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DEFINITION: (noun) A false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation. SYNONYMS: aspersion, defamation, denigration, slander. USAGE: Supposing you are right in your indictment, how can you raise any question of calumny or gossip, in your case?

Doctors have begun the process of skin stretching that will prepare 2 year old conjoined twins Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias for their upcoming separation surgery. The girls, connected primarily at the chest, are joined at the right atria of their hearts and share a single liver. Because of their face to face orientation, they are unable to walk and their backs are beginning to curve. The complex surgery, which is scheduled for late November, has only a 50% survival rate, but doctors are optimistic about the girls' prognoses.

Petroglyphs are images created in rock by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading the rock surface. These rock carvings are found across the world and are often associated with prehistoric communities. The oldest known petroglyphs have been dated to about 12,000 years ago, and are thought to have been an early form of symbolic communication or perhaps a sort of “pre-writing.” What is the one continent on which petroglyphs have not been discovered?

DEFINITION: (noun) A comfortable or complacent member of the middle class. SYNONYMS: bourgeois. USAGE: From the serfs of the Middle Ages sprang the chartered burghers of the earliest towns.

As the melting of polar ice caps presents the possibility of exploiting the previously inaccessible and resource rich Arctic seabed, a number of countries have stepped-up their competition for territorial and economic rights there. Last month, a Russian expedition took soil samples from the N Pole seabed for analysis, leaving behind a Russian flag to mark their successful descent. Now, Russia says those samples provide evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater oceanic ridge in the Arctic Ocean, is part of the Russian Federation's adjoining continental shelf and is therefore part of Russia's land mass.

Risk refers to the potential negative impact that may arise from some present or future event. In common usage, it has become synonymous with the probability of a loss or threat. There are different definitions of risk, and its measurement can be difficult, but industries that are risk-sensitive use the equation: Risk = (probability of the event) x (consequence). Thus, the harsher the loss and the more likely the event, the worse the risk. What role does framing play in risk assessment?

DEFINITION: (noun) A long-stemmed sacred or ceremonial tobacco pipe used by certain Native American peoples. SYNONYMS: peace pipe, pipe of peace. USAGE: Among the Blackfeet warriors who advanced with the calumet of peace she recognized a brother.

Neptune is notable for being the 1st planet to be discovered by way of mathematical prediction rather than standard observation. Galileo observed Neptune twice in the early 1600s, but he mistook the planet for a fixed star and therefore is not credited with its discovery. Centuries later, small changes in Uranus' orbit led astronomers to seek out and discover the 8th and outermost planet of our solar system. Who predicted Neptune's location in the 1840s, and how accurate were the calculations?

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will be traveling to New York this week to attend the opening session of the UN General Assembly and participate in a World Leaders Forum at Columbia University. In preparation for his visit, Ahmadinejad requested permission to visit Ground Zero, the site of the former World Trade Center and September 11th attacks. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly denied this request, citing construction efforts and security concerns. A number of American politicians expressed shock that Iran's president, considered a leading sponsor of terror, would deem such a visit appropriate and condemned the request.

In 1994, Rodin became the 1st female president of an Ivy League University and was, at one time, the highest paid US university president. During her tenure at the University of Pennsylvania, the school rose to 4th place in the US News & World Report college ranking. She has published more than 200 articles and chapters in academic publications and authored or co-authored 11 books. In 2000, Penn students staged a demonstration outside Rodin's office; what were they protesting?