Water, water everywhere
The US south coast wasn鈥檛 the only place to experience mass evacuations due to severe weather this week. Hundreds of thousands of people in north-east India have been forced from their homes by heavy rains and rising flood waters. In the eastern Indian state of Bihar, the floods have displaced around 3 million people and at least 90 have died.
Slimming Alabama
As if being fat in a thin world isn鈥檛 penalty enough, Alabama is bringing in a fat tax. Starting in 2011, its 37,000 state employees will have to cough up an extra $25 per month in health insurance payments if their weight is considered unhealthy and they鈥檙e not doing anything about it. People with high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar will also be penalised.
Advertisement
Bluetongue barcodes
Genetically 鈥渂arcoding鈥� biting midges could help stop the spread of bluetongue in the UK. The technique could tell researchers how the midge species are distributed, which might offer clues about disease transmission. The proposal was discussed at the British Ecological Society鈥檚 annual meeting in London this week.
No gold watch for shuttle
Is NASA caving in to political pressure to extend the life of the shuttle after 2010? US senators, including John McCain, have been calling for a delay to the shuttle鈥檚 retirement to reduce US dependence on Russian vehicles, but NASA has staunchly resisted the idea. Now a leaked email has revealed that NASA is studying the feasibility of an extension.
Cry for me, baby
The brains of mothers who give birth naturally respond more strongly to the cries of their baby than those who have Caesareans. A team led by James Swain of Yale University used MRI to scan mothers鈥� brains up to a month after birth (, ).