GALWAY, IRELAND – A man who died  had “spontaneously combusted” in his home.

Michael Faherty, a 76-year-old retiree in Galway, died at his home at Clareview Park on December 22, 2010 in circumstances that had baffled investigators.

An Irish coroner, Dr. Ciaran McLoughlin, has now officially ruled Faherty’s death “caused by spontaneous combustion.”

It is believed to be the first case of its kind in Ireland.

Here’s Dr. Ciaran McLoughlin leaving his office after telling the press about the spontaneous combustion of Faherty:

Deaths attributed by some to “spontaneous combustion” occur when a living human body is burned without an apparent external source of ignition.

Typically police or fire investigators find burned corpses but no burned furniture.

An inquest in Galway on Thursday heard how investigators had been baffled as to the cause of Mr Faherty’s death.

Forensic experts found that a fire in the fireplace of the sitting room where the badly burnt body was found, had not been the cause of the blaze that killed Mr. Faherty.

The court was told that no trace of an accelerant had been found and there had been nothing to suggest foul play.

The court heard Mr. Faherty had been found lying on his back with his head closest to an open fireplace.

Here’s Faherty’s fireplace:

The fire had been confined to the sitting room. The only damage was to the body, which was totally burnt, the ceiling above him and the floor underneath him.

Dr McLoughlin said he had consulted medical textbooks and carried out other research in an attempt to find an explanation.

He said Professor Bernard Knight, in his book on forensic pathology, had written about spontaneous combustion and noted that such reported cases were almost always near an open fireplace or chimney.

“This fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation,” he said.

Retired professor of pathology Sean Grady said he had examined one suspected case in his career.

He said he would not use the term spontaneous combustion, as there had to be some source of ignition, possibly a lit match or cigarette.

“There is a source of ignition somewhere, but because the body is so badly destroyed the source can’t be found,” he said.

He said the circumstances in the Galway case were very similar to other possible cases.

“Even the most experienced rescue worker or forensic scientist takes a sharp intake of breath (when they come across the scene).”

Many in Ireland believe that spontaneous is combustion is really “God calling back his son or daughter in a quick – and dramatic fashion .”

“God is the cause of spontaneous combustion.  It happens much more frequently than is reported. You can be walking down the street, or eating your oatmeal and then – poof! – you are called back to our Lord,” said Father O’Malley of Saint Peter’s Church in Galway.

Mr, Grady, however, said he doubted explanations centred on divine intervention.  “I’d have to see it happen with my own eyes, to believe it.”

“I think if the heavens were striking in cases of spontaneous combustion then there would be a lot more cases on record. I go for the practical, the mundane explanation,” he said.

Soon after, Mr. Grady, spontaneously combusted. This is where he had been standing:

Citizens in Galway are frightened and surprisingly, are altering their behavior.  “People are being nicer to each other – for fear that they may combust at any moment,” said Maggie Shawn of Galway.

Be careful out there…

MICHIGAN –  Sea lampreys do not like the smell of death.  Watch the video below to see how they react.

Anyone smelling death would probably crinkle up their nose.  But nothing compares to the adverse reaction sea lampreys have when the repellant odor is poured into their tank.

This experiment wasn’t just done for the gross factor of sea lampreys spewing out of the water. Sea lampreys are one of the most destructive invasive species in the Great Lakes. Researchers that Michigan State University are looking into the use of such repellants to prevent the ever growing sea lamprey population from entering certain areas.

Sea lampreys are one of the most costly and destructive Great Lakes’ invaders,” said Wagner, who published his results in the current issue of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. “The effectiveness of the odor combined with the ease in which it’s obtained suggests that it will prove quite useful in controlling sea lampreys in the Great Lakes.”

“It’s kind of like a stop light, a noxious odor that causes them to run away from its source,” he said. “By blocking certain streams with these chemical dams, sea lampreys can be steered away from environmentally sensitive areas and into waterways where pesticides could be used more effectively to eliminate a larger, more concentrated population of sea lampreys.”

This approach would allow agencies that control invasive species to save money, use less pesticide and manage other resources more efficiently to have a bigger impact on controlling the invasive species, Wagner added.

Currently, pheromones are used to lure sea lampreys into traps, where they are then killed or sterilized. The researchers said that pheromones are not always as effective in waterways with many other chemical signals, but hope repellants will do the trick.

People who spend more than six hours in front of the television every day are at greater risk of dying, a new study reveals.

Even two hours of television a day has a marked effect on health, according to a Harvard study.  It can cause premature death or, at least, lead to diabetes and heart disease.

But using the internet does NOT cause death, diabetes or disease.

Every day, U.S. residents spend an average of 5 hours watching television, while Australians and some Europeans log 3.5 to 4 hours a day, said researchers led by Frank Hu, at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The study found that people who watch Jersey Shore, American Idol or reruns of Cheers were the most likely to die from watching television.  If you watch The View – you have a greater chance of having a bowel disorder.

Dr Iain Frame, said the findings should be a wake-up call about the risk of leading a sedentary television  lifestyle. He said evidence suggests physical activity can reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease by over 60%.

Maureen Talbot, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “I’m sure we’ve all unintentionally lost evenings slumped on the sofa in front of the TV snacking on crisps and biscuits and drinking sugary drinks or alcohol. But it’s important that this doesn’t become a regular activity, according to BBC News.

The study was confirmed by a similar study at the Diabetes Institute in Australia.

The human body evolved to move, not sit still for extended periods of time, says David Dunstan, PhD, lead author of the study and head of the Physical Activity Laboratory. So sitting in front of a TV or a computer screen for too long poses serious risks to health, and to life, the researchers say.

“What has happened is that a lot of the normal activities of daily living that involved standing up and moving the muscles in the body have been converted to sitting,” Dunstan says in a news release. “Technological, social, and economic changes mean that people don’t move their muscles as much as they used to — consequently the levels of energy expenditure as people go about their lives continue to shrink. For many people, on a daily basis, they simply shift from one chair to another, from the chair in the car to the chair in the office to the chair in front of the television.”

Dunstan and his team of researchers looked at 3,846 men and 4,954 women ages 25 and older to find out what happens to people who sit too much.  They were asked about their TV viewing habits and were grouped into one of three categories: people who watched less than two hours of TV daily, those who watched between two and four hours of television daily, and those who spent more than four hours in front of the tube.

The researchers excluded people with a history of cardiovascular disease, and the entire group was then followed for more than six years. During the study period, 284 of the people died, 125 from cancer and 87 because of cardiovascular disease.

Dunstan and his colleagues write that the link between cancer and TV viewing was only modest, but that there was a direct association between television time and elevated cardiovascular death, as well as death from all causes. This was true, they say, even after accounting for typical cardiovascular disease risk factors and other lifestyle practices.

Coffee, sex and blowing your nose increase the risk of of stroke, say researchers in the Netherlands.

The study on 5,000 patients identified eight risk factors linked to bleeding on the brain.

They all increase blood pressure which could result in blood vessels bursting, according to research.

The Stroke Association of Iceland said more research was needed to see if the triggers caused the rupture.  But many strokes occur each year and a good portion are due to bleeding on the brain.

Bleeding can happen when a weakened blood vessel, known as a brain aneurysm, bursts. This can result in brain damage or death.

The researchers at the University Medical Center in Bangalore looked at 5,000 patients for three years to identify what triggers ruptures.

They found that coffee was responsible for more than one in 10 burst brain aneurysms.  And if you drink coffee before, after or during sex – it goes up to 7 in 10.

While people drinking coffee had only a 1.7 times greater risk, it is more common than other risk factors. And if you have sex after, before or during sex – it’s a 6.5 times greater risk.

Being startled increased the risk by more than 23 times, but was responsible for just 2.7% of cases.

Dr. Babu Valden, a neurologist and the study’s lead author, said: “All of the triggers induce a sudden and short increase in blood pressure, which seems a possible common cause for aneurysmal rupture.”

The authors said one in 50 people has a brain aneurysm, but only a few rupture.

Dr Vladen advised that: “Reducing caffeine consumption or treating constipated patients with unruptured intracranial (brain) aneurysms with laxatives may lower the risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage.  And for God’s sake… don’t have sex with your coffee!”

The study only looked at the triggers for the burst. High blood pressure weakens blood vessels in the first place and can be caused by being overweight, smoking and a lack of exercise.

Dr. Martin Hajinkin, Research Liaison Officer at The Stroke Association of Iceland said: “A sudden surge in high blood pressure can increase the likelihood of an aneurysm rupturing.”

“A lot more research needs to be carried out to assess whether each of the identified triggers could directly cause an aneurysm to rupture.”

TEXAS -  A massive swarm of killer bees attacked several towns in Southern Texas, killing over two hundred people.

The first incident happened last Friday. A swarm of bees attacked an elderly couple at their South Texas ranch, killing both and injuring their son, officials said.

Tommy Morton, 76, was spraying insecticide on a bees’ nest when the bees attacked him, his 66-year-old wife, Shelly Morton, and their daughter Maggie, according to Jim Hogg County sheriff’s deputies.

Tommy Morton was spraying to kill bees that had built a hive in his attic when and they attacked him, and then went after his family  The Morton family was pronounced dead at the scene after each having been stung over 500 times.

The bees, who seem to have orderly battalions, are attacking citizens throughout the county.

“It was horrifying, you couldn’t even seen the sky there was so many of them,” said Sally Jenkins.  “It was like a storm was moving in.   We all just ran to get inside, but if you had a window or door open, they came in.  I lost three friends.”

Here’s a close-up of the killer:

Sheriff Ramon Espinoza has his Deputies out trying to kill the killer bees with everything they have:  “We are getting stung, but we all got anti-killer bee injections, which were provided by the State.  It works. So far.”

The bees were thought to be heading toward Oklahoma, but now seemed to be heading northeast.  “Looks like they’re heading up to Washington DC,” said Caleb Boozman.  “That’s be a good place for them to go.”

If you are in Texas and you see a swarm of bees – run and hide!

LOS ANGELES – Bill Cosby dispelled rumors of his death, but said that a bowl of Jell-O saved his life.

Twitter and Facebook were on fire with rumors of Bill Cosby’s death .  “Bill Cosby Died” was on the Twitter Trending Topics. ” Bill Cosby Dead” became the #1 trending topic on Google Hot Trends.

It is the second time this year that the noted comedian has met his demise via the Internet. Bill Cosby himself took to his website to address that death hoax, offering a “rebuttal.”

“As you well know,” he wrote, “a dead person cannot rebuttal. Therefore, I am rebuttaling to tell you that when I heard the news I immediately began rebuttaling and went into denial. My wife has just informed me that there is no such word as rebuttaling, she says the word is rebutting. But I don’t care, because I’m alive!”

“Thank you… P.S. That’s another thing dead people don’t say.”

The 73-year-old Cosby did, however, say that he collapsed with chest pains in his Massachusetts home.  He was all alone at the time and couldn’t reach the phone.  News spread quickly among the appliances in Cosby’s house and soon word got to the refrigerator.  Two bowls of Jell-O gelatin (blueberry and strawberry) sprang into action, leapt out the refrigerator and giggled over to Cosby. The blueberry Jell-O gave Cosby CPR while the strawberry Jell-O gave him mouth-to-gelatin resuscitation.  Meanwhile, Cosby’s “smart-oven” called 911.

When Paramedics arrived they found Cosby sitting happily in his chair, playing with the pudding that saved his life. He was smiling ear to ear – “Ha! This is some magic Jell-O!”   Unfortunately, the Jell-O in Mitch Miller’s refrigerator was unable to save him – he died today.

WWN is thrilled that Cosby is in good health, but his Jell-O might not make it through the night.

Cosby had previously died in February.

In a related story, Richard Pryor dispelled rumors that he was alive. “I am still dead,” Pryor said.

Here’s a classic Bill Cosby Jell-O commercial.

PHILADELPHIA – The angel of death reports that he is happy to be doing his part in the ongoing process of devouring human souls.

“It’s so exciting to be part of something like this,” said the Grim Reaper, grinning good-naturedly through a mouthful of braces.  “I want to be useful to my team, and I want to make sure my team leader – Brad, who is such a good guy, oh my God – I just want Brad to know that he can depend on me.”

He then checked his pocket-protector for pens, admonished himself for not remembering to bring one, said he always does that, found a pen in his pants pocket, marveled at how stupid that was, and put a check mark next to an asterix next to the name of his next victim.  The previous name was accompanied by a check mark and an asterix as well, but was also crossed out.

“I just have this system,” Death said sheepishly about the odd notation.  “It’s stupid, I know, it’s stupid, but it’s just the way I got used to doing it and now I can’t go back.  Do you know what I mean?”

Continuing a job he has held since the beginning of all life, the reaper of souls proceeded with his work at a steady pace until exactly twelve noon, when an alarm sounded on his gargantuan wristwatch.

“Lunchtime!  Yummy!” he called out brightly, unconsciously imitating the inflection of Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.  He then drew out a ham-and-cheese sandwich on white bread (crusts cut off) and a juice box, the same lunch he has packed every day for eons.

After munching away happily, Death grew philosophical.  “A lot of people think I shouldn’t do this, like what I’m doing isn’t right, but…I don’t know.  I mean, for one thing, I don’t think Brad would ask me to do something that was wrong!  Can you imagine that?  His wife’s adorable, she brought shortbread to the Christmas party.  And I get my own little space, and I can put up anything I want.  I can even play music on my headphones if it’s not too loud.”

A serene look shone in the endless darkness of Death’s eyes.  “It’s so nice to feel useful.”