D Wednesday, November 4, 2009 METRO Just another brick in the wall? LEGO, maker of the iconic toy brick, has launched a legal bid to win back its trademark, claiming the design of its brick sets it apart from others. The company was last year stripped of the right to keep the bricks 3-D 2x4 shape as its EU trademark after a challenge from rival toy maker Mega Brands, which markets Mega Bloks. EU trademark bosses granted Lego the legal right to the shape in 1999 but then later decided it could not be owned by any one company. Nessie fan dies at 87 ROBERT H RINES, a composer, inventor and physicist whose discoveries led to sharper resolution in radar, sonar and ultrasound imaging and who claimed to have seen the Loch Ness Monster, has died aged 87. Mr Rines died of heart failure at his home in Boston. He invented prototype radar and sonar technology later incorporated in ultrasound scans for organs. Mr Rines used some of his inventions in attempts to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster, and claimed to have seen Nessie in 1971. Rats! Hygiene cuts lead to surge in pest-control callsBY ROSS McDONAGHTHEY say you are never more than 10ft away from one this winter youll never be more than 10ft away from even more. A pest-control firm has seen a big jump in its ex- pected number of calls about rats and other rodents. The number of customer inquiries and call-outs in- creased 55 per cent from summer to autumn; nor- mally the increase in rodent activity around homes and premises is 30 per cent, Rentokil said. The 55 per cent increase is the highest jump it has experienced in more than a decade. Bad weather and dwindling rodent food reserves are usually the main causes of the surge. However, the firm believes cutbacks in basic hygiene and waste management may be contributing. It predicts a heavy breeding population for 2010. Given this evidence, it would appear that it is im- portant to keep rodents at bay now more than ever, said technical manager Dr Colm Moore. Prevention is better than cure in the case of any pest infestation; rather than applying and re-apply- ing pesticides in the hope of killing these unwanted guests, preventing access to your home or workplace in the first instance is essential. Rats are notorious for spreading disease, most in- famously the bubonic plague, believed to have been the cause of the Black Death which killed tens of millions in Europe in the 1300s. By rodent-proofing your buildings and maintain- ing sound waste-management practices, home own- ers and businesspeople alike will greater protect themselves and their customers from exposure to nasty bugs such as fleas, ticks, mites, bacteria and viruses, Dr Moore added. Gone: Kihansi spray toads are already feared to be extinct in the wild Under threat: The tree-dwelling Panay monitor lizard and the giant jewel 17,000 species could soon become extinct MORE than 17,000 species face extinction, an environmental group said yesterday. More than two-thirds of plants, a quarter of reptiles and a fifth of mammals assessed are on the Red List compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Panay monitor lizard is under threat from hunting and logging in the Philippines and was added to the list this year. These results are just the tip of the iceberg, said spokesman Craig Hilton- Taylor, who added many species had yet to be assessed. It is too late for some. The Kihansi spray toad in Tanzania is believed to be extinct in the wild after a dam dried up its habitat and a fungal disease hit. Lego: Trademark index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html