Birth on plane, Free filghts for life

A Malaysian woman, who gave birth to a boy on board an aeroplane minutes before it landed, has been promised free flights for life, as has her child, an airline official said on Friday. Liew Siaw Hsia (31) gave birth on budget carrier AirAsia's flight from Penang to Kuching on Wednesday. Nazatul Mokhtar, a spokesman for the airline, said on Friday that the flight had been diverted to nearby Kuala Lumpur for an emergency landing when Liew had labour pains. A doctor on the flight helped the woman deliver her son, while the plane was still 2,000 feet in the air in its final approach to land

Old road

The first road atlas of its kind in western Europe, a 17th century book showing a highway network in England and Wales of just 73 roads, is to be sold at auction for up to £9,000. The route atlas, published in 1675, includes 100 double pages of black and white maps laid out in continuous strips depicting the major roads and crossroads across England and Wales. The work from the Britannica first volume ­ also marks the first time in England that an atlas was prepared on a uniform scale, at one inch to a mile. The 17th century map-maker claimed 26,600 miles of road was surveyed for preparing the atlas.

Micro trains

The world's smallest working model train set has been unveiled ­ measuring just 1/8th of an inch by 1/4 of an inch. At 1-35200 scale to the real thing, the five-carriage train travels around an oval route including ride through a tunnel. Created by New Jersey model train enthusiast David Smith, the model was built using nothing more fancy than a craft knife and a steady hand. It is powered by a standard two inch rotating motor head and carved out of mouldable plastic.

Pen DNA

One of darkest criminal mysteries in France, the murder of a little boy a quarter century ago, is back in the news after investigators found DNA on a poison-pen letter. The body of Gregory Villemin (4) was found tied up in the Vologne river in Vosges mountains, in October 1984. The next day, a letter arrived at his home claiming responsibility for the murder. The case was wrapped up in 2001 without identifying the murderer. Prosecutors relaunched the probe last December in the light of new DNA testing techniques and the results of a five-month expert analysis were filed with the state prosecutor on Thursday.

Pond power

Driven by fluctuations in oil prices and seduced by the prospect of easing climate change, experts are intensifying efforts to squeeze fuel out of a promising new organism: pond scum. As it turns out, algae - slimy, fast-growing and full of fat - is gaining ground as a potential renewable energy source. Experts say it is intriguing for its ability to gobble up carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, while living happily in places that are not needed for food crops. While no one has found a way to mass produce cheap fuel from algae yet, the race is on. University labs and start-up companies across the country are getting involved.