Africa

Africa is booming, but less restrictions to trade and a crack down on corruption is needed to sustain growth and prevent collapse.

The world’s fastest-growing continent: Aspiring Africa

HCP

The US is about to launch the "human connectome project" that seeks to map out every connection in the brain using electron microscopes and cognitive imaging. If it works, it will reveal life's greatest mystery.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science: mapping the brain: Only connect

Texas

The Texas budget surplus is not all it's cracked up to be, as they have to make budgets 2 years in advance and are not allowed to spend more than indicated in the budget, the flailing school system is still facing $6 billion in cuts.

The Texas budget: Too much of a good thing

Transactions tax

A tax is being proposed that will charge a minimal tax on all transactions in Europe, but such a tax will deter foreigners from investing in European assets at a time when Europe needs it the most.

Europe’s financial-transactions tax: Bin it

Illegal drugs

Banning drugs has done nothing to curb its consumption and only lead to rise in crime and loss of lives. Legalizing, regulating, and taxing drugs is a better alternative and politicians should be brave enough to enact such a change.

Illegal drugs: The great experiment

Asteroids

Apocalyptic asteroids can be detected decades or centuries in advance and acted upon, but smaller ones big enough to still kill a city can not. This is something that a NASA without a space shuttle program can divert their attention to.

Asteroid defence: The real star war

Cyber theft

China should reconsider supporting cyber theft if it wants to be taken seriously in the international community.

China’s cyber-hacking: Getting Ugly

Syria

Obama is attempting to avoid another foreign conflict in favor of dealing with the economy, but America will invariably get sucked into Syria's troubles as the country disintegrates and jihadist militias unravel everything America was trying to accomplish in the middle east.

Syria: The death of a country

Hagel

Hagel's rocky confirmation hearing shows how split the country is over matters of foreign affairs.

The defence secretary’s nomination: Hagelian dialectic

Minimum wage

Obama set out a plan to raise minimum wage, which is lower in the US than almost any other OECD country. Liberals argue that doing so would increase the spending power of the poor and boost the economy. Conservatives claim that it would cost low skill workers their jobs. Neither is quite right.

Raising the minimum wage: Trickle-up economics

State of the Union

Obama's plan to avoid the sequester is a good deal for the Republicans (cut medicare and tax reform), but whether the Republicans will agree is another matter. Obama is trying to get his way by bullying the Republicans and trying to get the public on his side. He needs to start courting the Republicans more if he wants to get his way and avoid the hostile atmosphere that dominated his first term.

The state of the union: A House divided

Microbiomes

Microbiomes have been shown to be important to various aspects of health and now, a paper shows that the kidneys can detect a substance made by gut bacteria and alter blood pressure accordingly.

The microbiome and health: Sniffing out hypertension

TTIP

In his State of the Union address, Obama mentioned lowering tariffs between Europe and America. This would be a huge Boone to the economies of both partners, but lobbies that want to protect their own interests and incomes stand in the way of implementation.

Free trade across the Atlantic: Come on, TTIP

Currency war

A lot of fuss is being made about a currency war, but the week dollar and the yen are a product of low interest rates, which will boost domestic demand and with it, import. The eurozone would do well to emulate this.

The global economy: Phoney currency wars

Tax havens

A lot to criticism has been made in America against tax havens, but America itself serves as a tax haven for certain foreign companies, and the tax code allows for legal tax dodging. Fixing corporate taxes therfore has to start domestically.

Tax havens: The missing $20 trillion

Batteries

Since lithium battery technology has probably reached its optimum, new forms of batteries will have to be invented for future gains.

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Sequestration

The pentagon is facing harsh cuts and reductions in personel if the sequestration hits.

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Murder rates

In light of the Newtown shootings, the rising murder rate has been drawing a lot of attention. It has become difficult for those in certain areas to get elected if they get an A on the NRA scorecard, something that would have been inconceivable a years ago.

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Online identity

It's very hard to prove that you are who you claim online. This is why sites use passwords, which can be difficult to secure and easy to forget. A third party that handles online credentials for all websites would be better, but there's a long way to go before people feel comfortable enough to give a third party proper credentials.

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Social mobility

With the children of rich parents getting vastly more resources and favorable treatment in terms of better school districts and admission to better colleges, social mobility is at an all-time low in America. More money should be spent on educating students who perform poorly and students from poor neighborhoods.

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Yuan

The yuan is getting more international use, but in order for it to become a rival to the dollar, China will have to liberalize its financial market and reform its banks to be more capitalistic and less autocratic.

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North Korea

Underground traders in North Korea are opening the country up, against the will of its leaders, to capitalism. With capitalism, products from the West (such as movies, shows) begin to degrade the monopoly on truth that the dictatorship has long enjoyed. Western powers and China should do everything possible to support this change and undermine the regime, as it did with the Soviet Union, in hopes of freeing North Korea from famine and dictatorship.

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Sleep and memory

During sleep, the brain doesn't only choose what to remember, but also actively decides what should be forgotten.

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Kerry

Kerry has a lot of expertise and experience for the position of secretary of state, but he may be too ambitious.

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Euro crisis

Troubles in Spain and Italy sent European markets downward, which could be a minor blip in Europe's road to recovery or the sign of a new crisis.

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Scandinavia

Scandinavian countries have become the role model for other economies as they have a great balance between fiscal responsibility and public programs. People in Scandinavia don't mind paying high taxes because they get great education and free health care in exchange. In other parts like the US, the country is too divided to embrace both the conservative philosophy of fiscal responsibility and the liberal philosophy of improving entitlement programs.

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Egypt

After a revolution and an election, Morsi is changing Egypt's constitution and entrenching his islamist party. His policies are very unpopular, and with an election coming up, Egypt may again descend into another revolution.

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Immigration

After losing badly in 2012, the republican party finally agrees to immigration reform, opening the door to changes to the currently complex and inhibitory laws.

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