On:

We’ve discovered that a lot of the "mystery meat" in tacos and fast food is really horse meat, despite being labeled as "beef." Here’s the latest example of mislabeling: Two department stores have been caught selling REAL fur coats as "fake fur," probably in deference to animal-loving customers.

The Fur Act of 1951 stipulates that customers need to be told where a fur comes from, what animal it’s made of, whether it has been colored or bleached, and whether it’s new or used.
read more

On:

There’s a billboard up ahead, a roadside sign full of language and imagery. You become emotionally distracted, and guess what happens next?

One researcher has discovered that language used on billboards can provoke an emotional response that affects our driving abilities. And whether the words have a negative or positive connotation seems to determine whether the attention wanders or the foot gets heavier.
read more

On:

Early cultures separated into tribes (something many countries still do) in order to keep themselves safe. But they needed to mix with other tribes as well–in order to spread their DNA around, as well as to make friends.

In the March 17th edition of the New York Times, Jeffrey P. Kahn writes: "These lifesaving social instincts didn’t’ readily lend themselves to exploration, artistic expression, romance, inventiveness and experimentation–the human drives that make for a vibrant civilization."

For that, Keller says, "We needed beer." It’s thought that beer brewing started 10,000 years ago.
read more

On:

Scientists are trying to bring extinct species back from the dead. Will they recreate something dangerous?

In the March 19th edition of the New York Times, Gina Kolata quotes geneticist George Church as saying, "Maybe we can no longer delay death, but we can reverse it."

So far only one extinct species has been brought back: A goat-like creature that went extinct in 1999. In 2003, it was cloned from frozen cells, but it lived only a few minutes. Cloning needs an intact cell, which, in an extinct species, may not exist. If it works, the embryo must be implanted in a closely related species.
read more