Are We Still Evolving?

The late Stephen Jay Gould, one of the most respected of evolutionary biologists, once said: "There has been no biological change in humans in 40,000 or 50,000 years. Everything we call culture and civilisation we've built with the same body and brain."

It turns out that he, and many others, were wrong.

Read it at the Independent

Social Media Encourages Activism

As Twitter and Facebook have recently played a role in Middle East protests, is it time to reconsider the adage that social media activism is a hollow political gesture? A new study from the University of California thinks so: "The study looked at three types of behavior: politically-driven online participation, online exposure to diverse perspectives, and interest-driven online participation. It followed how often the students used blogs or social networks to share or discuss various social and political issues, how often they searched for information about such issues and how much they communicated with others."

Read more at Gigaom

Scientific Evidence for Dietary Supplements

Ever wonder which dietary supplements work best? Ever wonder if the claims of the sellers of dietary supplements are backed by scientific research on humans?...

Alzheimer's Reading Room 

The first issue -- which dietary supplements are effective and backed by research on humans. The second issue -- what is the effectiveness of a dietary supplement for any given condition.

Is honesty waning in American business?

Looking at perceived corruption in the public sector, a report last month found that the United States had slipped from being the 19th least corrupt nation—behind Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, and its neighbor Canada—to 22nd, behind Chile and Ireland. "Our rating is pretty awful," says Frank Vogl, cofounder of Transparency International, which puts together the annual report. He figures the drop has been influenced by a series of scandals at the state and city level, such as the September arrests of the mayor and city manager of Bell, Calif., accused of taking $5.5 million from the city.

READ IT AT THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR