A man walks past a fence covered with hoarfrost in central Moscow, on December 19, 2012. Nearly 200 people have died in Russia and across eastern Europe over the past week due to a cold snap which forecasters warn would last until Monday. In Russia, up to 56 people have been reported dead and 371 hospitalized as temperatures strike minus 20 degrees Celsius in Moscow. Weather forecasters said the “abnormal”... 

One of Ireland’s leading promoters of fluoridating drinking water, principal dental surgeon Dr Joe Mullen, was forced by top radio host Shaun Doherty to admit that the chemical added to Irish tap water is not , as he first told radio listeners, simply calcium and fluoride. He later admitted that it is indeed an industrial waste fluorosilicate from processing fluorspar in Spain. Shaun Doherty had... 

Demonstrators take part in an anti-government protest in Ljubljana, Slovenia on December 21, 2012. Thousands of Slovenians have taken to the streets in the capital Ljubljana to express their anger over new austerity measures imposed by the government. The demonstration, which was reportedly attended by more than 5,000 people, took place on Friday near the country’s parliament where protesters chanted... 

Regulators with the FDA have released a preliminary report that suggests they will soon give the go-ahead to a team of scientists who’ve created a sci-fi “frankenfish.” On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration released an environmental assessment report regarding a salmon-hybrid developed in the laboratories of AquaBounty. The FDA must wait two months before they make final their decision... 

Flavoured cigarettes, including menthol, strawberry, or vanilla, are set to be banned in the European Union. The EU health commissioner also wants to make pictorial warnings occupy 75 per cent of the pack. ­The draft legislation on measures to curb smoking were unveiled on Wednesday. However, they still need to be approved by EU governments and the European parliament, which could take up to three... 

Recent research shows that snail saliva may have antioxidant and regenerative effects on human skin. According to a study by scientists at the Autonomous University of Madrid, snail saliva could be used in therapies to regenerate damaged skin tissues. Recent research shows that snail saliva may have antioxidant and regenerative effects on human skin. According to a study by scientists at the Autonomous... 

Russia is enduring its harshest winter in over 70 years, with temperatures plunging as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Dozens of people have already died, and almost 150 have been hospitalized. ­The country has not witnessed such a long cold spell since 1938, meteorologists said, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees lower than the seasonal norm all over Russia. Across the country, 45 people have died due... 

A homeless woman drinks free tea in a tent set by the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry during a winter day in the industrial city of Donetsk, December 18, 2012. Ukraine’s freezing winter has taken the lives of 24 more people pushing the overall death toll to 61 in December after temperatures fall below minus 23 degrees Celsius. The cold snap, which included almost half a meter of snow, killed 43 people... 

US adoptive father Miles Harrison left the baby Dima Yakovlev strapped in a car seat in front of his office under the scorching sun with the temperature inside reaching 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The body was discovered by Harrison’s colleague nine hours later. Russia’s parliament has overwhelmingly approved a bill that bans Americans from adopting Russian children. On Wednesday, the assembly... 

U.S. meat supplies to Russia have been banned. The Russian Federation and the United States differ in the assessment of the causes of the situation. Russia claims that the reason for the ban was the presence of ractopamine drug in US meat. America insists that Russia’s actions were a response to the adoption of the Magnitsky Act by the Senate and accuses Russia of violating WTO rules. On December... 

Scientists reprogram urine cells to generate neurons: Chinese scientists claim to have succeeded in reprogramming cells from human urine into brain cells (neural progenitor), in a study that may contribute to future advances in the treatment of degenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Research has contributed to the advancement of the treatment of degenerative diseases... 

South African athlete and amputee Oscar Pistorius, was faster than an Arabian horse in the competition “Run Like the Wind,” which was held in the city of Doha, Qatar. The event was dedicated to the achievements of people with disabilities, the Moskovsky Komosmolets newspaper wrote. Oscar Pistorius’s agent tweeted that the South African athlete won the race with Arabian stud named... 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez waves during the proclamation act in Caracas, October 10, 2012. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s medical team in Cuba has successfully completed an operation that targeted an aggressive cancer. On Tuesday, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said that the “complex operation” which lasted almost six hours and was “correctly and successfully” completed. Chavez... 

Superhumans, supercities and supercomputers: US intelligence’s vision of 2030 Things are about to get a little weird. This according to the National Intelligence Council, at least, a US-based coalition of spy agencies that has just released its predictions for what’s in store for the Earth in 2030. The NIC released on Monday “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds,” an 140-page report that... 

A few hours ago I was cycling through a nearby neighborhood. As I approached a mother and her two children walking down the sidewalk, the cutest little four-year-old piped up. “Hi…!” she said. “Hi…!” I replied. At that point, mom jerked the little girl by the arm, bent down and whispered something hushed and intense in her ear. As she continued to watch me ride by, I saw the girl’s expression...