Free Republic

BISHKEK. Sept 20 (Interfax) - An unusual breed of rats is inflicting damage on Kyrgyzstan's Dzhalal-Abad region. The rats "are killing numerous farm birds, are damaging grape and corn crops, and have destroyed 14 hectares of grain in one of the districts. These rats can climb trees and are destroying apples, pears and other fruit. The rat invasion may also give rise to different epidemics," parliament member Dooronbek Sadyrbayev told Interfax. The rats frequently attack people and young children are especially vulnerable. Sanitary services are unable to deal with the situation. "The enormous amount of rats cannot be estimated," he...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Men produce more mutant sperm as they get older, but U.S. researchers said on Tuesday they found to their surprise that some of these mutations give the sperm an edge. The deformed sperm increase the risk of disease in the men's offspring, but nonetheless are likely to beat out their healthy counterparts in the race to fertilize the egg, the researchers said. The team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore was trying to explain why a rare genetic disease called Apert syndrome is more common in children born to older fathers. Apert syndrome is marked by webbed...