On:

A newly-discovered asteroid flew past earth on March 17 a little over twice the distance of a manmade orbiting satellite. This is the SECOND time in March that an asteroid has flown so close to us. All these asteroids are too small to cause major damage, but an impact could cause local damage of the type seen in Tunguska. We often didn’t notice flybys of such small objects in the past, but improved asteroid searches mean that we are now aware of them.

Art credit: gimp-savvy.com
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It isn’t just pork from China that’s the problem?the death of a doctor in Indiana that has been traced to a superbug on a huge pork farm is worrying scientists. These pigs are fed antibiotics, which promotes the growth of superbugs in pork and beef.

In the March 12th edition of the New York Times, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof tells the story of family physician Tom Anderson, who investigated a mysterious skin disease that started showing up in his patients a year ago: huge, painful welts on their skin. When he cultured then and sent them to a lab, the results came back as MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, which is usually found only in hospitals.
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Will there be an end to the current economic recession soon? Most Americans are pretty gloomy, but?surprisingly?economists have a brighter outlook on the future.

Economic historian Robert Whaples takes the long view: he says that he and the “vast, vast majority” of his peers are more optimistic about the future than a recent poll found average Americans to be. Whaples has come to see the field of economics not as the so-called “dismal science” but rather as the “cheerful science”?which is not how the rest of us see it!
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Andy Fickman is a film director who takes a seriousinterest in the UFO phenomenon and his new film,Race to Witch Mountain opens Friday, March 13. Anne andWhitley Strieber appear briefly in a section of the thrillerthat gently spoofs the UFO community. The film has a lightheart, but it also raises compelling questions about thepossibility of an alien presence on earth, and what it mightbe like for aliens who appeared human to attempt to dealwith our society. This is the film that Anne wrote about in her diary a year ago.
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