In the papers...

Unsettling aroma 

Taking the contraceptive pill changes the way a woman reacts to a man's smell - potentially disrupting the ability to detect clues about a potential partner's genes via their aroma. Picking a man with genes too similar to one's own could make conception harder, and miscarriage more likely. 

The Telegraph  , 13 August 2008 

Tamiflu teen ban 

Japan's Health, Labour and Welfare ministry is to re-examine links between Tamiflu and abnormal behaviour in teens. A study had found no clear link between the drug - currently banned for teens in Japan - and abnormal behaviour, but errors in processing the data have now come to light, delaying the decision on whether to lift the ban. 

The Daily Yomiuri  , 7 August 2008 

Scared of chilli 

A chemical scare at a police station in Brisbane, Australia, turned out to be a false alarm. The 'suspicious substance' on an envelope - which caused an evacuation, and one person to be taken to hospital - was found to be chilli powder. 

The Courier-Mail  , 11 August 2008 

Mining landfill to make money 

The price of used plastic is rising so rapidly that operations to mine it from UK rubbish dumps could start within a decade. Commodity prices have risen to the extent that mining recyclable plastic from landfill sites could soon become profitable in Britain. Estimates suggest 200 million tonnes of plastic could have been thrown away since the late 1980s, with a potential value of £40 million. 

The Times  , 12 August 2008 

Warrior's fungal infection cured 

US healthcare company Johnson & Johnson has used its expertise in anti-fungal treatments - developed over 50 years of making athlete's foot creams - to cure a fungal infection blighting China's 2000-year-old terracotta warriors. The archeological treasures, discovered in 1974, had been under attack by an athlete's foot-like fungus. 

The Wall Street Journal  , 18 August 2008