BSE hits Sweden
Sweden has lost its status as Europe鈥檚 only BSE-free country. Officials are still trying to trace the cause of the country鈥檚 first case of the cattle disease, confirmed on 3 March. Sweden will now have to begin testing all slaughtered cows destined for the food chain.
A beeline northwards
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Swarms of Africanised honeybees, which on rare occasions can sting people to death, are continuing their northward spread into the US, the Agricultural Research Service confirmed on Monday. The bees, hybrids of African and commercial European honeybees, appeared in Louisiana and Arkansas for the first time last year and have become established in Florida.
Ancient ships found
The most ancient ship timbers ever found have been discovered in caves on Egypt鈥檚 Red Sea coast. The 4000-year-old timbers are thought to have come from as many as five vessels that made the hazardous 1600-kilometre voyage to a fabled port called Punt, probably located in modern-day Yemen or Ethiopia. The caves also contained stone anchors, cargo boxes, fragments of storage jars and 80 perfectly preserved coils of rope.
TV false alarm
Spending long hours in front of the TV does not, contrary to previous reports, make young children hyperactive. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has previously been blamed on flickering TV screens, but a two-year study of 5000 children found no link between the time spent watching TV and risk of ADHD.
Endangered act
The US cannot afford to slacken efforts to safeguard its rarest species. So say thousands of biologists who signed a letter delivered to Congress on Wednesday, in which they urge politicians not to water down the 30-year-old Endangered Species Act, one of the world鈥檚 most successful pieces of conservation legislation.