Featuring Patti Smith's former New York punk-era colleague Tom Verlaine on solo guitar, "April Fool" is one of the prettiest songs on Smith's new album, Banga. Verlaine sends out long, thin, delicate tendrils of sound as Smith's voice suffuses the melody with full-throated urgency. Although Smith has said, with typical art-democratic directness, that "almost everybody in the world can sing," a few songs on Banga make you aware of what a good voice she has.
Anthony Smukall's shopping list might look similar to that of many American's: Milk, eggs, whole grain bread, apples, assorted berries. But Smukall buys these products with his monthly SNAP allotment – money he receives from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps).
Transporting reams of athletes' medical information has become a major burden for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and is one reason it's switching to electronic medical records.
The state of Oregon's Supreme Court ruled today that "20,000 pages of so-called perversion files compiled by the Boy Scouts on suspected child abusers over a period of 20 years" must be opened to the public, The Associated Press reports.
After Moody's became the second ratings agency to downgrade Spain's sovereign debt, the country's borrowing costs skyrocketed to record highs.
"The interest rate — or yield — on the country's benchmark 10-year bonds rose to a record 6.96 percent in early trading Thursday, its highest level since Spain joined the euro in 1999 and close to the level which many analysts believe is unsustainable in the long term," the AP reports.
It's the end of the school year, and teachers and students are enjoying some downtime. But some kids won't be going back to school next fall because about a million students drop out every year. Host Michel Martin discusses the dropout crisis with teachers from three cities with high dropout rates: Las Vegas, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.
Miami's Republican Mayor Tomas Regalado moves against his party and his governor. He tells host Michel Martin that Florida's controversial voter eligibility program, that is intended to purge non-citizens from its rosters, isn't necessary.
There is a new reality show in town. It's on the TLC Network. That's the network known for popular style and fashion hits like, "What Not to Wear" and "Say Yes to the Dress." Now a new show focuses on how fashion is trying to catch up to our changing population, clothing designed for plus-sized women. "Big Brooklyn Style" follows Lisa Dolan, owner of Lee Lee's Valise, as she designs her own looks and helps her customers find looks that work for them.
Data from the Twins Early Development Study shows areas in the U.K. where the effect of environmental factors, shown in pink, trumps the influence of genes, shown in blue, and vice versa.
The researchers discovered that London was a hotspot for environmental influences on classroom behavior (left map, in red). A similar pattern is seen for income inequality (right map).
Originally published on Thu June 14, 2012 12:50 pm
Scientists don't debate the old nature vs. nurture question much these days. The consensus is that there is no winner: Both your genes and your environment shape your development and your health. What's still up in the air is how they combine to put you at risk for diseases or social problems. And that matters for people trying to solve them.