BBC NEWS | Americas | Snake bursts after gobbling gator

BBC NEWS | Americas | Snake bursts after gobbling gator: "An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida's swamps.

The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.

The remains of the two giant reptiles were found by astonished rangers in the Everglades National Park.

The rangers say the find suggests that non-native Burmese pythons might even challenge alligators' leading position in the food chain in the swamps.

The python's remains were found with the victim's tail protruding from its burst midsection. The head of the python was missing."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Phoenix detects Red Planet snow

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Phoenix detects Red Planet snow: "The Phoenix spacecraft on Mars has detected snow above its landing site.

The US robot used its lidar instrument to probe the structure of clouds and saw large water ice-crystals falling through the Martian 'air'.

The instrument, which works by scattering pulses of laser light off particles in the sky, did not follow the snow to the ground.

The data suggests the snow vaporised before it reached the surface - but Phoenix is monitoring the situation.

'We're going to be watching very closely over the next month for evidence that the snow is actually landing on the surface,' said Jim Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix.

'This is a very important factor in the hydrological cycle on Mars with the exchange of water between the surface and the atmosphere.'"

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Vatican installs solar panel roof

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Vatican installs solar panel roof: "Pope Benedict XVI has become the first pontiff to harness solar power to provide energy for the Vatican.

Roof tiles on the Paul VI auditorium - used in poor weather for the Pope's weekly audience with pilgrims - are being replaced by 2,700 solar panels.

The photovoltaic cells will convert sunlight into electricity, generating enough power to light, heat or cool the 6,000 seat hall, engineers say."

"We Gonna Take Your Money"

Sinfest: "We Gonna Take Your Money"

Report: 60 Million People You'd Never Talk To Voting For Other Guy | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Report: 60 Million People You'd Never Talk To Voting For Other Guy | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

BBC NEWS | Americas | Brazilian speeder gets $1.9m fine

BBC NEWS | Americas | Brazilian speeder gets $1.9m fine: "Police in Brazil have finally caught up with a serial speeder who owed $1.9m (£1m) in traffic fines.

Sao Paolo police who pulled over Armando Clemente da Silva were shocked to discover he had clocked up nearly 1,000 violations, local media report.

Mr da Silva had accumulated the fines for speeding and running red lights over a seven-year period.

The driver, 36, said he had not received any penalty tickets because he had been too busy to register his car.

Mr da Silva was pulled over by traffic police on Wednesday for a routine document check, the Brazilian news website Folha OnLine reports.

The offending vehicle - which was not identified but is said to be 12 years old and worth around $6,500 - has been impounded.

It will be returned to Mr da Silva if he pays off his outstanding fines within 90 days.

Otherwise it will be auctioned off, O Globo daily newspaper reported."

BBC NEWS | UK | Pilot completes jetpack challenge

BBC NEWS | UK | Pilot completes jetpack challenge: "A Swiss man has become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | People's airbag 'prevents injury'

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | People's airbag 'prevents injury': "A Japanese company says it has made an airbag designed to stop elderly people injuring themselves by falling over.

The device is strapped around the body and inflates in 0.1 seconds if it detects it is accelerating towards the ground, the manufacturers say."

BBC NEWS | Africa | Train crushes railway sex couple

BBC NEWS | Africa | Train crushes railway sex couple: "A couple in South Africa who were having sex on a railway track in Mpumalanga Province have been killed by a goods train, police say.

Spokesman Abie Khoabane said it took place on Friday evening and the victims were yet to be identified.

He told local newspapers that the couple ignored the driver's shouts as he moved the train into the disused station in Kinross town.

'They continued with their business,' he told the Sowetan paper.

According to South Africa's Beeld newspaper, the area was deserted with no cars or houses nearby."

It's Raining Investors

Sinfest: "It's Raining Investors"

EPA Shuts Down Local Ghost-Entrapment Business | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

EPA Shuts Down Local Ghost-Entrapment Business: "NEW YORK—Citing unsafe practices and potential toxic contamination, the Environmental Protection Agency shut down a small ghost- entrapment operation in downtown Manhattan today, and had four of the business' spectral-containment specialists arrested in the process."

BBC NEWS | Americas | US 'musical road' hits bum note

BBC NEWS | Americas | US 'musical road' hits bum note: "It might sound like an idea from a 1960s hippy gathering, but there really is such a thing as a musical highway.

A section of Avenue K in a Californian desert town uses grooves cut into the road surface to play the Lone Ranger theme to cars driving along it.

But some Lancaster residents are not amused. They say the noise from the road sounds more like a discordant screech than the Rossini overture.

Officials have bowed to their views and have agreed to pave over the grooves."

BBC NEWS | Health | Men with sexist views 'earn more'

BBC NEWS | Health | Men with sexist views 'earn more': "Men who grow up thinking women should stay at home may be labelled 'old-fashioned' - but could end up well ahead in the salary stakes.

A US study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, suggests that they will consistently out-earn more 'modern-thinking' men.

On average, this meant an extra $8,500 (£4,722) a year.

One UK psychologist said men inclined to wield power in their relationships might also do this at work."

BBC NEWS | Health | Sweet smells foster sweet dreams

BBC NEWS | Health | Sweet smells foster sweet dreams: "Sleep with flowers in your bedroom if you want sweet dreams, work suggests.

When the smell of roses had been wafted under the noses of slumbering volunteers they reported experiencing pleasant emotions in their dreams.

An odour of rotten eggs had the opposite effect on the 15 sleeping women, the German scientists found."

BBC NEWS | Europe | Michelangelo's David 'may crack'

BBC NEWS | Europe | Michelangelo's David 'may crack': "Michelangelo's famous statue of David could collapse because of its exposure to mass tourism, Italian experts say.

They say the massive statue of the naked boy-warrior is in danger because of its size, shape and the weakness of the marble from which it was carved.

But they warn that the greatest risk comes from the footfall of many visitors who troop past it each day at Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia.

The experts want to protect the statue by insulating it from the vibrations.

This would cost about 1m euros (£785,000). Otherwise David could topple over, engineers from the University of Perugia say."

BBC NEWS | Americas | The US election nightmare scenario

BBC NEWS | Americas | The US election nightmare scenario: "Nancy Pelosi: The next president of the United States?"

BBC NEWS | Science/Environment | Audio slideshow: The art of mathematics

BBC NEWS | Science/Environment | Audio slideshow: The art of mathematics

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Political views 'all in the mind'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Political views 'all in the mind': "Scientists studying voters in the US say our political views may be an integral part of our physical makeup.

Their research, published in the journal Science, indicates that people who are sensitive to fear or threat are likely to support a right wing agenda.

Those who perceived less danger in a series of images and sounds were more inclined to support liberal policies.

The authors believe their findings may help to explain why voters' minds are so hard to change."

BBC NEWS | Health | Online gamers 'are not unhealthy'

BBC NEWS | Health | Online gamers 'are not unhealthy': "The 'couch potato' image of computer gamers is unfounded, with many in better than average shape, claim US researchers.

More than 7,000 players of the online game 'EverQuest II' were quizzed about their health by scientists.

They found gamers' body mass index (BMI) tended to be lower than the US average - with many taking 'proper' exercise more than once a week."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Computer games drive social ties

BBC NEWS | Technology | Computer games drive social ties: "Far from turning teenagers into anti-social loners, video games help them engage with friends and community, says a report.

The Pew Internet study of US teenagers found that few play alone and most join up with friends when gaming.

It found that many used educational games to learn about world issues and to begin to engage with politics.

The report also found that gaming had become an almost universal pastime among young Americans."

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | New Hitchhiker's author announced

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | New Hitchhiker's author announced: "Children's author Eoin Colfer has been commissioned to write a sixth instalment of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series.

Mostly Harmless, the last Hitchhiker book, was written by its creator, the late Douglas Adams, 16 years ago.

Now Adams's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval to bring back the hapless Arthur Dent in a new book entitled And Another Thing...

Eoin Colfer, 43, is best known for the best-selling Artemis Fowl novels."

BBC NEWS | Africa | Women to rule Rwanda parliament

BBC NEWS | Africa | Women to rule Rwanda parliament: "Rwanda will be the first country where women will outnumber men in parliament, preliminary election results show.

Women have taken 44 out of 80 seats so far and the number could rise if three seats reserved for the disabled and youth representatives go to females.

Rwanda, whose post-genocide constitution ensures a 30% quota for female MPs, already held the record for the most women in parliament."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Warcraft add-on gets release date

BBC NEWS | Technology | Warcraft add-on gets release date: "The second expansion pack for the World of Warcraft (WoW) online game is going on sale from 13 November."

BBC NEWS | Health | Chamomile tea 'may ease diabetes'

BBC NEWS | Health | Chamomile tea 'may ease diabetes': "Drinking chamomile tea daily may help prevent the complications of type 2 diabetes, such as loss of vision and nerve and kidney damage, a study says.

UK and Japanese researchers fed a chamomile extract to diabetic rats.

The extract appeared to cut blood sugar levels and block activity of an enzyme associated with the development of diabetic complications."

BBC NEWS | Health | Clean living 'slows cell ageing'

BBC NEWS | Health | Clean living 'slows cell ageing': "Taking more exercise and eating the right foods may help increase levels of an enzyme vital for guarding against age-related cell damage, work suggests.

Among 24 men asked to adopt healthy lifestyle changes for a US study in The Lancet Oncology, levels of telomerase increased by 29% on average.

Telomerase repairs and lengthens telomeres, which cap and protect the ends of chromosomes housing DNA.

As people age, telomeres shorten and cells become more susceptible to dying.

It is the damage and death of cells that causes ageing and disease in people.

Several factors such as smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with shorter-than-average telomeres."

BBC NEWS | Health | Heart fears over common chemical

BBC NEWS | Health | Heart fears over common chemical: "Higher levels of a chemical often found in plastic food and drink packaging are associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a study has suggested.

The group with the highest levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their urine were found to be more than twice as likely to have diabetes or heart disease.

But the Journal of the American Medical Association research did not show that Bisphenol A caused the conditions."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Taxi drivers 'have brain sat-nav'

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Taxi drivers 'have brain sat-nav': "Scientists have uncovered evidence for an inbuilt 'sat-nav' system in the brains of London taxi drivers."

BBC - Today

BBC - Today: "Sometime in mid-July 1518, in the city of Strasbourg, a woman stepped into the street and started to dance.

She was still dancing several days later. Within a week about 100 people had been consumed by the same irresistible urge to dance. The authorities were convinced that the afflicted would only recover if they danced day and night.

So guildhalls were set aside for them to dance in, musicians were hired to play pipes and drums to keep them moving, and professional dancers were paid to keep them on their feet. Within days those with weak hearts started to die.

A popular idea has been that the dancers had ingested ergot, a psychotropic mould that grows on stalks of rye. But this is highly unlikely

By the end of August 1518 about 400 people had experienced the madness. Finally they were loaded aboard wagons and taken to a healing shrine. Not until early September did the epidemic recede."

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Attraction 'down to testosterone'

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Attraction 'down to testosterone': "High testosterone in women makes them more attracted to masculine actors such as Daniel Craig, with men favouring the femininity typified by Natalie Portman.

The claim has been made by the University of Aberdeen's Face Research Laboratory.

Their research says that changes in testosterone levels affect the extent to which men and women are attracted to different types of faces.

This is rather than people being attracted to particular types."

The GOP Finds Feminism | Newsweek Voices - Anna Quindlen | Newsweek.com

Two in a row.. I hope this isn't becoming a political blog...
The GOP Finds Feminism | Newsweek Voices - Anna Quindlen | Newsweek.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Palin and McCain’s Shotgun Marriage - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Wow This is a biting commentary...
Op-Ed Columnist - Palin and McCain’s Shotgun Marriage - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Surrey | Baseball's UK heritage confirmed

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Surrey | Baseball's UK heritage confirmed: "Local historians in Surrey have confirmed evidence that baseball was played in the UK more than 20 years before American independence.

A diary that documents a game being played in Guildford in 1755 has been verified by Surrey History Centre.

William Bray, a Surrey diarist and historian from Shere, wrote about the game when he was still a teenager.

Major League Baseball, the governing body of the game in the US, has been informed of the discovery."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Stroking reveals pleasure nerve

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Stroking reveals pleasure nerve: "A new touch-sensitive nerve fibre responsible for the sense of pleasure experienced during stroking has been described at a UK conference today.

The nerves tap into a human's reward pathways, and could help explain why we enjoy grooming and a good hug, a neuroscientist has explained.

His team used a stroking machine to reveal the optimal speed and pressure for the most enjoyable caress."

BBC NEWS | Health | Women 'more prone to nightmares'

BBC NEWS | Health | Women 'more prone to nightmares': "Women experience significantly more nightmares than men and have more emotional dreams, research suggests.

In a study of 170 volunteers asked to record their most recent dream, 19% of men reported a nightmare compared with 30% of women.

Researcher Dr Jennifer Parker of the University of the West of England said there was no difference in the overall number of dreams reported.

Other research has shown women tend to have more disturbed sleep than men.

One factor which has been linked to this is changes in a woman's body temperature during her monthly cycle.

Dr Parker, a lecturer in psychology, said it has been known for a long time that pre-menstrual women report more vivid and disturbing dreams."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | No victory in Iraq, says Petraeus

BBC NEWS | Middle East | No victory in Iraq, says Petraeus: "The outgoing commander of US troops in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has said that he will never declare victory there."

BBC NEWS | Health | Declaring love boosts sex appeal

BBC NEWS | Health | Declaring love boosts sex appeal: "Telling someone you fancy 'I really like you' could make him or her find you more attractive, research suggests.

Making eye contact and smiling have a similar effect, says Aberdeen University psychologist Dr Ben Jones."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Elephant cured of drug addiction

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Elephant cured of drug addiction: "An Asian elephant that became addicted to heroin after being fed bananas spiked with the drug is to return home after undergoing a detox programme.

The four-year-old animal, called Xiguang, received methadone injections for a year at five times the human dosage, state media said."

BBC - Today

BBC - Today: "The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year

1978: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice (University of Tokyo Press)
1979: The Madam as Entrepreneur: Career Management in House Prostitution (Transaction Press)
1980: The Joy of Chickens (Prentice Hall)
1981: Last Chance at Love: Terminal Romances
1982: Population and Other Problems (China National Publications)
1983: The Theory of Lengthwise Rolling (MIR)
1984: The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History and Its Role in the World Today (Constable)
1985: Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Power: How to Increase the Other 90% of Your Mind to Increase the Size of Your Breasts (Westwood Publishing Co)
1986: Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality (Brunner/Mazel)
1987: No Award
1988: Versailles: The View From Sweden University of Chicago Press)
1989: How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art (Ten Speed Press)
1990: Lesbian Sadomasochism Safety Manual (Lace Publications)
1991: No Award
1992: How to Avoid Huge Ships (Cornwell Maritime Press)
1993: American Bottom Archaeology (University of Illinois Press)
1994: Highlights in the History of Concrete (British Cement Association)
1995: Reusing Old Graves (Shaw & Son)
1996: Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers (Hellenic Philatelic Society)
1997: The Joy of Sex: Pocket Edition (Mitchell Beazley)
1998: Development in Dairy Cow Breeding and Management: and New Opportunities to Widen the Uses of Straw (Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust)
1999: Weeds in a Changing World (British Crop Protection Council)
2000: High Performance Stiffened Structures (Professional Engineering Publishing)
2001: Butterworths Corporate Manslaughter Service (Butterworths)
2002: Living With Crazy Buttocks (Kaz Cooke - Penguin)
2003: The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (Kensington Publishing)
2004: Bombproof Your Horse (J A Allen)
2005: People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It (Gary Leon Hill - Red Wheel/Weiser Books)
2006: The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification (Harry N Abrams)
2007: If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs (Simon & Schuster US) "

BBC NEWS | Health | Roman Empire 'raised HIV threat'

BBC NEWS | Health | Roman Empire 'raised HIV threat': "The spread of the Roman Empire through Europe could help explain why those living in its former colonies are more vulnerable to HIV.

The claim, by French researchers, is that people once ruled by Rome are less likely to have a gene variant which protects against HIV.

This includes England, France, Greece and Spain, New Scientist reports.

Others argue the difference is linked to a far larger event, such as the spread of bubonic plague or smallpox."

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Balls found inside 'rattling' dog

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Balls found inside 'rattling' dog: "A dog had to have 13 golf balls removed from its stomach after eating them on walks around a Fife course.

Owner Chris Morrison had been taking five-year-old black labrador Oscar round the Pitreavie golf course in Dunfermline for several months.

He took Oscar to the vet after noticing a rattling sound coming from his pet's stomach.

They then discovered that 13 balls - each weighing 45 grams - were lodged in his stomach.

Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in his stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing."

BBC NEWS | Health | Women pick men who look like dad

BBC NEWS | Health | Women pick men who look like dad: "Women tend to choose husbands who look like their fathers, a study shows.

And it works both ways - the women in the Proceedings B study also resembled their partner's mother.

The latest work from the University of Pécs in Hungary provides yet more evidence for the phenomenon, known as sexual imprinting.

Others have shown women use dads as a template for picking a mate even if they are adopted, suggesting imprinting is led by experience not simply genes.

This notion is backed by other work showing the imprinting link is lost on women who did not have good relationships with their fathers."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Major ice-shelf loss for Canada

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Major ice-shelf loss for Canada: "The ice shelves in Canada's High Arctic have lost a colossal area this year, scientists report.

The floating tongues of ice attached to Ellesmere Island, which have lasted for thousands of years, have seen almost a quarter of their cover break away.

One of them, the 50 sq km (20 sq miles) Markham shelf, has completely broken off to become floating sea-ice.

Researchers say warm air temperatures and reduced sea-ice conditions in the region have assisted the break-up.

"These substantial calving events underscore the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Trent University's Dr Derek Mueller.

"These changes are irreversible under the present climate." "

BBC NEWS | Africa | Nigerian man to divorce 82 wives

BBC NEWS | Africa | Nigerian man to divorce 82 wives: "A Nigerian religious leader with 86 wives has accepted an Islamic decree ordering him to divorce all but four of them, local authorities say."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Australia suffering 'man drought'

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Australia suffering 'man drought': "An analysis of new census figures has shown that Australia is suffering from an unprecedented 'man drought'.

The statistics have revealed that there are almost 100,000 more females than males in Australia."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Cosmic crash unmasks dark matter

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Cosmic crash unmasks dark matter: "Striking evidence has been found for the enigmatic 'stuff' called dark matter which makes up 23% of the Universe, yet is invisible to our eyes.

The results come from astronomical observations of a titanic collision between two clusters of galaxies 5.7 billion light-years away.

Astronomers detected the dark matter because it separated from the normal matter during the cosmic smash-up."

BBC NEWS | Health | Commitment phobes can blame genes

BBC NEWS | Health | Commitment phobes can blame genes: "A man's reluctance to marry may be down to a genetic 'flaw', say researchers.

Men who inherit a genetic variant that affects an important attachment hormone are prone to marital strife and are less likely to wed, work suggests.

Animal studies have shown the same hormone - vasopressin - affects voles' abilities to remain monogamous."

On the Constitution

"'Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.'

- Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, November 13, 1789."