The Good

'I do' from outer space [The Scotsman]

Nothing says cutting back on wedding costs like having no guests and freeze-dried fruitcake. Russian astronaut Yuri Malenchenko married Ekaterina Dmitriev this week in the first, and probably not the last, space wedding. Yuri was floating away the cold feet aboard the International Space Station, and Ekaterina walked down the aisle in Texas to greet her groom by telephone (hardly seven cents a minute, I'm sure). The honeymoon is slated to take place on romantic Jupiter, when time allows.

Expedition sets off to find abominable snowman [Ananova]

I knew even before I read this story that the expedition would in some way involve Japanese scientists. First sushi, then that show, "Banzai"...what will they think of next? But I digress. A 60-year-old mountaineer plans a six-week adventure to conquer one of life's great mysteries by capturing footage of a yeti -- no small feat for an old man, especially when the greatest accomplishment of most wrinkly raisins is to regulate their bowels on a daily basis.

Help Ray Bradbury Celebrate a Martian Birthday [The Planetary Society]

Although truly quite cool, the same old story about Mars being so close to home this month has been circulating everywhere. This one makes note of another important August event for science geeks everywhere -- the king's birthday. Send a greeting to the man and feel good about your otherwise despondent and pointless existence. Then read "Sound of Thunder" one more time, bathing in the thought that you have not yet done anything so detrimental to all of mankind, loser.

The Bad

Antidepressants shown to grow new brain cells [New Zealand Herald]

This week US scientists discovered something new about antidepressants, though sadly it's not that feeding them to kids in their breakfast cereal is a horrific practice. The study showed that antidepressants can help brain cells grow big and strong. "Research on rats shows that two different classes of antidepressants can help brain cells regenerate," reads the piece. This story aside, doesn't it just depress us all even more to think that in the eyes of testing scientists, we are considered so comparable to rats?

Italian scientists say they've cloned a horse [CTV]

While it seems little girls around the world are one step closer to having the pony they have always wanted, I personally find it quite disturbing that Universal Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment have stooped so low as to pull this kind of promotional hoopla. Not as mind-numbing as Columbia Picture's idea of locking the filthy lips of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez together to promote "Gigli," but disturbing just the same.

Scotland has come top of a league table of the UK's most polluting power stations [BBC News]

Like all Scottish errors, this mishap will surely be blamed on the consumption of haggis.

The Ugly

Heatwave Kills 30,000 Eels in Europe's River Rhine [Reuters]

The scorching sun beating down on Europe has caused several different animals to turn belly up as a result of the heat and its consequential effects. Most butterflies - who have reacted to the intense heat by breeding three times more than usual - are happy with the current events, but the eels in the river Rhine have seen better days. The results are not yet in on how many eel deaths "Fear Factor" is responsible for, but I'm sure the number would prove quite high.

Animals swelter with the rest [The New Zealand Herald]

Although closely related to the story mentioned above, this one is also privy to my bitter acknowledgement because of its extra content. The information about various species and how heat affected each was of course great observation, but who is paying a reporter to point out that animals like matted-fur-covered-bears get hot in the summer months? Are dogs panting as a result of the heat wave, or would they do that typically in regular hot weather? You hear what I'm saying?

Iceland to hunt whales again 'for science' [The Straits Times]

This quote combined with the headline makes for the most amusing story I've seen recently -- "'Iceland's claim that data is needed on the amount of fish that whales eat is totally not justified.'" Do said whalers really think they're pulling the parka over our eyes, or perhaps Iceland really needs to know about whale dietary habits for…no logical reason that I can think of.

About Sue Carr

Talk science at the The Water Cooler