Fresh off of getting a beating from a TV talk show host, Jack Thompson has reached a settlement with his favorite target, Take-Two Interactive, publishers of the Grand Theft Auto games. You might remember Thompson's suit in question here, which was pretty ridiculous, even for him. In response to a Take-Two suit trying to stop Thompson's repeated (and repeatedly unsuccessful) attempts to block the release of their new games, Thompson alleged the company was at the head of a vast conspiracy to somehow deprive him of his civil rights. For added amusement, he alleged that a number of video-game news sites were in on things, and alleged some racketeering violations, though he soon quietly dropped them. Thompson and Take-Two were due in court Thursday morning, where Thompson could have been tossed in jail for contempt of court, but the settlement precluded that. It's hard to see this as anything other than a win for Take-Two: Thompson has agreed to stop trying to block the sale of Take-Two's games, and will stop telling people that the company is breaking the law by selling games. However, he won't be prevented from representing third parties in their suits against the company, nor will he stop criticizing them and their games. But between this case and his potential disbarment, Thompson's doing a pretty good job of marginalizing himself.

While mellowing with age has often been thought to have positive effects, a Purdue University researcher has shown that doing so could also help you live longer. The study compared neurotic and non-neurotic men over time and tied change in the trait with mortality. Those whose levels dropped had a better chance at living longer, while those whose levels increased died much sooner than their peers.

Climate change could trigger "boom and bust" population cycles that make animal species more vulnerable to extinction. Dramatic population fluctuations make species more vulnerable to extinction due to disease, inbreeding, and other causes; in addition, each crash reduces the genetic diversity of a species, lowering its ability to adapt and making it more prone to extinction.

Direct encounters between gorilla or chimpanzee social groups are rare, so, though Ebola has killed thousands, vaccination did not seem to be a solution. But transmission might occur in other ways. Many different gorilla groups feed in the same fruit tree on a single day. Gorillas from one social group inspect the carcasses of gorillas from other groups. This suggests that vaccination of individuals may prevent the chain of infection.

People who develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease experience brain structure changes years before any signs of memory loss begin, according to a recent study. Researchers say these findings may help identify people at risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, which leads to Alzheimer's disease.

At the recent American Physical Society meeting, a Stanford University physicist provided the first public peek at data that will reveal whether Einstein's theory has been confirmed by the most sophisticated orbiting laboratory ever created.

Researchers have discovered how a defect in a single master gene disrupts the process by which several genes interact to create myelin, a fatty coating that covers nerve cells and increases the speed and reliability of their electrical signals.