Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
World Topics
Science & Health
Hope for colony: Mars soil sample holds 2% water
The first scoop of Martian soil analyzed by NASA’s Curiosity rover held about 2 percent water, offering hope for hydrating humans who may someday explore the red planet, scientists said in a study Thursday. “We saw Mars as a very dry desert, and while this is not as much water ...
Science & Health
Man uses thought to control robotic leg via rerouted nerves
A man missing his lower leg has gained precise control over a prosthetic limb just by thinking about moving it ...
Science & Health
Swap red meat for tomatoes to cut prostate-cancer risk
by Simeon Bennett
A set of six healthy habits, including eating more tomatoes and less processed red meat, helped men reduce their risk ...
Science & Health Oct 1, 2013
'Night owl' brains tied to depression
They say the early bird catches the worm, but “night owls” may be missing far more than just a tasty snack. Researchers have discovered evidence of structural brain differences that distinguish early risers from people who like to stay up late. The differences might ...
Science & Health | Focus Sep 30, 2013
Law may lead to disparities
by Zachary A. Goldfarb
Half a century ago, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid was a triumph of American egalitarianism. Within a decade, the United States went from a country where 1 in 3 people lacked health insurance to a nation where just 1 in 10 went without ...
Science & Health Sep 30, 2013
'Yellow brick road' may lead to lost pirate booty
He calls it “the yellow brick road” because it is literally sprinkled with gold dust. This road runs along Cape Cod’s shifting seafloor, and undersea explorer Barry Clifford believes it leads to undiscovered treasure from the wreck of the pirate ship Whydah. Two weeks ...
Science & Health Sep 30, 2013
Slow start expected for system
The White House is downplaying expectations for the first day of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces. In recent weeks, senior administration members have begun predicting that there will be relatively few takers on Tuesday, when tens of millions of Americans will, for the ...
Science & Health Sep 30, 2013
Glitches, logistical problems plague exchanges
by Sarah Kliff
Buying health insurance will be as easy as purchasing a plane ticket or shopping on Amazon, President Barack Obama has promised. Maybe, but perhaps not on Tuesday — the day when millions of Americans are supposed to be able to start buying coverage under ...
Science & Health Sep 30, 2013
Obama's health plan set for launch — ready or not
Starting Tuesday, an estimated 50 million Americans who do not have health insurance are to start signing up for coverage as the core of President Barack Obama’s overhaul takes hold. Subsidies will be available to help those with lower incomes pay for insurance. And ...
Science & Health Sep 27, 2013
Report raises fear about toxic algae fed by pollution
They call it the green slime, a toxic ooze of algae that covered lakes and other bodies of water across the United States this summer, closing beaches and killing scores of dolphins, manatees, birds and fish, a report says. At least 21 states closed ...
Science & Health Sep 27, 2013
Camera trap catches rare photos of eagle attacking a deer
The eagle, caught red-handed. Remote cameras that were intended to monitor Siberian tigers in Russia instead caught a golden eagle’s fatal attack on a deer, snapping three photos as the massive bird dug its talons into the distressed animal’s back. London’s Zoological Society, which ...
Science & Health Sep 27, 2013
Fish fossil yields jaw-dropping switch in animals' evolutionary path
The ancestor of all creatures with jaws and a backbone was not a sleek sharklike beast but a toothless armored fish, according to a study that rewrites man’s evolutionary history. Scientists said they have found a 419-million-year-old fish fossil in China that disproves the ...
Science & Health Sep 25, 2013
Earth's slowdown messing with human tech
by Ivan Amato
Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead two thousandths of a second before you go to sleep tonight. Same thing goes for bedtime tomorrow. And every day after that, because that is how much slower the Earth turns on its axis each day now ...
Science & Health Sep 25, 2013
Brazen cuckoos crowd other birds' nests with their eggs
The African cuckoo finch is known for bamboozling other birds into raising its young, but new research has shown just how brazen the feathery rogue is in evading parental duty. The yellow bird, about the size of a sparrow, is a notorious freeloader. It ...
Science & Health Sep 24, 2013
U.K. vows £1 billion for AIDS, malaria, TB
Britain has announced that it is giving £1 billion ($1.6 billion) to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next three years and hopes the money will lead to “some incredible results.” International Development Secretary Justine Greening made the announcement ...