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ENIGMA: 847 Deranged
BySusanDenhamMYNEPHEWshowedmethefollowingmultiplicationsums:2×4=8and3×6=18andsoIdidnotnoticeanythingsuspicious.Butthenhewrotedownathree-figurenumberwhichheclaimedwasthesquareof1+3+5+7+9andthenIsmelta...
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Rich harvest from wild genes
ByBobHolmesAQUICKandcomparativelyeasywaytospotdesirablegenesinwildplantsshouldgivebreedersofcommercialcropsamuchneededboostinthestruggletofeedtheworld’sgrowingpopulation.Firsteffortstousethetechnique...
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How a selfish world can still avoid catastrophic climate change
ByMichaelSlezakWe’resetforcatastrophicclimatechangethatexceeds2°CofglobalwarmingevenwiththeemissioncutspledgesmadeaheadoftheParisclimatesummitinDecember.Butthere’sawayout.IftheUSwantstoleadtheworldonc...
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IVF test could spot 'dud' embryos
ABIGgoalinIVFresearchisatestthatreliablysortsdudembryosfromthoselikelytodevelopintobabies.Nowdifferencesingeneexpressionthatseemtopredictwhichembryoswillgototermarebringingthisastepcloser.Doctorsusual...
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Ocean’s hidden green plankton revealed by fixing glitch in model
ByMichaelSlezakTherateatwhichphytoplanktonaredisappearingasoceanswarmhasbeenvastlyoverestimatedbyaglitchinmodels.That’sgoodnewsgiventhatphytoplanktonsupportalmostalllifeintheoceansandareresponsiblefor...
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Review 2005: Bird flu flies the coop
ByDeboraMackenzieTHEdeadlybird-fluvirusH5N1escapedtheAsianhenhousesthisyearandheadedwest.AmassiveoutbreakofadistinctivestrainamongwaterbirdsatQinghaiLakeinChina...
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Global warming could make Hajj impossible later this century
ByFredPearceIstheHajjpilgrimagedestinedtobecomeavictimofglobalwarming?PartsoftheMiddleEast...
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Technology: Paint with balls gives cars a cool spray
ByANDYCOGHLANDamagedbodyworkoncarscannowberesprayedwithpaintthatcontainsonlyafractionoftheusualquantityofenvironmentally-harmfulsolvents.Atpresent...
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Technology: Dipstick sorts the horse from the lamb
MeatinspectorsintheUSareusinganewtestingkittoidentifyquicklyifimportsofmincedmeathavebeenadulteratedwithmeatssuchaskangarooorhorse.Thetestdistinguishesmeatofonespeciesfromanotherwiththehelpofantibodie...
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Review 2005: Revenge of the mammals
ByRowanHooperTHISyearourfurryancestorscamesnarlingoutoftheundergrowth...
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Technology: Viewfinder puts colour in a spin
BySTEVEHOMERAcolourTVsystemwhichwasfirstdevisedinthe1940sandlaterusedinTVcamerasfortheApolloMoonlandingshasfoundanewleaseoflifeintheviewfinderofalightweightvideocamcorder.TheJapanesecompanyMitsubishih...
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Lion populations to halve in most of Africa in next 20 years
ByRachelDavidThelionmaybelosingitspositionaskingofthesavannah.AlmostalllargepopulationsoftheanimalinWestandCentralAfricaaredeclining...
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Review 2005: God on trial
ByJamesRandersonITISnotoftenthatNewScientistreceiveslettersfromreadersthreateningtosueGod...
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Technology: Video keeps its eye on the road
ByELISABETHGEAKEAnimage-processingcomputercouldbecometheultimateback-seatdriver.Japaneseresearchershavedevelopedasystemwhichviewstheroadaheadthroughavideocameraandidentifiesroadsigns...
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Technology: Buckyballs bounce into silicon valley
ByPETERHADFIELDinTOKYOMicrochipsmadefromfullerenes...
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Did climate change set the scene for hurricanes like Patricia?
ByAvivaRutkinMexicoisbracingforPatricia.Thismorning...
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Technology: Clean burn brightens coal's image
ByELISABETHGEAKECoalresearchersinNewYorkhavedevelopedawayofincreasingthethermalefficiencyofcoal-firedpowerstationsandcuttingsulphuremissions–thusmakingcoalmoreattractiveasafuelforelectricitygeneration...
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Technology: Artificial ear on trial in Japan
Peoplesufferingfrominflammationoftheeardrumormiddleearwillsoonbeabletohaveanartificialmiddleearimplantedwhichcanrestoretheirhearing.Japan’sministryofhealthsaysitwillsoonauthoriseuseoftheimplant.Sofar...
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Spotting the world's polluters from space
ByJessicaMarshallAPAIRofsatelliteswillsoontakeonthepoliticallychargedtaskofmeasuringcarbondioxideemissions.Theycouldeventuallyhelpdeterminewhethernationsaremeetingtheiremissiontargetsandguidefuturecli...
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Musical training may give your brain waves more rhythm
ByRachelDavidNotafanofslowjams?Maybeyouhaven’thadenoughtraining.Whenwehearspeech...
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Technology: Swingometer bows out for US Presidential election
ByELISABETHGEAKEThefamousSwingometerthatchartsthechangingfortunesofthepoliticalpartiesinBritishgeneralelectionswillbereplacedfortheBBC’scoverageoftheAmericanPresidentialelectionbythree-dimensionalanim...
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Booze and sweets officially found in nearby comet for first time
BySamWongFuturetravellerstoacometmightnotneedtopackbeerorsweets.Twoofourfavouritevices–alcoholandsugar–arealreadypresentonatleastonecometinourneighbourhood.CometC/2014Q2...
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Judge: Intelligent design is re-labelled creationism
ByKurtKleinerAPennsylvaniajudge’srulingagainstintelligentdesignlegallyappliesonlytoasingleschooldistrict.Butthedetailedcritiqueoftheargumentsinfavourofintelligentdesigncouldhaveafar-reachinglegalandpo...
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Are ETs playing hide and seek?
ByMarcusChownJUSTbecausewecannotseeextraterrestrialsdoesnotmeantheyarenotaround.BritishastronomerIanCrawfordofUniversityCollegeLondonclaimsthatiffaster-than-lighttravelispossibletheremaybeagoodreasonw...
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Bird migration at mercy of weather patterns
Couldtheflocksofmigratingbirdsweassociatewiththechangingseasonsdisappear?It’sadistinctpossibilityiftheyfailtoadapttochangingweatherpatterns...
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Victorian supernova helps fill missing link
ByHazelMuirAsupernovaremnantnearthecentreoftheMilkyWayhasturnedouttobetheyoungestknowninourgalaxy...
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Curious contraptions: Turn-of-the-century gadgets
VictoriansandEdwardianswereasfondofgadgetsaswearetoday...
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Cloning crisis goes from bad to worse
ByEugenieSamuelReichandRowanHooperCHAOSreignsintheworldofstem-cellscience.AsaccusationsflybetweenformercolleaguesintheSouthKoreanteamonceheraldedasthesuperstarsofcloning...
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Power plants open to hacker attack
(Image:stock.xchng)POWERplantscouldbesabotagedbyasimpleinternetattackthatshutsdowntheircontrolsystems.CoreSecurityinBoston...
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Review 2005: Return of the shuttle
BySeanO'NeillGRIFFIN:abeastwiththebodyofalionandtheheadandwingsofaneagle.MichaelGriffin:thenewNASAchief.Coincidence?Perhaps...
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Technology: Circuit makers abandon solvent abuse
ByMICHAELKENWARDProtectingtheozonelayercanalsobringtechnicalbenefits.BywashingprintedcircuitboardsinwaterratherthanCFCs...
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Drought plus snails equals disaster
ByBobHolmesAPLAGUEofsnailsunleashedbydroughthaskilledoffhugeareasofsaltmarshinthesouth-easternUS.Theeventdemonstratesthatecologicalinteractionscanturnasmallclimatechangeintoacatastrophe.Saltmarshesalo...
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Older brothers mean smaller siblings
ByHelenThomsonThoseofuswitholderbrotherstendtoblamethemforalotofthings:ourlowselfesteem...
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How culture made your modern mind
ByAndyCoghlanITISoneofthehottestquestionsofourtime:howdidourcognitiveabilitiesexplode...
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Map shows where van Gogh's Sunflowers could lose their lustre
ByAdamMannThebrilliantyellowsinfourofVincentvanGogh’sfamousSunflowerspaintingsarefadingfast.Nowamapdetailsthepartsmostatrisk...
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Salty Martian rocks may have formed without seas
ByMaggieMcKee(Image:NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell)Volcanismormeteoriteimpacts–andnotstandingwater–couldberesponsibleforthesulphatesedimentsdetectedonMarsbyNASA’sOpportunityrover...
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Technology: Water without the whiff of chlorine
ByTARAPATELinPARISAuniqueexperimentalfiltrationsystemwillbeginsterilisingmainswaterwithoutusingchlorineforatownjustnorthofParison1Januarynextyear.Thewater...
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Technology: Running blind
ByANDYCOGHLANBlindsprinterscouldsoonberunningstraighterintheirlanesthankstoaninventionbyaschoolboyfromGloucestershire.JamesSmith...
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Technology: Tiny motor clears way for microsurgery
ByPETERHADFIELDJapaneseresearchershavebuiltwhattheybelieveistheworld’ssmallestelectromagneticmotor–ithasanoutsidediameterofjust0.8millimetres.ItsdevelopersattheelectronicscompanyToshibaareaimingtomake...
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Alzheimer's drug helps keep people out of care homes for longer
ByAndyCoghlanAdrugforAlzheimer’sseemstodelaythepointatwhichapersonwiththeconditionneedstobemovedintoanursinghome.Donepezilisusuallygiventopeoplewithmoderateformsofthedisease...
