1. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) confirmed a long-standing problem at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): The FDA user fee legislation creates an inherent conflict of interest. Under this legislation, companies – primarily drug companies will pay $380 million to the FDA this year. An agency cannot effectively regulate industries that pay the salary of its employees. Second, there is a dangerous lack of congressional oversight of the FDA. Meanwhile, the agency continues to approve drugs that have no unique benefits but serious risks that can endanger the lives of those who take them. www.moveon.org
2. Sgt. Patrick Stewart was killed in Afghanistan last September. Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans’ headstones in national cemeteries. But state officials said they had received a legal opinion from the Nevada attorney general’s office that concluded federal officials have no authority over state veterans’ cemeteries. They now plan to have a contractor construct a plaque with the Wiccan pentacle Associated Press
3. Dolphins name themselves. Because sight is limited in the ocean, dolphins create individual “name” calls to communicate their whereabouts to friends and families www.livescience.com/animalworld060508_dolphin_names.html
4. Dentistry was an exact science a least 9,000 years ago. Skulls found in a Pakistani graveyard bear tiny drill holes. The holes are up to one seventh of an inch deep. The quality of the work and the hard to reach locations that were drilled is comparable to the work of modern dentists. The question now is what did they use for an anesthetic. Nature
5. About 100,000 species of fungi have been identified. Fungi are estimated to comprise an astonishing 25% of the world’s biomass. Nexus New Times
6. Archeologists have found a massive ancient stone structure in a remote part of the Amazon basin that bears a striking resemblance to England’s Stonehenge Based on pottery fragments found nearby, it was estimated to be about 2,000 years old. The megalith was constructed of 127 blocks, each weighing several tons and measuring 10 feet high. Mysteries Magazine
7. Cattle farmers are in deep dodo. So much so that they are having major problems disposing of it. In many areas, especially around feed lots, the mountains of manure ignite and the fires are impossible to extinguish. Farmers in several states are experimenting with using the methane gas from livestock manure to produce electricity. The manure is heated and produces methane gas as it breaks down. The gas is collected and used to power a generator, which sends electricity onto a power grid.. Associated Press