An apocalyptic rendezvous has, thankfully, been ruled out by Nasa. Astronomers found sightings of 2004 MN4 dating back to last March that allowed them to make a more precise calculation of the asteroid’s path. The concern had been that its orbit lay close to Earth’s orbit; now it seems that the two lumps are not headed for a cosmic showdown, at least not in this century.

The news that we are not 24 years away from another natural disaster — one that could bring tsunamis even more devastating than the one that ravaged the Indian Ocean rim — is a reassurance in a time of such despair.

• A CLOSE friend used to collect air-sickness bags. A true patron of puke, he defended his odd assemblage as a narrative on both the airline industry and world history. To him, his wall spoke of defunct airlines, fallen empires and virgin nations.

  Sick sacks, or barf bags, as they are also known, are a common target of hoarding behaviour. The best ones go for more than $200 on eBay and everyone wants one from the space shuttle. Now the universal, if baffling, acquisitive tendency — 70 species of animal hoard — has come under scrutiny at the University of Iowa.

  The researchers took 86 brain-injured people and asked close relatives to assess whether they indulged in “abnormal” collecting behaviour, such as hoarding useless or unattractive items, being resistant to a clear-out even after interest had waned, and having a very extensive collection. Thirteen patients showed such traits, filling their homes with, among other objects, junk mail and broken appliances. All were brain-scanned.

  “A pretty clear finding jumped out at us: damage to a part of the frontal lobes of the cortex, particularly on the right side, was shared by the individuals with abnormal behaviour,” said Dr Steven Anderson, who led the investigation. The insight could help those researching obsessive- compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and dementia, which can all be associated with pathological collecting.

• A LANDMARK has been reached in pharma-cogenomics, the proper name for the futuristic vision in which we are prescribed medicines according to our genetic profile. The US Food and Drug Administration has given approval for a “chip” that can be used by doctors to scan a patient’s DNA. The tiny chip, developed by Roche Molecular Systems and Affymetrix, looks for a specific enzyme, called P4502D6, and then finds a match for it among millions of stored reference molecules. The enzyme determines a person’s ability to metabolise many drugs, including antidepressants, betablockers and some anti-cancer therapies.

  It will then, says Dr Lester Crawford, from the FDA, “enable patients to avoid less effective or potentially harmful treatment choices”.

• CHRIS DREW, a reader from Llandudno, contacted me after reading my recent snippet about cancer patients not being able to influence the timing of their deaths. The study contradicted the theory that ill people tend to expire just after birthdays, anniversaries or Christmas, rather than just before (herewith a snappy mnemonic to summarise this theory: a celebration a day keeps the Grim Reaper away).

  Mr Drew tells me that, should you nevertheless want to identify a suitable passing- away date, then 6am on the last Monday in October is as good as any. The early hour saves having to get up; you’ve had the weekend but there’s no need to go back to work; because it’s the end of the month, it’s probably too late for your employer to stop your monthly pay cheque; and by October you’ve had your holidays but can escape the soul-cracking run-up to Christmas.

  Of course, if you wake up at 10am to discover you’re still alive — with an irate employer on the phone who has put you on hold to Jingle Bells — then you have to wait another tedious year before having a second, probably more desperate, rap on the pearly gates.

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