Beijing Mass arrests: In one of the biggest crackdowns on civil society groups in decades, Chinese authorities have detained and questioned at least 238 lawyers and human rights activists over the past two weeks. At least 20 activists remain incarcerated, and the whereabouts of six of them are unclear. Maya Wang, a researcher with Human Rights. Watch, said those still […]
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■ A California woman is getting plastic surgery to become a real-life Barbie—and hypno-therapy to make her as dumb as a doll. “I just want to be the ultimate Barbie,” said Blondie Bennett, 38. “Being brainless is a big part of that.” Bennett has spent over $41,000 on plastic surgery, lip fillers, and Botox to make herself look like a […]
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For years it has been thought that the dinosaur was brought to extinction by either an asteroid or volcanic activity. Researchers have now found that it was both of these that brought down the dinosaur. With the eruptions it may have caused the climate to change for the dinosaurs and other forms of life on earth. The study shows that […]
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A child’s general good health is no guarantee that a case of the flu won’t have fatal consequences, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A surprising 43 percent of the 830 children who died from flu complications in the U.S. between October 2004 and September 2012 were otherwise healthy and did not have […]
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A devastating disease caused by airborne fungal spores is colonizing the Southwest in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls “a silent epidemic.” The disease, coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, strikes more than 20,000 people per year in the region, 10 times the number it did 15 years ago. The spores live in the soil until wind lifts them […]
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Meditation doesn’t just improve mental and physical health in the present. It also slows the aging process, and can help meditators stay mentally sharp into old age, a new study has found. Once people reach their mid- to late 20s, their brains begin to lose volume and weight, which can eventually result in the loss of some functional ability. But […]
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People who use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more then two hours a day may be affecting people’s mental health. It has a tendency to make people feel isolated and lose connection with the real world. They have found that its not the technology that is affecting individuals but how people are using the technology. A lot […]
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People tormented by a neverending flow of negative thoughts can greatly benefit from an alternative to expensive psychotherapy or medications: a walk in the woods. Psychologists at Stanford University found that walking outdoors in natural settings can ward off the human tendency to harp on that breakup, layoff, or family problem. The study involved 38 city participants, some of which […]
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■ Chris Bires lost his wedding ring out of an act of charity, but a stranger’s charity helped him get it back. The 41-year-old had given a pocketful of coins to a street saxophonist while walking to work in Chicago, not noticing that he’d handed over his ring as well. When he returned to the spot, the musician was gone, […]
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Amsterdam ‘Scum villages’: Families that persistently behave badly and harass their neighbors are to be evicted from city-run housing projects and moved into trailer parks that have “minimal services” and are under constant police supervision. The new housing camps have been dubbed “scum villages” by the Dutch media, because the plan appears to echo a proposal by right-wing populist Geert […]
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