Those who believe the End Times are imminent will be pleased to know that physicists in Switzerland are planning to fire up the Large Hadron Collider this weekend, fortuitously one week after the doomsday movie "2012" opened.

Long before swine flu made people sick, dog lovers were hitting the panic button because canine influenza was killing dogs at greyhound racing tracks.

Dog flu first surfaced in greyhounds in 2004 in Florida. As racing dogs were shipped to tracks around the country, the outbreak spread and cases were confirmed in 25 states.

The smell of a volatile chemical exuded by people and birds alike is what draws in the species of mosquito known to carry West Nile Virus, researchers have found.

This discovery at the University of California, Davis could lead to improved efforts to crimp the spread of the disease, said Walt Leal, an entomology professor who led the research over the past three years.

"Dragon Age: Origins"

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Role-playing

Publisher: EA Games/BioWare

ESRB Rating: M, for Mature

Grade: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

With Apple being all coy about next year's announcement of the Apple Tablet computer, it is time to talk again about convergence.

One of the co-hosts of "The View," comedian/actress Sherri Shepherd has had a busy year. She won an Emmy, wrote a book and has a new show on Lifetime. "The Sherri Show" is vaguely based on her life in standup comedy and airs 10 p.m. EST Tuesdays. The author of "Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break" recently divorced and is raising her son Jeffrey in New York City.

This was going to be about Thanksgiving, the joys of overeating, the tradition of counting our blessings and the importance of giving thanks for the gift of family and friends.