Jury Nullification: Judge Flips Over Jury’s Verdict by Coin Toss: “A Kentucky judge has declared a mistrial in a murder case after finding out that the jury decided the defendant’s

fate with the flip of a coin.”

Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival

Police Nab Five-Year-Old Mugger

“Jailing a woman with a newborn baby for a traffic offense and allowing testimony from a 500-year-old spirit are just two stories

recounted in the National Law Journal’s ‘Stupid Judge Tricks,’ a compendium of injudicious judicial behavior.”

Dog Shoots Cat?

Yahoo! News – Almost human: Completing the sequencing of the human genome is only the beginning. How to figure out what are the significant parts of the data derived, and how to use it? Sequencing the mouse genome may turn out to be the Rosetta Stone for understanding the human genome. “Both genomes have about three billion bases,

only about 3 per cent of which codes for functional genes–the other 97 per cent being “junk DNA”. In the many millions of years since

mice and humans diverged from a common ancestor, much of the important DNA has been conserved, while the “junk” has mutated

freely and is now very different. That means that simply comparing the two genomes will be an efficient way of identifying vital

stretches of DNA, including genes and sequences that regulate gene expression.

Even better, by “knocking out” selected genes in lab mice, we get a good idea of what they do. The equivalent genes in humans should

have very similar functions.”

Toronto’s Homeless Live Longer Than U.S. Homeless

“Possible contributory factors include the effects of universal health insurance and access to health care in Canada, lower homicide

rates, particularly among young men, and the differential health effects of short-term versus chronic homelessness,” said study author

Stephen Hwang of St. Michael’s Hospital at the University of Toronto.