A mysterious illness has been killing thousands of bats in New York and New England for the past two years, and it has now begun to spread to bats in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, environmental officials in those states said.

The disease causes bats to crawl out of their hibernation spots prematurely during the cold winter months and they end up dropping dead because they burn up crucial fat reserves. It also causes some bats to crawl further into cooler sections of their hibernation spots in an attempt to cool rising body temperatures, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported.

While in practice, California doctor Craig Alan Bittner used the fat he removed from his patients to power his Ford SUV after turning it into biodiesel.

Any type of fat, animal or vegetable, can be turned into diesel. According to Forbes.com, some poultry companies like Tyson are interested in running their trucks on chicken schmaltz. Animal fats need an additional to clear free fatty acids that are not present in vegetable oils, but the difference ends there.

A team of Rice University students are trying to create a beer that contains the same chemical in red wine thought to reduce cancer and heart disease in lab animals.

The students' brew is called "Bio-beer" and it uses a yeast genetically engineered to produce resveratrol, a natural compound found in red wine.

A retired professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture says that insects will become an important source of protein with rising food prices and shortage of food supply.

Prof. Jun Mihashi said as world population continues to rise, insects will become an important source of protein in the near future. ''The amount of food, including meat, will decrease. Insects with high protein and high fat should be used effectively,'' he told the Kyodo News Agency.

The Ohio Supreme Court and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled against staying the execution of an inmate because he is obese.

The two courts upheld an earlier ruling of the U.S. District Court in Columbus that Richard Cooey, 41, was late in making the appeal to stay his execution.