“Whiny children, claims a new study, tend to grow up rigid and traditional. Future liberals, on the other hand …” (Toronto Star)

“A catastrophic over-stimulation of the immune system may have caused the horrific reactions suffered by six men taking part in the first human clinical trial of an experimental drug.

An investigation by New Scientist suggests the drug may have caused a super-immune response – sending white blood cells called T cells rampaging through the body destroying its own tissues.”

“One intriguing result was that Germans — not renowned for their sense of humour — found just about everything funny and did not express a strong preference for any type of joke.

People from the Republic of Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand most enjoyed jokes involving word plays.

Many European countries, such as France, Denmark and Belgium, displayed a penchant for off-beat surreal humour, while Americans and Canadians preferred jokes where there was a strong sense of superiority — either because a character looks stupid or is made to look stupid by someone else.

Europeans also enjoyed jokes that involved making light of topics that make people feel anxious, such as death, illness and marriage.”