Newsworthy news
Scientists at the Salk Institute in San Diego, California have recently been working on understanding a gene, known as PHA-4, which plays a significant role in the longevity of life and the effect of the aging process. Their work has been described as a "breakthrough" by bioligists, and has significant implications for that little thing we call life.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald overlooked such events to make room for the work of these scientists:
Treadmill desk shows path to weight loss
For it is newsworthy to run an advertisment for a $US1600 treadmill with a desk attached. The groundbreaking assessment by the original researchers, concludes that walking on the treadmill burns calories. Truly extraordinary. They even went so far as to measure exhaled breath to determine the rate at which calories were burnt, and their figure is proudly published (in an oh-so-handy mix of American and Australian units) in the article. That's good - you never know when the thousands of studies already done on that will go and change on you.
This weekend I'm going to nail a bloody mobile phone to a exercise bike, and the world will finally know that one can lose 10-50kg per year while writing SMSs. Maybe all we need is a headline... "Man works up sweat while txt'ing girlfriend".