As a kid, I figured that adults knew all of the big things in life: Why is the grass green? Why do zebras have stripes? How the moon was born? … and so on. I didn’t know the answers, but I was sure the adults did. So, it came to my surprise to realise that [...]

Clinicals trials are currently underway for a “female viagra”. For some, this is exciting news – that could bring a lot of fun into their bedrooms. But, others are concerned that the hunt for female viagra is merely a cash cow for pharmaceuticals. Tefina is a nasal spray being developed by Trimel Pharmaceuticals to help [...]

These days a funeral followed up cucumber sandwiches isn’t the only way we will be remembered. Our websites and blogs, profiles on Facebook, Twitter and even our email accounts will stick around the World Wide Web long after we’re gone. But do we want to be remembered through our digital lives? And who should control [...]

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain… Time to die. These are Replicant Roy Batty’s last words in the futuristic Blade Runner. Like [...]

New Scientist reports What can evolution tell us about domestic violence? Two researchers in the US suggest such violence has ancient origins and that establishing evolution’s role could help to better identify those at risk. Others argue that the research makes simplistic assumptions, and warn that some people will interpret the research as an excuse [...]

Eating a strain of gut-loving bacteria reduces anxiety-like behaviour in mice – a finding that suggests a spoonful of microbes could help stress levels go down in people too. The human gut is home to about 1000 trillion bacteria, which prevent pathogenic bacteria infiltrating our bowels. Once thought to simply prevent diarrhoea, gut bacteria have [...]

Talk about an excuse to delay “growing up” – the adolescent brain is still being sculpted into its adult form continues throughout our 20s. New Scientist reports that as children, we overproduce the connections – synapses – between brain cells. During puberty the body snips away some synapses while allowing others to strengthen. Over a [...]