During sleep, skin is supposedly at its most receptive to regeneration and repair, and the beauty industry profits from those precious de-aging hours. But even night owls can benefit from nighttime skin care products that erase the telltale signs of the sleep-deprived: puffy eyes, dark circles, lifeless skin. I like to think my own mature epidermis knows of my superior time-management skills and equates "night" with "shuteye." Even when I'm up checking e-mail at 3 a.m., I can still take advantage of the time to de-age my face.

For some animals, the ideal mate is a brother, sister or cousin

In late March, as winter unclenches its frigid grip on upstate New York, a spotted salamander's thoughts turn fleetingly to love. After early spring rains soak the forests where the salamanders live, thousands of the slimy little creatures descend on small vernal pools for the amphibian equivalent of an orgy.

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Could Boosted Fruit Smoothies Really Help Weight-loss, Improve Memory And Prevent Infections?

This month, UK supermarkets will begin to sell a new range of fruit smoothies 'boosted' with ingredients that are said to assist weight-loss, protect the endothelium, relieve mental fatigue, improve recall, and prevent infections in elderly people and children. At £1.79 ($3.55) for 250ml they cost about the same or less than regular fruit smoothies and they have been specially formulated to meet the taste and texture requirements that emerged from extensive consumer research. But people who are induced to buy these drinks to remedy a health problem may first want to know if boosted smoothies are really likely to deliver what they suggest on the label and whether or not they are safe.

Claims for the healing powers of specific foods are often to be taken with a metaphorical pinch of salt.