Oddly enough

The petrol of paradise: Car-drivers in the tropics could one day be filling up with coconut oil instead of petrol after a breakthrough discovery by a Fijian student in Britain. Mikaele Dreu, an engineering student at Bolton Institute in north-west England, has developed a way of making coconut oil a viable fuel for diesel engines. Coconut fuel solidifies at around 15 degrees Celsius, making it impractical for use in cold climates, but ideal for the tropics. "It is aimed primarily at the Asia Pacific area where the temperature is right," says Mikaele. "Diesel is an expensive fuel compared with coconut fuel." So far, the fuel has been used only on a diesel engine in a Bolton Institute laboratory, but the young engineer has already won a renewable energy prize. This has led to a deluge of interest from companies keen to meet him and explore ways of making his discovery commercial. "I haven't replied to any of them yet. I'm in my final year, and want to get my degree first," he says. Mikaele has contacted the Fijian government about his discovery, in the hope that it will improve life for the people of his homeland but, so far, there has been no response. "I think they are busy preparing for the election. Maybe after that they will have more time."

Hot news: An 11-year-old has been suspended from Rock Ridge Elementary School near Denver for daring her classmates to taste a sauce so incendiary that paramedics had to be called. The girl had urged a dozen of her friends to sample Dave's Gourmet Total Insanity Sauce, whose label warns it should be used "one drop at a time and kept away from eyes, pets, children, and people with heart or respiratory problems". None of the students was seriously hurt, but paramedics were called when one student who swallowed more than the others started vomiting. "She didn't force them," said a school district spokeswoman. "But I hope it helps other children learn about taking dares."