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Russian police have arrested seven people who were trying to sell more than 2 pounds of weapons-grade uranium, Russian television reported.

The suspects allegedly belonged to the Balashikha criminal gang. They were arrested on Tuesday in a town near Moscow, trying to sell a container of uranium-235 for $30,000 and were charged with illegal handling of nuclear materials. A later report said that according to ?preliminary information,? the materials were weapons-grade.

The seizure would be the first officially confirmed case of theft of weapons-grade material in Russia, and would further tarnish the weak reputation of Russian nuclear security.

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New research reveals that Neanderthals, who first appeared around 230,000 to 300,000 years ago, were not dumb, but had the technical and intellectual skills to put them on an equal basis with modern humans. They were capable of making sophisticated tools using a kind of prehistoric superglue that had to be made at a precise temperature.
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Scientists have discovered that the rhythmic chanting used when saying the rosary or a yoga mantra has a calming effect on the heart. ?The rosary might be viewed as a health practice as well as a religious practice,? says Dr. Luciano Bernardi, of the University of Pavia in Italy.

Bernardi and his colleagues measured the breathing rates of 23 adults while they either prayed the rosary in the original Latin or recited a yoga mantra. The rosary is the Hail Mary prayer, repeated 50 times. For comparison, the researchers also measured people?s respiration during free talking, and during natural breathing, as well as slow breathing exercises.
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Monsanto has started a multi-million-dollar research and breeding program to create a strain of corn that resists moisture. These can then be made into cornflakes that won?t get soggy when you pour milk in the bowl.They want to discover plant genes that produce high levels of wax, then transfer that quality into corn grown for breakfast cereals.

?The idea of breakfast cereals which have a high wax content is not new,? says Colin Merritt, a biotechnology development manager for Monsanto. ?Manufacturers add plant waxes to try to stop the cereal soaking up milk and going soggy. But they are not terribly effective. Our idea is to set up a breeding program to produce a more waxy corn in the first place.?
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