ARE EARTHS POLES ABOUT TO FLIP?

...and what will happen to humanity when they do? p61

ASIA EDITION Vol. 6 Issue 12

SCIENCE t HISTORY t NATURE t FOR THE CURIOUS MIND

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How X-Rays Work Q&A To Space By Balloon

The incredible story of how we came to Can a bowl of rice dry a Your cheap(ish) ticket to
see through the human body p48 wet mobile phone? p86 heavenly view p74
 On the cover
SCIENCE Vol. 6 Issue 12

61 When The Poles Flip

HISTORY

48 The Discovery Of X-ray Imaging

ng
SCIENCE

74 Economical Space Travel

86 Q&A 39 Life 40 Years From Now

4 Vol. 6 Issue 12
be curious.
In a world of endless wonder, no one gets you
closer to the thrill of being alive.

Now online at bbc.com/earth

Where you can experience something amazing every day
Contents Vol. 6 Issue 12

FEATURES
26 Sabah: Best Of Borneo
NATURE

Sabah possesses an eclectic mix of cultures,

landscapes, cuisine, and wildlife. A great treat
for a variety of tourists

30 Gombe Dynasties
NATURE

One of the longest-running research projects,

the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park have
taught, and continue to teach us much about
great ape society

ON THE COVER
SCIENCE

39 Your Life In 2054

Futurists give their vision of what our lives will be
like in 40 years. Find out if we will be living in an
ideal society

ON THE COVER
39 Your Life In 2054
HISTORY

48 How To Make X-ray Images

The remarkable history of how scientists nally
26 Sabah: Best Of Borneo
H

managed to peer inside the body with the

power of X-rays

54 Migrating Into The Classroom

NATURE

The Chitambo Education Project has given thousands

of children the opportunity to experience the arrival of
up to 10 million strawcoloured fruit bats

ON THE COVER
SCIENCE

61 When The Poles Flip

The Earth is due for a change of the poles, nd
out what will happen when Earths magnetic eld
reverses position

66 The Tiger Mums Handbook

NATURE

Living in the wild is a constant struggle for survival let

alone bringing up young tigers, nd out the strategies a
mother uses to raise her cubs

6 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 ON THE COVER

SCIENCE
74 Balloon With A View
Rockets as a propulsion mechanism are very costly
perhaps itll be balloons that nally get space tourism off
the ground

80 Huntrods Day

SCIENCE
74 Balloon With A View
Fate or calculated chance, a couples life of coincidence is a
fascinating window into the world of maths and statistics

REGULARS
8 Welcome
A note from the editor sharing his thoughts on the issue and
other ramblings

10 Snapshot
Stunning images from the elds of science, history and nature
that will astound you

UPDATE
16 The Latest Intelligence
Horses chatting with their ears, sh learning to walk, &
marching together makes men feel more powerful

25 Comment & Analysis

Enjoying the chemistry of butter

ON THE COVER

86 Q&A

16 Update
How do hawks hover? What makes things burn? Why do
planets not twinkle? Our experts answer your questions

RESOURCE
94 Reviews
A feast for the mind

96 Time Out
Stretch your brain cells with our quiz and crossword

98 Last Word
10 Snapshot Scientic breakthroughs can come from trivial beginnings

Vol. 6 Issue 12 7
Welc me  Send us your letters
editorial-bbcknowledge@regentmedia.sg

TECH IMPROVING OUR LIVES

Compared to how our parents and BBC Knowledge Magazine
grand parents lived during the days of
Includes selected articles from other BBC specialist magazines, including
oil or candle lit rooms, tungsten lights, Focus, BBC History Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
and black and white televisions, we are
surrounded by wireless connectivity, SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY FUTURE

4K UHDTVs and smart phones that put www.sciencefocus.com

enormous amounts of computing power
and easily accessible information right at www.historyextra.com
our ngertips.

This issue we take a look at the

www.discoverwildlife.com
proverbial crystal ball and try to predict
how life as we know it, will change in Important change:
40 years. And change it denitely must, The licence to publish this magazine was acquired from BBC Worldwide by
Immediate Media Company on 1 November 2011. We remain committed to
for our traditional sources and space for
making a magazine of the highest editorial quality, one that complies with BBC
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Experts in this issue

Frank Sarah Timandra

Swain Cruddas Harkness
Sarah appears Timandra, a full-time
Frank is the author regularly on TV and writer and humourist,
of How To Make A Zombie. radio to discuss all loves nding the
He joins Justin Pickard and Paul Graham things space-related. In this issue, she funny side of science. She was the
Raven in imagining what life will be like in looks at commercial efforts to give perfect writer to investigate coincidences,
2054, based on innovations today (p39). tourists the ultimate view of Earth (p74). and how unlikely they actually are (p80).

8 Vol. 6 Issue 12
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SCIENCE

Cosmic cab
This is the future of manned
spaceight: SpaceXs Dragon
V2. The vessel acts like a space
taxi and will be used to deliver
up to seven astronauts to the
International Space Station,
and Mars if SpaceXs CEO Elon
Musks plans come off. The
plush interior was shown off
in May, with a launchpad test
due next month.
Dragon V2 will ride to space
on a SpaceX rocket, but can
then touch down almost
anywhere on the planet with
thrust from its eight boosters. It
can land with the precision of a
helicopter before being
refuelled for another journey.
This sets it apart from other
crewed vehicles like Russias
Soyuz, which relies on a
parachute to bring it down.
You can just reload and y
again, says Musk. This is
extremely important for
revolutionising access to space
because as long as we
continue to throw away rockets
and spacecraft, we will never
truly have access to space.

PHOTO: SPACEX

10 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Vol. 6 Issue 12 11
NATURE
How fast can a
golden eagle y?
A rare site in Britain, a golden
eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
swoops on its unsuspecting
quarry. This swift and deadly
predator can dive at speeds in
excess of 241km/h (150mph).
However, golden eagles dont
often drop like this to hunt and
will usually y much lower to
snatch prey from mountainsides.
Golden eagles can have a
wingspan of more than two
metres and normally feed on
medium-sized prey like hares,
rabbits or grouse. But the birds
have been known to grab foxes,
pet cats and even young deer in
their talons.
Having been driven to
extinction in much of the UK and
12 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Europe, golden eagles are
making something of a
comeback in Britain. There are
now more than 400 breeding
pairs in northern and western
Scotland, as the birds have
become a heavily protected
species killing one could earn
you a six-month jail term and a
5,000 ne.
Golden eagles mate for life
and return year after year to
the same nest, or eyrie, which
they build on cliffs or in trees.
Each year the eyrie is added
to, so they can become very
large the largest one found in
Britain was 4.6m deep and is
thought to have taken over 40
years to build.
Vol. 6 Issue 12 13
HISTORY

14 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Mammoth nd
Meet Vika, a massive male steppe
mammoth skeleton displayed at the
opening ceremony of Serbias
Mammoth Park earlier this year.
The remains were uncovered at
Drmno coalmine, about 100km east
of Belgrade, in 2009. Since then,
seven more mammoths have been
discovered in sites nearby.
Its extraordinary to have this
animal crouching, head upright,
tusks pointing forward. Its just
incredible to think this thing is at
least half a million years old, says
Prof Adrian Lister of Londons
Natural History Museum. It must
have died in shallow water and been
rapidly covered over.
Steppe mammoths were an
evolutionary predecessor of the
better-known woolly mammoth, and
much larger. Vika would have been
about 4m tall and weighed nearly 10
tonnes, whereas the woolly
mammoth was no bigger than a
modern elephant, sometimes even
smaller, says Lister.

PHOTO: GETTY

Vol. 6 Issue 12 15
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

EARS HOW p22 FISH LEARN p24 MARCH ON

HORSES TALK TO WALK Men nd that
It appears that Scientists recreate the walking in
horses have been moment 400 million unison makes
secretly chatting years ago when sh them feel more
p18 with their ears left the sea powerful

BIOENGINEERS
CREATE
ARTIFICIAL
BRAIN
A groundbreaking method
has enabled the study of
complex, living brain tissue

he ultimate science
T fiction B-movie conceit
is a fully functioning
brain in a jar. Now bioengineers
at Tufts University, Boston, have
brought the idea closer to reality
after creating 3D brain-like tissue
and keeping it alive for more than
two months.
Until now researchers have
PHOTO: TUFTS UNIVERSITY

grown neurones in Petri dishes

for study. However, this method
can only produce growth in
To simulate layers of
two dimensions and so is the brains neocortex,
the neurones were
laid down in layers.
Each layer has been
coloured differently
with a dye

16 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 GOOD MONTH/
BAD MONTH
Its been good for:
Alzheimers research
People suffering from
memory loss could be
helped by stimulating
their brains with
magnetic pulses.
Studies carried out at
Feinberg School of
Medicine in the US found that Transcranial
Magnetic Stimulation improved the ability of
healthy adults to remember names
associated with faces.

unable to replicate the complex structure
of brain tissue. It includes segregated regions of
grey matter, mainly neurones, and white matter,
that is largely comprised of axons projections
neurones send out to connect with one another.
However, the brain tissue created at Tufts is
3D in nature and features grey-white matter
segregation. This work is an exceptional feat,
said Rosemarie Hunziker, Programme Director
at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging
and Bioengineering. It combines a deep
this material with rat neurones that went on to
form functional networks connected by axon
projections in just a few days.
The researchers then dropped a weight onto
the brain-like tissue from varying heights to
study the effects of traumatic brain injury. The
resulting changes in the neurones electrical and
chemical activity proved similar to that seen in
animal studies of traumatic brain injury. With
the system we have, you can essentially track
the tissue response to traumatic brain injury
Couch potatoes
Researchers in the US have found that the desire
to exercise in mice is controlled by a region of the
brain called the dorsal medial habenula.
The team studied mice that are genetically
engineered to block signals from this area, and
found they were more lethargic. It could lead to
more effective treatments for depression.
Its been bad for:
Fans of junk food

PHOTO: TUFTS UNIVERSITY, THINKSTOCK X2, STAFFAN LARSSON, CAMERAPRESS

understanding of brain physiology with a large in real-time, said project leader David Kaplan.n. AAustralian researchers
and growing suite of bioengineering tools to Most importantly, you can also start to track hhave found that junk
create an environment that is both necessary and repair and what happens over longer periods ffood may reduce your
sufficient to mimic brain function. of time. ddesire to eat a healthy,
To make the tissue the researchers created The fact that we can maintain this tissue bbalanced diet. They
a composite material from a spongy silk protein for months in the lab means we can start to ffound that rats put on a
scaffold and a soft collagen-based gel.The scaffold look at neurological diseases in ways that you jjunk food diet including
served as a structure onto which neurones could cant otherwise.Thats because you need long ppies, cookies and cakes
anchor themselves, and the gel encouraged timeframes to study some of the key brain for
fo two
or tw weeks
wo week
w eekss w
eek were ssubsequently
erre su
ere ub
ub less likely to
axons to grow through it.They then populated diseases, he added. new ttypes
trry ne
try new yppees ooff ffood.
yp
ype oood. TThe researchers think
ood.
ood
that a diet high in junk food causes lasting
changes in the reward centre of the rats
brains.
TIMELINE
A history of bioengineering Residents of Louisiana
Anyone finding themselves in Louisiana might
1997 2011 2012 2013 want to stick to drinking bottled water, as the
Charles Vacanti grows Paolo Macchiarini Researchers from Neurobiologists at states water supply contains a deadly, brain-
a human ear shape and a team successfully the University of the Institute of Molecular eating bacteria. Residents in St John the Baptist
on the back of a transplant a synthetic Wisconsin grow Biotechnology in Vienna Parish are being advised to take precautions
mouse using cow windpipe into a cancer functional liver coax stem cells derived
when using tap water after Naegleria fowleri, a
cartilage cells and a patient using stem cells buds using human from skin to assemble
biodegradable mould. and 3D printing stem cells. into chunks of waterborne microorganism, was found in the
technology. brain-like tissue. water supply.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 17
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

Zoology
GENCE

1 MINUTE EXPERT The ears have it

STAMP camera New research
suggests that
ears play a key
role in equine
Whats that? A body language
device for taking
pictures of your
collection of Penny Blacks
and Inverted Jennies?
Close. Its a new superfast video
camera developed by engineers in
Japans Keio University. Its full name
is the Sequentially Timed All-optical
MappingPhotographycamera.

So how fast is it?

It can record 4.4 trillion
frames in a single second.
An iPhone can only manage 120.

That is fast.
Yep. So fast, in fact, that it
has been used to record
heat conduction, which can happen
at one-sixth the speed of light.
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK, NASA, KALPESH LATHIGRA/CONTOUR/GETTY

So what can it
be used for?
The cameras high frame
rate will enable researchers to capture
some of the most rapid processes in
nature, from chemical reactions to the
movement of plasma (ionised gas).
Keio Universitys super-quick camera
If you want to lead horses to water, youre going
to need to pay attention to their ears. Researchers
at the University of Sussex have found that horses
rely on the facial features of other horses when
looking for food.
Previous work investigating communication
of attention in animals has focused on cues that
humans use: body orientation, head orientation
and eye gaze. No one else had gone beyond that,
says Jennifer Wathan of the University of Sussex.
However, we found that in horses, their ear
position was also a crucial visual signal that other
horses respond to.
The team printed out life-sized pictures of
horses eating, placed them before one of two
feeding buckets, and observed the behaviour of
horses coming to feed.The horse picture faced
either to the left or the right. As expected, the
horses relied on the head orientation to guide
their choice. However, when the eyes and ears of
the photographs were covered, the horses were
less interested in the food.This suggests horses
use their facial features to communicate, the
researchers say.
Most people who work alongside animals
with mobile ears would agree that the ears are
important in communication. We naturally
have a human-centric view of the world and
since we cant move our ears they get rather
overlooked in other species, says Watham.
Horses display some of the same complex
and fluid social organisation that we have as
humans, and that we also see in elephants,
chimps and dolphins.

WHOS IN THE NEWS? What has he been up to?

Carhart-Harris is the first
person in the UK to have legally
Dr Robin administered doses of lysergic
Carhart- acid diethylamide (LSD) to
Harris humans since the Misuse of Drugs
Neuropsycho- Act was passed in 1971.
pharmacology
researcher at Why is he doing that?
Imperial College Its been posited that psychedelic
London drugs such as LSD and psilocybin
mushrooms can help with the
treatment of addiction and
depression. Carhart-Harris is
determining if there are any
therapeutic uses for the drug.
How might that work?
Depression and addictions are
thought to create reinforced
patterns of activity in the
brain. Carhart-Harris believes
psychedelic drugs such as
LSD may introduce some
plasticity in neurones, allowing
neural connections to be broken
or reinforced.
Is it safe?
The doses involved are far lower
than those typically taken by
recreational users, and all of the
volunteers are carefully monitored.

18
18
Why we should
explore space
On the day that ESAs Rosetta
spacecraft achieved the incredible
feat of entering into orbit around
a comet, a viewer emailed to
complain that the missions
billion-pound cost was simply not
worth it. What good, he asked,
might any knowledge that it
might obtain do for mankind?
Caught up in the excitement
at Europes space operations
centre in Darmstadt, Germany, I
was briefly lost for words. Surely,
I wondered, everyone would be
intrigued by clues suggesting
comets brought water and carbon
to the early Earth? And how
could anyone NOT want to
DAVID SHUKMAN
The science that matters
know, I thought, if comets with
all their beauty and danger also
delivered amino acids that might
have helped life get going?
In my report for BBC News
At Ten that night, I tried to
explain how these strange objects
might have had a literally vital
role in our planets story. And that
prompted another complaint.
Never mind the building
blocks of life nonsense, a fellow
correspondent tweeted, comets
are just fascinating in their
own right.
Of course theyre fascinating
majestic and mysterious in
equal measure. But the value
of discovery has always been
divisive. Christopher Columbus
had trouble securing funds to
cross the Atlantic. The Apollo
Moon landings were cut short
when the American public
lost interest. And consider how
ridiculously little of the deep
ocean has been explored.
So although curiosity is a key
part of human nature, questions
about the point of it will always
come up whenever a bill is
attached. One could argue that
comets may contain precious
minerals that might someday be
worth exploiting or that we
need to know their structure in
case we ever have to deflect or
destroy one.
I have a different answer.
Previous generations, staring at
comets lighting up the night
sky, have only been able to feel
wonder or terror. Ours is the first
to have a chance of understanding
these remnants of the birth of the
Solar System and what they mean
for us. And the price? By a very
rough calculation, each European
taxpayer will have chipped in
about a fiver.
DAVID SHUKMAN is the BBCs
Science Editor. @davidshukmanbbc
Vol. 6 Issue 12 19
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
DISCOVERIES
THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE
 The see-through
10
JOSEPH WANG, THINKSTOCK X2, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, HARVARDS WYSS INSTITUTE,
Solar cells go transparent
Soon, homes and offices may be
powered by their windows. A team at
Michigan State University has created a
transparent solar cell that could be used
in buildings. It could also be used to
power smartphones and other electronic
Bacteria could be the
new weapon in the
ght against allergies
Gut microbes ght allergies
YOSUKE OKAMURA, DREAMSTIME
PHOTO: YIMU ZHAO, UC BERKELEY,
Food allergies could become a thing of
the past thanks to a common class of gut
bacteria. Researchers at the University
of Chicago have found that a group of
bacteria called Clostridia reduced the
allergic response to peanut allergens when
tested in mice. Another major group of
bacteria, Bacteroides, did not have the
same effect suggesting that Clostridia have
a unique role against food allergens.
20 Vol. 6 Issue 12
solar cell that
could mean your
windows are
generating power
devices, replacing traditional screens.
The system uses small organic molecules
to absorb specific wavelengths of sunlight.
The material can be tuned to pick up just
the ultraviolet and near infrared light and so
appears transparent to the human eye.
Cure jet lag
with a gene
Regular flyers who suffer from jet lag
after long-haul flights will no doubt
have wished their body clock was as
easy to reset as a wristwatch. Now,
scientists have identified a master
gene, LHX1, responsible for regulating
sleep cycles. The discovery may
lead to treatments to help night-shift
workers or jet-lagged travellers adjust
to time differences more quickly.
A sight for
four eyes
Say goodbye to glasses. Scientists
at UC Berkeley are creating vision-
correcting displays for smartphones
and computers. The technology uses
algorithms and a printed pinhole
screen sandwiched between two layers
of clear plastic to adjust the picture
according to the users vision. The
displays could even help people with
more complex visual problems that
cannot be corrected by spectacles.
Simulated views of what a visually impaired person
would see with and without a correcting display
Cling film
for wounds
As anyone who has fumbled with
sticking plasters and bandages will
know, treating wounds in awkward
areas such as fingers and toes can
be frustrating. However, it is essential
that the wound is kept away from
bacteria while it heals. A team at Tokai
University has solved this problem
by creating biodegradable cling film
that can keep wounds clean and
protected for
The plaster of
the future up to six days.
The technology
could be used
as dressings
and also for
coatings
on medical
devices.
 Power from
perspiration
Exercising has a wealth of health
benefits, but now it could also power
your smartphone. A team at the
American Chemical Society has created
temporary tattoos that produce power
from sweat. They use lactate, which is
present in sweat,
as a power
source to create
a biobattery.
A powerful example of body art
Cigarette
butt battery
There are few things more useless
than cigarette butts. But a team
at Seoul National University
has used the filters to create a
material that can store energy.
They transformed cellulose
acetate fibres into a carbon-
based material using a burning
technique. It could be used for
energy storage in everything
from electric vehicles to
wind turbines.
Robots that build themselves
Meet the real-life Transformers: researchers
at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology have created origami-inspired
autonomous robots that can assemble
themselves in under four minutes.
The robots consist of a sheet of
paper and a polystyrene composite with
hinges cut into it, a pair of motors and a
The green anole lizard
will leave its tail behind
if a predator attacks
Lizards tail regeneration secrets revealed
A breakthrough in understanding how
lizards regenerate their tails could lead to
new treatments for spinal chord injuries,
birth defects or diseases such as arthritis.
A lizard is able to lose its tail as a defence
mechanism, sacrificing it in an attempt to
escape a predator. It turns out that lizards
turn on at least 326 specific genes when
Origami robots:
hardly a threat to
Optimus Prime
microcontroller that acts as the robots
brain. Circuits embedded in the sheet heat
up, triggering the flat structure to fold into
a mini robot capable of walking.
The team says the technology could one
day be used to create robots capable of
everything from helping with housework to
repairing satellites.
regenerating the lost appendages.
This sets in motion a process that controls
stem cells in the brain, hair follicles and
blood vessels.
By further studying their ability to
regenerate, the researchers say they may
be able to harness the same effect to treat
injured humans.
Invisible
material
Now you see it, now you dont. A team
at the
t University of Houston has
developed a material that can blend in
dev
with
w its environment. It could be used
in everything from military
camouflage to wearable electronics,
its designers say. It uses light sensors,
reflectors and organic colour-changing
materials. The system mimics the skins
of creatures like octopuses that change
colour to match their surroundings.
The
colour-
changing
material
Vol. 6 Issue 12 21
 Update
Palaeobiology
Fish learn how to walk on land
On land, Polypterus
senegalus uses its ns
and body to move
Some 400 million years ago,
fish crawled out of the sea and
onto land. In doing so they
changed the course of life on
Earth, eventually evolving
into amphibians, reptiles and
mammals. Now a unique
experiment at Canadas McGill
University has shed light on how
this happened by training fish
to walk.
The experimenters took
the African species bichir
(Polypterus senegalus), which
can breathe air and walk using
its pectoral fins. Bichir resemble
the fish that evolved into
tetrapods, the first four
-limbed vertebrates.
We wanted to see what new
anatomies and behaviours we
could trigger in these fish and
see if they match what we know
of the fossil record, explains
project leader Emily Standen.
PHOTO: ANTOINE MORIN, PRESS ASSOCIATION
1.
3.
Polypterus senegalus puts its best n forward, pushing its head and body off the ground
22 Vol. 6 Issue 12
THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
In the experiment, the
scientists took young bichir and
raised them on land, using a
fine spray of mist to keep them
sufficiently moist. After nearly
a year, both their anatomy and
behaviour had changed. Slowed-
down video footage revealed
how the fish were more adept at
walking because they kept their
fins closer to their bodies. They
held their heads higher, and
didnt slip as much compared to
fish that had been raised
in water.
Because many of the
anatomical changes mirror
the fossil record, the
behavioural changes we see
may reflect what occurred
when fossil fish first walked
with their fins on land, says
Hans Larsson, Canada Research
Chair in Macroevolution at
McGill University.
2.
4.
CLICK HERE
New websites, blogs and podcasts
TALK SPACE WEATHER
talkspaceweather.com
Since the last major
geomagnetic storm in 1989,
when Quebec was plunged
into a nine-hour blackout,
weve become much more
reliant on technologies
that such storms could
devastate. At this site, you
can have your say about how a geomagnetic storm could affect
your community and what youd need to cope.
SONIC MELTING
soundcloud.com/sonicmelting
Youve heard of glaciers
melting, but have you
actually heard a glacier
melt? Earlier this year
an anthropologist and a
musician visited Quelccaya,
a large glacier in the Andes.
Their Sonic Melting project
includes recordings from streams and inside caves, as well as
dripping water from the glacier itself.
I KNOW WHERE
YOUR CAT LIVES
iknowwhereyourcatlives.com
Ever posted a photo of your
cat on the internet? Then
take a look at this map: if
you tagged your photo with
a location, it could well be
on there. Made by artist,
designer and programmer
Owen Mundy, this site is a great if creepy reminder of how
much data we all put out into the world.
ISEE-3
spacecraftforall.com
ISEE-3 launched in 1978
to study the Sun. A few
years later it flew through a
comets tail; then NASA sent
if off on a graveyard orbit
around the Sun. But now its
back near Earth, and has a
promising future thanks to a
crowdfunding effort. This Chrome experiment shows you the path
taken by the spacecraft and includes interviews with scientists.
 GRAPHIC SCIENCE MARS 2020 ROVER
Seeing research differently
SuperCam is an instrument to Planetary Instrument for X-ray
perform chemical composition Lithochemistry (PIXL) is an X-ray
analysis and search for organic uorescence spectrometer and imager
compounds in rocks that will determine the chemical make-up
of the Martian surface

Mastcam-Z is a panoramic
and stereoscopic imaging
camera that will investigate
the Martian rock

The Radar Imager for

Mars Subsurface The Mars Oxygen ISRU Mars Environmental Dynamics
Exploration (RIMFAX) is Experiment (MOXIE) will attempt Analyzer (MEDA) will measure
a ground-penetrating radar that to create oxygen from CO2 in the temperature, wind speed, pressure,
will survey the subsurface Martian atmosphere humidity, and dust size and shape

Six years from now, NASA will be sending received from researchers worldwide. These NASA administrator Charles Bolden said

PHOTO: ACUTE GRAPHICS/NASA ILLUSTRATOR: DEM ILLUSTRATION

another robot to join Opportunity and Curiosity instruments, detailed above, will be used to of the project: Mars exploration will be this
in exploring the Red Planet. To kit out the Mars identify and select a collection of rock and soil generations legacy, and the Mars 2020
2020 rover, the agency has chosen seven samples that will be stored for potential return rover will be another critical step on humans
high-tech instruments from 58 proposals to Earth by a future mission. journey to the Red Planet.

THEY DID WHAT?!
Researchers spy on each
other with crisp packets
What did they do?
Scientists at MIT have created a
method of turning everyday items
such as crisp packets and pot plants
into makeshift microphones using the team were able to capture the
high-speed video cameras. vibrations and then reconstruct the
sound that caused them.
How does that work?
Sound is a pressure wave that So, does this have any uses
vibrates back and forth as it other than eavesdropping?
travels through the air. When it The team say the method could
hits an object, it causes the object lead to a new kind of imaging
to vibrate. Usually, this motion is that uses information about an
imperceptible to the naked eye, objects vibrations to determine
but by using a high-speed camera its acoustic properties.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 23
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

Psychology
PATENTLY OBVIOUS Marching in
Inventions and discoveries that will change the world
with James Lloyd
step gives
you powerful
feeling
Men feel more powerful
marching in unison than when
they walk in no particular
formation. A study at UCLA
College in California found
that when men walk in step
with other men, as military
personnel often do, they perceive
a potential enemy to be smaller
and less intimidating. This has
the effect of making them feel
less vulnerable.
Researchers Daniel Fessler and
Colin Holbrook had a theory
Living labels that weve evolved to think that
You fancy a late night snack, but that half-finished pack of bacon in the walking in unison signifies the
fridge is past its best before date. Do you risk rustling up a quick bacon strength of a group of people.
butty anyway, or do you play it safe and go hungry? To test it, they recruited male
Its a common dilemma, but a smart expiry label developed by a recent volunteers and put them in pairs.
industrial design graduate from Londons Brunel University could Some of the pairs marched in
.
provide a solution. Solveiga Paktaites label consists of a layer of gelatine unison along a 250m route on
set over a bumpy plastic sheet. At first, the gelatine is a solid jelly, but as it the UCLA campus. Other pairs
decays it slowly turns into a liquid, eventually allowing you to feel the walked the same route, but
bumps on the plastic beneath. Because gelatine is a protein, it decays at not in lockstep.
the same rate as protein-based foods such as meat, fish, eggs and cheese Afterwards, the participants
so when you feel the bumps on the label, you know that the food is were then shown photographs
ready for the bin. By providing more accurate information than of men with angry expressions
conventional labels, its hoped that the invention will help to reduce the on their faces and asked to
mountains of food and drink that are simply thrown away every year. judge their height. Those who
Patent pending had walked in unison thought
the angry men were shorter and
less threatening.
Videos with vim Routes of beauty
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK ILLUSTRATOR: DEM ILLUSTRATION
Left, right, left.
Join a march to
feel powerful
On average they guessed
the men to be an inch shorter
than those who had walked out
of unison.
Experiencing moving in
unison with another person
appears to make us paint a
less threatening picture of a
potential assailant, said lead
author Fessler, a professor of
anthropology in the UCLA
College. They loom less large
and formidable in the minds
eye. Simply walking in sync
may make men more likely
to think, Yeah, we could
take that guy! The scientists
believe that the behaviour
could explain why riot police,
who often march in lockstep,
sometimes use excessive force:
We theorise that it also
makes them more likely to use
violence than they otherwise
would be, says Fesser.

As anyone whos ever watched Route planners like Google

someone elses holiday videos will
know, amateur video recordings
can be as dull as beige slacks.
Thankfully, researchers at Carnegie
Mellon University in the US have
developed LiveLight a system that
automatically edits videos and cuts
out any boring bits.Their program
ignores repetitive sequences and
looks for new and interesting
events. So the 20 minutes of you
lounging around on the beach are
out; footage of you being chased by
a seagull goes in.
Patent pending
Maps are a handy way to explore
a new city, but the quickest route
often isnt the most scenic. Now,
computer scientists at Yahoo Labs
in Barcelona have developed an
algorithm that finds the most
beautiful path, taking you via
attractive architecture and
picturesque parks.They asked
over 3,000 people online to rate
the beauty of various London
street scenes.The resulting trails
add just a few extra minutes to
the shortest route.
Patent pending

24 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 Comment & Analysis
Take fat, water and add a little science to make your own butter

utter production is modern alchemy.

B Those who know the craft can
convert a mundane white liquid into
a deliciously rich ingot of edible gold. Ive
never really tried alchemy, unless you count
making potions when I was six, using leaves
stolen from my mothers precious geraniums.
But Ive just tried making butter, and its easy.
All you have to do is to turn milk inside out.
It started when I put the butter back into
the fridge next to a pot of cream, and
wondered how much of one you needed to
make the other. I didnt know, so I bought
some more cream and started whisking.
Cream and milk look smooth, but thats
only because their structure is too small for us
to see. Both are mostly water, but the liquid is
carrying passengers: proteins and fat globules
that make up 5-10 per cent of the total (for
milk). The fatty treasure is made up of
hydrophobic molecules, which means that
they are repelled by water. To keep the water
at bay, the fat sits in little balloons made of
proteins and other molecules. This is an
emulsion, and its as close as you can get to
mixing fats or oils with water. The two types
of molecules dont have to touch, because
their micro-packaging keeps them apart, but
every bit of water has fat globules in it.
When I started whisking, I forced all those
little balloons to whoosh past each other and
the whisk also pushed air down into the
mixture and made bubbles. So far, so good. If
a fatty balloon burst in the chaos, the fat
molecules could surround an air bubble It still surprises me it a bit. It had never occurred to me that you
instead of mixing with the water. This is what could wash butter, but of course its not going
happens when you make whipped cream that something as to mix with the water youre washing it with.
the whipping process breaks up some of the
fat globules and those fat molecules surround
simple as vigorous And there you are. Two pots of cream
produced about two Ping-Pong balls worth
and stabilise air bubbles. Instead of the bubbles mixing is enough to of butter.
rising through the water to the surface and
being lost, theyre trapped by the fat and you
shift things around on But I hadnt washed away all the water.
Milk and cream are emulsions of fat in
get lovely white foam. a molecular scale water, and butter is the opposite: an
It still surprises me that something as emulsion of water in fat. About 20 per cent
simple as vigorous mixing is enough to shift together as Id been whisking and theyd of commercial butter is little globules of
things around on a molecular scale. But after reached a magic threshold where they water that make an important difference to
ILLUSTRATOR: ANDREW LYONS

a couple of minutes, I had a bowl of
whipped cream. I was just wondering
whether anything else was going to happen
when I noticed that a stripe of white specks
was collecting on the wall, and on me. The
contents of the bowl had suddenly gone
lumpy and were making a serious bid for
freedom. The fat globules had been joining
couldnt hold bubbles any more. The
bubbles had gone, the globules had grown
into lumps of butter, and the watery
buttermilk was just sloshing about at the
bottom of the bowl.
The oddest bit was washing the butter.
You need to rinse the buttermilk away, so
you put the butter in cold water and massage
the texture. The smaller they are, the
smoother the butter is. Once youve turned
your cream inside out, a beautiful buttery
golden reward is all yours.
DR HELEN CZERSKI is a physicist, oceanographer and BBC
science presenter whose most recent series is Super Senses

Vol. 6 Issue 12 25
SABAH

Sabah:Blessed with
natural diversity,
unique cultures,
adventure,
BEST OF
beautiful beaches,
and fantastic
cuisine BORNEO
abah is located in the island highest concentration of wildlife such as
S of Borneo, one of the worlds
biodiversity hotspots. The mystical
the Borneo pygmy elephant, orang utan,
proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and rare birds.
wonders in this Malaysian state include The tree-replanting program undertaken by
the weirdest wildlife from the worlds environmental NGOs and local communities
smallest elephant to the largest leech! is open for visitors to participate.
Sabahs iconic Mount Kinabalu, standing For green activities close to the state
at 4095.2 metres, is one of the worlds capital, the Giant Clam Rehabilitation
youngest mountains and the highest peak Centre and Reef Project at Gayana Island
between the Himalayas and New Guinea. Eco Resort encourages visitors to take
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due part in marine educational activities while
to its bio-diversity and a favourite topic for on holiday.Visitors are taught that giant
conservation books and researchers. clams lter water in marine ecosystems by
The capital of wildlife for Sabah is absorbing organisms that are harmful to
Sandakan. Besides rare birds, the familiar coral reefs. These giant clams can grow to an
orang utans at the Sepilok Orang Utan impressive 1.5m in length and are classied
Rehabilitation Sanctuary is a must-visit. as endangered. The good news is the Marine
As the leading centre of excellence for the Ecology Research Centre (MERC) at
great ape, it offers a less rugged experience Gayana has successfully propagated 7 out of 9
where visitors can view, from a platform, species of giant clams.
how rescued orang utans are nursed and Sabah is the emerging eco destination in
released back into the wild. Do ask about South East Asia. Air connectivity into Sabah
the orang utan adoption program that
visitors can participate in when there, the
program provides aid to the rehabilitation
of orang utans and their habitat. Nearby, Whether for
the Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC)
managed by the Sabah Forestry Department, business or
is an educational centre that features a 300m
long canopy for sighting of 250 species of pleasure, visitors
birds and it is one of the few places to see the
Giant Red Flying Squirrel. The RDC is the are sure to feel
venue for the annual Borneo Bird Fest held
every October. laidback, relaxed
For the conscious travellers, there
are many opportunities to offset your and experience
carbon footprint such as the tree
replanting programs at Kinabatangan. The timelessness
Kinabatangan oodplain has one of the
richest ecosystems in the country with the in Sabah
26 Vol. 6 Issue 12
has never been better with over 100 direct
international ights weekly that connects
its capital, Kota Kinabalu to major airports
in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul (Korea), Osaka
(Japan), Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen,
Guangzhou (China), Singapore, Jakarta, Bali
and Tarakan (Indonesia), Perth (Australia),
Taipei (Taiwan), Manila (the Philippines) and
Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei).
With over 200 events lined up all year
round, there is so much for visitors to
experience. It is far from the busy big city life
but modern enough with high-end holiday
options to choose from. Whether for business
or pleasure, visitors are sure to feel laidback,
relaxed and experience timelessness in Sabah.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 27
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CHIMPANZEES

GOMBE
DYNASTIES
The focus of one of the longest-running research projects on the
planet, the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park have taught us
much about great ape society. Photographers Anup Shah and
Fiona Rogers headed to Tanzania to record their stories

30 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 Three major matriarchal
dynasties make up half of
the Kasekela community.
Since the early 1970s the F
dynasty has been dominant
and has provided four alpha
males: Figan, Freud, Frodo
and Ferdinand (pictured).
Ferdinand has been leader
since March 2008

Vol. 6 Issue 12 31
CHIMPANZEES

With fruit in season, members

of the G dynasty gorged
themselves before looking for
termites. Gimli, at 12 years
old the eldest male in this
group, couldnt be bothered
to devote the patience and
concentration required to
sh for these insects. Instead
ciences understanding of who we are underwent he found a comfortable spot

S a radical shift in the early 1960s. Until then we

assumed that we were the only species that could
covered in dry leaves where
he could enjoy his fruit in a
rather decadent style
make and use tools.That all changed when, as a young
primatologist, Jane Goodall made a startling discovery.While
walking through rainforest in Tanzanias Gombe National
Park, she trained her binoculars on a male chimpanzee as he
selected a twig, stripped its leaves, bent it into shape and used
it to sh termites from their nest. Now we must redene
man, redene tools or accept chimpanzees as humans, said
her boss, Louis Leakey, when she shared the news with him.
With over ve decades of eld data now available, the
community of chimpanzees in Gombe continues to advance
our understanding of these great apes. Studies have shown
how they share affection, the strength of mother and child
bonds, their politics and their potential for near-genocidal
violence. And through books and television, their dynasties
each indicated by a particular letter have become world-
famous. In 1972 an obituary even appeared in The Times for
the matriarch of the F dynasty, Flo.
Photographer Anup Shah rst visited Gombe in 2001,
then returned 10 years later with his wife Fiona to capture
the life of this historic community, working among the
teams of eld assistants and researchers employed by the
Jane Goodall Institute.
The most striking impression we took away with us was
how naturally and admirably mothers care for their young,
says Fiona. There is lots of love and care, but mothers usually
let their kids mix socially and explore their surroundings.The
young learn by experience, as their mothers let them be.We
were surprised by how emotional chimpanzees can be, too.
We saw examples of love, joy, grief, surprise and disgust.We
left Gombe convinced that they lead very rich lives and RIGHT Tabora, from the T dynasty, is an
not only emotionally, but also socially and intellectually. energetic individual but she can get absorbed
in shing for termites. Tabora and her mother
Tanga are two of the chimpanzees being
observed as part of a long-term project on
motherchild relationships

PHOTOS BY THE LOCATION

FAR RIGHT The second-heaviest male ever
KENYA
ANUP SHAH AND
Gombe NP GOMBE NP, TANZANIA recorded at Gombe, 36-year-old Frodo, was once
FIONA ROGERS Anup and Fiona headed an alpha male. Ten years after Anup rst met him,
to Gombe National Park
Frodo looked older but gave the impression of
DEMOCRATIC in June 2011 to capture
the life stories of these being a wise senior citizen of Kasekela. However,
REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
THE CONGO chimpanzees, one of the two things were unchanged: he did not groom
most studied groups of anyone, and his appetite was undiminished
This husband and wife team great apes on the planet.
of wildlife photographers They wanted their three-
have contrasting styles. year photo project to go
Their work concentrates on MOZAMBIQUE beyond the science and
various primate projects in highlight the everyday
the wilds of Africa and Asia, dramas full of passion,
and has appeared in many joy, violence, politics, love,
nature publications jealousy and ambition

32 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Vol. 6 Issue 12 33
CHIMPANZEES

The large G dynasty consists of

nine members, four of which are
adult females. Here Gremlin is
drinking from a stream using a leaf
as a sponge, with baby G held in
her lap. Gizmo (left) is copying but
with little success, while Gaia has
already drunk and is waiting for the
others to move on

34 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Vol. 6 Issue 12 35
CHIMPANZEES

TOP Freud (left), a 42-year-old former alpha

male, and his 16-year-old nephew Fudge
(right), a rising star among the males in
Gombe, belong to the F dynasty. Though
Fudge has a higher rank, he shows touching
respect for his uncle, and in this photo was
grooming him until both chimps heard a call

RIGHT In the southern part of the Kasekela

community, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika,
there are two groups of mango trees. After
feeding from one, Ferdinand leads a small
group along the shoreline on the 1km walk to
the other set of trees

BELOW Tanga lost her baby Tarime as a result

of male infanticide. At this point she was
ignoring the advances of young males who
were requesting mating, but a few days later
she was ready to be courted and started to
attract the attention of older males

36 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 ABOVE Faustino is
very tolerant of young
chimps, and if hes
feeling benevolent will
even share fruit with
them. When he picked
some mshaishai fruit, the
youngster Siri cautiously
edged closer, reading his
mood all the time, and
nally managed to get a
share of his pickings

LEFT Twins dont often

survive in chimpanzee
communities in the
wild, but the female pair
Glitter (left) and Golden
(right) beneted from a
doting older sister Gaia,
who helped their mother
Gremlin raise them. The
twins are pictured here
with their own babies

Vol. 6 Issue 12 37
CHIMPANZEES

ABOVE Gimli (ve years old) and Gizmo

(10) enjoy playing together. The bond
they have now could be
vital as they age brothers often
form alliances in power struggles.
The G dynasty is numerically large
but only has female adults, so there is
no current candidate for alpha male

LEFT With other members of the group

feeding on a baboon in the tree above,
34-year-old Pax waits patiently for
pieces of meat to drop down. As the sole
surviving member of the P dynasty and
the lowest-ranking member of the group,
Pax never gets involved in hunting. If
he did catch a monkey he would simply
have it taken off him by other males

38 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 LIFE IN 2054

Scan this QR Code for

the audio reader

What will your everyday life be like in

40 years? Expert future-gazers paint
ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS

a picture of a startling new world

ystopian cities or an urban paradise? The world will
D change drastically over the next 40 years; just look
at how radically different life is now compared to
the 1970s. To find out what the future holds, turn over for
three short stories on work, rest and play, together
with the science that will make them happen.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 39
LIFE IN 2054
At 14mm long, this is the
worlds smallest blood
monitoring implant
1. Health monitoring
Personal health monitors are
becoming mainstream with gadgets
like the Fitbit and the Jawbone.
Advanced implanted versions will
likely be ubiquitous for people with
ongoing health conditions. A team in
Switzerland is working on the
PHOTO: EPFL, BOSTON DYNAMICS, GE REPORTS ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS
worlds smallest blood monitoring
implant, pictured above. At just
14mm long, it tells you when youre
about to have a heart attack by
sending alerts to your smartphone.
3. Grow your own
The UK only grows 60 per cent of its
food, though more is exported. Rising
freight costs, climate change and an
increasing focus on shorter supply
chains will amplify what consulting
rm A.T. Kearney calls the locavore
trend. Increasing allotment use,
kitchen-gardening and urban farms
will make local, seasonal produce
readily available. A company in
Japan is already using LEDs to grow
lettuce 24 hours a day in an indoor
farm (below).
BY PAUL GRAHAM RAVEN
Writer, editor of the science
ction site Futurismic.com and
reviews editor of Interzone
Pari wakes with the dawn, as always, and d tells
the blinds to retract. Sunlight floods into the
room. She heads to the bathroom for herr
morning wash before the household is awake, wake,
and then to the kitchen, where she makess a
cup of tea and logs in to her webdoctor.
Paris family has a history of circulatoryry
failure, and while she keeps herself activetive
and eats well the health service likes to o
keep an eye out for problems before they ey
become problems, especially in its olderr
patients. Sometimes Pari squeezes the flesh
of her left bicep just to feel the faint, hard
d hint
of the monitoring implant [1] like somethingthing
sinister from the science fiction movies of her
youth, she thinks, only keeping her safe.. The
webdoctor makes her laugh. She knowss its
just an expert system and a face engine,, but
the skin she picked perfectly captures the he
professional pomposity of the big
Bangladeshi man whod been her doctor or as a
child. The webdoctor notices when she
laughs and learns her response to elicit the
same reaction.
A tap on the window announces the daily
delivery of milk and eggs; its young Danielaniel 22.. Greener deliveri
deliveries
ies
from a few doors down across the street, et,
who started rickshawing for the local Freight transport is not only carbon-
grocery [2] co-operative a few months ago. intensive but wasteful; over three-
He checks off the extras Pari ordered last quarters of an HGVs fuel is consumed in
night on his little tablet, then relieves her of moving the mass of the HGV itself. The
yesterdays containers, which will go back to Engineering and Physical Sciences
the co-op to be cleaned and reused. Research Councils All-in-One project
Making something special today, Mrs. proposed a system of freight-delivery
Lensing? he asks quietly, with a broad wink. tunnels beneath cities that would reduce
Special event of some kind, is it? trafc and pollution. Local last mile
Away with you, boy! Pari giggles. Or Ill distribution and recycling collection could
not save you any cake. be done on foot, on bikes and rickshaws,
Daniel departs to the sound of the or by pack-bots like Boston Dynamicss
household getting out of bed, and Pari starts BigDog (pictured).
preparing breakfast.
The good life
By 9am, Pari has the house to herself for a
Pari squeezes
few hours. Laurie has gone into the city for the flesh of her
work, so she can meet with clients in a co-
working space, while Paris son Benedict is bicep just to
walking an over-excited Eira to school,
despite her protests that she shouldnt have
feel the faint,
to go on her birthday. Pari goes into the little hard hint of the
kitchen-garden [3] out through the back of
the house. Thirty years of routine mean that monitoring
she can tend the garden almost on
autopilot, leaving her
implant
Vol. 6 Issue 12 41
LIFE IN 2054
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK, SONGDO IBD, NEWSPRESS, GETTY, ALAMY, BLOOM ENERGY ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS
4. Upgraded housing
To meet emissions reduction targets,
the UK will need to address the
energy efciency of its old housing
stock, currently among the most
wasteful in Europe. The Building
Research Establishment is developing
techniques for retrotting Victorian
terraced houses to meet cutting-
edge efciency standards. Thirty
per cent of the UKs housing stock
is terraced, making it a good target
for intervention because of the lower
external surface area.
6. Micro-generation
While there will still be a need for the
National Grid, many ordinary homes
will get much of their energy from
local renewable generation, and from
off-grid technologies such as solar
panels. Companies like eBay are
already turning to radical new sources
of energy, such as the Bloom Energy
Server (pictured), which harnesses
power from hydrogen fuel cells.
42
42 Vol. 6 Issue
Vol
Vol. Isssu
Issu
ssue
uuee 12
12
free to chat across the walls with the
neighbours. They pass idle gossip
and old anecdotes as she weeds, prunes
and picks.
By elevenses, the Sun is warm on Paris
back, and the panels all along the terrace
rooftops sparkle in the sunlight. She looks up
from her work at the house she and her late
husband bought a little over 40 years ago.
Like the rest of terrace, there are changes, if
you know where to look. The panels on the
roof are obvious enough, but the other
retrofits the walls skimmed and their
cavities filled, the advanced window units [4]
and vents and blinds are subtle enough that
Pari sometimes forgets them. Little Eira has 5. Smarter buildings
never known a house that wasnt smart,
though. When she started speaking, Ben Devices like the Nest thermostat (inset)
downloaded a personality for the house a will converge with building automation
thing like Piras webdoctor, but without the regimes such as the Passivhaus
face. Eira now talks to the house [5] as if it standard. It will evolve into an
were a member of the family. Which, Pira environmental management system
supposes, it might as well be. that balances residential comfort with
changing weather conditions,
controlling the heating,
A smarter home windows, vents and blinds
Pira prefers the traditional interfaces of her to keep things cosy or
youth. Kneeling among the beanstalks, she cool with the minimum of
prods at her tablet. It tells her the roof panels energy expenditure.
are saturated, and the house is selling extra
watts to the local grid. By being frugal in the
summer brighter and warmer than the
summers of Paris youth they can store up
energy credits against the winter, when the
heat-pump laid beneath the garden [6] needs 7. Robot pets
a bit of help.
She snaps a picture of her basket of While robot caregivers are unlikely
garden peas with her tablet and sends it to replace human ones, robot pets
to the community swap-shop board. whether designed to act like a real
Someone agrees to her trade; 10 minutes animal or not are a distinct possibility.
later a young courier skids to a halt in the Cleaner, easier and less carbon-
alleyway, sweat beading her forehead. She intensive to look after than a live
hands Pari a tub full of blackberries, then animal, robot pets could bring cat-like
pedals off with the peas. comfort to older people. They could also
By the time Benedict arrives home, with combine educational and guardian-
Eira and a gaggle of her schoolmates in tow, monitor roles in a mobile kid-friendly
the kitchen is full of food, including two vast package. Paro, a therapeutic harp seal
cakes made with fresh blackberries. The kids robot, is shown below.
have all but demolished the food by the time
Laurie gets home with Eiras present: the very
latest terrier form-factor cyberdog [7], which
Benedict has had customised so it carries the
houses personality wherever it goes. As the
neighbours start arriving with spare chairs
and bottles of South Downs red, Eira and her
friends run off into the golden light of evening
to play with the newly named Wrex.
Surrounded by family and friends, Pira
thinks to herself that its not how much thats
changed since her youth thats the surprising
thing, but rather how little.
1. Blended reality
Virtual reality is going mainstream
following Facebooks buyout of Oculus
VR in March. Indeed, the BBC conducted
a trial of a live 360 video broadcast to
the Oculus Rift headset at this years
Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
However, the big challenge is in layering
the digital over the physical. Nottingham
Universitys Mixed Reality Laboratory, for
instance, is trying to better integrate
telecommunications and computing into
an augmented reality.
The meeting starts at 10am, but Laura ducks
in late. Brian sits at the far end of a gigantic
slice of pine-carbon laminate, while Gregs
overlit face occupies an entire wall. While
Laura and the rest of her colleagues are in the
Peak District office, Greg is providing advice
and a safe pair of hands to a sibling
company as they begin dissembling the first of
three regional airports in the Spanish interior.
What did I miss? asks Laura, sliding into
an articulated swivel chair.
Theyre offering a second gig at a new
site, explains Greg. But itd take me out of
action through to September.
Are you there now? Can we see?
Greg nods, and his face disappears Slipping
on a visor, Laura is dropped into a Spanish sky
[1]. Theres a brief flush of nausea as the
camera drone traces a lazy arc across the site.
Offering to extend their 20-80 deal on
revenue from recovered materials [2], the
BY JUSTIN PICKARD
Researcher and writer
with an MSc in Science
and Technology Policy
2. Recyclable world
Cradle-to-cradle manufacturing is an
attempt to design things that are waste-
free. In essence, everything produced
and consumed becomes part of a fully
recyclable system. Ford embraced the
idea with its Model U concept 4x4
(pictured), which features compostable
body parts. In the UK, sailor Ellen
MacArthurs charitable foundation is
working to promote the idea, with the
aim of accelerating the transition to a
regenerative, circular economy.
Vol. 6 Issue 12 43
LIFE IN 2054
Slipping on a
visor, Laura is
dropped into a
Spanish sky. The
camera drone
traces a lazy arc
across the site
PHOTO: ALAMY, BUDCUD, COIN, GOOGLE, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS
Software
agents will help us
respond faster to
natural disasters
3. Intelligent agents
The ORCHID project, funded by
the UK government, is working
to understand and build what
it refers to as human-agent
collectives. Intelligent agents
are computer programs that that
are given specic, pre-set goals,
autonomously learning from their
attempts and experiences as they
go about their business. They are
a spill-over from existing research
on expert systems, which replicate
the decision-making abilities of a
human expert. Collectives integrate
virtual, intelligent agents into
large-scale, decentralised teams.
They could assist in everything from
rapid disaster response to citizen
science projects.
44 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Spaniards projections indicate a
decent price. Laura removes the visor, 4. Smart drugs
and runs some numbers through her scroll.
Its too good an opportunity to pass up, Building on existing work in
she says. Drumming his fingers on the personalised medicine and cognitive
table, Brian disagrees, and loads up the enhancement, Lauras nasal spray is
finance visualisation. Their cash flow is a
multi-hued river, rotating slowly in space.
an example of a nootropic, designed
to boost her memory, empathy and
With animated particles tracing the path of attention. While a lot of research in this
rapids and eddies, it seems deeper than
last month, but slows significantly at the
eld is targeted at combating chronic
disorders such as Alzheimers, the
midpoint. A vote, then, but not until theyve possibility of their wider uptake has
seen a detailed proposal. As Greg been explored by bioethicists, such as
disconnects to set a custom agent [3] on a Georgia State Universitys Dr Nicole
48-hour scan of likely risks, Laura spins out Vincent. She recently completed a
her own agent to dredge for insights before Dutch-led project exploring the effects
her afternoon meetings, then heads across of such technology on notions of moral
to the Nags Head with the youngest and legal responsibility.
apprentice. After a disappointing sandwich,
she retreats to a toilet stall for a shot of
nasal spray [4]. Followed by a black coffee
chaser, it should leave her sufficiently
amped until sundown.
Briefed by the agents profile of their recent
projects and interests, Lauras call with the
developers returns an invitation to tender for
a housing block tear-down. The conversation
with Grace starts badly. Grace reminds Laura
of their agreement to submit data from the
structures manifold sensors. Pro-social
architecture [5], shed called it. In other 5. Pro-social architecture
words, subsidised rent in a brand new
building in exchange for access to the firms As research on environmental
feeds and their hosting a handful of psychology and architecture makes
apprentices. Sharpened by the nasal spray, it out of the lab, businesses may nd
Laura empathises, apologises, and Grace pro-social architecture to be a cost-
departs satisfied. effective way of boosting cognition,
mood, and creativity. In Austria,
Prof Markus Peschl and Thomas
The daily commute Fundneider are conducting research
Late leaving, Laura powers the bike across to into enabling spaces: workplaces that
the train station. Leaning on the motor for use design and technology to create
some of the steeper hills, she slices 10 innovation by encouraging openness,
minutes from her journey. Dropping the bike social interaction and creative thinking.
at a mushroom-shaped charging station, she In the UK, the Behavioural Insights
just makes the train. At Manchester, she Team works to apply lessons from
picks up one of the remaining vans. Dodging psychology and neuroscience to the
roadworks in the city centre, Laura joins a challenges of government.
seven-vehicle convoy heading westbound on
the M62, sheltering in some French lorrys
slipstream. As they pass the half-way mark,
the nasal boost wears off, leaving the echo of
a migraine.
Approaching Liverpool, she detaches from
the convoy, cutting through the docklands
and back into Hoylake. Trudging up the stairs
to her third-floor apartment and collapsing
into bed, the last thing she hears before
passing out is the distant horn of a cargo
catamaran, out on the Irish Sea.
A pro-social housing project by
Polish architects BudCud

11.. Cashless
Cashless society
society
In use for over 7,000 years, hard
currencyy wont disappear
pp overnight. g But
with half the money we spend now paid
using electronic cards, it is becoming
increasingly obsolete. A cashless
society has the potential to go much
further. Alternative payment systems
that exclude banks altogether, such as
Kenyas M-Pesa, use mobile phones to
let people deposit, spend, and transfer
money. Or theres Coin, which can
store multiple credit card details
det on one
(pictured). A secure digital identity
card (pictured)
allows
l you to access the services you
are entitled to and has the potential to
replace everything from car keys to
ballot papers.
It blows Julias
mind to think her
grandparents
would fly to a
European city
just for the
weekend
BY FRANK SWAIN
Communities Editor at New
Scientist and the author of
How To Make A Zombie
Julia wakes up shivering in a converted 2. Autocab
shipping container somewhere in the south
of London. Shes been living there a week,
but the containers smarthome OS isnt
compatible with her phone, and the
thermostat is still locked into the patterns of
its previous resident. Her stomach rumbles.
Its Saturday, but she knows she wont be
able to get back to sleep. London is well
into the late morning energy demand spike,
and taking a hot shower now will cost three
times the baseline rate, but Julia figures the
lack of heating has more than made up the
difference. As she leaves the flat, hair still
damp, Julia grabs her A Authtoken
uthtoken [1] the
plastic-cased chip serves as her keys,
wallet and ID. A note stuck to the bedside
mirror reminds her to meet Bex to make Today, ddriverless cars are ready to
holiday plans. hit the roads.
ro Googles autonomous
The container stacks are the kind of vehicles (pictured
(p below) have already
temporary housing you can find tucked into covered 48482,800km (300,000 miles)
any spare corner of the over-crowded city, as without fault
faul and most manufacturers
slow development struggles to meet demand. have versions of their own robotic cars.
ha
Julias stack sits on the site of an old factory,
y, The only roadblock to their progress
where carbon nanotubes were once w woven is legislation. Pair their inevitable rise
useful
into usseful objects.
s. As she bangs
b down the with the popularity of Uber (above), the
metal stairs,
s she
sh sends clouds of little yellow app that connects people who need
moths whirling into the morning light.
m a ride with car owners with free time,
At a Turkish caf on Kings Avenue, Julia and its not hard to envision driverless
buys coffee and breakfast and swipes her taxis that people summon through a
Authtoken
oken over the hotpress to start it smart device.
printingg a personalised edition of the weeks
news. She finds a table to spread the papers
out while
hile she sits cross-legged and pores
over the
he latest reports. The EU is building a
high-speed
peed maglev train that will connect
Lisbon n to Moscow, while a crowd-funded
probe has arrived at Saturns moon Europa,
where it will search for signs of life in the
plumess of water jetting into space from the
moonss buried oceans.
Getting
ng around
Julias phone pings: Bex is already in their
shared d living room. She should really walk
she needs to keep her pedometer metrics
up, else
se shell drop another health insurance
bracketet but its threatening to rain and the
autocabab [2] is already waiting at the kerb
when she steps out of the caf. She
promises
ses herself shell take the stairs.
Riding
ng up the elevator of a Clapham tower
block, Julia rattles past studio after studio.
Inside one, Bex is sprawled on the couch
with two
wo friends. Like most shared
living rooms, the space is Vol. 6 Issue 12 45
LIFE IN 2054

46 Vol. 6 Issue 12

3. Corneal displays
Google announced earlier this year it
was developing contact lenses
engraved with microelectronics
(pictured) that will monitor glucose
levels and display warnings directly in
front of diabetics eyes. With the
advance of exible electronics, smart
lenses are generating excitement, but
whether theyll replace traditional
screens fundamentally unchanged for
100 years - remains to be seen.
5. Holiday destinations
Climate change is likely to spell the end
of many existing holiday destinations,
while opening new ones. Water
shortages in arid areas such as the
south of Spain will pit residents against
holidaymakers, while melting ice caps
will open Russias frigid north. With
escalating travel costs, maybe a more
leisurely ride on a blimp will be the
cruise of the future; Aeross huge airship
(pictured) is currently leading the way.
a mix of influences: theres a
workshop loaded with tools and a 3D Airbuss concept for a
printer, piles of books by some weathered future low-emissions
armchairs, turntables and a home cinema passenger jet
corralled by sofas. With high prices
forcing multigenerational families to live
under one roof, disused industrial
units are increasingly rented to those
looking for extra space.
The girls on the sofa are immersed in a
game, co-operatively exploring the derelict
environment of some procedurally generated
planet, corneal displays [3] sparkling in their 4. Air travel
eyes. Bex cleans some mugs while Julia boils
the kettle, and together they fire up travel The EU wants to reduce aircraft CO2
agent apps. emissions by 75 per cent by 2050, but
budget airlines and a booming Asian
market are pushing up the number of
Exotic locations? ights. This goal is unlikely to be met
Forget the Alps, Bex shakes her head. All without drastically redesigned aircraft,
the slopes that have reliable snow cover are abandoning the tube-and-wing model
booked up years in advance, and why gamble for designs with morphing wings or a
on the others? Julia bites her lip. Despite a double-wide fuselage. Aircraft may also
host of efficiency-boosting innovations, oil y in formation to reduce drag.
prices have pushed air travel [4] out of the
reach of casual holiday-makers. It blows
Julias mind to think her grandparents would
fly to a European city just for the weekend.
What about somewhere closer to
home? [5] Julia counters, and brings up a
map of Eastbourne. The fortunes of the
seaside town have been revived by the
decline in foreign travel. Adventure tours
offer packaged game environments that
take place in the disused parts of the city.
Liverpool has licensed what remains of its
obsolete docklands to a continuous, live-
action role-playing game themed around a
Russian invasion. You can live there rent-
free if you promise to stay in character.
After much discussion, the girls opt for an
adventure park in Kent, the package
including a three-day cruise on a hybrid
airship. The huge, cumulus blimps use
almost no fuel and amble in sedate loops
over the Channel, offering passengers
guaranteed sunshine, rarefied air, and most
importantly of all, duty-free booze. 6. Unnatural history
ory
When theyve made their reservations, Julia
and Bex drop their mugs in the sink and head Synthetic biology a toolkit for
HEINL/ROYAL BRITISH COLUMBIA MUSEUM

to South Kensington to see the synthbio [6] genetic engineering is driving the
PHOTO: GOOGLE, AIRBUS, REX, RUSS

retrospective charting the last half century of development of novel organisms. The
genetically engineered species. Inside, they arrival of GM crops will pave the way
are overawed by full-sized taxidermies of the for other creations, such as mosquitoes
ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS

revived megafauna from Googles de- incapable of spreading malaria and

extinction project: towering elk, California
condor, eerie Tasmanian wolves. One exhibit is
given over to artificial indicator species,
developed by environmentalists to locate
illicitly buried industrial waste. Theres
something familiar about the small yellow
moths pinned inside the cabinet. Julia sighs,
pulls out her phone, and begins searching for
new microlets to bid on.
bacteria that can both diagnose and
treat disease. And what of resurrecting
ancient beasts from the past? Cells
have been successfully extracted from
frozen woolly mammoth carcasses, so
you never know.
Vol. 6 Issue 12 47
HOW DO WE KNOW?
HOW TO MAKE
X-RAY IMAGES BY KATHERINE NIGHTINGALE
It was a relatively fast road from the discovery of X-rays to them being put
to use in hospitals; their remarkable properties were quickly harnessed by
doctors and were a catalyst for ever more advanced scanning technologies
istory is littered with examples
H of discoveries made by accident,
but as Louis Pasteur said more
than a century ago, Chance favours only
the prepared mind. When the German
scientist Wilhelm Rntgen accidentally
found X-rays in 1895, he knew to
pursue them. Rntgen wasnt the first
to observe the effects of X-rays, but he
is widely credited with their discovery.
The Crookes, or cathode ray, tube he
was experimenting with was common
at the time in the labs of physicists
interested in how electric charges passed
through gases. It had been invented by
the English physicist William Crookes in
PHOTO: SCIENCE & SOCIETY, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
1875, and its likely that some Crookes
tubes had been emanating X-rays prior
to Rntgens discovery. Crookes himself,
for example, found that photographic
plates placed near the tubes became
cloudy later recognised as an effect of
being exposed to X-rays.
Rntgen first noticed X-rays on 8
November 1895, having only been using
a Crookes tube for a month. No one
knows for sure what happened that day
because he requested that his notes be
burned after his death, but its thought
that he was investigating cathode rays
48 Vol. 6 Issue 12
with the tube (see The key experiment)
when he noticed a screen in the room
fluorescing. He realised this must have
been caused by a new phenomenon,
which he called X-rays in recognition
of their mysterious nature.
Its not clear why Rntgen pursued
X-rays where others hadnt, but
he was known for his meticulous
Taken in 1895, this X-ray image shows a wedding ring
on the left hand of Wilhelm Rntgens wife Bertha
experimentation. He cast aside his other
work and locked himself away for six
weeks to investigate the new rays. He
found that they could pass through a
variety of materials, such as books and
paper, but not others, such as lead. A
few days before Christmas that year, he
made an image of his wife Berthas left
hand by placing it between the X-ray
source and a photographic plate. The
image, complete with visible bones and
wedding ring, was probably not the first
X-ray image, but it may well be the first
to have been made deliberately.
Harnessing X-Rays
We now know that X-rays are a form of
electromagnetic radiation, on the same
spectrum as visible and ultraviolet light.
They are generated when electrons from
the cathode in the X-ray tube collide
with the anode around 1 per cent of
the energy generated is emitted as X-rays.
While visible light is absorbed by the body,
higher frequency X-rays can pass through
us. Different materials absorb different
amounts of X-rays. Dense material like
bone absorbs more, which is why
they show up so well in X-ray
An X-ray image reveals
the structure of the
spine; the technology
is crucial when it
comes to assessing
damage to bones

> IN A NUTSHELL
From the chance discovery of a
strange radiation being emitted in
a laboratory to realising its unique
properties and finally putting it to
medical use, harnessing the
power of X-rays has transformed
medicine over the last century.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 49
HOW DO WE KNOW?
images. Thats because the film
in the shadow of the bones is less
exposed to the radiation.
Rntgen submitted his work to the
journal of his universitys physical-
medical society on 28 December 1895.
The abundance of Crookes tubes in
researchers laboratories meant that other
researchers immediately set about doing
their own experiments.
News that there was a technique
allowing us to see into the body set the
worlds telegraph system alight. On 16
January 1896 The New York Times
published an article about this new form
of photography, predicting it would
transform surgery by guiding surgeons
to the location of foreign bodies. Within
THE KEY Wilhelm Rntgen was the first to realise that something else is emitted by a Crookes tube
DISCOVERY other than cathode rays, a discovery that would transform medicine in the years to come
Rntgen had been studying electricity and
gases for just a month when he unwittingly
performed his key experiment. He was using
a Crookes tube to generate streams of
electrons called cathode rays. The glass
Crookes tube contained a small amount of
gas with an electrode at either end.
When a voltage was applied,
electrons were released from the
negatively charged electrode
PHOTO: GETTY X4, SCIENCE & SOCIETY, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Wilhelm Rntgen, who discovered a new form of electromagnetic radiation, at the University of Wrzburg in Germany
50 Vol. 6 Issue 12
weeks of Rntgens announcement, it
had been put to medical use. A German
doctor used X-rays to diagnose bone
cancer in the leg of a young boy, and
there are various tales of finding bullets
and other metal objects with X-rays. In
the UK, Birmingham physician John
Hall-Edwards was the first to use X-ray
images to guide surgery in February 1896.
X-ray imaging was particularly useful for
the military, and bullets were found in
the forearms of two soldiers in May 1896.
The image of Berthas hand captured
the public imagination, and X-rays were
soon being used to make bone portraits
for nothing more than intrigue, inspiring
poems, songs, cartoons and even lead-
lined X-ray proof underwear.
(the cathode) and directed towards the
positively charged anode.
In the darkened room was a screen painted
with a chemical called barium platinocyanide,
which releases light (fluoresces) when
exposed to electromagnetic radiation. He had
covered the Crookes tube in black
cardboard so that visible light would not
interfere with his observations. From
the corner of his eye he saw a faint
But almost as quickly, the dangers
of X-rays became apparent. The
understandably gung-ho approach that
many had taken with the invisible rays
led to reports of burns, sores and hair loss,
and later tumours. Some experimenters,
including Hall-Edwards, had their
arms amputated after developing X-ray
dermatitis or cancer. In addition, early
X-ray images were far from crisp. If
X-rays were going to achieve their
immense potential, things were going to
have to change.
To produce an X-ray image, you
need a source of X-rays and a way of
capturing the image. Both of these
components would be transformed
from Rntgens Crookes tube and
glow from the screen, suggesting that
something invisible was emerging from the
tube and making it fluoresce. The screen was
further away than the distance that cathode
rays were known to travel, and the effect was
still there when he placed books between the
tube and screen. Later, it is thought that when
he placed his hand between the tube and the
screen, he saw the ghostly image of his
fleshless bones.
 CAST OF The minds that turned a harmful form of radiation
photographic plate in the next few
decades. The original Crookes tubes had
CHARACTERS into a life-saving medical technology
not been designed for such a purpose,
and the manufacture of specialised cold- William Crookes
cathode X-ray tubes began in earnest. (1832-1919) was a
British researcher and
But these were fairly unreliable, would
later spiritualist who
stop working quickly, and scattered
worked in physics and
X-rays in all directions.
chemistry. Inventor of
In 1913 the US physicist William the Crookes tube, he was
Coolidge, who was working for General an early investigator of
Electric, was inspired by the work of a cathode rays.
colleague to develop the first hot-cathode Wilhelm Rntgen
X-ray tubes, where the cathode from (1845-1923) discovered
which the electrons originate takes the X-rays in 1895. The
form of a heated filament. This led to German physicist won
a more reliable and focused source of the Nobel prize for his
X-rays, and the tube was boxed in with discovery in 1901. He
lead, shielding everyone but the patient died of a carcinoma, not
from the rays. Versions of the Coolidge believed to be related
tube design are still used today. to his work, and all his
Glass photographic plates painted papers were burned
with a light-sensitive mixture were used upon his death.
to capture images until 1918, when
radiographic film was introduced by the Antoine Bclre
Eastman Kodak company. Today, film (1856-1939) was a
has been replaced by digital detectors. French doctor and
researcher who had
already established
Clinical practice himself in the field of
immunology when he
While these technological changes were
became fascinated with
occurring, so too were changes in the X-rays. He pioneered
clinical setup. The first X-ray department, the use of barium for
the New Electrical Pavilion at Glasgow imaging the digestive
Royal Infirmary, was established in tract and is credited
1896 or 1897, and X-ray images soon with both naming and
became part of everyday clinical practice. professonalising the
profe
Around the same time, a French doctor William Coolidge field of radiology.
called Antoine Bclre opened an X-ray (1873-1975) is
department in Paris and coined the best known for
term radiology. He is credited with his work carried
introducing equipment such as lead out at the General
screens, aprons and gloves for people Electric Research
taking X-ray images. Laboratories. The Godfrey Hounseld
Godf
While early X-rays were useful to American physicist (1919-2004) was a British
(191
surgeons looking to remove foreign bodies invented the electrical engineer who
elect
or tumours, organs were harder to analyse. much-improved produced the rst CT
prod
X-ray Coolidge tube scanner for routine use
scan
Even as techniques improved, soft tissue
and made important hospitals in 1972 when
in ho
visualisation proved a challenge. This was
contributions to light he wworked at EMI. He
addressed by the use of contrast agents
bulb technology. won the Nobel Prize in
liquids that are opaque to X-rays and
therefore make whichever organ they are 1979, and spent some of
1979
in show up. In 1906 Bclre pioneered his pprize money on
imaging of the digestive tract with the home laboratory.
a ho
barium meal. It was barium sulphate
mixed with water and swallowed
to outline the oesophagus and

Vol. 6 Issue 12 51
HOW DO WE KNOW?

Being able to peer inside the body revolutionised medicine,

TIMELINE and took just under a hundred years to develop stomach, which he used to
diagnose a childs appendicitis. It
is still used today to visualise blockages
and tumours. Later, iodine-based contrast
Wilhelm Rntgen mediums were developed for the imaging
discovers X-rays while of the circulatory system and the kidneys.

1895
experimenting with
cathode ray tubes.
In parallel with traditional X-ray
Within weeks of imaging, fluoroscopy was developed.
publication, scientists and This technique uses the same principle as
the public alike are excited X-ray imaging but instead of producing
by the possibilities.
still images, doctors can see inside
the body in real-time. The earliest
fluoroscopes, produced in the months
Thomas Edison after Rntgens discovery, were funnel-
invents the rst
shaped. The user would look through a
1900
commercial
uoroscope, a gap in the thinnest end, and the wider
device with which end was covered with a thin piece of
one can view the cardboard painted with a metal salt called
inside of the body in
barium platinocyanide, which fluoresces
real-time.
when X-rays hit it. The patient was
placed between an X-ray source and the
fluoroscope, and the user was able to see
French immunologist-turned-radiologist an image of them on the cardboard.
Antoine Bclre uses a contrast agent for the
first time, giving a young girl a barium meal to
diagnose her appendicitis using X-rays.
1906 Inventor Thomas Edison produced
the first commercial fluoroscope in
the early 1900s, in which the barium
platinocyanide had been replaced with
calcium tungstate, which fluoresces more
brightly. Even with his adaptation, the
PHOTO: SCIENCE & SOCIETY X3, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, LUCIEN MONFILS/WIKIPEDIA, THINKSTOCK

1913 fluorescence was too dim to be seen in

daylight, and early users of fluoroscopes
had to carry out their work in dark
rooms, after allowing their eyes to adapt
to the dark. This problem was alleviated
in part by special goggles in 1916, and
General Electrics William Coolidge invents the then by image intensifiers. Invented in the
hot-cathode X-ray tube, improving the reliability 1940s, these convert the fluorescence into
and safety of X-ray sources.
visible light. In the 1950s, fluoroscopes
were hooked up to CCTV cameras.
Now doctors could see images on a
Kodak screen in a separate room, away from
introduces
radiographic
lm, replacing
1918 the X-rays. Today fluoroscopy is used to
guide surgery in real-time in pinning
broken bones, for example.
photosensitive
glass plates.

Computer power
When you see a single X-ray image
Godfrey such as one held up to the light by an
Hounsfields actor on TV, its an image taken from
prototype CT just one angle. This means the bodys

1971
scanner is used
on a patient for
organs and bones are superimposed and
the first time and difficult to analyse alone. In the 1930s,
reveals that the Italian radiologist Alessandro Vallebona
41-year-old woman proposed a technique that would produce
has a brain tumour.
clear images of slices of the body by

52 Vol. 6 Issue 12
NEED TO KNOW
These key terms will help you
understand X-ray technology

1CATHODE RAY /
CROOKES TUBE
A glass tube that has had most of the air
removed. The tube has both a negatively
charged (cathode) and positively charged
electrode (anode). When a voltage is applied,
electrons are released from the cathode, and
X-rays are generated when they hit the anode.

2 COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
A computer-based technique in which
images of slices of the body or brain are
captured one at a time and then processed to
produce a clear image. The sections can be
digitally stitched together to produce a three-
dimensional image.

3 FLUOROSCOPY
An imaging technique which uses X-rays
and uorescence to capture moving images of
Designed by Godfrey Hounseld, this brain scanner was the rst production model and went
into service in 1971. It established computed tomography (CT) as a key imaging technology

the inside of the body in real-time the video

to standard X-ray imagings still photographs. computer before theyre used for minutes per slice, while todays take less
diagnosis. Crucially, the series of than a second to produce much higher
two-dimensional slices that CT scanning resolutions. Today CT scanning is used

4 X-RAYA form of electromagnetic radiation with

a higher energy and shorter wavelength than
visible light. X-rays can pass through materials
that visible light cannot, and so are good for
medical imaging.
mechanically rotating the X-ray tube
and the detector in opposite directions
around the body, thereby producing a
clear image of one section at a time. His
technique, named tomography from the
Greek tomos, to section, was gradually
improved upon during the middle of the
century but had only limited uses.
Computers have revolutionised many
areas of healthcare, and this is no less true
for X-ray imaging. In 1967 the British
engineer Godfrey Hounsfield invented
computed tomography (CT or
sometimes CAT) scanning essentially a
computerised version of Vallebonas
tomography. CT scanning takes far more
detailed pictures than conventional
X-rays, and these are processed by a
produces can also be digitally stitched
together to create a 3D image.
Hounsfield reportedly got the idea for
CT scanning after realising that you
could find out what was inside an
opaque box by combining a series of
X-rays taken from all angles around it.
He tested his prototype scanner on a
preserved human brain, animal brains
(ferried across London on public
transport) and later himself. In 1971, the
first clinical CT scan of a patient with a
suspected brain tumour took place, and
the scanner was introduced into hospitals
from 1972. A full-body scanner became
available in 1975. Hounsfield, a modest
man, shared the 1979 Nobel prize for
CT scanning with the physicist Allan
Cormack. Unbeknownst to Hounsfield,
Cormack had worked out the
mathematics of the technique.
That 1971 image looks a little pixelated
to modern eyes (it measured just 80
pixels by 80), but it was the first time
science had seen inside the brain in such
a way. Hounsfields first scans took five
to look at particular bone conditions,
but is most useful for its ability to image
soft tissues, detecting cancer or trauma to
internal organs.
Ultimately, Rntgen would produce
only three papers on X-rays, but they
are still known as Rntgen rays in
some countries.
In 2011 a group of researchers
resurrected a set of 1896 X-ray
equipment including an original
Crookes tube to see how it compared
with modern-day kit. They found that a
person would receive about 1,500 times
the X-ray dose in 1896 to image a hand
than they do today. They would also
have needed to keep their hand still for
90 minutes, as opposed to 20 milliseconds
today. The X-ray has come a long way,
and despite newer imaging techniques
being developed, it seems therell be
a place for successors to the bone portrait
for a while yet.
KATHERINE NIGHTINGALE is a science writer with a
degree in molecular biology

Vol. 6 Issue 12 53
BAT MIGRATION

At dawn, above the swamps

of Kasanka, Near Threatened
straw-coloured fruit bats
return to their roosts in huge
numbers. Each night they
cover up to 100km, searching
for the fruit-rich harvest in a
30,000km2 area of woodland
around the national park.

Migrating
into the
classroom
Africas greatest animal migration sees 10 million bats take to the
skies over Zambia. Photographer Nick Garbutt witnesses the
spectacle and discovers a unique school conservation project
54 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Vol. 6 Issue 12 55
BAT MIGRATION

continent away and the theme is strangely familiar.

A Despite having one of Africas greatest wildlife
spectacles on their doorstep, the children living near
Kasanka National Park have grown increasingly detached
from nature.
The younger generation in Zambia has a very limited
direct experience of wildlife, says Frank Willems, ecologist
at Kasanka National Park. The country is seeing a rapid
transition from a rural society to an urban one, and there has
been a massive decline in wildlife outside of protected areas.
But we want to make sure that future generations take care
of the local species by encouraging a sense of ownership.
So the Chitambo Education Project has given thousands
of children the opportunity to experience one of Africas
great migrations: the arrival of up to 10 million straw-
coloured fruit bats Eidolon helvum that come each year to
feed on the fruit-rich harvest. Just a decade ago there was
very little appreciation of the crucial role the bats play here,
but we now have a much better understanding of how vital
they are for pollination and seed dispersal, says Willems.
Also, they can have a signicant impact on the trees in
which they roost, such as the fast-growing and exible
swamp g. Each fruit bat weighs only 300g, but when they
roost en masse they can cause many trees to collapse.
Research is also advancing our understanding of why the
bats arrive when they do. Away from the central rainforests,
the onset of the seasonal rains triggers a clear peak of fruit
availability, and they seem to time their movements with
this harvest, says Willems. Our monitoring data suggests
that they are arriving earlier each year, too, I think because
of the good protection at the roost and the relative safety
of Kasanka, rather than climate change. And, at dusk, local
children are able to watch from platforms outside the park
as 10 million bats begin circling the forest.Willems says the ABOVE Bats rst start arriving in mid-October.
experience is mesmerising It should be on everyones Research suggests this date is getting earlier
must-see list. and that the straw-coloured fruit bats are
staying in Kasanka longer. With an estimated
10 million bats in the park, this is considered
the highest density of mammalian biomass on
the planet and the greatest mammal migration,
THE LOCATION outstripping even the movement of wildebeest
KASANKA NP across the Serengeti.
One of Zambias
smallest national parks
at 390km2, Kasanka is
privately managed by
the Kasanka Trust and
RIGHT In 2013 over 1,000 children from 33
comprises a range of
habitats including the local schools were invited to the park to
mushitu or swamp witness the spectacle. The pupils are thrilled
forest, which is the key PHOTOS BY to be wearing their highly prized Kasanka
roosting habitat for the
Bat t-shirts, which gives each of them the
bats. Other species in the NICK GARBUTT
park include sitatunga Nick is an award-winning photographer position of ambassador for conservation in
and puku antelope, and author who has spent 25 years visiting their local communities.
warthog, Kinda baboon, many of the best wildlife locations on the
and the vervet and rare planet. Kasanka has to be one of the worlds
blue monkeys. greatest natural spectacles, he says.

56 Vol. 6 Issue 12
ABOVE Water berry Syzygium cordatum is
one of the key food sources. The bats are
responsible for 60 per cent of the seed
dispersal in Africas rainforest trees, including
economically important timber such as iroko,
plus cashew, mango and g.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 57
BAT MIGRATION

ABOVE Sunlight illuminates the network of

blood vessels in this straw-coloured fruit
bats wings they feed the muscles holding
the skin membrane taut. The pointed wings,
which span 80cm in total, are designed for
endurance and distance, rather than agility.

RIGHT Two children inspect the skeleton of a

straw-coloured fruit bat on display at Kasanka
National Park. Establishing a sense of
ownership and pride is the only way that future
generations will look after their environment,
says Frank Willems. These visits make
children realise they have one of the worlds
biggest wildlife spectacles in their back yard.

58 Vol. 6 Issue 12
There have been concerns that
the fruit bats may be a factor
in the transmission of the Ebola
virus, but Frank Willems says no
potentially dangerous viruses
have been found in the colony in
Kasanka, and Ebola normally only
passes from animals to humans
via the consumption of bushmeat.
So there is no serious health risk
associated with the bats presence.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 59
BAT MIGRATION

ABOVE Excited schoolchildren watch as the

bats leave their roost at dusk on their way to
nocturnal feeding areas. While in the forest
the millions of bats create a wall of sound.
But in ight they are silent, says Frank
Willems. The bats almost blacken the sky as
they take off at a rate of 10,000 per second.

RIGHT TOP Females tend to synchronise

reproductive cycles, but the variation in stages
of pregnancy found at Kasanka suggested
that the bats came from multiple colonies.
Research has shown that there are essentially
two separate populations: one from north of
the equator, and the other from the south.

RIGHT BOTTOM Poachers used to kill the

bats for bushmeat, and start res in the park
which reduced the surface of evergreen
swamp forest suitable for roosting. But in
recent years an increase in the number of
guards, constant monitoring and rebreaks
have kept the bats safe.

60 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 POLE REVERSAL

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Vol. 6 Issue 12 61
POLE REVERSAL
Mars could
have lost its
liquid water and
atmosphere when
its magnetic
eld died
he once warm planet began to dry
T up. Its sprawling riverbeds vanished.
Most of the vast oceans that painted
its surface blue evaporated.What was left
PHOTO: ITTIZ/WIKIPEDIA, NASA, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
turned to ice. A lush, potentially habitable
world was transformed into an arid, dusty
wasteland.This is not some apocalyptic script
from a Hollywood movie, but the signicant
climatic change endured by our neighbouring
planet Mars some four billion years ago.
Our suite of orbiting satellites and
trundling rovers has revealed modern Mars
to be a shadow of its former self. It once
boasted a thick, warming atmosphere that
permitted liquid water to ow across its
surface. In fact, the infant Mars may well
have resembled our own planet and a similar
fate may await us too.
Of course, something catastrophic must
have happened to change the Martian climate
so dramatically.While the exact cause remains
62 Vol. 6 Issue 12
unclear, some have pointed the nger at Marss
current lack of a magnetic eld. Instruments on
board passing spacecraft have revealed that, like
our planet today, Mars was once surrounded by
a giant magnetic bubble. However, it switched
off about four billion years ago around the
same time that temperatures on the Red Planet
took a nosedive.
Without a protective magnetic cocoon,
Marss atmosphere would have been laid bare
to the onslaught of the solar wind, a constant
stream of charged particles produced by the
Sun. Over time, the solar wind would have
stripped away all but a tiny fraction of the Red
Planets gas blanket. If life did ever get started
on Mars once, it is likely to be long extinct,
fried by the intense radiation from the solar
wind. Also, with no atmosphere to keep the
planet warm, the water vanished.
The same thing could happen to us. Our
planet still has its magnetic defences. But for
how much longer? Measurements of thee
strength of Earths magnetic eld suggest st
h has
that it too is in rapid decline. Its strength
dropped 10 per cent in the last 300 years rs alone.
It is diminishing at a greater rate now thanhan
at any time in the past 5,000 years. If it keeps
falling at its current rate, estimates state that it
will be gone in a few thousands years.
North becomes south
Yet such a dramatic drop might not be
the harbinger of a complete, Mars-like
eradication of our magnetic shield. It could
be a sign that it is about to do something
else, something it has done many times
before: ip. Such a reversal would eventually
see compass needles point south instead of
north. While the eld reverses a process that
can take thousands of years the magnetic
eld would be so messy that there wouldnt
 The
Earths solid
core acts as a
dynamo with the
liquid outer
core, causing a
magnetic
eld

Signs
of past
liquid water on
Mars were found
at Gale Crater by
the Curiosity
Rover

Previous flips
have been
preceded by a
dramatic drop in
the strength of the
magnetic field
David Gubbins, Professor of Earth Sciences
at the University of Leeds

actually bbee a si
ssingle
ngle north and sou
south
uth pole
p
at all. The last time thi
this
his h
happened
appened was
around 780,000 years ago, says David
Gubbins, Professor of Earth Sciences
at the University of Leeds. Previous
ips have been preceded by a
dramatic drop in the strength of
the magnetic eld. Perhaps it is
about to reverse again.
To try to understand whats
happening to our magnetic eld,
geoscientists look to where it is
coming from: the Earths giant
iron core. Beginning about
2,900km (1,800 miles) below
the Earths crust, the core is
about half the size of the entire
planet. It is split into two parts:
the inner core and the outer
core.The inner core is
solid, but the outer core
PROFESSOR
RICHARD HOLME
Researcher of EEarth sciences at the University of Liverpool
What dangers will we fface
ips?
if the magnetic eld i
The magnetic eld strength will drop to about
20 per cent of what it is no
now. This will increase
the radiation from space and increase cases
of skin cancer. However, we can act to protect
against that; it wouldnt be a major killer. If
you look back at previous occasions when the
eld has ipped, there is no evidence of that
coinciding with mass extinctions.
What about animals? Will it affect
their navigation?
Theres lots of evidence that animals use the
Earths magnetic eld to nd their way, but it
seems to be a secondary method. A ip would
produce a very different magnetic structure
there would be no obvious north or south,
for example. However, experiments that have
exposed animals to strong magnetic elds
show that they can adapt very quickly.
Would GPS be affected?
A weakened magnetic eld means that wed be
more susceptible to induced currents caused by
solar storms and wed feel their effects more
acutely. Phenomena like those experienced
during the 1859 Carrington event [the biggest
solar storm on record] would become more
frequent. Telegraph operators at the time found
that communication worked better when the
system was turned off the storm was
providing the current. The effect on satellites
can be seen in the South Atlantic Anomaly the
weakest part of the Earths magnetic eld.
Satellites ying over this region already go into
shutdown mode to prevent charged particles
from frying circuitry.
POLE REVERSAL
is liquid. Heat from the inner core,
along with the rotation of the Earth,
causes the liquid iron in the outer core to
move around. It moves about a tenth of
a millimetre per second thats incredibly
PHOTO: ESA/DTU SPACE, UC SANTA CRUZ, ALAMY
fast for a geological process, notes Gubbins.
Although the exact mechanism is unknown,
the Earth acquired a small magnetic eld early
in its history.This created electric currents
in the core. Moving electric currents in turn
create a magnetic eld, which acts to create
more electric current.This self-sustaining
process is known as a dynamo, and it is what
powers the Earths magnetic eld to this day.
So what could be causing the strength of
this eld to decrease so rapidly over the past
few centuries? Modelling the process using
advanced computer simulations shows that
small magnetic anomalies can appear at the
Gary
Glatzmaier
has delved
into the heart of
our planet using
computer
simulations
The
white spots
indicate where
satellites were affected
by increased radiation
due to the South Atlantic
Anomaly weakening
our magnetic
eld
boundary between the core and the mantle
(the layer between the core and the crust).
These are regions where the cores magnetic
eld points the wrong way. These anomalies
come and go, but once in a while they
grow, says Gary Glatzmaier, who runs these
computer simulations at the University of
California, Santa Cruz. This acts against the
main magnetic eld and reduces its strength.
Eventually the old polarity gets destroyed,
Glatzmaier adds.
There is evidence that this might already
be happening.There is a region of the Earths
magnetic eld, close to South America, where
the magnetic ux is reversed. Known as the
South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), the strength
of the eld is 30 per cent weaker there. It is
getting weaker all the time and has grown
substantially so in just the last century.

It is perhaps a sign that a magnetic anomaly
in the Earths core is increasing in stature.That
could be the reason why the overall strength
of the magnetic eld is dropping, and it may
signal an oncoming reversal.
Time to ip?
A reversal is certainly long overdue
Geoscientists study the timings of past reversals
by analysing layers of volcanic lava built up
over millions of years. As lava cools, it takes
on some of the magnetic properties of the
ambient magnetic eld. So locked up in this
ancient lava is information about which way
the magnetic eld was pointing at the time.
According to these lava records, the average
gap between reversals is around 200,000 years.
Computer simulations of the core show it can
happen twice as often as that.Yet the poles
havent reversed in the last 780,000 years. It is
possible they are nally beginning to do so.
Another possibility is that we are being
sold a dummy. In between reversals you get
excursions.This is where the magnetic eld
seems like it is beginning to ip, but it goes
back, says Gubbins. An excursion occurs
when the orientation of the planets magnetic
eld alters by up to 45. According to Gubbins
you typically get 10 excursions for every
reversal, and the last one happened around
23,000 years ago.The angle of the magnetic
eld can change rapidly too. Studies of lava
layers on Steens Mountain in Oregon, USA,
have shown that it once varied by 6 per day.
What these studies of our planets ancient
magnetic eld have shown is that it is
inherently variable. It has been going up and
Lava
elds on
Steens Mountain
have revealed that
the magnetic eld
once shifted by
6 a day
The closer we
look at whats
going on, the more
complicated it
becomes
Gary Glatzmaier, Professor of Earth
and Planetary Sciences, University of
California, Santa Cruz
down by 30-40 per cent for the last 800,000
years, says Gubbins.While its strength is
dropping dramatically now, we are coming off
the back of a particularly big high. So it might
be nothing to worry about.
This complex nature of the Earths magnetic
eld means no-one knows for sure if we
are heading for an imminent reversal, an
excursion, or whether the current weakening is
a symptom of some other magnetic afiction.
The closer we look at whats going on, the
more complicated it becomes, says Glatzmaier.
What is certain is that our magnetic eld
has ipped hundreds of times throughout
our planets history, and one day it will ip
again.When it does, our magnetic defences
will be weakened, exposing us to greater
bombardment from dangerous space radiation.
However, unlike Mars, our magnetic eld
is likely to bounce back, as it has countless
times before Earths dynamo isnt going to
switch off any time soon. At least we should be
thankful for that.
COLIN STUART is the author of The Big Questions In
Science: The Quest To Solve The Great Unknowns
Vol. 6 Issue 12 65
TIGERS

THE TIGER
MUMS
HANDBOOK
Starvation, predation and infanticide:
the odds are stacked against young
tigers.
t Stephen Mills discovers
Suzi Eszterhas/Minden/FLPA

the
t strategies a mother uses
to
t help her cubs make
it to adulthood

Scan this QR Code for

the audio reader

A pair of eight-week-old
cubs use mother as a
climbing frame as she
rests at her lair in India's
Bandhavgarh National
Park. They will soon join
her on brief expeditions
away from the den

66 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Vol. 6 Issue 12 67
TIGERS
adhya Pradesh, Indias jungle state: a sunbeam
M probes between the oval leaves of the sal trees,
almost parallel to the strong, straight trunks,
catching at last the white spots on the ears of a tiger cub.
Nothing moves. Nothing will move again for this baby
tiger. The little face peering up from the jungle oor is all
that is left of it. Last night a stranger, an alien male tiger,
rampaged into its life and ended it.
Such incidents are commonplace in the tigers world.
But, given that according to the IUCN there may be as
few as 3,000 tigers left in the wild, how can this infanticide
possibly be a useful survival strategy? How frequently does
it occur, and what are the other threats that young tigers
face in their struggle towards adulthood?
At birth, a baby tiger typically weighs just 900g (the known
range is 785g1.6kg). By contrast, the average birthweight for
human babies is about 3kg.And, while the human will grow to
25 times its birthweight, the tiger will reach 200 times its original
Below: a tiger cub
mass.At birth, the tiger cubs ears and eyes are sealed, and it can
nuzzles its mother,
scarcely move. Its chances of surviving its rst year are not much the well-known
better than 50:50. In fact, its only real asset in life is its mother. female known
A mother tiger is a formidable force of nature. Her as Noor (T39),
protein-rich milk will quadruple the cubs weight within in Ranthambore
National Park.
its rst month. After two months it will be strong enough to Females raise their
move with her; after six the cub will be 35 times heavier than cubs with no input
it was at birth. from fathers
 A tigress is capable of prodigious feats of strength, most
often displayed when moving a large kill to a secluded
place where her cubs can feed safely. Chuck McDougal,
who studied the tigers of Chitwan in Nepal for many years,
Nick Garbutt/naturepl.com; Andy Rouse
From top: Danny Green/naturepl.com;

recorded a tigress dragging most of a huge sambar deer over

1km into dense scrub, and another that heaved a buffalo
she had killed up a sheer precipice before hauling it several
hundred metres into a ravine.
If her cubs survive, a mother will still be doing most of the
hunting for them even when they are 18 months old. Until
the cubs canines develop fully, at about 14 months, they are
incapable of holding and killing prey. Even then, it will be
many more months before they are procient hunters and
by then they will be as big as their mother.
In central Indias Kanha and Bandhavgarh reserves I have
often seen mothers caring for four full-grown cubs.These
tigresses are catering for ve tigers, so must kill a decent-
sized deer every four days ideally a sambar, which weighs
150300kg, or at the very least a spotted deer (chital), a male
of which weighs 6580kg.

Ideal homes
The quality of a tigresss home range how much prey it
holds, how amenable the landscape is to hunting and how
skilfully she exploits its features are key factors in the success
of her familys life. Her choice of birthing den, for instance,
is of vital importance.Whether its a cave, a hollow tree-bole,
a dense grassy tunnel or a deep tangle of bamboo, it must be
protected from disturbance, bush res and ash oods, and
defensible against leopards and other predators.
If its available, a tigress may choose the den in which she
herself was born. In the forests of Bandhavgarh, for example,
one idyllic cave cooled by the pools of a permanent stream

and fronted by a shingly threshold has been passed down

Top: a tigress in
Bandhavgarh from mother to daughter for generations.
performs a Flehmen
Essential to a good birthing den is a plentiful supply of
response, tasting the
prey nearby. For the rst two months of the cubs lives,
air for the scent of
while the tigress is feeding them solely with her milk, she
a male a potential
mate or threat. will be tied to the area hardly ever hunting farther than
Above: this male,
1km from the den. After this most critical period, the cubs
about 20 months old,
follow her as she hunts ever more widely through her
sports quills in his
range. At six months they are weaned, and if they survive
cheeks after trying to
they will gradually disperse at about 20 months old, or
tackle a porcupine
when her next litter is born.
Its a big if . However efcient the tigress, she cannot
transcend the limits prescribed by evolution limits making
young tiger cubs extremely vulnerable to all sorts of threats.
Evolution is like a cost-benet exercise. It has spawned two
broad strategies for many mammals, depending on whether
they are destined to kill or be killed predators or prey.
If youre in the latter category a deer, antelope, goat or
another even-toed ungulate,
At birth a tiger cub is perhaps then you produce
large, precocious babies,
tiny, its eyes and ears necessitating long pregnancies.
sealed, its chances of The encumbrance of a hefty
belly does not interfere with
surviving the rst your daily feeding regime since
year just 50:50 you dont have to chase after

Vol. 6 Issue 12 69
 TIGERS
TIGERS

A female watches her

17-month-old cubs feast
on a sambar deer

distemper virus (CDV) is top of the list of infections aficting

the big cats.
In addition, starvation is an ever-present threat to tiger
cubs, particularly in regions where prey becomes seasonally
scarce, or where it is widely dispersed as in the Russian
Far East, home of the Amur subspecies. Meanwhile,
poaching of deer and other tiger prey deprives the cats of
food; conservationists suggest that this is actually a bigger
problem than the poaching of tigers themselves.Tiger cubs
are dependent on their mothers for such a long period that
going hungry is perhaps the biggest killer of all.
Even when the cubs canines have developed and they
start hunting, they may make mistakes.Their most dangerous
neighbour might be the porcupine tasty but potentially
lethal.They may not know they should whack it on the
head; instead they seize the porcupine from behind as they
would other prey, becoming pin-cushioned with quills. If one
stabs in deep under the foreleg it is unreachable. It cannot be
chewed out and licked clean, but will fester until the cub
Above: the grass and leaves to catch them, and the slightly increased dies a lingering death from hunger and blood poisoning.
Ranthambore risk of being caught while pregnant is far outweighed by the But the ultimate threat, the one that attracts the goriest
female Noor (T39) benet of producing babies that can feed themselves and run headlines, is infanticide: cubs being killed by a male of their
carries her cub.
away from predators almost as soon as they are born. own species. Infanticide can occur when the father of the
The young start to
accompany her on If you are a killer, the opposite is true.You cannot hunt if cubs has died or been chased away, or even if he is merely
short forays at two youre burdened by huge foetuses.You risk losing condition inattentive. A new male may, if he gets the chance, kill cubs in
months old, but and aborting the pregnancy. Better to give birth quickly to the hope of mating with their mother. Normally she would
struggle to keep the smallest possible young and rely on your own prowess not be receptive until her cubs were fully grown, but if the
up with her
to defend them.You offset this risk by the benet of a brief
gestation on average for a tigress, just 103 days enabling
you to replace the litter promptly if you lose it.
Many litters are lost. If small tiger cubs are discovered
by other carnivores such as leopards, striped hyenas or dholes
(wild dogs) while their mother is away, they have no defence.
They are also too weak to evade re or ood. People may
kill them, too, even though
tigresses can be remarkably
Conservationists restrained in their treatment
suggest that poaching of of human trespassers.
Heavy sentences
Another threat is disease.
deer and other tiger prey Little is known about the
face those who kill
tigers, but conflict is
is a bigger problem than susceptibility of tigers to
disease in the wild, but new
inevitable in rural areas.
This one was killed in
poaching of tigers research suggests that canine Bangladesh

70 Vol. 6 Issue 12
8
TOP PLACES
TO SEE TIGERS
IN INDIA
PAKISTAN
7
When Project Tiger the conservation
scheme administered by the National New Delhi NEPAL
Tiger Conservation Authority was BHUTAN
4
launched in India in April 1973 it
5
established nine Tiger Reserves. 9
Now there are 47 across the country,
1
with varying levels of access and BANGLADESH
Kolkata
infrastructure for visitors. These are 62
eight of the most rewarding to explore. BURMA

Mumbai 3
1 Bandhavgarh National Park
This former hunting forest of the
INDIA
Maharajas of Rewa in Madhya Pradesh is
blessed with hills and steep escarpments, Bay of Bengal
Arabian Sea
making it one of the most beautiful
reserves. Porous rocks store monsoon
rains, ensuring year-round water great
for tigers. High visitor numbers have to an Chennai
extent habituated the tigers to jeeps and
8
disturbance, and the prime range, 105km2
of sal forest and grassland around Tala
Village, is a top area for sightings. Probable
range

Clockwise from left: Andy Rouse; Theo Allofs/BIOS/FLPA; Andy Rouse/naturepl.com; Shaik Mohir Uddin/Getty
of tigers
2 Kanha National Park SRI LANKA

When Kanha was established, 26 500km

villages were relocated, leaving wide
meadows among the grand forests of
sal. Famous for its rare dry-land swamp
deer, Kanha also hosts other large
prey such as gaur and plentiful sambar
to support one of the biggest tiger
populations in India.
in the world but, with so much cover,
the cats can be hard to spot. Kaziranga
is also the stronghold of the greater
one-horned rhinoceros, and has good
numbers of Indian elephants.

3 Tadoba National Park 6 Pench National Park

A lesser-known reserve in Maharashtra,
Tadoba has limited accommodation
and a tarmac road through its centre.
Nevertheless tiger encounters have
been excellent in recent years, together
with regular sightings of dhole, sloth
bear and leopard.
4 Ranthambore National Park
Proximity to Delhi can give this reserve
the feel of a tourist trap. But its lakes
and red-coloured fort, immortalised in
films and books, provide a picturesque
backdrop to sightings. Despite incidents
of heavy poaching, this lovely patch of
Rajasthan still has visible tigers.
5 Kaziranga National Park
The vast grasslands and riverine forests
of Kaziranga lie in the floodplains of the
Brahmaputra in Assam. It holds one of
the highest-density tiger populations
This reserve in western Madhya Pradesh
is only two hours drive from the large city
of Nagpur, so gets busy at weekends,
and the visitor experience is over-
managed. But the large reservoir at its
heart means there is always water and
always a chance of seeing tigers and
other predators. The BBC made the
series Tiger Spy in the Jungle here with
a remote-controlled log-cam.
With ancient temples
and plentiful water,
7 Corbett National Park Bandhavgarh is among
Project Tiger was officially launched in Indias most attractive
Corbett, in what is now Uttarakhand tiger reserves
state in the foothills of the Himalaya.
With its surrounding forests Corbett 8 Nagarahole National Park
still holds probably Indias second- Part of the larger Nilgiri Biosphere
biggest tiger population. Though its Reserve, this national park in Karnataka
limited network of forest tracks means in the foothills of the Western Ghats
sightings are infrequent, Corbetts varied mostly comprises moist and dry
landscape holds Indian elephants and is deciduous forests. Visit for sightings of
superb for birdwatching. tiger, leopard, otter and Indian elephant.
Vol.
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TIGERS

INFANTICIDE IN MAMMALS
This lion and lioness in the
Maasai Mara are less than
happy to see this cub

COMMON IN...
Carnivores
Infanticide has been recorded in leopards, jaguars and
bears, but lions provide the best-studied example. Each
pride is a community of related females and cubs. Male
coalitions or two or three related lions compete for access
to the pride; if successful, they defend all cubs born during
their tenancy, regardless of paternity. But when a new
coalition wins a takeover battle, infanticide often results.
Mothers defend their cubs but if the cubs are killed they
may eat the carcasses, minimising the nutritional loss.

Primates
Infanticide by males hoping to accelerate access to
females has been observed in more than 40 species
of primate. Some female primates employ paternity
confusion mating with several males, all of whom are
likely to protect ensuing offspring as their own. This is
particularly effective among species such as baboons in
which numerous males may be attached to each troop.
Small mammals
Male meerkats are not known to kill babies. Why would
they? Females are ready to mate again as soon as they
give birth. But female meerkats, living communally, kill the
young even of close relatives to focus the groups efforts
on raising their own babies. Young gerbils also kill babies
but apparently stop once they have mated themselves.
Some male mice are murderous when they have just mated,
knowing that extant babies cannot yet be theirs. Female rats
kill alien young, for food and to take over nests.
NOT SEEN IN...
Cheetahs
Clockwise from left: Anup Shah/naturepl.com; Andy Rouse;
Above: a mother cubs die she comes into oestrus almost straightaway.
tussles with her Is the situation the same elsewhere? Possibly though,
18-month-old
given the difculties in observing wild tigers, we cant be
cub a sign that
she is ready for certain. Dale Miquelle, director of the Wildlife Conservation
her offspring to Societys Russia Program, reports that in Sikhote-Alin
disperse and Reserve, the largest reserve in the Amur tigers range, just one
establish their case of infanticide has been documented in the past 20 years.
own territories
This one was quite dramatic: the male ate the cubs, which
were about six months old, then died apparently from
wounds incurred while ghting with the cubs mother, or
possibly another male in the area.
We currently interpret this behaviour according to
the selsh gene theory, which elevates the interests of an
individuals gene package over those of the wider species. It
does not necessarily seek to ensure the survival of the ttest
only the survival of those particular genes carried by that

particular male.
Suzi Eszterhas/naturepl.com; Patrick Kientz/BIOS/FLPA

DNA analysis in the Serengeti revealed that, of litters

containing more than one cub, nearly half were sired by The kids arent alright
multiple males. It seems female cheetahs can ovulate to To the female, infanticide represents a massive loss of genetic
order, so different
ent eggs
eggs can
can be fertilised
fertil
fertilised
d by
by different
nt males
mal
ma ales
e and nutritional investment. So how, from an evolutionary
during a single oestrus. Males form long-lasting, fiercely fiercel
celyy A cheetah cub
territorial coalitions,
ons,, onlyy socialising
socialising
soci
point of view, can this be fair? The answer lies in what
nurses for four
with females during rin
ng mating.
ng. months, but David Smith calls the land-tenure system. He was one of the
Females have larger
argrger ranges,
rang
anges,
es,
es doesnt become lead scientists of the long-term Smithsonian Tiger Ecology
travelling throughgh thethe territories
territo
territo
orie
riess independent till it Project in Chitwan National Park, Nepal.
of several males, s, so byby habitual
ha
habit
abituall is 18 months old Its no exaggeration to claim that modern tiger research
promiscuity they ey may
may cut
cut the
t dates from December 1974, when the Smithsonian team
risk of infanticide.e. Most
Mosst cubs
cubs die
cub e
radio-collared its rst tiger.The researchers went on to collar
anyway, killed byy lions,
lions, hyenas,
hyena
hy nas,s,
leopards or starvation.
vation.
dozens more, and discovered a fascinating phenomenon.
Tigresses living next door to each other, just 10km apart,

72 Vol.
ol. 6 Issue 12
 SUPER MUMS
The ground-breaking Tiger Ecology
Project at Chitwan National Park
documented one phenomenal tigress
with a reproductive lifespan of 12.5
years that reared a total of five litters,
and another remarkable super mum
that produced four litters over 10.5
years. But female tigers as successful
as these are far from the norm. A
tigress will typically live for perhaps
810 years in the wild, somewhat
longer than an adult male, and breed
for the first time at between three and
four years old, giving a reproductive
lifespan of closer to six years. And
even these figures are deceptive,
since they suggest that a female will
raise far more young than is actually
the case. The Chitwan study found
that, on average, a tigress in the park
could expect to nurture no more than
four or five young to independence,
and, of those, only two tigers would
themselves get to breed.

A female suckles three

cubs in Bandhavgarh

were all related mothers, daughters, aunts and nieces
much like lionesses in a highly dispersed pride.
A daughter would probably be able to land-grab remote
parts of her mothers range when they became temporarily
unoccupied while the mother was tied to the core den area
by a new litter.This ability to settle in a familiar landscape
offers a huge survival advantage for females. Intimate
knowledge of the lie of the land, of where and when prey
is concentrated, and of how tracks, forest clearings and dry
riverbeds connect to provide highways and stalking routes
these things can decide whether a predator eats or starves.
All this is denied to male tigers.They must travel far aeld
to convey their all-important gene package to strangers.
Exiled from the familiar hunting grounds of home, the
wandering males suffer three times the mortality rate of
females of similar age.
The Smithsonian study found that, even if he makes it
to the top, an adult males average period of dominance is
a mere 32 months. Furthermore his lifespan is several years
shorter than that of a female. No wonder adult male tigers
are in such a hurry to mate.
Indeed, the Smithsonian and subsequent studies have
shown that mating is about the only thing on an adult
male tigers mind. He doesnt ght over food or notions of
territory, but only for access to a female in oestrus.This even
affects a males attitude to hunting.
Raghu Chundawats study of tigers in the dry forests of
Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh showed that adult
tigresses were mostly cautious hunters, avoiding human
landscapes and concentrating on natural prey rather than
cattle. Dominant males, on the other hand, always on the
move between females, took their meals where they could
nearly 90 per cent of them from domestic livestock.
The selsh gene explanation
may favour the opportune, the An adult male tigers
lucky or the sneaky, but that is
not to say there is no role for the
period of dominance
ttest. David Smith still inspires might be a mere 32
listeners with his memories of
Tiger 105.Weighing over 225kg, months no wonder
this was the biggest tiger his
team ever handled. Dominant for
hes in a hurry to mate
six years in the 1970s,Tiger 105 ranged over 120km2, with
exclusive access to seven different females. He sired 51 cubs,
of which 27 survived to disperse. In the two years following
his death there were frequent ghts and infanticides, and only
ve cubs survived in the whole region.Tiger 105, ttest of
all, ensured a productive era of stability for the females and he
must have made a huge contribution to the gene prole of
tigers in Chitwan today.
All this destruction of cubs and expensive production of
males doomed to wander and mostly die in the name of sexual
reproduction is very wasteful. At present, we cant be sure why
this system has evolved. But we can only guess and hope that,
somehow, the losses we rue including that small cub in the
sal forest of Madhya Pradesh are helping to safeguard the
genes, and future, of the species.
STEPHEN MILLS is a writer and lm-maker who has been watching and lming tigers
for over 25 years. He also leads wildlife tours, and has visited India more than 40 times

Vol. 6 Issue 12 73
SPACE TOURISM

In the race to give tourists a

view of the planet, it may not
be rockets that get there rst.
Sarah Cruddas investigates
pace tourism is a concept we have
S all been familiar with since
SpaceShipOne made its maiden
flight in 2004. Ten years on and there are
several commercial space companies
offering tourists trips to space. However,
ask any Virgin Galactic future astronaut
when they are going and the answer will
likely be the same as it was last year: next
year. Sir Richard Branson is confident of a
passenger flight in the near future with
Virgin Galactic, but so far SpaceShipTwo
(which will carry six passengers plus crew
into orbit) has yet to fire its engines long
enough to make that journey.
Elsewhere XCOR Aerospace is also
selling tickets for its Lynx spacecraft,
which takes off horizontally from the
ground like a plane, but with a rocket
engine. It announced its project with a
huge marketing campaign involving Buzz
Aldrin, but they havent yet made it into
space. Nor have they even flown the craft.
It seems commercial spaceflight is
struggling to get off the ground.

Up, up and away

However, there is a new type of high-
altitude tourism experience that could take
off in as little as two years: travelling to the
edge of space by balloon. By the end of
2016, World View Enterprises hopes to
send six passengers plus crew to the edge
of space, and all for the comparatively
modest sum of $75,000 (45,000).

74
4 Vol. 6 Issue
Vol. Isssue
s 122
 Scan this QR Code for
the audio reader

PHOTO: WORLD VIEW ENTERPRISES

Enjoy a view of the

curvature of Earth against
the blackness of space in
style by sipping a glass of
champagne in the capsule

Voll. 6 Issue
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Vol. Issue 122 75
75
 SPACE TOURISM
NEED TO KNOW:
WORLD VIEW
The capsule
has a bar
for serving
refreshments
during the voyage
In-flight Wi-Fi will
allow passengers
to share their
experiences online
Passengers are
afforded a 360
view through dual-
PHOTO: WORLD VIEW ENTERPRISES X2, NASA, TREV M/WIKIPEDIA, COBATFOR/WIKIPEDIA, AVATAR/WIKIPEDIA, BOEING, RED BULL
pane viewports
The capsule will
weigh around 4 tonnes
twice the weight of a
typical 4x4
A specially designed
ParaWing brings the
capsule gently back down
to Earth, guided by a pilot
with the support of mission
control. In the event of an
emergency, a back-up,
remote-controlled GPS-
guided landing system
does the job.
The capsule is outfitted
with state-of-the-art life
support systems,
designed to keep you
alive if theres a leak.
The World View capsule
suspended beneath
its ParaWing and
helium-lled balloon
76
7 6 VVol.
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ssue
The plans already have some high-
profile supporters from the space
community, including Mark Kelly, a veteran
of four Space Shuttle missions who now
works as World Views Director of Flight
Crew Operations. Of course its not really
space. But as the former NASA astronaut
and president of the Commercial
Spaceflight Federation Michael Lopez-
Alegria says: Its pretty close and it is a
totally different experience, he says.
World View Enterprises wants to take
passengers by balloon to around 32km (20
miles) up not high enough to experience
weightlessness, but far enough to be
When you are
up there, the
sky is black. It
demonstrates we do
live on this planet
Jayne Poynter, CEO of World View Enterprises
above 99 per cent of the Earths
atmosphere according to CEO Jane
Poynter. When you are up there, the sky is
black. It demonstrates that we do live on
this planet, she says. Passengers will also
get to experience something few humans
have ever seen the so-called thin blue
line of the Earths atmosphere as the Sun
sets or rises.
The project is about giving people the
chance to see the Earth from as high as
possible, something previously the
preserve of an elite few. And that
experience is already reflected in the type
of passengers. We have a lot of space
enthusiasts signed up, says Poynter. But
also a lot of Earth enthusiasts; people who
want to go to space to be able to observe
the planet.
Proven technology
So although you wont be travelling the
100km (62 miles) up to cross the Krmn
line, and be officially deemed to have
gone into space, World View offers a
completely new type of spaceflight
experience, albeit with old technology.
For starters, unlike other spaceflight
companies, all the technology has
already been tested, says Poynter.
We are not inventing new technology,
and thats when things get difficult
when there is not a lot of history.
A RACE TO THE TOP The machines that have
taken us ever higher
So far test flights have used helium as
INT
INTERNATIONAL
THERMOSPHERE 350km
SPACE STATION
SP
a lift gas. Helium is a proven
Astronauts work at
As
technology, says Brad Inggs, CEO of
a height
h of 330km.
Orbital Horizons, a space support and
intelligence solution agency, based in
South Africa. Helium in high-altitude
balloons has been in use for many ME
MERCURY
years, and is regularly used for high- CAPSULE
altitude monitoring. Alan Shepard, the 300km
Sending a balloon to the edge of first American in
space is in principle quite simple. In July space, hit 187km.
2014, school teacher Andrew Castley
from Giles Academy near Boston,
Lincolnshire, managed to send a SPACES
SPACESHIPONE
balloon complete with iPhone, GoPro made it tto 111km
camera, GPS tracker and flight to claim the
t
computer to the stratosphere at a height X-Prize
Ansari X-
of 28km (18 miles) up. We looked at the in 2004.
mass and volume and used suitcase-
weighing scales to work out how much
lift the balloon was giving us, he says. V-2 ROCKET
The idea was to go as slow as possible;
The World War
II ballistic missile
the less gas you use the higher you go.
hit an altitude
As the pressure gets less the balloon
of 88km.
expands more. Castley and his
students were even able to recover the 200km
balloon in Norfolk after it had finished its NORTHROP T-38
flight, complete with recorded footage Used for training
of the Earth. NASA astronauts,
the plane can hit a
height of 86km.
A gentle ascent
For passengers considering a flight with
World View, the experience cant be RED BULL STRAT0S
compared with the rocket-powered Felix Baumgartner
options, but the trip is completely jumped from the
different to travelling in a hot air balloon. balloon-borne
This is a new type of travel experience, yet capsule 39km up.
as with other commercial spaceflights it
will be regulated by the FAA (Federal
Aviation Authority), under the WORLD VIEW
CAPSULE
Tourists will get a
100km
Pupils from Giles Academy view of the planet
were able to capture this from 32km.
view of the Earth with a
helium balloon
MESOSPHERE 80km
CONCORDE
The supersonic
jjet had a maximum
cruising altitude
of 18km. STRATOSPHERE 50km

BOEING 747
A 747 can fly as
high as 13km.
Most fly at an
altitude of 10km. TROPOSPHERE 12km

Vol. 6 Issue 12 77
SPACE TOURISM

HOW MUCH!?
Office of Commercial Space
Transportation. Where your journey
begins has yet to be determined, but
Poynter is keen to point out that Arizona is The cost of a ticket to view the planet
likely to be one of the first lift-off locations. and the amount of time youll spend at
However, wherever you start, you will land your spectacular destination
around 480km (300 miles) from where you
first took off, although the distance
depends on the weather.

US$238,000
COST
VIRGIN
Room with a view

15
Passengers board a capsule without

TIME
spacesuits and are free to roam. There
will be the usual facilities such as seats
and a toilet, but theres also a bar. After
mins
all, the total flight experience from lift-off
to landing can last five to six hours. The
aim is to make the experience as simple
as getting on a commercial airliner. So
COST
US$167,000
WORLD VIEW BLOON
Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, president of
that means no medical exams and no the Commercial Spaceight Federation
special extensive training. The only
preparation its claimed you will need

180
TIME

beforehand is to think and learn about the

experience. There are no real physical mins
requirements to travelling in high-altitude
balloons, says Inggs.

US$71,000
The capsule is due to be built next year,
COST

but its not yet clear what it will be made of.

Poynter believes one of the most likely
materials will be aluminium, just like the
fuselage of an aeroplane. After lift-off,

120
TIME

it ascends for around 1.5 to 2 hours,

depending on the weather. The balloon
filled with helium is lighter than the mins
surrounding air, which is composed largely
of nitrogen.
PHOTO: WORLD VIEW ENTERPRISES, BLOON, NASA, XCOR AEROSPACE/MIKE MASSEE

As it ascends, the density of the

surrounding air drops while the helium
World Views balloon-borne competitor: Bloon

The 4-tonne capsule

will be guided back to a
pre-dened landing spot

78 Vol. 6 Issue 12

There are no
real physical
requirements to
travelling in high-
altitude balloons
Brad Inggs, CEO of Orbital Horizons
inside the balloon expands. The balloon
continues to rise until the density of the
thinning air is the same as that of the
helium and balloon.
During the ride passengers will have
the chance to tweet and communicate
with the ground. We want this
experience to be as interactive as
possible, says Poynter. Some flights
could also include experts on board to
provide commentary. Once it has reached
a height of around 32km (20 miles), the
capsule will remain there for 1.5 to 2
hours, allowing you to see the curvature
of the Earth and experience a new view of
our home planet. The return trip begins
with the pilot releasing helium from the
balloon, before the ParaWing (a type of
parachute) takes over to glide the capsule
back to the ground. Technically the
balloons can go higher than 32km;
according to Inggs there is a height limit
of just below 40km (25 miles).
Of course nothing is 100 per cent
risk-free, and space travel is inherently
dangerous, but World View is keen to
explain that what its doing is very different
to the rocket-based companies. We are
building safety into the vehicle. The
ParaWing is permanently open, so the
capsule is essentially a glider at any
moment, says Poynter.
Competition for space
Test flights of the balloon have taken place
with models of the capsule, but plans for a
maiden passenger flight at the end of 2016
are not set in stone. World View isnt the
only game in town, however. A company
called Bloon is promising to take two pilots
and four passengers to a height of 30km
(100,000ft) and will offer dining from the
edge of the Earth, as well as scientific
experiments. It hopes to have passenger
flights by 2016 and is already running test
flights with scale models.
Whats certain is that when passengers
finally fly, theyll be transported by balloons
that are big very big. At sea level, 1m3 of
helium can lift 1kg. By the time youve
added the weight of the balloon itself to the
weight of a 4,000kg capsule, youre already
talking about a weight of 6,000kg. To lift
that would require at least 6,000m3 of
Youre not technically in space, but
at 120,000ft (36.5km) the curvature of
the Earth is clearly visible. This image
was taken from World Views prototype
during a test ight in June
helium, and probably more. The balloon
would need to be 22m in diameter. Bloons
Annelie Schoenmaker says its capsule will
be lighter, at around 2,000kg, though this
would still require an enormous balloon.
For anyone worried about the impact this
could have on the ongoing helium
shortage, Schoenmaker says, Helium is
the best option in the early stages, as it is
very safe and efficient, but it could be
replaced in future by other gases or mixes
of gases without impairing safety.
So will Bloon or World View beat Virgin
Galactic? Well, not really. Comparing
space balloons with the likes of Virgin
Galactic, Brad Inggs says: The two are
really separate in altitude; you cant view it
in the same bracket. In other words, even
if World View or another balloon company
like Bloon were to take passengers up first,
they technically wouldnt beat the likes of
Virgin Galactic and XCOR as the first to
take tourists into space.
Doubts remain, however, about whether
any of these commercial enterprises will
ever succeed. But the president of the
Commercial Spaceflight Federation,
Michael Lopez-Alegria, is confident. It
wont be long before tourists are heading
into space, he says.
SARAH CRUDDAS is an astrophysicist,
TV presenter and science journalist
Vol. 6 Issue 12 79
STATISTICS
 The curious case of a married couple who died on the same day
they were born is a window into the strange world of chance and
coincidence, as Timandra Harkness reveals
rancis Huntrodds and his wife Mary died Public Understanding of Risk, Sir David
F within five hours of one another on their 80th
birthday their joint 80th birthday. They
Spiegelhalter. While on holiday in Whitby, he
stumbled across a monument to the number-defying
were both born on 19 September 1600, and both died couple. The chances of these events taking place are
on 19 September 1680. For completeness, they got astronomically unlikely; Spiegelhalters curiosity as a
married on 19 September too. statistician was piqued.
So 19 September should surely be Huntrodds Day, Here we take a look at how the power of maths can
a national celebration of chance and coincidence, says shed light on the remarkable coincidences that
Cambridge Universitys Winton Professor of the shaped the lives of the Huntrodds.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 81
STATISTICS
23 PEOPLE
together is all thats needed for the chance of
two sharing a birthday to be better than 50:50
IMPROBABILITY MYTHS DEBUNKED
You can make your
own luck in life
If you think incredibly unlikely things
happen purely by chance, youre
missing the point, says Professor
PHOTO: francis frith collection, thinkstock x3
David Hand of Imperial College
London, author of The Improbability
Principle. In general, chance plays
a bigger role in life than we think.
Getting that perfect job, meeting the
person of your dreams, may well
owe more to chance than to you.
But that doesnt mean you cant
influence chance. To increase the
chance of meeting the person of
your dreams, you have to get out
82 Vol. 6 Issue 12
and meet people: sitting at home
in front of the television wondering
why you never meet anyone is not
going to do it.
place at the same time.
The chances of a
shared birthday
Heres a pub trick: Bet your
mates that two people in the
pub share the same birthday. Of
course, if you have 367 people
in the pub, two of them must
share a birthday. But how many
people would you need to give
If you have
367 people
in the pub,
two of them
must share
a birthday
yourself a better than evens
chance of winning?
Your answer might be 184
(half of 366 + 1). But lets tackle
this mathematically. Its much
easier to work out the chances,
for a given number of people,
that any two of them dont share
a birthday. So if there are only
two of you in the pub, the
chance you dont share a
birthday is 364/365 or 0.9973
(leaving out leap years for easier
A one in a million chance
means itll never happen
Nick Wheeler met his wife Aimee at
College in Truro. Some years later,
after getting engaged, they were
leafing through old family
photographs and discovered a
picture of them playing together as
children on a beach in Cornwall.
Apparently their families, who didnt
know each other and hadnt spoken,
had been on holiday in the same
as there are 23 million families in
This is an illustration of the law
of truly large numbers,
says Prof David
maths) and youd be daft to
gamble your money.
If a third mate joins you, the
chance that none of you shares a
birthday falls to 364/365 x
363/365 (because the third
person has a choice of two
possible shared birthdays)
a probability of 0.9918.
With every added person, the
odds of not finding a shared
birthday fall so fast that it only
takes 23 people in one place to
have a better than 50:50 chance
of a shared birthday: a 0.5073
probability that two people share
a date (and a 0.01271 chance that
3 people do). So Francis and
Mary Huntrodds only needed a
social circle of 23 people for it to
be more likely than not that two
of them shared a birthday.
Assuming a village of 100
people, say, there was less than a
1 in 3 million chance that no
two of them shared a birthday.
This is different, of course, to
saying that Mary Huntrodds,
personally, had a better-than-
evens chance of finding a
husband with the same birthday.
But Prof Spiegelhalter didnt pick
their gravestone at random out of
all the married couples who died
in 1680 he noticed it because it
was special.
Hand. Whatever can happen,
will happen, given a large enough
number of opportunities. If you think
of the millions of families who go on
holiday, and whose children end up
building sandcastles together, its
not surprising that some of them
should meet again later on in life.
A one-in-a-million event is still
very unlikely to happen to you - but
the UK, its almost inevitable that
it will happen to several of them in
any year.
The plaque marking the graves
of Mary and Francis Huntrodds

Random events come Its easy to predict the

along at regular intervals future from the past
Worldwide, there are 17 earthquakes Another example is speed cameras. Mary Huntrodds found a husband with any one couple ddid idd sso.o.
per year of magnitude 7 or above. But Because theyre usually installed after a the same birthday as her. The chances But looking forwards
war
a ds ds is is
in 2010 there were 24 of them. Why? high number of accidents in one place, of which are small, as weve seen. But trickier. Are you confident
conf
co n iden
nf idden
e t
Was Nature especially angry in 2010? its likely that the number of accidents Prof Spiegelhalter only noticed their future couples will
wililll
In 2012 the total fell back to 14. The would fall the next year even if you didnt memorial because of their shared behave like pastt
result of some top-secret anti- put up a speed camera. Because of this dates. So perhaps we should be asking couples? Will youu on only ly
earthquake device? regression to the mean, the effects of a different question: is chance look at people who
whoo eended nded
nd ed
Of course, the 17 per year is an speed subjective? What are the chances of houl
ho
up married, or should uld you
uld you
yo
average figure. From 2000 to 2012 cameras can somebody who catches the eye of a also include single
g e pe
gl peop
people
oplele
the annual total varied from 11 to look stronger Professor of the Public Understanding of who dont go on to
24. Its always tempting to look for than they Risk being involved in a coincidence? It become couples, s, inn ccaseasse
causes, but sometimes what we can really are. would be more surprising if hed September babies es aare re
see is the noise, not the signal: natural noticed a memorial with absolutely especially lucky in
in lo love
ovee
variation around a steady average. nothing unusual about it. and skew your
When numbers are small, this variation Looking backwards, its easy to say figures? The questions
est
stio ions
n
ns
will seem more extreme, like our what proportion of couples share a you ask will affect
ct thethhe
earthquake example. birthday, and calculate the odds that answers you get.t.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 83
STATIS
STATISTICS
IS
STIC
CS

same university. Other popular

The chances of a
Huntrodds marriage
If one spouse has a 1 in 365.25
chance (including leap years) of
sharing the others birthday, and
there are around 11.6 million
married couples in the UK, wed
expect there to be 31,750 married
couples who share a birthday.
But weve assumed so far that
birthdays are evenly spread
birthdays fall in September. So a
person born in September has a
bigger pool of potential
birthday-sharing spouses. Weve
also assumed that your birthday
31,750
has no effect on who youre
likely to marry. But is that right?
Facebooks data suggests that 28
per cent of married graduates
married somebody from the
routes include through work,
through friends and online.
All these could make you
more likely to marry someone
with the same birthday. For
example, being born in
September increases your chance
of getting into Oxbridge by 12
per cent. This effect is probably
down to the UK school year
starting on 1 September. So
September babies may end up in
particular universities,
professions and social circles, and
thus be more likely to marry
each other.
What about sharing the birth
year as well? At school and
university, you tend to mix with
people your own age. One year
is the most common age gap in a
marriage, two years is the
average, but nearly 1 in 10 UK
marriages are between people
born in the same year. So around
3,000 of the birthday-sharing
couples should have the same
number of candles on their cake.
Things were different for the
Huntrodds. September wasnt
necessarily the most popular
birth month in 1600. Mary had
no chance of going to university,
nor did Francis. So your odds of

throughout the year. Theyre
not. September is the most likely
month of birth. A recent
Harvard study found that 21 of
the 30 most common US
PHOTO: fthinkstock, alamy x2, press association, us library of congress, corbis
COUPLES
marrying someone with the
same birthday are probably
higher than the Huntrodds
especially if your birthday is on
could share the same birthday in the UK 19 September.

STRANGE COINCIDENCES YOU WONT BELIEVE HAPPENED

On 5 December 1664 a ship with 82 on
1 3
board sank in the Menai Strait. One man
survived: Hugh Williams. On 5 December 1785
another ship sank in the Menai Strait, with a man
named Hugh Williams as the sole survivor. In
1820, yet another ship sank there on 5
December. Of the 25 passengers the only
survivor was Hugh Williams.
Called Hugh Williams? The Menai Strait is
the least worst place to suffer a shipwreck
Issue 452 of popular comic The Beano
went on sale in Britain on 12 March
1951. It featured a new character, Dennis the
Menace, and his dog Gnasher. Hours later,
across the Atlantic, thousands of readers
opened their newspapers to see a new
syndicated comic
The McLean house where the
Confederates surrender was signed strip featuring
a character
The American Civil War began in 1861 near called Dennis the
2 the house of Virginian farmer Wilmer McLean. Menace and his
Confederate General Beauregard took over McLeans dog, Ruff. The two
house, which was bombarded by the Union army. strips were drawn
McLean moved his family away to Appomattox County, by different artists,
where in 1865 the last battle of the Civil War was fought, each unaware of
and the surrender was signed in McLeans new house. the others work.

84 Vol. 6 Issue 12
SIR DAVID
SPIEGELHALTER
Winton Professor of the Public
Understanding of Risk, University
of Cambridge
Theres a good reason youre more
likely to die the day after your spouse

What made you think of Huntrodds Day?

I was on holiday in Whitby, went to the church up by the Abbey, and
saw this fantastic monument to Mr and Mrs Huntrodds. They were The chances of dying on So birthdays may not be
both born on the same day, got married on their 20th birthday, had 12 your shared birthday dangerous after all. What about
children and then sadly died on their 80th birthday. We dont know Famous people who died on dying the same day as your
anything more about their story. Maybe they were having a whale of their birthdays include actress spouse? In 2013, Californian
an 80th birthday party and the floor collapsed or maybe they both Ingrid Bergman (29 August) and couple Helen and Les Brown
died of food poisoning from their birthday cake. longitude-solving clockmaker died one day apart, after 75 years
John Harrison (24 March). But if of marriage. Not only were they
What can we learn from the happy story of the Huntrodds? deaths are evenly distributed both born on the same day, they
The Huntrodds is a very extreme example. You could say that them through the year, the chance of eloped on 19 September 1937
marrying on their birthday was not a coincidence, they must have dying on your birthday is around Huntrodds Day!
chosen when to get married. But very unlikely things happen all the 0.274 per cent, so we shouldnt But are you more likely to
time, because theres so many opportunities for them to happen. So be surprised when it happens to a die soon after your partner, or
whenever something bizarre occurs you just have to think - well, okay, few famous people. do we only notice these stories
how many opportunities were there for such an event to happen?

16x
So whats the difference between the chance of such an
event happening, and the chance of it happening to you?
Ah, yes, well thats the crucial thing. Any of these rare events
- for the person they happen to, its obviously quite extraordinary.

Why have a national celebration of coincidence?

I study risk, and people associate risk with bad things that might
happen. But chance is the other word for risk that reflects the upside, higher is the increased level of risk of dying from a heart
that good things happen. Obviously winning the lottery is an upside of
risk, but youve got to take a chance and buy a ticket. attack the day after losing a spouse

Do coincidences happen to some people more
often than others?
They never happen to me. Im the boring
one, I never have coincidences. I dont
notice whats going on around me, and I
dont talk to many people, so I rarely find
out anything surprising at all. Say, for
instance, somebody was in Rome
on holiday and started talking to
the woman opposite. They find
out that they both have a son
who works in the same company,
so one of them phones up their son
and he says oh yes, hes sitting
right opposite me at the moment.
Thats a lovely coincidence, but it
would never happen to me, because
I wouldnt talk to anybody over
breakfast. Serendipity - spontaneous,
nice things - happen to those who are
ready and aware.
It could be you if youre
willing to take a little risk
A recent study in Switzerland
suggested that we are slightly
more likely to die on our
birthdays, whether because we
hold out for another round of
presents, or because something
about the celebration tips us
over the edge: too much
alcohol, disappointment at
getting yet more socks, or
the effort of blowing out all
those candles.
However, Spiegelhalter is
sceptical. Not only is the effect
in the Swiss study small, but
theres no dip in the expected
number of deaths before or after
the big day. What if someones
death day is missing when
someone comes to fill in the
records? The easiest thing is just
to copy over the birth date,
he says.
because they are so tragic or
romantic? The risk of sudden
death by heart attack is 16
times higher the day after
losing a spouse, giving rise to
the name Broken Heart
Syndrome for sudden cardiac
paralysis caused by a surge of
adrenaline from extreme
emotion. Whats more, for a
month after being widowed,
the risk of heart attack or stroke
is doubled.
So you are more likely to die
soon after your spouse. Lets
hope the Huntrodds went out
together, not from heart trouble
but an excess of wild partying
with their 12 children.
TIMANDRA HARKNESS is a presenter
on BBC Worldwides YouTube channel
Head Squeeze

Vol. 6 Issue 12 85
 YOUR QUESTI0NS ANSWERED
BY OUR EXPERT PANEL

& SUSAN
BLACKMORE
Susan is a visiting
psychology
professor at the
University
of Plymouth. Her
books include The
Meme Machine
DR ALASTAIR
GUNN
Alastair is a
radio astronomer
at the Jodrell
Bank Centre for
Astrophysics at
the University of
Manchester
ROBERT
MATTHEWS
After studying
physics at Oxford,
Robert became a
science writer. Hes
a visiting reader in
science at Aston
University
GARETH
MITCHELL
Starting out
as a broadcast
engineer, Gareth
now writes and
presents Digital
Planet on the BBC
World Service
LUIS
VILLAZON
Luis has a BSc in
computing and an
MSc in zoology
from Oxford. His
works include
How Cows Reach
The Ground

editorial-bbcknowledge@regentmedia.sg

Even if your phone

has been for a swim,
all may not be lost

Does putting a wet

mobile phone in rice
actually dry it out?
Yes it does, especially if you put
the phone and the rice into a sealed
plastic bag. But while the rice will draw out
the moisture, that doesnt necessarily mean
your phone will work properly afterwards.
The water may already have fused the
phones circuits or left behind traces of
minerals that corrode the electronics. Also,
rice may get stuck in the headphone socket.
Soaking the phone in pure alcohol may be a
better bet. The alcohol drives water out and
removes any mineral deposits. But pure
alcohol is highly flammable and must be
PHOTO: ALAMY

treated with the utmost care. GM

86 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 In Numbers
1,024
is the number of tiny robots in a swarm
created by Harvard scientists that is
capable of self-organising into any
number of different shapes.
Can consciousness
be switched on
and off?
Yes, if a recent experiment is to be
believed. In an attempt to locate the source
of an epileptic patients seizures, doctors
at George Washington University, USA,
inserted electrodes into her brain. One
electrode was positioned close to the
claustrum, a thin sheet of tissue below
the cortex with a role akin to that of an
orchestras conductor coordinating the
many different things that go on in the brain
at once. Consciousness typically involves
sights, sounds, thoughts and feelings all
coming together. Could the claustrum be
what makes this possible?
When the doctors stimulated this
electrode the woman stayed awake but lost
consciousness. She stopped what she was
doing, stared blankly into space and would
not respond to them. When the stimulation
stopped she regained consciousness. It
seems a whole, complex brain is needed
for rich experiences, but it also needs the
claustrum switch to bring everything
together. SB
New research suggests that a single brain region
may function as an on/off switch for consciousness
How does wet hay
spontaneously combust?
Once theyd put the re out,
the needle hunt could begin
At moisture levels above 15 per organisms will be killed off but they are
cent, the bacteria and fungi in hay start replaced with extremophile species
growing, and their metabolisms release that can survive up to 88C. After that,
heat. Hay is a good insulator, so if the purely chemical reactions take over
micro-organisms are growing rapidly, that drive the temperature even higher.
that heat doesnt have a chance to As the haystack dries out, oxygen
conduct to the edge of the haystack. diffuses through it and the hot hay will
As the temperature rises, the micro- burst into flames. LV
Why arent there any green stars?
Stars emit light over a whole range of
wavelengths (or colours). The wavelength
where the amount of light peaks determines
the colour we see, although they will also
emit plenty of light at other wavelengths. In
general, cooler stars appear red and hotter
stars appear blue, with orange, yellow
PHOTO: ALAMY, GETTY X3, THINKSTOCK, NASA
and white in-between. There are no green
stars because the black-body spectrum
of stars, which describes the amount of
light at each wavelength and depends on
temperature, doesnt produce the same
spectrum of colours as, for example, a
rainbow. A star whose peak light emission
is at a wavelength we might call green
actually produces almost as much red light,
and our eyes interpret this combination as
white, not green. For our eyes to see it as
green, a star would have to emit only green M101, the Pinwheel galaxy. Here, as elsewhere in the
light, which is not possible. AG Universe, green stars are noticeable by their absence
Vol. 6 Issue 12 87
 &
Four legs good, 0.1 legs better
at least where statistical
averages are concerned
What is the average number
of legs for an animal?
There are 7 billion humans and
around 200 billion birds in the world.
That seems like a lot of two-legged
animals, but non-human mammals
number around 500 billion and
almost all of them are four-legged.
And according to some studies,
there might be another 10 trillion
reptiles and amphibians. So the
mean number of legs for land
vertebrates is very close to 4 (its
PHOTO: ALAMY, GETTY X3, THINKSTOCK, NASA
actually about 3.96). Fish dont
have any legs of course, and there
are another ten trillion of those, so
including them brings the average
back down to 2.
But this is only for vertebrates.
What if we included invertebrates
as well? We can ignore starfish,
octopuses, spiders and centipedes:
they have lots of legs each, but
88 Vol. 6 Issue 12
there just arent enough of them to
affect the average. But there are an
estimated 5 million trillion (5x1018)
insects. And in the sea there are at
least 20 times as many copepods
zooplankton with between 6 and 10
legs each.
In the end though it makes no
difference, because all of them
are outnumbered by the humble
roundworm. Nematodes are
mostly microscopic, but theyre
multicellular and so count as
animals, and they are found in high
densities in virtually every Earth
ecosystem. The 10 billion trillion
nematodes in the world drag the
mean number of legs down to less
than 0.1, which means that on
average, animals dont have any
legs at all! LV
How is a fracking drill
turned through an
angle of 90 degrees?
The head of a fracking
drill is tilted and can be
steered remotely
A fracking drill bores its way through
a vertical well within shale rock. Then it
turns horizontally, injecting high-pressure
water and chemicals, forcing out reserves
of gas. The drill bit is made up of sharp,
rotating teeth. The head is slightly angled
at about two degrees and can be steered.
Accelerometers and other sensors relay the
bits position, helping the operators keep it
on track. GM
Why does electricity
always run to earth?
Just as the flow of water is driven by
differences in height, the flow of
electricity is affected by the potential
difference between two points, measured
as voltage. The earth represents zero
potential, so all electricity will flow towards
it if given the opportunity say via a wire or
lightning strike. RM
Lightning occurs when
clouds and the Earth have a
large potential difference
What has the
discovery of the Higgs
boson taught us?
Most reports of the discovery of the
Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider in
Geneva in 2012 focused on its role in
explaining the origin of mass. But for
physicists, the real excitement lay in how it
confirmed their beliefs about how the
Universe is put together. For decades
theyve been searching for a theory of
everything to explain all the forces in the
Universe. To guide their ideas, theyve
looked for similarities, or symmetries,
between disparate forces. The problem is
that these similarities are sometimes very
well hidden. In the 1960s, several theorists,
including Peter Higgs at the University of
Edinburgh, argued that the apparently radical
differences between the weak nuclear force
Whats the longest a person
can survive without sleep?
Randy Gardners
(left) 1964 record
has yet to
be beaten
No one knows, but the record for the
longest wakeathon was set in 1965 when
a 17-year-old Californian student, Randy
Gardner, stayed awake without stimulants
for 264 hours. We cannot know whether
he had micro-sleeps, the very brief
moments when brain waves shift from
alpha (8-13Hz) to theta (4-7Hz) as they do
Peter Higgs
visits the
LHC, where
the particle
bearing his
name was
discovered
and the electromagnetic force would vanish
if a particle with certain properties existed.
Later dubbed the Higgs boson, its discovery
boosted the confidence of physicists in their
strategy for unifying the forces of nature. RM
in normal sleep, but by the end of his
ordeal he was described as like a
vegetable with its eyes open. In recent
experiments, others have stayed awake
for 8 to 10 days. Sleep deprivation causes
serious cognitive decline and is highly
unpleasant, but no one is known to have
died purely from lack of sleep. SB
Do all animals sneeze?
Dolphins and whales dont have a
sneezing reflex, to prevent them from
accidentally taking a lungful of water if
they sneeze underwater. And amphibians
dont have a diaphragm, so they cant
expel air powerfully enough for a proper
sneeze. But most birds, reptiles and
mammals sneeze. There are also some
odd animals that can sneeze. Hagfish
sneeze when mucus clogs their nostrils.
Even sponges, which lack any brain or
nerves, will compress their whole body to
suddenly expel water in response to
strange chemicals. LV
How do non-
green plants
photosynthesise?
The colour of
beech leaves helps
photosynthesis
All plants have chlorophyll in their
leaves but the green colour in plants such
as copper beech trees is masked by other
pigments. These carotenoid and
anthocyanin pigments dont interfere with
photosynthesis and in fact can actually
help, by capturing the energy from some of
the wavelengths of light that chlorophyll
doesnt absorb. LV
Vol. 6 Issue 12 89
 &
TOP TEN
HEAVIEST
EST ORGANS
ORG IN THE BODY
1. Skin
Average weight: 4,535g
Function: Protects against
pathogens; provides insulation;
synthesizes vitamin D; regulates
temperature; provides sensation
2. Liver
Average weight: 1,560g
Function: Breaks down toxins;
produces hormones, proteins
and digestive biochemicals;
regulates glycogen storage
3. Brain
Average weight: 1,500g
Function: Drives executive
functions such as reasoning;
coordinates responses to
changes in environment
4. Lungs
Average weight: 1,300g
Function: Supplies oxygen to
be distributed around the body;
expels carbon dioxide that is
created around the body
5. Heart
Average weight: 300g
Function: Pumps oxygenated
blood from lungs around the
body; pumps deoxygenated
blood to the lungs
6. Kidneys
Average weight: 260g (pair)
Function: Remove waste
products; regulate sodium and
water retention; filter blood;
produce urine and hormones
7. Spleen
Average weight: 175g
Function: Filters blood; holds a
reserve supply of blood; recycles
iron; synthesizes antibodies;
removes bacteria
8. Pancreas
Average weight: 70g
Function: Produces insulin and
PHOTO: GETTY X2, NASA, CERN, ALAMY
glycogen; secretes enzymes that
assist in the absorption of
nutrients in the small intestine
9. Thyroid
Average weight: 20g
Function: Controls bodys
energy use; makes proteins;
controls hormone sensitivity
10. Prostate gland
Average weight: 11g
Function: Secretes an alkaline
fluid that constitutes 50-75 per
cent of the volume of semen
90 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Why do planets not twinkle?
The Earths atmosphere is in
constant motion, and the density of its
numerous layers can vary rapidly.
So the refraction (or bending) that a stars
light experiences as it propagates
through the atmosphere is also
constantly changing. This means,
effectively, that the apparent position and
brightness of a star changes slightly from
moment to moment. This makes the star
appear to wobble or twinkle.
However, a star is so far away that it is
just a point of light whereas a planet,
being so much closer, is a tiny disc of
light. Although your eyes cant resolve
the disc unaided, the extent of the planet
on the sky is generally much larger than
the size of the atmospheric variations
which cause twinkling. So, although
planets do actually twinkle to some
extent, it is much less noticeable than it
is for stars. AG
The Moon (middle) is the
brightest object, with Venus
below, followed by the red dot
of Mars and the star Spica
Can we prevent mental illness?
Not all conditions. Some may be
preventable with advances in therapy, drug
treatments and genetic analyses but many
are unavoidable. For example, about 1 in 3
people who face extreme trauma such as
military combat, sexual abuse, terrorist
attacks or earthquakes suffer from
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with
nightmares, anxiety, flashbacks and
insomnia. We can treat their symptoms and
help people become more resilient, but to Depression may
play a role in
prevent PTSD completely we would have to protecting us
stop all wars, all natural disasters, and all from trauma
the ways people inflict misery on others.
Depression is common and deeply the circumstances that cause it.
distressing but it may be a natural The associated feeling of listlessness may
response to unbearable conditions. have evolved to save energy and withdraw
Evolutionary theories liken it to physical from activity when situations become too
pain, in motivating us to escape or avoid bad or uncontrollable. SB
 Comet debris is the cause of
most meteor showers

What happens to the debris released by a comet?

The gas and dust that is released
by passing comets generally remains
in orbit around the Sun, forming a trail
of debris dispersed along the comets
orbit. If during its annual journey around
the Sun the Earth then happens to cross
such a debris trail, we may experience
a spectacular shower of meteors, or
shooting stars, as the debris enters the
Earths atmosphere. Notable examples
of meteor showers include the Perseids
in August and the Leonids in November.
These are associated with debris from
comets 109P/Swift-Tuttle and 55P/
Tempel-Tuttle, respectively. AG

Whatever happened
d to cold fusion?
According to Einsteins famous
equation E=mc2, if two small atomic nuclei
can be fused together, the resulting mass
change is released as energy. Scientists
have achieved such nuclear fusion inside
fusion reactors generating temperatures
hotter than the core of the Sun. But in
1989 chemists Martin Fleischmann in the
UK and Stanley Pons in the US created
a sensation by claiming to have triggered
fusion at room temperature using simple
laboratory equipment.
Scientists raced to replicate their claim,
with mixed results. Despite the simplicity
of the equipment involved comparable
to that used for electroplating engine
parts and jewellery measuring just how
much energy was released proved tricky.
Most scientists concluded the positive
results
esults were due to faulty measurements,
and
nd abandoned cold fusion research.
Some have continued to pursue the
idea,
dea, however. In 2011, researchers in
Italy
aly claimed to have built a cold fusion-
powered device called the Energy
Catalyser that produced over 30 times
more power than it consumed. But the
results
esults have yet to be published in a
scientific
cientific journal, let alone replicated.
Some may argue this is because of
deliberate
eliberate suppression by the scientific
community
ommunity or the energy industry. But
after
fter 25 years of effort, the most plausible
explanation
xplanation for the lack of unequivocal
evidence
id mustt surely be th
l b thatt cold
ld ffusion
i Stanley Pons at work in his laboratory in 1993. His claim of
simply doesnt work. RM having achieved cold fusion is disputed by many scientists

Vol. 6 Issue 12 91
 &

Whats the difference

NASAs Aura satellite produced this map of the ozone
layer over Antarctica. Blue shows low ozone levels;
green, orange and yellow represent higher levels
between simple
and complex cells?
These are names for cells in the visual
cortex of the brain, which processes raw
sensory data from the retina. Different types
of cells within the cortex handle different
aspects of the image, and the simple and
complex cells react to edges and lines.
Simple cells respond to lines in an image
that are orientated at a specific angle.
Different cells have different preferred
angles, so when you look at a circle,
different brain cells recognise each part of
its circumference. The complex cells then
Simple and complex cells full different information
processing roles within the brains visual cortex
take the input from lots of simple cells and
process it further, to allow the brain to
determine the direction and speed of a line
as it moves across the visual field.
Together, these cells of the visual cortex
assemble an outline view of the world, and
then other cells process the colour and
distance information in a scene. LV

Why is the hole

in the ozone layer
over Antarctica, if Can DNA be synthesised?
its uninhabited?
Ozone depletion IS mainly caused by
chemical reactions between compounds
such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
ultraviolet light. These occur in the
stratosphere, above 8km (5 miles)
altitude. By the time polluting man-made
CFCs get that high, they have evenly
dispersed around the globe, so whether
or not people live and work under the
ozone hole isnt the determining factor in
its location.
The reason that the hole forms above
Antarctica is because the ozone-
DNA could form
destroying reactions happen much faster the basis of future
on the surface of the tiny ice crystals found hard drives
in a type of cloud, called polar
PHOTO: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X3, NOAA

stratospheric cloud, which forms in the

cold, dry conditions of the Antarctic. LV
In Numbers
0.15mm
is the length of the smallest flying insect,
a fairyfly called the Kikiki huna. Like all
fairyflies, it lives much of its life inside other
insects eggs.
Yes. Single YEAST genes were first
synthesized back in 1972. The process
involves assembling short sequences of
genetic code, called oligonucleotides,
one letter at a time. Chemical protector
molecules are temporarily attached
like scaffolding to make sure the
oligonucleotide only forms new bonds in
the right place. Oligonucleotides of up to
200 letters, or base pairs, can be made
this way, but these sequences can be
stitched together to make much longer
strands. In March this year, researchers
at New York University built an entire
yeast chromosome this way. This
contained 2,000 genes with more than
270,000 base pairs of DNA. As well as
allowing scientists to create customised
organisms, synthetic DNA can be used
to store computer data. DNA storage is
slow and expensive, but its very robust
and 5.5 million gigabytes can fit in a cubic
millimetre of DNA, which could make it a
good choice for archiving data. LV

92 Vol. 6 Issue 12
 The Galapagos
hawk; a master
of the art of
hovering ight

Birds of prey use a technique called and can even hover briefly in stationary

How do hawks wind hovering. This is really just flying

into a headwind, but they control their
forward airspeed so that it exactly
hover in the sky? balances the speed of the wind and the
air by balancing forward-gliding flight
with backwards-angled wingbeats. Gaps
between flight feathers at their ends
allow the bird to control wing turbulence

PHOTO: JONATHAN MITCHELL/ATLAS PHOTO ARCHIVE, THINKSTOCK X2, ALAN SIMKINS/HERITAGEACTION.ORG.UK

bird makes no progress relative to the and avoid stalling, and fanning the tail
ground. Kestrels are the masters of this wide provides extra lift. LV

What happened What makes things burn?

to the missing
Stonehenge stones?
We dont know for sure that they were
ever there. The incomplete outer ring of
stones today certainly suggests a circle, but
the archaeological evidence is inconclusive. Fire: a very
Its entirely possible that the builders always useful chemical
reaction indeed
intended for it to be a crescent, or simply
ran out of stone or motivation. Some stones
have been removed, though. An altar stone
described by architect Inigo Jones in 1620
vanished soon afterwards. In 2007 it was
found in two pieces in a nearby village. LV

Combustion is simply a type of chemical

An altar stone that disappeared from Stonehenge in the
17th Century was rediscovered in a nearby village in 2007
reaction that occurs between a source of
fuel and a source of oxygen, creating heat
plus new compounds. A source of energy YOUR QUESTIONS
is often needed to split apart the fuel and
oxidiser molecules for example, a spark. ANSWERED
But once the fragments start reacting, the Email to editorial-bbcknowledge@regentmedia.sg.
heat produced keeps the process going. RM Were sorry, but we cannot reply to questions individually.

Vol. 6 Issue 12 93
Resource
How We Learn
The Surprising Truth About When,
n,
Where And Why It Happens
Benedict Carey
Macmillan
They say we learn something new
every day, but have you ever wondered
how our brains actually hold on to all
that information?
In How We Learn, Benedict Carey
delves into the science of learning, using
the latest research to provide practical
tips on how to improve our study habits,
whether were cramming for that crucial
exam, perfecting our Portuguese or
attempting to master the mandolin. Along
the way, he disperses some common
myths surrounding the supposed worst
enemies of learning: laziness, ignorance
and distraction.
The book begins with a look at the
biology of memory. Carey uses the
analogy of a lm crew to describe how
the brains modules work together to
provide a continually updating record of
past, present, and possible future.The lm
in question is the story of your life, and
the director is you. In other words, you
can manipulate the memory process to
your advantage.
Of course, to know what memory is,
we need to know about forgetting. Carey
challenges the notion that to forget is
to fail, describing how the brain has to
apply lters in order for memory to work
effectively. As he explains, we are not the
victims of forgetting: focused forgetting
Carey describes
how the brain
has to apply
filters in order
for memory to
work effectively
94 Vol. 6 Issue 12
A feast for the mind
is
i in
i fact
f part off howh a healthy
h l h brain
b i
handles memory.
What about when we nd ourselves
easily distracted surely thats a hindrance
to learning? Not necessarily. Carey
believes that distraction provides the
opportunity for ideas to incubate in
our minds. Procrastination can actually
work in our favour, as it allows the brain
to work on a problem subconsciously
while we do something else. Carey also
promotes interleaving mixing up
subjects and techniques - arguing that
varied practice is more effective than
repetition because it provides a sense of
surprise.This is ideal for learning, because
the brain is tuned to identify incongruities.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this
learners bible is the section on perceptual
learning.This happens automatically, all the
time, and it can be exploited to speed up
our learning of specic skills. Indeed, Carey
predicts a future where perceptual learning
is central in training surgeons, scientists,
pilots and crime scene investigators.
Carey has turned my understanding of
learning on its head. He offers a unique
insight into memory, and Ill denitely be
using some of these strategies myself.
DR NICOLA DAVIES is a psychologist and health writer
Hardback Paperback
MEET THE
T AUTHOR
Benedict
Carey
Wheres the best place to study?
The best approach is to make your
learning independent of any one
environment. So study in a quiet room,
then with music, inside, outside, at a
caf Over time, this builds an
independent knowledge thats not tied to
one particular area. Some people who only
study in one place become almost
mentally dependent on that place. So the
answer to your question is change it up.
How about revision? Does cramming
work, or should we pace ourselves?
Pace yourselves. Cramming works fine,
but it doesnt last. If you space the
available study time and break it up into
chunks according to a schedule, youll
remember at least as much, and for far
longer. This is one of the oldest findings
in psychology it goes back to the very
first learning scientist Hermann
Ebbinghaus in the 1800s and scientists
have since run all sorts of experiments to
show that spaced study almost always
wins [versus cramming].
Should we worry about distractions
like Facebook and emails?
Distraction is bad if you need continuous
attention if youre driving or if youre
listening to a lecture. However, in certain
kinds of learning, distraction can be very
helpful when youre stuck. The brain is no
longer directly working on the problem, but
it is working on it subconsciously. Its
rearranging things a little, playing with the
information offline, and this can give you
new insights. The distraction can also
cause some forgetting to happen, so that
you let go of some of the wrong ideas that
you had in the first place.
The Human Age
The World Shaped By Us
Diane Ackerman
Headline
Some Geologists now include a
Human Age, or Anthropocene,
alongside the other great geological
eras, reecting our species colossal
inuence on Earths environment. But
where many authors get stuck
bemoaning the pollution, starvation,
overcrowding, climate change and
extinctions that humanity has wrought,
Diane Ackerman is more sanguine. For
her, the real human age is the age of
invention and technology, and how
these are not only changing our
biological and social make-up, but also
opening up new and uncharted futures.
Emotional robots are evolving the
capacity for self-awareness and empathy,
and also for deceit. Genetic
engineering will mean extinct species
can be reborn, and allow babies to be
assembled from a mosaic of genes, not
just those of two conventional parents.
3D printers promise a world in which
ears, kidneys and hearts can be made to
order, or you might prefer to grow
your own by cloning parts of yourself
from a skin cell.
Its time to prepare for this new era,
and Ackerman gives us a thought-
provoking place to start, written in an
almost stream-of-consciousness style.
PROF MARK PAGEL is head of the Evolutionary
Biology Group at the University of Reading
Invisible
The Dangerous Lure Of The Unseen
Philip Ball
The Bodley Head
Planet Of The Bugs
Evolution And The Rise Of Insects
Scott Richard Shaw
Chicago University Press
If you want to appreciate biodiversity
and evolution and truly understand
how the natural world works, then
study the insects. They are predators
and prey, parasites and hosts, herbivores
and carnivores, swimmers and divers,
yers and walkers. There is a
staggering diversity of them, in
astronomical numbers, in habitats
across the globe. To appreciate insects
is to appreciate life on this planet
and its obvious from the prologue to
Planet Of The Bugs that Scott
Richard Shaw feels the same way.
Books on diversity arent hard to
nd, nor are titles discussing form and
function. The who and how of insects
are taken care of, but the why is less
well explored. Why did they evolve and
why are they so successful? Shaw
approaches these issues with a skilful
mix of academic authority and
humour. He guides us along an
evolutionary timeline that begins with
the Cambrian rise of arthropods and
ends in modern Ecuador
contemplating insect-like life on other
planets. This is a thought-provoking,
entertaining account of insect evolution
that will leave you hoping Shaws
buggy universe hypothesis is correct.
PROF ADAM HART is the co-presenter of
Hive Alive on BBC Two
Philip Ball, whose Serving The Reich is on the
longlist for the Royal Society Winton Prize,
excels at taking obscure subjects and providing
erudite yet approachable explorations. So he
does in Invisible.
Its easy to guess what a book on the science
of invisibility would be about. It would cover
natural camouflage, stealth technology,
metamaterial invisibility cloaks and video
concealment. As, indeed, Invisible does but
only for around a quarter of its pages, because
Ball is not one for delivering the expected. Even
in these areas Ball can surprise, pointing out that
the chameleon, the poster animal for natural
The Marshmallow Test
Understanding Self-Control
And How To Master It
Walter Mischel
Bantam Press
In the 1960s, psychologist Walter
Mischel tested childrens ability to resist
scofng one marshmallow now, for the
chance to get two in a few minutes
time. There was huge variation in the
kids ability to delay their pleasure.
Decades later, the researchers caught up
with many of their original volunteers,
and they found that those who
exhibited greater self-control in
childhood had gone on to perform
better at school, enjoy more successful
careers and live more healthily.
This makes it sound as if willpower is
a xed trait, with some of us lucky
enough to be bestowed with more of it
than others. However, Mischel makes
the opposite case. He explains the ways
that we can all boost our self-control.
These includes cooling temptations to
make them less appealing; heating the
future to make it more vivid; and
rehearsing if-then plans, such as If Im
feeling hungry, then I will eat an apple
as a way to develop healthier habits.
This book, from one of the giants of
modern psychology, is easy to read and
conveys an empowering message. But
the scientic content is rather
lightweight, which may leave some
readers unsatised.
DR CHRISTIAN JARRETT is author of
The Rough Guide To Psychology
camouflage, likely changes colour more to
attract the opposite sex than to disappear.
Before we get there, though, the author takes
time to explore invisibility in folklore and
pseudoscience, sances and secret societies. It
can sometimes feel that the plethora of historical
oddities makes the topic so insubstantial that it
is almost transparent itself. Yet this exploration of
the borderline between rational thinking and
fantasy makes fascinating reading.
BRIAN CLEGG is the author of Life In A Random
Universe and The Quantum Age
Vol. 6 Issue 12 95
Time Out
In the know SET BY DAVID J BODYCOMBE

A cave engraving found in Gibraltar Complete the recent headline:

1 may be the best evidence yet for This otherworldly image 10 Spending less time ______ ______
5 is a close-up of which
Neanderthal art. What symbol could be the key to living longer
does the etching resemble? creepy-crawly?
a) Sitting down
a) A hashtag a) Bed bug b) Phoning friends
b) A question mark b) Human flea c) Watching TV
c) An asterisk c) Deer tick

The worlds last known passenger

Complete the recent headline: 11 pigeon died 100 years ago. What
2 _________-powered battery could
was her name?
charge your phone
a) Mabel
a) Urine b) Maggie
b) Sweat According to psychologists at c) Martha
c) Saliva 6 Kings College London, what
could predict a childs future
intelligence?
Scientists have discovered the most
Which fictional character was a) Their drawings 12 complete giant sauropod dinosaur
3 recently sent into space aboard b) The length of their earlobes
skeleton yet. Roughly how much
a Japanese micro-satellite? c) Their parents jobs
did the Dreadnoughtus weigh?
a) Hello Kitty a) 20 tonnes
b) Godzilla b) 40 tonnes
c) Mario Recent research at the University c) 60 tonnes
7 of Exeter has refuted what
commonly held belief?
a) That magpies steal shiny objects
PHOTO: MARCUS DESIENO, AUCTINATA/KLAS FOERSTER, DAVID HARING/DUKE LEMUR CENTER

This odd-looking critter is a baby This snazzy Soviet dog spacesuit

4 b) That bulls are enraged by the 13 recently went up for auction.
aye-aye lemur being weighed colour red
at North Carolinas Duke Lemur What was the name of the Soviet
c) That goldfish have a
Center. To which island are dog who in 1957 became the first
three-second memory
lemurs endemic? animal to orbit Earth?
a) Mauritius a) Lisichka
b) Majorca b) Laika
Astronomers have mapped the c) Lenin
c) Madagascar 8 huge supercluster of galaxies to
which the Milky Way belongs.
Theyve dubbed it Laniakea,
but what does this mean in
Hawaiian?
a) Exquisite sky
b) Celestial sphere
c) Immeasurable heaven

Computer scientists from

9 Birmingham University have
developed a robot capable of what?
a) Polishing your car
b) Loading your dishwasher
c) Taking out your rubbish and
sorting your recycling
This fella is endangered on its home island of

96 Vol. 6 Issue 12
Crossword No.170
ACROSS
9 Skid like an amphibious aircraft? (9)
10 Fruit, seafood and beer have double phosphorous (4,5)
12 Weight of potassium oil varies (4)
13 Salt and chalk, a line going round (6)
14 Rust makes old exit have trouble with keys (7)
15 Lint used in location of aphids (5,4)
17 Sealed window weighing virtually nothing (9)
18 Tip over during journey in current (7)
19 Doctor rings graduate first for building material (6)
20 Stuttering at start of operation (1-3)
23 Denigrate feathers, to a degree (9)
25 Rushing to perplex bat (6,3)
26 Cure using colour (4)
27 Jack gets a shilling for every mineral (6)
29 Finally, a moderate paint (7)
32 Flier and warmonger pursue good score (5-4)
34 Soothing and helpful about married university student (9)
35 Writer has lost out in trifle (7)
36 Starving country loses area (6)
37 Horse throwing up dust (4)
38 Mongoose has one, using one munch (9)
39 Clean the beach to have fun (9)

DOWN
1 Fun incentive to get delphinium (8)
2 Energy from America or Russia, say (7,5)
3 Digital protection dossier carried in handbag (4,4)
4 Points to identical seeds (6)
5 Im chased around port (8)
6 Room for experiment (10) SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD
7 Mother will get a kiss and Ill get a bone (7) 167 QUIZ
8 Abandon reported connections to cat (6,4) ANSWERS
11 Called after parking collision (5) 12C, 13B
16 Prioritising the first one in anger (6) 9B, 10A, 11C,
19 Last word from the cricket (3) 5B, 6A, 7A, 8C,
21 Woman gets fellow ordering free Latin gear (12) 1A, 2B, 3A, 4C,
22 Creature has article to mail off (6)
23 I had returned with exciting insulator (10)
24 Asian range of anorak may develop answer (6,4) HOW DID YOU
25 Confirmation about tree (3) SCORE?
28 Heard to store underwear in nickel silver (8) 0-4 Dogs dinner
29 Monkey adds note of flavouring (8) 5-9 Dogged effort
30 Remedy against treasure (8) 10-13 Top dog
31 Last character gets directions to rent outsome hops (7)
33 Ravine starts to give up large calcium hexagons (5)
34 Hurry to take in new nationality (6)

Vol. 6 Issue 12 97
The Last Word
Major breakthroughs can come from the most
seemingly trivial of investigations
ome of the worlds top scientists start to
S get twitchy every time the phone rings Watching a dinner plate wobble
in the air helped physicist
at this time of the year. Will it finally Richard Feynman develop his
be The Call From Sweden? No, not a dodgy Nobel-winning theory
Scandinavian chat-line ringing back, but the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences informing
them theyve won a Nobel Prize.
Most scientists dont lose much sleep over
getting The Call, because they know theyve
never made a big enough breakthrough to merit
the ultimate scientific accolade. Chances are
more of them fret about winning the rather less
prestigious comedy version: an Ig Nobel Prize.
Established in 1991, each years crop of Ig
Nobels are announced just before the real thing,
and often get far more media coverage. Small
wonder: breakthroughs honoured over the
years include the discovery that dung beetles
navigate using the Milky Way, that mosquitoes
are attracted by the smell of Limburger cheese,
and that hiccups can be stopped by sticking a
finger up well, you can probably guess where.
All these advances have been reported in
respectable journals by respectable scientists.
And none of them has a hope of winning a real
Nobel, because theyre all a bit, well, trivial.
Serious breakthroughs come from research in
serious fields like quantum theory, cosmology
and genetics. At least,
thats the general
perception but its not
There are on the design of a grand fountain for King Frederick the Great of
Prussia. Solving a puzzle about the best route across the bridges of a
always true. There are many examples of Russian town led to techniques now used to understand networks in
many examples of research everything from electronics to ecology. The great American physicist
into trivial stuff that
research into trivial Richard Feynman even claimed his Nobel Prize-winning work on
produced insights that are stuff that produced electrons and light began by figuring out the wobble of a dinner-plate
anything but. tossed in the air.
In 1696, a Swiss insights that are Even some Ig Nobels look capable of leading to breakthroughs.
mathematician challenged anything but In 2011, two researchers at the University of California won an Ig
his colleagues to work for studying how easily string gets knotted if carelessly handled. We
out the shape into which wire must be bent so that a bead would all know this affects everything from headphone flex to garden hose.
slide from one point to another in the shortest possible time. You But it also applies to the string-like DNA crammed into our cells.
ILLUSTRATOR: ROBERT G. FRESSON

might think its a straight line, but that doesnt make best use of the
downward acceleration produced by gravity. The answer turns out
to be a curve called a cycloid. To which the most natural response
would be Yeah, whaddever. But in solving the problem, the
mathematicians brother came up with ideas that laid the foundation
for the calculus of variations. This bag of tricks is now routinely used
by physicists trying to understand everything from subatomic forces
to the origin of the Universe.
Its a similar story in other areas of science. The laws of fluid flow
used in climate models and aircraft design owe their origins to work
Understanding how DNA stays knot-free has already led to some new
therapies for disease.
I also have high hopes for the research which won an Ig Nobel
in 1996, by explaining why toast so often lands butter-side down. It
revealed a connection between tumbling toast and the design of the
Universe which I still find amazing. But then, I would say that, as I was
the author. Hey, that wasnt the phone, was it?
ROBERT MATTHEWS is Visiting Reader in Science at Aston University, Birmingham

98 Vol. 6 Issue 12
www.bbc-asia.com BBC Knowledge Asia @BBCKnow_Asia