Miller-McCune

As political debate heats up about a potentially greater role for nuclear energy in a world struggling to abate global warming, British researchers have been looking at what influences public opinion on this issue.

In Miller-McCune.com's interview with nutritionist Marion Nestle, the author of What to Eat and other books declared, "You've got to get rid of the vending machines in the schools. They shouldn't be there in the first place." A recent study conducted in Philadelphia public schools, while not going to the lengths recommended by Nestle, suggests that a multi-pronged approach —incorporating healthier food choices; nutrition education for teachers, students, and parents; and encouragement of physical activity — can have a substantial impact on the incidence of overweight (a body mass index for their age in the 85^th to 94^th percentile) among children.

Last week our Amy R. Ramos noted that the era of the “free” in freeways might be coming to an end. Further evidence comes from a commentary in the April issue of Public Works Management and Policy, which suggests that “highway tolling has entered the mainstream” — at least when it comes to new freeways.

In the advertising world, “sex sells” is an accepted truism. In a new study of the male brain, Stanford University researchers have determined why.

Reducing global carbon dioxide emissions will be an even more daunting challenge than we have been led to believe, according to a sobering commentary in the April 3 issue of Nature magazine.