Who flew first: birds or mammals? The answer is mammals! Well not pigs, but a squirrel-sized animal that lived at least 125 million years ago. A fossil uncovered in the Inner Mongolian region of China suggests that mammals took to the skies at about the same time – or even earlier – than birds!  

The US-Chinese team that discovered the fossil said Volati­cotherium antiquus belonged to a now extinct ancestral line that used a fur-covered skin membrane to glide through the air. With the earliest known flying bird Archaeopteryx dating back about 150 million years, this could mean mammals started flying at least 70 million years earlier than previously believed!

We may soon forget what pain is! Geneticists have discovered a gene that is central to the perception of pain. Mutation in this gene stops all perception of injury! A 10-year-old boy living in Lahore, Pakistan, who could walk on coals and pass knives through his arms without discomfort provided the clue to this discovery. This may help develop drugs that would remove pain by blocking the gene's function. And that too, without any side effects.

The title of Asia’s ‘worst air city’ goes to Beijing, China! And the runners up are Xi’an, Kathmandu, Dhaka and New Delhi! A rather dubious distinction. Air pollution in Asia’s worst affected cities is up to five times more than Paris, London and New York.
It is five to six times the levels that the World Health Organization considers safe, according to pollution readings compiled by the Asian Development Bank and announced during a conference at Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The data compares microscopic dust that sets in the lungs and has been linked to respiratory diseases, cancer and other deadly illnesses.