Two years ago, I was in the United Kingdom working on a follow-up project for my books “Black London” and “Black Victorians/Black Victoriana.” While looking through old British newspapers, I was astonished to read...

President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan and Vietnam this week will be historic.

It provides him the occasion to resolve some lingering issues from two past American conflicts in Asia. The visit will also reassure America’s allies and strategic partners in the area about the country’s commitment to Asia, particularly in light of...

Despite massive government, medical and individual efforts to win the war on obesity, 71 percent of Americans are overweight. The average adult is 24 pounds heavier today than in 1960. Our growing girth adds some US$200 billion per year to our health care expenditure,...

Did you hear about the secret meeting earlier this month at Harvard Medical School? The one where scientists schemed to create a parentless human being from scratch? Maybe you read one of the skeptical newsarticles, or the...

Have you ever been listening to a great piece of music and felt a chill run up your spine? Or goosebumps tickle your arms and shoulders?

The experience is called frisson...

As it seeks to modernize its nuclear arsenal, the United States faces a big choice, one which Barack Obama should ponder before his upcoming Hiroshima speech.

Should we spend a trillion dollars to replace each of our thousands of nuclear warheads with a more sophisticated substitute attached to a more lethal delivery system? Or should we keep only...

Last month, the FDA proposed setting a limit of 100 parts per billion for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal. This proposal came after FDA analysis of research linking inorganic arsenic exposure to lung and bladder cancer, adverse pregnancy outcomes and decreased performance on...

“Disaster narrowly averted” was the British Guardian newspaper’s view of the defeat – by only 31,000 votes out of 4.64 million – of the far right Freedom Party in Austria’s presidential elections this past weekend.

But it is hard to escape the conclusion that varied forms of populism – whether...

Honey bees are arguably our most important commercially available pollinator. They are responsible for pollinating numerous food plants that make our diets more exciting and nutritious, including many fruits, vegetables and nuts.

Beekeepers expect some of their bees to die off from season to season – typically, around 17 percent annually. But...

Nonmedical use of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) drugs on college campuses, such as Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta and Vyvanse, has exploded in the past decade, with a parallel rise in depression disorders and binge drinking among young adults.

These ADHD drugs act as a brain...