The North American Muslim community has taken practical steps to counter radicalization, with its leadership recently offering additional encouraging developments.

For example, the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced that they plan to set up a website specifically aimed at countering extremist interpretations of the Qur’an, 20 North American Imams this week issued a Fatwa Against Terrorists, and, this week when the "underwear bomber" was arraigned in court there were about 150 American Muslims and Arabs rallying outside in the frigid cold. The demonstrators held signs saying “Not in the name of Islam”, “We are Americans,” and “Islam is Against Terrorism.”

(Read about these and more activities in The American Muslim)

Photo: Largest US mosque is found in Dearborn, Michigan

More than 60 percent of all medicinal drugs are derived from the natural world.

Mycologist Paul Stamets is on a quest to prove that an endangered mushroom could cure smallpox, TB, and even bird flu. He believes that unlocking the secret may be as important to the future of human health as Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillium mold's antibiotic properties more than 80 years ago.

That a homely, humble fungus could fight off virulent diseases like smallpox, e coli, and TB might seem odd, until one realizes that even though the animal kingdom branched off from the fungi kingdom around 650 million years ago, humans and fungi still have nearly half of their DNA in common and are susceptible to many of the same infections.