University of Missouri-Columbia mathematics professor Steve Hofmann is receiving significant recognition for completing a 40-year math problem. "It was one of the biggest open problems in my field and everybody thought it was too hard and wouldn't be solved. I had toyed with it for years and then put in three years of very serious work before hitting the key breakthrough. "

A Cuban woman ships herself to Miami in a wooden crate on a cargo plane. U. S. authorities are now allowing her to stay permanently. Sandra De los Santos has received political asylum. She says she's studying English and hopes to become an ultrasound technician.

Polish archeologists have solved a centuries-old mystery and have discovered the grave of 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. The Polish astronomer, who died in 1543 challenged the ancient belief the sun revolved around the earth, was buried at the Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Frombork, 180-miles north of Warsaw.

Most would agree that a good nights sleep is good for you. One European doctor takes the sage advice to a new level. A lack of sleep makes you "fat, stupid and sick", according to a German scientist. Sleep researcher Professor Juergen Zulley from the Regensburg University Hospital in Bavaria said: "It makes you stupid because suffering from sleep deficiency diminishes your memory. Sick, because too little sleep can damage your heart, circulation, stomach and intestines. And fat because while we are sleeping are bodies release a hormone that reduces appetite.

William Hootkins, famous for being the Rebel X-Wing pilot "Red Six" in Star Wars IV; has passed away at 58. Hootkins was fighting a battle with pancreatic cancer, after being diagnosed earlier this year. He passed away at St. Johns Hospital, near his home in Santa Monica, California.