Articles By: Cosmo

Cosmo graduated from Oxford University in 2008 with a Double First-Class Degree in Classics, having majored in Philosophy and Ancient History. He has since worked as a researcher for the Beckley Foundation, and designed and run this website...

That’s one Miraculous Conception

Its not Immaculate, but its certainly miraculous… Oral conception. Impregnation via the proximal gastrointestinal tract in a patient with an aplastic distal vagina. Case report. [Ed. note: There is no abstract, so we're including most of the original article below. It's a bit long, but trust us--it's...

June 3rd, 2010 | Health & Happiness | Read More

Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke extradition entangles local and international law

US request gives Jamaica’s prime minister chance to reclaim control of Tivoli and other lawless Kingston communities. From The Guardian by Maxine Williams Since August 2009, the extradition request for one man has spiralled Jamaica into a nightmare which has claimed dozens of lives, injured just...

June 3rd, 2010 | Drug Policy | Read More

The First Synthetic Life Form

Craig Venter and his team have built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and incorporated it into a cell to make what they call the world’s first synthetic life form // function getOmnitureData_86922730001() { var omniture = new Object(); omniture.prop43="Video"; omniture.prop44="Video:...

May 21st, 2010 | Science & Technology | Read More

Noam Chomsky barred by Israelis from lecturing in Palestinian West Bank

US academic denies claim that misunderstanding by border officials was to blame for ban (Noam Chomsky – refused entry to Palestinian West Bank by Israel during lecture tour Rex Features) Noam Chomsky, whose withering critiques of political establishments have earned him the wrath of regimes...

May 21st, 2010 | Social Insight | Read More

Geek Power

“It’s funny in a way”, says Bill Gates, relaxing in an armchair in his office. “When I was young, I didn’t know any old people. When we did the microprocessor revolution, there was nobody old, nobody. It’s weird how old this industry has become.” The Microsoft cofounder and I, a couple...

May 1st, 2010 | Science & Technology | Read More

Not Feeling Well? Perhaps You’re ‘Marijuana Deficient’

Scientists have begun speculating that the root cause of disease conditions such as migraines and irritable bowel syndrome may be endocannabinoid deficiency. From AlterNet, by Paul Armentano For several years I have postulated that marijuana is not, in the strict sense of the word, an intoxicant. As...

April 19th, 2010 | Drug Policy | Read More

10,000 Hours to Shine

Malcolm Gladwell says that if you want to shine, put in 10,000 hours The search for success has spawned a motivational industry worth millions of pounds and libraries full of self-improvement books. From the Times Online by Steven Swinford It is practice, however, that makes perfect, according to the...

March 19th, 2010 | Big Ideas | Read More

Obama says “Fuck It”

Obama is doing his best to make positive changes in America and the world, but all that he’s getting for it is abuse and loss of popularitry. Where has all the faith gone? The first inspirational leader in at least a generation and everyone’s bored already…

March 11th, 2010 | Social Insight | Read More

A Drug Free World Reloaded

I attended this UN Summit in Vienna reviewing 10 years of the international War on Drugs last year and this short video does a good job of summing up the contrasting attitudes on drug policy of government representatives on the political ladder with specialist NGOs and academic experts.

March 11th, 2010 | Drug Policy | Read More

The New Cocaine Mafia

Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel travels to southern Italy to investigate how Europe’s growing appetite for cocaine is funding the growth of West African crime syndicates and fueling a turf war with Italy’s largest mafia organization, the Camorra.

March 8th, 2010 | Drug Policy | Read More