Jessica Bennett

We all know it's possible to save energy by recycling waste, but it's also possible to recycle waste energy. Physicists at the University of Utah have found a novel way to do it—by first turning waste heat into sound, and then turning the sound into electricity.

In a few short years, Second Life has grown from an experiment to the world's largest virtual universe. Inside the mind of its founder.

Second Life is emerging as a powerful new medium for social interactions of all sorts, from romance to making money.

He is accused of backing rebels in some of the most atrocious crimes of our time: the slaughter and looting of entire villages, the use of child soldiers, rape, and the systematic amputation of hands and limbs by axes and machetes.

Fashion guru Tim Gunn details his new book, his hopes for American fashion and what he expects to see in this season's 'Project Runway.'

The battle between Big Pharma and AIDS victims in poor countries is heating up. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton has now thrown his weight behind developing countries that want to offer the drugs at low cost.

The father of a Columbine victim talks about the massacre at Virginia Tech, the grieving process, and why he thinks kindness is the best way to prevent further attacks.

One of the criticisms of Al Gore's message on climate change is that he exaggerates the imminence of the threat—implying, for instance, that sea levels may rise more quickly than scientists feel comfortable saying.

Korean-Americans fear that hatred toward the Virginia Tech killer will spill over into their community—and fuel negative typecasting.

In the aftermath of the 2004 South Asian tsunami, and nine months later, when Hurricane Katrina hit, mainstream media struggled with a communications infrastructure a shambles.

Need a clear plastic bag to get through airport security? From Prada to Pucci, transparent totes are all the rage. Chanel's Naked bag--easily see-through with a silver strap--is "much more chic than a plastic Baggie," says Neiman Marcus's fashion director Ken Downing ($895; chanel.com ).

Microfinancing for poor entrepreneurs is one of the hottest ideas for helping the developing world, particularly since its founding thinker, Muhammad Yunus, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

We know that the trend toward super-thin models is pushing some of them to go on potentially deadly diets. What's it doing to the rest of us? 

Video surveillance is proliferating, so it's no surprise that it's having a bigger presence in the courtroom. "Video evidence [has become] the single most powerful kind of evidence there is," says Harold Ruvoldt, a New York attorney.

G. Scott Paterson loves predicting the future--and according to his résumé, he's pretty good at it. At 42, the Toronto native has come to be known as one of Canada's premier venture capitalists.

It's the oldest trick in the book: threaten the kids with a lump of coal, and they'll behave in the name of Santa Claus. That may have worked years ago, but today's youngsters are smarter, savvier and more high-tech.

It's hard to imagine Donald Trump being the forgiving type—at least when it comes to his money. So when reports of scandal about the current Miss USA surfaced last week, it seemed a safe bet that he'd say those famous words.

The radioactive poison that was used to kill former Russian KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko is apparently available online—and on the cheap. United Nuclear Scientific Supplies, which aims to "put the 'fun' back into science," according to its Web site, sells 0.1 microcurie of the substance for just $69, plus shipping and handling (a microcurie is a measurement of radiation).

As a Muslim-American and president of the North American Imams Federation, Dr. Omar Shahin is no stranger to the heightened security of a post-9/11 world.

For more than a decade, numerous human-rights organizations have forcefully made the case that Saddam Hussein is guilty of crimes against humanity. So when his case was the first to be brought before the Iraqi High Tribunal, the court set up to try those considered responsible for decades of rights violations, it was no surprise the trial itself was considered a victory for rights advocates.

Dawn and Bart Beye did everything by the book. When their teenage daughter began showing signs of a serious eating disorder, they caught on fast—confronting the illness in its early stages.

More than 11 million people in the United States suffer from an eating disorder, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. But the myth that eating disorders only affect upper-class white women is false; more and more, both men and women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds are facing the challenges of a debilitating eating-related illness.

In just a few months on the campaign trail in 2004 with her vice-presidential-candidate husband John, Elizabeth Edwards captivated America with her openness and personality.

Wal-Mart's expansion into every nook and cranny of the United States has long been the stuff of corporate legend. Now the $300 billion retail empire is setting its sights on China, where the corporation has reportedly offered more than $1 billion to acquire Trust-Mart, the nation's second-largest hypermarket chain.

When New Yorkers heard about a plane crashing into an Upper East Side building Wednesday, many naturally thought of September 11, 2001. Though federal officials promptly declared there was no evidence of a terrorist attack, images of smoke and debris and the cacophony of sirens and helicopters in the city couldn't help but stir up old fears.

As president, George H.W. Bush faced a starkly changing world: the Berlin Wall came down and the cold war ended after 40 tense years. He overthrew the corrupt regime of Panama's Manuel Noriega and invaded Iraq (without ousting Saddam Hussein) to protect Kuwait in a 100-hour war.

It's been five years since the September 11 attacks, and still, Ground Zero sits empty. There have been competitions and controversy, public debates and new designs, and seemingly endless delays over the memorial and surrounding buildings to be constructed there.

You've seen the awful pictures: rotting houses knocked off their foundations, walls mottled with mold, floors coated in grimy mud, piles of God-knows-what towering over empty streets.

The life and mind of John Mark Karr reveals a disturbing narrative of childhood obsession. Long before he confessed to the killing of JonBenet Ramsey, Karr had picked up his life and moved—several times—possibly to feed this fascination.

For some air travelers, it was toothpowder travel packs that made newly liquid-free flights just a little more bearable. For others, it was Pepto-Bismol--the tablets, not the syrupy pink fluid.