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One of the fastest-evolving pieces of DNA in the human genome is a gene linked to brain development, according to findings by an international team of researchers published in the Aug. 17 issue of the journal Nature. In a computer-based search for pieces of DNA that have undergone the most change since the ancestors of humans and chimps diverged, "Human Accelerated Region 1" or HAR1, was a clear standout, said lead author Katie Pollard, assistant professor at the UC Davis Genome Center and the Department of Statistics. "It's evolving incredibly rapidly," Pollard said. "It's really an extreme case." As a...

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. (March 10, 2006) -- The battle for hearts and minds isn’t won where the metal meets the man. It’s not won with superior technology, 5,000-pound, laser-guided bombs or from inside a command post. It’s won in the warmth of the home, surrounded by smoky wisps of apple-scented tobacco, sitting face to face with the leader of 35,000 local citizens. The training necessary to win the Iraqi citizen’s approval – training that is increasingly needed – is near impossible to duplicate without being “in theater.” But, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Units, during its Training in an Urban...

The mine roller offers soldiers protection against improvised explosive devices. It was built by mechanics from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment at Forward Operating Base Lagman, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Vincent Fusco Mine Roller Offers Protection for Troops With some old-fashioned ingenuity, unwanted equipment and creative minds, the U.S. soldiers created a unique machine to combat improvised explosive devices. By U.S. Army Pfc. Vincent Fusco 20th Public Affairs Detachment FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan, Jan. 12, 2006 — A trailer pushed by a Humvee may look strange, but there's a reason why this cart is put...

The intelligent-design movement is a small but growing force on US university campuses. For some it bridges the gap between science and faith, for others it goes beyond the pale. Geoff Brumfiel meets the movement's vanguard. For a cold Tuesday night in March, the turnout is surprisingly good. Twenty or so fresh-faced college students are gathered together in a room in the student union at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, the state's largest public university. They are there for the first meeting of Salvador Cordova's Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) club.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2005 – Nothing makes Army Lt. Col. Jamie Gayton more angry than someone saying coalition projects in East Baghdad have no effect. "We are making a difference every day in the lives of average Iraqis," said Gayton, the commander of 2-3 Brigade Troops Battalion and responsible for coalition projects in East Baghdad. Sadr City is a part of the area of operations for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, a unit of the 3rd Infantry Division. Hundreds of projects in the area of 2.6 million people have changed life in the neighborhoods. When Americans...

CAMP TIGERLAND, Iraq, July 20, 2005 — Iraqi Army soldiers and Task Force Baghdad soldiers distributed frozen chickens to local residents in the community July 12. “This humanitarian assistance operation will continue to build the relationship between the people and the Iraqi Army. It also discredits terrorists who are operating in that area and denying the people basic services,” U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Blackburn The U.S. soldiers assigned to the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Iraqi Army Brigade delivered 1,200 chickens to about 600 families in Abu Mannaser in western Abu...

A whole new kind of test! Entertaining yet revealing, the Just-For-Fun Tests give you a quick glimpse into your psyche, sense of right and wrong, and personal quirks. We dare you to tell the truth! 1. You're introduced to three new co-workers who happen to be of the opposite sex. Would one of your first thoughts be, "which one would I most like to have sex with?" o yes o no

Politicians of the Texas State House took the time this week to pass HB 1476 which will put an end to "sexually suggestive" performances by middle and high school students. The bill, all 219 words of it, didn't bother to define what a sexually suggestive performance may be. Here are the main portions of the bill: Sec. 33.088. SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE PERFORMANCES PROHIBITED. (a) A school dance team, drill team, cheerleading team, or similar performance group may not perform in a sexually suggestive manner at an athletic or other extracurricular event or competition sponsored or approved by a school district or...

Special to LiveScience LiveScience.com Wed Apr 27,10:24 AM ET Empathy allows us to feel the emotions of others, to identify and understand their feelings and motives and see things from their perspective. How we generate empathy remains a subject of intense debate in cognitive science. Some scientists now believe they may have finally discovered its root. We're all essentially mind readers, they say. The idea has been slow to gain acceptance, but evidence is mounting. Mirror neurons In 1996, three neuroscientists were probing the brain of a macaque monkey when they stumbled across a curious cluster of cells in the...

Glamorous turn their minds to poverty By Annabel Crabb London January 23, 2005 Angelina Jolie is on the list. So are America's best-known Bills: Clinton and Gates. Bono wouldn't miss it; neither would Richard Gere. Or Sharon Stone. Yes folks: it's the World Economic Forum, assembling this week in the postcard-perfect alpine resort town of Davos, Switzerland, to bend the greatest minds of our generation to solving global problems. The World Economic Forum, or Davos as it is casually termed, was established in 1971 by the dashing Swiss academic Klaus Schwab to bring together the energies of business and politics...

France split over battle for Muslim souls and minds French intelligence has accused 'ghetto' communities of terrorist links - now the estates are fighting back Alex Duval Smith in Paris Sunday July 11, 2004 The Observer Whichever way he turns his head, Abdel Hak Eddajibi sees the same horizon: tower blocks. It may as well be a wall. Standing in the car park of his housing estate, he is unmoved by a French intelligence service report that suggests he lives in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the country. 'First they put us in a ghetto, then they accuse...

With all the recent talk about winning hearts and minds in the Arab world, we need to speak honestly about ourselves as conservatives. Many conservatives are impatient, angry, and don't kiss butt. Many are from working class homes, and are not schooled in the high society culture of good manners and etiquette, in the mold of a John Kerry. Many of us never had French lessons like Kerry, and did not attend an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland, which would have enabled us to understand people of different cultures. Many of us cannot even play the piano or the cello....

BOSTON (AP) - For years, futurists have dreamed of machines that can read minds, then act on instructions as they are thought. Now, human trials are set to begin on a brain-computer interface involving implants. Cyberkinetics Inc. of Foxboro, Mass., has received Food and Drug Administration approval to begin a clinical trial in which four-square-millimeter chips will be placed beneath the skulls of paralyzed patients. If successful, the chips could allow patients to command a computer to act - merely by thinking about the instructions they wish to send. It's a small, early step in a mission to improve the...

What about our “hearts and minds”? April 9th, 2004 The last week in Iraq certainly has been a hellish one; there is nothing wrong with admitting it. Many Coalition soldiers have fallen on the frontline for a worthy cause, and it would be to dishonor them, if we shied away from accepting the new realities currently present in Iraq. Our dead and wounded should be respected through the commitment we have to our ideals and principles, which means seeing it all the way through to the end. A very poignant and touching photograph appeared on the front page of Saturday’s...

With U.S. reliant on Chinese lending, two economies deeply linked BY JOHN SCHMID Milwaukee Journal Sentinel WASHINGTON - (KRT) - When an American buys a house, there's a decent chance the Chinese bankrolled a chunk of the mortgage. In fact, the People's Republic of China finances more consumer and government spending than any foreign lender other than Japan. Beijing's central bank, the People's Bank of China, buys mortgage-backed bonds from both U.S. home-lending agencies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to the tune of $48.6 million on average every workday. In that way, the central bank lends its vast dollar reserves,...

There's an old adage, attributed to various political luminaries, that says: "If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no head." At least the "liberal" part of that may have to be rethought. While the liberalism of young adults has long been taken for granted, there is accumulating evidence that conservatism is making inroads. Recent polls and election results show that, at the least, this group of potential voters is up for grabs, prompting Republican and Democratic strategists to scramble to win their loyalty. Nationwide, Hoplin has...

Brigade gets water flowing in central Iraq By Ron Jensen, Stars and Stripes European edition, Wednesday, October 29, 2003 JOWEZRAT, Iraq — Lt. Col. Randy Fritz looks across central Iraq and sees water. Cool water. Clear water. Healthy water. Most can’t see it. The water is 100 feet or more below the ground. But to Fritz, a member of the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade from Homewood, Ill., his vision is as clear as the unblemished Iraqi sky. “We were sent here to make a difference. We have the capability to make a difference,” he says. “Let’s go do it.” Ron...

Iraqi defence evaporates as US push wins minds and ground Analysis By Chris Bellamy 06 April 2003 The war in Iraq suddenly moved faster than anyone expected yesterday, as strong US columns pushed fast, far and aggressively towards the centre of Baghdad. Whatever you think of the political machinations behind this war and the spin so far, it is hard to deny that yesterday the US military were doing what they do best extremely well. This was, in US and British military parlance, "reconnaissance in force", or even more. In Russian, razvedka boyem – "reconnaissance by battle". The US may...

Analysis: Victory still in the balance in the battle for hearts and mindsLatest opinion polls in the US show shift in favour of attacking Iraq, but in Europe electorates remain unpersuaded by the case for war By John Curtice 13 February 2003 George Bush and Jacques Chirac appear to be at loggerheads about what should be done next in Iraq. And there is a gulf between American and European public opinion on the subject, with Britain uneasily in the middle. Opinion polls in the United States after Colin Powell's address to the UN Security Council, suggest support for war has...