Wide face, tall stories?
"Men with wide faces are more likely to lie and cheat than narrow-faced men, but they seem to make better businessmen, according to a study that links facial features with a tendency to engage in unethical behaviour," says The Independent. "Scientists believe they have evidence to show that the width of a man's face relative to his facial height is an indicator of how powerful he feels and of his willingness to surreptitiously break social rules to achieve his goals. The findings suggest that the width-to-height ratio of the face could be an ancient evolutionary signal of a man's aggressiveness when dealing with competitors, said Prof. Michael Haselhuhn of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who led the study."
A growing problem
"In 1995, no [U.S.]state had an obesity rate above 20 per cent," says Associated Press. "Now, all but one does. An annual obesity report by two public health groups looked for the first time at state-by-state statistics over the last two decades. The state that has the lowest obesity rate now - Colorado, with 19.8 per cent of adults considered obese - would have had the highest rate in 1995. … No state decreased its level of obesity, which is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more."
Unhappy memory? Forget it
"Selective memory really exists and we can train our mind to forget embarrassing moments completely, research claims," reports The Telegraph. "A study found that repressing these memories for long enough can lead to us erasing them completely. Using EEG scans, scientists noted the parts of volunteers' brains which became active when actively trying to forget something. They were also able to pinpoint the exact moment a memory is 'forgotten,' and claim that long-term suppression of a memory is a surefire way of permanently erasing it. The study authors, led by Gerd Thomas Waldhauser, from Lund University in Sweden, say that mastering the technique could be useful for people who suffer from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder."
Weed all about it
"Could the pot business save local newspapers?" asks MSNBC.com. "Many newspapers are scaling back staff and trying to turn to other sources of revenue, but one Sacramento [Calif.]newspaper is expanding its business by tapping into an unconventional advertising source. By recognizing the potential for medical marijuana business advertisements, the Sacramento News and Review is expanding its distribution and hiring more staff, reports Sacramento's KXTV. The free alternative weekly newspaper has published so many ads that it has started printing 4-20, a new supplement to the paper that advertises more than 60 dispensaries."
Afghans' Olympic dream
"Afghanistan would like its national game, buzkashi, or goat-grabbing, to be an Olympic sport," reports BBC News. "Regarded as the world's wildest game, it involves riders on horseback competing to grab a goat carcass, and gallop clear of the others to drop it in a chalked circle. It has been played on Afghanistan's northern steppe for centuries. The game used to be the sport of rich rival warlords but is now also financed by Afghan mobile phone companies and private airlines."
Russia's Olympic relay
"Russia plans to send the Olympic torch into space ahead of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi," Associated Press reports. "Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov says his country aims to be the first to take the torch beyond the Earth's atmosphere as part of the longest Olympic relay."
Thought du jour
"Ninety-nine per cent of the world's lovers aren't with their first choice. That's what makes the jukebox play."
Willie Nelson (1933-)
American country-music singer-songwriter