“Shaking hands during an election campaign is key, so this is pretty troubling. It would be bad if I get infected myself and then pass it on to older people with weaker immune systems.”

Democratic Party candidate Denny Tamaki explains why he will not be shaking hands on the campaign trail for Japan’s election (Yomiuri Shimbun, via Reuters).

“We are looking for a device that will help people to pluck the nuts without having to climb; ideally, one that will allow even women and the elderly to harvest the nuts from the ground. Kerala is proud to have broken down caste oppression, but it means young people are just not interested in becoming coconut harvesters these days.”

T. Balakrishnan, the principal secretary for industries in Kerala, explains why his ministry is offering a million rupee prize to anyone who can invent a decent coconut harvesting machine (The Times).

“The brain has different sources of information for almost everything. But all those information sources are kind of relative. They don’t tell you you are moving in the same direction as an hour ago.”

Jan Souman, of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, comments on his research finding that without the Sun or Moon as a guide hikers seem to walk round in circles (NY Times).