Melbourne, Sept 24: A television news anchor who looks like Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has revealed that she''s been getting ‘hate mail and nasty phone calls’ from viewers who think she''s trying to copy her signature style.

Cindy Michaels at WVII-TV in Maine has long brown hair that she sometimes wears up in a style similar to the Alaska governor, and she also wears glasses occasionally.

Melbourne, September 23: A study on roosters, conducted by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia, suggests that a male’s actions in the face of danger may be the best indicator of his mating and reproductive success.

Study leader David Wilson, a doctoral student at the Centre for the Integrative Study of Animal Behaviour, says that roosters’ ability to protect the brood is key to their sexual success.

Reporting his finding in the journal Animal Behaviour, the researchers says that the new finding runs counter to "20 years of research" that suggests that looks "matters and nothing else".

Melbourne, Sept 23 : Aussies have come up with a unique way to fight their day-to-day demons – voodoo.

According to tourism officials, Australian visitors to African countries are increasingly turning to voodoo - even if they sometimes won''t admit it - as a way to beat problems they think western-style experts can''t solve.

Some countries have even turned voodoo into a tourist attraction.

"Westerners are increasingly interested in voodoo," theage. com. au quoted Jacob Limikpo, president of the fetish market in Lome, capital of the West African nation of Togo, as saying.

"I think it''s part of a growing fascination with the supernatural,” Jacob said.

Melbourne, September 22 : An Australian company has invented “shower suits” that can be worn while they wash.

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), the research and marketing body which represents Australian woolgrowers, has revealed that the garment does not require soaking, dry cleaning or even soap.

"The idea is that you hang it up and then ... you give it a spray, and leave it overnight, and it''s dry the next morning,'''' news. com. au quoted Stephen Feighan, the company’s corporate affairs spokesman, as saying.

He has revealed that it was a Japanese researcher working for AWI who invented the suit by combining three technologies.

He says that the minimal use of lining allows the suit to dry quickly.

Melbourne, September 22 : A leading researcher at the Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne says that she is working on a technique that can restore hearing to the totally deaf in 50 years.

Researcher Bryony Coleman has revealed that she is carrying out the world’s first research into the potential of stem cells to regrow the nerves that connect the ear to the brain.

She says that the technique may help improve the quality of hearing in people with cochlear implants, and even restore hearing to those who are totally deaf, if her research turns out to be successful.

"Fifty years down the track this might be one of many techniques — we might not even need a cochlear implant," theage. com. au quoted her as saying.

Melbourne, Sept 21: Stinky people, unstocked supermarket shelves, lengthy queues and the office know-it-all are some of the things that irritate Australians the most, a new survey has found.

The study, which was commissioned by NRMA, quizzed participants what annoyed them the most on the roads, in the workplace, at the supermarket and at home.

Gary Dransfield, the head of retail sales and service at NRMA Insurance, said that the data reflects the hectic Australian life in the 21st century.

"Our lives are getting more and more complex and so petty and seemingly little things are more likely to irritate us," News. co. au quoted Dransfield, as saying.