Google to scan major libraries
Google is trying to establish an online reading room for five major libraries by scanning stacks of hard-to-find books into its widely-used internet search engine. The ambitious initiative announced on Monday gives Google the right to index material from the New York public library as well as libraries at four universities - Harvard, Stanford, Michigan and Oxford.
Washington Post
Hundreds of bird species going the way of the dodo
One tenth of all bird species could be extinct by 2100, and by then another 15 per cent could be on the brink of extinction, Californian scientists report today. They say the consequences for humankind are unpredictable.
The Guardian , The Times , The Independent , Daily Telegraph
Stressful deadlines boost heart attack risk
The pressure of meeting a work deadline can produce a sixfold increase in the risk of suffering a heart attack over the course of the following day. And competition at work could double the ongoing risk, according to a new study.
New Scientist
Life expectancy to reach 100 within two generations
Life expectancy at birth could reach 100 in the next 60 years on present trends, researchers reported yesterday. A study of the growth in longevity in Switzerland has revealed that more people live to be 100, taking into account population size, in Europe's most peaceable nation than anywhere else on the continent.
The Independent
Marriage makes men eat better
Men eat more healthily when they are married, according to a study of American health professionals which adds to the growing body of evidence that wives help keep their husbands in mental and physical shape. Men whose wives die increase their alcohol intake and eat fewer vegetables.
The Guardian , Daily Telegraph
Climate forecast soars into the red
By 2050 heatwaves like that of 2003, which killed 15,000 in Europe and pushed British temperatures above 38C (100F) for the first time, will seem "unusually cool", the Hadley Centre for Climate Change says. In its report Uncertainty, Risk and Dangerous Climate Change, to be published today at the climate talks in Buenos Aires, it estimates that average temperatures will rise by 3.5C, well above the 2C which the EU says is the limit to avoid catastrophic global warming.
The Guardian
Cranberries 'could help protect teeth'
Another health-boosting property of the humble cranberry has come to light, further enhancing the fruit’s reputation with health-conscious consumers. According to the latest medical research, eating cranberries could help prevent a host of oral health problems, including combating the bacteria that cause gum disease and rotting teeth.
The Scotsman
Original 1648 mince pie put to taste test
The true and original English minced pie was unveiled on Monday as the Royal Society of Chemistry restored real meat to its rightful place in traditional Christmas fare. At their headquarters in Piccadilly, London, the chemists denounced modern mince pies as a meatless fraud, and, to show what the nation’s culinary heritage had lost, served up pies made to a 390-year-old recipe.
The Times