July 23, 2009 RSS feed / Features

TV's Insipid Commercials, Decoded

A semiotics professor explores the strange new world of subcomedy, from Progressive Auto Insurance to Omnaris nasal spray
By Marshall Blonsky CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

NEW YORK - Advertisements are one of the canaries of American culture. And, judging by the six hours' worth of TV ads I watched recently, American culture is being debased by an insidious form of comedy. More...

Facts About Gestational Diabetes

By Gerald F. Joseph Jr, MD PRESIDENT, THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNECOLOGISTS

An increasing number of women in the U.S. have diabetes. Women with diabetes face some additional health risks during pregnancy such as having a very large baby, cesarean birth, or pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. More...

GM's eBay Plan: What About The Dealers?

eBay has been selling used cars for years, but laws currently prohibit direct sales from manufacturers
By Ron Scherer STAFF WRITER OF THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

NEW YORK - As an example of how General Motors plans to be more adaptable, chief executive Frederick Henderson said Friday that the just-out-of-bankruptcy company is in discussions with eBay, the online auctioneers, to begin an experiment to sell More...

Drunken Driving Is Down. But What About Drug Use By Drivers?

The share of Americans driving while intoxicated was 2.2 percent in a new survey. But 16.3 percent of drivers had traces of drugs in their system
By Alexandra Marks STAFF WRITER OF THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

Americans seem to have finally gotten the message: It's not OK to drive while drunk. But driving on drugs appears to be another matter and a significant problem. More...

Is The Final Frontier All It Used To Be?

Space
By Ted Anthony AP NATIONAL WRITER

MOON, Pa. (AP) - On July 22, 1969, barely 48 hours after a human being first stepped onto the moon's surface, a community in Pittsburgh's western suburbs called Moon Township had a parade, as suburban communities do. More...