Science News

Researchers are ranking the 50 U.S. states according to which have the happiest residents. In general, they say, the states with wealthier, better educated and more tolerant residents are the happiest. Well-being is highest in the Mountain and West Coast states, followed by the Eastern Seaboard.

The Vatican considers the possibility of extraterrestrial life -- and ponders the implications for the Catholic Church. Scientists from the Vatican Observatory recently hosted a five-day conference of astronomers, physicists and biologists to explore the issue. Said one Jesuit priest: "How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?"

A new study by Consumer Reports finds what it deems unhealthy levels of bisphenol A, or BPA, in a variety of canned foods. Although this preservative has been linked to diseases in animals, industry groups insist it is safe. Two recent measures in Congress are calling for a ban on BPA, and both the FDA and EPA plan to study the issue in coming months.

NASA marks the 400th anniversary of the telescope by releasing one of the most detailed images to date of the heart of the Milky Way. The image, a composite created by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, will go on display at scores of planetariums, libraries and schools.

The Large Hadron Collider is shorted out when a bird drops part of a baguette into its external machinery. The $10 billion atom smasher has already been beset by various technical glitches, but the baguette-toting bird took the LHC staff by surprise. Luckily the massive gizmo was powered down at the time of the incident, and suffered no major damage.