R.I.P., Edward Gorey, age 75.

Cadaver donations line somebody’s pockets to the tune of millions, an expose in the Orange County Register reported Sunday.

Why didn’t I think of that? [BBC News]

Chipping Away at Leptin’s Effects

“Leptin is produced by fat tissue and secreted into the

bloodstream, where it travels to the brain and other

tissues, causing fat loss and decreased appetite.

Identifying genes regulated by leptin will improve

knowledge of how leptin causes its effects on weight

and appetite, and may also offer new targets for

drugs designed to stimulate weight loss.”

Rx for hospital nurses: unions Laudable trend toward nurses’ organizing may be an important response to profit-driven cuts in healthcare if it catches on.

Penn State cancer researcher shows cancer cells can be contained from growing at second site. Stopping metastasis may be an effective and fundamentally different type of intervention in cancer therapy. Might be less noxious to the patient as well.

This doesn’t happen much: Saudi Arabia Says Amnesty Official Invited to Visit. In response to human rights criticisms by Amnesty International, the Saudi regime has asked a representative of the organization to visit to assess the human rights situation there.

Seven Die, 65 Hurt in Lisbon Disco Attack ( later reports say nine dead): two canisters of an unknown toxic gas were hurled into a Lisbon club crowded with immigrants from Portugal’s former African colony Angola. Police cannot comment on a motive but would you be surprised if it were a white-on-black attack?

Clinton Protects Sequoias With Order: Logging will be permanently eliminated in 34 of 75 remaining groves of the giant redwoods designated to fall inside the new Giant Sequoia National Monument flanking Sequoia National Park to the north and south. The Republican representative whose district includes some of the new monument called it a political ploy and denied that the trees needed further protection.