A glance at the week that was
"I did say beforehand that I shouldn't be in charge of anything that can go over 20 miles per hour" - Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbodyon the go-karting crash that left him with a broken rib
We now know
An Bord Pleanála has rejected plans for a 13-storey park in the skyon O'Connell Street.
An engineer at Stamford University, Stephen R Quake, has invented a new technology for decoding DNA, and has decoded his own genome for under $50,000. In 2003, the probable cost of decoding a genome was at least $500 million.
Three apples a day – not one – keeps the doctor away, according to Teagasc
Twitter space
Talking to aliens is just within reach, thanks to an Australian website. HellofromEarth.netallows users to send a message of no more than 160 characters to the nearest Earth-like planet outside our solar system likely to support life. The planet orbits the star Gliese 581, just 20.5 light yearsaway from Earth. Australia's Science Minister Kim Carr transmitted the first message on Wednesday. The service is available until August 24th. However, scientists warn that the messages could take up to 20 years to transmit, and there is no guarantee of a response.
Veering off-course
All was not plane sailing in the skies this week. In the UK, pilot Vince Hagedorn crash-landed his plane on a Scottish golf course, citing WE Johns' 1930s Biggles books as his inspiration. Meanwhile, off the Wexford coast, Irishman John O'Shaughnessy was spotted by a group of charity rowers, and rescued by the Coast Guard, when his plane crash-landed into the Irish Sea.
The numbers
49%The amount of dog in the formula for the ideal pet, according to UK insurance firm More Than. The perfect pet is also made up of 35 per cent cat, 9 per cent horse and 7 per cent rabbit
57,500The number of students who received their Leaving Cert Results on Wednesday
11The number of them who got 8 A1s