weird stuff

Reindeer escape Santa's ranch

Two reindeer have been found after escaping a Christmas site that offers families and children a meeting with Father Christmas, Mrs Claus and the elves.

The Elveden Estate in Suffolk, England, explained that Blue and Blitzen "got spooked and jumped the fence" at the event over the weekend before wandering onto the A11 road.

Police were forced to close the road for several hours until the festive animals had moved away - but it took until Monday to track down the antlered escapees.

Elveden's courtyard general manager Denise Sharpe said that the reindeer were finally found on the estate - one of the biggest farms in Britain - and is "happy" that they will be home for Christmas.

She told BBC News: "They went for quite a run. We located them last night, but couldn't get close enough to bring them in, and then it became too dark."

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Feeding birds is good for the soul

Scientists have analysed the relationship between bird feeding and human well-being and have found that both species benefit from the practice.

Professor Ashley Dayer, of Virginia Tech in the United States, said: "Wildlife agencies... need to be considering not only what the science is behind what's going on with birds, but also the science behind what's going on with people."

She continued: "People are not only reporting what they see at their bird feeders, but also their emotional responses to it.

"It's pretty fun because most citizen science projects focus just on the natural or physical science, but we're now able to look at the human piece of it.

"People in urban areas can feed birds. People with a wide range of physical abilities can feed birds. So it's just a great way to keep that human connection to wildlife."

Cheeseburgers and ice cream could fight cancer

A fatty acid found in both meat and dairy enhances the body's ability to treat some types of the disease, according to new research.

Excessive snacking on meat and dairy has previously been associated with a heightened risk of cancer but the new findings show that a nutrient found in beef and the popular dessert may be beneficial for a person's health.

Trans-vaccenic acid (TVA) is a "long chain" acid found in grazing animals but the human body cannot produce any of its own.

Study leader Professor Jing Chen, of The University of Chicago, explained how his team screened TVA using human cells and mice to assess how tumours grew for two specific types of cancer - melanoma and of the colon.

He said: "We found that TVA actually enhances anti-tumour immunity by activating an important immune pathway. It is both amazing and intriguing."

However, the experts have stressed that the research should not be used as an excuse to overindulge on both red meat and cheese.

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Christmas cooking could increase pollution

People have been urged to open the windows when cooking Christmas dinner.

It has been discovered that indoor pollution in a person's home reaches an annual high on December 25 - with the preparation of the festive meal being cited as a major cause for the spike.

Experts in the US analysed indoor pollution levels for nearly 4,000 households and found that the greatest number of "large emission events" occurred on Christmas Day.

The rate of 0.31 events per day per home is 50 per cent larger than what was seen during the rest of the winter and significantly larger than the rate during the summer.

Dr David Lunderberg, who led the study for the University of California, Berkeley, said: "As the winter months get colder and darker, we spend more time at home and more cooking - and this changes the air that we breathe.

"In our study of air quality data in thousands of homes, we see that indoor events that produce particles become more common in winter and during food-based holidays like Christmas.

"This study confirms prior research that identifies human activities, especially cooking, as important sources of indoor particles."