My father-in-law, Dennis Bidwell, who has died aged 88, played a crucial part in the development in 1976 of the microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa), a laboratory tool that has had a lasting impact on the diagnosis of disease.The microplate consists of an eight-by-12 plastic grid of 96 small indentations numbered A1 to H12, which enables multiple tests to be carried out at the same time, rapidly and cheaply, using very small volumes of blood or other liquid samples. Research carried out by Dennis and his colleague Alister Voller demonstrated that the Elisa was superior to existing diagnostics for diseases including malaria and rubella. There was no commercial secrecy around the Elisa and so it became the most widely used diagnostic test for infective, immune, endocrine, cancer and haematological disorders, as well as horticultural and agricultural diseases. Continue reading...

Light emitted by a new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus lailae, is camouflage and helps them to hunt, communicate and find partners. But how does it work?Earlier this year a new species of deep water shark, Etmopterus lailae, was discovered in waters surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.Measurements of external features, teeth, vertebrae and intestines, along with specific external markings and patterns confirmed that it was indeed a new species – a member of the lanternshark family. Lanternsharks (Etmopteridae) are one of the most species-rich shark genera, with approximately 38 known species, 11 of which have been described since 2002. Continue reading...

‘Non-lethal’ bullets are often inaccurate and have potential to cause death, disability and serious injury, researchers findRubber and plastic bullets should not be used for crowd control, researchers have said, pointing out that such weapons are often inaccurate and can cause death, disabilities or severe injuries.Bullets made of plastic, rubber, or other materials such as metal shot in a fabric bag, are used as a “less lethal” means of crowd control the world over, from the US to India. While they can leave a gun with velocities similar to live ammunition, they are designed to lose speed rapidly, reducing the force of impact. Generally, users are supposed to aim the weapons at individuals’ lower limbs.

Rates of diagnoses and death set to rise in women not vaccinated against HPV, but likely to be almost eradicated in younger women, say researchersCervical cancer diagnoses and deaths in England are predicted to rise steeply among women over the age of 50 in the next two decades, even though deaths from the disease among the young who have been vaccinated are likely to be almost eradicated, according to a new study.The HPV jab is radically changing the outlook for cervical cancer among women living in countries where it is routinely given to schoolgirls aged 12 or 13, before they become sexually active, and brings hope in the developing world of reducing the deaths where they are highest. Continue reading...

The years 2017, 2016 and 2015 will make up the three hottest years on record for the planet. But there’s no convincing some peopleWhen the global temperature readings are in for 2017, it’s going to be a very hard sell for climate-science deniers: 2017 will likely be ranked either side of 2015 as the second or third hottest year on record, with 2016 still in top spot.The hottest five-year period recorded in the modern era will be the one we’ve just had. Continue reading...

Most people know about the link between smoking and cancer but few are aware of the other major and controllable lifestyle factors

New study suggests evolution is still acting on contemporary humans, although over many generations and very weaklyAs humans continue to evolve, natural selection appears to be favouring higher body mass index (BMI) in men and an earlier age for starting a family in women, research has revealed.Researchers used data from the UK Biobank, a large genetic and health database of half a million British people aged 45 and over, to look at how numerous traits from body mass index to height and birth weight, as well as particular genetic variations associated with such traits, are linked to the number of children individuals had during their lifespan. Continue reading...

Archaeologists excavating cellar find it full of bottles, crockery, jars and pipes from 18th-century Clapham’s coffeehouseClapham’s Coffeehouse closed down 250 years ago, no doubt to the anguish of its regulars who met at the site in Cambridge to swap news and gossip, as well as drink cups of coffee and delicate china bowls of tea.Against the traditional image of a Georgian coffeehouse, they also drank ale and wine and consumed hearty meals, or revived their drooping spirits with nourishing glasses of calf’s foot jelly. Continue reading...

Solutions to today’s picture puzzlesIn my puzzle blog earlier today I set you the following three questions:1) In the image of an equilateral triangle above, what fraction of the whole triangle is the red triangle? Continue reading...

My friend Mike Mortimore, who has died aged 80, was a pioneering geographer who lived and worked in the dry lands of west Africa. He was motivated by a love of the people in that region, northern Nigeria in particular, believing that human endeavour could build sustainable livelihoods.Mike was the eldest of three children born in Bermuda. His father, John Mortimore, was employed by Cable & Wireless, and his mother, Dorothy (nee Taylor), travelled the world with him. Mike was sent to Britain to attend Monkton Combe school, near Bath, where he enjoyed rowing and cycling. The Christian ethos of the school led him to a faith that would shape his life. Continue reading...

Cigar-shaped body has a deep surface layer made of organic ices baked in interstellar radiation – and potentially has ice in its heart, say astronomersThe mysterious interstellar object ‘Oumuamua that is shooting through our solar system is wrapped in a thick coating of carbon-rich gunk that built up on its cosmic travels, astronomers have found.New observations of the cigar-shaped body found evidence for a deep surface layer that formed when organic ices – such as frozen carbon dioxide, methane and methanol – that make up the object were battered by the intense radiation that exists between the stars. Continue reading...

Oxford Dictionaries’ word of 2017 is hardly earth-shaking. But instead of being broflakes, let’s join in on the funCasper Grathwohl has the rather fine title of president of dictionaries at Oxford University Press, so it was he who chose the much-discussed but rarely used “youthquake” as 2017 word of the year, over some other equally unlikely suggestions. I only mention that in case, in skimming over the story at this busy time of the year, you read Grathwohl alongside Antifa, gorpcore and broflake, and assumed it was one of the contenders.Why not? The Microsoft spellchecker puts the same wobbly line under youthquake and the rest of Casper’s shortlist as it does under his name, meaning it’s not just the man on the Leeds omnibus (me) scratching his head over El Presidente’s selection. Continue reading...

Metal detecting is enjoying a resurgence, driven by good press and fantastic finds. But archaeologists are not overjoyed at the rise of the hobby detectorists. Why?There’s been reason for cheer in metal detecting circles, with the news this month that 2016 saw a record number of finds reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This announcement has spawned numerous congratulatory reports – including in the Guardian – detailing the wonderful things found, the back-stories of the lucky finders, and the sometimes extraordinary sums of money their finds have fetched. The rise in finds is attributed to improved detector technology and an increase in the number of people taking up the hobby, encouraged by recent spectacular finds and the popularity of the BBC’s Detectorists series.Within the archaeological community the response has not been quite so cheerful. Several archaeologists have complained to me about the Guardian appearing to promote metal detecting as a harmless leisure pursuit, and online there’s been a distinct rumble of archaeological discontent. So why are some archaeologists upset about the swelling ranks of detectorists and the flood of important finds they’re turning up? The explanation lies in the uneasy relationship between archaeology and metal detecting which stretches back over the last 50 years. Continue reading...

Simon Jenkins says universities should switch to two year degrees and give up research. I disagreeFor once there is something in an article by Simon Jenkins with which I agree. He wrote that “Britain’s wiping out of polytechnics in the 1990s and the subsequent suppression of 16-plus technical education was a disaster ... It left industry bereft of trained skills and work ethic, and reliant on foreign migrants.” Leaving aside the negative connotations of that last clause, I concur that lumping polytechnics and (pre-1992) universities together as all the same is unhelpful. They do not all have, or wish to have, indistinguishable missions and student populations, and thinking of the sector like that has been not only unconstructive but damaging.Despite his comment, Jenkins proceeds to treat the university sector as a homogeneous collection of institutions, attacking them all as “bastions of privilege”, a description that will incense vice chancellors and their staff. As a PPE graduate of Oxford, he has experience of a particular period of history and a particular course of study from which he has made general extrapolations that don’t stand up to scrutiny. Continue reading...

Writers from the Guardian’s science blog network choose the books from inside and outside science that delighted them most this yearThe Silk Roads; Inferior; Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race; Lila; Mr Shaha’s Recipe for wonders Continue reading...

Three appetising picture puzzlesMerry Christmas guzzlersToday’s three morsels are all geometrical:

Niraparib, which can buy months of time before relapse after chemotherapy, is yet to be assessed for free availability on NHSA pill treatment that holds back ovarian cancer and has the potential to prolong life has been launched in the UK.Trial results have shown that niraparib, taken once daily, can buy months of time before the disease returns after chemotherapy. Continue reading...

The highs and lows of a year in which prevailing westerly winds brought unsettled weather to the north and west, and prolonged dry spells to the south-eastThe most notable feature of 2017 was the prevalence of westerly winds across the UK. This was probably a factor in making it a year of below average sunshine. It was certainly a factor in giving some very unsettled weather in the north and west at times while the dry anomaly that started in south-eastern Britain in 2016 continued, with only brief interruptions. As in most recent years, temperatures were above average and Central England enjoyed the warmest spring in over 350 years of records. Although the cold snap and snow of early December aroused much interest, it was not exceptional. The most unusual weather event was probably the oddly coloured skies following the passage of Storm Ophelia across the country on 16 October, 30 years to the day after the Great Storm of 1987. The colours were caused by a combination of smoke from forest fires in Iberia and Saharan dust. Continue reading...

Scientists have sequenced the DNA of the Tasmanian tiger, which died out in the 1930s, bringing them closer to recreating the animal – and there are plans to do the same with the woolly mammoth. But is it ethical to do so?

Scientist and inventor best known for presenting BBC2’s The Great Egg RaceHeinz Wolff, who has died aged 89, was one of a long line of distinguished British scientists who became even more distinguished television presenters and apostles of science. With his trademark bow tie, quizzical look, characteristic pronunciation patterns and appetite for invention, he hosted a pioneering TV programme called The Great Egg Race from 1979 to 1986 and almost certainly inspired thousands of young viewers to take up careers in engineering or research.His looks and manners helped fit him neatly into the populist category of “eccentric egghead”, and in many ways he cheerfully exploited the image. But he remained to the end a serious, committed scientist and spokesman for science. Continue reading...

Do you vote the same way and have similar personalities? Ben Ambridge reveals whether these things matter in a relationshipDo opposites attract? The old cliché says they do. But is it true, or do we prefer partners who are similar to ourselves? And if so, similar in what way? To find out, take the quiz below and if possible ask your partner to as well.On a scale of 1 to 7, to what extent are you:

The people of the UK deserve the best health service in the world and with the clinical talent and scientific innovations at our disposal, we can achieve itNext year the NHS will be 70 years old. For seven decades it has been there for us at times of most basic human need, offering care and compassion. The NHS has been a vital friend to millions: it belongs to the people, and is cherished by the public. I want to see it not just survive but thrive: the NHS deserves a secure future that gives us confidence that it will celebrate its centenary in a little more than 30 years from now.All political parties declare their affections for the NHS and promise to protect it. There is a strong cross-party consensus on retaining a health service that is based on need, not ability to pay. Yet there are enormous questions on how the NHS is funded and how the system functions. In the autumn budget 2017, Philip Hammond, the chancellor, rightly put more money into the NHS, but the service has still endured the most austere decade in its history while funding for social care has declined almost every year since the start of the decade. Simply demanding more for less or promising more money without a plan for better care isn’t good enough. The re-emergence of rationing of care, waiting times that are on the rise, and deteriorating financial performance means that change is becoming urgent as well as important. Continue reading...

We need more than ever to celebrate advances in medical science – though they may take years to emergeThere has been a surprising outbreak of the use of the c-word among medical researchers over the past few days. Normally cautious in their language, they have nevertheless been wielding the term “cure” when discussing the long-term potential of two separate treatments for inherited ailments that were announced last week. Such enthusiasm is striking.In one case, scientists based at St Bartholomew’s, London – who have been working on the inherited bleeding disorder haemophilia A – outlined how they had used a virus to carry the gene for the blood-clotting chemical, factor VIII (which patients lack) to their livers. Production of the missing chemical was restored and their bleeding halted. The development, according to the World Federation of Hemophilia, now points “the way to a cure” for the condition, which affects around 400,000 people worldwide. Continue reading...

Emeritus professor at Brunel University was best known to the public for presenting long-running BBC2 seriesHeinz Wolff, the scientist who presented BBC2’s long-running show The Great Egg Race, has died aged 89.The German-born inventor and social reformer suffered heart failure on Friday, his family said in a statement released through Brunel University London.

The biggest and most exciting news this week is, of course, that remarkable success in a drug trial for Huntington’s disease means we may be at a turning point in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the stories that have most captured reader imagination are, naturally, the ones to do with the discovery of the first solar system with as many planets as our own, scanning ‘Oumuamua for signs that it might be an alien spacecraft and another story about weird monkey-deer sex (following on from January’s monkey-deer sex revelation). Add to that an enormous ancient penguin, Dracula, the bloodsucking tick which feasted on dinosaurs 99m years ago, found by fossil-hunters amongst the remains of a feathered dinosaur nest and the grim news that the risk of a fatal motorcycle crash is higher under a full moon and frankly you’ve probably got enough to keep your brain busy until the new year. Continue reading...

Success in trials for Huntington’s and Spinal Muscular Atrophy raises hopes that diseases such as Alzheimer’s and ALS could be tackled using a new class of drugsThey are diseases that threaten more than physical health: memories, personality, and the ability to move and speak are incrementally stolen. And until this year neurodegenerative diseases, from Alzheimer’s to ALS, had been entirely unstoppable.However, a breakthrough in Huntington’s disease this week suggests this bleak picture could be about to change. The landmark trial was the first to show that the genetic defect that causes Huntington’s could be corrected, raising hopes that the drug will become the first to slow the progress of the disease – or even stop it. Continue reading...

The rare oriental blue clearwing, that disguises itself as a bee, was spotted in the Malaysian rainforestA moth that disguises itself as a bee and was previously only identified by a single damaged specimen collected in 1887 has been rediscovered in the Malaysian rainforest by a lepidopterist from Poland.The oriental blue clearwing (Heterosphecia tawonoides) was seen “mud-puddling” – collecting salts and minerals from damp areas with its tongue-like proboscis – on the banks of a river in Malaysia’s lowland rainforest, one of the most wildlife-rich – and threatened – regions on Earth. Continue reading...

I’m sure you don’t feel like a jerk. Nobody does. Few of us like to believe anything negative about ourselvesDo you think it’s possible you might be a jerk? It’s a rude question, I know, but not a totally absurd one. After all, we’re surrounded by jerks – if you don’t believe me, glance at the headlines, drive home during rush hour, or check Twitter – so, statistically, it’s entirely plausible that one of them is you. I’m sure you don’t feel like a jerk, of course. But nobody does. Partly that’s because few of us like to believe anything negative about ourselves.But, as the philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel has argued in several essays, it’s also because the essence of jerkitude (which, he argues, is distinct from other forms of obnoxiousness) is “to see the world through goggles that dim others’ humanity”. Jerks view other people “as tools to be manipulated or fools to be dealt with, rather than as moral and epistemic peers”. So if you’re a jerk to people, and they respond in predictable ways – with anger, irritation or, if you’re lucky, friendly criticism – you won’t take their reactions seriously, assuming you’re even listening at all. Why? Because you’re a jerk. Continue reading...

Following a report of monkey-deer interactions earlier this year, researchers have now recorded the behaviour in another group of monkeysSexual interactions between snow monkeys and sika deer could be a new behavioural tradition within a group of monkeys observed in Japan, researchers have suggested.While the first report of a male Japanese macaque, or snow monkey, and female sika deer taking to each other was revealed earlier this year, scientists say they are now confident the behaviour is sexual after scrutinising adolescent females suggestively interacting with stags at Minoo in Japan.

Kepler scientists team up with Google AI specialists to detect eighth planet orbiting distant starScientists on Nasa’s Kepler mission have spotted an eighth planet around a distant star, making it the first alien solar system known to host as many planets as our own.

The chancellor’s announcement of a new centre for data ethics is welcome. But we must ensure that it has the power to address the ethical issues it identifiedData, data everywhere – but will it make our lives better, or put us at risk? In recent months it has become clear that while the opportunities presented by ever-growing data are abundant, so too are the threats. That’s why we need better governance – a set of guiding principles as to how this new technology is used and developed – not least because misuse threatens to turn the public against such innovations.Data breaches from companies including Uber and Morrisons have made headlines, but the ways in which corporations can use data legally, to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and pinpoint information for their own commercial uses, are less well publicised. Continue reading...

Mysterious object detected hurtling through our solar system swept for radio signals, but scientists have found no evidence it is anything other than rockThe first scans for alien technology aboard a mysterious object that is barreling through the solar system have found no evidence it is the work of an intelligent civilisation.

A study has found a link between hot tea and a lower risk of glaucoma, but experts say there’s no evidence that a cuppa will protect you from the conditionDrinking hot tea could be linked to a lower risk of having an eye condition that can lead to blindness, research has suggested – although experts say the study does not show that the brew offers any protective effect.Glaucoma is an eye condition in which the pressure of fluids inside the eye damages the optic nerve – and can lead to blindness if left undetected. Many are unaware they have the condition, and while the risk of glaucoma increases with age, it can also affect babies and children. About 57.5 million people are thought to have the condition worldwide. Continue reading...

Barely two in five people in at-risk groups have been vaccinated as NHS hospitals buckle under strain caused by cold snapFewer than half those eligible for a free winter flu jab have had one, despite high-profile warnings that this winter could bring the biggest flu outbreak in years, NHS figures reveal.The low uptake, which will alarm NHS bosses, come as many hospitals showed clear signs of starting to buckle under the extra demand for care caused by the cold snap that began last week. Continue reading...

In the 1700s the average-sized wine glass could hold just 66ml of the tipple. Today it’s not unusual to be handed a glass that holds almost half a litreOur Georgian and Victorian ancestors may have enjoyed a Christmas tipple but judging by the size of the glasses they used they probably drank less wine than we do today.Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that the capacity of wine glasses has ballooned nearly seven-fold over the past 300 years, rising most sharply in the last two decades in line with a surge in wine consumption. Continue reading...

Underwater excavations at Lechaion, the ancient harbour of Corinth, provide insight into engineering by the Roman EmpireNew archaeological excavations at the ancient port of Corinth have uncovered evidence of large-scale Roman engineering. Named Lechaion, the port was one of a pair that connected the city of ancient Corinth to Mediterranean trade networks. Lechaion is located on the Gulf of Corinth, while Kenchreai is positioned across the narrow Isthmus of Corinth on the Aegean Sea. These two strategic harbours made Corinth a classical period power, but the Romans destroyed the city in 146 BC when conquering Greece. Julius Caesar rebuilt the city and its harbours in 44 BC, ushering in several centuries of prosperity. Recent excavations by the Lechaion Harbour Project have revealed the impressive engineering of the Roman Empire.Related: What mysteries could be unlocked by new Antikythera shipwreck finds? Continue reading...

A technique has been devised that allows electricity to flow directly from solar panels to electrified train tracks to the trains themselves making solar powered trains more feasible than ever before

Scientists have identified 2 million species of living things. No one knows how many more are out there, and tens of thousands may be vanishing before we have even had a chance to encounter them. By Jacob MikanowskiThe Earth is ridiculously, burstingly full of life. Four billion years after the appearance of the first microbes, 400m years after the emergence of the first life on land, 200,000 years after humans arrived on this planet, 5,000 years (give or take) after God bid Noah to gather to himself two of every creeping thing, and 200 years after we started to systematically categorise all the world’s living things, still, new species are being discovered by the hundreds and thousands.In the world of the systematic taxonomists – those scientists charged with documenting this ever-growing onrush of biological profligacy – the first week of November 2017 looked like any other. Which is to say, it was extraordinary. It began with 95 new types of beetle from Madagascar. But this was only the beginning. As the week progressed, it brought forth seven new varieties of micromoth from across South America, 10 minuscule spiders from Ecuador, and seven South African recluse spiders, all of them poisonous. A cave-loving crustacean from Brazil. Seven types of subterranean earwig. Four Chinese cockroaches. A nocturnal jellyfish from Japan. A blue-eyed damselfly from Cambodia. Thirteen bristle worms from the bottom of the ocean – some bulbous, some hairy, all hideous. Eight North American mites pulled from the feathers of Georgia roadkill. Three black corals from Bermuda. One Andean frog, whose bright orange eyes reminded its discoverers of the Incan sun god Inti. Continue reading...

Scientists around the world congratulate the team that has made a major advance in finding a cure for the life-threatening blood disorder

Science and medical foundation identifies condition as rare congenital endocrine condition known as Ambras SyndromeOn 15 September 1657 the diarist John Evelyn had a conversation with an intelligent, cultured German woman, dressed in the height of fashion, who played beautifully to him on the harpsichord. She also had “a most prolix beard, & mustachios, with long locks of haire growing on the very middle of her nose, exactly like an Island Dog.”The Wellcome Collection in London has acquired a remarkable portrait painted a few years before their meeting, which shows Barbara van Beck exactly as Evelyn described her: composed, dignified, wearing a beautiful and expensive low-cut grey silk dress, with a lace collar tied with a scarlet bow, and more ribbons in her hair which was, Evelyn wrote, “neatly dress’d … of a bright browne & fine as well dressed flax”. Continue reading...

Make sure Star Wars isn’t the only celestial event you see tonight. The bright Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak in the early hours of Thursday morningThe latest chapter of events in a galaxy far, far away isn’t the only thing worth staying up late for tonight in the UK. Just as cinema goers are pouring out of the midnight Star Wars showing, up in the (hopefully clear) skies above, the Geminid meteor shower will be reaching its climax in a solar system very, very close to us – our own, in fact.Meteors burn up between 80 and 120km above our heads. This particular annual meteor shower has been getting more intense in recent years and between 2am and 3am tonight, an estimated 120-160 meteors could be seen. Continue reading...

Vanellope Hope Wilkins, who had her first surgery within an hour of delivery, is believed to be the first baby in the UK to survive the extremely rare condition ectopia cordis, where she is born with her heart and part of her stomach growing externally. Her parents, Naomi Findlay and Dean Wilkins, were advised to consider terminating the pregnancy, but they decided against it. Vanellope has had three operations to place her heart in her bodyBaby girl survives after being born with heart outside her body, in UK first Continue reading...

The unprecedented downpour and severe flooding was also 15% more intense due to climate change, which is making weather more violent around the worldHurricane Harvey’s unprecedented deluge, which caused catastrophic flooding in Houston in August, was made three times more likely by climate change, new research has found.

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsOK, so a mysterious, cigar-shaped, 400m-long object is speeding through the solar system and astronomers are checking it for evidence of alien technology. So what do we do if it turns out that Oumuamua, as they have named it, is broadcasting extraterrestrial radio signals?John Chambers, Leeds Continue reading...

Proposed radical cuts to US National Monuments threaten America’s unique fossil heritage – but the palaeontologists are fighting backResearch published earlier this year suggested that the only area of science that liberals and conservatives could bond over, was dinosaurs. Everyone loves Brontosaurus, right? Whatever else may be going wrong in the world, surely palaeontology is safe from the ravages of politics?At the start of December Trump announced plans for the biggest loss of protected public lands in the history of the US. By gutting two of America’s National Monuments – named Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Bears Ears - he will eradicate over two million acres of land from government protection. These areas were designated because they contain thousands of archaeological sites, landscapes sacred to Native American tribes, virtually pristine wilderness, and unique geology.

Divisions between left and right, young and old, metropolitan and rural have never been greater. How can we connect with those we disagree with? And what happens if we fail?

Every day millions of internet users ask Google life’s most difficult questions, big and small. Our writers answer some of the commonest queriesThere are few things as difficult to navigate as the space between ourselves and others. Get too close, and we feel suffocated; move too far apart, and we feel abandoned.Pushing people away takes many forms. It might involve being verbally or physically aggressive, or, just as destructively, shutting them out emotionally. Pushing people away shows someone still matters to us. Indifference, after all, is a greater form of insult. Continue reading...

13 December 1972 Engineers at mission control in Houston work out a do-it-yourself repair routine for a broken mudguard on the Apollo 17 team’s lunar roverThe Apollo 17 astronauts, Eugene Cernan and Jack Schmitt, carrying a makeshift replacement mudguard for their lunar rover, late last night (British time), returned to a dusty canyon hoping to find the oldest rocks man has ever seen amid the rubble of a nearby landslide. They were also looking for proof on their second moon walk that the floor of the canyon is blanketed by relatively young ash from one of the moon’s dying volcanic upheavals.Related: Apollo 40 years on: how the moon missions changed the world for ever Continue reading...

Researchers asked 160 women to rate the attractiveness of headless male torsos and every single woman chose the stronger men over the weakSome women may claim that chiselled abs and giant biceps are not what they are seeking in a man. But a scientific study suggests that if your female partner tells you this, she is probably just being kind.