In The News

American Cows Have Indian Origins, Scientists Find

Subodh Varma March 29, 2013
Genetic research is showing that breeds of cows in the Americas, including the Texas Longhorn, are descendants of cows from India, reports Subodh Varma for the Times of India. India has the world’s largest cattle population in the world, followed by Brazil, China and US. The Indian breeds were shipped to East Africa, then to Spain and eventually to the Caribbean, suggests a study from the...

College Grads May Be Stuck in Low-Skill Jobs

Ben Casselman March 27, 2013
The US economy could be in a long-term structural bind, failing to provide enough work for its educated young adults. Many economists had suggested that underemployment would be a temporary problem. But research by a team of Canadian economists suggests that a high-tech economy has reduced need for workers over the long term. Other economists suggest the findings are speculation, reports Ben...

In Mexico, Tweeting on Drug War to Fill the Void of Traditional Media

Justin Ellis March 22, 2013
The drug wars in Mexico have targeted traditional journalists and blocked investigations. But a research study is showing that Twitter users “are spreading the word on shootings, arrests, and clashes between the cartels and police,” reports Justin Ellis for Neiman Journalism Lab. “And, researchers say, they’ve developed a kind of media-esque ecosystem that values traits like sourcing and...

What Americans Ignore About Finland's School Success

Anu Partanen March 19, 2013
Educators around the globe are curious about the consistently high test scores from students in Finland, as measured by OPEC. “Compared with the stereotype of the East Asian model – long hours of exhaustive cramming and rote memorization – Finland's success is especially intriguing because Finnish schools assign less homework and engage children in more creative play,” reports Anu Partenan...

US Must Adopt Law of the Sea

Ziad Haider March 13, 2013
At a time when North Korea’s nuclear brinkmanship requires a common front, growing maritime disputes over small islands in the South China Sea and East China Sea are pitting major countries against one another. Key players, including China, Japan and South Korea, are at odds and increasingly relying on military bluster. Attorney Ziad Haider urges the United States to lead in easing the tensions...

Getting Ready to Print a New Future

Nayan Chanda March 12, 2013
Imaginations of inventors and investors are running wild at the thought of 3D printing technology, printer that can add “layers of microscopic material the way an inkjet printer delivers layers of ink on paper,” suggests Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld, who adds, “there is no doubt that the technology has the potential to be as disruptive as the steam engine or...

The World Wants Vancouverism – Shouldn’t Canada?

Doug Saunders March 5, 2013
The city of Vancouver touts its diversity, green initiatives, parks and mass transit and remains a popular destination for immigrants, who account for 40 percent of the metropolitan population. Vancouver has managed fast-growing urbanization with good planning that includes eliminating vast parking lots. “Vancouver has been remade dramatically, rendered into a thickly vertical city jammed with...