On the Record

“Luckily criminals wear trainers. If they all wore Oxford brogues we would be in a very difficult position.”

Nigel Allinson of the University of Sheffield describes a computerized system being developed in Britain to identify shoeprints at crime scenes.

“This Pope has remained a scientist at heart.”

Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, president of Germany's main research funding agency, is impressed after meeting Pope Benedict XVI.

Sources: BBC, DFG

Scorecard

Chinese health

Chinese authorities announce that they have wiped out lymphatic filariasis, a disease that can lead to grossly enlarged limbs. The World Health Organization hopes to eradicate the disease by 2020.

Ancient coiffure

Cleopatra employed up to three different hairstyles to present the best image to the locals wherever she travelled, says a recent archaeology book.

Climate change

The UK government admits that it will fail to meet its self-imposed goal of cutting carbon dioxide levels by 20% of 1990 levels by 2010.

Number Crunch

ViaGen, a company in Austin, Texas, is cloning champion horses. The animals were all big in cutting, a sport that grew out of cattle roundups and involves singling out a cow from a herd. But what's at stake?

$150,000 is how much ViaGen charges to clone a horse.

$90,000 is how much the company charges for a second copy of the same horse.

$380,000 is how much Royal Blue Boon, the first champion horse cloned, won in its sporting lifetime.

Sources: Washington Post, News8Austin