Digital ‘Smiley Face’ Turns 25
PITTSBURGH (AP) – It was a serious contribution to the electronic lexicon. :-) Twenty-five years ago, Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman says, he was the first to use three keystrokes – a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis – as a horizontal “smiley face” in a computer.

Extinction Is at Hand for Paper Airline Tickets
Replacing paper tickets with electronic ticketing will save airlines $3 billion annually on the roughly 400 million tickets sold outside of the United States alone.

EU Dominates in Antitrust, Experts Say
WASHINGTON (AP) – A European Union appeals court’s decision to uphold a 2004 antitrust order against Microsoft Corp. means that U.S.-based multinationals will continue to face tougher competition rules in Europe than at home, legal experts said.

I.B.M. to Offer Office Software Free in Challenge to Microsoft’s Line
The company plans to announce the creation of I.B.M. Lotus Symphony, free programs for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.

Google Expands Online Software Suite
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) – Google Inc. has expanded its online suite of office software to include a business presentation tool similar to Microsoft Corp.’s popular PowerPoint, adding the latest twist in a high-stakes rivalry.

Man in China dies after three-day Internet session
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese man dropped dead after playing Internet games for three consecutive days, state media said on Monday as China seeks to wean Internet addicts offline.

May/December Couples Boost Human Lifespan
Older men who shack up with much younger women keep the grim reaper at bay for the human population and extend our species’ lifespan, new research claims.

The Greatest Threat to Children: Parents
While rare incidents of children being abused and killed by sex offenders grab headlines, in fact parents are a far greater threat to children. Studies show that if a child is abducted or killed, the perpetrator is most likely a parent, guardian or close friend. Each year, hundreds of infants and children are killed by one of their parents, and over all age groups, mothers kill more often than fathers.

Don’t Eat That, or Your Child May Grow Up Fat
Nearly all pregnant women know that they have to take prenatal supplements and stop smoking and drinking to protect the health of their unborn baby. But does it really make a difference to Baby if you gorge on ice cream and skimp on fruit, grilled chicken, and brown rice? Actually, yes.

The Nutrition-Conscious Take a Bite Out of Fast Food
Menus are changing nationwide as customer, regulatory pressures mount

Aerobic, Weight Training Combo Best Against Diabetes
Exercise is always good, but combining two approaches brings better results, study finds.

Mouthpiece Could Help Ease Snoring
‘Dental splint’ an alternative to masks, surgery, researchers say

Surgeons Remove Gallbladder Through Vagina
Procedure leaves no scars and reduces pain, but not all doctors endorse it.

Gene Mutation Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
While more research is needed, finding could prove significant

Speed reading the human genome
From Newsweek: A powerful new strategy promises to speed up the effort to link genes to specific diseases.

Depression Pushes Middle-Aged Workers to Retire
Study finds it’s often a key factor in the decision

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village
LIMA (AFP) – Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.

Discovery Changes Understanding of Neutrons
The neutron has been found to have a negative charge both in its inner core and its outer edge, with a positive charge sandwiched in between to make the particle electrically neutral… The discovery changes scientific understanding of how neutrons interact with negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons. Specifically, it has implications for understanding the strong force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature

Repair puts October 23 space shuttle date at risk
MIAMI (Reuters) – The repair of a landing gear leak on the space shuttle Discovery could put in jeopardy the U.S. spacecraft’s October 23 launch date on a construction mission to the International Space Station, NASA said on Monday.

Mars Orbiter in Safe Mode After Glitch
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – The Mars Odyssey orbiter was in safe mode Monday after a computer glitch prevented the 6-year-old spacecraft from relaying data from the twin rovers rolling across the Martian surface. Project leaders said the Mars Odyssey was not in danger.

The 10 most intriguing extrasolar planets
The first planets outside our solar system were spotted in 1990, in orbit around a dying, radiation-spewing star very different from our sun. In the years since, scientists have turned up even stranger worlds.