Newsbreaks for Thursday

Audio version is here. Japanese scientists have created a way to store words and symbols in the DNA of bacteria. This form of data storage would last as long as the species survives, even a million years. On the other hand, it gives new meaning to the phrase, “That book made me sick.” Clean-tech has come to the bathroom. A British company is now offering a new toilet that uses air to flush instead of water, which it says is cleaner, more hygienic, and better for the environment. Fine—just as long as it never goes backwards. And finally, a Denver woman has become the first-ever survivor of “an internal decapitation.” Last January, Shannon Malloy was in a car accident which separated her skull from her spine, yet left her neck attached. Three months later, she isn’t even paralyzed, and her prognosis looks good. But she will have to suffer the embarrassment of “floppy head.”