Science

If you've suspected that sending in the "grief counselors" after every school tragedy might be doing more harm than good, you might have been right:

So, this butterfly goes into a bar in Brazil, and the next day, it Indiana has floods:

Translated into mass culture, the butterfly effect has become a metaphor for the existence of seemingly insignificant moments that alter history and shape destinies. Typically unrecognized at first, they create threads of cause and effect that appear obvious in retrospect, changing the course of a human life or rippling through the global economy.

But what is the legal status of these aliens? They weren't invited, so they must be ordered to return home:

A man who has shown a video of what he claims is an alien visitor to earth to bolster his case for greater public scrutiny of UFOs is to take his campaign to the Democratic Party convention in August, where Barack Obama will formally win the presidential nomination.

Now we are thinking about a return to the moon, unless, of course, President Obama or President McCain thinks we ought to use that money for universal pre-K or to end global warming. So perhaps you're thinking about getting up there yourself and homesteading your 40 acres. Well, think again:

This is big news?

Regular wiping of student desks and use of hand sanitizers during the school day can significantly reduce student illness and absenteeism, a new study shows.

Athletes aren't the only ones who take performance-enhancing drugs. A growing number of college students (as well as their professors, apparently) are taking drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, which are typically used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, as "study drugs" to stimulate their memory, concentration and focus. Alarms are being sounded over this "drug abuse" crisis, but Reason magazine wonders what the big deal is:

I appreciate the interest of animal-rights activists in saving the lives of poor, oppressed frogs, so I can understand their advocacy of computer software that lets students do virtual dissections. But this is going a little far:

Marilyn Grindley, a member of the Ohio County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said dissecting animals "desensitizes kids. It tells them that we do not have any respect for any animal." She wants to end the practice.

I don't think any weather prediction more than a few days out should be taken seriously. So this is no great shock:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Tropical Storm Risk Consortium in London and, most recently, the Coastal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at North Carolina State University in Raleigh are now among teams attempting to handicap the storm season weeks or months ahead.

Finally, what the world has needed -- a nice, friendly, cuddly, green bomb:

New explosives could be more powerful and safer to handle than TNT and other conventional explosives and would also be more environmentally friendly.

Man, talk about an inconvenient breakdown: