Leonard Susskind has joined the faculty of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics as an associate member. Susskind is a founder of "string theory," which holds that the universe is composed of tiny, vibrating strings. It also proposes that there are a number of extra, hidden spacetime dimensions, which means there may be multiple alternate universes. Susskind, a professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University, will conduct research at the institute. —Sara Kern

“God is Not Great," the best-selling book from well-known journalist and atheist Christopher Hitchens, is a 2007 National Book Award finalist. The book, which condemns religion as “violent,” “irrational,” and “intolerant,” received mixed critical response, but quickly shot to the top of The New York Times Best Sellers list, continuing a string of high-profile anti-religious books that includes Daniel Dennett’s “Breaking the Spell” and Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” (a best-seller for 51 consecutive weeks). “God is Not Great” competes against four other works for the nonfiction award. The winner will be announced November 14. —Stephen Mapes

Beliefnet.com has chosen “The 12 Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood.” Mel Gibson is at the top of the list.

A survey of 1,600 Canadians found that those who believe in God think virtues like patience, kindness, generosity, honesty, and courtesy are more "important" than atheists do. Reginald Bibby, the University of Lethbridge sociologist who conducted the study, says it's possible societies may "pay a significant social price" if they continue their trend toward secularism (his results don't necessarily mean believers "always translate their values into action," he says). Bibby's findings are detailed on his site and in the October 11 issue of Canada's National Post. —Dan Messier

FROM RICHARD LERNER, BERGSTROM CHAIR OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY: My new book, The Good Teen, hit the bookshelves on October 9. It supports a new conception of adolescence, based on strengths rather than weaknesses.
A number of things lead to positive youth development: a positive purpose, sustained relationships with caring and competent adults (parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, or faith leaders), and the opportunity to develop life skills and to participate in valued community activities.
Positive development is defined by the five Cs: "competence," "confidence," positive social "connection," "caring," and "character." My research also shows that young people "contribute"–another C—to their own healthy development and to positive changes in their social worlds: They are generous toward themselves (keeping themselves fit and healthy, and less likely to smoke or to be involved in other risky behaviors, such as drinking, drug use, or bullying) and they are generous toward their family and community.
Young people who display these characteristics are more likely to have solid identities and to take actions that reflect the importance of civic engagement and civic contribution.
The Good Teen explains that if parents and other adults follow the ideas I present about how to promote positive development in teens, two things can happen: They can enhance the likelihood that adolescents will thrive and they can reduce the probability that young people will show the risk and problem behaviors that many have long thought are inevitable during this period of life.

Researchers from Harvard University have discovered that English verbs undergo natural selection—and their findings have made the cover of this week's Nature. The team, which includes scientists from the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, led by biologist and mathematician Martin Nowak, created an algorithm to compute when irregular English verbs will succumb to the standard rule of the past tense—in other words, when they will be "regularized" to end in "ed."
Their algorithm led them to a simple mathematical formula: A verb used 100 times less frequently will evolve 10 times as fast. The past tense of uncommon irregular verbs like "shrive" and "wed" should end in "-ed" within the next 500 years, they predict. The irregular past tense of common verbs like "be," "have," and "do" should effectively last forever. The team hopes this will be the first in a long line of discoveries linking science and language.—Stephen Mapes

Last week, the Religion Newswriters Association announced its 2007 contest winners, selected for excellence in religion reporting in the mainstream media. Winners are chosen in several different categories, including Religion Reporter of the Year, Religion Writer of the Year, Best Religious Series or Story of the Year, and Best Religion Section. Awards are also given to the best reporters within mid-size or small newspapers, as well as to the best student religion reporter. This year, the judges, which include current and former journalists and scholars, chose their winners from more than 320 entries in 11 different categories, and the prizes totaled almost 15,000 dollars.—Sara Kern