A not-so-surprising new study finds that people don’t like rats. But what may be truly surprising is that rats — more than crime or other signs of urban decay — may make people depressed. Rats eat discarded food. Kirsty Wigglesworth / PA Wire via AP People living in Baltimore’s low-income ... Read More »
The former top lawyer for Turing Pharmaceuticals says he and other executives warned Martin Shkreli against the drastic price hike that triggered a national backlash against the company and its 32-year-old CEO. Turing’s former general counsel will tell Senate lawmakers that the fiftyfold price increase on Daraprim, a drug used ... Read More »
Which operation has the United Nations bungled most badly? The ponderous response to the Ebola epidemic — or the ongoing deployment of 4,500 troops in Haiti? Or was it the dispatch of peacekeepers to the Central African Republic who have ended up accused of raping and abusing the people they’re ... Read More »
German doctors are puzzled by the first outbreak of Lassa fever outside Africa. They say three people have been infected after having contact with an American who died of Lassa fever there last month. “This is now the first documented outbreak of Lassa fever virus outside of Africa,” the Robert ... Read More »
Note to self: Remember that Post-its turn 35 this month. Since it first hit office supply closets across America in the early Eighties, the ubiquitous sticky square has been a life saver for our notes, reminders, and everything in between. Who can forget the iconic “Sex and the City” breakup ... Read More »
A blue diamond ring that child star-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple wore for decades is going up for auction. Sotheby’s says the 9.54 carat ring is among the more than 300 lots in the “Magnificent Jewels” auction scheduled for April 19 in New York. It has a pre-sale estimate of between $25 ... Read More »
Labour peer Joan Bakewell says she is “deeply sorry” for causing “distress” by suggesting the rise of eating disorders among teenagers was a sign of “narcissism” in society. She told The Sunday Times “no one has anorexia in societies where there is not enough food”, and it was a sign ... Read More »
Volunteers who used this approach were 25% more likely to remain abstinent half a year from the date that they give up than smokers who tried to gradually wean themselves off instead. The NHS says that picking a convenient date to quit is important. Make a promise, set a date ... Read More »
After 20 hours of debate, a majority of 165 to 86 lawmakers voted in favour of repealing two bills which stood in the way of the agreement with creditors. It is a victory for President Mauricio Macri who struck the deal after his election win in November. It will now ... Read More »
The tie-up will create one of the largest exchange companies in the world with a combined value of about £21bn. Under the terms of the deal, LSE shareholders will own 45.6% of the new holding company, while Deutsche Boerse shareholders will own 54.4%. LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet said the ... Read More »
The central bank said the labour market was strengthening, but it was still looking for inflation to reach its 2%. target. The Fed indicated it expected the US economy to continue to “expand at a moderate pace” Interest rates remain between 0.25% and 0.5% after being raised for the first ... Read More »
It used data on bird strikes to get a sense of what would happen if a small drone collided with a plane. Only 3% of collisions between aircraft and birds similar in weight to domestic drones result in damage, found the George Mason University researchers. An even smaller number caused ... Read More »
