Japanese scientists have just announced an incredible discovery: normal mice blood cells can be transformed into pluripotent (all-purpose) stem cells just by dipping them in acid.

Heads continue to roll at the Vatican, with Pope Francis appointing a new head of the Financial Information Agency, an anti-corruption body launched by Pope Benedict XIV.Time will tell whether the outgoing or the ingoing group are the real reformers, but the progress already been made of the bank give some hope that positive change may be coming to the Curia.

A new report claims that at least 50 Jihadists from Indonesia have made the trip to Syria to join the fight against President Bashar al-Assad, and that number is expected to grow. For Indonesian national security, this is bad news.

WRM’s latest piece in the WSJ explores how Western countries can still promote democracy in an age of domestic exhaustion and international chaos.

Iran and Turkey took significant steps towards improving relations with each other on Wednesday, despite Washington’s protests. Whereas before Ankara might have waited for Washington’s green light on such a move, today it goes ahead without much of a second thought.

The death toll from three days of fighting in Bangui, capital of the Central Africa Republic, stands at 35 with 65 injured, announced the Red Cross today. The fresh violence comes following a recent inauguration of a new head of state, Catherine Samba-Panza, a posting meant to quell a savage conflict in the country that has left over 2,000 dead.

A number of small private colleges are cutting tuition in a bid to attract more students. It’s a smart move if they can cut their costs at the same time, but there’s little evidence they’re doing that quite yet.

“American diplomacy, backed by the threat of force,” President Obama claimed to scattered applause during the State of the Union address on Tuesday, “is why Syria’s chemical weapons are being eliminated.” According to reports, only 4.1 percent of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal has been destroyed. The operation to dispose of them is now two months behind schedule.

Pay more, get the same—or less. A new study in Health Affairs finds that healthcare, unlike practically every other sector of our economy, is one area where price and quality are totally uncorrelated.

Detroit has finally unveiled its debt repayment plan, and the terms are far more favorable to city pensions than outside bondholders. This is good news for Detroit’s pensioners, but it could have ripple effects across municipal debt markets.