US Mom Missing in Turkey Took Side Trips

Sarai Sierra, the New York mother who disappeared in Turkey while on a solo trip, took several side excursions out of the country, but stayed in contact with her family the entire time, a family friend told ABC News.Turkish media reported today that police were trying to establish why Sierra visited Amsterdam and Munich. Police were also trying to establish the identity of a...

Read More..

DNA privacy: don't flatter yourself

The secrets contained in our individual genomes are less valuable than we like to believe IMAGINE donating your DNA to a project aimed at discovering links between genes and diseases. You consent to your genome sequence being released anonymously into the public domain, though you are warned there is a remote possibility that it might...

Read More..

Govt to tighten law to better protect timeshare consumers

SINGAPORE: The government is tightening safeguards and plugging loopholes in the law to better protect consumers in timeshare deals.The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday that it is making the changes because timeshare businesses continue to account for the most number of consumer complaints. The number of timeshare cases totalled 389 in 2010 and 358 in 2011, according...

Read More..

Nokia to offer paid upgrade to Lumia-only music service

Music+ will offer premium music options to subscribing Lumia owners.(Credit:Nokia)A few months after jumping in to the free music streaming sector, Nokia is getting ready to give its Lumia-only service a jump-start with a premium upgrade.Nokia Music+, an upgrade to the free Mix Radio service that Nokia launched last September, will offer Lumia owners unlimited skips and unlimited downloads, the Finnish...

Read More..

Doomed Dolphin Speaks to New York's Vibrant Wildlife

By the time New Yorkers spied a dolphin swimming through the superfund sludge of the Gowanus Canal last Friday, it was too late. The marine mammal didn't even survive long enough for a rescue plan to come together. First sighted on Friday afternoon, the dolphin perished at 6:00 p.m.The reason the marine mammal died, and why the dolphin swam up the...

Read More..

'Barrier of Bodies' Trapped Nightclub Fire Victims

A fast-moving fire roared through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.Firefighters responding to the blaze at...

Read More..

Get cirrus in the fight against climate change

FEATHERY cirrus clouds are beautiful, but when it comes to climate change, they are the enemy. Found at high-altitude and made of small ice crystals, they trap heat - so more cirrus means a warmer world. Now it seems that, by destroying cirrus, we could reverse all the warming Earth has experienced so far. ...

Read More..

Latin America, Europe back free trade

SANTIAGO: European and Latin American leaders pledged here Saturday to shun protectionism and boost their strategic partnership to foster free trade.Some 60 countries are represented at the summit between the 27-member European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).Set up in Caracas in December 2011 at the behest of Venezuela, CELAC groups all nations from...

Read More..

The ultimate gall of a heartless iPhone thief

An object of desire?(Credit:CNET)One should never expect justice in life.The best one can hope for is poetry. And yet, just once or twice, both manage to collide with a deliciousness that moves the soul.Here is the tale of a teenage girl who had her iPhone stolen.As The New York Times composes it, the girl had her iPhone 4S ripped from her by a teenage boy in Brooklyn's notoriously difficult Prospect...

Read More..

Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty ImagesIf you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders. Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns...

Read More..