Researchers singled out the deaths of more than 300,000 cancer patients, because deaths from cancer are usually more predictable and less sudden than those from heart attacks, strokes or other ailments. There was no increase in overall mortality after Christmas. —Liz Szabo —Terminal Patients Don’t Hang on Until After Holidays (TechNewsWorld.com)

That probably won’t put that meme to rest.

I often have to struggle with students who persist in citing their freshman-level textbooks in research papers. Authors of textbooks have to simplify, since their primary audience is obviously people who don’t know anything about the subject yet.

Here’s a list of more scientific fallacies that are often considered “common knowledge”: Recurring Science Misconceptions in Textbooks.