Scientists can identify zebras by their "bar codes"–now they can identify shark fins by zip code. Shark fins are illegally poached by the Chinese in order to make one of their great delicacies: shark fin soup. Tens of millions of animals are killed every year to produce this: 73 million sharks are killed by people every year, while sharks kill 4-5 people a year.
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Forensic scientists are discovering that DNA and "genetic markers" can predict who will–or will–turn to a life of crime. If this is true, it portends a frightening future where we give infants DNA swabs, then decide whether to watch them (or even incarcerate them) for the rest of their lives. Since more black men are jailed in the US than men of any other race, this is especially troubling for African-Americans.
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The West has become so dependent on the Chinese economy that it’s imperative to understand them. It turns out that a 2,000 year old board game that the Chinese play constantly (the way we play cards, chess or checkers) is the key to this understanding. Learning the ancient board game of wei qi (which means the "encirclement game" and is known in the US as Go, can teach Westerners how to understand Chinese world strategy, according to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Army War College professor David Lai.
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When you go out to a Chinese restaurant, be sure you know where the rice they’re serving comes from: Up to 10% of the rice grown in China is contaminated with harmful heavy metals like cadmium, due to pollution from that country’s rapid industrialization. A new report reveals that this has been going on for years, but (probably due to our dependence on China’s economy), little has been done to warn US consumers about this.
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