News.com Extra

The Chinese government, facing ever more international scrutiny, appears to be trying to restrict the gaze of its world audience during the upcoming Olympic Games. It has told broadcasters that it may bar live television shots of Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics this summer. The move looks to be a sign of the government's increasing unease following recent protests among Tibetans.

The ban would affect NBC and other major news outlets that plan to broadcast the games Aug. 8-24. Most broadcasters had expected to include live TV shots of the square.

Read the full AP story: "China Might Bar Tiananmen Broadcasts"

An anthropologist has built what she claims to be the most realistic reconstruction of Johann Sebastian Bach's head.

Using computer-modeling techniques, anthropologist Caroline Wilkinson of the University of Dundee in Scotland, created a new image of Bach. Most of us when envisioning the composer think of a saggy old man with a white, curly wig. Instead, he was rather big-boned with a slight underbite and short hair, as the new rendering shows.

The bust is currently on display at Berlin's Charite medical school and will then be the centerpiece of an exhibition at the Bach Museum in Eisenach, Germany, Bach's birthplace.

Read the full AP story here: "Bach bust displayed in Berlin"

The next time it's snowing and you open your mouth to catch snowflakes on your tongue, think about this: Scientists say they're full of bacteria. That's right. Bacteria are everywhere in the atmosphere, and a large number of them can even cause diseases in plants, according to scientists at Louisiana State University.

When snow and rain form in the sky, the moisture needs something to grab onto in order to condense. The scientists found that this something is bacteria. The group of scientists examined precipitation from various locations including France, Montana, and the Yukon. The bacteria were most prevalent in France.

Read the full Science Daily story here: "Study Shows Bacteria Are Common in Snow"

Tired of the free neighborhood newspapers that pile up in your driveway and end up directly in the recycle bin? So are some Maryland residents, who have apparently asked State Del. Tanya Shewell to propose a "Do Not Deliver" list that would run along the same vein as the national "Do Not Call" list.

Under the proposed bill, publishers who continue to deliver unsolicited papers after a person has requested that deliveries be stopped, would be fined $100 a day, according to the Associated Press. The publishers would be given seven days after the request to discontinue delivery.

Read the full AP story, "'Do Not Deliver' list would bar papers"

A U.S. food chemist has come up with an edible antifreeze that promises to keep ice cream and other frozen foods from becoming damaged in the freezer. Srinivasan Damodaran, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says the antifreeze, which is made from gelatin, can help ice cream stay smooth and maintain its "mouth feel."

The formation of ice crystals on ice cream, or what most folks call "freezer burn," is caused by fluctuations in temperature of the ice cream. Damodaran maintains that his antifreeze can help prevent such ice crystals from forming.

Read the full story on NewScientist.com: Edible antifreeze promises perfect ice cream

Business software company Sybase may be headed for a proxy fight, The Wall Street Journal is reporting. Sandall Asset Management, a company controlled by hedge fund manager Thomas Sandell, has notified Sybase that it plans to elect its own three candidates to the company's board. Sandell is Sybase's second-largest institutional investor.

The notice comes more than two months after Sandell asked Sybase to explore its strategic options, including putting itself up for sale, an initial public offering, or spinoff.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Sybase holder Sandell is poised for proxy fight"

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that video game company Atari received a notice from Nasdaq that it has until March 20 to regain compliance with the stock market's minimum-market-value rule.

The report follows an announcement from the company last month that it had regained compliance with Nasdaq's periodic reporting requirements in response to an earlier letter.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Atari receives notice from Nasdaq"