Those chips are now being implanted in some people, especially Alzheimer's patients, and encoded with their medical records. The Food and Drug Administration called the microchip one of 2005's top innovative technologies.

The microchips have been implanted in hundreds of people like Ida Frankel, who has Alzheimer's disease. If she gets lost and ends up in a hospital, doctors can scan her arm and get all of her medical records.

But when the government approved these chips for use in humans three years ago, it didn't mention that there were studies showing that similar chips caused malignant tumors in lab rats and mice.

Cancer doctors who spoke to The Associated Press, which broke this story, say you can't make the leap between cancer in mice and cancer in humans.

Even in cool temperatures, cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly. Even with the windows cracked open, interior temperatures can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes. Anyone left inside is at risk for serious heat-related illnesses or even death. Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at greatest risk for heat stroke, and possibly death.

NEVER LEAVE PETS OR CHILDREN IN PARKED CARS - EVEN WITH THE WINDOWS OPEN. TEMPERATURES INSIDE PARKED CARS CAN REACH 130 DEGREES IN ONLY A FEW MINUTES

"Those low on adult conscientiousness died sooner," Friedman concluded. Conscientiousness does not mean looking both ways before crossing the street, it means looking both ways when the light turns green so you don't accidentally run down a slow-moving pedestrian. Beyond that, a conscientious person's long-living qualities probably have to do with the fact that they are predisposed to constructively reacting to emotional and social situations, and are more likely to create work and living environments that promote good health.

There are also more traditional practices that the aspiring centenarian can take. People should stop smoking, eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight. While these may sound "nanny-ish," they are factors that cannot be overlooked. This might not sound like much fun, but it's a lot more fun than being dead.

The dog flu is almost identical to a horse flu that's been in the U.S. for a long time.

Humans don't get the virus from horses. And they probably won't get it from dogs, says Ruben Donis, DVM, PhD, chief of the molecular genetics section at the Influenza Branch of the CDC.

The dog flu is known medically as the H3N8 influenza virus.

"H3N8 has been in horses for over 40 years. In all these years we have never been able to document a single human infection," Donis says. "That is not to say there isn't any risk. We will monitor all possible human exposures, but at this point there is no reason to panic."

A newly discovered virus has killed dogs in at least seven states, and veterinarians, kennel operators and pet owners are concerned because researchers say there is no vaccine and dogs do not have immunity to the new flu.

Dr. Cynda Crawford, an immunologist at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine, said in an audio interview posted on the university Web site that the disease is only deadly in rare cases -- about 10 percent in puppies and old dogs -- but is of concern because it is spreading rapidly.