In The News

Human Evolution Speeding Up, Study Says

John Roach December 27, 2007
Researchers can examine chromosomes and determine when genetic variations occurred. If a condition within a chromosome is both new and common throughout the population, then researchers assume that natural selection promoted the variation. “According to Charles Darwin's famous theory, evolution happens faster in big populations,” writes John Roach for National Geographic News. The world had...

Eight Business Technology Trends to Watch

James M. Manyika December 26, 2007
Businesses continue to innovate by applying technology in new ways, suggests a McKinsey Quarterly report that identifies emerging trends. Technology allows businesses to harvest talent inside and outside corporate borders – and rely on consumers for more information and innovation. “Competitive advantage will shift to companies that can master the art of breaking down and recomposing tasks,”...

World's Schools Teach US A Lesson

Stacy Teicher Khadaroo December 24, 2007
US education experts suggest that the nation’s children fail to keep pace with the top international students. A globalizing economy means that today's kindergarten students will eventually compete for jobs or work on teams with peers from around the world. The challenge awaiting teachers is how to best prepare young students. While pupils in China and India achieve high scores on science...

Fishing for Compliments

December 23, 2007
Marine biologists have urged the creation of ocean reserves for decades – for both environmental and economic reasons. Overfishing occurs in areas without restrictions, with catches including increasing numbers of young fish that have not yet produced offspring and other unsustainable practices. Reserves, though, mark part of the ocean as off-limits for all or part of the year to fishermen. Such...

Covering the World

Sherry Ricchiardi December 21, 2007
The Associated Press is making inroads around the globe, reporting international news, at the same time that foreign bureaus of major newspapers are closing. With 243 foreign bureaus, the AP is the world’s largest news organization. It is the first Western newsgroup to open an office in North Korea and has more than 200 staffers in Iraq. By maintaining reporters throughout the globe, the AP...

2008: Year of Reckoning?

Ernesto Zedillo December 21, 2007
Economists debate whether huge global imbalances are dangerous or matter of course. But a specific financial tool as simple as home loans in the US has revealed the intricate ties linking global financial markets, resulting in “the credit-crunch drama,” explains Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Recklessness in the sub-prime mortgage market has also...

The Atlantic Becomes a Little Wider

Richard Haass December 21, 2007
Some analysts suggest that recent elections in Europe, combined with the 2008 presidential race promising new leadership for the US, will improve transatlantic relations. Think again, warns Richard Haass, president of the Council of Foreign Affairs, in an opinion essay for the Financial Times. Stable alliances require a measure of predictability, and Haass writes that “The 21st-century world is...