Ninjas rescue student from muggers.

From News.com.au:

A student has been saved from a vicious assault - not by the boys in blue but the men in black.

Ninjas scared off three thugs who had the misfortune to attack the 27-year-old medical student outside their warrior school.

The German exchange student had been targeted by the men while he was riding the late-night train home, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

They demanded he give them his wallet but when he refused and got off the train, they followed.

They pounced as he made his way through a dark alley in Sydney's west. They grabbed his phone and iPod and kicked him while he lay on the ground.

However, the men were spotted by a member of a nearby dojo.

Nathan Smith told his sensei and the rest of the students at Ninja Senshi Ryu and they rushed out to confront the thugs - all dressed in traditional black ninja garb.

On seeing the ninjas, the men fled, only to be later arrested by police.

"You should have seen their faces when they saw us in ninja gear coming towards them," the school's sensei, Kaylan Soto, told the Herald.

They also failed to notice a ninja, Nathan Smith, standing in the shadows outside the dojo. Mr Smith immediately alerted his sensei, or teacher.

Another ninja, Steve Ashley, said: "It was probably the worst place in Sydney where they could have taken him."

Processed meats are bad for you.

There is no way I'm cutting out my morning hot dog. From NY Daily News:

Eating bacon, sausage, hot dogs and other processed meats can raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that identifies the real bad boys of the meat counter.

Eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb appeared not to raise risks of heart attacks and diabetes, they said, suggesting that salt and chemical preservatives may be the real cause of these two health problems associated with eating meat.

The study, an analysis of other research called a meta-analysis, did not look at high blood pressure or cancer, which are also linked with high meat consumption.

"To lower risk of heart attacks and diabetes, people should consider which types of meats they are eating," said Renata Micha of the Harvard School of Public Health, whose study appears in the journal Circulation.

"Processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed deli meats may be the most important to avoid," Micha said in a statement.

Based on her findings, she said people who eat one serving per week or less of processed meats have less of a risk.

NASA spacecraft hijacked by aliens.

From Orange:

A UFO expert claims aliens have hijacked a Nasa spacecraft and are using it to try to contact Earth.

Voyager 2, an unmanned probe that has been in space since 1977, is sending strange messages that are confusing scientists.

German academic Hartwig Hausdorf believes it is because it has been taken over by extraterrestrial life.

Since its launch, Voyager 2 has been sending streams of data back to Earth for study by scientists, but on April 22, 2010, that stream of information suddenly changed.

Nasa claimed that a software problem with the flight data system was the cause but Mr Hausdorf believes it could be the work of aliens.

This is because all other parts of the spacecraft appear to be functioning fine.

He told the German newspaper Bild: "It seems almost as if someone has reprogrammed or hijacked the probe - thus perhaps we do not yet know the whole truth."

Voyager 2 carries a disk with greetings in 55 languages on it in case the craft encounters other life forms.

Dr Edward Stone, a scientist on the project, said the desk, called the Golden Record, is "a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials.

"The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record-a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth."

Tokyo couple married by robot.

The Coozer Files does not recognize this union. From BBC:

Japan has hosted the world's first wedding to be conducted by a robot.

The automated creature, known as the I-Fairy, oversaw the wedding of Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue in the capital, Tokyo.

The couple decided to use the robot as they are both connected with Japan's thriving robotics industry.

Since robots had brought them together in the first place, they said, having one officiate at their wedding was a natural choice.

During the ceremony, I-Fairy - which has flashing eyes and plastic pigtails - instructed the groom to lift the bride's veil for the kiss.

The wedding took part in a rooftop restaurant in the Japanese capital.

Coozer-Bits.

Karaoke Kills: Jury deadlocked on NJ's "Karaoke Killer."

Duh: Woody Allen defends Roman Polanski.

Local: The Village Voice is releasing hundreds of hours of secret tapes of the NYPD behaving badly.

PSA: Army recalls 44,000 helmets.

Awesome: Butterfinger searching for 4th member of their Butterfinger Defense League (featuring Erik Estrada, Lou Ferrigno, and Charisma Carpenter).

Duh: Woman dies trying to reverse park.

US warns on Thailand travel, evacuates embassy staff.

From Raw Story:

The United States warned its citizens Saturday to avoid non-essential travel to Thailand and began evacuating non-essential embassy staff and families due to unrest in the country.

The State Department said in a statement it would allow non-essential US personnel and their dependents to leave Bangkok if they chose due to escalating violence.

"US citizens should defer all travel to Bangkok and defer all non-essential travel to the rest of Thailand," a statement said.

"The Department of State has authorized the departure of all non-emergency US government personnel and eligible family members from Bangkok," the statement added.

The announcement came following two days of street battles between soldiers and anti-government "Red Shirts," which caused fatalities and injuries. The military declared one area of Bangkok a "live fire zone" as troops struggled to regain control.

Scenes of urban warfare erupted on the southern and northern fringes of the Red Shirts' sprawling encampment in the heart of Bangkok, after the army moved in Thursday to seal off the area.

The United States Thursday closed its embassy in Bangkok and said it was "very concerned" about the violence between the Thai government and protesters there.

US embassy personnel who live in affected areas are being relocated to housing outside of the affected areas, the State Department said.

Scientists discover gene that lets you live to 100.

No thanks. From Times Online:

Scientists have discovered the “Methuselah” genes whose lucky carriers have a much improved chance of living to 100 even if they indulge in an unhealthy lifestyle.

The genes appear to protect people against the effects of smoking and bad diet and can also delay the onset of age-related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease by up to three decades.

No single gene is a guaranteed fountain of youth. Instead, the secret of longevity probably lies in having the right “suite” of genes, according to new studies of centenarians and their families. Such combinations are extremely rare — only one person in 10,000 reaches the age of 100.

The genes found so far each appear to give a little extra protection against the diseases of old age. Centenarians appear to have a high chance of having several such genes embedded in their DNA.

“Long-lived people do not have fewer disease genes or ageing genes,” said Eline Slagboom of Leiden University, who is leading a study into 3,500 Dutch nonagenarians. “Instead they have other genes that stop those disease genes from being switched on. Longevity is strongly genetic and inherited.”

"Holy grail" cancer vaccine blasts tumors without damaging other cells.

From Daily Mail:

Scientists have developed a new jab which they hope will be a 'holy grail' cancer cure.

The treatment, which will be tested on British patients over the next few months, can reverse and even cure malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

If it proves successful in large- scale trials, there are hopes that new forms could be developed to fight other forms of cancer, such as breast and prostate.

Experts say it may even stop people getting cancer in the first place.

Lead researcher Professor Lindy Durrant, of Nottingham University, said:

'This is huge. We could now have a vaccine that can target a tumour and kill it without damage to surrounding healthy tissues or cells.

'In the short term, this could cure some patients with the disease, and in the long term it could be used to prevent people developing it in the first place.'

Professor Karol Sikora, a leading cancer expert, said: 'This is a very clever vaccine and I believe it will increase the cure rate for patients in the future.' More than 10,000 people are diagnosed with malignant melanoma every year in Britain.

Numbers have quadrupled over the past 30 years as more people enjoy sunshine holidays abroad or use tanning booths.

Dead: Ronnie James Dio.

Heaven, not Hell. RIP, Dio. From the Houston Chronicle:

Ronnie James Dio, legendary vocalist for Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell and Dio, has died after a battle with stomach cancer, according to his wife, Wendy Dio. He was 67 years old.

The heavy metal singer died early this morning. He was being treated at M.D. Anderson in Houston.

A rumor circulated Saturday night on Twitter about Dio's death. His wife quickly shot that down: "He is not doing well, but he is not dead."

His wife released a statement to blabbermouth.net today:

"Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. [on Sunday] 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.

"Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all.

"We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us.

"Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss.

"Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever."