April 27, 2003

Nosey Dog May Save You

Nosey Dog May Save You Life

The next time a dog sniffs your crotch, it mayfind out whether you have cancer. Well may not the next time, but soon. According to the Sunday Times, British researchers are to train dogs to sniff out signs of prostate cancer.

A 12-month project at Cambridge University will train German shepherds and Labradors to spot cancer from the proteins in urine odour.

This idea is not at all far-fetched. Scientists in the US have discovered that dogs can detect skin cancer. You might think what all the fuss is, given the advances in medical technology. However, in Tallahassee, Florida, a dog called George trained to detect melanoma spotted a cancerous mole that had previously been examined by three doctors and tested twice without finding a malignancy.

Given that the NHS spends very little on men’s health and appalling little on preventative medicine at all, we may need as many trained dogs as we can get.

Whose the Richest of Us All?

My British readers will have almost certainly seen this on the news stands today, but it might surprise American readers that royalty is the not best way to riches in the UK. A better bet is wizardry. Not practicing it – writing about it. Sure HM the Queen is loaded, but she has been surpassed on the Sunday Times annual Rich List by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. With a fortune of £280 million, she outdoes HM by £30 million.

The best means of riches for a woman is still marriage or inheritance. Rowling is only the ninth richest woman and 122nd overall. To make the top 1,000, your best bet is to be a man, as there are only 79 women on the list (though this is up from 74 last year). If you want to be really, really rich, it doesn’t hurt to be a woman. Of the top 10, three are listed with their husbands, and one is listed alone at number 9.

Cappuchino -- The Drink of Saints

Marco d'Aviano was 17th-century friar credited with halting a Muslim invasion of Europe and discovering cappuccino in the process. The Pope has beatified d'Aviano today, after a miracle cure of a bedridden was attributed to his intercessions.

The friar was sent by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 to united Christian troops against the Ottoman Turks advancing on Vienna. As a result, the Turk turned tail and ran, leaving behind sacks of coffee. Like manythings Turkish, the Christians found it too bitter, so they sweetened it with honey and milk. The drink was called cappuccino after the Capuchin order of monks to which d'Aviano belonged.

Posted by david at April 27, 2003 10:42 PM
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