Jeremy Rifkin argues that warfare could break out in the coming century if corporations continue to stake patent claims on the world's gene pool.

A discussion of the issues and risks involved in gene patents.

Few events in the sweep of human history will be as significant and as far-reaching as contact with intelligent life in outer space, and now is the time for us to begin to prepare for the social and physiological impact, says Allen Tough, a retired education professor from the University of Toronto and an expert in future studies.

Researchers have found six distinct groups of sperm whales. Groups that don't speak the same dialect don't appear to mix. One species of whale may speak many different dialects in different parts of the world, raising the likelihood that whales, like humans, have different nationalities and cultures that span vast areas.