Search results for

Phosphorus is one of the nutrients that plants need to grow, and for most of human history, farmers always needed more of it. But excess phosphorus, either from manure or manufactured fertilizer, can run off into streams and lakes and become an ecological disaster.

Fifty years ago, science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov foresaw gadgets that "relieve mankind of tedious jobs" like machines that heat water and prepare coffee. He predicted smartphones — noting we'd be able to see and hear someone we call, and be able to look at photos on the same screen.

Remember screw caps on jugs of wine? These days, many winemakers have wholeheartedly embraced the screw tops — not just for their ease of use, but for the way they seal the wine's taste. Now many consumers are learning to look past the caps' former downmarket reputation.

The proceeds from corruption, and legal and ethical gray areas, are a daily fact of life in China. The practice of gray income, which shows no sign of abating, may make political reforms more difficult.

Emergency unemployment insurance expired Dec. 28 for an estimated 1.3 million Americans. That includes more than 220,000 Californians. They responded with everything from returning Christmas presents for cash to packing up and leaving the state. Congress could still renew these emergency benefits, as they have multiple times since 2008.

The National Weather Service warns of "life-threatening wind chill" in the North and Central U.S. On top of the extreme temperatures, heavy snow is expected Sunday in parts of the Midwest.

He made the announcement Sunday while giving his weekly blessing at the Vatican. The trip would be the pope's second foreign trip, following his visit to Brazil in July 2013.

Senate Democrats will ring in the New Year with a vote on a three-month extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed. Benefits for those jobless for more than six months expired on Dec. 28. Prospects for a revival of benefits are uncertain at best in the Senate, and the measure faces even bigger hurdles in the House.

The U.S. has long opposed an Iranian role in the so-called Geneva II talks later this month, but Secretary of State John Kerry's comments in Jerusalem may be the first sign that opposition is softening. Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose forces are battling a range of rebel groups, some of them backed by the West.

From 1943 to 1944, the Women Air Force Service Pilots flew more than 60 million miles across the U.S. chartering soldiers, test-flying planes and conducting training exercises during World War II.