A controversial study out of Cornell that's back in the news thanks to Michael Savage. Still, it seems autism is likely multi-factorial and linking it to TV at an early age is just once piece of the puzzle...

Quoted: I speculated in Slate that the mounting incidence of childhood autism may be related to increased television viewing among the very young. The autism rise began around 1980, about the same time cable TV and VCRs became common and Nickelodeon, the first kids-oriented channel, launched.

Even though cockroaches can withstand 10 times more radiation than humans, they're still not the most resilient organisms (or even insects, for that matter). Mythbusters proved that the flour beetle is more likely to survive atomic war!

Quoted: Pixar's Wall-E depicts a future Earth abandoned by humans, blanketed in garbage, and nearly devoid of life. At the outset, Wall-E, a robot, has but one companion: a friendly cockroach.

A great story from The Root (Slate's spin-off). They're really finding their editorial voice - this is a fascinating, provocative piece.

Quoted: A conversation between The Root Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nobel laureate and DNA pioneer James Watson about race and genetics, Jewish intelligence, blacks and basketball and Watson's African roots.

Maybe that's one mystery solved, but it still doesn't explain how the hell they hoisted those huge slabs of stone.

Quoted: England's enigmatic Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings — perhaps for ancient kings or chieftains.

April showers don't bring May flowers any more so than rain the rest of the year! Plus, it depends on where you live...

Quoted: The month of April kicked off with severe storms soaking much of the country. The old adage would have us believe that all this rain bodes well for next month's blossoms. But do April showers really bring May flowers?

Ha, good one from MSNBC...

Quoted: Scientists discover that kids who lack coordination feel unpopular at school. Who knew? Get the scoop on research that looks into the truth behind the conventional wisdom.

Interesting Slate piece on how the E. coli breakouts of 2006 illustrate how hard it actually is to engineer a biological weapon.

Quoted: An outbreak of E. coli isn't usually the stuff of feel-good stories. But a close look at recent outbreaks of E. coli—and a closer look at the bacteria themselves—may help us to put aside our fears for the moment. Engineering plagues is harder than it looks.

Fascinating! Aslo, I hadn't heard about this discovery yet...

Quoted: Archaeologists in eastern India have found remains pointing to the existence of a highly developed urban settlement, the BBC reported on Monday. On the basis of recently completed excavations, the research team believes the city had approximately 25,000 inhabitants.

Love the sub-hed: "Why the Georgia refinery didn't just turn to caramel."

Quoted: Firefighters put out the blaze at a Georgia sugar refinery Thursday, a week after an explosion set a silo on fire. Sugar dust is thought to have ignited the blast, which claimed at least 8 lives. What makes sugar explode?