Humans exist in a battleground of one kind or another.
The battle can be internal or external but its always there.
1.5 million children in imminent danger of starvation in West Africa
MSNBC - June 20, 2012
42,000 modern-day slaves rescued but millions in bondage, trafficking report says MSNBC - June 20, 2012
More than 42,000 adults and children kept as slaves, forced into prostitution or otherwise trafficked were discovered by authorities around the world in 2011, according to a new report by the U.S. State Department. However this figure was a tiny fraction of the estimated number of people held in bondage with the International Labor Organization estimating earlier this month that there are about 20.9 million victims of modern slavery, the State Department Trafficking in Persons Report noted.
I want to know where love is: Research develops first brain map of love and desire PhysOrg - June 20, 2012
Thanks to modern science, we know that love lives in the brain, not in the heart. But where in the brain is it and is it in the same place as sexual desire? A recent international study is the first to draw an exact map of these intimately linked feelings.
The origin of life challenge: Searching for how life began PhysOrg - June 20, 2012
How life first developed is a poorly-understood process. Even today, scientists have attempted to determine its origins using a variety of methods.
NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay, who served as a referee to help sort through the proposals, pointed out that the submitted proposals spanned a wide variety of potential research.
New Greece government agreed, says socialist party leader MSNBC - June 20, 2012
A conservative-led Greek government has been agreed and will form a team to "renegotiate" the international bailout deal that would save the country from bankruptcy, the leader of one of the coalition parties said Wednesday.
42,000 modern-day slaves rescued but millions in bondage, trafficking report says MSNBC - June 20, 2012
More than 42,000 adults and children kept as slaves, forced into prostitution or otherwise trafficked were discovered by authorities around the world in 2011, according to a new report by the U.S. State Department. However this figure was a tiny fraction of the estimated number of people held in bondage with the International Labor Organization estimating earlier this month that there are about 20.9 million victims of modern slavery, the State Department Trafficking in Persons Report noted.
Talisman of Ancient Googly-Eyed God Discovered Live Science - June 20, 2012
A newly identified googly-eyed artifact may have been used by the ancient Egyptians to magically protect children and pregnant mothers from evil forces. Made of faience, a delicate material that contains silica, the pale-green talisman of sorts dates to sometime in the first millennium B.C. It shows the dwarf god Bes with his tongue sticking out, eyes googly, wearing a crown of feathers. A hole at the top of the face was likely used to suspend it like a bell, while a second hole, used to hold the bell clapper, was apparently drilled into it in antiquity.
Turtles fossilised in sex embrace BBC - June 20, 2012
Turtles killed as they were having sex and then fossilised in position have been described by scientists. The remains of the 47-million-year old animals were unearthed in the famous Messel Pit near Darmstadt, Germany. They were found as male-female pairs. In two cases, the males even had their tails tucked under their partners' as would be expected from the coital position.
BBC - June 20, 2012
The mystery of the elephant's long pregnancy has been unravelled by scientists. A quirk of biology allows the unborn calf to develop in the womb for almost two years, giving it the brain power it needs to survive from birth.
"Emergency" Gold Treasures Found in Holy Land National Geographic - June 20, 2012
Though separated by a thousand years, two newfound "emergency hoards" from Israel - including gold jewelry and coins - may have been hidden by ancient families fleeing unknown dangers, archaeologists say. Revealed late last month, these 3,000-year-old rings (foreground) and earrings, from the older hoard, were found in a ceramic jug among the ruins of a house. Though unearthed in 2010, the vessel concealed its cargo until late last year, when scientists began molecular analysis of the contents.
How Easter Island's statues walked MSNBC - June 20, 2012
Three teams, one on each side and one in the back, maneuver an Easter Island statue replica down a road in Hawaii, hinting that prehistoric farmers who didn't have the wheel may have transported these statues in this manner. The experiment was led by archaeologists Terry Hunt and Carl Lipo and is reported in the July issue of National Geographic magazine.
Feel-Good Brain Chemical's Role in Sleep Live Science - June 20, 2012
A feel-good brain chemical called dopamine has been linked to everything from laziness and creativity to impulsivity and a tendency to partake in one-night stands. Now, we can add sleep regulation to that list. When dopamine latches onto its receptor in a special part of the brain, it seems to signal the body to "wake up" by turning down levels of the sleepiness hormone melatonin, the researchers found. The first clue to this new discovery came when researchers noticed that dopamine receptor 4, a protein on the outside of certain cells that binds to dopamine, was active in the part of the brain called pineal gland. This gland regulates our internal clock, known as our circadian rhythm, by releasing melatonin in response to light.
Synchronized probes explore Bermuda Triangle's swirling vortices PhysOrg - June 20, 2012
Some might say that University of Washington oceanographers did well to only lose one of 21 underwater probes, given that they were deployed near the notorious Bermuda Triangle, where boats and airplanes have been known to disappear without a trace. The scientists chose the location to research its swirling whirlpools via a pioneering experiment that repeatedly sent the probes deep into the ocean and back to the surface in unison.
It's Not Just Summer, World Keeps Warming Live Science - June 20, 2012
The world's political and environmental leaders gather in Rio de Janeiro tomorrow to assess the state of the planet's health 20 years after the first such gathering in 1992. But if science is any guide, Earth still needs some help. Several new climate studies reveal various aspects of the same foreboding problem: the atmosphere continues to warm, glaciers continue melting and seas keep rising.
