Contents Vol.

8 Issue 1

FEATURES
28 Sweet & Low
NATURE

Imagine this, a world where food is scarce and you have to

use your own body to stockpile them. That is what honeypot
ants do and besides feeding their colonies, they are a sweet
treat for Native Americans as well as Aborigines in Australia
ON THE COVER
SCIENCE

35 All By Myself
You may have watched Ridley Scotts The Martian on the
silver screen, we examine the effects of extreme isolation
on the human psyche and nd out it concerns much more
than the basic needs of food, oxygen and hydration
HISTORY

42 The War Without An End

The brutality of a war doesnt end with a truce or a victory as
this article proves, despite a victory accorded to the allies on
8th May 1945, survivors of the war enact their own brand of
revenge against German speakers throughout Europe
28 Sweet & Low
ON THE COVER
NATURE

48 Natures Nightmare Animals

Forget vampires, mummies and zombies, these animals
are the epitome that the truth or reality is weirder and
stranger than ction, we feature some of natures truly
living, breathing monsters
ON THE COVER
SCIENCE

52 Real Life Superhumans

Many scientists have always believed that we humans
have yet to unlock our true potential, meet the Native
Mexicans, Buddhist monks and Thai nomads that seem to
possess amazing Superhuman abilities
ON THE COVER
SCIENCE

56 Why We Want To Believe

The increase in documentary-dramas on television are a
good indication of their increasing popularity. From JFK
to chem-trails, why do conspiracy theories have such a
grip on our collective imaginations?
ON THE COVER
SCIENCE

64 Beating Mass Extinction

With evidence suggesting were on the brink of a sixth
mass extinction, showing that Earth is experiencing the
beginnings of an extinction event at least as large as the
one that killed the dinosaurs what can we do to prevent it?

74 Pangolins Under Pressure

NATURE

They have survived for over 80 million years through a unique

defense mechanism by rolling up into a ball with their keratin
scales as protection. However they are highly sought after in
many parts of Africa and Asia hence theyve been called, the 8 Snapshot
most traded mammal on the planet

4 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 81 Into The Future

SCIENCE
56 Why We Want To Believe Stephen Baxter is a science ction writer who has written
over 40 books and in this new column he discusses why
buildings of the future may not look like buildings at all

96 My Life Scientic

SCIENCE
Meet Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive
Development at University College London, who also
chairs the Diversity Committee at the Royal Society

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

8 Snapshot
Stunning images from the elds of science, history and nature

UPDATE
14 The Latest Intelligence
Earth may be one of the rst planets of its kind, anywhere, could
a drug replace the gym, were all going to die (in about 14 million
years or so), Lab-grown organoids could replace animals in drug tests

23 Comment & Analysis

The surprising link between bathroom doors and violins

81 Q&A
This month: what dust is
made of, can cockroaches
live without their heads,
whether black holes rotate,
why turtles cry, does music
affect our heart rate, and
much more

RESOURCE
94 Reviews
The latest, and perhaps more fascinating, books reviewed by experts

97 Time Out
Mind games for the brain

74 Pangolins Under Pressure 98 Last Word

Robert Matthews takes a closer look at breakthroughs

Vol. 8 Issue 1 5
Welc me  Send us your letters
editorial-bbcknowledge@regentmedia.sg

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND
The above is a quotation by John Donne and what it means
is quite simply, no human being can thrive alone. We are
BBC Knowledge Magazine
social beings hence we need to be in the company of others
Includes selected articles from other BBC specialist magazines, including
to progress, to socialise and to a large extent, to survive. Focus, BBC History Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
If you caught Ridley Scotts The Martian, it bears a
scant similarity to Robert Zemeckis 2000 movie Cast
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY FUTURE
Away, where an executive Chuck Noland played by Tom www.sciencefocus.com
Hanks, is the sole survivor of a crashed ight, and learns
how to survive on an island where he remains for years,
accompanied by only his handmade volleyball friend, www.historyextra.com
Wilson. In the movie The Martian, astronaut Mark
Watney played by Matt Damon gets left behind on Mars, www.discoverwildlife.com
and is presumed dead after a erce storm. With only a small
amount of supplies, he has to use his wits and spirit to nd a
way to survive on the hostile planet. Important change:
Getting stuck alone on a planet such as Mars can have The licence to publish this magazine was acquired from BBC Worldwide by
serious effects; exposure to its ionising radiation can harm Immediate Media Company on 1 November 2011. We remain committed to
the central nervous system and cause brain damage. Whilst sleep deprivation coupled with making a magazine of the highest editorial quality, one that complies with BBC
isolation is also responsible for a weakened immune system making the astronaut more editorial and commercial guidelines and connects with BBC programmes.

prone to infection by common viruses and microorganisms, plus the time spent in micro
The BBC Earth television channel is available in the following regions:
gravity can alter vision as well as impair balance.
Asia (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea,
And these are just some of the known dangers, there remains a large amount of Thailand, Taiwan)
uncertainty for our rst trip to Mars, and it all boils down to having astronauts that have the
mental capacity and gumption to just get on with it no matter what happens. SCIENCE HISTORY NATURE FOR THE CURIOUS MIND
Know more. Anywhere.
Ben Poon
ben@regentmedia.sg

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Experts in this issue

Dr Alex Matt Kath Rob
Kumar Swaine Nightingale Brotherton
As a doctor, Matt is a former Editor Science writer Kath Rob is an academic
well-travelled of BBC Wildlife donned her cape specialising in the
explorer, and expedition medic on Magazine and is a fan of all animals and mask to nd out more about psychology of conspiracy theories. On
Antarctic missions, Alex was perfectly but even he struggled to love some of the tribes that have successfully p56, he looks at the reasons why so
qualied to discuss the effects of the gruesome real-life monsters he tapped into superhuman powers. many of us believe in them.
isolation on p35. researched on p48. Be amazed on p52.

6 Vol. 8 Issue 1
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SCIENCE

Crystal pools
To the casual observer, the colourful
strips of these potash ponds appear
to be giant sections of stained glass,
nestled among the canyons of Utahs
rugged, red landscape.
The potash evaporation ponds form
part of a mine that extracts potassium
compounds from the rock deep below.
Wells are drilled into the salt beds
beneath the site and hot water is used
to dissolve the salts and transport
them to the surface, says Daniel Hall
from the Utah Division of Water Quality.
The brine is then deposited into the
evaporation ponds.
After 300 days under the hot
sunshine, the crystals are taken away
and processed for a variety of uses,
including agriculture and beer brewing.
Blue dye is added to the water,
which gives the ponds their colour.
Blue absorbs more solar radiation and
therefore speeds up the evaporation.
These vivid pools are fast becoming
an intriguing attraction in what is known
as Canyon Country.

PHOTO: LORAINELTAI/FLICKR

8 Vol. 8 Issue 1
Vol. 8 Issue 1 9
NATURE

Lost world
A unique ecosystem lies hidden from
view, 290m beneath the Earths surface.
This 16.47-acre sinkhole is concealed in
the misty mountains of Xuanen County,
in Chinas Hubei province.
The sinkhole formed when water
dissolved the soluble underlying rock.
As well as sinkholes, this process can
create caves and underground streams.
With light and water constantly
trickling in, this miniature world is able to
sustain a variety of plants, insects and
birds, whose isolation could lead to the
formation of new species.
What matters for speciation to
progress is the balance between
isolation and the strength of natural
selection for adaptation to the special
conditions in the sinkhole, such as
low light, explains the University of
Sheffields Prof Roger Butlin. There
would also have to be a large enough
population in the sinkhole for natural
selection to be effective, relative to
chance effects like genetic drift.

PHOTO: BARCROFT MEDIA

10 Vol. 8 Issue 1
Vol. 8 Issue 1 11
HISTORY
Celebrating 20 years
of SOHO
After 20 years in space, ESA and
NASAs Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory, or SOHO, is still going
strong. Originally launched in 1995
to study the sun and its inuence
out to the very edges of the solar
system, SOHO revolutionized
this eld of science, known as
heliophysics, providing the basis
for nearly 5,000 scientic papers.
SOHO discovered dynamic solar
phenomena such as coronal waves,
solar tsunamis and sun quakes, and
found an unexpected role as the
greatest comet hunter of all time,
reaching 3,000 comet discoveries in
September 2015.
This Best of SOHO image
by the observatorys LASCO C2
coronograph from 8 November,
2000, shows what appears to
be two coronal mass ejections
(CMEs) heading in symmetrically
opposite directions from the sun. A
12 Vol. 8 Issue 1
304 image from SOHOs Extreme
ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT)
taken on the same day has been
superimposed over the dark disk
which blocks the sun so that the
LASCO instrument can observe
the structures of the corona in
visible light. CMEs, which are huge,
fast-moving clouds of electrically-
charged solar material that contain
embedded magnetic elds, can
cause geomagnetic storms when
they collide with Earths magnetic
eld, causing it to shimmy and
shake. The ability to connect the
effects of geomagnetic storms like
auroras, GPS and communication
disturbances, and geomagnetically
induced currents, which can put a
strain on power gridsto events
on the sun has brought the idea of
space weather into the mainstream.
PHOTO: ESA/NASA/SOHO
Vol. 8 Issue 1 13
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

p17 PLASTIC SUGARY p24 NEW SPECIES

UNFANTASTIC COMET FOUND
We need the oceans, Its spewing Weird creatures,
so why are we letting out alcohol! including a
them become a p21 Christmas has blue-eyed frog and
plastic soup? come early a walking sh

T H E B I G S T O RY

MOST EARTH-LIKE PLANETS

ARE YET TO BE BORN

According to data from the Hubble Space

Telescope and Kepler, Earth may be one of the
earliest habitable planets in existence

he Earth may be one of the earliest habitable planets ever to

T form, researchers from the Space Telescope Science Institute
PHOTO: NASA

The Universe may continue have found. Scientists surveying data collected by NASAs
to pump out planets for Hubble Space Telescope and the planet-hunting Kepler space
billions of years
observatory have found that when our Solar System

14 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 The Kepler mission is
looking for planets around
other stars in the Milky Way GOOD MONTH/
BAD MONTH
Its been good for:
WEIGHTLIFTERS
Pumping iron twice a week may help keep
your brain young. A team at the University of
British Columbia has found that those who
worked out with weights had less age-
related brain shrinkage than their peers.

THE FOLLICLY CHALLENGED

If you hanker after the days when you had
a head of luscious hair, you may be in luck.
A Columbia University team has found that
came into being 4.6 billion years ago, Although the formation rate is much slower rapid hair growth can be triggered in mice
only 8 per cent of the habitable Earth-like today, the sheer volume of leftover gas means that by giv
by giving
iving
n th
ng them
heem m dru
drugs that
ggss tha
th
hat
haat iinhibit
nhhi
nhi
h bit
hibit
biit ce
bi ccertain
erta
rtain
ttainn
planets that will ever form existed. the Universe will continue to pump out stars and eenzymes
en
enz
nnzzym
yme
ymes
mes wwithin
itith
tthhin
hinn the
th
their
heiirir ha
hhairr ffollicles.
hai oll icl
ooll iccles.
cles.
es.
ess
The overwhelming majority a whopping planets for hundreds of billions of years.
92 per cent of the planets are still yet to be There is enough remaining material after the
born and will not appear until long after our Sun Big Bang to produce even more planets in the
burns itself out in around six billion years time. future, in the Milky Way and beyond, added co-
Our main motivation was understanding the investigator Dr Molly Peeples.
Earths place in the context of the rest of the The Universes last star is not expected to
Universe, said study author Dr Peter Behroozi. burn out for another 100 trillion years, providing
Compared to all the planets that will ever form enough time for countless numbers of Earth-like
in the Universe, the Earth is actually quite early.
For a planet to be considered habitable, it has
planets to form in habitable zones.This is perhaps
bad news for those hoping to come into contact
Its been bad for:
to orbit its parent star at a distance that could with alien life forms, but it does offer us one DOTING FATHERS
Any father is likely to beam with joy upon
allow liquid water to exist on the surface not so advantage: we are able to use powerful telescopes
hearing their baby blurt out dada for the
close that it boils away, and not so far away that it such as the Hubble Space Telescope to peer deep
first time. But their pride is misplaced, a
freezes. Based on data from Keplers planet survey, into the Universe allowing us to track its birth all
study from the University of Missouri has
the researchers predict there are currently around the way back to the Big Bang. found. The babies arent calling for their
one billion Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way Were lucky to live at this point in the Universes fathers but are instead listening to the
and 100 trillion in the observable Universe. history. Observational evidence for the Big Bang sound of their own voice.
Data from the Hubble Space Telescope shows and cosmic evolution encoded in light and other
that 10 billion years ago the Universe was electromagnetic radiation will be all but erased
making stars at a much faster rate than it is now. in a trillion years due to the runaway expansion MEAT LOVERS
However, only a small proportion of hydrogen of the Universe. This will make it incredibly Next time you are reaching for that bacon
butty or sausage bap you might want to
and helium gas, the elements needed to form a difficult for far-future civilisations to figure out
think twice. A report released by the World
star, was used. how the Universe began and evolved.
Health Organization claims that eating just
50g of processed meat a day, less then one
Timeline average sausage, can increase the chance of
A history of exoplanet research developing colorectal cancer by 18 per cent.
However, the overall risk of developing
PHOTO: NASA X2, ISTOCK X2

1992 1999 2001 2009 cancer due to the consumption of processed

Astronomers
Aleksander Wolszczan
and Dale Frail track
down PSR1257+12b,
which is the first planet
ever discovered
outside the Solar
System.
meat still remains small,, theyy said.
David Charbonneau Astronomers from NASAs Kepler
(right) and Greg Henry Geneva University find mission launches to
independently observe HD28185 b, the first survey a region of the
HD209458 b, the first exoplanet found to be Milky Way with the
transiting exoplanet. It is in the so-called goal of discovering
the first exoplanet habitable zone around Earth-like planets
known to have an a star where liquid orbiting other stars.
atmosphere. water can exist.

Vol. 8 Issue 1 15
 Update
1 MINUTE EXPERT
Meson f0(1710)
Whats that? A new
rst-person shooter,
perhaps?
Way off. Its an exotic particle
proposed as a candidate for the
elusive glueball by scientists at
Vienna University of Technology.
So whats a glueball?
Its a particle made up entirely
of gluons elementary
particles that help to bind quarks
together to form protons and neutrons.
Its existence was first proposed by
physicists Murray Gell-Mann and
Harald Fritzsch in 1972.
Okay. What makes
them so elusive?
Glueballs are so unstable
that they can only be detected
indirectly by searching for evidence
of their decay patterns. This means
that researchers must look for the
signature particle trails they leave
behind as they break down. The
team has proposed a mechanism forr
this decay process.
So now they have
found them, we
can break out the
champagne, right?
Not just yet. While there is strong
evidence that the team have got
their sums right, the theory is going
to be tested further in experiments
carried out by the TOTEM and LHCb
detectors at CERNs Large Hadron
Collider in the coming months.
PHOTO: TU WIEN, ISTOCK X2
A glueball is made up of gluons
16 Vol. 8 Issue 1
THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
MEDI
ME
MEDICINE
DICI
CINE
NE
Could we create exercise in a bottle?
We all know that working out
is good for us but sometimes
the sofa and a bag of crisps are
just too inviting.
A team at the University of
Sydney has found that drugs
could potentially be created
that mimic the effects of
exercise. Exercise is the most
powerful therapy for many
human diseases, including
Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular
disease and neurological
disorders, explained research
leader Prof David James.
NEUROSCIENCE
NEUR
NE UROS
OSCI
CIEN
ENCE
Dream on and off and on
Sweet dreams could be a mere
flip of a switch away. A team
at UC Berkeley has devised a
method of sending mice into
REM sleep in seconds.
The scientists inserted an
optogenetic switch into group
of nerve cells in the medulla, a
part of the brain that regulates
functions such as breathing,
heart rate and blood pressure.
They then shone lasers at
targeted areas of the brain to
activate and deactivate it.
REM (rapid eye movement)
sleep is the dream state
characterised by activation
of the cortex, an area of the
brain connected to memory,
thought and consciousness, and
paralysis of the skeletal muscles.
People used to think that
this region of the medulla was
only involved in the paralysis
However, for many people,
exercise isnt a viable treatment
option.This means its essential
we find ways of developing
drugs that mimic the benefits
of exercise.
The researchers analysed
muscle biopsies from four
untrained, healthy males
following 10 minutes of high
intensity exercise.They found
that activity triggered more
than 1,000 molecular changes
within the muscle.
Most traditional drugs target
of skeletal muscles during
REM sleep, said lead author
Yang Dan. What we showed
is that these neurones triggered
all aspects of REM sleep,
including muscle paralysis and
the typical cortical activation
that makes the brain look
more awake than in non-
REM sleep.
The discovery will
help researchers
understand the
complex process
of sleep and
dreaming in the
brain, and could
lead to new
therapies, the
researchers said.
Many
psychiatric
disorders,
especially mood
One day, could drugs offer all the
benefits of pounding the pavements?
individual molecules, but the
exercise blueprint shows that
for any drug to mimic exercise
it will need to target multiple
molecules at the same time.
We believe this is the key
to unlocking the riddle of
drug treatments to mimic
exercise, James said. Our data
clearly show the complexity
of the response: it is not one
thing, but rather the drug will
have to target multiple things.
Our research has provided the
roadmap to figure this out.
disorders, are correlated with
changes in REM sleep, and
some widely used drugs affect
REM sleep, so it seems to be
a sensitive indicator of mental
and emotional health, said
researcher Franz Weber.
All tuckered out from experiments
The price of
plastic bags DAVID SHUKMAN
The science that matters

At a resort in Turkey, the beach

closest to our hotel was spotless Plastic waste at Labuan Bajo
in eastern Indonesia
but a neighbouring stretch of
sand was almost covered with
pieces of plastic. Bags, bottles,
ropes and other items lay
heaped on the shoreline and
turned a potentially beautiful
spot into a dump.
Just offshore, I filmed more
plastic bobbing on the swell.The
experience was pretty shocking
because like an iceberg the
majority of waste drifts unseen
below the waves. I used the
shots in a report on the BBCs
News at Six marking the recent
introduction of a US$8 charge
for bags in England.The editors
were appalled at the scene.
The latest estimate is that
some eight million tonnes of
plastic are added to the oceans
every year and that creates two
big threats. For a start, the stuff
accumulates. Plastic has become
central to our lives because it is
so durable, but this means that creatures at the bottom of the on the threat of plastic waste seven threat to marine life, and ultimately
much of it lasts. The second marine food chain. Research years ago, it seemed to land as a to us, we need a sustained and
problem is that flimsy pieces suggests that a person eating an bombshell for many people. Now concerted research effort.
of plastic, such as bags, get average amount of seafood would theres far greater awareness of the In the meantime, the priority
broken up into millions of tiny consume about 11,000 plastic potential impact of marine plastic. has to be to try to stop yet more
fragments and what happens particles every year.That may be And theres also been a huge plastic getting into the oceans in
to them is now the subject of harmful or not. Other toxins increase in scientific engagement. the first place. Just a thought next
urgent research. in seafood, such as heavy metals, Plastic waste is a menace that not time youre offered a bag.
Studies at Plymouth Marine may be far more threatening.We only concerns oceanographers and
Laboratory and the University of cannot be sure. conservationists but also biologists,
Exeter have shown that so-called And this brings to me to some chemists and toxicologists. If were DAVID SHUKMAN is the BBCs Science
microplastics are ingested by good news.When I first reported to understand the true scale of the Editor. @davidshukmanbbc

WHOS IN Hang on. Didnt he die in 1963?

He did. But conspiracy theories
a 6.5mm Carcano rifle, the same
model used to shoot Kennedy, was
used 3D modelling techniques to
accurately recreate and analyse

TH
THE
HE NEWS? surrounding the assassination of
President John F Kennedy have
faked. They cite inconsistencies in
the shots shadows and the fact that
the photo. They found that
although Oswald was standing at
Lee Harvey Oswald proved more difficult to kill off. he looks to be off-balance. Oswald an unusual angle in the picture,
himself also claimed that the picture his posture would still have been
PHOTOS: GETTY X2

The gunman
So are there any was a fake. stable. The lighting and shadows
who shot JFK
new developments? were also found to be consistent
There are. Wearers of tinfoil hats have Whats the verdict? with the light source. To find out
long claimed that a famous black and Computer scientists at New more, listen to an In Short clip at
white photograph of Oswald holding Hampshires Dartmouth University bbc.in/1GRZsPP

Vol. 8 Issue 1 17
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

DISCOVERIES Self-destructing
circuit
James Bonds gadget supplier Q

THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE would be proud of this: an electrical

circuit that disappears after one day,
leaving no trace of its original purpose.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Abnormal activation of a cluster of designed it by depositing carbon
neurones may cause migraines
atoms on graphene the miracle
Migraine
10 breakthrough
material thats also a form of carbon.
The atoms initially form a circuit but
gradually move out of position. The
Abnormal activation of a speed of this change depends on the
cluster of brain cells called the temperature and specially designed
trigeminovascular system is structures on the surface. In addition
believed to be responsible for to espionage there are medical
causing migraines. The cluster applications: different patterns of
relays sensory information, atoms could trigger the release of
PHOTO: C BICKEL/SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, ROB FELT, VIPUTHESHWAR SITARAMAN, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY, TRILITE,

including pain signals, but which drugs into a patients bloodstream.

part of the nervous system
triggered it was unknown. Now,
an international team has treated
migraines in rats by targeting
cells deep inside the brain. The
scientists used a compound to
block PAC1 a receptor protein
but so far it has only been
applied directly to the brain,
rather than intravenously.
Andrei Fedorov created the Bond-like circuit
RUVID, AMY BETZ/KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, MINORU TAKASATO, MARCO TRIPODI

HIV Lab-grown Anti-frost

detector kidney cells surface
A fast, cheap way of diagnosing Frost plays havoc with travel plans,
infectious and autoimmune diseases covering your car windows and
such as HIV and rheumatoid arthritis delaying flights. But now a surface
has been developed at the University has been created by engineers at
of Montreal. A machine made Kansas State University that prevents
of DNA can recognise a specific frost forming at temperatures down
antibody binding to it and creating to -6C. Its biphilic, repelling water
a signal by generating light within in some areas and attracting it in
five minutes. others, which delays the freezing of
the droplets.
The DNA
machine binding
to antibody
Lab-grown kidneys suitable for
transplants are some way off. But
scientists at Murdoch Childrens
Research Institute have grown a kidney-
like structure from stem cells. It could
be used for testing drugs, researching
diseases and supplying kidney cells for
medical treatments. Droplets forming on a biphilic surface at -4C

18 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 Microbe
fingerprints Youre gonna need a
bigger screen
Crimes could be
identified from
microbes in the
air. We all have
bacteria living on us,
but the combination
varies. University of Oregon
scientists told 11 people
apart simply by sampling the Your bacterial
air around them. aura is unique

Robotic
finger
A 3D-printed robotic finger that looks
and feels like a human appendage
could be the future of prosthetics. It is
made of shape memory alloy (SMA) that
flexes and extends when its heated and
cooled by an electric current.
Three-dimensional
billboard
3D is back again. At Vienna University of creating a 3D picture by giving each eye
Technology, researchers have perfected a a different perspective. The system is
3D display requiring no glasses. Its pixels, capable of playing 3D movies or serving
dubbed Trixels, combine red, green and up eye-catching adverts on gigantic
blue lasers and moveable micro mirrors. billboards. Its makers say the technology is
The image changes as the mirrors sweep ready for commercial partners to take
This finger could revolutionise prosthetics from left to right across your field of view, it forward.

Self-repairing Personalised
material education
Imagine how useful a self- Everyones brain cells neurones
repairing material would be. form a unique pattern of
It could be used in parts for connections, according to research
cars, planes and spacecraft by Yale scientists. They identified 126
to help prevent catastrophic individuals from brain scans taken
failures, and medical implants as they performed a variety of tasks,
that break inside a human producing a fingerprint called a
body could simply heal connectivity profile. The profiles could
themselves. Such a material, be used to predict how
which is capable of rejoining logical you are, how
ow good
itself in less than 15 seconds at solving problems,
ms,
if cut with scissors, has now and could even be
been developed. Scientists at used to tailor
the University of Alicante say educational
that the flexible, transparent courses.
resin is even able to
heal itself underwater, Very good, but give
us a call when
retaining its original shape in youve made an
the process. entire dinner set
from the stuff

Vol. 8 Issue 1 19
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

SPACE

Do asteroids cause
mass extinctions?
Yikes! it seems comet and
asteroid showers may be
causing mass extinctions on
Earth in an alarmingly regular
cycle. But before you start to
panic, the good news is that
another one isnt due for around
14 million years.
Through studying the age
and regularity of impact craters
over the last 260 million years,
researchers in the USA have
discovered a strong correlation
between mass extinction events
and an increased number of
asteroid strikes. Whats more,
they found the two events occur
in regular intervals of around 26
million years.
This cosmic cycle of death
and destruction has without a
doubt affected the history
of life on our planet, said
New York Universitys Dr
Michael Rampino.
The cycle has been
linked to the periodic
motion of the Sun
and planets through
the dense mid-plane
region of the Milky
Way. It is thought that
gravitational effects of
the Oort comet cloud that
surrounds the Sun may trigger
asteroid showers in the inner Asteroids and
Solar System during this time, comets appear
with some of them striking Earth. to strike Earth in
regular cycles

BIOLOGY

Cheap mini-brains could

reduce animal testing
Its good news for the
scarecrow from The Wizard
Of Oz: researchers at Brown
University have developed a
method of growing functioning
mini-brains.
The little brain balls cant
think like real grey matter, but
they do produce electrical
signals and form their own
neural connections, making
them a suitable replacement for
animals in drug testing.
To produce the brains, the
team isolated cells from a small
sample of living tissue taken
from a rodent and placed them
PHOTO: GETTY
growing within 24 hours and
formed complex 3D neural
networks in two to three weeks.
They can live for upwards of
one month.
Thousands of the tiny
organoids can be made from a
small tissue sample, and they
cost just US$24 each to produce.
We think of this as a way to
have a better in vitro [in the lab]
model that can maybe reduce
animal use, said researcher
Molly Boutin. A lot of the work
thats done right now is in two-
dimensional culture, but this
is an alternative that is much

into tiny spherical moulds about more relevant to the in vivo [real
3mm across. The tissue began life] scenario.

20 Vol. 8 Issue 1
SPACE

Comet found to be spewing out alcohol

It gives a whole new meaning to the
phrase booze cruise: researchers at NASAs
Goddard Space Flight Center have found
that Comet Lovejoy is spraying vast
amounts of alcohol into the cosmos.
The team found 21 organic molecules
on the comet in total, including ethyl
alcohol and glycolaldehyde, a simple sugar.
Lovejoy was pumping out up to 500 bottles
of wines worth of alcohol per second.
This is the first time ethyl alcohol has been
Were finding molecules with
multiple carbon atoms. So now you can
see where sugars start forming, as well as
more complex organics such as amino
acids, the building blocks of proteins,
or nucleobases, the building blocks of
DNA, she added.

PHOTO: FABRICE NOEL/NASA, HOFFMAN-KIM LAB/BROWN UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

observed in a comet and the discovery is
further evidence that comets may have
been a source of the complex organic
molecules necessary for the emergence
of life.
The result promotes the idea that
comets carry very complex chemistry,
said researcher Stefanie Milam. During
the Late Heavy Bombardment 3.8 billion
years ago, when many comets and asteroids
were blasting into Earth, life didnt have to
start with just simple molecules like water,
carbon monoxide, and nitrogen.

THEY DID WHAT?! swung them into a force-detecting pad

Cadaver arms used
to throw punches
What did they do?
University of Utah researchers
attached the arms of male
cadavers to a pendulum and
to emulate the throwing of a punch.
Why did they do that?
They wanted to test the theory that the
human hand evolved to enable males to
engage in fights over women. The idea
comes from the fact that we have shorter
palms and longer, stronger, more flexible
thumbs compared to other apes.
What did they find?
After testing hundreds of punches,
they found that humans are able to
strike with double the force when
using a clenched fist rather than an
open-handed strike. The hand could
have evolved due to improvements in
manual dexterity while also providing
a benefit for those engaging
in fisticuffs.
Human hand: evolved for fighting?

Vol. 8 Issue 1 21
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

NEUROSCIENCE
NEUR
NE UROS
UROSCIENC
OSCI
CIEN
E CE
PATENTLY OBVIOUS with James Lloyd
Inventions and discoveries that will change the world
d
Remote-controlled roaches
Heres something thats insects antennae, rather
her than
rath
Fragrant avours Calming computers unlikely to make it to the neurones inside the brain.
Drinking water might be better The next time youre sitting at top of many Christmas lists: Its like a joystick on
for us than fruit juice or fizzy your computer, quietly seething cockroaches that can be the animal, said researcher
pop, but sometimes our taste as it does exactly what you didnt controlled with a joystick. Joshua Martin. We can
buds yearn for something with tell it to do, let Bill Gates sort A team at Case Western control its direction and alter
a little more flavour. The Right it out. Microsoft is patenting a Reserve University inserted its speed.
Cup is a scented vessel that system that detects when youre tiny electrodes into the The team believes that
tricks your brain into thinking stressed out and helps to calm part of the insects brains similar processes may exist
youre drinking flavoured water. you down. It might detect your ire that respond to antennal in other animals. It is highly
The fruity scent choose from by measuring the pressure you and visual stimuli. They likely that descending motor
lemon-lime, orange, mixed berry exert on your keyboard, listening then recorded the neuronal control such as this also resides
or apple is added to the plastic for expletives, or recognising activity and lmed the in all legged animals, including
cup during manufacturing, the tell-tale features of an angry insects movements. By us, lead author Roy Ritzmann
and your brain mistakes the face. It would then try to soothe making statistical links said. So this kind of study,
scent for flavour. This approach you perhaps adjusting your between movements and with the technical advantages
means youre not consuming rooms lighting, or telling you its spikes in neuronal activity, that insects afford researchers,
any sugars or chemical time to take a walk. they were able to gure can help us to understand how
preservatives. And breathe out the signals associated movement is controlled in
Patent pending Patent pending with the insects walking at complex environments.
different speeds and changing The cockroachs control
direction. system could also prove to be
Its a dogs life They then passed electrical a useful model for building
Weve been living with mans best friend for thousands of years, but currents through these same self-driving cars and robots
we still struggle to understand our canine friends. We often assume electrodes, turning the insects that can manoeuvre around
that a dogs wagging tail is a sign of unbridled excitement (yay, into remote controlled roaches. obstacles on their own, or
walkies!), but it can also signal fear (keep that Rottweiler away from Similar experiments in the for controlling drones, the
me!) or aggression (this is my manor, sunshine, so do one). past worked by stimulating the researchers said.
Now, New York company DogStar has created a device that
it hopes will translate your dogs emotions. TailTalk is a small,
unobtrusive sensor that fits around the dogs tail, converting Experiments on
its wagging into a happiness rating thats displayed on the cockroaches may
help us learn
accompanying app. more about motor
The device is based on sound science, with research showing function in all
that dogs tend to wag towards the right when experiencing positive animals brains
emotions, and towards the left when feeling anxious or upset. The
app will use this information to create an emotional diary for your dog,
revealing exactly what makes Rover rejoice or Fido feel frightened.
Provisional patents issued
PHOTO: DOGSTAR, ISTOCK

Can a wearable device

reveal your dogs mood?

22 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 MATERIALS

Charging ahead with the future WRITING COMPETITION

Winner in under-21 category: Emily Clements

Sick of waiting for your mobile

phone to charge? A team of
researchers from Stanford
University think theyve found
a solution: theyve created an
aluminium-ion battery that can
charge up your phone in just
60 seconds.
The team of researchers, led by
chemistry professor Dr Hongjie
Dai, has developed a battery that
offers many signicant advantages
over the conventional lithium-ion
batteries used in many gadgets and
todays electric vehicles. Lets take
a look at what makes the Stanford
aluminium-ion battery such an
important breakthrough.
The aluminium-ion battery
is exible.The Stanford team
placed the aluminium anode and
graphite cathode, along with an Scientists at Stanford
ionic liquid electrolyte, inside designed this flexible
a polymer-coated pouch.The aluminium-ion battery
battery is supple, but it is also
non-ammable you can nd
evidence of the team drilling
a hole through the pouch to Though the battery only Replacing them with aluminium rst rechargeable battery. It was
demonstrate that it doesnt catch generates around two volts of batteries would eliminate the based on lead acid, a system that
on re. And even more impressive electricity, which is around half environmental risk. is still used today. The very rst
is that the power lingers for a few that of a typical lithium-ion Since the aluminium-ion attempt to develop the Li-ion
seconds after the hole is made. battery, the researchers are battery weighs more than a battery pack began in 1912 by
Its also relatively inexpensive and condent they can improve on lithium-ion one, and since at the an engineer named GN Lewis,
more environmentally friendly this. Improving the cathode moment it doesnt have enough but it wasnt until the 1970s
than typical AA and AAA batteries. material could eventually increase power to keep a phone running, that the rst non-rechargeable
Millions of consumers use the voltage and energy density, its improbable for it to be in any lithium battery packs became
1.5-volt AA and AAA batteries. said Dai. device for the time being. Perhaps, commercially accessible.
Our rechargeable aluminium So how are aluminium-ion in the near future, science will In the past hundred years we
battery generates about two batteries better than lithium-ion? catch up with the idea. have transformed everything. PHOTO: MARK SHWARTZ/STANFORD UNIVERSITY
volts of electricity.Thats higher Despite its overall advantages, Perhaps the aluminium-ion Technology is advancing faster
than anyone has achieved with lithium-ion has its drawbacks. Its battery may be deployed on the than ever. In the last 50 years we
aluminium, said Dai. We delicate and needs a protection electricity grid one day. It might have achieved things that many
accidentally discovered that a circuit to maintain safe operation, be the perfect t to provide thought impossible just a couple
simple solution is to use graphite, which limits the peak voltage balancing and reserve power of hundred years ago.
which is basically carbon. In our of each cell during charge and to the electric grid, in essence Everything has a battery these
study, we identied a prevents the cell voltage from buffering the ever-present gap days but todays battery is a toxic
few types of graphite material that dropping too low on discharge. between supply and demand.This hazard. Maybe the aluminium-ion
give us very good performance, Lithium batteries, as well as application requires high-power battery will be the eco-friendly,
he added. standard alkaline ones, are toxic batteries with the capability to cheap to produce, high
The electrolyte is basically a salt and must be disposed of with charge and discharge many times performance future of batteries.
thats liquid at room temperature, care. Billions of small lithium without failing.
so its very safe, explained Stanford batteries power the assortment of In 1859, the French physicist EMILY CLEMENTS is 14 years old
graduate student Ming Gong. gadgets that we cant live without. Gaston Plant invented the and is currently a student

Vol. 8 Issue 1 23
 Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

Channa andrao

Leptobrachium bompu

Protobothrops himalayansus
PHOTO: WWF/FLICKR/R GOGOI & S BORAH/LIANG ZHANG/RAMKI SREENIVASAN CONSERVATION INDIA

Musa markkui Elachura formosa

NATURE

Six-year survey discovers over 200 new species

A blue-eyed frog, a bejewelled
snake and a walking sh
are among the new species
discovered in the Eastern
Himalayas, an area that covers
parts of northeast India, Bengal,
Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
The ndings come in a
report published by the WWF
following a six-year survey of
the regions biodiversity.The
species found include 133 plants,
39 invertebrates, 26 sh, 10
amphibians, one bird, one reptile
and one mammal. Among them
were Leptobrachium bompu,
a frog with strikingly blue
eyes and black vertical pupils;
Channa andrao, an air-breathing
snakehead sh that can survive
on land for up to four days and
can cover quarter of a mile by
wriggling over wet ground; and
Protobothrops himalayansus,
a lance-headed pit viper that
is so gem-like it could pass
as a carefully crafted piece of
jewellery.

24 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 Comment & Analysis
A squeaky hinge is intriguingly similar to an instrument
reaking doors. I wish Id thought of
C them as musical instruments earlier
in my life. Ive spent just over three
decades viewing them as distracting or
annoying, when I could have seen them as
interesting entertainment. But I realised the
other day that the creak of a door has a lot in
common with the purr of a cello.
It started when a friend came to stay for a
week. After a two-day internal battle between
politeness and torment, they informed me
that one more squeak of the bathroom door
would cause the final and irrevocable loss of
the last of their marbles. I was so used to the
noise that I didnt really hear it any more, but
when I stopped to listen, I could see their
point. I applied the appropriate unguent, and
acoustic calm was restored. But it set me
wondering about how a small hinge could
make such a loud noise.
The sound from a musical instrument is the
acoustic signature of its structure. One part of
it is set vibrating (by plucking it or hitting it
or blowing air down it) and the rest of the
instrument is there to connect that vibration
efficiently with the air around it. Once the air
starts to vibrate, the vibrations have to travel, Dont be annoyed by
so they spread out into the surroundings, and a squeaky door its
behaving just like a
we detect them as sound. musical instrument
In the case of the squeaky door, the initial
vibrations come from the way that the hinges
move. Its one of those nice scientific ideas
where the name says it all its called the
stick-slip phenomenon. Friction, the
I dont know perfect shape (large and flat) for pushing on
the air. Thats why string instruments all have
resistance of two surfaces to move over each whether anyone has a body it transfers the vibrations to the air.
other, is stronger when those surfaces arent And the door is doing the same thing for the
moving. So you push until you overcome ever tried playing hinges. The sticking-slipping hinges force the
that strong resistance, but once its moving, it door to vibrate, and its the door that pushes
moves very quickly because the friction for
tunes on creaking on the air, efficiently transmitting sound
moving objects is lower. If the push doesnt
keep up, the object will stop moving again,
doors, but maybe energy to the rest of the room. Adding the
door as an amplifier turns the hinge into a
and everything goes back to being stationary. someone should musical instrument.
Therefore as I pushed on the creaking I dont know whether anyone has ever
bathroom door, the hinges were moving in have a go tried playing tunes on creaking doors, or even
very quick small jumps, and each jump gave introducing a whole new section to the
the hinges a kick. The hinges started a regular orchestra, but maybe someone should have a
ILLUSTRATOR: ANDREW LYONS

vibration with a frequency that depends on
the jump spacing. The more frequent that the
jumps are, the higher the pitch we hear. The
door moves faster when we first start to push
and then slows down when its nearly open,
which is why door creaks start off at a high
pitch and then turn into a low drone. So far,
so good. But why does this tiny process make
such a loud noise?
What I realised when I thought about it
(sadly, only after the door had been silenced)
was that the reason its so loud is the door
itself. Its acting as an amplifier, just like the
body of a cello does. When the cello strings
vibrate, they force the rest of the instrument
to vibrate too, and that cello body is the
go. Sadly, my bathroom door wont be
joining the chorus. But at least my
houseguests will be happy!
DR HELEN CZERSKI is a physicist, oceanographer
and BBC science presenter whose most recent
series was Super Senses

Vol. 8 Issue 1 25
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NATURE

here are about 30 species of honeypot ants in

T the world, named for a very specific behaviour.
Some of the colonys worker ants prepare for
hard times by storing food in their sisters. The workers
feed these special sisters, known as repletes, until their
abdomens swell. The feeding continues until theyre
so swollen that all they can do is hang from the ceiling
of their nest in diaphanous, golden rows. Then, when
the hard times arrive and everything above ground is
dry and inedible, the worker ants come back to the
repletes and beg for food. Drop by drop, the honeypots
regurgitate the sugar theyve been storing.
The practice has evolved repeatedly in regions where
food is predictably scarce for part of the year. The other
thing that occurs repeatedly in these regions is that
humans discover these sugar-loaded ants and eat them.
Theyre delicious, a ball of sugar with a subtle texture
imbued by six tiny legs. In the desert of the south-west
USA honeypot ants are eaten by Native Americans. But
its in Australia that honeypot ants, and specifically the
red honey ant Melophorus bagoti photographed here,
are most valued. The insects were discovered there in An Aboriginal woman and her daughter
the time before corn syrup and sugar cane, and became dig up a honeypot colony, which can be
a treat worth some work. located by the discoloration of the soil due
The technique involves finding a nest among the to formic acid. A century ago the ants were
one of the few sweet foods available in the
roots of mulga trees and tracking a returning ant to the
outback. Now less nutritious corn syrup
entrance. Once you have, use a stick to figure out the
and cheap sweets dominate diets.
direction of the nests first tunnels, then start digging,
probing with your stick each time you reach a new turn.
Dig down the central tunnel until you come to a large
chamber where, hanging from the ceiling, youll see the
honeypots. Pop a few in your mouth. Savour the texture
and the exotic sensation of the wiggling legs before you
bite down and let the sugar pour through your mouth.

PHOTOS BY THE LOCATION

Timor
ERIC TOURNERET Sea MacDonneli RANGES,
Darwin
French photojournalist AUSTRALIA
Eric has spent roughly NORTHERN The honeypots dwell about
a quarter of a century TERRITORY a metre underground in
travelling the world hidden nests throughout the
taking pictures that driest parts of the country.
have appeared in AUSTRALIA These particular ants have
publications such as Paris Match been photographed in the
and National Geographic Traveller. MacDonnell MacDonnell Ranges, a
Known for his striking images of the Ranges series of mountains 644km-
worlds honeybees and the plight long, to the west of Alice
Alice Springs
they face, hes also shed new light Springs, in the heart of one
on the honeypot ants of Australia. Uluru of the regions of Australia
http://thebeephotographer. that is most sacred to
photoshelter.com Aboriginal people.

30 Vol. 8 Issue 1
FAR LEFT All insects have
external skeletons. But
in honeypot ants the skin
between the segments of the
exoskeleton is stretched so taut
with the volume of the honey
that it becomes transparent a
body through which the entire
world appears to be delicious
and gilded

LEFT When children run after

ice-cream vans they recreate
the ancient experience of
the hunt for subtler sweets
in the form of ant bottoms,
bee combs or berries, a joy
composed of equal parts
sweetness and the pleasure
of discovering something rare

Vol. 8 Issue 1 31
NATURE

ABOVE The honeypots wait for

the hard times when food is
scarce, and all that can sustain
the colony until the return of
the rains is the sweet and
necessary sugar that theyve
dutifully stored

RIGHT Honeypot ants are just

one of the many biological
treasures hidden in the thorny
scrub of the outback where
riches abound for those who
take the time to look for them.
The ants build their nests
under mulga trees Acacia
aneura on whose twigs lives
a psyllid insect that produces
a honeydew in exchange for
protection from the ants

32 Vol. 8 Issue 1
The behaviour of these small-
brained insects often seems to
embody characteristics we wish
were more apparent in ourselves,
such as a selessness on behalf
of the community and the ability
to plan ahead in order to replace
scarcity with plenty. Of course
when times are really hard ants
have also been known to eat their
offspring but then no society is
perfect.

Vol. 8 Issue 1 33
NATURE

ABOVE When sweets were

very rare the rst explorers
to land in Australia described
it as a place without berries
or fruits this handful of
honeypot ants would have
been priceless

LEFT Honeypot ants remain

part of Aboriginal culture as a
symbol of both the treasures
of the desert and the rich
knowledge of that biodiversity
held by Aboriginal people long
before European colonists
ever reached Australias shores

34 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 SCIENCE

All by
myself

The lm The Martian explores whether the

Red Planet could ever support human life. But
Chris Hall says its not just food, air and water
that astronauts will have to worry about
ark Watney is having a pretty bad
M sol*. After his teams living habitat
and vehicles endured several hours of
intense buffeting from a 110mph sandstorm,
NASA gave the order to abort their mission
and return to Earth. In the process, a
communications array shattered, sending an
aerial spearing into Watneys side, ripping out
his bio-monitor in the process. Knocked
unconscious by the fall, he has just awoken
with a gasp. Within minutes, he will realise
the staggering and unthinkable truth. PHOTO: 20TH CENTURY FOX/PICSELECT.COM

Scan this QR Code for

the audio reader *(In case youre wondering, a sol is a Martian day) Vol. 8 Issue 1 35
SCIENCE

Dr Alex Kumar
near Antarcticas
He has been left for dead; the only man Concordia base
on Mars. He has at least four years until
a rescue mission could arrive, and only has
facilities designed to last 31 days.
So begins The Martian, Ridley Scotts
PHOTO: ESA X2, NASA/VISIBLE EARTH X2, NASA/JPL X2, 20TH CENTURY FOX/PICSELECT.COM X3

space survival thriller. Understandably, the

film focuses heavily on the practical
elements to Watneys survival. But he must
also combat a far more insidious danger:
extreme isolation. The psychological hazards
of his situation are tremendous.
So what? This is unrealistic Hollywood
sci-fi, you might think. But the truth is, any
Mars mission opens up the possibility of
exposing men and women to psychological
effects beyond anything ever experienced,
even in Earths most inhospitable conditions.

All alone
The damaging effects of spending extended
periods of time cut off from society, isolated
from necessities and enduring levels of sensory
deprivation have been recognised for centuries,
if not fully understood. It was said of St Anthony
the Great, a monk and hermit, that the devil
fought [him] by afflicting him with boredom,
laziness, and the phantoms of women.
These days, we have a slightly better
understanding of the human mind, but
reliable, consistent data on the way people
react to the stressors of isolation can still be

COULD YOU SURVIVE?

Compare the conditions across
EA
M

our planet and Mars

AR

RT
S

H
(A
VG
)

AVERAGE SURFACE TEMP -63C 14.6C

TEMPERATURE RANGE 20C TO -153C 58C TO -89.2C

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE 6 MILLIBARS 1,013 MILLIBARS AT SEA LEVEL

MAX WIND SPEED 250MPH 199MPH

96% CARBON DIOXIDE, 1.9% 78% NITROGEN, 21% OXYGEN, 0.9%

ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION
ARGON, 1.9% NITROGEN ARGON, 0.04% CARBON DIOXIDE

GRAVITY 3.0M/S2 9.8M/S2

LENGTH OF YEAR 1.88 EARTH YEARS 1

hard to come by. Those who have spent large
amounts of time alone involuntarily, be they
prisoners on death row, castaways, or victims
of circumstances, are rarely representative of
society. And astronauts, who do give us
reliable information, are rigorously selected
from an already minuscule crop of resilient
and capable high achievers.
If humans are to travel to Mars a journey
that, at the best estimates, would take at least
seven months in each direction we need to
be sure that the first crew can cope with
whats ahead.
British expedition medic Dr Alexander
Kumar has seen first-hand, and experienced,
the effects that extreme isolation can have on
the mind, spending 11 months at Concordia
research station in Antarctica. His findings are
being used by the European Space Agency
(ESA) as it plans manned Mars missions.
One of the first things to think about is
adapting to your new surroundings. If Im on
a country walk in England and I drop my
glove, I pick it up again. If my glove comes off
in Antarctica, I could lose my hand. Its the
sort of weather where your iPhone headphone
cables snap in half.
Its not just the obvious harshness of the
polar environment, but the knock-on effects
that weigh on the mind. Throughout the
winter months, Antarcticas research stations
are unreachable by any means. This subjects
AN
TA
R
CT
IC
A
-47C
17.5C TO -89.2C
1,000 MILLIBARS AT SEA LEVEL
199MPH
78% NITROGEN, 21% OXYGEN, 0.9%
ARGON, 0.04% CARBON DIOXIDE
9.85M/S2 (INCREASE CLAIMED AT SOUTH POLE)
1 1
If I get appendicitis
during the winter,
I have two choices.
I either cut myself
open and take it out,
or I give up and die
Dr Alexander Kumar, British expedition medic
the team, which was 13 members strong
during Kumars stay, to what researchers in
the field call high levels of autonomy; when Antarcticas Concordia research base
communication off-base might be limited, regularly experiences temperatures below
-80C in winter
and problems must be tackled with whatever
materials are at hand. Kumar expresses it
starkly: If I get appendicitis during the
winter, I have two choices. I either cut
myself open and take it out, or I give up
and die.
There are other physical stressors in
Antarctica that are detrimental to ones
psychological well-being. Unlike the Arctic, In The Martian, Mark Watney has to try
to stay alive in a harsh and isolated
it is a high-altitude desert, 3,800m above sea environment
level. Residents at the research stations are
exposed to chronic hypobaric hypoxia the
same low levels of oxygen that athletes
actively seek out at high-altitude
training camps.
UK
11C
38.5C TO -27.2C
1,013 MILLIBARS AT SEA LEVEL
173MPH
78% NITROGEN, 21% OXYGEN,
0.9% ARGON, CARBON DIOXIDE
9.8M/S2
Vol. 8 Issue 1 37
SCIENCE
Ernest Shackletons
team dine together
during the Endurance
mission in June 1915
Lose your mind
It can be good and bad for you;
good in the short term, like for athletes,
explains Kumar. But mountaineers
regularly report trouble sleeping. Thats not
great on an expedition, but its short-lived.
You try struggling to sleep for a year and
PHOTO: ESA X3, GETTY X3
its very simple. You lose sleep, you lose
your mind.
Throw in the permanent darkness of a
winter at the South Pole, and you have a
powerful set of circumstances acting on the
mind. It puts you through a washing
machine of time. Your circadian rhythms
38 Vol. 8 Issue 1
are freewheeling, Kumar says.
Even hearing about the effects is frightening.
People become depressed, and exhibit
symptoms of schizophrenia. They lose
awareness of who they are, and hear and see
things that arent there. I had terrible
nightmares, Kumar admits. Your dreams
muddle things. Its easy to become
disorientated. Time becomes jumbled your
concepts of past, present and future can
become confusing.
Darkness can also distort your short-term
sense of time. French speleologist (cave expert)
Michel Siffre spent two months living in
Right: Members of the Endurance mission worked well as
a team, thanks in part to Shackletons leadership skills
Mars500 simulated a mission
to Mars, isolating the six-
member crew for 520 days

darkness under an alpine glacier; when he

emerged, it took him five minutes to count
what he thought was 120 seconds. Others
have reported an adjustment in circadian You try struggling
rhythms to a 36-hour period of activity
followed by 12 hours of sleep. to sleep for a year
You are experiencing chronic sensory
deprivation, says Kumar. fMRI tests have and its very simple.
shown that people who have undergone
this kind of extended isolation experience
You lose sleep,
significant shrinking of the brains you lose your mind
hippocampal area.
Dr Alexander Kumar, British expedition medic
What does the hippocampus do? It
controls memory, among other things.

Left: During the Mars500 experiment, the crew walked on

simulated Martian terrain and conducted experiments
Vol. 8 Issue 1 39
SCIENCE

HOW SPACE TRAVEL

AFFECTS YOUR BODY
Astronauts can suffer from serious
health issues

HEAD
Extended time living in microgravity can
impair balance, and can even alter your
vision. Emotional isolation has been
shown to be a significant risk factor for
Alzheimers, obesity, diabetes, high blood
pressure, heart disease, neurodegenerative
diseases and cancer.

UPPER TORSO
Vertebrae separate slightly without gravity
to compress them. Astronauts can gain up to
5cm in height, and
report back pain as a result.

LIMBS
Relieved of the need to walk around, the
muscles in the legs can waste away.
In turn, this affects balance and increases
the risk of tendonitis.

LOWER TORSO
Astronauts experience motion
sickness, nausea and dizziness in the early
days of spaceight.

WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEM

Isolation and sleep deprivation have been
shown to result in a weaker t-lymphocyte
system. Astronauts are more prone
to infection by common viruses and
microorganisms.

BONE LOSS
Living in a zero-g environment causes the
body to excrete calcium and phosphorus,
depleting bone strength and causing
osteoporosis. A Mars mission would equate
to a lifetimes worth of bone depletion.

NERVE DAMAGE
Prolonged exposure to ionising radiation
can harm the central nervous system, cause
cataracts, and can even increase the risk of
heart disease, cancer
and brain damage.

40 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 According to Kumar, you find yourself
recalling things you have no right to be
able to remember the look of a strangers
face that you walked past on the street, years
ago. We dont yet know whether these
changes are reversible or not no-ones had
long enough to find out. We need another 20
to 30 years, adds Kumar.

Unknown dangers
The bad news for any would-be Watneys is
that these are just the dangers we know about.
Certain elements of a Mars voyage, even if
you could remove the obvious psychological
stress of knowing there is no way to return to
Earth, would be completely new to the
human psyche.
Valeri Polyakov spent 438 days in space,
which is the longest time of any astronaut or
cosmonaut so far. His mood and cognitive
abilities were monitored throughout. The
results showed that, aside from periods of
adjustment at the beginning and end of the
mission, his moods remained stable.
However, certain skills were affected more On one trip, Valeri Polyakov stayed on board the Mir space station for over 14 months
than others, notably visual-motor skills,
which were tested by his ability to line up a
randomly unstable cross-hair with a marked
target using a joystick.
expedition. Shackleton chose a wide
selection of people and realised the
No-one has
But even Polyakovs experience is importance of keeping them functioning as a ever experienced
incomparable in several ways. Psychologist and team throughout; sometimes doing odd
NASA adviser Prof Nick Kanas says one of things like organising a haircut for everyone what its like to
the major unknowns is Earth-out-of-sight
syndrome. No-one has ever experienced
during a difficult spell. His crew never
dispersed like Scotts when things got hard.
look on the Earth
what its like to look on the Earth as a tiny
blue speck in the sky. We dont know what it
And at the end, after theyd had to walk from
the abandoned Endurance, he asked if
as a tiny blue
will do to people to be deprived of that anyone wanted to go back. They all did! speck in the sky
connection with all thats important to them, According to Kanas, at least one major
to have that sensation of immense distance. orbital preparation would be necessary before Prof Nick Kanas, psychologist and NASA adviser
So what can be done to prepare for feeling confident in launching a Mars
spending time in isolation? And how can we mission. My advice would be that we need
get to a point where were comfortable to put people into a space station orbiting the
sending people into the unknown? Earth and simulate the seven-month journey.

PHOTO: 20TH CENTURY FOX/PICSELECT.COM, GETTY

Preparation isnt the key, says Kumar. You
cant really train for it. But you need to be the
right kind of person: you just have to get on
with it. You want people who are sociable
introverts happy working alone but able to
get along with each other. Some people are
more hardy than others, psychologically, and
its not always connected to physiological
toughness. Were still working out what
makes the ideal astronaut there is no gold
standard psychiatric test.
Mars One aims to put people on the Red
Planet by 2025. Prof Raye Kass, from the
projects advisory team, highlights the
importance of teamwork and leadership, citing
the example of Ernest Shackletons Antarctic
You would artificially delay their
communications and accurately mimic their
level of autonomy and activities. Then you
launch them from orbit to the Moon, get
them to land, poke around at some rocks,
and return to the orbital module. Then you
gradually phase them back into Earth time.
This would also be a chance to observe
return trip behaviour, which Kanas believes is
potentially the most dangerous time of
the trip. If peoples work is done, and
theyre waiting to get home to analyse
samples, the boredom factor could be huge
on that return leg.
Earth-based projects like Mars500 have had
their critics, but they are a good start. And
our awareness of these issues speaks to a
willingness to treat psychological factors as
seriously as the physiological and the
technological in the run-up to a Mars
launch. In the words of Kanas, By the time
weve figured out how to get to
Mars, we will have figured this out. Its
absolutely doable.
CHRIS HALL is a science and technology journalist
who has written for Esquire, Mens Health and GQ

Vol. 8 Issue 1 41
End of World War II
HISTORY

1 2

THE WAR
WITHOUT
AN END
On 8 May 1945, Allied nations celebrated VE Day with elation but,
as Keith Lowe reveals, in much of Europe conict was far from over

7 8

42 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 In pictures: the grim fallout from war
1 Danish women accused of fraternising
with Nazis are rounded up in 1945
2 Partisan ghters arrest suspected
fascists in Rome, 1946
3 On the ground lie victims of the
Croatian nationalist Nazi-backed Ustasha
regime, 1945
4 Germans expelled from Czechoslova-
kia register at a transit camp, 1946
5 French patriots crop the hair of
a suspected Nazi collaborator, c1945
6 A Nazi collaborator is marched through
the streets of Louvain by the Belgian
Resistance in 1944
7 Soviet troops march through liberated
Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1944
8 Greek refugees shelter in a colony in
Verroia in 1948, driven from their homes
by military action against communists
9 Dutch patriots round up suspected
Nazi collaborators in Nijmegen, 1944
10 A Belgian former Gestapo informer is
identied at a German transit camp, 1945 3 4

5 6

9 10
XXXX

Vol. 8 Issue 1 43
HISTORY

Postwar savagery
The political and ethnic tensions and
n the summer of 1945, a train urge for revenge that smouldered
I carrying refugees pulled out of a
station in whats now Slovakia,
during the Second World War erupted
after German surrender
heading for Germany. Its passengers were
German speakers being expelled from the ILLUSTRATION BY TOM JAY
country in the wake of the Second World
War, Czechoslovakians no longer wanted such
people living in their midst.
When the train passed through the town
of P erov in Moravia it was brought to a halt.
The head of the local militia, a man named
Karol Pazr, forced everyone to disembark,
claiming he wanted to carry out a search for
former Nazis hiding among the passengers.
When they stepped down from the train,
Pazr and his men lined them up and shot
them all. The dead included 71 men,
120 women and 74 children. The youngest
victim was just eight months old.
The slaughter at P erov was just one
example of the many mass killings perpetrated
all over Czechoslovakia in the wake of the GERMANY
war. According to Czech historians, during the
summer of 1945 between 25,000 and 40,000 Fatal revenge
German speakers were killed in acts of revenge At the end of the war, 68 million foreign forced labourers
(though many German historians claim a were set free within Germany. Over the following months
considerably larger number). they ran amok, looting shops and taking revenge on
Perhaps the most notable fact about the civilians, causing a crisis of law and order across the
P erov massacre is that its protagonist was one country. Meanwhile, some 12 million ethnic Germans
of the very few Czechs ever to be arrested were expelled from other parts of Europe and forced to
for such crimes. At his trial, Pazr was asked travel to Germany. The cruelty and hardship they suffered
during their odyssey claimed half a million lives.
how he could possibly justify the killing of the
children. He is reported to have answered:
Well, what was I supposed to do with them
after wed killed their parents? Nevertheless,
after a brief spell in prison, Pazr was pardoned.
He promptly began a new career as a member
of the communist secret police.
When we now look back to the end of
the Second World War, we seldom give
much thought to what happened next. In our
collective memory, VE Day was a moment of
pure celebration,
During the when crowds
across the world
summer of gathered to rejoice
1945, between the end of violence. FRANCE AND ITALY

25,000 and But for many in

Europe, VE Day Resistance is volatile
40,000 German did not bring After the liberation of both countries, 10,000 collabora-
speakers were peace. For German tors in France and 20,000 Fascists in Italy were summarily
communities all executed. Resistance movements refused to give up their
killed in acts of weapons, and in 1948 continuing violence by communists
over the continent
revenge across it merely marked led to a state of emergency being declared in both
countries. Law and order was restored only by employing
Czechoslovakia the beginning of a draconian measures such as mass arrests.
new nightmare in
which vengeful populations sought personal
retribution for the wrongs that had been
inflicted on them by the Nazis.

44 Vol. 8 Issue 1
THE BALTIC STATES

The price of liberation

By the end of the war the Red Army liberated Lithuania,
Latvia and Estonia and subsumed those countries into
the Soviet Union. The populations regarded this action as
a new occupation, and hundreds of thousands took to the
forests from where they waged a guerrilla campaign
against Soviet troops that lasted until the mid-1950s,
claiming tens of thousands of lives. They were nally
defeated by a counter-insurgency campaign that saw the
guerrilla army inltrated and entire communities deported
to Siberia or Kazakhstan.

UKRAINE AND POLAND

Brutality at the border

Between 1944 and 1947, Poles and Ukrainians waged a
savage war across their borderlands in which more than
100,000 civilians were slaughtered. A series of population
exchanges in 1946, during which more than 2 million
people were forced from their homes, failed to bring the
violence to an end. Eventually the Polish government
resorted to the mass deportation of all Ukrainian
speakers from their south-eastern borderlands and their
dispersal throughout other parts of the country. Though
brutal, Operation Vistula was a success, and by 1948 the
conict was over.

YUGOSLAVIA

Mass executions
For over a week after the ofcial ceasere was signed in
May 1945, soldiers of the German army continued ghting
in Yugoslavia. They were captured in mid-May and
slaughtered en masse by Yugoslav Partisans over the
following weeks. Croatian and Slovenian troops were also
captured, with around 100,000 killed in a series of mass
executions. Political and ethnic violence continued in
many parts of the country until the communists
established total control in 1946.

GREECE

Descent into civil war

Through 1944 into 1945 a breakdown in relations between
the British Army and communist partisans resulted in
several months of violence. A ceasere was called in
February 1945, and the communists agreed to lay down
their arms in return for a comprehensive purge of
collaborators from the Greek security forces. However,
rightwing militias refused to disband, instead continuing
to hunt down communists all over the country. By 1946
Greece had descended into civil war. It has been
estimated that over the next three years around 700,000
people were displaced and up to 150,000 killed.

Vol. 8 Issue 1 45
HISTORY
Hundreds of thousands of German-speaking
civilians were snatched from their families and
made to work as slave labourers in eastern
European farms and factories. Some were
even put to work clearing minefields until
strong complaints from the Red Cross put an
end to the practice.
Hundreds of thousands more were interned
in prison camps in some cases the same
camps from which Jews and political
prisoners had only recently been liberated
before being expelled from their countries
of residence forever. Between them,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania
and Yugoslavia expelled some 12 million
German speakers in the three years following
the war. It was probably the greatest forced
migration in history. At least 500,000 of these
migrants are now believed to have died during
their long and arduous journey.
Germans were
The expulsion of not the only people
German speakers who were subject
to such revenge.
from eastern Anyone who had
Europe sparked fought for the
probably the wrong side, or
who was thought
greatest forced to have been a little
migration too friendly with
in history the enemy during
the war, was also
targeted. In northern Italy, some 20,000
people were summarily executed by their own
countrymen because of their support for the
Fascist regime.
In Holland and Denmark, women accused
of sleeping with German soldiers were
stripped, shaved and paraded naked through
their towns. In clandestine prisons set up in
France by former members of the Resistance,
suspected collaborators were subjected to
various forms of sadism, including mutilation,
rape, enforced prostitution and every kind of
torture imaginable. French doctors at Drancy
detention camp, for example, complained that
former collaborators were being subjected
to beatings, burns to the soles of the feet and
prolonged electric shocks to their genitals.
One French newspaper lamented the fact that
members of the Resistance were repeating
some of the most heinous crimes of the
Gestapo. What was the point in triumphing
over the Barbarians, it asked, if only to
imitate them and become like them?
Ethnic violence
Some of the worst violence that flared in the
aftermath of the war occurred in those areas
of Europe where the Nazis had deliberately
46 Vol. 8 Issue 1
learned from the Nazis, they torched villages
and rounded up whole populations before
shooting them. Once again, Poles reacted
in kind, and a war raged between these two
ethnic populations until the end of 1947.
While I never saw one of our men pick
up a baby or a small child with the point of a
bayonet and toss it onto a fire, remembered
one Polish partisan, I saw the charred corpses
of Polish babies who had died that way. If
none of our number did that, then it was the
Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski (left) only atrocity that we did not commit.
of Poland and Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine To their credit, todays Polish administration
join hands at a 2003 reconciliation event has had the courage to face up to what
happened 70 years ago. In 2002 Aleksander
pitted one ethnic group against another. Kwasniewski, the Polish president at that
In Yugoslavia, for example, the Nazis and time, publicly apologised for some of the
the Italian Fascists had installed a puppet worst excesses that were carried out on the
government run by Croatian ultra-nationalists. Polish side. However, tensions between the
This government, the Ustasha regime, spent two communities linger to this day.
much of the war persecuting and murdering
ethnic Serbs. Naturally, the Serb resistance Civil war
repaid them in kind; once the war was over, It was not only ethnic differences that pitted
Croatian soldiers and officials were mercilessly people against each other in 1945. Political
hunted down. differences could be just as deadly. Poles not
In the town of Maribor, in Slovenia, tens only killed Germans and Ukrainians during
of thousands of Ustashas were captured while and after the war, they also killed fellow Poles
attempting to flee into neighbouring Austria. whose political beliefs differed from their own.
They were slaughtered on an industrial scale In the same way, Greeks killed Greeks, Danes
and piled into anti-tank ditches, or thrown killed Danes, and Italians killed Italians.
into deep ravines and left to rot. Even the Our popular image of the French
most conservative estimates claim that 50,000 Resistance battling valiantly against the Nazi
to 60,000 Croatian nationalists were killed occupier ignores the uncomfortable fact that
in this locality alone, and tens of thousands the vast majority of Resistance activity during
more were killed in other massacres all over the war was not directed at Germans at all but
Slovenia and northern Croatia. at fellow French people. This political unrest
The Second World War opened up a
Pandoras box of ethnic conflict in Yugoslavia
that was impossible to close once the war
was over. According to Yugoslav intelligence
reports in July 1945, chauvinistic hatred
between different ethnic groups was universal.
Serbs who returned to one village after the
war are reported to have asked their fellow
villagers: Why dont you kill all Croats?
What are you waiting for? Similar sentiments
were expressed by Slovenes and Bosnian
Muslims. Tragically, these hatreds would be
revived almost 50 years later when the break-
up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s sparked similar
attempts at genocide.
Another ethnic conflict opened up along
the borderlands of Poland and Ukraine at
around the same time. When the Nazis
arrived here in 1941 they enlisted Ukrainian
ultra-nationalists to help them carry out the
Holocaust. Having eradicated the nations
Jews, however, these ultra-nationalists then
took it upon themselves to start eradicating
the nations Poles. Using methods they had
continued long after the liberation: as late as
1948, French communists were still blowing
up trains not in the pursuit of liberation,
but in the name of revolution.
At the heart
Almost every of such violence
country in was a battle for
Europe suffered the political soul
of Europe. The
bloodshed; in defeat of the Nazis
some places had left a political
vacuum in many
the ghting was countries, which
worse than during extremists of
the war itself all kinds rushed
forward to fill.
So vicious were their skirmishes that the
American officials who came to Europe at the
end of the Second World War worried openly
that the entire continent was about to descend
into a new Europe-wide civil war.
Liberated peoples, wrote the US assistant
secretary of state Dean Acheson towards the
end of the war, are the most combustible
material in the world. If political stability
were not restored throughout Europe as
soon as the war was over, all that would
follow would be frustration, agitation
and unrest, and eventually the overthrow
of governments.
One of the most tragic episodes of postwar
politics in Europe was beginning to unfold as
Acheson wrote. In Athens, which owed its
liberation as much to communist partisans as to
British troops, a quarrel had broken out over
who was going to govern Greece after the war.
The last trickle of expelled Germans
leave Polands western territories c1951,
near the climax of what was probably the
greatest forced migration in history
Scan this QR Code for
the audio reader
The British appeared to want to reinstall the
king, and dragged their heels over punishing
even the most openly fascist collaborators. The
communists, meanwhile, refused to lay down
their weapons until they saw concrete evidence
of a comprehensive purge. The stand-off
came to a head during a demonstration in
Athens at the very end of 1944. As a crowd
gathered in Syntagma Square, shots were fired
it has never become clear by whom and
around a dozen demonstrators were killed. In
indignation, the communists once again took
up their arms and the whole country quickly
descended into chaos.
So began a civil war that would last, on
and off, for another five years. When the
violence was finally brought to an end in
1949, more than a million people had been
displaced, and perhaps 150,000 killed. The
political polarisation fomented during this time
would last for decades, and is still
evident in Greece today.
The war without end
Some of these events are better known than
others, but what is very rarely appreciated is
how widespread the continuing violence was
after 1945. Almost every country in Europe
suffered some kind of bloodshed, and in some
places the fighting was worse than it had been
during the Second World War itself.
Our ignorance of this violent and chaotic
time stems partly from our desire to believe
in the myth of VE Day. It is much more
comfortable to imagine that the war came to a
neat conclusion than it is to acknowledge the
messy and morally
Europe, ambiguous events
that followed. The
wrote a New Cold War also has a
York Times role to play: after all,
journalist, is in a for almost 50 years
western Europe was
condition which cut off from most
no American of the regions in
which these events
can hope to took place. Hence,
comprehend stories that Poles
and Czechs still
remember as if they were yesterday do not
always spring readily to western minds.
But the problem runs much deeper.
Over the decades we have adopted a fairly
unsophisticated view of the Second World
War one that does not always have room for
the many local complexities that characterised
it. We tend to regard the war simply as a clash
between the Allies and the Axis, without
giving a thought to the many other conflicts
that were raging at the same time. Because
British and American troops stopped fighting
on 8 May 1945, we imagine that everyone
else did likewise.
Europe in 1945 was a much more
complicated place than that. The New York
Times journalist Cyrus Sulzberger summed
up the situation in an article written at the
end of the war. Europe, he explained,
is in a condition which no American
can hope to comprehend. Virtually every
ancient hatred has been revived with new
intensity. Frenchman, Italian, Russian, Pole,
Czech, Serb, Greek, Belgian, Netherlander,
Rumanian each in his own way hates the
German with a personal frenzy.
But worse, and not to be ignored, is
that hatred, renewed by the present war, of
Greek for Bulgar, Serb for Croat, Rumanian
for Hungarian, Frenchman for Italian, Pole
for Russian, which has developed among
many population groups basically and broadly
united in the final effort to crush their
common German enemy. And worst of all
is that fratricidal hatred of Greek for Greek,
Frenchman for Frenchman, Serb for Serb and
Pole for Pole, based on differing social and
political conceptions fostered
and encouraged by chaos and unleashed
by the war.
These people killed one another irrespective
of what was going on between the Allies
and Nazi Germany. And when the Germans
surrendered in May 1945 they saw no reason
to stop.
Many of the tensions that exist around
Europe today owe as much to this postwar
period as they do to the war itself. When Serbs
and Croatians clash at football matches, their
fans call one another Chetniks or Ustashas
the names of the opposing political groups
that massacred one another in 1945. When the
Czech government refused to sign the EUs
Lisbon Treaty in 2009, it was for fear that
German expellees might mount legal claims
for wrongs done to them in the aftermath of
the war. And in the 2015 Greek elections,
communists and ultra-nationalists were once
again painted as bogeymen, even while anti-
debt demonstrators were burning effigies of
Swastikas.
The Second World War certainly did not
come to an end in May 1945. It took many
more years for the remnants of violence to
fizzle out. But its memory and the effects of
the events that followed it still haunts
us today.
KEITH LOWE is the author of Savage Continent: Europe
in the Aftermath of World War II (Viking, 2012)
Vol. 8 Issue 1 47
NATURE

You
ou might
i h
ht see a lot
l t off Fred
Freddie
F ddi
die and
and Jason
J on yo
your
our
television
elevision screens during this Halloween. But theyve
theyv got
ALAMY, GIL WIZEN X2, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL

nothing
hing on these real-life monsters, says Matt Swaine
Swa
JONES/PHOTOSHOT,

EYE-POPPING
GETTY
GETT
GET
E , GE
G TT
ET
ET TY

SNIPER
IINSTITUTE,
O NSTEVE
INNS
N TITU
TI
ST ITU
IIT
TIT TU
T TE,
U TE
T

TEXAS HORNE
HORNED LIZARD
GURDON
RDOX4,
DO

cornutum |
Phrynosoma cornut
RD
/ T H EBIGGI
GUUR D

SOUTH USA AND M MEXICO

SMITH/THE G

The fact that any animal

an has ocular
SEMANUELE H/TH
T H/T

auto-hemorrhaging as part of its arsenal

SMIT
MIIIT
SMI

of defences shows just how inventive

SM
S M

evolution can be. A number of species of

JAMES
MES
ES

The noxious chemicals

CGOLDFARB,
A ME
M E

in the lizards blood horned lizards have developed the ability

JA

may come from its diet

2, J

of venomous ants to bleed from their eyes, to deter would-

X2,
X2
KX

be predators. Bloo
Blood-filled sinuses within
ISTOCK
STOC
TOC
O:: IJACK OC

the eye socket swell

swe up and rupture,
STO
ST
S TO
T O

allowing the lizard to shoot a stream of

PHOTO:
PHOTO:TO

blood up to 1.5m. Apart from startling

PHOT
PHHOT
PHO
HO
H OT
O

their attackers, the

th blood apparently
P

tastes very unplea

unpleasant and is enough to
48
4 8 VVol.
Vo
ooll. 8 Issue
Issu
Isssue
uuee 1 send would-be pr predators into retreat.
SLIMERS TWIN
Velvet worm:
soft-skinned,
hard as nails

VELVET WORM
Peripatoides novaezealandiae | NEW ZEALAND
This particular specimen is just one of many species of velvet
worm occupying the southern hemisphere, and its hard to
beat their hunting technique. Step one: locate invertebrates
at night using sensitive antennae. Step two: use specially
modified limbs either side of the head to fire a glue-like slime
that immobilises prey. Step three: inject saliva that starts to
digest the preys insides. Step four: suck out the innards like an
insect milkshake.

PIT MONSTER The animal uses its five

sensory antennae
to detect prey

BOBBIT WORM
Eunice aphroditois |
INDO-PACIFIC SEAS
Like the Return Of The Jedis infamous
sarlacc monster on Tatooine, the bobbit
worm buries itself underground and
awaits its prey. Five highly sensitive
antennae alert it to approaching victims
and, when triggered, it can pounce with
such speed that it is reputedly capable
of slicing a fish in half. The worm, which
can grow up to 3m long, then drags
The bobbit worm
its prey into its burrow. In the words of
lurks on the bottom
of warm oceans C-3PO: In his belly you will find a new
definition of pain and suffering

T GETTY
FACE
JAMES SMITH/THE GURDON INSTITUTE,
U TE,
HUGGER
EPOMIS BEETLE
Epomis species | MIDDLE EAST
Epomis beetle larvae use an eat-me-
Im-helpless display to lure hungry frogs
and salamanders to their deaths. A larva
dodges the amphibians tongue and
2, J

attaches itself to its head with hook-like

X2,
X2
CK X

fangs. From here, it paralyses and then

O : IISTOCK
TOC
OC

digests its victim within hours. On the very

STO
ST
S TO
T O

odd occasion that a frog manages to get

PHOTO:T O:

one in its mouth first, the larva is either

PHOT
PHHOT
PHO
HO
H OT
O

regurgitated or spat out before launching its

P

Epomis beetle larvae feed own attack. The amphibian never comes off
almost exclusively
on amphibians on top the epomis beetle has a 100 Vol. 8 Issue 1 49
9
per cent strike rate.
NATURE

Another attractive trait:

The remains of an hagfish may swim into
unfortunate ant, with dead or dying fish to eat
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis them from the inside out
sprouting from its head
Often, the dead ants
are found with their
jaws clamped to
a leaf

GUNGE
SPRAYER
HAGFISH
Myxini class | TEMPERATE SEAS
Where do you start with hagfish? Their
four hearts? Or that they are the only
animals with a skull but no other bones?
Actually, its their self-defence strategy
thats the standout feature. Glands
running down the body create thick goo
that is thought to clog the gills of potential
predators. When an attacker grabs a
PHOTO: ALEX WILD, ANAND VARMA, FLPA X2, DR DAVID BLACKBURN, NGS IMAGES X2, JOHN HALLMEN, GETTY, ANNELIES LEEUW

hagfish, a billowing cloud is released,

forcing the would-be predator to drop it
and retreat.

BODY SNATCHER Researchers and

photographers are not
immune to the charms
ZOMBIE FUNGUS of the fulmar
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis | TROPICAL FORESTS
Spores from this fungus can quickly take control of an ants mind and an
outbreak can wipe out an entire colony, so other ants will dump an infected
insect far from the nest. Disorientated, the victim will start clambering
through its the forest, until it reaches an exposed location and dies. It then
becomes a shell for the fungus to grow, with tendrils eventually erupting
from the ants head and body. When the fungus is mature, spores burst
forth and infect any ant in the vicinity. There are over 400 species of mind-
controlling fungi, each adapted to parasitise and control the brain of a
particular species of invertebrate.

PROJECTILE
PUKER
NORTHERN FULMAR
Fulmarus glacialis | N ATLANTIC AND N

If threatened on its PACIFIC

The little girl from The Exorcist has nothing
on these seabirds. The first part of their
nest, the fulmar spews stomach, the proventriculus, holds an
oil that is both an energy-rich food for

a bright orange jet of their chick and a defence against avian

predators. If threatened on its nest, the
fulmar spews a bright orange jet of this
this fishy concoction fishy concoction up to 3m. If this noxious
vomit lands on the predators feathers, it
can affect their waterproofing, potentially
resulting in a lingering death.
50 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 When they are Once the jewel wasp
breeding, the male larva has eaten the
frogs develop internal organs of the
hair-like extensions, cockroach, it pupates
which help them inside the shell of its
absorb oxygen from body, later emerging as
the water while they an adult
care for their eggs

BONE BREAKER
HAIRY FROG
Trichobatrachus robustus |
CENTRAL AFRICA
Like Wolverine with his adamantium
claws, this frog can break its own bones
and force the ends out through its hind
toes to create highly effective claws. How
does it work? A chunk of collagen forms a
bond between the claw and a small piece
of bone at the tip of the frogs toe. When
the animal is under threat, it contracts a
muscle so the claw breaks away from the
bony tip and cuts through the toe. The
frogs are a delicacy in Cameroon, where
hunters use long spears to kill them.

MIND MELTER
BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA
Naegleria fowleri | WARM
FRESHWATER
Planning on taking a dip in warm, stagnant
water? Then the Naegleria fowleri amoeba
is the perfect reason to invest in a nose
clip. It tends to feed on bacteria, but it is
attracted to chemicals that nerve cells use
to communicate. It enters the human body
through the nose, then travels along the
olfactory nerves and into the skull, where it
feeds on the brain. Diving and waterskiing
in infected water represent a big risk so
stick to something safer, like tiddlywinks.
The Naegleria
fowleri amoeba
ZOMBIE NURSERY MAID
can be found in JEWEL WASP
unchlorinated
swimming pools
Ampulex compressa | SOUTH ASIA, AFRICA AND THE
PACIFIC ISLANDS
The paraphernalia of parenthood can seem overwhelming, but
all an expectant jewel wasp needs to raise her young is her
very own zombie cockroach. She lays an egg on the hapless
insect and her little one then hatches out and starts feeding
on its own living larder, until eventually pupating inside the
cockroachs empty shell. The jewel wasp female administers
two precisely delivered doses of venom to enlist the assistance
of this ghoulish wet-nurse. The first injection to the roachs
thoracic ganglion renders it paralysed; the second to its brain
blocks receptors of the neurotransmitter octopamine, inhibiting
the creatures escape reflex. After chewing off half of each of
the cockroachs antennae, the wasp leads its walking pantry to
its burrow.
MATT SWAINE is a former Editor of BBC Wildlife and
now writes about nature and the outdoors
Vol. 8 Issue 1 51
SCIENCE

MEET THE

REAL-LIFE
SUPERHUMANS
These people have tapped into the biology of their bodies to
unleash the true power of our species. Katherine Nightingale
explores what scientists are learning from them
PHOTO: CATERS NEWS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGES

Iceman Wim Hof increases his

body temperature using meditation

52 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 COLD RESISTANCE
HIMALAYAN MONKS
Up in the climes of the Himalayas, there
are tales of monks who use breathing
and meditation to raise their body
temperatures to the extent that they
can dry wet sheets wrapped around
their bodies, casting off steam into the
freezing air.
Researchers from the US and Singapore
have investigated these claims by
measuring the monks core (armpit) and
peripheral (nger) temperatures. During
the measuring, they asked them to use
the breathing techniques either with or
without the meditation.The researchers
found that while the breathing could raise
UNDERWATER VISION
MOKEN NOMADS
Our eyes are adapted to a life on land,
which means we can only see blurry
shapes when we swim underwater
without goggles. But children in a tribe
of sea nomads the Moken who
reportedly learn to swim before they
can walk, can see well enough to
collect shells, sea cucumbers and clams
from the seabed.
There are around 2,000 to 3,000
Moken living in the Andaman Sea, off
the coasts of Myanmar and Thailand.
Researchers at Lund University in
Sweden estimate that Moken children
body temperature, adding the meditation
increased it to that seen in a typical fever.
IcemanWim Hof, pictured left, has
used similar techniques to the monks
to achieve the world record for longest
ice bath (one hour, 52 minutes and 42
seconds) and has even run a marathon in
the Arctic Circle wearing just a pair
of shorts.
So what might be the benet of being
able to boost your own body temperature?
Adaptation to cold environments is an
obvious one, but higher body temperatures
are also linked to better cognitive
performance and improved immunity.
A Moken tribesperson
swims with a turtle; they
are eaten, but also revered
have more than twice the underwater
visual clarity of European children, even
though their sight on land is the same.
They focus underwater by constricting
their pupils and changing the shape of
the eyes lens.The researchers found that
European children can be trained to see
just as well as the Moken.
Its difcult to tell whether Moken
children learn this better vision from
a young age or whether evolution has
played a role, so we might all be able
to see a little better beneath the
waves if we put our minds to it.
Vol. 8 Issue 1 53
SCIENCE

EXTREME RUNNING
TARAHUMARA TRIBE

Barefoot running has recently become a trend. But the

Tarahumara, who live in northwest Mexico, have been
doing something similar for generations, even inspiring
books on the topic.They have wowed the world with
their ability to run up to 320km (200 miles) in two days,
wearing traditional sandals.
Their word for men, Rarmuri, means something along
the lines of those who run fast. No-one really knows why
they have seemingly superhuman athletic prowess. It could
be because they have traditionally lived far apart from each
other, so running between settlements became necessary
for communication.
Their diet, which is predominantly made up of beans,
corn and vegetables, probably also plays a role.They drink
home-brewed beer, and also a mixture of water, lime, chia
seeds and sugar.This concoction is jammed with omega-3,
bre, protein and antioxidants. In general,Tarahumara
people have low cholesterol levels, and low rates of heart
disease and diabetes. But as the rocky canyon paths are
replaced by roads, fast food is starting to creep in, and rates Runners will
of obesity and high blood pressure are growing. complete ultra-
marathon distances
into their 60s

THE SENSATION FROM ONE STING IS SAID TO

BE AS BAD AS BEING HIT BY A BULLET
PHOTO: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGES, MATTHEW KARSTEN, PHOTOSHOT, BRUNO KELLY

The ants are sedated

before being woven into PAIN TOLERANCE
the gloves SATER-MAW TRIBE

Whats more painful than the most painful insect sting

known to man? Being stung by lots of those insects at
once for 10 minutes.Thats what adolescent boys of
the Sater-Maw tribe in the Brazilian Amazon do up
to 20 times before they are considered to be men.
The ritual involves threading 100s of unconscious
bullet ants (Paraponera clavata) stings pointing inwards
into gloves made of palm leaves. As the ants wake up,
the boy inserts his hands, receiving hundreds of stings in
which the ants inject a venom called poneratoxin into
his skin. Poneratoxin blocks communication between
the nerve cells, causing paralysis and immense pain
throughout the body that lasts for up to 24 hours.The
bullet ants are so-called because the sensation from one
sting is said to be as bad as being hit by a bullet.
But there is a ne line between paralysis and pain, and
studies in rats have suggested that poneratoxin could
be used as a painkiller. Its also being investigated as an
insecticide, so the Sater-Maw may have alerted the
world to a useful chemical.

54 Vol. 8 Issue 1
FREEDIVING
BAJAU NOMADS

A man strides across the ocean oor, harpoon in hand,

looking for prey. In one breath, he has swum to a
depth of 20m to hunt. He is a member of the Bajau, a
group of sea nomads who live off the coasts of eastern
Indonesian, the Philippines and eastern Malaysia.
When youre harvesting your food and livelihood
from the seabed, you want to spend as much time as
possible each day beneath the waves. Bajau divers spend
around ve hours a day submerged, diving to average
depths of around 8m but up to 30m for minutes
at a time, with only short periods between dives.They
make various physiological adaptations, including the
diving response which slows the heart, and diverts
blood to the heart, brain and working muscles, eking
out the oxygen from the pre-dive breath.The spleen
also contracts, forcing extra oxygen-carrying red blood
cells into the bloodstream.
The Bajau arent the only ones who show this ability.
Other groups, such as the Japanese Ama, dive to greater
depths, and the sport of freediving sees competitors
reach depths of up to 100m. Maybe theres a diving
ability in all of us just waiting to come out.

Bajau rupture their

eardrums to make
diving easier

KATHERINE NIGHTINGALE is a freelance science writer with

an MSc in molecular and cellular biology

Vol. 8 Issue 1 55
SCIENCE

WHY WE
WANT TO
BELIEVE
56 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 Dianas death, the
Moon landings,
Kennedys
assassination For
every historic event
there is a fantastic
conspiracy theory
to go with it. Robert
Brotherton reveals
why they capture
our imaginations

id NASA really land on the Moon in

D July 1969? Is global warming actually
a hoax? Who really shot JFK?
Depending on who you ask, these sorts of
questions can lead down a dark rabbit hole, to
a place where nothing is quite as it seems and
No one can be trusted. Welcome to the world
of conspiracy theories.
The term conspiracy theory is thrown
around so freely that it seems like everyone
knows what one is, yet a precise definition is
difficult to pin down. Nobody is denying that
conspiracies do happen in the world, and so
telling conspiracy theory and legitimate history
apart is inherently about line-drawing and
judgment, explains Mark Fenster, a law
professor at the University of Florida and
author of Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy
And Power In American Culture. We

Vol. 8 Issue 1 57
SCIENCE

HOW TO SPOT define certain claims as conspiracy theories are unproven by design, claiming to
A CONSPIRACY theories based on the kinds of
explanations they use and stories they
reveal unknown truths, while simultaneously
acknowledging that definitive proof is just out

THEORY tell, as well as by the interpretive leaps they

take and the evidence upon which they relay.
Whether you believe them or not,
of reach. As Fenster puts it, conspiracism is
an active, endless process that continually
seeks, but can never fully arrive at, a final
ARE THE CONSPIRATORS everyone loves a good conspiracy theory interpretation.
UNUSUALLY
LY EVIL? (note the return of The X-Files to our screens
this winter) and the best ones are hard to
Pretty much every noteworthy event
spawns some conspiratorial murmurs, which
Real-life conspirators
tors
to rs ttend
e d to hhave
en avee re
av rrelatively
ela l ti
t ve
v ly
limited, mundane amb
ambitions.
mbit i ioonss. Th villains
Thee villaia ns ooff ignore. So what makes them so appealing and you can find in the online worlds darker
prototypical conspiracy
pir
irac
a y th
ac ttheories,
eori
eo ries
ess, ho
hhowever,
weeve ver,r why do some endure than others? recesses (like page two of a Google search).
have their sights se higher.
sett high
hiigh
g er er.. Att tthe
hee vvery
e y le
er least
easa t The internet itself is often blamed for the rise
they tend to be pathologically
ath
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olog
oggic ical ly uunconcerned
ally nccon
once
ceernedd of conspiracy theories. No doubt, the
with the liberty and
ndd wwell-being
e l-be
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he ir Fact or fiction? internet allows information to travel faster and
fellow humans; att woworst,
wors
rst,
rs t, tthey
h y ar
he aaree he
hell-bent
hellllll-b
-ben
-b e t
en A typical conspiracy theory alleges farther than before, but the availability of
on world domination.
ioon.
n wrongdoing on an enormous scale, and information does not in and of itself spread
charges the conspirators with an almost beliefs, says Joe Uscinski, a political scientist
superhuman ability to plan, predict and at the University of Miami. Thousands of
control events. And while the label is websites push conspiracy theories, but none of
generally applied to claims that critics think these are highly trafficked compared to
are patently false, the relationship between mainstream websites.
conspiracy theory and truth is far more But the internet has also been good for
nuanced than that. The best conspiracy spreading criticism of conspiracy theories.
PHOTO: THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DEALEY PLAZA X5, NASA X4, ALAMY X6

AND UNUSUALLY
COMPETENT?
While
W hi e th
hil thee be bbest-laid
st-laidd plans of o mice and men of ooften
t n
te
awry,
go awr
go w y, the villains
he vil lla
lains of
o your typical co conspiracy
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th
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co
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nvolo ut
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ayys pl ayy oout
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they
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enououugh cclues
ough l es
lu e ffor
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conspiracist
co
ons
nspip ra
racic st
ci s ttoo pi
pick
ck uupp on
on.

The Kennedy assassination, 9/11 and the Moon landings are

three favourite topics of conspiracy theorists
58 Vol. 8 Issue 1
Uscinski and co-author Joseph Parent
The term might CAN IT BE
surveyed 3,000 internet articles mentioning
PROVEN FALSE?
PROVE
conspiracy theories for their 2014 book
American Conspiracy Theories. They
bring to mind an Coons
Conspiracy
C n pi p racy cy theorists face a

found that more than half of the sites image of a group of sspecial
sp ecial ch
studying
stu
st udyi
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cchallenge:
ha
ngg ssomething
o
they are
that
portrayed the theories in a negative light
often accompanied by words like fantasy, dedicated internet iss aactively
dete
de
ctiv
ct
detection.
tect
te
ivel
iv
ctio
ct
elyy trying to avoid
el
ioon.
n. If there really was
bizarre and debunked.
It is also worth noting that conspiracy
warriors with a flare a conspiracy
coons
they
nspi
heyy ssay,
tth
pira
pi ra as good as
ayy, then of course we
theories pre-date the internet by several for tinfoil couture would
woul
wo uldd nno
ul noto be able to prove
thousand years. They have been a popular it.
it
t. No Note
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te t unfalsiability,
preoccupation since at least as far back as ke tthe
lilike h other warning
he
ancient Athens and Rome. The internet is ssigns
si gnns hhere, is not a sure
gns
just the latest in a long line of technologies, sign that
sign
si th a claim is false
from language to the printing press to group of dedicated internet warriors with bubbutt iti is good reason
Twitter, that feed upon our endless hunger to itchy caps-lock fingers and a flare for tinfoil fforr sc
fo scepticism.
share and consume various ideas. couture. But conspiracy theorists are not as
rare as you might think.
According to a 2012 YouGov survey of
Tinfoil hats more than 1,700 British people, just under a
Where there are conspiracy theories, there quarter said they believe Princess Diana was
must surely be conspiracy theorists. The term assassinated. A further 13 per cent said
might bring to mind an image of a small they werent sure. In a 2015 YouGov

IS IT UNPROVEN?
Why dont pepeople
eop
o lee claim
m tthat
hat Wa
W
Watergate
t rgate
te
or Iran-Contra aare
re cconspiracy theories?
onspirracy theories s?
Because we kno know
ow th
tthey
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ey appe
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not
no much
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heree. Co
Cons
nspi
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ar all abou
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o t fostering doubt and speculat
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ppurporting
urpportingng ttoo uncoveer hitherto unkno
uncover n wn
no
unknown w truth hs.
truths.

IIS
S IT BASED ON
ANOMALY HUNTING?
Rather than building a cast-iron case
out of objective evidence, conspiracy
theories are an exercise in anomaly
hunting. They pick holes in the ofcial
story and speculate about how the
connections between these dots might
trace the outline of a conspiracy.

Vol. 8 Issue 1 59
SCIENCE

poll, 18 per cent of Brits said they
think global warming is a hoax, and
over half 52 per cent agreed that
officials of the European Union are
gradually seeking to take over all law-
making powers in this country.
Overseas, at least half of US citizens
thought their government was not telling the
whole truth about the 9/11 attacks, according
When something to polls conducted between 2004 and 2007
big happens, by Zogby International, Scripps Howard and
CBS/The New York Times. In a more
we are wired recent 2014 Rasmussen poll, a quarter of
Americans said they were convinced that the
to assume that Bush administration deliberately allowed the
attacks to happen. And it is not just in the
something equally West, either. In Russia, conspiracy theorising
big must have is a national pastime. In much of the Middle
East, according to historian Daniel Pipes, it is
caused it a way of life.
Part of the appeal is undoubtedly that
conspiracy theories are fun. Richard
Hofstadter, an early and influential conspiracy
PHOTO: GETTY, NASA ILLUSTRATOR: PAUL TYSALL
scholar, wrote that buying into a conspiracy
theory signals that you are a member of the
avant-garde who is capable of perceiving the
conspiracy before it is fully obvious to an as
yet unaroused public.
WHY WE BELIEVE
But we do not tend to believe things just for
the fun of it. For us to really believe
something, it has to seem plausible. And,
contrary to tinfoil-hat-based stereotypes, the
latest psychological research suggests that
conspiracy theories are not a deviation from
normal thinking. Rather, a handful of quirks
in how our brains operate might lend
conspiracist claims some intuitive plausibility.
One such quirk of reasoning is called the
proportionality bias. When something big
happens the public assassination of a
president, say we are wired to assume that
something equally big must have caused
it. It is unsatisfying to think one

Conspiracy theorists claim the Twin Towers were

intentionally brought down in a controlled demolition

60 Vol. 8 Issue 1

Four iconic events continue to fascinate conspiracy theorists,
despite the fact that the false claims surrounding them have been
disproved with science
MOON
LANDINGS
One classic Moon landing
conspiracy claims that the flag
Buzz Aldrin planted on the
lunar surface should not have
waved. However, the flag had
a metal arm to make it stick
out, and it only flapped while
Aldrin was wiggling the pole
into place. Theorists claim that
the absence of stars in the
dark lunar sky proves that the
photographs were taken on a
film set. Yet the exposure on
the cameras was intentionally
calibrated for the brightly lit
lunar surface, so it could not
pick up the faint stars.
THE MOST PERSISTENT
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
GLOBAL
WARMING
A few cherry-picked
soundbites from the
Climategate emails the
hacked emails of scientists at
the University of East Anglias
Climate Research Unit were
taken by some global-
warming- deniers as evidence
of a plot among scientists
to manipulate climate data.
Yet several inquiries found
no evidence of wrongdoing.
The fact remains that many
independent lines of evidence
converge on the conclusion that
Earths climate is getting warmer
and we are partly to blame.
KENNEDY 9/11
As evidence that the Twin
ASSASSINATION Towers were brought down
The magic bullet theory
in a controlled demolition,
asserts that the bullet that hit
conspiracy theorists pointed
JFK in the back then exited
to puffs of smoke that
through his throat, before
appeared to erupt a few floors
wounding Governor Connally
ahead of the collapse, as if
in the shoulder, wrist, and
they were explosive squibs
thigh would have had to
taking out structural columns.
pull off some impossible
Ignoring the implausibility of
gymnastics to do all that
secretly rigging the towers
damage. The theory neglects
with the amount of explosives
the fact that JFKs seat was
that would be required, the
higher than Connallys, and
squibs are actually windows
inset. Accounting for the
being blown out as collapsing
difference in positions, the
floors above displaced the air
bullets path traces a straight
and smoke beneath.
line originating from the Texas
School Book Depository.
Vol. 8 Issue 1 61
SCIENCE

CONSPIRACY
THEORIES otherwise unremarkable loner could
stumble out of bed, pick up a gun, and
helps people make sense of ambiguous
events. Three studies published earlier this
THAT TURNED change the course of history. Jan-Willem van
Prooijen, a psychologist at VU University
year including one led by Douglas suggest
that the bias might also incline some people

OUT TO BE Amsterdam and lead researcher on a recent

proportionality study, explains that: this
towards conspiracy theorising. By definition,
conspiracy theories assume purpose, agency

TRUE psychological bias often leads people to

endorse conspiracy theories following high-
profile events, such as a terrorist strike or the
and intentionality, Douglas explains. Rather
than thinking the US government dropped
the ball on 9/11, for instance, our gut might
death of a celebrity. Many people render the tell us that they deliberately allowed the
MK-ULTRA official accounts for such events as attacks go ahead, or even planned the
Documents came to light in the 1970s unsatisfactory, and conclude that there must whole thing.
revealing that the CIA had been trying be more to it than this. And then there is confirmation bias, which
to develop the ability to inuence
Another of our brains foibles is that can make us cling to our beliefs regardless of
and control peoples minds. The
whenever something happens we assume that the evidence. A 1995 study by Clemson
project, MK-Ultra, used hypnosis
somebody (or something) probably meant for University psychologist John McHoskey used
and LSD, and illegal experiments on
citizens. We will likely never know
it to happen. Karen Douglas, a University of the Kennedy assassination as a test case.
the full extent of it, since many of the Kent psychologist, says this bias (hypersensitive McHoskey first had people rate their
documents were destroyed. agency detection, or HAD, in technical lingo) agreement with conspiracy and lone gunman
has been used to explain why people believe theories of the assassination. Then he had
in the existence of spirits and gods, and why them read a deliberately ambivalent packet of
THE MAFIA people are religious or superstitious. HAD evidence for and against conspiracy. Finally,
At the Apalachin Meeting
in 1957, around 100 Maa
members gathered together
to discuss their business and
operations when they were
raided by police. The extent of the criminal
underworld was nally uncovered, forcing
the FBI and the US government to admit the
criminal organisations existence to the general
public for the rst time.

TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS
STUDY
In 1932, the US Public Health
Service studied untreated syphilis
in poor African-Americans in
Alabama. For the next four
decades, health workers
documented the effects without
telling the patients what the study
was about or whether they had
syphilis. When penicillin was
discovered to be an effective cure
in the 1940s, it was withheld from the subjects.

NSA AND PRISM

Recently, the NSA has been collecting
massive amounts of data about innocent
citizens whereabouts, phone calls and
internet habits in the course of its efforts to
keep tabs on threats to national security. There
has been relative lack of outrage. Perhaps
conspiracy theories have made us so used
to the idea of being spied on that it barely
registers as news.
Lee Harvey Oswald was the sniper who killed JFK, but conspiracists claim there may have been another gunman

62 Vol. 8 Issue 1
he had participants rate the evidence and
indicate whether they had changed their
minds. Rather than putting a damper on
their beliefs, the mixed bag of evidence
made people more confident in their
original opinion. They saw the evidence
that fitted with their existing belief as more
persuasive, then wrote off contradictory
evidence as flawed.
It is worth pointing out that these biases are
not unique to conspiracy thinking. Does it
feel like you met the love of your life because
of mere chance, or does it feel like it was
written in the stars? Last time someone cut
you off on the road, was your gut reaction to
assume it was an innocent mistake or an
intentional affront? And note that in
McHoskeys study, confirmation bias swayed
conspiracy theorists and sceptics alike it just
pushed them in opposite directions. Nobody
is immune to bias.
It is easy to see conspiracy theories as a
Psychologist Jan-Willem van Prooijen, seen here with a
tinfoil hat, says that proportionality bias makes us more
likely to believe conspiracies surrounding high-prole
events. Interestingly, tinfoil hats were first introduced as a
way to prevent mind interference in Julian Huxleys 1927
story, The Tissue-Culture King
Left: Princess Diana was
captured on security
camera on her final
evening in Paris
Above: Mohamed Al
Fayed, father of Dianas
partner Dodi, has always
insisted there was a plot
to kill her
Conspiracy
theories that tap
into our deepest
fears and darkest
prejudices are
cause for concern
trivial curiosity, a bit of harmless fun, or
maybe even as a valiant defence against
potential scheming. And for many
conspiracy theories, that might be the case.
But some conspiracy theories have a dark
side. The fact that some people believe Elvis
is alive probably should not keep anyone
awake at night, but conspiracy theories that
tap into our deepest fears and darkest
prejudices are cause for concern.
Damaging consequences
Researchers have only just begun to
quantify the risks of widespread
PHOTO: ISTOCK X2, JAMES SMITH/THE GURDON INSTITUTE, GETTY
conspiracism, and the results are
concerning. Dan Jolley, a psychologist at
Staffordshire University, has been at the
forefront of this research. He claims that
his studies have highlighted some of the
potential damaging consequences of
conspiracy theories. In recent research,
we have shown that belief in, or mere
exposure to, conspiracy theories
influenced peoples likelihood of engaging
in politics, taking action against climate
change, and having a child vaccinated.
Our research to date highlights the
alarming impact that conspiracy theories
may have on important societal issues.
So while it is easy to giggle over various
conspiracies, the potential effects on their
believers is no laughing matter.
DR ROBERT BROTHERTONs book, Suspicious Minds:
Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, was out in
November 2015
Vol. 8 Issue 1 63
SCIENCE
ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS

64 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 BEATING MASS
EXTINCTION
All the signs in nature suggest another mass
extinction is imminent and this time humans, rather
than a meteorite, are the root cause. But were also
working on ways to save the species facing peril, as
Duncan Geere discovers.
ll around the world, mankind is
A hacking enormous branches off the
tree of life. Since the last ice age
which ended about 10,000 years ago the
extinction rates of plant, mammal, bird,
insect, amphibian and reptile species have
skyrocketed, with one estimate putting the
current rate of loss at up to 140,000 species
per year. Thats a problem not just for the
species that are dying out but for humans,
too. We depend on our companions for food
security, clean water, clothing and even the
air we breathe (see p46) .
In 2009, the Stockholm Resilience Centre
listed biodiversity loss as one of nine
planetary boundaries that cannot be crossed
without the world suffering irreversible
environmental change (other boundaries
include ozone depletion, climate change and
ocean acidification). Without Earths
biodiversity, humans wouldnt be here at all.
And even the most conservative estimates of
species loss show cause for alarm.
Planet in peril
The latest calculations come from a group of
biologists led by Stanford Universitys Paul
Ehrlich and Gerardo Ceballos from the
National Autonomous University of
Mexico, who have published results showing
that Earth is experiencing the beginnings of
an extinction event at least as large as the one
the killed the dinosaurs, and perhaps as big
as the other four major extinctions in our
planets history (see below). Were not there
yet but we can easily get there in a century,
Ehrlich says.
Their paper sets out a best-case scenario
one that only counts species as going
extinct if weve seen them go extinct, and
where the normal extinction rate for Earth
before humans came along is about twice as
high as previous estimates. What did their
findings say, with these assumptions in
place? You still get tens to hundreds of
times more rapid extinctions today than
during the times when there werent mass
Vol. 8 Issue 1 65
SCIENCE

SVALBARD GLOBAL
SEED VAULT
The roof and front of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault are adorned
with stainless steel prisms and mirrors. As light reects off them,
they emit a ghostly glow that changes throughout the days and
seasons. Artist Dyveke Sanne was commissioned to come up with
this striking design, thanks to a legal requirement that says all
Norwegian public and civil buildings exceeding a certain build cost
must incorporate an artwork element.
MAPS: RON BLAKEY/COLORADO PLATEAU GEOSYSTEMS

extinction events, explains Ehrlich. In other words, a very
clear sign that were entering a sixth mass extinction.
Ehrlich, it should be pointed out, has a history of making dire
warnings about mankinds impact on the planet, with varying
degrees of accuracy. In his 1968 book The Population Bomb, he
brought several decades of academic concern about Earths rising
population to the mainstream, predicting mass famine, disease and
social unrest on a global scale. A few years later, he predicted that by
the year 2000 the UK would merely be a small group of
impoverished islands. Thanks to the Green Revolution, his
predictions largely failed to come to pass. Ehrlich has since admitted
that society has been more resilient than he expected, while
reaffirming his stance that overpopulation is a serious problem.
Knowing this, youd be forgiven for taking Erlichs predictions
of species extinction with a pinch of salt but hes not the only
academic alarmed at the rates of biodiversity loss. In 2011,
biologists led by Anthony Barnosky (a co-author on Ehrlichs
recent paper) described ongoing mass extinctions in a paper
published in Nature, writing that current extinction rates are
higher than would be expected from the fossil record. And as
recently as April this year, a group led by Tim Newbold from
the United Nations Environment Programme reported that
humans are directly responsible for a 13 per cent reduction in the
number of species. Ehrlich says that his results are simply a
conservative confirmation of something that basically every
scientist knows.

THE FIRST FIVE

MASS
EXTINCTIONS
PHOTO: DORNITH DOHERTY X3

Ordovician-Silurian Late Devonian

447 to 443 million years ago 375 to 360 million years ago

The rst mass extinction was caused by
protocontinent Gondwana moving towards the
South Pole, leading to global cooling, glaciation and
a drop in sea level. Most life at the time was marine,
and about 85 per cent of it vanished.
66 Vol. 8 Issue 1
About 70 per cent of all species died in a series of
extinction pulses. Marine life was particularly hard
hit, with coral reefs disappearing almost entirely.
The cause is unclear possibly global cooling due
to oceanic volcanism.
 Above: Svalbard houses frozen seed samples from all over the world

Below: Svalbards seeds are carefully stored in a controlled environment

Stockpiling nature
Around the same time that Ehrlich was making his dire predictions
about the future of the human race, an environmental movement
was blossoming around the globe. The first Earth Day was celebrated
in 1970, and Greenpeace was founded in 1971. All over the world,
various scattered, underfunded conservation schemes began to join
up into a wider network dedicated to preserving the worlds animals
and plants.
In 1992, 168 countries signed the United Nations Convention on
Biological Diversity, in recognition that conservation of biological
diversity is a common concern of humankind. That convention
underpins many of the laws that protect biodiversity around the
world today it is seen as a vital document for conservation and

Permian-Triassic Triassic-Jurassic Cretaceous-Paleogene

252 million years ago 201.3 million years ago 66 million years ago

The worst extinction event, killing 90 to 96 per cent
of species. The cause is debated but could have
been a meteorite, volcanism or methane release
that led to rapid climate change. Life took about 10
million years to recover.
Between 70 and 75 per cent of the Earths species
went extinct at the end of the Triassic, including
many large reptiles and amphibians. The cause is
unknown, but the empty niches allowed dinosaurs
to proliferate in the Jurassic.
This is probably the most famous mass extinction
its the asteroid impact that killed off the
dinosaurs and about 75 per cent of species. Since
then, birds and mammals have evolved to become
the dominant land species.
Vol. 8 Issue 1 67
SCIENCE

THE GLOBAL
Small gene banks and international
SEED institutes from around the world all deposit
seeds into Svalbard
BANK NETWORK
Svalbard

Arctic Circle

NORTH
AMERICA

ASIA
EUROPE

AFRICA
ILLUSTRATOR: HAISAM HUSSEIN

SOUTH
AMERICA
SCALE

400

KEY

200

National
gene banks 50

10
1

International Number of seed

institutes boxes deposi
ted in
Svalbard
68 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 sustainable development. One major
project under its auspices, for
example, is the Global Strategy for Plant
Conservation, which includes 16
S VA LB A R D ambitious targets for understanding and
G LO B A L
S EED VA U LT INTERIOR OF conserving plant diversity.
MOUNT PLATEAU Another example is a treaty that came
into force in 2004 with the objective of
Art Steel-reinforced guaranteeing food security through
installation corridor conservation and sustainable use of the
worlds plants. It called for the creation of
Vaults a Global Crop Diversity Trust, which
Entrance could ensure the availability of plant
ULT S
TO VA diversity essential for food and agriculture.
13 0 m TOTAL SEED
CAPACITY: This organisation, based in Germany and
Airport, 2.25 billion known more commonly as the Crop
5km 500 400 3,750 Trust, funds a global network of gene
seeds packs boxes CURRENT
per per per COUNT: banks, where seeds and other genetic
pack box vault n*
570 millio material can be preserved for decades, if
not centuries.
*As of August 31, 2015
We work around the world with
collections of crop diversity, to conserve
them and make them available to farmers,
LARGEST SEED STOCKS IN STORAGE IN SVALBARD
(in millions)
breeders and scientists forever, explains
Brian Lainoff from the Crop Trust. Its
20 40 60 80 100 important to have this diversity for the
Pearl millet
future so that scientists and breeders can
grow crops that will have to be able to
face higher temperatures, less water, new
Rice
diseases and new pests. Without the
diversity, the building blocks of
agriculture dont exist.
Goosegrass

Fort Knox for nature

Wheat
The Crop Trust works with national gene
banks representing whole countries, as
well as those focused on a particular crop,
Sorghum
such as the International Rice Research
Institute in the Philippines. But it also has
one of its own the Svalbard Global Seed
OCEANIA
Barley
Vault, dug into the side of a mountain on
a frigid island just 11,300km (810 miles)
from the North Pole, where the Sun
Corn
doesnt rise for more than four months
during winter. We need a backup for the
worlds gene banks, says Roland von
Bristlegrass
Bothmer from the Nordic Gene Resource
Centre, which helps operate the facility.
Thats what the Svalbard Seed Vault is.
Alfalfa
There are seeds sitting on the shelves of
Svalbards vault from 5,103 species and
232 countries including several, such
Cicer (chickpea)
as Yugoslavia, that no longer exist.
Source:
www.nordgen.org/sgsv/

Vol. 8 Issue 1 69
SCIENCE

Svalbard is designed
to last for centuries,
if not millennia

Svalbard was chosen because its geologically stable and because
the frozen ground means that cooling the seeds to the
necessary temperature for storage is easier. The remote location
reduces the chances of sabotage and the entrance is 130m (425ft)
above sea level, meaning that itll be safe from rising oceans even if
both of Earths ice caps melt. Lainoff,
who admits to being not a very religious person, describes it as
being like a cathedral. Its deathly quiet, he says. You feel very
safe there.
The global gene banks split samples between three locations:
their home bank, a second bank in another country, and also in
Svalbard where only the depositing organisation can access them.
As such, withdrawals are rare. Weve been working for eight
years and it hasnt happened so far! says von Bothmer. Its
hopefully a simple process. They request the material and its
sent back.
But while the vault has been built into the frozen rock of
Svalbard and is designed to last for centuries, if not millennia, its

HOW TO HARVEST SEEDS

1 The first step is to gather some

seeds from wild plants. Collecting 2 A temperature- and humidity-controlled
room is used to reduce the moisture content 3 Finally, the seed samples are shipped
to three separate places to ensure
PHOTO: USDA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, ALAMY ILLUSTRATOR: ACUTE GRAPHICS

expeditions prioritise locations with high
biodiversity but threatened habitats. Its
vital to record as much data as possible
about where the seeds come from not just
the location but also the ecosystem.
of the seeds and then theyre placed in sealed,
airtight bags. Samples are then frozen to -18C.
This is the temperature that works best to
preserve the majority of seeds for the longest
possible time.
maximum security: the local gene bank, a
second bank elsewhere in the world and
Svalbards global backup vault. This means
that if one of the banks is destroyed, there
will always be a backup.

4 Seeds stored in a seed bank must be

periodically tested to establish whether
they are still viable. For most seeds, testing
is performed every 10 years. Svalbard
just stores seeds it does not test them,
otherwise there could be accusations of
contamination.
5 Fifty seeds of a batch are tested at
once. They are wrapped in moistened
filter paper or are rolled between paper
sheets. After a few days, the number of
germinated seeds is counted and a viability
percentage is then calculated.
6 For most crops, 75 per cent viability is
the minimum requirement to pass the
test, though for some grasses it can be as
low as 50 per cent. If the seeds fail the test,
a new sample is grown from the surviving
seeds in a location as close as possible to
their natural habitat.

70 Vol. 8 Issue 1
Below: Animal sperm stored at the USAs National Animal Germplasm Program

financial situation is considerably more precarious

especially because some are sceptical about how
worthwhile the project really is, arguing that the money it
costs to maintain the seed bank would be better spent on
preserving crops in their natural habitats. Operational costs
are shared between the Norwegian government, which for
political reasons cant guarantee funding beyond the
duration of a parliament, and the Crop Trust, which relies
on donations from charitable foundations and other
governments around the world. Its definitely a long-term
project but no-one can guarantee the funding, says von
Bothmer.

San Diego Zoo contains over

8,000 individual samples from
600 different animal species

Vol. 8 Issue 1 71
SCIENCE

IF THESE DIE OUT,

WE WILL TOO

BEES
BE
Inse have been pollinating owers for 100
Insects
million years and about 70 per cent of our
mill
agriculture today depends on them continuing
agr
to ddo so. But pesticides, habitat loss, invasive
species and diseases are driving global
spe
bee populations into a severe decline, with
potentially catastrophic consequences for
food production.

BATS
B
Thhese mammals play a vital role in food
These
production,
pr roduction, particularly
particul in the tropics. They
ppollinate owers and disperse fruit seeds,
but also consume
cons insect pests - saving us
millions of dollars in pesticides. Without
bats, wed have no bananas, mangoes When the Iron Curtain sliced Europe in two, wildlife flourished in the border regions
or ttequila. because there was little human contact. Today, the European Green Belt aims to
preserve and protect this environment

CORAL
COR
C
Ea
Earths
Ear richest ecosystems are coral reefs.
TThey offer a home to untold amounts of
biological wealth - sh, molluscs, sharks,
turtles, sponges, crustaceans and many more.
They protect coastlines from storms, lter
water and store carbon. Not bad for
1 per cent of the Earths surface.
PLANKTON
Do you like breathing? Youve got plankton to
thank - it produces between 50 and 85 per
cent of the oxygen in the atmosphere. These
tiny organisms also sink carbon to the bottom
of the oceans. Not only that, theyre the base
of the worlds food webs as they are eaten by
everything else.
else
FUNGI
Fungi are natures recyclers, ttu
turning
waste into vital nutrients for vva
various plants
and animals. As well as this, tth
they help produce
various cheeses, chocolate, sosoft
o drinks and
many vital drugs, including an
antibiotics
nt such as
penicillin and cholesterol-cont
cholesterol-controlling
t statins.
Noahs ark 2
Its not only plant seeds that are stored in gene banks animal
biodiversity is being cryopreserved in much the same way in almost a
dozen frozen zoos worldwide. One of the first was at the San Diego
Zoo in the United States, where 8,400 samples from more than 800
species have been kept in liquid nitrogen since 1976. Stored material
can be kept indefinitely and used for artificial insemination, in vitro
fertilisation or cloning of animals in the future, although the network
of global banks is nowhere near as comprehensive as that for plants.
Instead, animal biodiversity is mostly preserved alive, in the worlds
nature reserves. There are tens of thousands around the world and
their protected status allows them to maintain ecological processes
that have struggled to survive against the onslaught of human
development. Several case studies have shown positive effects of these
protected areas on plant and animal species, but many ecologists say
theyre not enough to combat biodiversity loss the scale were seeing.
Dr Mark Steer from the University of West of England is one of
them. While nature reserves play a hugely important role in
enabling some of our rarer species to cling on in largely hostile
environments, our current system of protected areas is wholly
inadequate if we want to maintain and enhance biodiversity,
he explains. If we cannot embed wildlife-friendly habitats
throughout the wider landscape, creating extensive and resilient
ecological networks, then we will continue to see wildlife ebbing
from our lives.

72 Vol. 8 Issue 1

SAVING THE BLACK-
FOOTED FERRET
Svalbard may have grabbed
the headlines, but the US Fish
& Wildlife Service has been
working with a different kind of
frozen seeds using 20-year-old
ferret sperm to improve genetic
diversity in a strugging population
of black-footed ferrets.
Once abundant on the Great
Plains, by the early 1980s
Mustela nigripes had been
hunted to near-extinction. In a
bid to save the species, the last
24 ferrets were rounded up and
taken into captivity; six died,
but captive breeding from the
Thanks to sperm banks, endangered black-footed ferrets can
look forward to increased genetic diversity
remaining 18 has enabled the
population to grow back into
the hundreds. However, having
such a small gene pool meant
the population was becoming
increasingly in-bred. So in 2008,
the scientists reached for the
frozen sperm samples stashed
away two decades previously.
Measures of in-breeding have
since decreased by 5.8 per cent.
The positive outcome of the
programme suggests that animal
sperm banks could in future
play a key role in maintaining
Earths biodiversity.
Above: The path of the European Green Belt is
marked by the green line on this map
Some countries are, though, starting to build such embedded
habitats. Wildlife corridors allow plants and animals to migrate
between green spaces, joining up isolated populations and allowing
them to find the resources they need to survive. One ambitious
project is the European Green Belt, which hopes to turn the border
that once formed the Iron Curtain into a green corridor that runs
from the northernmost point of Europe down through more than
20 different countries until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea.
Ultimately, though, what weve accomplished so far is
nowhere near sufficient to slow the pace of the mass extinction
PHOTO: ISTOCK X6, EUROPEAN GREEN BELT INITIATIVE X2
thats currently taking place all over the planet. Twenty
elephants in a national park, or a handful of seeds on a shelf in an
Arctic mountain, arent performing their ecological roles, and
the plant and animal populations that depend on them will
eventually die unless profound change happens fast.
We have to keep in mind that if the human enterprise its
level of population and consumption continues to increase, if
we continue to treat billions of people badly, either in terms of
frozen food or through prejudice and so on, then theres no
hope, says Ehrlich. Scientists who look closely at these issues
know the direction were going and the things were not doing.
The closer we get, the chances of being able to avoid it become
diminishingly small. We should have taken action long ago.
DUNCAN GEERE is a freelance science writer based in Gothenburg, Sweden
Vol. 8 Issue 1 73
NATURE

Pangolins
under
pressure
The armour that
protects pangolins
makes them acutely
vulnerable to the
deadliest predator of
all. James Fair reports
on the conservationists
ghting to save these
amazing mammals
from Homo sapiens
Photos by Suzi Eszterhas

Scan this QR Code for

the audio reader

74 Vol. 8 Issue 1

ildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas, whose
W images illustrate this feature, rst came across
a pangolin while photographing African wild
dogs hunting at night in Botswana. As Suzi puts it,
Anything wild dogs come by, they mess with, and
they messed with this pangolin. But pangolins have a
defence mechanism, rolling up into a ball to present an
unappetising and impenetrable barrier of keratin scales to
ward off hungry carnivores, like hedgehogs do with their
spines. The dogs would have ripped the pangolin
to shreds if theyd had the opportunity, but they soon
lost interest.
Suzi didnt, however, and she and her driver watched
as the rather bizarre animal unfurled itself and trundled off
into the night. One of the things my driver did before we
lost it disturbed me at rst he put his hand on it, she
recalls. I said, What are you doing? He told me that in
the local culture it is good luck to touch a pangolin.
He did it very gently.
This pangolin had been lucky. While rolling up into a
ball has largely served these strange, scaly, ant-and-
termite-loving mammals well since they evolved roughly
This is a Sunda pangolin named
Lucky. He was rescued from
poachers and is now being
rehabilitated at the Carnivore and
Pangolin Conservation Program
(CPCP) in Cuc Phuong National Park,
Vietnam.
80 million years ago, there is one fatal aw in their
strategy: it enables humans to carry them off to a cooking
pot as easily as gathering wood for the re.
Deadly demand
And not only for the pot. Despite the fact that they are
made of keratin, the same substance as rhino horn
and human hair, those scales which have earned the
pangolin unofcial sobriquets such as the artichoke on
legs and walking pinecone are highly sought after in
many parts of both Africa and Asia for their purported
benets, which go beyond the merely medical to warding
off evil spirits and conferring invisibility. Its no wonder
that the pangolin has been called the most traded
mammal on the planet.
Suzi was lucky, too most Africans and Asians dont even
know of the existence of the eight species of pangolin,
and they rarely get to see one. It doesnt help that all eight
species are mainly nocturnal, cryptically coloured and
extremely secretive; neither does the estimated removal
of some one million animals from the wild over the past
decade. As Carly Waterman,
Vol. 8 Issue 1 75
NATURE

PANGOLINS AROUND THE WORLD

There are eight species of pangolin, four in Africa and four in Asia.
They have their differences but all are under threat.

AFRICA
BLACK-BELLIED TEMMINCKS
PANGOLIN GROUND PANGOLIN
Phataginus Smutsia temminckii
tetradactyla Most widespread African
Occurs in forested pangolin, found from
regions of West and southern Chad, through
Central Africa, from Sierra Leone to East Africa to the Northern Cape province of
Nigeria. Also in much of the Congo South Africa. Inhabits savannah woodlands.
Basin and as far east as Uganda. The Known as bwana mganga the doctor
smallest (less than 1m long) and most in Tanzania because every body part is
arboreal pangolin. Hunted for its meat believed to have a medicinal use.
and for its scales. STATUS Vulnerable
STATUS Vulnerable

GIANT GROUND WHITE-BELLIED PAN-

PANGOLIN
Smutsia gigantea
The largest pangolin
species, reaching
1.8m long and
35kg. Patchily distributed in forests
through West and Central Africa
as far east as western Kenya and
Tanzania. Also exploited for its
meat and scales, which are used in
traditional African medicine.
STATUS Vulnerable
GOLIN
Phataginus tricuspis
A large range that extends
from Guinea-Bissau in
West Africa as far south
as northern Zambia and as far east as
Tanzania. Prefers lowland tropical forests, Strong claws and
but there is evidence of it adapting to a semi-prehensile
secondary forest and farmland areas. One tail make Sunda
study suggested it was most commonly pangolins such as
found in African bushmeat markets.
Lucky good climbers
STATUS Vulnerable

ASIA
CHINESE
PANGOLIN
Manis pentadactyla
Found from the
Himalayan foothills
of Nepal through
China east to Taiwan and south to
Laos and Vietnam. Comfortable in
a wide variety of habitats, including
tropical forest, bamboo forest and
grassland. Heavy exploitation has
removed it from much of its range.
STATUS Critically Endangered
PHILIPPINE
All eight pangolin
PANGOLIN
Manis culionensis species are mainly
Only recognised as being
distinct from the Sunda
pangolin in 1998, it has
nocturnal, cryptically
the most restricted range of any pangolin,
being found almost exclusively on Palawan
coloured and
and some neighbouring islands. Exploited
for its meat and scales Taiwanese are
reported to drink its blood in wine, while
extremely secretive.
its skin is used to treat asthma.
STATUS Endangered

SUNDA PANGOLIN who researched the international trade in pangolins for

INDIAN
PANGOLIN Manis javanica his PhD, it had been forgotten.
Manis crassicaudata Widely distributed from Now, at last, conservationists are fighting back. The
The most westerly mainland South-east Asia
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN IN REHABILITATION CENTRES OR ZOOS.

arrival of the Pangolin Specialist Group thanks to

Asian pangolin, its
range extends from
Pakistan into India and Bangladesh
and as far south as Sri Lanka. Poorly
studied but believed to be found
in a variety of habitats. Exploited
for food and medicine, and hunted
ritualistically by some tribes.
STATUS Endangered
down through Peninsular
Malaysia and onto the Dan and ZSLs Jonathan Baillie has, in turn, led to
Indonesia islands of Borneo, Java and the creation of three notable conservation projects in
Sumatra. Highest density found in primary
rainforest, but also in degraded land,
Cameroon, China and Thailand, all co-ordinated by
including palm-oil plantations. Extensive ZSL. Thats half-a-million dollars that wouldnt have
international trade from Indonesia to China gone to pangolins three years ago, says Dan. The
and Vietnam.
species cause has also been taken up by the Duke of
STATUS Critically Endangered
Cambridges conservation programme United for Wildlife.

the pangolin technical specialist at the Zoological A lucky nd

Society of London (ZSL), points out: Its more individuals
than the losses of elephants, tigers and rhinos combined.
But while this unprecedented level of commercial
activity, mainly involving trade to Asian countries such as
China and Vietnam, has been taking place, the pangolin
has been poorly served by the conservation community.
Indeed until 2012 it was the only mammalian taxonomic
group that didnt have its own specialist group under the
auspices of the IUCN. In the words of Dan Challender,
But when you talk to anyone whos anyone in the world
of pangolins, one particular organisation crops up again
and again a small Vietnamese group called the
Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program (CPCP),
which specialises in caring for and releasing animals that
have been confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade.
Most of Suzis photos were taken there, and many are of
Lucky who arrived at the centre in December 2006 and
has remained there ever since.

76 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 Research assistant Hsuan-Yi
Lo with a three-month-old
orphaned Chinese pangolin at
Taipei Zoo, Taiwan

Nguyen Van Thai of the

CPCP holds a three-
month-old Sunda
pangolin.

This Chinese pangolin, pictured

with her baby, was rescued from
poachers and is now part of Taipei
Zoos captive-breeding programme

Vol. 8 Issue 1 77
NATURE

Pangolins are often called

scaly anteaters because
they ll a similar niche
this is a Sunda pangolin

Pangolin mothers carry

their babies on their tail
until they are weaned.
This Chinese pangolin is
just two weeks old

ABOVE RIGHT:
A 12-day-old
We hope to release Lucky one day, but right now we
want to keep him and make him an ambassador for all
Chinese pangolin
asleep in Taipei
pangolins, says the CPCPs driving force Nguyen Van Thai.
Hes a very friendly pangolin, and we think that
Zoo, Taiwan
BELOW: Pangolin he can help raise awareness of the problems they face.
comes from the
Malayan word
For the moment, Suzi points out, thats a small price to
pay. Thanks to the use of natural vegetation, the centre
for the roller
has some of the best enclosures for captive animals
that shes ever seen, and the staff regularly scour the
surrounding forest to bring back ants nests so that the
residents get to eat as natural a diet as possible.
Lucky goes crazy over these ants, she
says. He seems to have fun doing what he
would in the wild, and not just eating
something out of a bowl.
Many of the pangolins mainly
Sunda pangolins Manis javanica
are rehabilitated into the wild,
though officials frequently insist
that confiscated animals are
retained in captivity because they
are evidence in criminal cases against
wildlife traders. However, Thai is trying
to persuade the Vietnamese
government to relax restrictions so that
A greater understanding of
the species behaviour will
help scientists plan suitable
conservation strategies
individuals can go back to the wild sooner rather than later.
According to Louise Fletcher, who co-ordinated releases
for the CPCP from 2013 to 2014, the work is also important
because its one of the few places where individuals are
monitored using radio tags. This shows whether the animals
are surviving post-release, and therefore whether the criteria
used to assess the suitability of the habitat are valid. During
her time there, a total of five pangolins were released into
Ct Tin National Park, of which four are believed to have
survived for more than six months.
The pangolin that didnt survive kept returning to the
same den site every night, she says, which is unusual.
Normally pangolins wander all night in search of ants and
termites, then find somewhere to sleep when they stop.
This one had lost a lot of weight [when they found it after it
died], and perhaps its behaviour should have alerted us to
the fact that it wasnt doing so well.

78
78 VVol.
ol
ol.l. 8 Issue
IIsssue
ssue
suue
ue 1
ANATOMY OF SCALES
Most of the animals head, body

A PANGOLIN and tail are covered in horny,

sharp and overlapping scales
made of keratin the exceptions
are the sides of the face, the inner
parts of the legs, the throat and
EARS the belly. Like hair, they carry on
Special muscles enable growing throughout the animals
the pangolin to close life, though they are ground down
its ears and nostrils when it digs and burrows in
to protect them from search of food.
insects.

MOUTH AND NOSE

A powerful sense of smell is
the pangolins main method of
locating the ants and termites
it mostly feeds on other
invertebrates may also be taken.
The animal possesses a long,
sticky tongue but no teeth,
Digestion is aided by pebbles
and spine-like protrusions in its
stomach.

CLAWS
Three long curved claws on each
front foot enable the pangolin to rip
into the nests of ants and termites,
and help arboreal species to climb
trees.
GLANDS
Special glands near the
anus secrete a pungent
fluid that is used for both
marking territory and
defence.
TAIL
The species that are arboreal
(white- and black-bellied, Indian,
Philippine and Sunda pangolins)
have semi-prehensile tails for
climbing trees. Females use them
to carry their young, too. The
black-bellied pangolins tail has 46
or 47 vertebrae the most of any
mammal.

But this, as she points out, is valuable information about

an animal that is hard to study and whose basic biology
is poorly understood. Since leaving Vietnam, Louise has
worked with a small conservation project in Brunei, the
tiny sovereign state on the island of Borneo, and is now
raising funds to start a programme to train sniffer dogs that
can find pangolins in the wild which is after all how the
poachers do it.
Say youve got an area of forest thats under threat,
Louise explains. You could use the dogs to see whether
there are pangolins and other species that might help to
prevent that development from going ahead. It would
also enable you to tag wild animals to further increase our
understanding of their behaviour.

Camera shy
Why not just use camera-traps, though, an efficient and
relatively cheap technology that is trusted to monitor wildlife
all over the world as demonstrated by our wildcat article
on p26? We had one Sunda pangolin, which was tagged,
and it had seven den sites and an area of about 2ha that
we were aware of, Louise replies. We put up 10 camera-
traps in this 2ha area, and it still took us three months to get
a photo of it. Bigger mammals need to use pathways, but
pangolins just wander through the undergrowth, and until

Vol. 8 Issue 1 79
NATURE

There is no evidence that

the Pangolins scales
improve our health, but
claims get more outlandish
by the year
we understand them and their use of micro-habitats
better, we cant place the cameras in the right locations.
A greater understanding of the species behaviour will
help scientists to plan suitable conservation strategies.
But they also need a greater understanding of the human
desire to exploit pangolins to the brink of extinction,
and this is the issue that increasingly occupies Dan
Challenders time. Once, during a visit to Ho Chi Minh
City in Vietnam, he heard that pangolin was appearing on
a local menu, so he visited the restaurant.
This guy brought a pangolin into the dining area in a
corn sack, Dan remembers. It wasnt big, probably about
2kg, and it was rolled up in a ball. He killed the animal then
and there before cooking and serving it to three diners, who
paid US$676 for the privilege.
Did Dan learn anything from witnessing such a gruesome
sight? I wanted to get an understanding of the demands
and motivations of consumers, and perhaps use that to
devise strategies to change their behaviour and stop them
consuming pangolins, he says. The fact that the animal
was killed in front of the customers suggests to me that the
chef wanted to confirm the authenticity of the meat that
it came from a wild pangolin. Vietnamese people have a
long cultural attachment to the meat of wild animals, which
makes this a complex issue to address.

Medical myths
ABOVE: CPCPs Then theres the pangolins dubious status as a walking
Nguyen Van Thai
medicine cabinet. This is, according to Carly Waterman,
examines a three-
month-old Sunda mainly an issue in China, and ZSLs Chinese project is
pangolin rescued looking at some of the motives there. As with rhino horn,
from poachers there is no evidence that the scales have any impact on
human health, but as is also the case with rhino horn
RIGHT: Staff at
the centre weigh
the claims made on their behalf seem to become more
another baby outlandish by the year.
Sunda pangolin Pangolin scales are already regarded as something
in adults, scales that improves blood circulation, stimulates lactation and
represent about
cures skin conditions, Carly says. And recently one of my
a quarter of the
total body weight colleagues, who is Chinese, said that they were starting to
be touted as a cure for breast cancer, which I hadnt heard
before. Theres no doubt that the threat has grown, and
thats probably down to the expanding middle classes with
their increased spending power.
Suzi Ezsterhas says that the world needs to care about
pangolins, so that the people who live in the species range
states begin to value them too. Perhaps they could start by
appreciating their role as providers of ecosystem services:
a single pangolin is estimated to eat 70 million ants and
termites every year. Failing that, whats not to love about an
animal that resembles the flowerhead of a cultivated thistle
or depending on your point of view the reproductive
organ of an evergreen tree, and possesses a tongue that
JAMES FAIR is BBC Wildlifes environment editor. He edits our Agenda and starts at its pelvis and, at full extension, is longer than its
Analysis pages every month see p51 for the latest news. head and tail combined?

80 Vol. 8 Issue 1
Into the Future
Future buildings should take inspiration from the wild
obert Zemeckiss iconic film Back
R To The Future II (1989) was set in
October 2015, 30 years into the then-
Future cities could have a
naturally controlled environment,
just like termite mounds
future. The movies predictions had some hits
(wearable tech and video calls), but many misses,
such as flying cars and hoverboards. The writers
didnt foresee mobile phones and they missed
information technology, the dominant feature of
our world.
So prediction is hard. But in 2015, can we make
any better guesses about another 30 years on?
In 2045 our cities will surely be saturated with
the smartness the movie writers missed. Control
systems like traffic lights are already joined in city-
wide networks, but much more is possible. How
about a road surface smart enough to fix potholes?
There have been experiments in self-healing
concrete, using bacteria that grow in cracks and
excrete healing minerals. On a wider scale, the
US city of Chicago is pioneering techniques
in predictive modelling, mining banks of data
gathered from various places, including police
records and sensors in garbage trucks, in order to
anticipate problems such as crime hotspots and
sanitation breakdowns. But new forms of crime
will become possible if hackers break into the
artificial mind of the smart city.
Meanwhile, cities may become more friendly
to wildlife. Cities are warm places with plenty of
food and a lack of predators; London landmarks
like the Houses of Parliament have already
become home to peregrine falcons, the worlds
fastest bird.
But there may be ways for cities themselves to
become more natural. Rather than relying on
fossil fuels and nuclear that legacy. There is a growing interest in urban ore, forgotten supplies
energy, can cities live We have only been of metals under city streets. It is estimated, for example, that the copper
off renewable sources? available in abandoned piping and cablework underneath Swedish cities
Around 40 countries building cities for a amounts to 90,000 tonnes, worth over $600m.
have sufficient access
to geothermal power,
few millennia, while Maybe all these predictions are too conservative. In our world there are
already cities made from natural materials whose dense populations enjoy
the Earths inner heat termites designs temperature and humidity control, but use no electricity at all. These are
energy, to satisfy all their
current energy needs.
have evolved over termite mounds. Their ventilation comes not from using machines to
force air through vents as we do; instead, stale air rises naturally through
Meanwhile solar heating millions of years convection, while fresh air is drawn in from below.
and electricity generation Perhaps this is the true future of construction. After all, we humans
ILLUSTRATOR: ANDY POTTS

are already with us, but their efficiencies could be improved if we devised have only been building cities for a few millennia, while the termites
an artificial form of photosynthesis. Significant investment is being made designs have elegantly evolved over millions of years. And our cities will
in the technology by the US government and others. Our cities might merge, at last, with nature.
literally become green, with the buildings reaching like trees for the light.
One thing Back To The Future II did get right is that we tend not
to tear everything down and start anew; we build on the legacy of the
STEPHEN BAXTER is a science ction
past. In 2015, Marty McFlys home town still has the courthouse we saw writer who has written over 40 books. His
in 1985 though its used as a mall. And in the future we might mine latest is Ultima, published by Orion

Vol. 8 Issue 1 81
SCIENCE

THE FUTURE OF GADGETS

TECHHUB
ON THE HORIZON

ROBOHON
Its a robot! Its a smartphone!
Its almost unbearably cute!
robohon.com/special/english/

pple, Microsoft, Google stop what

A youre doing right now! Youve been
getting this intelligent personal
assistant business all wrong.The way forward
isnt putting a quasi-human persona la Siri,
Cortana et al inside a smartphone; the way
forward is putting a smartphone inside a quasi-
human shell or, to be more precise, inside a
humanoid robot pal that makes Brian from
Confused.com look positively surly.
At least, thats what Sharp is banking on as it
unveils Robohon, a 19cm-high robot-shaped
smartphone that talks to you. Just to be clear,
this isnt some futuristic prototype built to
wow the crowds at trade shows. Its an actual,
working consumer product, and its going on
sale in Japan early next year. And to say its
dividing opinion in the tech world would be
an understatement.
In the blue corner, we have serious-minded,
utilitarian commentators whose basic reaction
is, Why the hell would I want one of those?
What on Earth was Sharp thinking? Such
commentators point to the phones tiny, rear-
mounted screen, and to Sharps promo video
which somewhat unrealistically, they suggest
features someone climbing a rock face with
Robohon swinging merrily from their chest
in a papoose. In their eyes, Robohon can
be written off as a cutesy gimmick thats
doomed to failure anywhere outside Japan.

82 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 TECHOMETER
WHATS HOT
8K DISPLAYS
Neither the public nor the TV
industry has exactly rushed
to adopt 4K resolution: no
UK TV channels broadcast in
the format, and theres only
limited content on Netflix
and YouTube. But that hasnt
stopped manufacturers
cracking on with 8K cameras
and screens. The format
is intended for use with
large screens, with the first
commercially available 8K
screen an 85-inch Sharp
model now on sale.

Robohon acts as a personal assistant and can even bust some moves too

Over in the red corner, meanwhile,
we have the rest of the human race,
whose reaction to seeing the Robohon video is
generally something along the lines of: OMG
thats the best thing Ive ever seen! When can I
get one? When it comes to the battle for hearts
and minds, there may be a lot of minds to win
over but hearts belong to Robohon, no contest.
As cute as Robohon is, theres also no
denying that the blue commentators have a
point. Several points, in fact. At a time when
smartphones are looking more and more
like tablets, while tablets increasingly come
with detachable keyboards that turn them,
essentially, into laptops, equipping Robohon
with a mere two inches of display seems an
almost insanely backward step. Hows that
supposed to compete with the 4K screen on
the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, which featured
on these very pages last month?
Robohons quad-core 1.2GHz CPU sounds
reasonable enough, but lags behind the likes
of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, which boasts
a quad-core 2.1GHz processor. Perhaps most
concerning of all, though, is just how little
Sharp is actually telling us about Robohons
inner workings it hasnt even said what
operating system Robohon will run on.The
internet rumour mill suggests some avour
of Android, even if its a Sharp-customised
version, but sorry to break it to you like this
the internet rumour mill has been known to
be wrong on occasion.
Combine somewhat middling known specs
overcome the fear of looking foolish because
youre walking down the street talking into a
childs toy.
On the other hand just watch the video.
If you hate the thought of being woken up
by a robot cheerily calling out Morning! Its WHATS NOT
time to wake up! ; if you dont like the idea
You may have seen people
of a personal assistant who at your command riding Swegways self-
will bend at the waist to project your photos balancing electric scooters
onto the nearest available surface; and if you that look like a Segway
cant see the benet of having a phone that without handlebars. But
talks to you, learns from you and, for the love they look like becoming
The Craze That Never Was,
of Mike, even dances if you cant imagine because the UKs Crown
these things bringing joy into your life, then Prosecution Service has
youre probably the kind of person who sees a declared their use illegal
litter of tiny, uffy kittens and thinks hacky sack both on pavements and on
public roads, citing safety
tournament. concerns.
With no word yet as to exactly when
Robohon will go on sale in Japan, how much it
will cost, or whether it will ever be made more
widely available, well just have to wait and
see how the phone manages as a commercial
proposition. But were undoubtedly moving
towards a future where robotics and articial
intelligence play an ever-increasing role in all
our lives.With Robohon, Sharp is exploring READER POLL
new ways in which humanity and all that Would you use a Robohon?
technology might interact.
And for that, the company should be
applauded, not ridiculed. After all, in 1999,
Sharp introduced the rst mobile phone 50% 50%
with a built-in camera to which many Yes thats No
commentators reaction at the time was, Why what I call does not
the hell would I want one of those? an Android compute!
PHOTO: SHARP

phone!
with the general air of mystery surrounding
the launch, and its not surprising that more
RUSSELL DEEKS is a freelance science
cynical observers are doubting whether and technology journalist
Robohon will have the performance chops to

Vol. 8 Issue 1 83
SCIENCE
THE NEXT BIG THING
ARE WE ALL
CYBERWARRIORS?
Our online security is being compromised
Like every other internet user,
I rely on decent encryption to
make life online possible. Every
time I connect to a secure server,
such as my bank, a complex
dance takes place between
my computer and the server
involving a choice of random
numbers, a lot of processing and
the exchange of encryption keys.
The result is a secure channel
between us. At least, its supposed
to be, because one consequence
of the slowly-simmering
cyberwar between nation states is
that the actual security of almost
every network connection
is being compromised in the
interest of national security.The
future of online life is starting to
look more and more like living
in a divided and threatened city,
not the peaceful metropolis we
were promised.
Evidence has recently
emerged to indicate that the
US National Security Agency
is spending a lot of money on
a system that can break public
key encryption because of a
poor implementation in some
of the main offerings.This isnt
PHOTO: TAWFIQUE HASAN ILLUSTRATOR: ANDREW GIBBS
a problem with the maths, but
FROM THE LAB
WHATS GOING ON?
A team led by Dr Tawfique Hasan
at the Cambridge Graphene Centre
has developed a new way of printing
using graphene-based ink. Although
several graphene printing methods
have been demonstrated before,
Hasans team is the first to achieve
the kind of printing speeds that will
be needed for the process to become
commercially viable.
84 Vol. 8 Issue 1
with the way the software has
been written.
Security agencies have also
been keeping quiet about
security aws in popular
software, using them instead
to get access to information
from targets. Sadly, its highly
likely that other people such
as criminal gangs, hackers and
the odd unfriendly nation are
also aware of these bugs, and are
exploiting them for less noble
purposes. By keeping quiet, were
left more at risk.
This is just one aspect of
cyberwar, of course. More and
more physical hardware, from
thermostats to watches through
to power stations, dams and even
oil reneries relies on computer
systems to operate.The recent
chilling discovery that you could
hack into the entertainment
system on a Chrysler Jeep and
use it to control the steering and
brakes may have been a security
aw, but its the sort of aw that
cyberarmies will be looking for
its easier to disable a tank over
a network than re an armour-
piercing missile accurately.
War used to be conned to a
Graphene printing
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Tiny particles of graphene are
suspended in a carrier solvent
mixture, which is then mixed with
conductive, water-based ink. The
printed materials resistance can be
controlled by varying the ratio of the
ingredients, and the same method
could also be used to create inks
based on other types of metallic,
semiconducting or insulating particles.
Though cyberwarfare is mostly waged between nation states,
the repercussions affect us all
particular geographic area. If you is going to be more like living
lived there, it was hell and you in North Korea than northern
were in enormous danger, but California when it comes to the
populations away from the war assumptions we can make about
zones could carry on with their our safety, security and freedom
life. Aerial bombing, such as the from surveillance.
London Blitz and the US action Id prefer an internet that wasnt
in Cambodia changed that, and weaponised, but it may be too
the development of nuclear late to get the cybersoldiers to
weapons and intercontinental back down.
missiles put us all at risk of
mutually assured destruction.
BILL THOMPSON
Now the zone of engagement contributes to
has extended online, and it
news.bbc.co.uk and
seems that life on the internet the BBC World Service
WHY IS IT USEFUL?
Currently, most printed circuits are
made from a mixture of carbon and
silver. By substituting graphene ink,
such circuits could be printed more
quickly, would be less harmful to the
environment and would be up to 25
times cheaper to produce. Suggested
applications include the production
of intelligent packaging and
Graphene ink could allow the cheap
disposable biosensors. production of smart labels
 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

How can we make cars more energy efcient?

If you ask The Delft University of Technology ST has a drag coefficient of 0.3, while the
student engineers behind the Ecorunner V Volkswagen Golf comes in at 0.27.
PHOTO: RICK SETTELS

(pictured), theyd say that reducing drag is a big part The Ecorunner Vs body weighs just 9kg, or 38kg
of the answer. Theirs is the most aerodynamic car including the hydrogen fuel cell. It can achieve an The team behind
ever, with a record-breaking drag coefficient of efficiency of 1227.5km per cubic metre of fuel, Ecorunner V wants
to drive the vehicle
0.0512. By comparison, most production cars are which is the equivalent of over 3,000km per litre of from Amsterdam to
about six times less aerodynamic. The Ford Focus petrol. GM Moscow and back
on a litre of fuel

Vol. 8 Issue 1 85
 &

Why do mitochondria
have their own genome? Why are impact craters always circular?
Mitochondria are tiny chemical
factories inside our cells. They have
several roles, including extracting and
storing energy from digested food. But
they also have their own DNA, hinting at a
once-independent existence. Its thought
PHOTO: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY X3, ISTOCK X3, CSEM

that this reflects their origin as bacteria,

which formed a symbiotic relationship
with organisms about 2.4 billion years ago
and then evolved into us. RM
Meteor Crater in Arizona
is over 167m deep and formed
from an impact that took
place 50,000 years ago

Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from your mother
If you throw a stone into mud at an
angle you normally end up with a crater
thats elliptical or elongated. Its natural to
suppose the same would be
true of a meteoroid hitting the Earth
or another planet. But these kinds of
impact craters are formed in an entirely
different way to the mechanical process
of a stone hitting mud.
Meteoroids are moving at extremely
per second). At the moment of impact this
enormous kinetic energy is almost entirely
converted into heat, which then vaporises
the meteoroid instantly. Its this explosion
and not the meteoroid itself that creates
the impact crater. Since material is ejected
equally in all directions, regardless of the
direction of travel of the meteoroid, the
resulting crater is circular. There can be
exceptions to this but only if the impact

Why are autumn high velocities (up to tens of kilometres occurs at an extremely shallow angle. AG

leaves blown into

mini tornadoes
on the street?
Buildings shield us
from the surprisingly
strong airflows that sweep
over the land at this
time of the year. If these
airflows strike buildings,
they produce eddies
and swirls just like those
around a brick stuck in
a stream. The resulting
vortices can tip over
to produce tornado-
like swirls especially
around tall buildings
in built-up
areas. RM
Can a cockroach really live without its head?
Decapitation is almost immediately
fatal to humans because we have a high-
pressure circulatory system that we depend
on to keep our tissues oxygenated. Cutting
the carotid arteries in your neck would
cause you to bleed out completely in a few
minutes. Even if the cuts were immediately
cauterised, your body cant survive without
nerve signals from the brain telling you to
breathe.
But cockroaches, like most insects, are
different. They breathe passively through a
network of pipes connected to holes called
spiracles along the length of their body.
They dont rely on blood circulation to
move oxygen around and their body fluids
are at a much lower pressure anyway. Their
brain mostly handles the sensory input ganglia in each body segment.
from the eyes and antennae, with many A decapitated cockroach will eventually
other behaviours, like running and reacting starve to death but this can still take
to touch, handled by mini brains called several weeks. LV

86 Vol.
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How much does IQ help
a human to survive?
That depends on where you
are. In a natural environment
thats rich in edible plants and
animals, being good at maths,
logic and written language
is virtually useless. Instead,
you need years of experience
of hunting, choosing plants,
building shelters and lighting
fires. Above all, you need social
skills not measured in IQ tests.
If you cant maintain friendships,
make alliances, deal with
disputes and keep track of liars,
cheats and deeds of kindness
then you wont survive long.
Aka people are part of a
traditional hunter-gatherer
tribe, with highly tuned skills
to suit their environment
In contrast, in a modern
environment full of computers,
electronic banking and online
shopping, a high IQ is increasingly
necessary. In societies with a
welfare state, youre unlikely to
starve. But researchers in the
field of cognitive epidemiology
find that people with lower IQs
are less healthy and die younger.
For example, a drop of 15 points
in IQ translates to a 24 per cent
increase in morbidity and a 20 per
cent lower chance of living beyond
age 75. So in the modern world IQ
really does aid survival. SB
What is the worlds
smallest camera?
Its the VIP, developed by Swiss
company CSEM. VIP stands for
Vision-In-Package. The optical sensor
chip is 0.8mm across and sits on a
package containing its own processor
performing tasks like image compression
and error correction. The package is
smaller than a stock cube and even has
its own Bluetooth transmitter. Being self-
contained and low power, its aimed at a
broad range of applications from robotic
surgery to drones. GM
The VIP: smaller
than a stock cube,
but not half as
tasty in a stew
Why do bananas make
fruit ripen faster?
Bananas produce ethylene gas
(C2H4), which acts as a plant hormone.
Plants have genes called ETR1 and CTR1
that regulate lots of other genes involved
with growth, ageing and cell death. When
ethylene gas is present, ETR1 and CTR1
are shut off, which allows the other genes
to swing into action. Some fruit plants use
this mechanism to control the sequence
of cellular changes in their ripening
process. Bananas actually only produce
moderate levels of ethylene but apples,
pears and melons are so sensitive to the
hormone that it has a powerful effect on
their ripening. LV
Apples dont find
bananas appealing
Vol.
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TOP TEN
COMMON FOODS HIGHEST IN IRON
RDA = RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE Why do some people get migraines?
Amazingly, the precise cause of pregnancy or menopause. Certain foods
migraines is still unknown. These intense and additives can cause migraines and
headaches, often on one side and people who diet, skip meals or consume
1. Liver accompanied by nausea and sometimes a lot of caffeine can suffer. Disturbed
Iron in 100g: 23mg visions of zigzag lines and extreme sleep and jetlag can also cause them.
264% mens RDA; sensitivity to light and noise, must be One rare inherited type called
155% womens RDA
caused by abnormal brain activity. But familial hemiplegic migraine is caused
we just dont know what kind or whether by four specific gene mutations. More
2. Dark chocolate there are many different causes. common types are also associated
Iron in 100g: 17mg Hormonal fluctuations, with many different genes that
195% mens RDA; especially in oestrogen, affect brain function. The
114% womens RDA can trigger migraines. simplest answer lies in the
So some women family. Up to 90 per cent
suffer more during of sufferers have a family
3. Pumpkin seeds menstruation, history of migraines. SB
Iron in 100g: 15mg
172% mens RDA;
101% womens RDA

4. Oysters
Iron in 100g: 9.2mg
106% mens RDA;
62% womens RDA

5. Cashew nuts
Iron in 100g: 6.1mg
70% mens RDA; Migraines are frustrating, especially
41% womens RDA as their cause is still unknown

6. Beef
Iron in 100g: 3.8mg
43% mens RDA;
26% womens RDA How do we know how fast sea levels are rising?
Rising sea levels is one of the most errors caused by orbital, instrumental and
7. Lentils worrying consequences of global warming, atmospheric variability.
Iron in 100g: 3.7mg threatening over 100 million people living The need for precision is vital as the
42% mens RDA;
in vulnerable coastal areas. But measuring expected change in global sea levels is no
25% womens RDA
PHOTO: ISTOCK X14, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X2, ARDEA
EA

the rate of the rise is fraught with difficulty. more than a few millimetres a year. Earlier
For over 150 years scientists relied on this year, the journal Nature Climate Change
8. Spinach so-called tide gauges, which monitored published the latest attempt to iron out
Iron in 100g: 3.6mg the rise and fall of floats in tubes. However, the problems and the report suggests the
41% mens RDA; such gauges proved vulnerable to errors Earths oceans are rising by around 2.8mm
24% womens RDA
not least the rise and fall of the land. per year. While this might not sound much,
Satellite measurements based on radar are its enough to prove a serious threat over the
9. Tofu now used but these too suffer from subtle next 100 years. RM
Iron in 100g: 2.7mg
31% mens RDA;
18% womens RDA

10. Quinoa
Iron in 100g: 1.5mg
17% mens RDA;
10% womens RDA

88 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 Did you know?
The lift with the largest passenger
capacity is situated in Osakas Umeda
Hankyu building
Fibre optics can beused
it holds 80 passengers
to transmit
light and telecommunications

What is dust made of?

Its not mostly human skin: that mainly
ends up in the bath or shower. Two thirds
of the dust in your house comes from
outside, as dirt tracked in on your feet, and
airborne particles like pollen and soot. The
rest is mostly carpet fluff, clothes fibres
and pet hair. LV
Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives
at sea, only coming ashore to breed
Dust mite
party

Why do some birds hop and others run?

Almost all birds are capable of doing
both, but its normally more energy efficient
for small birds to move by hopping. Their
light bodies are easy to bounce into the air
and they cover much more distance in a
single hop than a walking stride from their
short legs. For heavier birds, the extra load
on their joints favours a gait that leaves one
leg on the ground at all times. Plus, longer
legs make walking faster. Birds
that spend most of their time in trees are
also more likely to hop because they mainly
get around by jumping from branch to
branch. LV
Do you use less energy
running on a machine
compared to outside?
Running outdoors requires
a little extra energy because youre
moving through the air and this creates
drag. But the difference is insignificant
unless youre running quite fast. If you can
do a mile (1.6km) in seven minutes or less,
which is a speed of 8.5mph (13.7km/h),
then the difference is about 1 per cent.
Studies have shown that running a mile
uses about 100 calories,
so youll save just a single calorie if you
run that mile on a treadmill. Or you can
just set the treadmill at a 1 per cent incline
to compensate. LV

Do black holes rotate?

Yes. All astronomical objects,
including black holes, are formed by
gravity pulling matter together. If a cosmic
body originates from anything that had
even the tiniest amount of rotational
motion originally, then this spin rate will
become greatly enhanced as the object
collapses. In a turbulent and angular
momentum-rich Universe like ours, this
means everything from dust particles
to black holes will have some degree of
rotation. Certain objects have observed
properties that seem to be a direct result
of the rotation of black holes. AG
The hamsters were delighted with their new trainers

Vol. 8 Issue 1 89
 &

What are the most What is the biggest object to be

successful therapies for
depression? 3D printed?
Theres no simple answer because Architects have 3D printed an entire that converts the 3D design into layers.
success depends on age, sex, the room of a house. Theyre constructing Also fabricating building structures
type of depression and whether its an Amsterdam Canal House and all 13 on a large scale is Branch Technology,
combined with anxiety or other mental- rooms will eventually be 3D printed. The a Tennessee start-up. Their print head
health problems. Generally, however, Kamermaker (Dutch for room maker) is attached to a 3.5m robotic arm on
therapies based on exploring and printer is 6m tall and is a scaled-up a 10m rail. It uses carbon fibre and
changing the patients own thoughts and version of the Ultimaker. It will fabricate plastics to produce objects up to 17m
behaviour are far more effective than the entire house from sections up to high. These can be entire external walls.
old-fashioned talking therapies such as 3m high and 2m thick. It builds the The complex matrix-like geometrical
psychoanalysis. Alternative therapies, components layer by layer by squeezing forms are light and strong and can be
although popular, also fare badly. One melted plastic at 170C through the clad with conventional materials like
meta-analysis combined many studies print head. Its controlled by software concrete. GM
and found that cognitive behavioural
therapy (CBT) did best, especially with
long sessions. But a newer therapy called
behavioural activation also did well.
These are both based on the idea that
depression is made worse by adopting
the wrong coping strategies. So patients
are helped to understand what triggers
their depression and how their reactions
to lifes events affect their moods and
emotions. Learning to replace bad coping
strategies, such as drugs, drink and
endless rumination, with positive coping
strategies can help, either used alone or
in combination with medication. SB
PHOTO: DUS ARCHITECTS, GETTY, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, ISTOCK

Depression treatment
needs to be tailored
to the individual

In Numbers

3.04 trillion
trees are on the planet. But humans are
responsible for cutting down around
15.3 billion trees every year

90 Vol. 8 Issue 1
 Should we be worried about El Nio?
Bill McGuire reveals what we can learn from previous El Nio
events and whether the current one is really that bad
El Nio and La Nia
both hail from the
tropical Pacic
This ooding took place in
Bolivia in 2007, and was due
to a weak El Nio event
BRUCE LEE is back. No, this isnt
some magical resurrection of the martial
arts icon, but its what meteorologists
have been calling the latest manifestation
of the climate phenomenon known as El
Nio. Although notoriously difficult to
predict at least during the early stages
there is no doubt now that a strong El
Nio is upon us, and will likely reach the
peak of its powers sometime between this
October and March next year.
WHAT IS EL NIO?
The bottom line is that El Nio which
translates from Spanish to the Christ
Child, as it often peaks around
Christmas is the biggest climate signal
on the planet barring the seasons. The
phenomenon is actually the hot end of a
climate see-saw known as ENSO, or
the El Nio Southern Oscillation,
which involves irregular swings in
sea-surface temperature in the eastern
tropical Pacific.
Under normal conditions, ENSO is
neutral. But sometimes, strong trade
winds, blowing from the east, herd warm
tropical waters further westwards,
resulting in sea levels that can be a good
half-metre higher than in the east. Under
these La Nia (the girl child) conditions,
waters of the eastern tropical Pacific are
left unusually cold. Conversely, if the
strength of the easterly trade winds fades,
a mass of warm water pools in the eastern
Pacific and El Nio conditions prevail.
From their tropical Pacific lair, La Nia
and El Nio affect weather patterns and
spawn extreme events across the globe.
La Nia is linked to increased hurricane
activity in the North Atlantic, extreme
drought along the west coast of South
America, and torrential rains in Australia.
Global ramifications of El Nio are, if
anything, even more intense than La Nia.
EARLIER EVENTS
The 1997-98 El Nio the most powerful
on record is charged with promoting
torrential rains and mudslides along the
west coast of South America and
California, driving colossal wildfires across
Indonesia, and triggering some of the
worst flooding ever seen in central Europe.
The combined death toll may have topped
23,000, while the estimated cost of the
extreme weather reached US$53bn.
Previous extreme El Nios developed in
1972-73 and 1982-83, and seem to
happen every decade or two, so the
appearance of Bruce Lee is hardly a
surprise. The rate of warming of the
eastern Pacific suggests that Bruce is
going to be a complete whopper, perhaps
matching or exceeding that of 1997-98.
EL NIO 2015-16
So whats going to happen when Bruce
Lee hits? Well, there will be more Pacific
typhoons for a start, although this would
be balanced somewhat by reduced
Atlantic hurricane activity. Torrential
rains may, at least temporarily, alleviate
the extreme drought conditions in
California. Australia, meanwhile, will be
at great wildfire risk. In the UK, his
impact is likely to be subdued, although
past experience suggests that a colder
winter could result. Predicting exactly
where and when Bruces fist will strike is
far from an exact science. One thing is
certain: when he fades away probably
sometime next spring a fair few
bruised and battered communities will
be left picking up the pieces.
BILL MCGUIRE is Professor Emeritus in Geophysical &
Climate Hazards at UCL
Vol. 8 Issue 1 91
 &
Why do sea turtles cry
when they lay eggs?
Reptiles have less efficient kidneys
than mammals and they cant produce
urine with a higher salt concentration
than the seawater they drink. To avoid
poisoning themselves with salt buildup,
sea turtles have a gland in each eye
that actively pumps salt ions into their
tears. They need to run these glands
continuously to maintain the correct
balance of salt in their bodies. We
associate crying with egg laying because
thats the only time they come ashore, but
they cry in the sea as well. The tears also
help flush sand from their eyes. LV
Donatello wa
distraught at Micha
Bays new tak
on Teenage Mutan
Ninja Turtles
PHOTO: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY, ALAMY ILLUSTRATION: ACUTE GRAPHICS
How much gold is there in the world?
Gold has been coveted
for millennia, for its beauty,
malleability and rarity.
According to the World Gold
Council, there are currently
around 184,000 tonnes sitting
in bank vaults, government
reserves and personal
collections. That sounds like an
awful lot, until you realise that
just one cubic metre of the stuff
weighs over 19 tonnes. Thus, all
the worlds known gold reserves
could be laid out on a football
pitch in a layer only a metre or
so high.
But this is only the gold that
has been successfully mined
and documented. Estimating
how much actually exists on
the planet is much trickier.
Chemical analysis of rock
92 Vol. 8 Issue 1
Does music affect our heart rate?
Boom! Shake,
shake, shake
the womb
You dont need Its not clear why
a scientific study to this happens but it
realise that a rousing tune gets your might be something we learn in the
blood pumping,
pumping and lots of studies have womb
womb. Foetuses can hear from the end
measured a very definite physiological of the second trimester (six months) and
effect [see Tune In To Treatment FM in the every baby is exposed to the sound of
October issue for a closer look at this very its mothers heartbeat. When a pregnant
subject]. Calming classical music lowers mother is stressed her heartbeat rises
blood pressure and heart rate, pounding and her baby may come to associate that
was
Michael
heavy metal raises it. This effect is more sound with the stressed sensation. Its
take pronounced in professional musicians but possible that our reaction to music is a
Mutant it affects everyone to some degree, even if sort of empathic memory from that shared
Turtle
youre listening to music that you dont like. time. LV
samples suggests gold makes
up on average a few parts
per billion of the total mass of
the Earths crust. That means
the top kilometre or so has
around a million tonnes of the
stuff still waiting to be dug up.
Chances are it never will be,
though, because most of it will
be hopelessly uneconomic to
extract. This was a bitter lesson n
learned by the brilliant German
chemist Fritz Haber in the 1920s.0s.
He hoped to pay his countrys
WWI reparations by chemically y
precipitating the gold dissolved d
in the worlds oceans. Haber
discovered, however, that the
concentrations were just too
low for this to be possible. Each h Just enough to
keep P Diddy
litre of seawater contains just 13 3 in necklaces
billionths of a gram of gold. RMM for a week

Did the earthquakes in Nepal affect
the geology of Everest?
Everests geology is the cause of the
earthquakes, not the other way around.
The Indian tectonic plate has been
moving roughly northeast since the late
Cretaceous. The Eurasian plate is also
moving northwards but not as quickly.
Around 55 million years ago, India hit
Eurasia in a massive rear-end shunt and
they are still crunching together at a speed
of 45mm per year. The Indian plate is being
driven under the edge of the Eurasian plate
and the Himalayas are the result.
Earthquakes happen because the
continents dont slide past each other
smoothly. Some of the impact energy gets
stored as the rocks compress or bend
slightly and eventually it all gets released
as a sudden recoil. The magnitude 7.8
earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April this
year caused Mount Everest to bounce
southwest by 30mm, undoing the previous
eight months of continental drift. As the
plates intersect at a shallow angle, this
small movement didnt have an effect on
It turns out that mountains
can be moved
Everests height, which is currently growing
by about 8mm a year.
Earthquakes affect the geology of the
region in more subtle ways. The shaking
can transfer stress to nearby fault lines
and trigger other earthquakes, and it
also destabilises hillsides. This can make
them vulnerable to landslides when
the monsoon rains come, and natural
dams holding back glacier lakes could
be breached and cause catastrophic
flooding. LV
Vol. 8 Issue 1 93
Resource
The Invention
Of Science
David Wootton
Allen Lane
Heroes, villains, skulduggery, death the
history of science doesnt lack for great
stories. One of my favourite books
as a kid was Asimovs Biographical
Encyclopaedia Of Science And
Technology by the eponymous sci-
writer. Alongside tales of genius like
Newtons intellectual leap from a
falling apple to Universal Law were
the struggles of pioneers like Ignaz
Semmelweis, whose life-saving work on
antisepsis was blocked by petty feuding.
But later I discovered such stories are
often just that: entertaining ctions that
hide a more complex reality. Newton
has since been accused of inventing the
apple story to help him gain precedence
for the law of gravity over a rival.
Semmelweiss ideas about disinfectants
got a hard time for good reasons as well
as bad.
As David Woottons massive new
study shows, the same is true of accounts
of the emergence of science. As a
professor of history, Wootton has seen
the impact of many fads on his subject,
and the history of science in particular.
The views of science promulgated by
writers like Asimov are now dismissed as
Whiggish attempts to decide triumphs
and failures in hindsight. Then there
Wootton has
seen the impact of
many fads on his
PHOTOS: VALERIE BENNETT
subject, and the
history of science
in particular
94 Vol. 8 Issue 1
A feast for the mind
are the relativists, who question the
idea that science progresses at all, every
theory being valid in some sense.
Wootton is not happy with the
impact of all these fads on his eld.
He claims most fellow historians have
been failing to do their subject justice,
and gives examples of distinguished
colleagues talking nonsense.
Clearly, this is ghting talk, so whats
his take? Simply put, that what we call
science emerged between 1572, when
the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe
observed an exploding star, and 1704,
when Newton published his work on
the nature of light.
Youll have to read his account to nd
out why. But at 700-plus pages, is the
effort worthwhile? Unless youre up for
scholarly analysis of a host of esoteric
points of academic dispute, then the
answer is clearly no.
If, like me, youre fascinated by the
subject, the answer is still no. Theres no
real engagement with ongoing debates
about, for example, probabilistic ways of
gauging evidence, or the very denition
of what science is. In so large a book by
so distinguished a historian, I had hoped
to discover so much more.
ROBERT MATTHEWS is Visiting Reader in Science
at Aston University, Birmingham
Hardback Paperback
MEET THE AUTHOR
David
Wootton
When did the scientic revolution begin?
In 1572 the year in which then-unknown
astronomer Tycho Brahe sees a new star in
the sky. Every astronomer in the world starts
paying attention to it, and Brahe demonstrates
that this star is not in the upper atmosphere
but in the heavens. According to Aristotle,
there cant be change in the heavens his
philosophy says that this star cant exist. This
is the first great anomaly, and it provokes the
first modern research programme. Brahe gets
vast resources to build a great observatory,
study the heavens, and learn whats wrong
with previous interpretations. That new view of
science echoes through into other disciplines.
What is the most important event in the
scientic revolution?
I think the event that crystallises the new
science is the famous experiment where
Blaise Pascal has his brother-in-law carry a
barometer up the Puy de Dme mountain
[in central France] to establish that the
atmospheric pressure at the top of the
mountain is lower. That crucial experiment
is the first to establish the power of the
experimental method. The whole commitment
of the Royal Society founded in 1660 to the
experimental method really comes out of the
success of Pascals experiment.
Are we still living in the scientic
revolution today?
Absolutely. This process proceeds
uninterruptedly from 1572 right through
to today. There are big changes in the
way we think about knowledge, but our
understanding of what knowledge really
is unchanged from the early 17th Century.
In that sense, science is a continuous
process, and presumably science will
continue into the indefinite future using the
same sorts of terms and concepts.
The Master Algorithm
How The Quest For The Ultimate
Learning Machine Will Remake
Our World
Pedro Domingos
Allen Lane
As more of us submit to the algorithms
that drive our search engines, shopping
sites and social networks, it is becoming
vital that we understand how the core
technologies that enable adaptive
behaviours and machine learning work.
But while Pedro Domingos may be a
world-class researcher in the eld, he is far
from being a world-class explainer.The
Master Algorithm moves from simple
metaphors about cell metabolism to
attempts to explain the complex
mathematics of Markov chains, but fails to
build a level of understanding, leaving me
wishing for more clarity. I was also
completely unconvinced either that there
could be a master algorithm that will
unify the eld, or even that we need one.
Machine learning in all its many forms
has already transformed our lives and will
continue to grow in importance as we
build ever more complex systems that can
only be understood and managed by
systems of similar scale and complexity.
But it is going to take a better book than
this if we are to truly appreciate what they
do, how they do it, and how we might
control them.
BILL THOMPSON is a tech editor and frequent
contributor to news.bbc.co.uk
Behavioural EEconomics
Saved My Dog
Dan Ariely
Oneworld
The Magic & Mystery of Birds
The Surprising Lives Of Birds
And What They Reveal About
Being Human
Noah Strycker
Souvenir Press
Anthropomorphism may be frowned on
by some scientists, but its increasingly
fashionable to study animal emotions
and personalities. In this absorbing and
often witty book, Noel Strycker explores
the many parallels between birds and
us, pointing out that the gap separating
the avian world from the human one is
forever shrinking.
Each chapter focuses on a different
behaviour, from the artistic sensibilities
of bowerbirds to the navigational
prowess of racing pigeons. Strycker
has a magpies eye for detail (though I
spotted a few minor errors), combined
with an engaging and discursive style.
He is particularly good at recounting
fascinating eld studies from the past 200
years. Some would raise eyebrows today,
such as John Bachmans investigation
of how vultures nd food that required
gouging the birds eyes out.
While discussing the high-octane
existence of hummingbirds, Strycker
ponders the implications of our own
frenetic modern lifestyles.It seems like
humans are speeding up but do we
really want to become hummingbirds?
BEN HOARE is the features editor at BBC Wildlife
magazine and is an avid birder
Have you ever had Cancel-elation? Its the
feeling you get when a meeting or appointment
that you were dreading, but didnt have the
courage to cancel, is cancelled by the other
party. Its a common sentiment among office
workers. Next time youre thinking about
whether to say yes to a meeting in the future,
consider how you might feel if it was cancelled.
If youre feeling good then you probably
shouldnt agree to the meeting in the first place.
Its this kind of advice that populates Dan
Arielys latest book, Behavioural Economics
Saved My Dog. A behavioural economist
by trade, Ariely has been an unconventional
Seven Brief Lessons
In Physics
Carlo Rovelli
Allen Lane
This elegant little book by Italian
physicist Carlo Rovelli is a cappuccino
of a read. Its frothy and fun, but short on
substance and overpriced. Consisting of
translations of seven extended magazine
articles, it runs to just 78 small pages.
The book introduces some key
aspects of modern physics quantum
theory, cosmology and loop quantum
gravity (though no mention of the
opposing string theory), for instance. But
Rovelli can be fuzzy on history so we
are told that Einstein spent 10 years of
frenzied studies on General Relativity,
where in fact he spent a fair proportion
of that time ignoring it in favour of
quantum mechanics.The simplicity of
the content can be misleading Rovelli
tells us that things fall because space
curves. It sounds impressive, but isnt right.
The collection nishes with
an interesting exploration of the
relationship between humans and
science, which is intriguing, if not
exactly physics. All in all, Seven Brief
Lessons In Physics is a fair attempt
to introduce the foundations of the
subject to someone who hasnt much
experience of science, perhaps as a taster
for something more substantial.
BRIAN CLEGG is a science writer whose most
recent book is Science For Life
agony aunt for the readers of the Wall Street
Journal for some time now, and this book
collects his work in one place. Ariely doles out
advice on everyday life, all from the viewpoint
of someone whos spent his career studying
how people make decisions. With Arielys level
of expertise theres always the risk of sounding
condescending and dry, but his humble, playful
delivery feels like sage advice from a friend from
start to finish.
DANIEL BENNETT is Acting Editor at Focus magazine
and has a psychology degree
Vol. 8 Issue 1 95
SCIENCE
MY LIFE SCIENTIFIC
UTA FRITH
Emeritus Professor of Cognitive
Development at University College London
At school in Germany, I was considered better at
languages than I was at science. I studied history of art
at university but ended up taking a psychology course. It made me
realise, for the first time, that it was possible to study and quantify
abstract mental concepts. Psychology seemed to offer the chance
to discover new things.
I first came to London because all the psychology
books were in English and I needed to learn the
language. I fell in love with English life and culture the
museums, the science, the social life and fell totally in love once
I met my very English husband, Chris. Hes a neuroscientist.
Ive always been interested in autism and dyslexia.
In the 60s, we were completely ignorant about these conditions.
Parents were blamed: they were cold or they hadnt read enough
with their children. I talked to parents and it struck me how
readily they accepted blame. If it was their fault it meant there was
ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING
something more they could do to help their children. It was the
ultimate in parental love. I began to realise that these conditions
are neurological; they have a basis in nature and are not caused by
lack of nurture. Its still a controversial viewpoint but its one that I
stand by and am proud of. I hope it helps people.
The issue of gender bias in science is really
important to me.
96 Vol. 8 Issue 1
I chair the Diversity Committee at the Royal Society and have
founded informal networks like Science and Shopping and
UCL Women, where high-flying, hard-working women who
juggle family and career can talk to each other and have fun. We
have lunches, do wine tastings the shopping angle never really
took off.
People think Im more empathic than I really am.
Im more detached than people realise. Maybe thats a scientific
stance. Im also very critical of myself. Id like to be more
altruistic, to fight more for injustice, but I think you have to be
quite political to do that and Im not a political person.
If I wasnt a scientist Id be a writer or an art
historian. I like going to museums and collecting things like
Persian rugs, Chinese porcelain, paintings and etchings. I dont
have a bucket list of things Id like to do, but I do have a huge list
of things Im grateful I dont have to do. I would have hated to
go mountaineering, horse riding or camping.
Im working on a graphic novel with my husband
and my son, Alex. Alex is a childrens science book writer.
The book is about what makes us social and its going to feature
both me and my husband, but in pictures. We hope to have a
large part of it ready in time for our 50th wedding anniversary
next year.
Time Out
Crossword No.184
ACROSS
9 Processing speed makes concert a failure (8)
10 Betting on a spring (3)
11 I must turn, following left indicator (6)
12 Constructing a path gets husband an ulceration (6)
13 Lovingly have a sherry (7)
14 The bird in the other nest (4)
15 Cultivator finds margins too contrived (10)
17 Paint bird with performing lions (8)
18 Fellow has one party, say, in a kilt (7)
19 Reportedly obstruct some countries (4)
21 University students have time shortfall (6)
24 Part of the extent of time (6-11)
27 Traces out a wheel (6)
29 Spots cane construction (4)
30 Join rugby player in getting a poison (7)
33 Article to ruin, other than an imaginary flower (8)
35 Feature enamel design around tree (10)
36 The burden we bear (4)
37 Every artist contained energy and pain (7)
38 Way to get colour out of rock (6)
48 Dreadful loser has time for some alcohol (6)
40 Your nasturtiums have a vase (3)
41 In true style - negative particle (8)

DOWN
1 Monsters joint breaking off grip (10)
2 Loud performance, thats true (4)
3 A lab reconstructed heart of a fish (8)
4 A quiet laugh at soldier with a dietary problem (7)
5 Steaming oven spectra vary (11)
6 Singer and copper join musicians group and left one
in the clouds (10)
7 Underline anxiety (6)
8 Native peach is new in courtyard, only no good (8)
10 Points out the nose (5)
16
20
Roman poet cut out of tube (7)
Useless thing to find in a G&T (5) SOLUTION TO
22
23
In all, no different to a woollen product (7)
A pious hoard worked like a placebo (11) CROSSWORD
25
26
Volunteers managed to inform on a routine (10)
Providing milk and money after castle collapsed (10) 181
28 Gathered friend takes in silver first (8)
31 Hope is up about old horse (8)
32 Deduce absence of blaze (7)
34 Have recourse to a holiday venue (6)
35 Protein produces endless filth at home (5)
39 Starts to make a riverbed, like sedimentary rock (4)

Vol. 8 Issue 1 97
The Last Word
Taking a closer look at another breakthrough
ometimes its nice to be proved
Q wrong. Ive long been sceptical of
claims that human genome research
will lead to big, life-saving breakthroughs any
time soon. But now it seems all the decades of
dogged effort are starting to pay off.
Take the recent news of a gene-based blood
test that can warn breast cancer patients of a
relapse months before anything shows up on a
scan.
Developed by researchers at the Institute of
Cancer Research (ICR), London, the test is
said to detect the presence of just a few cancer
cells in the blood. To achieve such amazing
sensitivity, the scientists used a neat trick akin
to fingerprinting criminals. Using samples
from the original tumour of each patient, they
obtained the unique genetic profile of the cells,
allowing rapid detection if these criminals try
to return to the scene of the crime.
A small study of women previously treated
for breast cancer suggested the test can
accurately predict which patients will relapse.
The researchers cautioned it will be some years
before the test is ready for prime-time, but said
it could be a game-changer.
When I first heard the story, I must admit
my reaction was: Hmm, havent we been
here before? Last year, another research team
announced a blood test said to detect mutations
in a gene linked to breast cancer. They also
claimed a small study in women suggested it
could predict breast cancer risk
years before diagnosis.
Yet experts queued up to
So how accurate After all, theres a simple way of identifying 100 per cent of women
who develop breast cancer: 100 per cent of them are female. Gender
give that earlier claim a kicking. were they? isnt exactly a useful test, though because 100 per cent of women
So why should we get excited
about this new breakthrough?
Thats a tricky who dont have breast cancer are also female. In other words, this test
has a huge false-positive rate.
When faced with claims one, because Its a silly example, but it highlights a serious point: we can only
about simple tests, we can judge scientific accuracy if we know both the true- and false-positive
check them out using well,
accuracy is rates. The best tests are those where the former is much higher than
a simple test. It consists of three one of the most the latter. Without that, they dont add much insight.
questions: how many humans So how do the two breast cancer test claims compare? As is so often
has it been tested on; how abused words in the case, you have to wade through the research papers to get all the
accurate is it; and how much science necessary figures. But the upshot is that its not even close: the ICRs
ILLUSTRATOR: DEM ILLUSTRATION

does it tell us anyway?
Many claims fall at the first hurdle, having merely been tested on
small and furry cheese-eaters. But both these new breast cancer tests
have been studied in humans albeit only a few dozen.
So how accurate were they? Thats a bit of a tricky one, because
accuracy is one of the most abused words in science. Researchers
have a habit of quoting only the success rate of their test in identifying
those who develop a disease. This so-called true-positive rate is often
very high 80 per cent or more. But on its own, its pretty misleading.
test looks far more promising. Its true-positive rate is over 10 times
its false-positive rate, while the other test barely does better than a
coin-toss.
Its still too early to tell if any of these genetic tests will prove to be
game-changers. But its never too early to ask the right questions
about them.
ROBERT MATTHEWS is Visiting Reader in Science at Aston University, Birmingham

98 Vol. 8 Issue 1
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Premieres 1st January. Wednesdays to Fridays at 9.45pm (JKT/BKK), 10.45pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW)
For the month of January, BBC Earth will present a series of documentaries that tackle emerging food trends and
hot health topics. From embarking on paleo diets to uncovering the truth behind our sweet tooth, the special line-
up of programmes will shed light and shatter myths about healthy diets and foods, all under the Food for Thought
programming season.

DEADLY NIGHTMARES OF NATURE WILD ALASKA ANIMAL SUPER SENSES

SERIES 1 - 3
Premieres 11th January. Mondays
to Fridays at 5.15pm (JKT/BKK),
6.15pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW)
Travelling the world, Naomi Wilkinson
will come face to face with natures
nightmares animals that are weird,
dangerous or downright scary.
Premieres 13th January.
Wednesdays at 7.05pm (JKT/BKK),
8.05pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW)
This series explores spring, summer
and winter in this extreme wilderness
and discovers the unique species
that have learnt to thrive in these harsh
conditions.
Premieres 26th January.
Tuesdays at 7.05pm (JKT/BKK),
8.05pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW)
Our human senses are pretty
incredible - but we only experience
the tip of the iceberg. Imagine if you
could see with sound, smell food
buried deep underground, or see
the world in slow motion. This series
explores the hidden world of animal
senses.

www.bbcasia.com
BBC Earth is available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
/BBCEarth
South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Please call your cable operator for more details or check out our website. @BBCEarthAsia
PREMIERES 10TH JANUARY
SUNDAYS AT 5.00PM (SIN/HK)
www.bbcasia.com

BBC Earth is available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,

/BBCEarth
South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Please call your cable operator for more details or check out our website. @BBCEarthAsia