Chronic itching afflicts millions around globe

Question: How bad can the "chronic itching syndrome" get?

Answer: This is actually surprisingly widespread, affecting hundreds of millions worldwide, for scabies, eczema, kidney or liver disease, HIV, infectious illnesses, drug reactions, says Greg Miller in the journal Science.

For reasons not well understood, itching can occur over large swaths of the body or be concentrated on the face, back, etc. And when it strikes, it can increase mortality rates, probably due to severe sleep loss. One grisly case involved a Bostonian after a shingles outbreak: Her rash cleared up but not the itch, which led her to scratch so much that emergency room doctors discovered brain tissue protruding through a hole she had worn in her skull!

While an itch used to be regarded as "pain's little brother," today the two are believed to "talk independently to the brain." Some substances such as morphine may actually dull pain but trigger itching as a side effect, while others reduce itching without quieting pain. Yet to be studied: Why is scratching an itch so addictive? It feels bodily rewarding, which may also help explain its contagiousness: Just seeing someone else go at it can set off your own episode, as can reading a Q&A on the subject.

Question: Is it more brains or brawn that leads some birds to a life of crime?

Answer: A big-brained body seems to do it, says S. Milius in "Science News" magazine. Julie Morand-Ferron of the University of Quebec in Montreal and colleagues checked out hundreds of scientific reports of bird-on-bird food snatching; she herself also observed Carib grackles in Barbados sneaking dry dog food out of unattended bowls, then deftly swiping pellets from each other.

Of the 9,672 known bird species, some 2 percent have "criminal" records, including families of falcons, eagles, pelicans that tend to go after sizeable meals such as an already captured fish or mouse.

Such "kleptoparasitism" may involve acrobatic midair grabs, zigzaggy chases or harassment of successful hunters until some of the booty is regurgitated for the thief. Roseate terns use outright trickery to rob larger species and each other: One tern flirted with fish-carrying males only long enough to sidle up and grab their food. Yet these tern thieves are "far and away the best parents." Said one Iowa researcher, "It can give you a new respect for kleptoparasites."

Question: When the weather gets you down, would it be more correct to say you're "not feeling so good" or "not feeling so well"? Feeling "bad" or "badly"?