Helpful venom
Scorpion venom could improve the outcome of bypass surgery where blood flow can be blocked by cells growing in newly replaced vessels. A team at the University of Leeds, UK, has used a toxin found in the venom to block a key protein involved in the process in samples of human veins (Cardiovascular Research, ).
Chris gets all clear
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Columbus and his crew have been blamed for carrying syphilis from the New World to the old in 1493. Now signs of the disease have been found in two 13th-century skeletons from the churchyard of St Mary Spital in London 鈥� implying that it existed in Europe long before the voyage (The Times, 25 October).
Useless genes
Every human inherits 250 to 300 genes that don鈥檛 work, according to scans of DNA from almost 900 people by the international 鈥�1000 Genome Project鈥�. Luckily, most of us inherit back-up copies of the same genes from our other parent (Nature, ). So no harm done.
Big bug
A giant virus that infests microscopic sea creatures has the largest genome of any known marine virus, and the second largest of any virus. CroV鈥檚 genome includes a host of genes not usual for viruses (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ).
Gel contraceptive
A gel contraceptive rubbed on the skin has prevented pregnancies in 18 women, with fewer side effects than the regular pill, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine heard at its meeting in Colorado this week. Applied daily to the abdomen, thighs, arms or shoulders, it contains the hormones nestorone and oestrogen and appears safe to use while breastfeeding.