Sign language may be the cause of the rising rate of inherited deafness, which has doubled over the past 200 years. The introduction of sign language in the early 1800s allowed deaf people to communicate with other deaf people, leading to marriage and deaf offspring. Researcher Walter Nance says, “In the United States, at least 85% of individuals with profound deafness marry another deaf person.”
read more

Most of us have unhealthy levels of pesticides inside our bodies, from yards (or own and others) and the food we eat, as well as air and water. There’s no way to avoid being exposed to them.

When the Pesticide Action Network looked for levels of 23 different pesticides in data on over 2,500 people, they found that the average person had at least 13 of them in their blood and urine. Margaret Reeves of PAN says, “A growing body of research suggests that even at very low levels, the combination of these chemicals can be harmful to our health.”

Children between the ages of 6 and 11 are exposed to the nerve-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos at four times the acceptable level. Chlorpyrifos kills insects by disrupting their nervous system.
read more

In her new Diary, Anne Strieber writes: “There IS a link between 911 and Iraq, and that link is oil. To al-Qaeda, showing a naked man being taunted by a female soldier is inhumane, but beheading a civilian U.S. worker is not. We may never be able to see the world through the eyes of Middle Eastern fundamentalists?and we may not want to. But if we don’t find a way to use less oil?and quickly?we’re going to have to deal with them for a long time to come.”

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.read more

You know your phone can be tapped, but you probably think you have complete privacy when typing on your computer keyboard. However, spies can eavesdrop on what you’re writing by listening to the sounds of your keystrokes.

IBM research scientist Dmitri Asonov says that every key on computer keyboards, telephones and even ATM machines makes a unique sound as it’s pressed and released. All you need to listen is $200 worth of microphones and sound processing software. Asonov says he can decipher keystrokes with 80% accuracy.
read more