It's good news for all couch potatoes, who could soon be able to use an exercise pill to keep the body trim and fit without having to move from the sofa. Scientists have successfully tested a drug on mice that could deliver some of the benefits of exercise, even to sedentary people. In tests, mice were able to run 44 percent farther, suggesting humans may be able to do the same without prior training, researchers reported in the journal Cell.

In a first of its kind move, the Los Angeles city council on Tuesday approved a one-year ban on new fast-food outlets in a low-income neighborhood with a high incidence of obesity and diabetes. The moratorium aims to attract restaurants in the 32-square mile area of South Los Angeles to offer healthier food choices. The ban covers the 500,000 people living in the area, residents of which are mainly Latinos and African-Americans.

Police, with the approval of wildlife experts, have shot a black bear that accidentally stuck a plastic jug on its head when the animal strayed into the community of Frazee during the town's turkey festival. In a statement issued Wednesday, a bear expert at the Department of Natural Resources said they allowed police to kill the bear on Saturday because the animal came close to people. An estimated 1,500 people were in Frazee to celebrate Turkey Day.

Faulty circuitry prevented the explosion of 18 planted bombs found on Tuesday in different areas of the port city of Surat in western India's Gujarat state. Forensic experts who examined the bombs found technically flawed integrated circuits in the bomb devices. It was the first time that a semiconductor was used in bombs, the experts said, according to the Times of India.

Hundreds of fans and flight enthusiasts here at AirVenture 2008 were wowed on Tuesday as a New Zealand family debuted the Martin Jetpack, dubbed the "ultimate personal flying machine. "Inventor Glenn Martin said the device, which can fly a 280-pound passenger for 30 minutes, is "the world's first practical jetpack. " After spending 27 years developing the jetpack, the 48-year-old Glenn has involved his wife Vanessa and his two sons. Harrison, 16, test-flew the jetpack Tuesday at the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture 2008.