests that for many people, loneliness is more like a chronic ache, affecting their daily lives and sense of well-being. Now a nationwide survey by the health insurer Cigna underscores that. It finds that loneliness is widespread in America, with nearly 50 percent of respondents reporting that they feel alone or left out always or sometimes. Using one of the best-known tools for measuring loneliness — the UCLA Loneliness Scale — Ci...
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted, shoots lava into sky
2018-05-04 06:00:22 UTC
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday, sending lava shooting into the air in a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes. Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. Footage shown on local television showed lava spurting into the sky from a crack in a road. Aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest. Lava fountains were shooting 150 feet (46 meters) in the air, and molten lava spread out over an area about 200 yards (183 meters) wide behind one house in Leilani Es...
Facebook tracks people whether they have accounts or not
2018-04-15 17:05:17 UTC
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Concern about Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) respect for data privacy is widening to include the information it collects about non-users, after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the world’s largest social network tracks people whether they have accounts or not. Privacy concerns have swamped Facebook since it acknowledged last month that information about millions of users wrongly ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, a firm that has counted U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 electoral campaign among its clients. Zuckerberg said on Wednesday under questioning by U.S. Representative Ben...
Why is Germany's dual education system coveted?
2018-04-06 22:04:13 UTC
The German economy is powered by products sold the world over. The strength of Europe's powerhouse depends on outbound shipments. We take a look at one of its latest exports and reveal the secrets behind its success. Charlotte Falke creates technical drawings of power plant generators. The 23-year-old designer, a trainee at German industrial giant Siemens, spent a year at university before opting for a more vocational program. "I left because there was too much theory," she said. "I wanted more practice." Falke is not alone. Over 50 percent of Germans enter dual vocational and educational training programs (VET) as a route into emplo...