American clinic organised meeting between Calen Ross’s widow and Andy Sandness, who endured nearly 10 years of severe facial disfigurementIt made for an emotional meeting. More than a year after Andy Sandness had a groundbreaking face transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, he met the widow of the dead man whose face it used to be.Andy Sandness, 32, from Wyoming, had 56 hours of surgery last summer to have the face of Calen “Rudy†Ross transplanted, in the first such operation the clinic had performed. The recent meeting, arranged by the clinic, brought Sandness and the donor’s widow, Lucy Ross, together for the first time. Continue reading...
PhD research student Sam Cooper, from Imperial College London, explains how artificial intelligence is helping to improve the way we treat cancerExamining images and data is time-consuming and relies on the judgement and skills of highly specialised experts. Here, artificial intelligence (AI) – or deep learning – can save vast amounts of time and give much more accurate results. We’re using deep learning to try and improve cancer diagnosis, as well as accelerate the search for new drugs against cancer.Using AI, a system can look at a tumour biopsy and diagnose what type it is. Algorithms generally give a more accurate diagnosis, as they are unbiased and can pick up on subtle features that are often really difficult to spot with the human eye. As well as exploring how AI can be used in diagnosis, we’re also using it to speed up the search for new treatments. When trying to find new drugs, researchers typically must process and search thousands of images, which can take months of work. With these new techniques, we will potentially be able to get results in a day or two. Continue reading...
In a world full of sad news and “harmless†radioactive clouds drifting over Europe, one piece this week stood as a beacon of hope, warmed the cockles of our hearts and mixed any other metaphor you’d care to chuck in there. The story of scientists saving the life of a seven-year-old Syrian boy by growing a whole new skin for him was incredibly moving – and just plain incredible science-wise. That plus a “transformational†new prenatal DNA test that detects Down’s, Edwards and Patau syndromes with 95% accuracy means that it’s been a pretty darn good week for medical research. And that’s before we even start to think about the sheep whose ability to recognise celebrities could help research into Huntington’s disease. The last two stories are linked by the year 1954 (spooky, no?). That was the year a Roman Temple of Mithras was discovered beneath the London mud. It’s also the year a star, iPTF14hls, first exploded in a supernova. The temple has just reopened, in a glorious new multi-sensory incarnation on its original site and the star ... well, the star has become something of a sensation, as it appears to have exploded in “fatal†supernovae multiple times since that 1954 sighting – the first star astronomers have witnessed doing so. Continue reading...
If the Yucatán asteroid hadn’t struck, dinosaurs would have continued ruling Earth – and our primate forebears taken a very different evolutionary routeSixty-six million years ago, dinosaurs had an exceptionally bad day. A chunk of space rock nine kilometres across smacked into what’s now Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, instantaneously triggering an extinction event that for ever changed the nature of life on Earth. This is one of the rare moments when we can look back at a pivotal point, where history veered off on an unexpected path. Maybe that’s why we’ve been so obsessed with what would have happened if Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and other Cretaceous celebrities hadn’t gone extinct.The urge to hit rewind on deep time and wonder about the fate of the non-avian dinosaurs is even stronger now that a study has determined that the terrible lizards were not only unlucky, but extraordinarily unlucky. The asteroid hit rock layers so rich in hydrocarbons that the impact threw massive amounts of soot and sulphate aerosols into the atmosphere, putting the chill on organisms that survived the initial blast. And the kicker? Rocks with such amounts of hydrocarbons cover only about 13% of the Earth’s surface. Continue reading...
A recently-discovered giant world lies right on the boundary between being a star and a planet – and that could answer some big questions‘When is a planet not a planet?’ is a lot more than the beginning of a poor joke at a drunken astronomers’ Christmas party (but we laughed nonetheless). It is actually a serious question that cuts to the heart of our ignorance about how celestial objects form.The discovery of a giant planet 22,000 light years away may now help shine some light on this particularly knotty problem. The planet is called OGLE-2016-BLG-1190. It was found on June 2016 by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (Ogle), a Polish astronomical project run by the University of Warsaw. Continue reading...
With the commercial sector providing most of the stimulus for advances in AI, we need to ensure societal goals and values are kept in sightIt’s a bit like buses. You wait for one new technology to come along and then three arrive, presenting a range of exciting journeys and destinations, full of promises and possibilities. With rapid developments in genomics; in data and computer science; in neuroscience; and in the combinations that their convergence make possible, it is easy to feel simultaneously confused, excited and anxious. And at the centre of it all and supposedly orchestrating our future – driving the driverless bus, you might say – we have artificial intelligence (AI). Moving quickly in this area is Google’s DeepMind with their multi-million dollar AI initiative, but they are not alone: there is also great interest from academia and huge investment from other parts of industry.Artificial Intelligence has various definitions, but in general it means a program that uses data to build a model of some aspect of the world. This model is then used to make informed decisions and predictions about future events. The technology is used widely, to provide speech and face recognition, language translation, and personal recommendations on music, film and shopping sites. In the future, it could deliver driverless cars, smart personal assistants, and intelligent energy grids. AI has the potential to make organisations more effective and efficient, but the technology raises serious issues of ethics, governance, privacy and law. Continue reading...
At last, the environment secretary has stated his opposition to neonicotinoids. Now he needs to be brave, and confront the use of other poisonous pesticidesThere was good news this morning for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been calling on the government to endorse a ban on neonicotinoids, the main culprit for the precipitous decline in the world’s bee population. Michael Gove, the responsible government minister, has finally confirmed that the UK will support an extended ban against the use of these pesticides. It’s been a long time coming – and has taken years of effort from campaigners all over the UK. Make no mistake: this ban will do much to limit the damage done by these dangerous chemicals.Related: The evidence points in one direction – we must ban neonicotinoids | Michael Gove Continue reading...
Campaigners say tycoon’s plan to invest in luxury Red Sea project jars with previous criticism of Saudi Arabia’s questionable human rights recordSir Richard Branson has been accused of hypocrisy after investing in a luxury tourism project in Saudi Arabia despite his track record of speaking out against human rights abuses in the country.The Virgin Group founder has backed a project to develop 50 islands over a 34,000 sq km (13,127 sq miles) stretch of the Red Sea, creating an estimated 35,000 jobs. Continue reading...
Many birds migrate at night, using the stars to orient themselves. For some, Britain is the last stop – for others, a staging postWaking in the small hours, I find my bedroom bisected by a ribbon of light. The waxing gibbous moon hangs like a beaten silver pendant, backlighting wisps of cloud that cling to the inky sky like cobwebs. As I raise my binoculars to view the moon’s craters, I notice a tiny silhouette flutter across the lunar disc.
This exciting new frog identification app will help you work out if anything around you is an actual frog and which one it is. It’s not all frog fun though
Rising costs of a flagship telescope designed to have 100 times the field of view of Hubble are forcing Nasa to cut back to ensure the mission goes ahead at allNasa plans to “downscope†one of its flagship missions to keep it within cost estimates. This almost certainly means reducing its scientific capabilities.The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFirst) is designed to study essential astrophysical and cosmological questions. This ambitious mission began in 2016 when Nasa asked its scientists and engineers to come up with a mission that was as sensitive as the Hubble space telescope, but would have 100 times its field of view. Continue reading...
It may be hard to tie the neonicotinoid group of chemicals directly to the global bee decline but they do cause widespread harm. A ban is the right callMichael Gove, the leading Brexiter who’s now in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is a natural iconoclast, sometimes a valuable characteristic in government. His education revolution left a damaging legacy of unaccountability and underfunding. But in his year as justice secretary, he won fans across the prisons sector for his plans for radical reform. They were subsequently disappointed to find there was little to show for them after he left. Now he is ploughing up old Defra policies and on Thursday he made his first significant intervention. Writing on the Guardian website, he announced support for the EU’s plan for a total ban on the neonicotinoid group of pesticides. Evidence has been steadily growing of the debilitating harm these chemicals, the most widely used pesticides in the world, cause to pollinators, particularly bees. A paper published in Science last month reported that three quarters of honey from around the world contained some neonicotinoids; they appear to linger in the soil, can leach into waterways, and – through contaminated pollen – spread further than intended. Supporting the EU ban will antagonise the farming lobby and Mr Gove’s Brexiter fanbase. But it offers a future that gives bees a chance. Continue reading...
UK exhibition tells story of Paira Mall, an Indian doctor dispatched by a millionaire in 1911 to send back Ayurvedic materialsIn 1911 a young Indian doctor was kitted out by the patent medicines millionaire and obsessive collector Henry Wellcome, to go back to India and collect material relating to the ancient practice of Ayurvedic medicine.Related: V&A acquires segment of Robin Hood Gardens council estate Continue reading...
Only 13% of the Earth’s surface harboured rich enough hydrocarbon deposits to cause a mass extinction following an impact, research revealsThe massive asteroid that slammed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs might never have triggered a mass extinction had it struck almost any other part of the planet, scientists claim.In work that reveals just how unlucky the prehistoric beasts were, researchers calculate that the odds of the enormous space rock wreaking such havoc were low across 87% of the Earth’s surface.
Many people still strongly support Brexit and Trump, despite mounting evidence that both are problematic. Much of this is not politics, but the workings of the human brainIt’s now over a year since the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump, plenty of time to witness the consequences of both. And, from an entirely objective perspective, going solely by the ever-increasing evidence, they were terrible decisions. Brexit has gifted Britain a veritable avalanche of governmental chaos, economic damage, international humiliation, internal strife, and much more. The Donald Trump administration has provided essentially the same for the US, although perhaps with slightly less economic injury. But more Nazis.You’d logically assume that, when confronted with the fallout from their decisions, those who supported Brexit and Trump would realise they’d made a mistake, and change their minds. However, when have people ever been logical? Recent polls show support for Brexit and Trump relatively unchanged, at least among those who supported them originally. Continue reading...
New test more accurate than current screening in detecting Down’s, Edwards and Patau syndromes and could simplify screening process, say researchersDoctors have developed a more accurate test for Down’s syndrome and two rarer genetic disorders that are so serious the children often die soon after birth.UK hospitals that adopted the test as part of a medical project found that it picked up nearly all affected pregnancies and slashed the number of women who wrongly tested positive, sparing them the anxiety of needless follow-up tests.
A major new report states unequivocally that humans are changing the planet. Archaeology puts those changes into context – and explains why action is crucialThe United States government recently published the Climate Science Special Report authored by 13 federal agencies, which states unequivocally that climate change is occurring and it is caused by human actions. The report follows several months of uncommonly strong hurricanes caused by warmer-than-typical ocean temperatures. The Trump Administration responded to the report by stating: “The climate has changed and is always changing.â€Climate change is part of life on planet Earth; however, context is needed to understand past change and the current situation. Archaeology can explain how temperature change of just a few degrees cause extreme weather events, affect crops, and impact human lives. It also shows how the current changes are different from those in the past.
by Rebecca Smithers Consumer affairs correspondent on (#37EPE)
Hand-held device dubbed sKan measures skin temperature to quickly and accurately identify melanoma, and could save lives around the worldA low-cost hand-held device which could help save lives across the world by diagnosing skin cancer early has won its inventors a prestigious international award and cash prize of £30,000.Four graduates of McMaster University in Canada have scooped the James Dyson award for their invention, dubbed sKan: an easy-to-use gadget which measures skin temperature to quickly and accurately identify melanoma. Continue reading...
Country’s broadcast watchdog rules that the word is now so commonplace that it is no longer as vulgar as it once wasIt may be still be too blue for English speakers, but authorities in Canada have ruled that the word “fuck†is no longer taboo on French language broadcasts as its use is so commonplace.
New Zealand researchers say their study shows anxiety and depression may be reduced by colouring in for as little as 10 minutes a dayThe adult colouring book craze has thereupeutic mental health benefits, New Zealand researchers have found, including reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.Colouring-in books for adults first caught on two years ago with bookshops around the globe devoting shelves to the generally childhood pursuit, and titles like The Secret Garden topping Amazon’s bestseller list. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#37D3V)
Seven-year-old boy suffering illness causing untreatable wounds over 80% of his body has had his skin replaced by new, genetically modified epidermisScientists have grown a replacement, genetically modified skin to cover almost the entire body of a seven-year-old Syrian boy who was suffering from a devastating genetic disorder.The treatment marks a rare and striking success for the field of regenerative medicine, which has been struggling to transform futuristic-sounding science into therapies that make a difference to patients. In the latest trial, the life of the young boy – whose illness had come close to killing him – was transformed. Continue reading...
New research suggests we are dangerously ignorant of the location of some of our anatomical structuresWhen it comes to the human body, it’s not merely our posteriors that most of us have trouble distinguishing from our elbows.In a recent survey, fewer than 15% of participants could pinpoint their adrenal glands. The spleen was correctly located by 20% of participants and the gallbladder by 25%. Four in 10 were unable to pinpoint the heart on a blank template of the human body. Continue reading...
Visitors to new museum will uncover mystery cult of Mithras the bull slayer in multi-sensory experienceLondon’s Roman-era Temple of Mithras, once displayed on a car park roof with a crazy paving floor, is to reopen to the public – this time on its original site.Visitors to the temple will now descend through steep, black stone-lined stairs, in Bloomberg’s new European headquarters, to seven metres below the city streets where in Roman times the smelly river Walbrook once flowed sluggishly through marshy ground. In approximately 240AD, the Romans built a temple next to the river to one of their most mysterious cult figures, Mithras the bull-slayer. Continue reading...
by Presented by Hannah Devlin and produced by Max San on (#37C1P)
Hannah Devlin discusses the limits of human performance with sports scientist Professor John Brewer and amateur marathon runner Vicky SollySubscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterIn May of this year, Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge attempted to run a marathon in under two hours – something nobody has done before. On the day, Kipchoge ran nearly three minutes faster than the current world record but missed his goal by just 26 seconds. But what can science tell us about the limits of human performance in long-distance running? How can running a marathon affect our body and mind? And with growing participation in amateur events, can just about anyone run a marathon? Continue reading...
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific conceptsI seem to spend a lot of time talking to myself. From murmuring back to myself as I read or type, to having full practice conversations (that I will never actually have) in the shower. Is this normal? I doubt it. But do other people do it?Toni Williamson Continue reading...
‘Cool guy and best possible crewmate’ Richard F Gordon Jr piloted orbiting command module while Alan Bean and Charles Conrad explored moon’s surfaceThe Apollo 12 astronaut Richard “Dick†F Gordon Jr, one of a dozen men who flew to the moon but didn’t land, has died aged 88.Gordon was a test pilot when he was chosen for Nasa’s third group of astronauts in 1963. He flew on Gemini 11 in 1966, walking in space twice. In 1969 Gordon circled the moon in the Apollo 12 command module Yankee Clipper while crewmates Alan Bean and Charles Conrad landed and walked on the lunar surface. Continue reading...
The three men and three women are the first group in a programme which will see teams spend up to a year in isolationThree men and three women were sealed in an artificial spacecraft unit in Moscow on Tuesday in a simulation of a 17-day flight to the moon, a preparation for long-term missions.
Figures from Macmillan Cancer Support and Public Health England show 17,000 people survived for several years with 10 types of stage 4 cancerThousands of people in England with the most advanced stage of cancer are surviving for several years after diagnosis thanks to improved treatment and care, research shows.Macmillan Cancer Support and Public Health England’s (PHE) National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service found that at least 17,000 people have survived for two years or more after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, when the disease has already spread to at least one other part of their body. Continue reading...
Sheep able to distinguish pictures of celebrities from unfamiliar faces with near-human accuracy, with implications for research into Huntington’s diseaseIt has all the makings of a pub quiz teaser: what do Barack Obama, Emma Watson, Jake Gyllenhaal and the British TV presenter Fiona Bruce have in common? The answer, courtesy of neuroscientists in Cambridge, is that all have been recognised by sheep.The unlikely connection emerges from work on the face recognition skills of a Welsh Mountain breed that belongs to a university flock. Having trained the animals on mugshots of the four, scientists found the sheep could distinguish the celebrities from unfamiliar faces with an accuracy comparable to that of humans.
Analysis shows chance of death from blood loss is 70% less likely if cheap, widely used tranexamic acid is administered promptlyImmediate treatment with a cheap and widely available clot-stabilising drug could save the lives of thousands of people each year, including women with severe bleeding after childbirth, a study has found.A meta-analysis of more than 40,000 patients found that the likelihood of death due to blood loss was reduced by more than 70% if tranexamic acid was administered straight after injury or birth.
More work is needed to understand how the contraceptive device works to protect against cancer, but researchers say discovery could be “very impactfulâ€Women who use intrauterine contraceptive devices may also be cutting their chances of getting cervical cancer, according to a new study.Research from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California analysed data from several observational studies involving more than 12,000 women worldwide. The results, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, showed that in women who used an intrauterine device (IUD) the incidence of cervical cancer was a third lower. Continue reading...
The Ediacarans have vanished from the state but deep time is always waiting to burst through the surfaceAs an archaeologist working in the remote areas around Woomera and the Nullarbor Plain, my understanding of South Australia was first informed by rocks and soil. There were fossils of extinct boneless animals underfoot, caught in the shadows of a long-evaporated sea. The angles of deliberately fractured stone betrayed a human intent, the sharp blade discarded where it performed an unknown task. Beer cans lay rusting around the remains of a campfire. A mound ribboned with broad tyre prints marked a grave full of radioactive aeroplanes. On a dusty barracks window, someone had used short strips of masking tape to spell “Chernobylâ€. The adhesive still held, although the tape had become splintered and dry.
It is time to stop the dairy and meat giants from destroying the climate and shift our support to making our small farmers, herders and ranchers resilientDid you know that three meat companies – JBS, Cargill and Tyson – are estimated to have emitted more greenhouse gases last year than all of France and nearly as much as some of the biggest oil companies like Exxon, BP and Shell?Few meat and dairy companies calculate or publish their climate emissions. So for the first time ever, we have estimated corporate emissions from livestock, using the most comprehensive methodology created to date by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Continue reading...
Two fossil teeth found in Cretaceous rocks could belong to the oldest placental mammal ancestor in EuropePalaeontologists from the University of Portsmouth have discovered two new fossil teeth from the Cretaceous rocks of Dorset. They are from the branch of the mammal tree that led to modern mammals – including humans. Their findings suggest the origin of modern mammals lies even earlier in geological history, as supported by previous fossil finds from China.The new fossils were found by an undergraduate student, Grant Smith. “Grant was sifting through small samples of earliest Cretaceous rocks collected on the coast of Dorset … in the hope of finding some interesting remains,†said Dr. Steven Sweetman, a research fellow at the university who led the research. Grant knew he had a mammal, but didn’t realise he’d discovered something so special. “Unexpectedly he found not one, but two quite remarkable teeth.†Continue reading...
Therapeutic Goods Administration approved advertising for product said to relieve urologic symptoms, despite scientific evidence to the contraryThe Therapeutic Goods Administration has been accused of putting the supplements industry before consumers after it allowed a herbal remedy manufacturer to advertise one of its products as helpful in relieving urologic symptoms – despite scientific evidence to the contrary.The TGA approved an application from the Tomato Pill Company requesting permission to advertise a product called Ateronon XY Pro as helpful in relieving the symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate, including weak urine flow and frequent daytime and night-time urination. Continue reading...
Research suggests the vast ecosystem of organisms that lives in our digestive systems might be as complex and influential as our genes in everything from mental health to athleticism and obesity. But is ‘poop doping’ really the way ahead?John Cryan was originally trained as a neuroscientist to focus on everything from the neck upwards. But eight years ago, an investigation into irritable bowel syndrome drew his gaze towards the gut. Like people with depression, those with IBS often report having experienced early-life trauma, so in 2009, Cryan and his colleagues set about traumatising rat pups by separating them from their mothers. They found that the microbiome of these animals in adulthood had decreased diversity, he says.The gut microbiome is a vast ecosystem of organisms such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and protozoans that live in our digestive pipes, which collectively weigh up to 2kg (heavier than the average brain). It is increasingly treated by scientists as an organ in its own right. Each gut contains about 100tn bacteria, many of which are vital, breaking down food and toxins, making vitamins and training our immune systems. Continue reading...
Delegates ‘do not have the luxury of lots of philosophical discussions’ but must focus on advancing the pledges set out in the Paris agreementThe UN hopes to create an “operating manual†for implementing the Paris agreement on climate change, with talks in the next two weeks in Bonn.“We want to advance further, faster, together to meet the goals set out in the Paris agreement,†said Patricia Espinosa, the UN’s chief official on the climate, at the opening of the talks. “We need an operating manual for the Paris agreement. This has to be the launchpad for the next level of ambition on climate change action, because we know the pledges [to cut emissions] made so far are not enough to take us to [meeting the Paris goals].†Continue reading...
Earliest mammals were nocturnal to avoid dinosaurs, which may be why there are relatively few modern daytime-active mammals, say researchersThe earliest mammals were night creatures which only emerged from the cover of darkness after the demise of the daytime-dominating dinosaurs, according to new research.This would explain why relatively few mammals follow a daytime-active – or “diurnalâ€â€“ lifestyle today, and why most that do still have eyes and ears more suitable for living by night. Continue reading...
The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today on my puzzle blog I set you the following puzzles:1. Find a solution to the equation Continue reading...
Development and use of autonomous weapons crosses a ‘clear moral line’, pioneers in robotics and AI warn Malcolm Turnbull and Justin TrudeauPioneers in robotics and artificial intelligence have called on the Australian and Canadian governments to ban killer robots ahead of a United Nations meeting on weapons this month.Leading researchers from the countries urged prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Justin Trudeau respectively to take a stand against autonomous weapons, arguing that their development and use crossed a “clear moral line.â€
Historian who focused on the psychological effects of 20th-century warfareThe historian and writer Ben Shephard, who has died aged 69 of cancer, had a lifelong interest in the psychological effects of war. His book A War of Nerves (2000) changed our understanding of military psychiatry by describing entirely unsentimentally those who emerged from the wars of the 20th century uprooted, brutalised and traumatised, and who happened to receive only rudimentary, often flawed help in their efforts to rebuild their lives.As Ben’s editor at The Bodley Head for the last 10 years, I was aware of how rarely he used the terms “victims†or “survivorsâ€: he had little time for some of the recent, often emotive historical discussion that focused on these terms. In a lecture at the Royal College of Psychiatrists in London before the book was published, Ben did not give a standard account, from first world war Blackadderish ignorance to current post traumatic stress disorder-led enlightenment. Rather, he made it clear that his heroes were to be found more during the course of the two world wars. Continue reading...
Academics have every right to teach and talk about Brexit, because they can help to address the problems it has raisedWe live in febrile times. Two weeks ago government whip Chris Heaton-Harris unleashed a wave of academic consternation when it was discovered that he had written to every university in the UK to ask what they were teaching about Brexit and which of their professors were involved.Heaton-Harris gave no reason for the request, but the nationwide reach of his probe and its targeting of individual teachers was chilling. The MP beat a hasty retreat in the face of the outraged reaction, taking to Twitter to declare his belief in free speech in universities. Jo Johnson, the minister responsible for universities, had to go on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to publicly reaffirm the government’s commitment to the autonomy of universities, lately enshrined in the 2017 Higher Education and Research Act. Continue reading...
No sooner has the Tapanuli orangutan been discovered than it’s facing extinction. The indifference of humans – the one thriving great ape – is the culpritIf I could be a fly on the wall at any point in the history of science, it would be to watch the young(ish) Charles Darwin – long before his ideas on our shared ancestry with apes were published – enter the orangutan enclosure at London Zoo in 1838. Within the enclosure there resided Jenny, a young and playful orangutan acquired by the British empire. Darwin went to sit with Jenny and observe her; in his hand was a mirror.Related: New species of orangutan discovered in Sumatra – and is already endangered Continue reading...
We spend up to 50% of our waking time letting our minds wander. Is this just wasted time or does it perform a useful function?You have won £4m on the lottery – how will you spend it? Before you know it, that’s 10 minutes gone on daydreaming. But what about driving in your car and arriving at your destination without remembering how you got there. There is a time and a place for daydreaming, but we don’t have much control over when we do it. Since an estimated 30%-50% of our waking time is spent daydreaming, isn’t this worrying? What if your dentist is having that lottery daydream while drilling your teeth? Continue reading...
Three puzzles that came in from the coldUPDATE: The solutions to the puzzles can now be found here.Hi guzzlers,Every day we read stories concerning the prowess of Russian hackers. But why are they so good? A clue may lie in the fact that Russia has long excelled in maths outreach, which has been instrumental in creating a supply of people with the right skills. More of this later. Meanwhile, here are three puzzles with Russian origins. Continue reading...
Cryogenic egg-storage techniques have improved dramatically in recent years.But as one woman says, ‘If this is your Plan B, you’ll need a Plan C’