Denmark has long been a leader when it comes to Universal Healthcare and employment, as well as having a very strong education system. Now, they are again leading the pack by allowing students to use the Internet during their final exams. This represents a very real grasp of the true role of higher education in the 21st century and how the real world actually works.

Prior to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December 2009, China pledged to drastically reduce their carbon foot print by 2020. With the controversy that surrounds the Chinese manufacturing industry, as well as the fact that many feel the Copenhagen Conference did not set the bar high enough, it remains to be seen whether China will make an effort to honor this goal.

Some very exciting voice recognition research is currently being preformed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis, where instead of trying to match known words, the words are first broken down into syllables, allowing for a much more robust solution that the common dictionary approach. Currently, a search engine is being created that analyzes television broadcasts, as these are often much clearer and the speakers tend to enunciate better.

The Environment is important for a number of reasons and is closely tied to our health. Often, many of the disease and plagues that have affected mankind can be traced back to an unhealthy living environment.

Of all areas of Africa, those living in the Niger Delta often are reported as having the worst health. Traditionally, this is blamed on oil production facilities, but in a recent study it was found that most of the water has very high levels of nitrites and nitrates in it, both of which are toxic to humans. This is attributed to poor waste management, as well as manufacturing techniques.

Today, people are bombarded by electromagnet fields from video displays on a regular basis, some more than others. The risk of these fields to reproductive health is something that has been extensively tested, both on animals and humans, with some studies showing that electromagnet fields are dangerous to those giving birth. However, a recent study has found that electromagnet fields likely do not play a role in Small-for-Gestational-age Births.

In the hospital, few infections are as common as Staph Infections, which are caused by the staphylococcus aureus bacterium. Traditionally, these infections have been most common at hospitals and other health care facilities, but they are becoming much more common in other communal areas. A recent study found that Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, which is resistant to traditional treatments, is very common in sports settings, such as athletic programs at schools.

A recent study found that in seniors, preforming regular self care activities, such as bathing and walking, was an indicator of better health later in life. These results were not terribly surprising, but the study also found that having a strong social and spousal support network was not always a good thing.

While Arsenic is a poison and carcinogen, it also has many commercial uses. Up until 2003, it was used frequently to weather treat wood that was going to be used outdoors, such as on a deck or in a playground. However, scientists discovered that this caused the poison to leach out of the wood into the environment and those who used the structures. A recent study determined that those with decks with easily dislodgeable arsenic on them had increased levels of arsenic in their home.

For those with mental disorders, such as bipolar disorders, lithium can be a very powerful drug, helping to stabilize moods and dramatically reducing the risk of suicide. However, lithium can also cause damage to the kidneys and if left untreated will sometimes cause chronic kidney failure.

In medical circles, hypertension(high blood pressure) has not always been recognized as a threat and in fact, during the first half of the twentieth century, doing nothing to lower high blood pressure was thought to be good medicine. Today, however, we know that this is not a good practice and reducing blood pressure in patients with hypertension is essential for preventing serious health risks. However, it is also possible to go too low, as low blood pressure can also cause health complications.

Studies have long found that exercise is very important when treating Type II Diabetes. This makes sense, as this kind of diabetes has been linked to obesity. However, it is important to speak with a doctor before using exercise to treat Type II Diabetes, as there are some risks as well.

The death tax is a tax that is passed onto the family of those who die, taxing the value of a persons estate if it is higher than a certain deductible. The death tax, or estate tax, can account for a significant chunk of a persons wealth and includes taxes on all of their property and gifts.

A mutual fund is a investment device that groups together a pool of money from different investors, using this pool to purchase stocks and bonds. The larger pool of money gives the mutual fund much more purchasing power than any single investor could have, as well as providing a more hands off approach to purchasing stocks.

The Estate Tax or death tax, as it is usually referred to, is a tax designed to tax a persons estate after they die, with rates of between 18% and 45%, depending on the value of the estate. This is a federal tax, but most states also have a similar type of tax set up as well. In terms of tax codes, the estate tax is set to lapse for one year, starting in 2010, but politicians are working to reinstate it during this period.