Zoo news

Big and cold

Credit: A. GRILLO/AP

Directors of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage have finally agreed to move Maggie, the world's most northerly elephant, to a new, more comfortable home further south.

Small and hungry

Researchers at Japan's Tohoku University in Sendai have proved that it's not just dogs that can perform pavlovian tricks. They have trained their 'Pavlov's cockroaches' to salivate when presented with a specific nonfood odour.

Scorecard

Baby monitors

Chicago science teacher and mum-of-two Natalie Meilinger has been keeping one eye on developments aboard the shuttle Atlantis...after her baby monitor started picking up the latest images from NASA.

Kids with hay fever

A UK study suggests that school kids suffering the summer affliction are twice as likely to drop a grade in their exams, relative to their performance in the winter 'mock' tests.

On the record

“Biking is one of the manliest pastimes on the planet, so it's bloody reassuring to know someone's taking care of our virility while we're on the road.”

Round-the-world motorcyclist Nick Sanders welcomes Swiss scientists' invention of a coating for black leather trousers that helps them to reflect heat and avoid causing fertility problems for male bikers.

Sources: Reuters, PLoS One, Associated Press, The Scotsman, Revolver Communications