Stranger things have happened

. Microbiologists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report that the Malaysian pen-tailed tree shrew subsists on a diet of fermented palm nectar that is roughly the equivalent of 100 percent beer. "They seem to have developed some type of mechanism to deal with that high level of alcohol and not get drunk," according to one researcher, who hoped further study could help with human cases of alcohol poisoning (and other rare instances in which people ingest alcohol for purposes other than getting drunk).

. Kay Underwood, 20, of Barrow upon Soar, England, risks momentarily collapsing every time she laughs, according to a report in London's Daily Telegraph. Underwood's cataplexy causes a sudden, dramatic weakening of muscles when she experiences strong emotions, including joy, excitement and anger. She said she has collapsed as many as 40 times in a day, and although friends sometimes goodnaturedly try to make her giggle, she's learned tricks to protect herself, "such as locking my knees together or grabbing on to something."