11/20/2008 - The Boston Globe
Long the neglected stepchildren of American higher education, community colleges have come front-and-center in the eyes of students, policymakers, and philanthropists. For students, that's because of the economy, which is boosting interest in two-year schools as a cheaper starting point for a bachelor's degree. They're also the place for job retraining.
11/20/2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Scientists are talking for the first time about the old idea of resurrecting extinct species as if this staple of science fiction is a realistic possibility, saying that a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million. The same technology could be applied to any other extinct species from which one can obtain hair, horn, hooves, fur, or feathers, and that went extinct within the last 60,000 years, the effective age limit for DNA.
11/19/2008 - ScienceDaily
When children change schools in elementary school, dips in academic performance and classroom participation can follow. But having a supportive teacher who encourages other students to accept newcomers can go a long way toward helping children make a smooth transition.
11/19/2008 - WebMD
Doctors in Europe have performed the first trachea transplant that hinges on the patient's own stem cells. Experts say the results should be "highly regarded," but longer follow-up is needed before the procedure is tested in a clinical trial.
11/19/2008 - Reuters
Burger King Corp, the world's second-largest hamburger chain, on Wednesday said it will limit sodium in its "Kids Meals" and that it was the first fast-food restaurant chain to take that step.
11/19/2008 - National Science Foundation
A recently discovered female pelvis is changing minds about the head size of an ancient human ancestor, Homo erectus, and consequently revising notions about how smart they may have been.
11/19/2008 - eSchool News
Some critics of distance learning say face-to-face classes give students a better learning environment, but a recent Indiana University study found that online learners reported deeper approaches to learning than classroom-based learners.
11/18/2008 - The Chronicle of Higher Education
As the days of the Bush administration wind down, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has watched a series of top aides leave early, including her chief of staff, chief financial officer, and under secretary for higher education. Ms. Spellings, however, has repeatedly promised to stay until the end, January 20, 2009. But will she? Close friends and former colleagues say the secretary plans to announce her own departure shortly.
11/18/2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Are there problems with the way researchers have been using split-second reactions on a computer test to diagnose an epidemic of racial bias?
11/18/2008 - USA Today
Eager to encourage public service and give debt-burdened graduates more options, several colleges and universities are trying new initiatives that pay tuition in exchange for students helping Uncle Sam.
11/18/2008 - ScienceDaily
Every group of animals possesses a small proportion of genes which are extremely variable among closely related species or even unique. Such genes are referred to as "novel," "orphan," or "taxonomically restricted."
11/17/2008 - Time Magazine
A new decision by the EPA's Environmental Appeal Board means America's new coal plants need to figure out how to get their emissions down—if they're going to go up.
11/17/2008 - BBC News
Eating a high-fat diet in pregnancy may cause changes in the foetal brain that lead to over-eating and obesity early in life, research suggests.
11/17/2008 - Education Week (requires free registration)
A major association of colleges and universities is asking its member institutions to commit to producing more mathematics and science teachers and to work more closely together to share information about promising strategies for meeting that goal.
11/17/2008 - Inside Higher Ed
In what appears a harbinger of things to come for higher education, the governors of California and New York rolled out plans that would dramatically reduce funding for colleges and universities.
11/14/2008 - USA Today
Parents are increasingly getting the backing of state laws to overrule principals' long-standing practice of separating twins in school. Advocates of the laws say blanket policies requiring separation of twins are outdated.
11/14/2008 - BBC News
The first pictures of planets outside our Solar System have been taken, two groups report in the journal Science. Visible and infrared images have been snapped of a planet orbiting a star 25 light-years away. The planet is believed to be the coolest, lowest-mass object ever seen outside our own solar neighbourhood.
11/14/2008 - WebMD
The percentage of Americans who smoke cigarettes has fallen below 20% for the first time since at least the mid-1960s, according to a new report. The CDC says cigarette smoking prevalence has been dropping steadily among Americans 18 and older since it began keeping records in 1965, when 42.4% smoked.
11/14/2008 - National Geographic News
Deep ice sheets would cover much of the Northern Hemisphere thousands of years from now, if it weren't for us pesky humans, a new study says. Emissions of greenhouse gases, such as the carbon dioxide that comes from power plants and cars, are heating the atmosphere to such an extent that the next ice age, predicted to be the deepest in millions of years, may be postponed indefinitely.
11/13/2008 - eSchool News
Higher-education officials nationwide are anticipating a gradual thaw of President Bush's stem-cell policies aimed at restricting unfettered research, a week after Michigan voters approved a ballot measure that will loosen restrictions on embryonic stem-cell study at the state's research universities.
11/13/2008 - Time Magazine
Researchers trying to create the world's first malaria vaccine are launching a massive medical trial as early as next month involving 16,000 children that could be the largest such trial ever conducted on children in Africa.
11/13/2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Women still lag far behind men in top political and decision-making roles, although their access to education and health care is nearly equal, according to the World Economic Forum.
11/13/2008 - ScienceDaily
Saturn has its own unique brand of aurora that lights up the polar cap, unlike any other planetary aurora known in our solar system. This odd aurora revealed itself to one of the infrared instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
11/13/2008 - CBS News
Lowering air pollution in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley would save more lives annually than ending all motor vehicle fatalities in the two regions, according to a new study.
11/12/2008 - USA Today
School superintendents nationwide say the struggling economy threatens to reverse progress they have made in closing historic achievement gaps as schools face trimmed budgets now—and possibly worse ones next fall.