The week that was at a glance
Revolution
Venezualan president Hugo Chávez turned back the clock this week. He moved the country's time zone half an hour further back because, he says, it will put the population more in tune with the sun. "It's about the metabolic effect, where the human brain is conditioned by sunlight." Perhaps his next step could be to persuade Bertie Ahern to lop winter off the Irish calendar.
The Numbers
2,010number of mobile phones confiscated in prisons so far this year
4days that David Leggat survived in an Aberdeen toilet cubicle
€58,000mobile phone bill received by Canadian man who used it to download movies.
Quote
"There's time for at least a few more books yet."
Best-selling fantasy author Terry Pratchett announcing he has Alzheimer's
We Now Know...
A fifth of penalty points incurred since 2002 can't be applied because of licence loopholes.
Brown Thomas has stopped selling fur "in consideration of all issues surrounding animal welfare".
The female spine has a hidden flexibility that means women don't topple during pregnancy.
Evolution
Humans are evolving at a faster rate than ever, according to scientists. They found 700 regions of the human genome where genes had evolved over the past 5,000 - 15,000 years. They include some responsible for senses of taste and smell, skin colour, digestion, bone structure and brain function. It had been theorised that an increasingly sedentary lifestyle would stymie human evolution, but it appears not to be the case, with a growing population leading to more mutations.