“Pepper fruit are the fertilised ovaries of flowers” Gary Lenhart/Shutterstock When I was a kid, my Malaysian grandma used to drag me around the local market, where she spent what felt like hours scrutinising each item of fruit and vegetable before buying it, as only Asian grandmothers can. She would lift every papaya to examine…
Foods like cereal or protein bars can be homemade or shop bought, and can contain ultra-processed ingredients DronG/Shutterstock It seems you can lose twice as much weight if you eat a diet based around minimally processed, homemade food, compared with ultra-processed meals and snacks. Food is generally considered to be ultra-processed if it includes ingredients…
A stone tool found on Sulawesi, Indonesia, made by an unknown ancient hominin Budianto Hakim et al. Seven stone tools found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi are the earliest evidence ever discovered of ancient humans making a sea crossing, dating back up to 1.4 million years. They may provide clues to how a tiny…
An illustration of nerve cells affected by Alzheimer’s disease Science Photo Library / Alamy Stock Photo People with Alzheimer’s disease have lower levels of lithium in their brains, and giving lithium to mice with symptoms of the condition reverses cognitive decline. Together, the findings suggest that lithium deficiency could be a driver of Alzheimer’s disease…
In 1881, zoologist John Murdoch took part in an expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska, at the northernmost tip of the US. The goal was to conduct a two-year, unbroken observation of meteorological and magnetic phenomena and to document the nature and wildlife of the Arctic along the way. Travelling north through Alaska, Murdoch and his crew…
Karsh (Vincent Cassel, left) and Maury (Guy Pearce) in The Shrouds Gravetech Productions Inc./SBS Productions The ShroudsDavid CronenbergOn release, UK and US Myrna (Jennifer Dale) must have had better blind dates. The edible flowers on her starter look funereal. Her table for two is hemmed in by strange shrouds in tall vitrines. And as she…
“It can be hard to have a sense of the enormity of the scales involved…” Science Photo Library/Alamy Most of us can relate to being worried about inflation: we are all concerned about the cost of living and what our political leaders are doing to address it. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that we…
Despite many changes since the 1950s, women are still doing more chores at home ClassicStock/Alamy BreadwinnersMelissa Hogenboom (Canongate Books 14 August, UK) Why do unemployed men feel better if their partner is also out of work? Are women more nurturing and empathetic? Why does a messy room seem messier if it belongs to Jennifer rather…
Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com Dirty videos Feedback is nothing if not productive. Even when it looks like we are mucking about doing nothing, we are actually working. We are the epitome…
In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) set an ambitious goal: reduce the global physical inactivity rate by 10 per cent compared with 2010 levels by 2025. Well, the deadline has finally arrived – and, despite numerous public health campaigns and efforts to capitalise on the sporting excitement of multiple Olympic Games, people are moving…
