For a long time it was assumed that it was impossible or near-impossible to have stable planets in systems with two suns orbiting one another. However, a few years ago the first such systems with planets were discovered, and today New Scientist reports that it is in fact those binary systems where planets can be found with a greater probability than for example in solar systems with just one sun.

This is, of course, good for those who promote the idea that Earth has been repeatedly visited by Aliens from Sirius, which is a system with at least two, and possibly three, stars. Whether it in practice makes their case any stronger, I don’t know.

xkcd calls itself a “webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language”, and that is indeed what it is. Having read it for a number of months now, I can also say that it is in my honest opinion currently among the best webcomics out there, if not the best.

Although perhaps a bit geeky sometimes, the comic also has heart and some great insights.

Indie film makers get ever more cunning in promoting their flicks. Now J. Neil Schulman, whose previous credits include writing and starring in an episode of the Twilight Zone has decided to sell the distribution rights to his new film Lady Magdalene’s on eBay. The auction starts from $999,999, with shipping costs of $1.

In case you are interested, see the eBay listing.

A press release at AlphaGalileo notes that in “one of the most comprehensive and definitive studies of its kind to date, a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis have proven that organically grown kiwifruit contain more health-promoting factors than those grown under conventional conditions.” (emphasis mine)

While I am not terribly surprised about the findings, I find it somewhat interesting that the word “conventional” has in the case of farming come to mean the type of farming that has become typical (at least in the western world) only in the past century or so.

The study, by the way, also mentions that a diet rich in grapefruit lowers cholesterol levels. Yum yum.

A recent Australian study suggests that “children who had drank more than two glasses (500ml) of fruit juice/drink per day were more likely to be overweight or obese.” Apparently, the odds for being overweight also increased together with the amount of fruit drinks consumed.

While the news release doesn’t explicitly say so, I assume these fruit drinks to be sweetened, non 100% fruit juices.