3xwy Blog

Saturday was the vernal equinox, the first moment of spring, and a time when the periods of light and dark in the day are equal. Last year, Donna Henes greeted the spring equinox in a snowstorm at around four in the morning. But this Saturday was different.

The Gruyere from cheesemaker Cedric Fragniere in Kirchberg, Switzerland, was crowned best cheese at the World Championship Cheese Contest. John Jaeggi, the cheese industry and applications program coordinator for the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, discusses what makes a top cheese.

Pakistan indicted five American Muslims on Wednesday on terrorism charges. The young men from the Washington, D.C., area say they were on their way to Afghanistan on a humanitarian mission when they were arrested in Pakistan.

Goodluck Jonathan gave no reason for his action slightly more than a month after taking the helm of the West African nation. The information minister said a statement will follow on who will serve in the new Cabinet. Jonathan, a 52-year-old biologist, remains a bit of an unknown in Nigeria.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has rejected international calls for the Chinese currency to appreciate. Many American economists and members of Congress complain that an undervalued currency gives Chinese exports an unfair advantage and makes other countries’ exports relatively more expensive, slowing economic growth in the US and elsewhere.

Research shows hearing loss in one ear during critical periods of brain development can rewire the auditory cortex, changing the way the brain processes sound. After hearing is restored, the brain eventually catches up.

President Obama’s stem cell policy, announced a year ago this month, opened up federal funding for more stem cell lines created from human embryos. But now, scientists are facing a bitter irony — a few popular stem cell lines that could be studied with federal money under President Bush are suddenly off-limits.

Deadly bomb attacks in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar were a warning to NATO’s top general that the Taliban are ready for a coming offensive in their heartland, the insurgents said Sunday.

Researchers studying the origin of the recent deadly earthquake have found signs of an actual fault rupture offshore, and figured out what triggered a small tsunami. But not all the causes of the natural disaster were, in fact, natural.

A dozen ancient shipwrecks have been discovered in the Baltic Sea, just east of Sweden. The well-preserved ships are hundreds of years old. The oldest wreck may date back 800 years.