■SPACE
Astronauts toast with urine
It was a toast a bit like no other when astronauts on the International Space Station drank to their health for the first time with water recycled from urine, NASA said. “NASA’s Mission Control gave the Expedition 19 astronauts aboard the International Space Station a ‘go’ to drink water that the station’s new recycling system has purified” from urine, NASA said in a statement received on Thursday. The urine was recycled by a “Water Recovery System” machine that cost US$250 million. “This has been the stuff of science fiction,” gushed flight engineer Mike Barratt. “Everybody’s talked about recycling water in a closed loop system but nobody’s ever done it before. Here we are today with the first round of recycled water.”
■UNITED STATES
Climate improves birdsong
A hostile environment and inconsistent weather may explain why some birds become better singers than others, and also likely have superior learning and mating skills, a study said on Thursday. The research is based on a large-scale study of mockingbirds in different habitats carried out by researchers at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) in Durham, North Carolina, the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and McGill University. “As environments become more variable or unpredictable, song displays become more elaborate,” said Carlos Botero, a postdoctoral researcher at NESCent.
■UNITED STATES
Bearded ladies gene found
New research published on Thursday shed light on the genetic underpinnings of a bizarre syndrome — first exhibited by a mid-1800s bearded lady — that has fascinated the public for centuries. The case of bearded Mexican-born woman Julia Pastrana in the mid-1800s was the condition’s first appearance in medical literature, said Chinese researchers whose study was published in the May 21 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics. Researchers uncovered the specific genetic mutations that underlie congenital generalized hypertrichosis (CGH), a condition that spurs excessive hair growth over the entire human body.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Bomb hoax leads to jail
An Australian flight attendant who sparked a mid-air emergency by leaving a bomb hoax note on board an Emirates aircraft was on Thursday jailed for 18 months by a British court. Matthew Carney, 23, from Melbourne, had admitted hiding a note in the toilet of an Emirates flight from Dubai to London on March 22 that was found by a passenger. “Explosive material can be found in the FWD [forward cargo department]. We have the Taliban to thank for this,” the note said.
■UNITED STATES
Casual soldier honored
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday praised an Army soldier in eastern Afghanistan who drew media attention this month after rushing to defend his post from attack while wearing pink boxer shorts and flip-flops. In fact, Gates said he wanted to meet the soldier and shake his hand the next time he visits Afghanistan. “Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage,” Gates said in remarks prepared for a speech in New York. “I can only wonder about the impact on the Taliban. Just imagine seeing that: a guy in pink boxers and flip-flops has you in his cross-hairs. What an incredible innovation in psychological warfare,” he said.
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