Ancient man may have started global warming through massive deforestation and burning that could have permanently altered the Earth’s climate, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The study, published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews and reported on the University of Virginia’s Web site, says over thousands of years, farmers burned down so many forests on such a large scale that huge amounts of carbon dioxide were pumped into the atmosphere. That possibly caused the Earth to warm up and forever changed the climate
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Telescopes to show universe soon after Big Bang
It may not be possible to travel back in time, but seeing stars and galaxies as they looked millions or even billions of years ago is no problem thanks to telescopes, the closest thing we have to time machines. (CNN) — It may not be possible to travel back in time, but seeing stars and galaxies as they looked millions or even billions of years ago is no problem thanks to telescopes, the closest thing we have to time machines.
Scientists analyze blood to test for toxic airplane air exposure
Inside a freezer in a research laboratory at the University of Washington are blood and blood plasma samples from 92 people who suffer from mysterious illnesses, including tremors, memory loss and severe migraine headaches. They are mostly pilots and flight attendants who suspect they’ve been poisoned in their workplace — on board the aircraft they fly. Clement Furlong, University of Washington professor of medicine and genome sciences, leads a team of scientists who have been collecting the samples for 2 ½ years.
90 percent of U.S. bills carry traces of cocaine
The term "dirty money" is for real. In the course of its average 20 months in circulation, U.S. currency gets whisked into ATMs, clutched, touched and traded perhaps thousands of times at coffee shops, convenience stores and newsstands.
Will Iran’s ‘Kennedys’ Challenge Ahmadinejad?
The brothers Larijani — often referred to as the Kennedys of Iran — are emerging as a powerful counterweight to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from within the conservative camp.
Distracted Driving: Should Talking, Texting Be Banned?
Most of us are neither pilots nor astronauts.
No ‘silver bullet’ to health care overhaul, Obama says
There is no "silver bullet" solution to health care overhaul, President Obama said on Saturday, but the system needs to change to avoid "a world of hurt" down the road. “There is no perfect, painless silver bullet out there that solves everyone’s problem, that gives everyone perfect health care for free.
California’s Growing Prison Crisis
What if a state prison department built an execution chamber and told no one about it?
Google and Microsoft Battle for College E-Mail
College students used to complain about dining-hall mystery meat. Their new gripe?
Heart transplant patients push physical limits at Ironman
If all goes according to plan, cancer survivor Kyle Garlett will compete in October’s Ford Ironman World Championship, a grueling triathlon made up of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile run. And he’ll do it with another man’s heart pumping in his chest