Watching the World

Russia

According to one survey, 59 percent of Russians aged 18 to 35 believe that “to attain success in life, you sometimes have to go against your moral principles and standards,” reports the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

Peru

Some of the oldest corncobs ever found (such as the one shown above) suggest that the inhabitants of northern Peru were making popcorn and corn flour at least 3,000 years ago.

Italy

Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, the Catholic bishop of Adria-Rovigo, believes that a religious message ought to favor having “direct contact with individuals” where they live. “Our pastoral care should go from ringing church bells to ringing doorbells,” he says.

South Africa

The street value of rhinoceros horn for medical use has risen to as high as $65,000 (U.S.) per kilogram (2.2 lb). In 2011, in South Africa alone, a record 448 rhinos were slaughtered by poachers. Museums and auction rooms in Europe have been broken into by gangs seeking the horns. Even rhinos in European zoos are thought to be at risk.

The Lantern of the Photuris Firefly

THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!

An Overview of Indonesia

Land Straddling the equator between Australia and continental Asia, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. Most of its more than 17,500 islands feature rugged mountains and dense tropical forests. With more than 100 active volcanoes, it is also the most active volcanic region on earth.

PORTRAITS FROM THE PASTIgnaz Semmelweis

IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS may not be a household name, yet his work has benefited most modern families. Born in Buda (now Budapest), Hungary, he received his medical degree at the University of Vienna in 1844. On taking up his post as assistant to a professor at the First Maternity Clinic of Vienna’s General Hospital in 1846, Semmelweis faced an appalling reality —more than 13 percent of the women giving birth there died from a disease called childbed fever. Various theories as to the cause of this disease had been proposed, yet no one had solved the mystery. All attempts to reduce the mortality rate proved futile. Troubled by the spectacle of numerous mothers suffering a slow, agonizing death, Semmelweis determined to find the cause of the disease and prevent it.

Rielyn Co

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