Browse News Briefs

Revealed: The breakfast cereals saltier than crisps and with more sugar than a doughnut
Category: Health
Many children's breakfast cereals contain more sugar than a doughnut while others are saltier than crisps, research shows.
At least seven of the most popular breakfast brands were found to be laden with more sugar than a doughnut bought in Tesco.
One of the worst offenders was Kellogg's Frosties with 11.1g of sugar in a 30g serving - almost three teaspoons per small bowl.
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Genes May Determine Susceptibility To H5N1 Avian Influenza A Virus Infection
Category: Health
A new study found genetic variations in mice affect their susceptibility to and severity of H5N1 avian influenza A virus infection suggesting that humans who contract the virus may be genetically predisposed.
The researchers from St.
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Chemicals Needed for Life Detected on Second Distant Planet
Category: Scientific Revelations
The basic molecules required for life as we know it have been detected in a second hot gas planet beyond our solar system.
The planet, which orbits a sun-like star about 150 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, is not habitable but it has the same chemistry that, if found around a rocky planet in the future, could indicate a world that might support life or the presence of life.
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Secrets of frog killer laid bare
Category: Scientific Revelations
Scientists have unravelled the mechanism by which the fungal disease chytridiomycosis kills its victims.
The fungus is steadily spreading through populations of frogs and other amphibians worldwide, and has sent some species extinct in just a few years.
Researchers now report in the journal Science that the fungus kills by changing the animals' electrolyte balance, resulting in cardiac arrest.
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2012: The end of the world according to Roland Emmerich
Category: Mysteries
Prepare yourself for the end. Or at least, prepare yourself for a rush of films, books and heated discussion inspired by the purported Mayan prophecy that armageddon will arrive on 21 (or perhaps 23) December 2012. But film director Roland Emmerich, who directed Independence Day, is getting in early with his latest blockbuster, 2012, set for release next month.
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Scientists try to calm '2012' hysteria
Category: Mysteries
As an upcoming action movie fuels Internet rumors, several scientists make public statements: The world will not end in 2012, and Earth is not going to crash into a rogue planet.
Is 2012 the end of the world?

If you scan the Internet or believe the marketing campaign behind the movie "2012," scheduled for release in November, you might be forgiven for thinking so.
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Designer Woollies for Chilly Chickens
Category: Bizarre Times
Rescued hens from battery farms that have temporarily lost their feathers are being given designer jumpers, thanks to a group of creative volunteer knitters.

Little Hen Rescue, in Norwich, was set up by 29 year old Jo Eglen, to give intensively reared chickens sanctuary and a happy and fruitful egg-laying retirement.
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Chinese scientists 'filmed UFO for 40 minutes'
Category: Beyond Gaia
The UFO world is alive with speculation that China is about to reveal details of startling and detailed footage of an unidentified flying object taken during the solar eclipse on July 22.

Scientists at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing are reported to have confirmed that they filmed a UFO during the eclipse for 40 minutes.
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Acupuncture May Bring Relief For Common Condition In Women, Study Suggests
Category: Health
Polycystic ovary syndrome, a common condition among women, can be relieved by the use of acupuncture and exercise. This is the conclusion of a recent study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Nearly 10% of women of reproductive age have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
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In Vitro Fertilization Less Successful With Alternative Fertility Treatments
Category: Health
Women who are desperately trying to get pregnant might want to avoid complementary and alternative medicine.
The common belief is that it won't hurt to try alternative fertility treatments before reverting to in vitro fertilization (IVF). But a new study from Denmark finds that the success of IVF treatment is 30% lower among women who have used alternative medicine.
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Regular Yoga Practice Is Associated With Mindful Eating
Category: Health
Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The study was prompted by initial findings reported four years ago by Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H.
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Alien life 'may exist among us'
Category: Beyond Gaia
Never mind Mars, alien life may be thriving right here on Earth, a major science conference has heard.
Our planet may harbour forms of "weird life" unrelated to life as we know it, according to Professor Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona State University.
This "shadow life" may be hidden in toxic arsenic lakes or in boiling deep sea hydrothermal vents, he says.
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