Hearts heart height
Shorter people are 1.5 times as likely as their taller counterparts to develop heart disease, reveals an analysis of more than 3 million people. Short people were classified as under 160.5 centimetres high and tall people over 173.9 cm (European Heart Journal, ).
Asteroid dust at last?
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After a troubled rendezvous with an asteroid, the Japanese craft Hayabusa is finally nearing Earth 鈥� three years late. In 2005, the spacecraft landed on Itokawa, where it was supposed to be the first to grab a dust sample. Though the mission went awry, Hayabusa may have trapped some dust. We should find out on 13 June, when it is expected to drop its sample capsule over the Australian outback.
Strokes suckered
The effects of a massive stroke have been relieved in 27 patients using a tiny vacuum cleaner-like catheter which 鈥渟ucks up鈥� blood clots in the brain, restoring blood flow and preventing brain damage, say doctors at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Quebec City this week.
Oldest leather shoe
A pit in Armenia has yielded the world鈥檚 oldest leather shoe, a one-piece design with eyelets and leather laces. At 5500 years old, the shoe is between 300 and 400 years older than those found on 脰tzi the alpine 鈥渋ceman鈥�, which only had soles of leather with grass uppers (PLoS ONE, ).
Oil bad for business
Continued reliance on oil is risky and expensive for business, says a report by analysts Lloyd鈥檚 360 Risk Insight and UK think tank Chatham House. Oil prices could spike at about $200 per barrel in the next couple of years, and the report recommends investment in renewable energy for long-term price and supply security.