Today's Globe: Ig Nobels, cough and cold drugs, hospital window, TB exposure

The Ig Nobel winners are in: The chemistry prize goes to scientists who researched Coca-Cola's potential to kill sperm. The biology award is for research proving that fleas on dogs jump higher than fleas on cats; and the prize for medicine goes to the enterprising economist who found that expensive fake pills work better than cheap ones.

A top government health official yesterday rejected pediatricians' calls for an immediate ban on over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children, saying it might cause unintended harm.

Two specialists will examine a window at a Springfield hospital that some people say contains an image of the Virgin Mary, hospital officials said yesterday.

Public health officials in Canada announced yesterday that they are looking for 27 people who may have been exposed to tuberculosis from an infectious passenger during a bus trip from Toronto to Windsor, Ontario, in late August (second item).