Owning an iPod can be dangerous?in more ways than one. Crime statistics released by the FBI show that violent crime increased in 2005 and 2006, and they think that thefts of iPods may have triggered the spike, since adolescents are most often the victims.

Their power to distract users gives thieves an advantage. The iPod’s popularity among young people may make it a special target for juvenile offenders, and indeed youth robbery arrests jumped 11% in 2005 and 21% in 2006. Adult robbery arrests rose only 1% in 2005 and 5% the following year.
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Your immune system, which protects you from disease, likes you to be dirty and happy (or does it)? A new study shows that men who are hostile and prone to frequent intense feelings of anger and depression could be harming their immune systems, making them more vulnerable to health problems like heart disease.

Researcher Steven Boyle studied over 300 male Vietnam veterans who were part of a larger 20-year study on the effects of Agent Orange. For the study, besides physical tests, the vets underwent a standard psychological test used to assess hostility, depression and anger.
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The first European victim of a deadly new mosquito-borne disease was bitten while in the United States and is in a coma.

This virus is known as Eastern Equine Encephalitis or Triple E. The victim, Michael Nicholson, was bitten by a mosquito when he spent 6 weeks in Rhode Island and New Hampshire this summer. The disease is found mostly along the East Coast and has a 35% mortality rate and develops 10 days after being bitten. It has flu-like symptoms, which eventually lead to brain inflammation, coma and death.

BBC News quotes Nicholson’s sister as saying, “There is no cure and there is no vaccine, so all you can do is try and prevent yourself being bitten.”

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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While the Nobel prizes are being give out, it’s important to note some of the OTHER scientific advances that have been made in the past year, such as: a “gay” bomb that could be used against Muslim terrorists to turn them all instantly into homosexuals, treating jet lag with impotency drugs, extracting vanilla from cow dung and the side effects of sword swallowing. These research triumphs received awards as well!
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