Best of the best from this year in Crave

What's your favorite Crave story from the last year?(Credit:Image by Christopher MacManus)It's been an eventful year here at Crave, what with the discovery of Dungeons & Dragons dice from the Ptolemaic Period; the strange tail of the robotic butt; a ship that flips over on purpose, and cow lady-parts that text farmers when it's time for a booty call. Our retrospective gallery below gives you...

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Detecting Rabid Bats Before They Bite

A picture is worth a thousand words—or in the case of bats, a rabies diagnosis. A new study reveals that rabid bats have cooler faces compared to uninfected colony-mates. And researchers are hopeful that thermal scans of bat faces could improve rabies surveillance in wild colonies, preventing outbreaks that introduce infections into other animals—including humans.Bats are a major reservoir...

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Winter Weather Threatens Christmas Travel

A pre-Christmas blizzard that is battering at least eight states in the middle of the nation could trip up travelers headed home for Christmas in the coming days.Nearly 20 inches of snow have been reported in Colorado just west of Denver. Nebraska has reported 6-to-10 inches so far. Between 3 and 8 inches have accumulated in Iowa already and more is possible. Snow is falling...

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Today on New Scientist: 19 December 2012

Cassini captures spectacle in Saturn's shadow Saturn blocks out the sun to reveal its rings in all their splendour in this image from the Cassini spacecraftFabricated future: The sceptic's guide to 3D printing 3D printing is a revolutionary technology, but never mind the hype, says MacGregor Campbell - it will make its impact in unexpected waysBest videos of 2012: Soap bubbles create 3D display...

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Football: Wilshere, four others sign new Arsenal deals

LONDON: Arsenal were given a major fillip on Wednesday when they announced that English midfielder Jack Wilshere and four other players have agreed new long-term contracts with the club.Wilshere joins fellow England internationals Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson and Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey in committing his future to the Emirates Stadium."We are delighted...

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New York A.G. removes 2,100 sex offenders from online games

New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman has been able to remove over 2,000 registered sex offenders from popular online games, his office announced today.Over 2,100 registered sex offenders have been kicked out of a host of games from developers Gaia Online, NCSoft, and THQ, among others, as part of the attorney general's Operation: Game Over, an initiative designed to remove registered sex offenders...

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Grabbing Water From Future Generations

This piece is part of Water Grabbers: A Global Rush on Freshwater, a special National Geographic Freshwater News series on how grabbing land—and water—from poor people, desperate governments, and future generations threatens global food security, environmental sustainability, and local cultures.Suresh Ponnusami sat back on his porch by the road south of the Indian textile town of...

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Inside One School's Extraordinary Security Measures

While schools across America reassess their security measures in the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., one school outside of Chicago takes safety to a whole new level.The security measures at Middleton Elementary School start the moment you set foot on campus, with a camera-equipped doorbell. When you ring the doorbell, school employees inside are...

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Today on New Scientist: 18 December 2012

Violent polar storms help control the world's weather Without the mini-hurricanes which form over the Arctic, the world could face massive weather disruptionAncient city of Troy rebranded itself after war Changing styles of pottery 3200 years ago show the Trojans were quick to align themselves with the region's new political powerCourt ruling will clarify end-of-life decisions Canada's supreme...

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Obama backs bill to ban assault weapons: White House

WASHINGTON: President Brack Obama on Tuesday threw his weight behind a bill to reintroduce a ban on civilians owning assault weapons, in the wake of a gun massacre in an elementary school that shocked the nation.White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president would support a law proposed by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein to prohibit the arms, defined as certain types of semi-automatic...

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