Commonly found in human intestines, escherichia coli is a naturally-occurring bacterium with rare strains that cause illness. First brought to public attention by an outbreak traced to a batch of unpasteurized apple juice in 1996, dangerous strains of E. coli were most famously found in prepackaged spinach and lettuce in a nationwide outbreak in 2006. Infectious strains of E. coli can also be found in red meat, and the USDA is currently investigating a vaccine for cattle that would prevent them from transmitting E. coli to humans.

We’re going to need a bigger boat to hold all our shark attack paranoia. Ever since a series of shark attacks on bathers occurred on the Jersey Shore in 1916, the idea of fanged maritime predators preying on innocent swimmers has plagued the American consciousness. The underwater slasher-flick <em>Jaws</em> only encouraged this fear. Shark attacks were a media fixation in the summer of 2000, and while occasional incidents still make the front pages, conventional wisdom suggests that if you leave sharks alone, they'll return the favor.

For many years, pundits, scholars and aficionados have predicted the inevitable demise of organized crime. But the recent sweep in New York, which netted sixty-two members of the city’s major crime families, indicates that the most famous crime syndicate, the Italian mafia, is still going strong. Other organized criminal organizations are spreading across the globe, finding new entrepreneurial opportunities in impoverished war-torn nations as well as through Internet scams.

There has been much speculation that the advent of digital music signifies the death knell of the album, both as a physical and conceptual entity. Download services such as iTunes allow the consumer to pick and choose songs they like. The music industry is experimenting with ways to make digital albums more appealing, and Radiohead’s pay-what-you-like download experiment with their latest album proved that, for known bands, the album can survive on the internet. But is an album still an album if you can’t hold it in your hands? And how will the decline of the album affect how we experience and process music?

Since the technological advancement in the 50s, artificial intelligence researchers promised that humanoid robots were not only feasible, but that they would be inventions of the not-too-distant future. When the science of creating a computer with a human-like brain proved more difficult than anticipated, research funding dried up and public enthusiasm waned, as most dismissed the prospect as little more than a sci-fi pipe dream. In spite of these setbacks, research has continued, and while a human-like robot doesn't seem to be close on the horizon, the attempts to develop artificial intelligence and consciousness have led to many accidental discoveries that have forever impacted modern life.

The Stasi, the East German secret police, conducted one of the most extensive surveillance operations in history. At its height, in 1989, 91,000 people spied on a nation of 16.4 million. As the Berlin Wall fell, agents destroyed documents. 16,000 bags of shredded files (roughly 5% of all the Stasi’s paperwork) were preserved in an archive. For the past 13 years, restorers have reassembled documents by hand, but at its current rate the project will take 700 years to complete. Now new computer algorithms are expediting the process and unearthing more of the secrets of the German Democratic Republic.

West Nile, a potentially fatal virus spread by mosquito, became a media obsession in the summer of 2004. Despite the initial surge and subsequent lack of coverage, human cases of WNV have increased steadily since 1999, reaching 4,261 in 2006 and dropping off to 3,510 in 2007. Although there are a few drugs in testing phases, the most effective check of WNV is controlling and limiting mosquito populations.

The El Nino phenomenon, which causes significant temperature changes in the surface waters of the Eastern Pacific, is a cyclical occurrence which usually takes its toll on various geographical regions every seven years or so, and wreaks major economical and environmental havoc on many parts of the world. Heavy flooding destroys homes and the water climate fluctuation has a detrimental effect on the fishing and agricultural industries on which so many of the hardest-hit developing regions depend. El Nino panic reached its apex in 1990-1994. While not considered as newsworthy a topic as it once was, El Nino still occurs on a regular basis, and scientists have began to explore whether the larger effects of global warming will exacerbate the ill effects of this unusual natural phenomenon.

The death of Pat Tillman, who abandoned a lucrative football career to enlist in the army, caused a national controversy that undermined the military's credibility. The army originally reported that Tillman died at the hands of Afghan militants, but 5 weeks later, his family was told their son was accidentally killed by US forces. To some, Pat Tillman symbolizes heroic sacrifice for our country, but to others the questionable circumstance surrounding his death raises serious questions about the army's lack of accountability for the Iraq and Afghanistan operations.

The fur-as-fashion debate raged through the 90's. The shock tactics and pointed propaganda of animal rights organizations like PETA ensured that photos of fur-clad fashionistas covered in fake blood appeared in the papers on a regular basis. While the issue doesn't receive as much coverage today, PETA continues to target celebrities who wear fur and launch provocative ad campaigns. Many are sympathetic to the cause but question PETA's aggressive tactics or the organization's opposition to medical testing that could greatly improve the quality of human life. Others scoff at the suggestion that animals' rights are tantamount to those of humans or challenge animals' consciousness of pain.

The media circus surrouning the "Killer Bee" attacks had its origins in Sao Paolo in 1957, when Warwick E. Kerr produced a hybrid of the European and African bees. The project was a success, as the engineered bees were renowned for their speedy honey production. But, after the bees escaped the lab and swept over the southwestern United States, widespread panic ensued about the notion of overly aggressive bees. Despite the hype, the epidemic eventually subsided and further examinations found no imminent hazards in the so-called “Killer Bee.”

With a Democratic majority in congress, the Bush administration's annual efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling have dropped off the radar. The debate over whether the preserve is more important as an ecological haven or a source of US-controlled petroleum continues, however, as Shell battles environmentalists in the courts over offshore Alaskan drilling and Senate Democrats press to permanently protect the 19 million acre territory.

The subject of a widespread public health panic in 2000, the Ebola virus continues to affect populations in sub-Saharan Africa. A quick-moving and extremely deadly virus (mortality rates range from 50 to 90 percent), Ebola rages through rural, isolated communities, often wiping out entire villages. This year alone, two major outbreaks of Ebola have occurred. It is estimated that 187 people died from the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a new strain of Ebola is currently ravaging the Bundibugyo district of Uganda.

Since 1954, the United States has been generating electricity from nuclear power and storing the subsequent waste. Once a highly publicized concern, disposing and securing the waste no longer receives the attention that it deserves. 80,000 tons of highly radioactive waste is cooling outside nuclear plants waiting for a destination. Politicians, engineers, and corporations have suggested myriad solutions, such as exporting, burying, or sinking the waste. And while numerous countries are developing final repositories sealed vaults buried deep in the earth no one is sure of its future effects on the environment.

We all remember the enormous hole in the ozone layer that needed to be fixed before ending life as we knew it. In the daily craze of emissions, record temperatures and polar bears, it has completely disappeared from the media spotlight. The massive hole remains but since 1987 the ozone killing chemicals have been phasing out. A full recovery of the protective ozone layer is expected between 2060 and 2075. As this happens the adverse health risks posed by UV rays will be reduced.

Long gone are the days of Tetris and Pacman. Today's video games have life-like images with graphic sexuality and violence. The controversy of regulating video games took center stage after two avid gamers killed 13 people in the infamous Columbine shootings but, since then, the debate has sputtered. Supporters of regulation wonder why the move-like rating systems that would stop minors from purchasing violent games are not enforced. Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman co-sponsored the Family Entertainment Protection Act (FEPA) to enforce age-appropriate video games sales, but FEPA never passed in the Senate because the courts have declared it unconstitutional. The connection between video games and violence remains debated as regulation is stalled by constitutionality.

Native Americans' relationship with the United States government has been, at the best of times, precarious. Relegated to tribal reservations, which were generally chosen for their unsuitability, Native Americans continue to have higher rates of alcoholism and lower rates high school graduation. The money received from Casinos has brought other problems. Native Americans are socioeconomically polarized and tribes are ejecting members who do not have "sufficient" relation. Curiously, Native Americans continue to enlist in the Armed Forces at a higher rate then any other minority and many site poverty as the cause.

Since 1997, when undercover footage of a research lab ignited an international campaign, the ongoing controversy over animal testing has avoided spectacular media attention. For the purposes of medicine, cosmetics and exploratory research, at least 50 million animals are tested on and processed each year around the world. Critics of animal testing protest that most procedures are unnecessary and that regulation like the Animal Welfare Act of 1996 is atrociously inadequate. Defenders propose a choice between human and animal welfare, noting advancements like transplant technology and penicillin that were largely based on animal tests.

A few years ago the plight of the Amazon rainforest was widely reported. This lush jungle habitat supplies 20% of the world's oxygen and contains plants that have been the source of many medical breakthroughs. Despite the lack of attention, the rainforest is still facing complete extinction from man-made fires and clear cut logging.

The war on drugs and cartels used to be staples of nightly news and newspaper columns. Despite persistent drug abuse and trafficking, the status of the once touted War on Drugs goes largely unreported. Death and smuggling are exploding along the Texan border and America continues to help train and fund the Colombian army.

The euthanasia debates of the mid nineties produced a cavalcade of reports, "true life" stories and TV specials. Much of the controversy centered around Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who helped many terminally ill patients end their lives. Many municipalities, most notably Seattle, have loosened euthanasia laws. Now that he has been released, Dr. Kevorkian continues to speak out for liberalized euthanasia rights while new studies on the subject are debated.

For decades the dream of solar power has been promised to homeowners and environmentalists as a cheap and abundant power supply that can help save the planet. The technology and costs are finally improving, but solar power is still a rarity. Will this energy revolution arrive as expected, or are we still just one step away?

After two decades of war and 3.8 million deaths, the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains in dire straits. The UN estimates that at least 1,000 people die each day due to continued insatiability. And though peace was declared in 2003, and a transitional government put in place, fighting continues.

Inhabited in late 2000, the International Space Station (ISS) is the first large scale example of multinational space collaboration. Since the initial media frenzy, the ISS has disappeared from the public spotlight. Despite the lack of attention, construction and experimentation continues. Many investigations are dedicated our physiological ability to live in space, which is vital if we are to continue our exploration of the universe.

Nearly 10 years after the bombings and UN intervention, reconciliatory hopes between Serbia and Kosovo have faded. The Kosovars remain as dedicated to independence as the Serbs to retaining the Kosovarian territory. At The Hague, the Serbian war crime trials continue to send chilling reminders of a conflict largely forgotten. The Balkan dispute has also caused international tension. America and the EU support an independent Kosovo, while Russia sides with Serbia.

During a presentation to the UN Security Council, Colin Powell held up a small bottle of anthrax, stating that its contents would be capable of infecting everyone in the room. At the time, fear of anthrax attacks bordered on hysteria, and Powell's demonstration may represent the apex of those fears. Since then, the idea of mail delivered terrorist attacks has disappeared from public discourse while questions linger as to who was ultimately responsible.

Tommy Franks led the US campaign in Afghanistan and the subsequent invasion of Iraq. After retiring from the army in 2003, General Franks disappeared from the public eye. He took positions on multiple boards, accepted speaking engagements, and wrote a book. But with some campaigns possibly considering the former general as a potential Vice President, he may soon return to a position of power and influence.

The possibility of Turkey's EU membership has created waves. Geographic discussion aside, many believe that the Turkish democracy has not yet evolved to European Union standards. But governmental and economic progress in Turkey has exceeded expectations and the possibility of the EU's first non-European member seems very much alive.

While the debate over gun control seems to have stalled nationally, individual cities like San Fransisco and New York are enacting their own measures to ensure safe streets, while Washington D.C. is seeing their restricted laws overturned. Meanwhile, a parallel debate continues, both on the federal and state level, about the philosophy of the second amendment and a citizens' right to self defense.

As the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, large parts of the Gulf Coast are still in shambles and many former residents remain in modest FEMA trailers. Crime rates hover at historic highs and yet convictions have plummeted. And while many question even the viability of reconstruction, residents are hopeful that the region can move past the Katrina tragedy.

Congress's decision to build a fence along portions of America's border with Mexico involved some of the most divisive politics of last year's midterm elections. Now the debate continues as to whether it will ever be built at all. Construction lags while immigration-rights groups remain in oppositon and those among the pro-border patrol supporters continue to argue that 700 miles is not sufficient.

Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when Taiwan split from the Communist mainland China, both China and Taiwan have lived with the understanding that there is one China and Taiwan is part of it. Driven by strong ties of culture, economics, and face, the Chinese promise the use of force if Taiwan officially declares independence. With seemingly fewer of Taiwan’s residents wishing to merge each year, and with China's growing economic and military dominance in the region, we all wait to see what comes of this fifty-year-old promise for reunification.

When the media exposed that our military was not adequately armoring our military's Humvees, there was an outcry. We were not doing all that we could to protect our soldiers. Now, months later, what has come of this?

The American and European governments provide heavy subsidies to their farming industries in order to sustain the farming industry and make them competitive across the world. Meanwhile, produce exporters in third world nations, most notably Brazil, counter that this artificial barrier keeps them poor and denies their countries the use of their greatest natural resource: cheap labor.