Mike Serfas

We know that the War on Drugs has failed. A trillion dollars our country sorely needed has gone to fund the systematic devastation of Mexico, Colombia, and poorer neighborhoods of America. That doesn't mean that shooting heroin is a great idea -…

On November 7, the FDA proposed a ban of nearly all trans fat from foods. Based on data it has collected since 2009, when President Obama took office, the agency will revoke the classification of partially hydrogenated oils as "generally recognized…

Nova Scotia's Cyber-Safety Act of 2013, which went into effect August 7, was conceived in response to a terrible tragedy. The suicide of 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons is just one of many suicides attributed to cyber bullying. Other tragic suicides…

Barrett Brown is a journalist imprisoned without bail, facing over 100 years of potential jail time, much of it for posting an http link to a public forum. He had been writing about several private intelligence companies and set up a Wikipedia-like…

A recent report in Pediatrics warns of the risks of lung damage from the "cinnamon challenge" — a stunt where someone attempts to swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking fluids. Because the cinnamon absorbs saliva, people…

NASA has authorized a test launch of a new kind of rocket to serve the International Space Station (ISS) at 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Manufactured by the Orbital Sciences Corporation, the Antares made a successful fueling test last weekend with the…

The good news is, despite threats last week that American targets would be "reduced to ashes and flames the moment the first attack is unleashed," it is doubtful that North Korea can strike the United States with a missile. We should be safe from…

A recent study has found that the common ancestor of all Y-chromosomes lived approximately 338,000 years ago, vastly surpassing previous estimates (100–140,000 years). Unlike most genetic studies, this one did not begin in a university — though it…

Last week Penn State researchers reported a study indicating that eating junk food could worsen a bad mood, though it had no effect on a good one. Presented Friday at a conference of the American Psychosomatic Society, the result was based on…

A paper published February 28 in the Lancet reported the identification of genetic variations (SNPs) that mark an increased risk for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia. The paper was based…

Hugo Chavez signed Decree No. 1501, the Hydrocarbons Organic Law, on November 2, 2001, three years after his election.  The law affirmed government ownership of all hydrocarbons in Venezuela, and called for the state to retain 30% by volume of what…

Last week, Fox News reported on the possibility of developing treatments for cancer and diabetes from an ingredient in beer: humulones, the chemicals which give hops their bitter flavor. The story has been making the rounds since January 28, when a…

Jonathan Corbett is a blogger who filed suit last week asking that the NYPD be banned from testing its new terahertz scanner, a bulky multimillion-dollar tripod-mounted device paid for by the Department of Defense, without "reasonable suspicion" or…

With landmark measures for marijuana legalization recently passed in Washington and Colorado, Americans are taking a hard look at the costs of drug prohibition in money and lives.   The New York Times reports that nearly $1 trillion has gone to…

On November 6, President Barack Obama came in second in the state of Colorado by a margin of 53,281 votes. He defeated Mitt Romney by 5% — rather it was Colorado's Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana use, which surpassed the…

The Nation recently featured an article by Jeremiah Goulka entitled, "Why Does Mitt Romney Want to Bomb Iran?" Among his points are that the Romney's foreign policy team is made up primarily of what The Daily Kos terms "knuckle-dragging ultrahawks."…

This Sunday, many Catholics in Pennsylvania are expecting to hear a letter read in their churches which calls on voters to "bring their faith to bear on how we vote this Election Day." It is one of several messages around the country which the…

Hurricane Sandy has ranked among the top three in power outages, leaving more than one million people in Pennsylvania without power. Beating its path into Pennsylvania through the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia, it struck the southeast corner…

According to a massive followup of 242,383 patients by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, incremental improvements in the quality of diabetes care over the period from 1997 to 2006 have reduced the number of…