Working nights is listed as a possible carcinogen by IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). The link that has the biggest research base is between breast cancer and night work. The dominant theory is that circadian disruption caused by exposure to light at night lowers melotonin production which is either a causal factor in cancers or supresses protective mechanisms. So, too much sunlight in the day causes skin cancer, too much artifical light at night possibly causes breast cancer.

Humans - at the time - went a "long way" to discover America/Australia etc etc and certainly killed the local inhabitants. Sometimes this was deliberate (shoot 'em) and sometimes this was accidental (common, harmeless diseases that were deadly to them). The best that could be hoped for is that they were "integrated" into the new society in a way that may have been well meant, but ended up causing massive problems to those peoples even hundreds of years later. And they were the same species. Other species we plucked, roasted, hung their teeth around or necks etc. OK - aliens may be different. Or may be the same.

"Could" is one thing, "did" is another.

Look, if I were the average Joe in Jordan and someone said "aliens have invaded, it's in the papers, the police are out looking for them", I would be more likely to think: "No way ... but somethings going on, so I'll keep the kids off school" than: "It must be a joke ... I'll ignore all the hullaballoo and send my kids off to school as per normal."

And that's how panic spreads.

As for the Mayor, he'd be better off admitting that he fell for the prank and then pointing out the serious side of it (panic caused etc) than doing the lawyer thing.

This is also true, from my own observation, about reading on a Kindle. When I am reading for work or study I find the page turning rate slow and a little frustrating. This is because I am only scanning the page focusing in on important bits, and want to get through the pages quickly.

When I'm reading for pleasure (a novel for example), I find the page turning smooth as silk and not slow at all (I suspect it is faster than a book). I think this is because my reading rate remains constant.

Amongst the literary set, both the kindle and the ipad (as a reader) will rise or fail on the basis of the books that are available.