A massive block of limestone in France contains what scientists believe are the earliest known engravings of wall art dating back some 37,000 years, according to a study published Monday.
The 1.5 metric ton ceiling piece was first discovered in 2007 at Abri Castanet, a well-known archeological site in southwestern France which holds some of the earliest forms of artwork, beads and pierced shells.
Full StoryNewsweek made no apologies Monday for anointing Barack Obama as "the first gay president" on its cover this week, matching its rival Time in terms of online buzz.
It depicted Obama with an angelic rainbow halo just days after Obama became the first sitting president of the United States ever to come out in favor of same-sex marriage.
Full StoryPeople suffering from HIV/AIDS are at much higher risk than the general population of sudden cardiac death, researchers in California have found.
In a paper published Monday in the "Journal of the American College of Cardiology," two professors at the University of California-San Francisco show incidents of "sudden cardiac death" to be four times higher for HIV/AIDS patients, a result the researchers found surprising, according to a university press release.
Full StoryMoody's slashed its credit ratings by up to four notches for 26 Italian banks Monday, including UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, citing their vulnerability to Italy's recession and more trouble in the Eurozone.
"The ratings for Italian banks are now amongst the lowest within advanced European countries, reflecting these banks' susceptibility to the adverse operating environments in Italy and Europe," Moody's said.
Full StoryA recently split-up U.S. man is so desperate to get his dog back from his ex that he's gone online to ask for $20,000 to pay the legal fees on top of the $30,000 he's already blown.
"Knuckles was kidnapped by my ex-girlfriend and the legal fees to retrieve him are going to bankrupt me," New Yorker Craig Dershowitz says on the crowd-funding site indiegogo.com.
Full StoryThe spiraling global population and over-consumption are threatening the future health of the planet, conservation group WWF warned on Tuesday.
The demand on natural resources has become unsustainable and is putting "tremendous" pressure on the planet's biodiversity, the body said.
Full StoryJapan's cash-bleeding electronics giants Sony and Panasonic are looking to join forces to produce next generation televisions in a bid to claw back market from South Korean rivals, a report said Tuesday.
The firms want to speed up the development of large-screen organic electroluminescence (OEL) televisions, which consume less power and offer a sharper picture than conventional flat panels, the Nikkei daily said.
Full StoryShe sees little more than shadows and shapes. However, American artist Bojana Coklyat not only pursues her passion for painting, but transmits it to children with impaired sight so that they can see the world in a new way.
Coklyat, 33, lost most of her sight four years ago as a result of diabetes. She had to give up her job at an art gallery and, despairingly, put down her paint brushes.
Full StoryStrutting across the stage wearing red stilettos, red lipstick and a flower in her hat, Samara Chopra was always going to be a hit with the inmates of Tihar high-security jail in New Delhi.
The audience of about 1,000 male prisoners whooped with delight as Chopra, lead singer of the Ska Vengers, ran through a high-energy one-hour set at an afternoon concert inside the prison grounds.
Full StoryFacts and figures about Facebook, which priced its initial public offering:
- Facebook has more than 900 million active users. If the company were a country, it would be the third largest in the world after China (population: 1.34 billion) and India (population: 1.17 billion).
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