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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Not too many NASA engineers get to sit with the First Lady at the State of the Union address. But having an unusual haircut certainly doesn’t hurt in getting you noticed, especially if you are the flight director for the Mars Curiosity mission. Bobak Ferdowsi, better known as Mohawk Guy, caught many people’s attention, including that of Michelle Obama, when television cameras caught the 33-year-old in the control room as Curiosity made its spectacular landing last August 6, 2012....

U.S. EPA is poised to propose an updated standard for airborne nitrogen dioxide (NO2) after the White House Office of Management and Budget cleared the agency’s draft rule Friday. EPA was under a court deadline to propose by Friday whether to revise the primary health-based air quality standard for NO2, a gaseous air pollutant that contributes to the formation of particle pollution and ozone. The agency’s staff and scientific advisers have recommended that the agency establish a new one-hour daily maximum standard to prevent spikes of NO2 concentrations, which have been linked to asthma attacks and other adverse health effects....

At first glance, the list of animals could suggest any zoo. There’s an elephant, an armadillo, an opossum, a dolphin, a sloth, a hedgehog, big and small bats, a couple of shrews, some fish, a macaque, an orangutan, a chimpanzee and a gorilla—to name a few of the more familiar creatures. But this menagerie is not at all like any zoo that has been constructed before. There are no cages, no concession stands and, in fact, no animals....

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) call for a “do not track” mechanism to be created to protect Web users’ private information from being exploited by online advertising networks sounds good on paper, but implementing such a technology would be a thorny process. It is not because the technology is so difficult to create, but rather because most of the companies that make Web browsers are supported by or are themselves online advertising networks....

Dear EarthTalk: I heard that children are reaching puberty at earlier ages now and that it may have to do with environmental toxins and even their TV viewing habits. Can you enlighten? – Mark Abbot, via e-mail To say that kids are growing up faster than ever these days may be more than just cliché. Recent studies have shown that children are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages, and researchers are starting to see links between this trend and other societal ills such as ubiquitous pollution and sedentary lifestyles....

In the 1980s researchers at AT&T Bell Laboratories (now Bell Labs) created “optical tweezers” that could manipulate micron-size objects with focused laser beams, taking advantage of the gentle forces that light exerts on matter. Yet despite advancements made over the past 30 years, a problem has remained: as a result of the law of diffraction, which limits the degree to which light can be focused, most objects smaller than about 100 nanometers have evaded the tweezers....

The sculpture-like objects in Bas Overvelde’s laboratory at the Netherlands’ Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF) Institute are not as simple as they appear. Made of multiple prism-shaped building blocks, each face connected by flexible hinges, they can easily flip from shapes such as 3-D stars into cylinders, balls, and more. Think of a classic slap bracelet, Overvelde says: a structure that has two stable positions, one straight and one curled up....

President Trump argued yesterday that the true threat to national security is not climate change but regulations that get in the way of U.S. economic and energy “dominance.” Trump introduced his first National Security Strategy, in which he broke from the Obama administration in not listing climate change as a chief threat. His remarks at times sounded like an economic address, frequently veering into discussion of tax and trade, industrial deregulation, and a celebration of the stock market....

But after a couple storms early in the month, the basin went quiet for the rest of this September, even though that is the time when oceans reach their warmest temperatures, providing prime hurricane fuel. In recent days, though, hurricane activity has rebounded, with Hurricane Gonzalo currently headed toward a potential Category 4 peak strength just days after another tropical storm, Fay, reached hurricane status. The abrupt one-two formation of these two Atlantic storms has happened during a time when the season is usually rapidly tailing off, and during what has generally been a quiet season, as was forecasted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration....

When Oklahoma native Kristi Loyall had her foot removed, she got it back in a plastic bag. In 2011, Loyall noticed that her right pinky toe was numb. Despite a series of doctors’ visits, the numbness spread and grew painful. It turned out her foot and lower leg had cancer. As soon as her new oncologist suggested amputation, Loyall asked about keeping the severed limb. “He thought I was joking, and I was like no, I really want it back,” the 25-year-old Loyall told NewsHour....

GENEVA/WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The United States must do more to fix its dolphin-safe labels for canned tuna after losing a trade dispute with Mexico, the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday. The United States revamped its labeling rules two years ago after a WTO finding in 2012 that the rules discriminated against Mexico, but the WTO said they still showed less favorable treatment of Mexican tuna than that from other countries....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The age-old concept of the “divine right of kings” allowed that a country’s ruler received his or her power or authority from God. However, few, if any, were delusional enough to actually believe themselves to be a god. An exception to this was Alexander the Great of Macedon....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. With zinging arrows, powerful crossbow bolts, stabbing swords, and swinging axes all a staple feature of the Chinese battlefield, it is not surprising that soldiers sought to protect themselves as best they could with armour and shields. Leather tunics with metal additions, bronze or iron helmets, and shields of lacquered leather helped to deflect at least some of the missiles and slashing blades that came a soldier’s way....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The story of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ is reenacted every year by Christians all over the world in the Easter liturgy. The story has become an essential article of faith and is rarely questioned by New Testament scholars and historians. The full story first appeared in the New Testament Gospel of Mark, followed by Matthew, Luke, and John....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Although medical science was still in its infancy during Roman times, knowledge of medicinal plants was widespread and sick people may have been treated with herbal remedies by relatives and friends. Environment, diet, exercise and hygiene all had a part to play in a positive approach to health....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Pherenike (l. c. 388 BCE, also known as Kallipateira) was an athlete from Rhodes who, because she was a woman, could not compete in the Olympic Games and, as a married woman, was not allowed to even watch them. Defying these rules and risking the death penalty, she disguised herself as a man to train her son to win....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Psychological intimidation in military conflict has been an art of war since ancient times. Employing misinformation, feigned movements, subtle messaging, and overt display of aggression, its employ is meant to unnerve the enemy before engagement. Surena, the Parthian commander, used it brilliantly against Rome’s Crassus, before and during the Battle of Carrhae, in 53 BCE....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Few theologians have attained as much renown and influence in history as Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE), a ‘Doctor’ of the Catholic Church and simply known by his peers as ‘The Knowledgeable One.’ A brilliant man who never sought to be appointed bishop in the Christian Church, he established theological categories that have been used for centuries (Original Sin, Predestination, Just War Theory, Understanding Evil, etc....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. While there have been pirates and privateers of all nationalities, some Dutch mariners were particularly troublesome in the early modern period, targeting, in particular, the Spanish Main but also shipping in the eastern Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Known as zee-roovers, these pirates and privateers often acted for and were funded by private consortiums, the Dutch West India Company, or even the Dutch government....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Ptolemaic Egypt rapidly established itself as an economic powerhouse of the ancient world at the end of the 4th century BCE. The wealth of Egypt was owed in large part to the unrivalled fertility of the Nile, which served as the breadbasket of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Egypt’s economy underwent numerous radical changes during the Ptolemaic period, including the introduction of Egypt’s first official coinage, the cultivation of new crops, and the growth of international trade....