It must be December.  Those cheeky pranksters at BMJ are at it again, this time releasing an authentic-looking study that says head banging is bad for your head.   Let's see how many media publications that basically print news releases without bothering to read them get suckered again (we mean you, BBC).

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Head banging increases the risk of head and neck injury, but the effects may be lessened with reduced head and neck motion, head banging to lower tempo songs or to every second beat, and using protective equipment such as neck braces, finds a study in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

In a study published in the Christmas 2008 issue of the British Medical Journal (and not one of their prank articles), Aaron Carroll, M.D., M.S., and Rachel Vreeman, M.D., M.S., of the Indiana University School of Medicine, explore the science behind six myths commonly associated with the holidays yet relevant year-round.

Good quality extra-virgin olive oil contains health-relevant chemicals, 'phytochemicals', that can trigger cancer cell death. New research published in the open access journal BMC Cancer sheds more light on the suspected association between olive oil-rich Mediterranean diets and reductions in breast cancer risk.

A greater commitment by science faculty to focus on science education could drive education reform at universities and K-12 schools, according to a new report by a team of five researchers from the California State University (CSU) system and one from Purdue University.

Appearing in today's issue of the journal Science, the report evaluates the role that science professors who specialize in science education play in improving how the sciences are taught.

As a result of Sir Tom Jones citing his use of Vocalzone on Top Gear (14/12/2008) Kestrel, the (Poole based) makers of the Throat Pastille which is also known to be used Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Joss Stone and Robbie Williams, has been inundated with enquiries from literally thousands of aspiring singers that watch the program.

Sir Tom Jones was asked by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear if he took anything to maintain his voice.

An evolutionary geneticist from the Université de Montréal, together with researchers from the French cities of Lyon and Montpellier, say a new study presented in the recent issue of Nature characterizes the common ancestor of all life on earth, and it isn't called Adam or Eve, but rather LUCA, for Last Universal Common Ancestor. The 3.8-billion-year-old organism was not the creature usually imagined.