Gerbils, Patents, Open-Source & the QE2

Security Service MI5 once planned to recruit a team of specially-trained gerbils as a secret weapon to sniff out spies, it has been revealed. The animals were to help interrogate suspects because they could use their acute sense of smell to detect a rise in adrenaline — the chemical released in sweat when people feel under stress A Melbourne man has patented the wheel. Freelance patent lawyer John Keogh was issued with an Innovation Patent for a 'circular transportation facilitation device' within days of the new patent system being invoked in May A Microsoft executive's recent quip about the purportedly un-American characteristics of non-proprietary software did more than send open-source fans into a tizzy. It also sent companies supporting the Linux operating system a clear signal: You've become important enough for Microsoft to attack directly A retired British woman has decided to sail round the world permanently on the QE2 because it costs no more than staying in an old people's home