Every Friday we take a look back at the week’s headlines, centering on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important. Scientific findings, methodical studies, and reports were at the heart of many of the most interesting headlines this week, reminded us of science’s attempts to dispel
* The real story of this year's presidential election in France is the "rock and roll" far left. * Hollande, French Socialist candidate, uses "Ni**as in Paris” video to appeal to youth voters. * Touré considers the mind of a woman who tells him she's
* Global approval of U.S. leadership continues to decline, but is still higher than the final years of the Bush administration. * Visualizations of demographic trends if the world were a village of 100 people. * Key to U.S. recovery and growth aren't New York and Los Angeles, but
* Report says Breivik massacre has led Norwegians to believe more strongly in their open society. * Tales from 100 hours of wilderness medical training. * New crisis—pictures of soldiers posing with insurgents' remains—suggests discipline lost in Afghanistan. * Pat Summitt, winningest coach in college basketball, stepping down due to early-
* India tests intercontinental missile. * North Korea to continue rocket launches, announces it's abandoning February nuclear deal with U.S. * Nongovernmental organizations sponsor knowledge exchange and collaboration between U.S. and North Korean scientists. * From eyeless shrimp to clawless crabs, deformities becoming common in Gulf seafood—researchers blame 2012
* Afghan school administrators claim drinking water poisoned to keep girls out of class. * Odds considered on when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will travel abroad, and whether Myanmar will let her back in. * Evidence weighed in the case of a man who believes a stroke made him gay. * Everyday objects
* Buffett's cancer diagnosis refuels conversation about succession for Berkshire Hathaway. * Investigation finds records of colonial crimes were destroyed during the waning years of the British empire. * In his Kremlin-owned TV debut, Julian Assange awkwardly interviews Hezbollah leader. * Stuck with each other, Mitt Romney and the Tea Party
* Bizarre publicity stunts will appear in otherwise reasonable science articles as long as they draw attention. * Economics of the matzo market. * Now we know: The New York Times first published "asshole" while quoting Richard Nixon. * H.P. Lovecraft's commonplace book of fragments and ideas. * See also:
* Frustrated by FDA approvals, ALS patients home-brew experimental treatments. * Spate of lawsuits arrive in New York courts from lawyers who find businesses with disabilities violations, then recruit plaintiffs. * Researchers marvel at orangutans' engineering skills while constructing their nests. * Tanzanian farmers try to thwart crop-raiding elephant packs, which
* New online dating sites embrace face-to-face singles events over scrolling through profiles. * Germans build a hand-cranked barrel organ out of Legos that plays the Star Wars theme. * Arguing that Tolstoy and Aristotle would consider meme culture an art form. * Ten years in, Andy Baio's favorite
