Since the start of the Syrian civil war four years ago, the average life expectancy in the country has dropped from 79.5 years to 55.7 years, about the same as in South Sudan and Malawi, according to a new U.N. report
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The species of bacteria that dominate our guts may strongly affect whether we’re thin or fat. Researchers at Washington University collected samples of gut bacteria from pairs of twins in which one was obese and the other thin. Then they transplanted the bacteria into mice. The mice that received the bacteria from the obese twins became obese; the mice that […]
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A gang of German bank robbers trying to blow open an ATM machine used too much explosive and destroyed the entire bank. The blast reduced the bank building in the village of Malliss to rubble and damaged cars more than 100 yards away, yet the targeted ATM machine was left completely intact. “Something evidently didn’t work the way the robbers […]
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In many developing countries, poor hygiene and sanitation can be a death sentence. That fact led sales exec Shawn Seipler to quit his job seven years ago to launch Clean the World, a charity dedicated to collecting and recycling leftover hotel soap for those in need. His company has since partnered with Global Soap, and together the two groups have […]
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Women accounted for a record 22% of legislators worldwide last year, according to the Interparliamentary Union.
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Nearly 10,000 desperate refugees were rescued from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean this week, a record high, but another 400 are believed to have drowned when one of the boats sank, also a record. Most of the migrants were from Syria or sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing war and poverty. European Union officials said some half-million people are massed in Libyan ports […]
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Number of golf courses worldwide operated by the U.S. military: 151
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A home-brew club in Oregon will soon start making beer from treated sewage water. Clean Water Services, which runs four wastewater treatment plants in the Portland area, will let the Oregon Brew Crew use recycled sewage to make batches of beer. “I’m excited,” said Lee Hedgmon, president of the club. “I’m trying to think of a really cool recipe.” Hedgmon […]
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Percentage change since 2009 in the number of Americans who play football: -17 Who play rugby: +77
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Percentage change in the number of overweight people in the developing world since 1980: +261
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