In higher education, 2013 may be remembered as the year of the MOOC. Massive Open Online Courses are college-level classes taught entirely over the Internet, and colleges and universities are scrambling to get onboard the MOOC train -- hundreds now offer some form of Web-based curriculum -- while at the same time debating what the trend means for the future of higher education. Is MOOC-mania justified and are MOOCs here to stay?

In today's uncertain economy, the question of ROI -- return on investment -- is on the minds of many prospective young doctors of jurisprudence. With the media churning out cautionary tales about newly minted lawyers coming up empty on the job market, the question is a valid one: Is a law degree still marketable and versatile? And are there career paths open to J.D.s who either don't want or can't find work in a law firm?

Exhuming corpses, analyzing bloodstained clothing, collecting "crime scene insects" (yes, maggots)...these are some of the grittier realities of life as a forensic scientist. Yet defying the stereotype that females tend to be squeamish about such things, an entire generation of young women have become entranced by the profession. In fact, they've pursued this career in such numbers that—unlike almost every other scientific discipline—one could argue that the booming field of forensic science is a female domain.

Some scientists are sounding the alarm about the wastefulness of using helium -- a rare, non-renewable gas -- to fill party balloons. Why? As an essential resource in technologies such as medical imaging, rocket engines, and surveillance devices, it turns out that helium does a lot more than give our balloons a lift. And despite being the second most abundant element in the universe, most of our supply in the Earth’s atmosphere simply floats off into space and is lost.

Chalk it up to one of the many contradictions of modern life in developed nations: we cajole our kids into eating all the food on their plates "because children in poorer countries are starving" at the same time as we face a growing obesity epidemic worldwide. Is there really not enough food on the planet, or are we just wasting the food we have? Bryan McDonald, a Penn State assistant professor of history and author of the book Food Security, offers his perspective.