September-October 2010

A small sample of the overwhelming and varied response to a story on the labor market for scientists.

Study says using a cell phone while driving causes communication breakdowns that could cause misunderstandings and hurt relationships.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going — even if their activity is counterproductive or just for show.

Ready for a close-up: The year in award-winning photojournalism presented by the World Press Photo Exhibition.

International treaties aren't the way to combat cyber sabotage.

An extraordinary plan to revive the Dead Sea could ease tensions among Israel, Palestine and Jordan. Or it could create an environmental disaster.

Paper reveals that players of a popular video game increase their performance when they've had a full night of rest.

Researchers argue the physical location of the polls not only affects how many people vote; it may also influence last-minute decisions regarding which box to mark or lever to pull.

Amid a rush of political scandals and missteps, we figure that some citizens are more embarrassed for their state than others. We look at the shameful headlines and determine where these states would rank on the citizen embarrassment level.

How textbook changes and talk of secession affect the citizen embarrassment level in Texas.

How battling Obamacare and being highlighted for corruption affect the citizen embarrassment level in Tennessee.

How former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and state corruption in general affect the citizen embarrassment level in Illinois.

How gun laws, Confederate History Month and a statue of Stalin contribute to the citizen embarrassment level in Virginia.

How rampant corruption, a governor's affair with a prostitute and the fall of "America's Cop" affect the citizen embarrassment level in New York.

How immigration laws, a state boycott and a "worst sheriff" honor affect the citizen embarrassment level in Arizona.

How a budget deficit, credit crisis and the Governator affect the citizen embarrassment level in California.

Charles Harvey traces the source of widespread arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh, setting the stage for programs that could benefit 20 million people.

For the U.S. to have world-class high-speed trains, the government will have to subsidize them. The investment would be small compared to the billions lavished on highways and airports.

Scientists who argue for human-caused climate change published twice as many papers and are cited 64 percent more often than researchers who doubt climate change.

Claiming that our inbred propensity to war can be prevented by aggressively reducing the birth rate is a de facto declaration of war on the world's poor.

Social epidemiologist Paula Lantz reveals what actually leads to premature deaths among Americans. Obesity? No. Poverty? Yes.

An unprecedented 10-year study's surprising verdict: The real outcome of most lobbying is ... nothing. Until the right party or person comes to power.

How the potent hormone of empathy, oxytocin, is shaking up the field of economics.

John Dougherty, a journalist who helped make John McCain one of the Keating Five, is running a long-shot campaign to replace McCain as U.S. senator. Along the way, both will have to deal with the immigration monster under every Arizona bed.