We have heard a lot of talk about MOOCs, or massive online open courses, over the last couple of years. On the plus side, MOOCs often draw enormous enrollments and are easy to sign up for and use; all you need, it seems, is an Internet connection and an interest to learn.

On the down side, they have...

The year 2015 has proven to be another year of temperature records. Data released by NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) show that in 2015, the global mean surface temperature – the...

Hollywood loves a good bad guy.

From ruthless mobsters to drug kingpins to serial killers, evil characters are often plucked from real-world events. As human trafficking has garnered more attention, it was inevitable that the issue would hit the big screen. Traffickers, after all, are...

Europe’s refugee crisis neither began nor ended when the body of a Kurdish boy was found washed up on a Turkish beach in September.

In all, he was just one of 3,770 people who lost their lives in 2015 as over a million people crossed into Europe fleeing wars in...

Let’s face it: gossips get a bad rap.

Smugly looking down from a moral high ground – and secure in the knowledge that we don’t share their character flaw – we often dismiss those who are obsessed with the doings of others as...

Plunging Chinese stocks have been sending worsening ripples across global markets all year, prompting fears of spillovers and recessions.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 8 percent last week alone and is down more than 20 percent since a recent high in December, putting it in bear-market territory. That slide...

This October, a large leak was discovered at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in northwest Los Angeles. The leak is a serious health risk to nearby...

A legal battle has erupted between art dealer Larry Gagosian and the royal family of Qatar, with each side claiming to have purchased a Picasso statue from Picasso’s daughter...

Mental health conditions are more common among prisoners than in the general population. Estimates suggest that as many as 26 percent of state and federal prisoners suffer from at least one mental illness, compared with nine percent or less in the...

American chestnut trees were once among the most majestic hardwood trees in the eastern deciduous forests, many reaching 80 to 120 feet in height and eight feet or more in diameter.

Historic picture of a large American chestnut tree (Ten Eyck Dewitt barns, Paul Farm, NY).Provide...