BBC Knowledge AE 2016 (Vol. 8 Issue 7)

OUR FUTURE ON MERCURY Why we should build a colony on Mercury

p61

ASIA EDITION TION

Vol. 8 Issue 7

SCIENCE • HISTO HISTORY ORY • NATURE • FOR THE TH CURIOUS MIND

THE DARK SIDE OF ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND p56

MEET THE ENDANGERED INDIA APES p68

WHY IS SLEEP IMPORTANT p84

PPS 1745/01/2013 (022915) MCI (P) 070/10/2015 ISSN 1793-9836

07

9 771793 983016 SGD 7.50 | PHP 300 THB 240 | NT 200 | RM 18

NANO MEDICS

Meet the bots that will kill cancer, eat fat, repair our bodies and more p40

SCIENCE

On the cover

Vol. 8 Issue 7

HISTORY

61 Our Future On Mercury

40 Nano Medics

68 Meet The Endangered India Apes Q&A

COVER STORY

NATURE

56 The Dark Side Of Elizabethan England

84 Why Is Sleep Important Vol. 8 Issue 7

3

Contents

Vol. 8 Issue 7

FEATURES 14 Nature Journeys in Australia If you love nature, you’ll find beauty everywhere, especially in Australia where vast and varied landscapes are home to numerous national parks, heritage wonders and a plethora of unique wildlife

16 BBC Knowledge Magazine School Challenge 2016 Relive the weekend of intense competition as you flip through the post-event pages. Though the questions were tough, all participants managed to piece their thinking caps together to come up with brilliant answers

34 Christian Art in Asia Explore the world’s first Christian Art in Asia themed exhibition at Asian Civilisations Museum from now to early September 2016. Many of the artefacts are also displaying in Singapore for the first time

56

The Dark Side Of Elizabethan England

36 Yakult

SCIENCE

Do you know what goes into your favourite drink? Ever thought it was a lifestyle product? Well, it’s actually a type of preventive medication. Yakult is the pioneer of probiotic research and they remain at the forefront of the development and studies behind it Cover Story

40 Here Comes The Nano Medics

NATURE

Microscopic devices could soon be travelling around our bodies, constantly scanning for signs of disease and providing a cure even before we know we are ill. Isn’t it brilliant!

48 Seal Patrol Passion is what brings people forth and this group of enthusiasts are not only looking after the world’s grey seals’ welfare, but also gaining fascinating insights into their identities and lifestyle

HISTORY

ON THE COVER

56 The Dark Side Of Elizabethan England The Elizabethan Era is often painted as the golden age, but what really happened during that period of time? For thousands of people, life was anything but glamorous as they battle violence, vagrancy and crushing hunger

SCIENCE

ON THE COVER

4

61 Our Future On Mercury Mars is often the favourite planet for exploration. But could Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, offer us more opportunities than the Red Planet? Vol. 8 Issue 7

8 Snapshot

NATURE

68 India’s Last Apes

SCIENCE

75 Busting The Myths Of Modern Life

SCIENCE

96 A Witty Viewpoint

SCIENCE

40

Here Comes The Nano Medics

ON THE COVER

97 My Life Scientific

Assam is best known for tea, but its subtropical forests also offer refuge to rare hoolock gibbons. Learn about these primates that are very much similar to humans, more so than any other species of primate

Everyone knows that sugar makes kids hyperactive, mice love cheese and MSG is bad for you. But is there any truth behind these claims?

Robin Ince is a comedian and writer who presents on the BBC Radio 4 Series, The Infinite Monkey Cage. In this issue, we talk about cannibalism

Meet Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and discoverer of pulsars

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

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

UPDATE 20 The Latest Intelligence

68

Technology recreating Rembrandt masterpieces, structure of Zika virus mapped, evolution of fish to limbs, new particle found and effects of LSD on the brain

India’s Last Apes

33 Comment & Analysis Learn about why your favourite cakes and biscuits go stale at different states ON THE COVER

83 Q&A This month: could robots be creative, what is the speed of gravity, what does sleep do for the brain, which planet would affect the Earth most …

RESOURCE 94 Reviews

61

Our Future On Mercury

Comedian Sara Pascoe has been thinking about the essence and origins of female sexuality. Her new book explores feminine behaviour largely from a science angle …

98 Last Word Robert Matthews discusses why there is a recurring trouble with geniuses and famous scientist Vol. 8 Issue 7

5

Welc me STUFF OF CARTOONS AND FANTASIES

Y Send us your letters [email protected]

Everyone has them once in a while, an itch that occurs far beyond the reaches of your arms no matter how much you try to contort or stretch them. Somehow it always happens when you are sitting down getting comfortable with a book or catching up with your social media posts, and you wish you had tiny robots that you can dispatch to scratch that itch away! Or you wish you had some easy way of getting at that bunch of keys you accidentally dropped through the drain cover. Guess what, doctors and surgeons have been dreaming of such robots as well. Micro machines small enough to go into the human body to detect and destroy viruses or diseases before they can wreak havoc. Seems like stuff of cartoons, but nanotechnology as well as nanomedicines, are being explored to help combat cancer as well as tumours amongst many other ailments. They are small enough to be injected into the bloodstream, last longer and yet not clog up the blood vessels. With a huge market for them and the immense potential to treat previously un-treatable disease or limiting the use of destructive drugs, it could be very soon that we will be taking a pill filled with nanobots to treat that virus or bacterial infection.

BBC Knowledge Magazine Includes selected articles from other BBC specialist magazines, including Focus, BBC History Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.

www.sciencefocus.com www.historyextra.com www.discoverwildlife.com Important change: The licence to publish this magazine was acquired from BBC Worldwide by Immediate Media Company on 1 November 2011. We remain committed to making a magazine of the highest editorial quality, one that complies with BBC editorial and commercial guidelines and connects with BBC programmes. The BBC Earth television channel is available in the following regions: Asia (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan)

SCIENCE • HISTORY • NATURE • FOR THE CURIOUS MIND Know more. Anywhere.

Ben Poon [email protected] “LIKE” US ON FACEBOOK!

www.facebook.com/knowledgemagazine

Y We welcome your letters, while reserving the right to edit them for length and clarity. By sending us your letter you permit us to publish it in the magazine and/or on our website. We regret that we cannot always reply personally to letters.

BBC Knowledge Magazine provides trusted, independent advice and information that has been gathered without fear or favour. When receiving assistance or sample products from suppliers, we ensure our editorial integrity and independence are not compromised by never offering anything in return, such as positive coverage, and by including a brief credit where appropriate.

Experts in this issue…

JAMES SHARPE Professor James Sharpe has well established interests in the social and cultural history of early modern England, with wider interests in witchcraft, in the history of crime and law enforcement, and in early modern judicial systems. p56

6

Vol. 8 Issue 7

ALI WOOD Ali is a freelance writer, editor and publisher with over 13 years’ experience on consumer magazines. Her writing portfolio includes a variety of men’s, women’s, craft and entertainment sectors, but she has a special love for the British countryside and coast. p68

TOM IRELAND Nanomedicines are a hot topic in the world of science, and could even make us immortal. We asked editor of The Biologist Tom Ireland to find out what we can look forward to from these micro machines. p40

HERE’S HOW TO GET IN TOUCH PHONE

Subscription, editorial and advertising enquiries Tel: 6446 6888 Fax: 6449 9945

EMAIL

Advertising enquiries [email protected]

T

Y SEND US YOUR LETTERS Has something you’ve read in BBC Knowledge Magazine intrigued or excited you? Write in and share it with us. We’d love to hear from you and we’ll publish a selection of your comments in forthcoming issues.

Email us at: [email protected] We welcome your letters, while reserving the right to edit them for length and clarity. By sending us your letter you permit us to publish it in the magazine and/or on our website. We regret that we cannot always reply personally to letters.

@ POST

Y

Subscription enquiries [email protected] Subscription, editorial and advertising enquiries Regent Media Pte Ltd 20 Bedok South Road, Singapore 469277

ASIA TEAM Managing Editor: Ben Poon Writer: Josmin Ong Creative Director: Eric Wong Art Director: Tint Win Senior Marketing Manager: Tasmin Chua Marketing Executives: Karlyn Ho, Rachel Tan, Sharyl Yeo Finance Executive: Julie Khong HR Executive: Wendy Chua Regional Circulation Manager: Kelvin Poon Business Directors: Kelly Koh, Marie Yeo, Thomas Leow Business Managers: Alice Ng, Joan Chua, Marina Chong

BULK SUBSCRIPTION Having just one copy of BBC Knowledge Magazine isn’t enough to go around? Not to worry – Discounts on bulk subscriptions are now available for schools, libraries and organisations who are keen to order more than 50 copies per issue. For enquiries or to place an order, email to [email protected] or call us at +65 6241 2673 today!

Worldwide

BBC Worldwide UK Publishing: Director of Publishing: Nicholas Brett Head of Publishing: Chris Kerwin Publishing Coordinator: Eva Abramik

IMMEDIATE MEDIA CO Chairman: Stephen Alexander Deputy Chairman: Peter Phippen Chief Executive Officer: Tom Bureau Director of International Licensing and Syndication: Tim Hudson International Partners Manager: Anna Brown Syndication Manager: Richard Bentley

UK TEAM Editor: Graham Southorn Production Editor: Daniel Down Reviews Editor: Daniel Bennett Commissioning Editor: Jason Goodyer Science Consultant: Robert Matthews Contributing Editor: Emma Bayley Art Editor: Joe Eden CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Baxter, Peter Bentley, Daniel Bright, Stuart Clark, Matt Clough, Jamie Coe, Zoe Cormier, Helen Czerski, Alex Duce, Luke Edwards, Adam Gale, Alastair Gunn, Ben Hoare, Robin Ince, Tom Ireland, Christian Jarrett, Tobias Jolly, Tonwen Jones, Mark Lorch, Magic Torch, Orlagh Murphy, James Olstein, Jheni Osman, Valerio Pellegrini, Helen Pilcher, Andy Potts, Michael Sawh, Luis Villazon, Ian Whittaker DISTRIBUTORS Singapore - Pansing Distribution Pte Ltd Malaysia - MPH Distributors Sdn Bhd Indonesia - PT Javabooks Indonesia Thailand - Asia Books Co., Ltd Philippines - Asia/Pacific Circulation Exponents, Inc. Taiwan - Formosan Magazine Press Inc Hong Kong/China/Macau - Times Publishing (HK) Ltd

BBC Knowledge Magazine, MCI(P) 070/10/2015, ISSN 1793-9836, PPS 1745/01/2013 (022915), is published by Regent Media Pte Ltd under license from Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited. Copyright © Immediate Media Company Bristol Limited. No part of this publication is to be reproduced, stored, transmitted, digitally or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is accurate at time of printing. Changes may have occurred since this magazine went to print. Regent Media Pte Ltd and its editors will not be held liable for any damages, loss, injury or inconvenience, arising in connection with the contents of the magazine. Regent Media Pte Ltd will not accept responsibility for unsolicited contributions. Printer: KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd (197801823M) Address: 57 Loyang Drive Singapore 508968. The BBC logo is a trade mark of the British Broadcasting Corporation and is used under licence. © British Broadcasting Corporation 1996

SUBSCRIPTION AGENTS Singapore - The Learning Craft Pte Ltd, Emit Asia (S) Pte Ltd, Adept Learning Pte Ltd Taiwan - JDM Books International Co. Ltd Malaysia - Worldwide Magazines Services Sdn Bhd

A publication of

Vol. 7 Issue 1

Member of Magazine 7 7 Publishers Association, Singapore

SCIENCE

8

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Disco planet At night, the Earth becomes a glitterball. Viewed from the International Space Station, lights pulsate and flicker across the planet’s surface. Using a long exposure, NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured this light show in June 2012, during a six-month stint aboard the ISS. The streaks of yellow are city lights, smeared by the rotation of the Earth and the motion of the ISS, while the blue blotches are lightning bolts, flaring up like flashbulbs. That green wash of colour in the atmosphere is known as ‘airglow’. It is caused by light being emitted from oxygen atoms that have been excited by the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation during the day. Meanwhile, as the ISS zips around the Earth, the night sky appears to rotate around the space station’s axis, creating the star trails in the top-right. “My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes,” says Pettit. “With modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, [so] to achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then ‘stack’ them using imaging software.” PHOTO: NASA

Vol. 8 Issue 7

9

NATURE

Dumbo: Gulf of Mexico Spotted during the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Gulf of Mexico 2014 expedition and identified as the biology highlight of the cruise by many of our scientists and viewers alike, this dumbo octopus displayed a body posture that has never before been observed in cirrate octopods. PHOTO: NOAA OFFICE OF OCEAN EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH

10

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Vol. 8 Issue 7

11

HISTORY

Looking Back: Astronaut Mae Jemison Suits Up For Launch On 12 September 1992, launch day of the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission on space shuttle Endeavour, NASA astronaut Mae Jemison waits as her suit technician, Sharon McDougle, performs a unpressurized and pressurized leak check on her spacesuit at the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center. Dr. Jemison was the science mission specialist on the eight-day joint mission with Japan’s space agency, which included 24 materials science and 20 life sciences experiments. She was the first African-American woman to fly in space. PHOTO: NASA

12

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Vol. 8 Issue 7

13

SCHO OL

SPECIAL FEATURE CHALLENGE 2016

MALAYSIA

ACCESSIBLE NATURE JOURNEYS IN AUSTRALIA IF YOU LOVE NATURE, YOU’LL FIND BEAUTY EVERYWHERE, ESPECIALLY IN AUSTRALIA WHERE VAST AND VARIED LANDSCAPES ARE HOME TO NUMEROUS NATIONAL PARKS, HERITAGE WONDERS AND A PLETHORA OF UNIQUE WILDLIFE WORDS: JOSMIN ONG

y definition, nature covers all elements of the natural world – the mountains, trees, animals and rivers; things that have existed since the beginning of time. If you truly enjoy these natural wonders, travel to Australia to begin your endless discovery journey with its 500 national parks and 15 natural world heritage wonders, you are bound to be spoilt for choice. For the marine life lovers, there are also 200 protected marine areas, including the world’s highly acclaimed Great Barrier Reef.

B

14

Vol. 8 Issue 7

EXTRAORDINARY EXPLORATIONS Australia’s Green Cauldron is one of Australia’s 16 National Landscapes – a unique partnership between Tourism Australia and Parks Australia to identify the best places to experience the country’s outstanding nature and culture. Hike about Mount Warning (now known as Wollumbin), culminating in breathtaking panoramic views around the ancient caldera with coastal views stretching from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast and west towards the Great Dividing Range.Wind along the

many tracks in the lush sub-tropical rainforest of Larnington National Park, then do the O’Reilly’s Tree Top Walk through the vinelined canopy for varied views. Discover Australia’s Red Centre, a place rich in Aboriginal culture and rugged outback beauty. Alice Springs, a crossroad of Aboriginal and European cultures, offers access to aweinspiring landscapes of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the MacDonnell Ranges and Kings Canyon. The cosmopolitan town has also evolved into a bustling arts and cultural centre for visitors.

Choose to take a road trip through the iconic red monolith, hike the Laraprinta Trail, ride a camel through the Simpson Desert or take a Ghan train journey from Darwin or Adelaide. UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, consists of one million hectares of sandstone plateau, escarpments and gorges dominated by a temperate eucalypt forest.The site is also home to plenty of waterfalls and bushland, easily reachable with a 90 minutes drive from Sydney.The geology and geomorphology of the property provides the physical conditions and visual backdrop to support outstanding biological values. Alternatively, head over to Maria Island, a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. This exclusive island has something for everyone, whether you are into historical ruins, sweeping bays, rugged cliffs and mountains or remarkable wildlife. The abundance of coastal and inland forest walks within this National Park paradise is possible with its restriction of motor vehicles and other non-relevant business entities. Whether you are here for hours or days, you can bask in the natural glory of Mother Nature and let Maria work her spell on you.

WILDLIFE WONDERLAND Australia is home to more than one million species of plants and animals, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Some iconic animals include the cute koalas, wombats, kangaroo, laughing kookaburra and egg-laying platypus – a creature so odd-looking that skeptical European scientists thought it to be several animals stitched together. Many rare animals and birds can easily be spotted in major capital cities. Do not be alarmed if you see a possum climb up a city lamp post in the evening or a giant fruit bat taking off from its roosts in city parks. Other common animal sightings include pelicans, sacred ibises and red kangaroos bounding beside your ride as your traverse through Australia’s outback. If you don’t wish to miss any chances, then here are a few territories for your consideration the next time you are in town. New South Wales is ideal for dolphin cruising, swimming with seals, sea bird watching and other aquatic creature encounters along the New South Wales coast from Eden in the south to Cape Byron in the north. The Northern Territory teems with river and wetland wildlife such as crocodiles, wild horses and buffaloes. During

wet seasons, it also attracts millions of migratory birds. The Queensland coastline is famed for its cruising humpback whale watching between the months of July and November. In the Great Barrier Reef, you can snorkel close to a kaleidoscope of colourful fishes, sea turtles and manta rays in warm tropical waters or even catch nesting sea turtles and emerging hatchlings heading into the ocean. To spot rare wildlife, Tasmania would be the place to be.You may be lucky enough to encounter a wombat, shy platypus or hear the chilling screams of a Tasmanian devil as you walk a forest path or sit quietly by the stream within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness. Narawntapu National Park will be one of the best places to visit. Last and definitely not the least in our list, head on to Victoria’s Phillip Island Nature Park to watch the adorable nightly penguin parade. Rangers will guide small groups of visitors to view the penguins as they waddle up the beach every evening. Whether you are looking for an exciting getaway or quiet adventure, Australia has it prepared for you so pack up and head out here on your next journey! ß Vol. 8 Issue 7

15

SCHO OL

CHALLENGE 2016

SINGAPORE

BBC KNOWLEDGE MAGAZINE SCHOOL CHALLENGE 2016 WORDS: JOSMIN ONG

ow, in its sixth installation, the BBC Knowledge Magazine School Challenge sees a consistent number of participants from various esteemed secondary schools in Singapore. As with past years’ editions, the event was held over two days, with the first day being the qualifiers. This year’s event was held over the weekend of 21 – 22 May 2016. Participants formed groups of four to tackle 50 multiple-choice questions along with a short essay question within the span of one hour.The questions were based on nature, science and history topics discussed in previous issues of BBC Knowledge Asia magazines. All students were highly encouraged to have read the magazines as

N

16

Vol. 8 Issue 7

well as current affairs affecting the world to comprehend and answer the questions correctly. Day One of the event was graciously hosted by the National Museum of Singapore alongside sponsors such as Yakult, Sarawak Tourism Board, Columbia, Faber-Castell, Resorts World Sentosa and S.E.A Aquarium. The top ten teams that scored the highest on the first day managed to clinch a placing for the competition held on Day Two. Five debate topics were chosen by random and the teams had 24 hours to prepare a short yet concise presentation.This segment tested their abilities to work fast, fluently, factually and creatively. Day Two of the event was kindly hosted by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). Guest judges include Mr Naidu

Huang Shiqi Jermaine, Manager, Education & Outreach National Museum of Singapore

All participants received a personalised certificate Kuek Kok Ti, Manager, PR & Advertising Department Yakult Singapore Pte Ltd

Vol. 8 Issue 7

17

SCHO OL

CHALLENGE 2016

SINGAPORE

Gautama, coaching professional, Ms Sharinita representing ACM, Mr Benjamin Poon, managing editor of Regent Media and Ms Melissa Chua, associate editor. Preparing a decent presentation in 24 hours seemed like a futile task but the girls from Nanyang Girls’ High School definitely found a way to charm the judges within the short span of five minutes. The boys from Catholic High School and Hwa Chong Institution (High School) didn’t fall too far behind and came in second and third respectively. We would like to extend our heartiest congratulations for a job well to all participating teams. And as late Former President of South Africa said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS • Bukit Panjang Government High School • Cedar Girls’ Secondary School • Catholic High School (Sec) • Damai Secondary School • Greendale Secondary School • Hwa Chong Institution • Nanyang Girls’ High School • River Valley High School • Singapore Chinese Girls School Regent Media would like to thank all students, schools and sponsors for their warm participation and support of the BBC Knowledge Magazine School Challenge 2016. ß

18

Vol. 8 Issue 7

1st Nanyang Girls’ High School - Whang Chia Ning, Phua Ying Isabel, Michelle Chang, Boo Qian Wei, Adeline

2nd Catholic High School - Phua Wei An, Ng Yoon Yik, Daryl Tan Zhe Han, Teo Jun Han

3rd Hwa Chong Institution (High School) - Dai Siyang Calvin, Lim Yang En, Tan Heang Yi Charlton, Yeo Zong Yao

4th River Valley High - Chen Xiang Long, Xie Yuxuan, Winston Fu, Owi Ming How

5th Nanyang Girls’ High School - Kim Yu Lim, Janessa Phua Pei Xuan, Ning Xinran, Xiao Wanlin

6th Hwa Chong Institution (High School) - Nathanael Chia Shiau Jiun, Chong Si Hua Xavier, Tan Caleb, Lee Kai Xuan

7th Nanyang Girls’ High School - Gao Chen Ivy, Huang Sijia Linda, Ng Zi Ling, Ou Jiaxin

8th Singapore Chinese Girls High - Lim Ying Yi Andrea, Kwek Shi Qi, Shun Le Aung, Cheryl Yong Kai Lin

Lim Yan Ming The Learning Craft

9th River Valley High - Soh Jun Han Owen, Gerald Goh Jun Yi, Nyan Maw Htun, Lim Shiu Xin Gregg

10th Bukit Panjang Govt High - Guk Yi Siong, Ong Wei Xiang, Neil Chen Yi Lun MacAlevey, Wee Yong Ren

Sharinita Ismail Assistant Director Marketing and Corporate Communications of ACM

Organiser:

Educational Tour Sponsor

Official Education Partner

Venue Sponsors

Official Beverage Sponsor

Supporting Partners

Vol. 8 Issue 7

19

Update D I S P A T C H E S

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

F R O M

T H E

C U T T I N G

E D G E

BIOENGINEERING

MEET SYN3.0, THE SIMPLEST LIVING THING ON EARTH

Syn3.0 could become the blueprint for synthetic organisms in the future

20

Vol. 8 Issue 7

A team led by genomics pioneer J Craig Venter has synthesised a living bacterium that contains all the necessities for life yet has just 473 genes, making it simpler than any self-replicating cell found in nature. Humans have around 24,000 genes. The researchers hope that the cell will help them to tease out the most basic building blocks of life and begin unravelling the mystery of how complex organisms evolved on Earth, more than three billion years ago. The technique used to create Syn3.0 could also pave the way for the creation of tailormade organisms that could be used to create new

PHOTO: TOM DEERINCK/MARK ELLISMAN/UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO

BIOLOGISTS CREATE SYNTHETIC BACTERIA TO HELP UNCOVER THE BASIC RECIPE FOR LIFE

CRAIG VENTER TIMELINE 19 4 6 J Craig Venter is born in Salt Lake City, Utah 19 7 5 Venter graduates from the University of California with a doctorate in physiology and pharmacology

19 9 5

PHOTOS: J CRAIG VENTER INSTITUTE X3, GETTY X2 TOM DEERINCK/MARK ELLISMAN/UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO

In collaboration with Hamilton Smith, Venter determines the genomic sequence of the Haemophilus influenza bacterium, marking the first time the complete genetic sequence of a free-living organism is decoded

medicines, biofuels or microbes capable of soaking up pollution, the researchers say. Most of Syn3.0’s essential genes perform functions related to expressing genes, passing down genetic information, or regulating the cell’s membrane and metabolism. However, the team has no idea what around onethird of the cell’s genes do. “Our attempt to design and create a new species, while ultimately successful, revealed that 32 per cent of the genes essential for life in this cell are of unknown function, and showed that many are highly conserved in numerous species,” said Venter. “All the bioinformatics studies over the past 20 years have underestimated the number of essential genes by focusing only on the known world. This is an important observation that we are

“THE TEAM HAVE NO IDEA WHAT AROUND ONE-THIRD OF THE CELL’S GENES DO”

carrying forward into the study of the human genome.” 2001

SIX YEARS IN THE MAKING Venter and his team first made a synthetic cell with 901 genes, dubbed Synthia or Syn1.0, in 2010 by copying the genome of Mycoplasma mycoides, an existing bacteria, and transplanting it into another cell. Taking the success of Syn1.0 as a starting point, the team spent the next six years painstakingly cutting away genes until they were left with a cell with only the genes essential for life. The results were published in a paper titled ‘Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome’ in the journal Science in March. “This paper signifies a major step toward our ability to design and build synthetic organisms from the bottom up with predictable outcomes. The tools and knowledge gained from this work will be essential to producing next-generation production platforms for a wide range of disciplines,” said the paper’s co-author, Daniel Gibson.

The Institute for Genomic Research, founded by Venter, helps sequence the genome of the anthrax strain mailed in the attacks that killed five people — evidence that eventually leads the FBI to the source

2003 The Human Genome Project, led by Venter, decodes the human genome for the first time

2004 Venter embarks on a two-year trip around the globe by sailboat, in search of microbes for DNA sequencing

2008 The J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) announces the complete synthesis of a bacterial genome named Mycoplasma genitalium

2 0 10 The JCVI creates Synthia, the first-ever artificial self-replicating organism

Vol. 8 Issue 7

21

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

THE DOWNLOAD

ELASMOTHERIUM SIBIRICUM What’s that? Something to keep your trousers up? Nope. It’s the Siberian Unicorn. Pull the other one. April Fool’s Day was ages ago. No, really. It was a large, shaggy mammal with a pointy horn sitting on the front of its snout. It was previously believed to have died out 350,000 years ago but a skull recently found in Kazakhstan dates to just 29,000 years ago.

EXPLODING STAR SHOCKWAVE CAPTURED FOR THE FIRST TIME When some stars die, they go out with a bang. When the internal furnace of a star many times more massive than the Sun runs out, the force of gravity can take over causing the core to suddenly collapse. This results in the release se of lso enormous amounts of energy in a massive supernova explosion. It can also trigger a gigantic shockwave called a ‘shock breakout’. Now, this shockwave has been captured for the first time in visible lightt by NASA’s Kepler telescope. An international team led by the University of Notre Dame’s Peter Garnavich observed the supernova KSN 2011d, a massive star more than 500 times the mass of the Sun, as it exploded 1.2 billion light-years years away from Earth. The event was found among three years of observational al data and only lasted for around 20 minutes. “In order to see something that happens on timescales of minutes, like a shock breakout, you want to have a camera continuously monitoring the sky,” said Garnavich. “You don’t know when a supernova is going to go off, and d Kepler’s vigilance allowed us to be a witness as the explosion began.” se As well as teaching us more about the life cycles of stars, studying these violent events could help us to understand how complex chemicals and even life itself came to be, the researchers said. 22

Vol. 8 Issue 7

“I might be a unicorn, but I’m not mythical, promise!”

PHOTOS: NASA, ALAMY

Computer-generated timelapse of the supernova explosion

SPACE

I want one! Erm, I don’t think you do. Quite apart from the fact that they are now extinct, the animals were around two metres tall, four metres long and weighed about four tonnes, making them similar in size to a mammoth. Not exactly the sort of thing you could keep in your garden.

TECHNOLOGY

THE ‘NEW’ OLD MASTER A new Rembrandt masterpiece has been created by a computer – and it looks just like the real thing From the earthy colours and theatrical play of light and shadow to the thick layering of paint, all signs point to this portrait being painted by the Dutch master Rembrandt. However, it was actually created by a computer following a two-year collaboration between the Technical University of Delft, Microsoft and the Mauritshuis and Rembrandthuis museums. The project has been dubbed ‘The Next Rembrandt’. The portrait was created using data from high-res 3D scans of 346

of Rembrandt’s portraits. “There’s a lot of Rembrandt data available,” said the Technical University of Delft’s Joris Dik. “But can we actually create something out of it that looks like Rembrandt? That was an appealing question.” The chosen works were all painted between 1632 and 1642 and featured Caucasian males aged between 30 and 40 wearing black clothes and sporting facial hair in order to limit the number of variables. The data from the scans was fed into facial recognition software to identify the most

typical geometric patterns Rembrandt used to paint human features. A deep learning algorithm was then used to assemble these findings into an original portrait. “We looked at a number of Rembrandt paintings, and we scanned their surface texture, their elemental composition, and what kinds of pigments were used,” said Dik. To add a layer of detail, the team used the 3D scans to analyse the texture of Rembrandt’s brushstrokes and 3D printed the final portrait using 13 layers of ink to create a realistic effect.

IN N U MBERS

14.53 million km2

The size of the Arctic ice cap recorded by NASA’s National Snow and Ice Data Centre. It’s the lowest since records began in 1979.

184

PHOTOS: ROBERT HARRISON/J WALTER THOMPSON LONDON

The age of Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of St Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean. He’s thought to be the oldest living terrestrial animal on the planet. A height map allowed the team to add texture and brushstrokes to the 3D-printed Rembrandt

10

trillion degrees That’s one followed by 13 zeroes. The temperature of quasar 3C 273, a mysterious disc of matter swirling around a supermassive black hole in the Virgo constellation. Vol. 8 Issue 7

23

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

MEDICINE

STRUCTURE OF THE ZIKA VIRUS MAPPED WE COULD BUILD A BASE ON THE MOON BY 2022 NASA scientists have suggested that a base capable of housing 10 astronauts could be built on the Moon using existing technologies in the next five to 10 years. It would cost $10bn, which is around half of the space agency’s yearly budget, they say.

MANTA RAYS CAN RECOGNISE THEMSELVES IN THE MIRROR Giant manta rays have joined great apes, dolphins and elephants in passing the ‘mirror test’. A study in Florida found that rays presented with mirrors wiggled their fins and blew bubbles, suggesting that they were able to recognise their own reflections.

BEING IN SPACE CAN STUNT HAIR GROWTH Researchers in Tokyo have found that being in orbit can turn on genes that decrease hair growth in men. They found the effect after analysing hair follicles from astronauts who spent six months aboard the International Space Station. The effect was not seen in women. 24

Vol. 8 Issue 7

This knobbly disc is the first ever image of the structure of the Zika virus, and has potentially paved the way for the development of a vaccine to combat the disease. A team from Purdue University has used high-resolution cryo-electron microscopes to piece together a detailed image of the Zika virus’s molecular structure. Zika is a type of flavivirus, a close relative of yellow fever and West Nile fever, which is spread by a species of tropical mosquito. Those infected typically experience mild symptoms such as skin rashes and joint pain that clear up within 10 days. However, growing evidence suggests that the virus maybe linked with microcephaly, a birth defect that causes babies to have unusually small heads and stunted brain development. In April last year, an outbreak of the virus began in northeastern Brazil. The virus has since spread to other areas of Central and South America, and to the Caribbean. “The structure of the virus provides a map that shows potential regions of the virus that could be targeted by a therapeutic treatment, used to create an effective vaccine or to improve our ability to diagnose and distinguish Zika infection from that of other related viruses,” said “ZIKA IS A researcher Richard Kuhn. VIRUS WHICH “Determining the structure greatly advances our understanding of VERY LITTLE IS Zika, a virus about which very little is known. It shows the most KNOWN” promising areas for further testing and research to combat infection.”

ZIKA FACT BOX Only one in five people infected with the virus show any symptoms. First identified in Uganda in 1947. The virus is spread through the bite of the Aedes mosquito, the same insect that transmits yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya. Symptoms include fever, headache, skin rash, red eyes, fatigue and joint pain.

PHOTO: PURDUE UNIVERSITY/KUHN AND ROSSMANN RESEARCH GROUP

W H AT W E LEARNED THIS MONTH

ZOOLOGY

WALKING FISH COULD BE MISSING LINK IN FIN TO LIMB EVOLUTION

PHOTOS: NJIT, BARCROFT MEDIA ILLUSTRATOR: JAMES OLSTEIN

Usually, if you drop a fish on the ground it will thrash around aimlessly like a fish out of water. But that’s not the case with Cryptotora thamicola. Drop one of these blind, cave-dwelling fish on the ground and marvel as it walks away like a land animal. The bizarre fish was found scurrying around dark caves in Thailand by a team from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. It can scuttle across rocks and climb up waterfalls thanks to its salamander-style pelvic girdle, they say. Other fish, such as mudskippers and lungfish, have previously been observed walking, but those species drag themselves along on their front fins. The discovery may help to shed light on how the anatomy needed to walk on land evolved after the transition from finned to limbed appendages in the Devonian period, some 420 million years ago. “C. thamicola possesses morphological features that have previously only been attributed to tetrapods [four-legged animals],” said researcher Brooke Flammang. “Its pelvis and vertebral column allow it to support its body weight against gravity and provide large sites for muscle attachment for walking. This research gives us insight into the plasticity of the fish body plan and the convergent morphological features seen in the evolution of tetrapods.”

Unlike most fish, C. thamicola can walk on dry land

The caves in Thailand where the fish was discovered

T H E Y D I D W H AT ?!

CHICKENS GIVEN DINO LEGS What did they do? A team from the University of Chile has grown chicken embryos with ‘dinosaur-like’ lower legs. In modern-day birds, the fibula – the thin

bone found in the lower leg – is splinter-like and doesn’t reach all the way to the ankle. Dinosaurs’ fibulae, in contrast, were much more developed. How did they do that? By inhibiting the activity of a gene going by the rather bizarre name of ‘Indian Hedgehog’.

Why did they do that? Around 66 million years ago, most dinosaurs went extinct, but a handful of species survived. These went on to evolve into the birds we see today. The researchers are trying to use ‘reverse evolution‘ techniques to find out how this transformation took place. Vol. 8 Issue 7

25

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“IT COULD BE THE FIRST HINT OF A BETTER, BIGGER THEORY THAT THE STANDARD MODEL WOULD BE EMBEDDED IN”

HAS A NEW PARTICLE BEEN FOUND AT CERN?

BELOW: Prof Peter Higgs predicted the Higgs boson – the ‘God Particle’ – back in the 1960s, but it wasn’t discovered until 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider

26

How did experiments reveal these hints? The Large Hadron Collider [LHC] collides protons [hydrogen nuclei] head-on and we discovered the Higgs boson in those collisions. This new thing has shown up in the data taken since then. We’ve cranked up the energy, which means you can create higher mass particles more often because E=mc2. The way the experiment works is that you count the number of pairs of photons [particles of light]. Most of them come from random collisions and there’s a smooth distribution of masses. But if there’s a new particle in there, there’ll be a

Vol. 8 Issue 7

concentration of these pairs of photons around the mass of the new particle. What have you seen this time? It seems like there’s another concentration of pairs of photons clustered around [an energy of] 750GeV, about 750 times the mass of the proton or roughly six times the mass of the Higgs boson. It’s much heavier, but in another sense the evidence is rather similar to that for the Higgs. The evidence is about at the level that it was for the Higgs about six months before we announced it. When will we know for sure this time? If all goes to plan, I would expect an announcement sometime in the summer conferences. It will either have grown to the point where there’s a discovery, or it will have receded a bit and we’ll be less excited. It’s like looking at an object in the mist. As you get closer, it either gets clearer or it fades away and turns out to have just been a swirl in the mist. What are the implications for physics? It’s really exciting because this is not something that’s expected in the Standard Model – in fact it’s excluded

PHOTOS: ALAMY X2, CERN

Four years after the discovery of the Higgs boson, a new particle may have been uncovered at CERN. Graham Southorn spoke to Jon Butterworth, a member of CERN’s ATLAS detector team

BLONDES Who are you calling a dumb blonde? A study at the Ohio State University has found that blonde women have marginally higher average IQs than brunettes or redheads and are more likely to be classified as geniuses. But don’t bother reaching for the bleach – the effect was only seen in natural blondes.

SUN WORSHIPPERS Here’s an excuse to get away somewhere sunny: Swedish researchers have found that catching some rays may help extend your life. However, sunbathing for long periods can cause skin cancer so don’t stay out for more than half an hour.

GOOD MONTH

BAD MONTH

ILLUSTRATION: JAMES OLSTEIN

by the Standard Model! So it could be the first hint of a better, bigger theory that the Standard Model would be embedded in. The bigger theory would have a chance of answering questions that the Standard Model doesn’t answer, such as what is dark matter, how does gravity fit into the picture, and why is there more matter than antimatter in the Universe? Despite having proved that the Higgs was there, the Standard Model doesn’t answer those questions so it’s clearly not any kind of final word on fundamental physics.

TOP: Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider are helping scientists gain a deeper knowledge of physics ABOVE: Collisions between protons at the Large Hadron Collider are once again being analysed in the hunt for a new particle

If it is confirmed, what would you do next? The theorists are having a heyday already. They’re building all kinds of hypotheses to answer some of the open questions, using this [potential particle] as a clue. It’s like you’ve filled in a new word in a crossword puzzle that gets you into a corner of the puzzle you’ve not been in before. Most of those hypotheses will say, ‘If my theory is right, not only do you see this thing, but if you look over there you can see another thing’. All of these theories have consequences for other measurements we can make at the LHC. As experimentalists, we’ll be weeding out the ones that don’t work and hopefully zooming in on the few that do.

REALITY TV FANS If you find yourself keeping up with the Kardashians, you may be a narcissist. University of Pennsylvania researchers have found that reality TV fans score more highly on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory.

CAT OWNERS Next time you see someone flipping off another driver, blame Tiddles. People suffering from intermittent explosive disorder, a condition that causes aggressive outbursts such as road rage, are more than twice as likely to be infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite carried by moggies.

Vol. 8 Issue 7

27

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

SPECIAL REPORT

LANDMARK STUDY REVEALS THE EFFECT OF LSD ON THE BRAIN For the first time, scientists have used brain scanners to uncover what happens in the brain under the influence of LSD, more than 70 years after the drug was first synthesised. Zoe Cormier investigates

28

Vol. 8 Issue 7

your ego dissolve?’ Ultimately, if me spending a difficult hour in a scanner in Cardiff can help someone suffering acute trauma down the line, it’s worth it.” Beyond investigating the use of psychedelics as medication for ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction, the ultimate purpose of this work is probing the nature of consciousness itself, explained Nutt. “This is core neuroscience. It is about humanity at its deepest level. And the only way to study consciousness is to change it.” Others are yet to be convinced.

“THE ONLY WAY TO STUDY CONSCIOUSNESS IS TO CHANGE IT”

Prof David Nutt led the research into the effects of LSD on the brain

“This study doesn’t tell us much about the therapeutic value of this drug, though it may give us suggestions to investigate further,” said Glen Hanson, former acting director of the US National Institute On Drug Abuse, who’s published over 150 scientific papers exploring how drugs affect the brain. “But LSD is a very dirty drug: it is not particularly selective in what it does. As a result, it can be problematic for patients with underlying psychiatric disorders.” Organisations that fund academic and medical research seem to agree with Hanson. Nutt’s team found it extremely hard to acquire funding, and eventually turned to crowdfunding to raise the money. This ended up being a roaring success, with 1,628 people donating US$75,455 to the cause, double the US$35,330 asked for. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LSD The story of LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, began in 1943 when chemist Albert Hofmann was tinkering in the laboratories of Swiss pharmaceuticals company Sandoz. He was developing drugs to treat blood loss following childbirth. When his fingers touched a bit of LSD-25 – a drug he’d first synthesised five years earlier – the world began to shimmer. With such a profound capacity to change the way we see, feel and think, Hofmann believed LSD could become a valuable psychiatric tool.

Volunteer preparing to enter the scanner

PHOTOS: GEORGINA CAMMALLERI, JIRI REZAC /EYEVINE

A team led by Imperial College’s Prof David Nutt has discovered that brain networks become ‘desegregated’ under the influence of LSD (also known as ‘acid’). Regions of the brain that do not normally communicate with each other suddenly do so. “The brain becomes much more integrated in a strange sort of way,” said Nutt. “You can pull together things that you wouldn’t normally. This is why LSD could be so powerful in treating conditions where the brain has become ‘locked in’, such as alcoholism or depression.” “You get increased connectivity because you have dampened down the control centres,” added researcher Robin Carhart-Harris. The team picked 20 subjects who had previously used psychedelics, to minimise the risk of them having a bad experience. Each was given LSD, then spent an hour in an MRI scanner while three different imaging techniques gathered data. They were then put through a number of cognitive tests. Tom Shutte was one of those brave enough to take LSD in a claustrophobic brain scanner. “Every now and then I did think, ‘What am I doing in here?’” he said later. “Sounds were really unpleasant, loud, unpredictable and aggressive. Sometimes it took a lot of willpower to keep it together. Plus, some of the questions were very strange: ‘Did

LSD is a class-A drug and is illegal in the UK

PLACEBO

LSD

The orange colouring shows areas of the brain experiencing increased resting-state connectivity

For a time, his peers agreed. Psychiatrists around the world deployed the drug in their quest to understand the human condition, exploring it as a treatment for conditions such as schizophrenia and alcoholism. Of course, many scientists yearned to understand what was going on in the brain itself, but these were early days for neuroscience: the MRI scanners we now use to study the brain did not appear until the 1970s. A few studies measuring the electrical activity inside the brain using electroencephalogram (EEG) readings found reductions in the activity of the brain under LSD. But before anyone could delve deeper, research ground to a halt, as the US and other countries banned the drug from 1966. In 2012, Carhart-Harris published a study of the brains of people who had been dosed with the hallucinogen psilocybin. Counterintuitively, he found that the drug decreased, not increased, the flow of blood to a constellation of regions known as the ‘default mode network’, considered by some to be the ‘seat of the self’. In a normal state, these regions are crucial to keeping our experience of the world stable. Similarly, Dr Draulio de Araujo of the Brain Institute at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil has studied the effects of the hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca, and found that the drink – which contains the potent psychedelic DMT – also reduces blood flow to the default mode network. “This is important because in depression we see the opposite pattern,” he said. “So this gives us clues as to the potential use of psychedelics as antidepressants.” With the initial study finished, Nutt is sure LSD will be “invaluable” in helping us understand the nature of the sober mind, consciousness and the brain. “To paraphrase Isaac Newton: we can see further because we are standing on Hofmann’s shoulders,” he said. Vol. 8 Issue 7

29

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

GRAPHIC SCIENCE

WHAT’S WARMING UP THE PLANET?

DATA SOURCE: DATA.GISS.NASA.GOV/MODELE

Illustration: Valerio Pellegrini

30

Vol. 8 Issue 7

2015 was the hottest year since records began. But what’s driving this change? NASA might have the definitive answer. The Goddard Institute for Space Studies has built a climate change model that allows

them to isolate potential culprits and estimate their contributions. We’ve plotted their data below to illustrate how natural variables like volcanic activity and solar variations compare with man-made factors.

Vol. 8 Issue 7

31

Update

THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

IN LOCAL NEWS

MANDAI TO BECOME AN INTEGRATED NATURE AND WILDLIFE DESTINATION On 1 June 2016, Mandai Safari Park Holdings (MSPH) held a curtain-raiser for its plans to establish an integrated nature and wildlife destination in Mandai. The Mandai nature precinct will expand beyond its existing offerings of Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari. Subject to relevant approval, visitors can soon expect new wildlife parks, an indoor nature-themed education centre, eco-sensitive accommodation options and inviting public spaces that are freely accessible by anyone. The revamped Mandai nature area will hold a strong focal point in promoting wildlife conservation and education. Existing parks will be joined by two new cousins, namely the new Bird Park and the Rainforest Park, creating an integrated nature and wildlife experience for all visitors to Mandai. The new Bird Park will house the world’s largest collections of birds. Themed around nine large immersive aviaries with varied landscapes from around the world, visitors will find themselves transported into wetlands, a bamboo forest and even a rainforest where these free-flying birds will feel right in their natural habitats. Some of the favourite features in Jurong Bird Park will also be recreated in the new park such as a new waterfall and a grand entrance framed by vibrant flowering

plants and a custom-designed amphitheatre for performances. Over at the Rainforest Park, get ready to immerse yourself in a complete experience from the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia. This is an exciting, multi-layered adventure as one meanders through the forest floor pathways to treetop canopies, revealing many secrets of the terrestrial biodiversity.

IN LOCAL NEWS

STRATASYS LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST FULL-COLOUR MULTI-MATERIAL 3D PRINTER Stratasys Ltd is a 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions company that has launched the industry’s first fullcolour multi-material 3D printer, J750 3D Printer, in Singapore. The breakthrough in technology enables customers to mix-andmatch full colour gradients alongside an unprecedented range of materials to achieve one-stop realism without postprocessing. This is a huge leap in terms of efficiencies in product conceptualising and design verification. The Stratasys J750 is a premier addition to the Objet Connex multi-colour, a multi-material series of 3D Printers that allows customers to choose from more than 360,000 different colour shades plus multiple material properties. Prototypes can be made from a vast array of colours, materials, material properties, speeding production of realistic models, prototypes and parts of virtually any application needed. On the other hand, the J740 enables near instantaneous decision-making by streamlining the way products are designed, evaluated and brought to the market. This will help improve the total cost of ownership by eliminating traditional complex processes. 32

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Comment & Analysis BAKING SCIENCE “Cakes and biscuits both go stale, but what makes one go hard and the other go soft?” he biscuit tin in my office is an essential tool for getting science done. For pondering the thorniest scientific problems, tea alone is not enough and a chocolate biscuit or two is necessary to help the process along. But last week I didn’t put the lid back on properly and by Monday morning my stash of biscuits was soft and spongy. Their weedy nature certainly didn’t hit the biscuit spot. At the same time, leftover cake in my kitchen at home was getting closer and closer to the texture of a dry loofah, hard and rigid. Both cake and biscuits were going stale, but what makes one go hard and the other go soft? This distinction played a role in the famous tax decision on Jaffa Cakes in 1991, because the court had to decide whether to classify them as cakes or biscuits. It was decided that they are cakes, but it turns out that the innards of cakes are a bit more mobile than most people suspect. I like to think of both cakes and biscuits as food architecture – a structure made of different interlocking components. Baking is a process of construction, and the texture of cakes and biscuits reflects their structural integrity. The framework of the cake is provided by the flour. Flour is about 75 per cent starch, and it’s the starch that provides the strength. Working with the starch is gluten, an elastic protein that forms a network holding everything together with enough stretchiness to let the dough rise. Sugar, fat and eggs mostly help make and hold bubbles of gas that expand in the oven. So when it comes to whether the cake is hard or soft, the place to look is the major structural support: the starch. When I bake a cake, the time in the oven is a part of the building process. The heat forces the starch granules in the mixture to absorb water and expand. Water can slip into the gaps between the huge molecules that make up the starch grains, pushing them apart. The final baked cake is soft, because the starch arrangement is soft. But the second you take it out of the oven, the process of going stale starts. It’s got nothing to do with bacteria or mould. It’s all about the position of the starch molecules.

MAIN ILLUSTRATION: MATT CLOUGH PORTRAIT: KATE COPELAND

T

Even as the fresh-baked smell is wafting across the kitchen, small rearrangements are happening inside the cake. Water molecules are small and mobile, and when they’re parked between the starch molecules, the giant starch chains can shift. As time goes on, the starch chains slowly shunt to line up, forming regular crystalline regions instead of messy amorphous ones. This is why the cake goes hard – its main structural component is getting more rigid. Sugar and fat slow this process, but they won’t stop it. The cake drying out isn’t the major player here. Biscuits are different because they start off with much less water. Baking a biscuit dries it out pretty thoroughly, so the starch is

immobile and the structure rigid. But sugar absorbs water from the air and will pass it on to the starch, softening the structure. So biscuits go soft at first, although they will eventually go hard if the starch crystallises. The details depend on the exact mixture of ingredients and the conditions in which you store your cakes or biscuits. The lesson here is clear – put the lid on the biscuit tin and eat your cake sooner rather than later! And that’s the sort of thought that really cheers up a tea break… ß

DR HELEN CZERSKI is a physicist and BBC presenter whose most recent series was Colour: The Spectrum Of Science Vol. 8 Issue 7

33

FE EA AT TUR URE SPECIAL F FEATURE

CHRISTIAN ART

IN ASIA

ASIAN CIVILISATIONS MUSEUM LAUNCHES HE WORLD’S WORLD S INAUGURAL INAUGURAL E XHIBITION THE EXHIBITION WORDS: WOR W ORD DS: DS S JO JJOSMIN SMI S MIN ONG MI ONG

ingapore is renowned in th tthe he wo w world rldd rl yy,, w itth ith for being a diverse society, with turral a aand nd various ethnic, racial, cultural n ha h rm mon ony. y y. religious groups living together in harmony. h in hr ined ed In fact, freedom of worship is enshrined tthee in Singapore’s constitution as one o off th om mee tto o nation’s top prioritities. We are home riinc n ip ipall more than 10 religions but the principal m, Is Isla lam, la m m, ones include Buddhism and Taoism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. 6, head heaad From now till 11 September 2016, eum m (ACM) (AC CM) over to the Asian Civilisations Museum nd visual vis isua ual ua to learn more about the sacred art and tia iani n ty in ni in splendour of the evolution of Christianity ion io n on on the the he Asia.This is the world’s first exhibition nA siia an nd history and spread of Christian art in Asia and its extensive it exxteenssiv ive ve ACM’s first special exhibition after its renovations last year. er in n tthe h he Asia has became a key influencer

S

34

Vol. 8 Issue 7

spread spre sp read re ad o off C Christianity since the 7th century, and aan nd Asian Asia As iaan art has absorbed these influences into into various in vaarr io iou u cultures including those in the the Middle th M dd Mi ddle le East, India, China, Japan, the le Philippines Phiillip Ph Phil ippi piine and the rest of Southeast Asia. The The artists arrti tist ist s s who created these Christian images im maagges m may a belong to other faiths but they stil st tilillll manage maana m nagg to create a powerful notion and still story sttorry behind behi be h n each artwork. The The curated curr cu exhibition is home to 800 years yeear a s off art ar history, mainly from the 13th to ccenturies ent nttur u but holds a strong focal point 2200thh ce on o art artt ppieces ieec from the 16th to 18th centuries, th this his w was as tthe h time of significant trading an and nd m mi missions. isssio o Singapore, France, Portugal, IIt Ital Italy, tal aly, y, H y, Hong ong Kong and the Philippines on fo form orm m tthe he llargest contributors, with over he 15 150 50 it iitems tem ems ms from these countries, as well as ffrom as rom 200 other acclaimed institutions ro

ASIAN CIVILISATION MUSEUM

and private collections around the world, namely Musée du Louvre, the Bibliothèque nationale de France and Lisbon’s National Museum of Ancient Art. These objects will be complemented by other pieces from ACM’s rich collection, including the largest known Sri Lankan ivory sculpture of the Virgin Mary. Look forward to a refreshing exhibition, as many of the pieces are new to the Singapore scene. The exhibition is organized in a thematic manner for visitors to grasp a better understanding: Early Christian Art in Asia, What Makes Christian Art in Asia, Christian Missions to Asia from 16th to 19th centuries and a case study of Singapore. There will also be artworks that interpret various adaptations of wellestablished Christian themes by local artists and artisans, even though they may not be Christians themselves. A good example would be an inlaid metal candlestick made in Syria between 1248 and 1249, which was decorated with both

Christian scenes and medieval Islamic art. Beyond the designs of the objects, the exhibition demonstrates knowledge exchanged between Asia and the West in terms of art techniques, like ivory carving, which was unknown in the West but grew in popularity after.The use of rare materials found in Asia, including rock crystal, ivory, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell and precious stone also grew gradually. Christianity in Art: Sacred Art and Visual Splendour will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue containing original essays on Asian Christian Art by a group of international scholars such as Pedro Moura Carvalho and Ken Parry. Expect to find a

robust array of interactive programmes and events, as well as academic lectures to enrich and enhance your learning experience about the Christian art community. Clement Onn, curator at ACM and of the exhibition said, “The Christianity in Asia exhibition is a celebration of artistic innovation, experimentation and the diversity that emerges from cross-cultural influences. Through the curation of the exhibition, we hope that visitors will not just be exposed to the wide array of Asian Christian art, recognised by its intrinsic quality, originality and aesthetic merit, but also learn that common threads such as religion can also bring people of various cultures and from different countries together.” ß Vol. 8 Issue 7

35

SPECIAL FEATURE

YAKULT, PIONEERS OF PROBIOTIC RESEARCH LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT GOES INTO YOUR FAVOURITE HEALTH BEVERAGE, ONE THAT RESONATES WORLDWIDE WITH ITS ICONIC BOTTLE AND FERMENTED MILK DRINK WORDS: JOSMIN ONG

ention Yakult and anyone in Singapore would probably know what you are referring to – that tiny bottle of sweetened cultured milk drink that is sold readily in supermarkets or delivered to your homes regularly by Yakult ladies. But did you know that Yakult, which was founded in Japan, has expanded into 33 countries and regions across the world, with 35 million bottles of the dairy product consumed daily. The massive numbers are fruits of labour derived from the corporate philosophy of “contributing to the health and happiness of people around the world through pursuit of excellence in life science in general and our research and experience in microorganisms in particular”. The philosophy is grounded in the passionate desire of the founder, late Dr Minoru Shirota, to deliver good health to as many people as possible. Dr Shirota was born in Nagano, Japan in 1899 and was a leading researcher of Microbiology and a Pioneer of Probiotics.

M

36

Vol. 8 Issue 7

YAKULT

It was during his time that Japan was in an impoverished state. Many children lost their lives to infectious disorders such as food poisoning, dysentery, cholera and typhoid. Only therapeutic medications from doctors or pharmacies were available. Inspired by Élie Metchnikoff, a renowned Russian zoologist known for his pioneering research in immunology, Dr Shirota decided to research on preventive medication, otherwise known as probiotics. In 1930, he became the first in the world to succeed in strengthening and culturing a strain of fortified lactic acid bacteria that could survive digestive juices, such as gastric fluid and bile, to reach the intestines alive and

work their benefits. This bacterium is now known as Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (L. casei strain), the key ingredient in our well-loved Yakult health beverages.

WHAT EXACTLY ARE PROBIOTICS? Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. It can be found in our bodies naturally, but may also be induced through food and supplements. Many types of bacteria classify as probiotics but the most common one is Lactobacillus. It can be found in fermented milk drinks such as Yakult (L. casei strain Shirota), yogurts and other fermented foods such as kimchi,

sauerkraut or fermented soya products. They are also available in powder or pill forms in pharmacies. As a leader in probiotics research, Yakult is always accumulating vast knowledge on the profound world of microorganisms.Years of research have proven that lactic acid bacteria are beneficial in many ways.

BOOSTING IMMUNITY The probiotic L. casei strain Shirota is a case in point. Intake of this strain has been demonstrated to regulate immunity in the body, such as maintenance and restoration of NK (Natural Killer) cell’s activity, which plays a vital role in immunity. Immunity is our body’s natural mechanism to avoid diseases, a natural reaction to eliminate foreign material from the body by lymphoid cells. Generally, immunity is constructed of two different kinds - natural (innate) and acquired immunity. Natural immunity works quickly, as it is the first line of defense for Vol. 8 Issue 7

37

SPECIAL FEATURE

pathogens and is unstable due to it being sensitive to many stimulants. It can, however, be improved through leading a healthy lifestyle of ample rest, regular exercise and a proper diet. Acquired immunity, on the other hand, is activated by vaccination and is the second encounter when pathogens attack the body. It is skillful and specialised to attack a certain strain of foreign bodies based on the information received from the innate immunity cells and the vaccination. Though both forms of immunity have separate roles to play against bacteria, viruses and tumor cells, it is imperative that they work well together. In daily life, augmentation natural immunity helps to prevent diseases and one such example are the NK cells. NK cells work on the front line of the immune system for protecting the body from pathogens, viruses and cancer. These cells are present and active in all individuals from two years of age but NK activity varies individually. NK activity means the intensity of the performance of 38

Vol. 8 Issue 7

NK cells, and is recognised as a barometer of immunity. Since NK cells fall under the natural immunity category, it can be influenced by various factors in daily life and age is one of the major factors. NK cell activity usually peaks during young adulthood, at 20 – 25 years of age, and gradually decreases with age. Other factors include an unhealthy amount of stress and smoking, which will cause a reduction in NK cell activity. Epidemiological studies reveal that populations with low NK cell activity have a significantly higher risk of cancer than populations with intermediate or high NK cell activity. Thus, NK cells play a pivotal role in the survey and eradication of cancer cells and infected cells in human. Since NK cells fall under the natural immunity category, improvement in dietary habits will affect cell activity. Therefore, it is important to take in food beneficial to the body. Supplementation of probiotics will help boost immunity

YAKULT

and L. casei strain Shirota (found in Yakult beverages) has proven to reduce the risk of cancer by ridding the body of harmful mutagens and other actions. Reductions in the risk of bladder, colon and breast cancer have also been verified. A study in 2013 showed that Japanese women who consumed probiotics and soya products on a regular basis had the lowest incidence of obtaining breast cancer. The same study also proved that daily consumption of L. casei strain Shirota since adolescence had a significant inverse association with early breast cancer occurrence.

“It goes without saying that good health is the greatest source of happiness. Science can achieve no greater victory than to enable a living being to live its full span of years while maintaining the vitality of youth,” said late Dr. Minoru Shirota. Yakult is putting his philosophies into actions as they continue to provide consumers products that can be trusted. The next time you pick up your favourite Yakult beverage, pause to think about the efforts being placed into each and every bottle of fermented milk drink.Who knows, you might be the next one discovering a new strain of healthy bacteria! ß Vol. 8 Issue 7

39

SCIENCE CIEENC CE

HERE COME THE

NANO MEDICS COMING SOON TO A GP NEAR YOU: MICRO MACHINES THAT WILL CLIMB INTO YOUR BODY, DETECT DISEASE AND CURE IT BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW YOU’RE ILL WORDS: TOM IRELAND

40

Vol. 8 Issue 7

ILLUSTRATION: ANDY POTTS

Scan this QR Code for the audio reader

Vol. 8 Issue 7

41

SCIENCE

T

42

Vol. 8 Issue 7

ABOVE: The plot of sci-fi film Innerspace no longer seems quite so outlandish

SMALL SCIENCE The simplest nanomedicines are spherical particles that carry a payload of drugs. Smaller than human or bacterial cells, but larger than individual molecules, the spheres are tiny enough to penetrate cells. The term ‘nano’ is used to describe objects smaller than 100 nanometres, with one nanometre being a billionth of a metre. Particles at this scale have different properties than if they were larger. Nanomedicines are large enough to stay in the bloodstream for longer than normal medicine molecules, yet they are not so big that they clog up blood vessels. Scientists can even attach biological molecules to the outside of nanoparticles to ensure, for example, that they are attracted to specific molecules in the body – such as those found in tumours. Or, by making nanoparticles with more complex shapes, scientists can effectively create tiny machines that use chemical reactions to become unimaginably small motors or light-emitting globes. Some

PHOTO: KOBAL COLLECTION

he 1980s sci-fi film Innerspace sees a submersible and its pilot shrunk to microscopic size before being jabbed into a shop attendant, and much hilarity ensues. The plot took its inspiration from 1960s classic Fantastic Voyage, in which a miniaturised crew are injected into a dying scientist and must attempt to remove a clot from his brain. Both films seemed pretty crazy when they came out, but the extraordinary ideas featured no longer seem quite so far-fetched. Tiny cameras can now be swallowed, while electrodes can be placed deep within the brain. And increasingly, nanotechnology tiny enough to be injected into the bloodstream is the focus of new treatments for diseases like cancer. These ingenious devices are expected to revolutionise medicine in the coming decade – they’re small enough to f low through the body’s tiniest blood vessels, yet are packed with technology smart enough to find and treat the causes of diseases.

THE NANO TOOLKIT HOW DO YOU MAKE A MACHINE THAT’S SMALL AND SMART ENOUGH TO TRAVEL INTO THE BODY AND BLAST A TUMOUR? POLYMERS Polymers are materials that form hollow balls that can then be filled with tiny amounts of other useful chemicals.

GRAPHENE A type of carbon that forms sheets just one atom thick. The material is strong and highly unreactive, so can be used to create a range of tiny objects.

CARBON NANOTUBES Sheets of graphene rolled up into tiny tubes (‘nanotubes’) have been a key component in nanotechnology for years. These tubes could be used on the ends of ‘nanoneedles’, allowing them to inject substances into specific areas of individual cells.

QUANTUM DOTS Quantum dots are tiny spheres that are small enough to pass freely through cells. They have a metal inner core and an outer casing. Some emit light, which can be used signal the presence of disease.

DNA

PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X3, GETTY X4

nanomachines can even puncture a hole in cell membranes, much like how a virus injects its DNA to infect a host cell. By putting these elements together – payload delivery, molecular recognition and pore puncturing – scientists can create vessels capable of travelling to the site of a tumour, for example, and treating it directly.

ON TRIAL Only around a dozen nanomedicines are licensed for use at the moment, but hundreds more are in development or undergoing clinical trials. Imagine, for example, being able to release drugs into your body by shining a torch onto your arm rather than having an injection. Well, researchers at the University of California, San Diego might just have made that a reality. They’ve developed ball-shaped nanoparticles made from a polymer that falls apart when UV light is shone on it. This simple system means the nanoparticles release their medical payload wherever light is shone into the

TOP: A single human cell rests on a bed of nanoneedles ABOVE: Quantum dots can be engineered to emit light at specific wavelengths

DNA’s ability to self-assemble into complex shapes makes it an ideal material for making devices on a tiny scale. Scientists have already created DNA-based shapes that can act like tiny motors or boxes.

PROTEINS Like DNA, proteins are capable of assembling themselves into large, complex, and highly predictable shapes. New shapes and functions can be designed by altering the sequence of subunits from which the proteins are made.

VIRUSES Viruses are nature’s own nanomachines. Barely considered living organisms, they are often made of just a few proteins and strands of DNA. Yet they can still infect host cells to make copies of themselves. Bolting useful medical functions onto existing viruses is a promising area of nanomedicine under development. Vol. 8 Issue 7

43

SCIENCE

body. The researchers foresee a time when diabetics could shine a torch on their skin to top up insulin. Meanwhile, a microscopic, injectable ‘nanoparticle generator’ was recently found to yield ‘astonishing results’ in the treatment of lung and liver cancers in mice. These drug-filled containers can deliver higher doses of drugs to the cancerous cells than medicines dissolved in the blood. Healthy tissue is therefore spared the toxic effects of a high dose. Clinical trials on the first human patients could begin as early as next year. “Nanomedicine is not just about the delivery of drugs through the bloodstream. There are numerous other ways nanotechnology could transform medicine,” said Prof Kostas Kostarelos, chair of nanomedicine at University College London. He is helping to develop ‘nanoneedles’ that could extend surgeons’ tools to unimaginable levels of fineness and precision.

“This could offer surgeons an extension of the syringe or scalpel at the nanoscale, which could deliver therapeutics to individual cells, or even allow them to manipulate individual cellular components,” says Kostarelos. “They would use molecular recognition so that the tip associates with a particular structure.” Scientists also believe nanomedicines will be used to send signals about conditions in the body. For example, nanoparticles known as ‘quantum dots’ have a metal inner core and a protective shell. This structure gives them unique optical properties, allowing the particles to modified so that they can give off fluorescent light in the presence of certain disease, which is then picked up in a scan.

Visualisation of quantum dots attaching to a tumour on the wall of a blood vessel

MATERIAL WORLD Nanomedicines can be roughly classified as ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ depending on the substances used to build them. ‘Hard’ nanomedicines often use materials like graphene, a type of

S I Z E S C A L E ( w i d t h)

Electron microscope

Water molecule

Glucose molecule

0.1nm

44

1nm

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Quantum dots

10nm

DNA nanobot

25nm

Virus

100nm

Bacteria

1,000nm

Near the South Pole, e, the t e United Unniit U ite tteed States Antarctic Program has been bee bbe ee een trialling trria tria ia ialllil nngg drones to map the changing sea ice. icce. The TThhhee UAV UA U AV that that took this picture was paired paire rreed with with th ann autonomous th a tonomo au oom m us sub below the ice. ice e This Thiss allowed aalllow l ed ed a team teeam m to to produce a photo mosaic of an ice field out of 500-1,000 images

YOUR FUTURE DOCTOR

COULD THIS BE HOW NANOPARTICLES KEEP US HEALTHY ALTHY IN 2050? 1. Nanobots that detect signs of common diseases are injected into the blood soon after birth.

PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY X5, ISTOCK X3

2. Signs of cystic fibrosis are detected. A modified virus ‘infects’ cells with gene-editing technology, repairing the genes that cause the disease.

3. On developing diabetes at 30, light-sensitive, insulin-producing quantum dots are injected into the body. To top up insulin levels during the day, a special torch is shone onto the blood vessels on the wrist, where the skin is thin. 4. At 60, a scan reveals weak

fluorescent light being emitted from deep in the lymph nodes. Nanobots are reacting with molecules found in cancer cells to signal the disease’s presence. 5. To combat the cancer, more nanobots are injected into the body. They

accumulate in the tumour, making king the cancerous us tissue glow. Surgeons can an then safely remove the tissue without the risk of damaging healthy ealthy flesh. Other nanobots are then released into the body which send powerful anti-cancer drugs directly into the cancer cells.

carbon that can be made into sheets just one atom thick. These sheets can be used to make tiny atomic-scale shapes such as hollow tubes and spheres, and metals with unusual properties can be embedded within them. But scientists are increasingly focusing efforts on ‘soft’ nanomedicines – particles made from biological materials like proteins, fats and DNA. This research takes its inspiration from the complex molecules made within all cells, many of which perform highly specific jobs and could therefore be considered ‘natural nanomachines’ themselves. “Nanobots made from shiny metal are actually pretty far off still – I’m not sure that route is really going anywhere,” says Prof Hendrik Dietz, head of the Laboratory for Biomolecular Nanotechnology in

“Viruses can arguably be seen as nature’s nanomachines”

6. At age 90, DNA-based nanobots constantly repair the age-related damage to brain cells that can lead to degenerative conditions. Others scan the DNA in each cell to ensure it is functioning just as it used to when the body was younger.

Munich. “We adapt or mimic the methods used to assemble functional molecules in nature. We are looking to do chemistry how our bodies do it, by building enzymes or drug-delivery vehicles that are smarter than current pharmaceutical methods.” DNA, especially, has proven to be the perfect material for scientists looking to build functional objects on a tiny scale. Rather than trying to manufacture components, scientists create a length of DNA with a particular genetic sequence. The way the different subunits of the strand interact with each other causes it to fold itself into highly predictable two- and three-dimensional shapes as it is formed. The longer the lengths of DNA, the more complex the shapes that can be formed. Manipulating DNA in this way is known as ‘DNA origami’ and has been used to create objects such as tiny walking machines, boxes that open and close, and self-destructing drug-delivery vehicles. It may be some time before this

Optical microscope

Unaided eye

Cancer cell

Human hair

40,000 DNA nanobots would fit on this full stop

Tennis ball

Baked bean

.

10,000nm

100,000nm

1,000,000nm

10,000,000nm

100,000,000nm

Vol. 8 Issue 7

45

SCIENCE

46

Vol. 8 Issue 7

The nanobots in this illustration look a little like viruses, which in themselves can be used in nanomedicine

developed gels that self-organise at the nanoscale into structures that can stop bleeding in wounds within seconds. And a team in South Korea has designed a nanobandage – a dressing that contains stretchable, wafer-thin nanotechnology that monitors a patient’s muscle activity or skin condition, then administers medication as needed.

WHAT NEXT? This seemingly unending potential has led some to suggest that nanomedicine could make humans virtually immortal within a few decades. Renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil has stated that within the next century he believes DNAbased ‘nanobots’ will eventually be a routine part of our blood, scanning each cell in our bodies for damage to repair. In the shorter term, researchers like Dietz believe that integrating biology-based nanotechnology and traditional engineering could revolutionise the power and efficiency of technology outside of the body too. “The more transistors you can pack into a space, then the more calculations you can do per second,” he says. “A combination of super-fine, self-assembling DNA

PHOTO: ALAMY

technology is used in the body, but the complexity of DNAbased nanomachines is already impressive. Scientists have even constructed a microscopic alphabet to show their skill in making DNA form any shape. “No other material can compete with DNA in terms of precision and self-assembly,” says Dietz. “It folds into a precise shape based on the sequence of base pairs we have programmed. These self-assembly methods are much finer than what you can do with traditional ‘top-down’ design.” Other researchers use entire viruses as the basis for their nanomachines. While viruses are normally thought of as harmful infectious agents, they can also arguably be seen as nature’s nanomachines – perfectly evolved to travel deep into their hosts and inject a genetic payload into cells to infect them. Biologists are increasingly using non-deadly viruses to ‘infect’ human cells with new genes in order to replace those that cause genetic disease. The viruses can be shielded from the body’s immune system by altering their outer casing, and – like lab-built nanoparticles – this outer surface can be modified to ensure they target specific cells. The number of potential uses of nanotechnology in medicine is dizzying. As well as tiny devices, scientists have

THE DIMINUTIVE DOCTORS

SOME OF THE MOST INTRIGUING NANO DEVICES CURRENTLY BEING RESEARCHED Type

How it works

Target

Made from

Benefits

VIRUS

A virus injects its own genes into its host’s cells

Any living organism or cell

DNA and protein

Viruses are already used as nanomachines to deliver replacement genes into cells, including those of humans

MOLECULAR MOTOR

Chemical reactions make sections of a nanoparticle move, propelling it forward

N/A

Complex chemicals such as amino acids or proteins

They could allow bots to move in a specific direction, or break down fatty deposits and clots

WORM-SHAPED NANOPARTICLE

Can evade the immune system, which means that the body will not eliminate them

Tumours

Synthetic polymers

Can be made into different shapes for different jobs

DNA NANOBOT

When this DNA-based device recognises a target cell, its two halves swing open to release a payload of drugs or other nanoparticles

Cancer

DNA

PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, YONGGANG KE

Computergenerated models of 3D structures that were created from DNA

Self-assembles, non-toxic

nanostructures and existing technology could help us reach another level of efficiency in computing.” For now, the goal is to prove nanotechnologies are safe and effective when used in medicine. As nanomedicines stay in the body for longer than traditional drugs, there is a greater risk that they may have lasting unwanted effects. Those containing certain metals are more likely to be toxic should they accumulate in the body. If the remaining hurdles can be overcome, it heralds a new era in smarter treatments that are tailored to function only in particular areas in the body. These targeted treatments have the potential to make traditional medicines, which act on the entire body, seem crude in comparison. The global nanomedicine market is already estimated at being worth between US$150bn and US$250bn, and will only continue to grow as more treatments are licensed for use. Today’s nanomedicines may not look like the submersible in Innerspace, but they’re arguably far, far smarter. Made from DNA that can build itself and with biological molecules as their navigator, they won’t go wrong or get lost. This tiny technology is coming to a human being near you – and soon. ß

TOM IRELAND IS A FREELANCE SCIENCE WRITER AND ALSO EDITS THE BIOLOGIST MAGAZINE. Vol. 8 Issue 7

47

NATURE

SEAL PATROL

PHOTOS BY NICK UPTON

A PASSIONATE GROUP OF ENTHUSIASTS IS NOT ONLY LOOKING AFTER OUR GREY SEALS’ WELFARE, BUT ALSO GAINING FASCINATING INSIGHTS INTO THEIR IDENTITIES AND SECRET LIVES. AMY-JANE BEER REPORTS FROM CORNWALL

48

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Michelle Clement of British Divers Marine Life Rescue inspects the tail flippers of a sick and injured grey seal pup that was found washed up on the tideline at Widemouth Bay, north Cornwall

Vol. 8 Issue 7

49

NATURE

ABOVE: Grey seals rest on a sandy beach near St Ives, Cornwall BELOW: Sue Sayer holds a 9m section of fishing net that inflicted deep neck wounds on a grey seal pup

50 50

ue Sayer is looking through a digital photo album in her cottage above the Hayle Estuary on Cornwall’s northern coast. It contains several hundred images of grey seals taken the previous day, showing hundreds of individuals – or maybe it’s a few dozen.You know how it is with seals. A head bobs up, disappears, then reappears – or is it a different animal? It’s hard for me to tell, but Sue doesn’t seem to have any trouble. An image flashes up on the computer screen. In the time it takes me to register sunlit water, a sleek head and huge dark eyes, Sue has already clocked several splodges of paler fur on the neck, opened another window in her program th and begun flicking though an archived catalogue keyworded with patterns she sees in the slate-andsil fur. In seconds, she’s found a match. silver This seal is Trolley. Or, to give him h full moniker: ‘Line Four-dots his W Trolley’. Next up is ‘Antlers Wave H Horns W Glass Goggles Flipper Line H Heatlamp Flying Circle’. “I know – it’s ri ridiculous,” Sue smiles. “But it works.” T improbable names are the result of The in individual seals being re-photographed at different times from different angles, en enabling Sue to see new patterns. Opening other files on her computer, S shows me more inkblot splodges – Sue a weeping willow, a key and, incredibly, the word ‘SWIMS’ in dark swoops on the back of a beautiful female that also

S

Voooll. 8 Issue VVol Vol. Issue Is suuee 7 su

carries a huge propeller scar. Sue has been painstakingly recording grey seals around Cornwall like this since 1999, when she spotted a few while rock-climbing.“I started wondering if the animals I saw below me were the same individuals,” she explains.“When I learned that each and every seal has a unique coat pattern, I was hooked.” Sue has now spent countless hours poring over photos, developing a phenomenal ability to recognise individuals.

STARTING SMALL At first Sue began recording the details of seals at a single haul-out site. She started by sketching, then progressed to film and finally digital photography. Having expected to identify about 30 individuals in total – the number she typically saw on the beach on a given day – she was amazed when it took three months (and hundreds of seals) before she finally found a match: a male she calls Chairlift. In 2004 Sue began sharing her data and in doing so established the Cornwall Seal Group, now the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust. In 2008 the project spread to other sites around Cornwall and Devon, with volunteers sending pictures to Sue for identification. Seals were taking over her life. “I had an advanced teaching job I loved. But I realised that other people could do that. I’m not sure anyone else could do this.” So Sue gave up her salary and became a fulltime seal researcher. Realising that the project’s long-term future would rely on other people being able to record seals the same way, Sue began teaching her ID techniques to recorders. Seals are now being monitored independently at 15 sites around

Cornwall by volunteer citizen scientists, many of whom are birdwatchers happy to add variety to their patch-watching. It’s all very impressive – Sue’s personal passion and skill, and the colossal spreadsheets of data. But is it scientific? “I was very concerned about scientific rigour,” Sue says. “Every record is archived – the dates, the pictures, the matches – so anyone can go back and independently check that there’s no mistake.” The identification protocols that Sue has developed with the University of Exeter require five matching coat patterns in the same relative positions, ideally on both sides of the body, with no obvious inconsistencies elsewhere before a match is confirmed by two experienced researchers. The system allows for the fact that seal appearances can change depending on the condition of the fur (wet or dry, moulting or not), age and the appearance of scars. Though the grey seal is the largest mammal breeding in Britain, its ecology is relatively little known. This is a familiar problem for marine biologists, whose subjects spend a large part of their lives hidden from view. Big budgets are needed to deploy GPS tags, SMS transmitters, data-loggers and radio-telemetry to follow seals, whales, sharks and sea turtles. In comparison, using photos, mostly taken from the shore but sometimes from boats, is undeniably low-tech. It’s also low-cost and – most importantly – non-invasive: no seal has to be caught and handled. And because the system that Sue has developed enables seals to be tracked for their entire lives, it reveals more about individuals than any other method and builds knowledge on abundance, habitat use, migration, breeding and survival rates, as well as behaviour such as feeding, vocalisations and personality.

One of the first conclusions of Sue’s work is that Britain’s grey seals don’t live all year in static colonies. “You might see 99 seals on a beach one day, and 99 the next, but very few will be the same individuals. Seals come and go, using locations like motorway service stations.” “One of our volunteers spent two years photographing seals every week without finding a match,” she continues. “Another built up a catalogue of 150 animals before one turned up twice. But the buzz when you finally get a match is amazing.”

SEAL SOCIABILITY

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Sue Sayer of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust identifies a grey seal; grey seal pups gain weight rapidly thanks to their mother’s milk, which contains 60 per cent fat; Sue photographs grey seals on a survey trip

Clearly seals are gregarious – on land they’re seldom seen alone. But given the independence of their movements at sea, are they sociable? Sue is sure that they recognise one another: “They greet by sniffing each other’s faces and ears. The reactions vary from what looks like affection through tolerance to recoil, suggesting they can recognise other individuals and recall past encounters.” Another uncertainty about grey seals is just how many there are, though we know that Britain is home to over a third of the world population, and that there are probably two or three times more grey seals in British waters than common ones. Data from the Sea Mammal Research Unit based at the University of St Andrews also

Though the grey seal is the largest mammal breeding in Britain, its ecology is relatively little known Vol. 8 Issue 7

51

NATURE

IF YOU FIND A SEAL • Email sightings and photos of seals in south-west England to [email protected] • If you’re worried about a seal, call British Divers Marine Life Rescue on 01825 765546.

The Cornwall Seal • Don’t get too close to wild Group Research Trust’s seals. This especially applies to database now contains hauled-out seals, and mothers more than 16,000 with pups. sightings, including records of thousands of individually identified seals. Among them are undoubtedly many animals that have since died, and a good number of duplicates – seals are often identified several times from different camera angles before Sue links their patterns up.

MONITORING SEAL MOVEMENT

TOP: Feeding time at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary ABOVE: Michelle Clement and Simon Dolphin of British Divers Marine Life Rescue rehydrate a grey seal pup at Crackington Haven, north Cornwall

shows that grey seal numbers have increased since records began but stabilised over recent years. Population estimates are based on counts of pups, yet with very little data on survival rates, the potential for error is significant. “Pup mortality can be very high,” says Sue. “On the east coast, 247 pups were washed off a beach in one night during a storm surge.” Life is tough for the adults too, which are at risk from seal pox; infections such as septicaemia and peritonitis; disturbance at haul-outs; entanglement in lost fishing gear; and chemical pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), levels of which are monitored closely in whales and dolphins but not in the UK’s grey seals. Sue is of the firm opinion that there are far fewer seals nowadays. “Of course there are. Historic accounts tell us that fishermen once had to wade through seals to reach their boats in Mousehole Harbour near Penzance.”

The Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust’s database contains more than 16,000 sightings 52

Vol. 8 Issue 7

These records make it clear that these are not simply Cornish seals. Collaboration with organisations such as the RSPB, the National Trust and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales has shown that grey seals repeatedly commute between south-west Wales and south-west England, and Sue recently snapped a seal she knew from Cornwall across the channel in Brittany. Satellite and flipper tags also show that seals move to Ireland. The data has other surprises. The received wisdom is that female grey seals return to pup on the beach where they were born, but Sue finds this isn’t always the case. Of the 44 known seals recorded commuting between southwest England and Skomer in Pembrokeshire, two mums have pupped in both places. And, contrary to expectations that males disperse to avoid inbreeding, Sue’s data seems to suggest that at some bigger sites males stick around a little longer than females. She’s keen to find out why. Sue is also a volunteer for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, often working with area co-ordinator Dave Jarvis, who lives nearby. A freelance quantity surveyor, Dave says that his regular clients are used to him disappearing for his ‘other job’. He’s on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and in pupping season the messages can come thick and fast. Grey seals usually pup in autumn – in Cornwall, any time from September to December. The females suckle their white-coated pups on milk almost rich enough for a

5 RELEASE

Rehabilitated seals are released on quiet beaches. Pups that have reached a healthy weight and learned to fend for themselves are often released in groups. Each one will wear a sanctuary flipper tag and be added to the grey seal database, so that it will be recognised if it is seen again.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: HOW TO REHABILITATE A SEAL FIRST 1RESPONSE

In autumn and winter most calls to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue seal hotline concern weak or injured pups, but the team also help sick, injured or net-entangled adults. The public should keep their distance and avoid eye contact with the seal – and keep dogs under control.

2

ASSESSMENT

A medic assesses the health of the seal, taking their temperature and blood samples where necessary. They can carry out some emergency treatments on site, including rehydration, cleaning any wounds and administering antibiotics. In the worst cases, seals are euthanised on the spot.

3 RESCUE

Pups requiring further treatment are bagged and carried off the beach, then transferred to a crate for transport to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. Sick and injured animals receive individualised treatment in private hospital cubicles. Underweight pups are fed up, socialised and taught how to hunt.

4

REHAB

Most of the animals brought to the sanctuary will be fully rehabilitated. However, those that cannot be released may become long-term residents. These seals will be trained to perform tricks such as rolling over, which enables sanctuary staff to carry out routine health checks. Vol. 8 Issue 7

53

NATURE

SEAL STORIES The mini-biographies of these grey seals have been taken from the ever-expanding database of the Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust.

WAVES GHOST has visited the same Cornish beach for three weeks every year for 13 consecutive years to give birth; 11 of her 13 pups have survived. But so far Ghost has never been spotted anywhere else. One day Sue Sayer hopes to discover dissco where she goes.

has had four pups (the third is shown here) at three sites along a 75km stretch of north Cornish coast, and has been seen moulting on the south Cornish coast. This tells us that not all seal mums are faithful to the same site – in fact some move around a lot.

ROCKET has been identified 73 times, making four return journeys between three monitoring sites. His movements show that males return to their natal beaches.

GULL appeared in a set of photos sent by a new volunteer in south Devon, extending the known range of the Celtic Sea population and demonstrating how even a single photo can improve our understanding of the jigsaw of seal-habitat use.

BEAST SPADE

GHOST, WAVE AND ROCKET BY SUE SAYER; GULL BY ROB WELLS; SPADE BY SUE SAYER AND DAVE BOYLE

made the return trip from south Cornwall to Skomer island, off Pembrokeshire, for two years running. She was sadly found dead on 8 April 2015.

cream tea. The youngsters pile on about 10kg a week and gain strength rapidly – but then they have to, because when they are just three weeks old their mums leave them to fend for themselves. As novice swimmers inexperienced at finding their own food, newly independent pups lose a lot of weight before working out how to feed themselves. Some pups face even greater odds. Female grey seals are sensitive to disturbance, and may abandon their pups early rather than risk staying on a beach visited by humans and especially dogs. Extreme weather events can also separate mums and pups. A lone white-coat pup weighing less than 20kg is doomed – unless it is taken to a rescue centre. Those collected around the Cornish coast by Sue, Dave and other volunteers end up at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula, where they receive specialist rehabilitation. It’s not only pups that have trouble. Seals of all ages have accidents, and the sanctuary routinely treats broken flippers caused by boat strikes. Entanglement in fishing gear is a growing problem, too – some animals swim for months towing nets or ropes. “Even a small piece of looped net removed from a beach could save a life,” says Sue. “Please pick it up!” When at sea entangled seals can’t be helped, whereas those on beaches can be caught and freed, or taken in for 54

Vol. 8 Issue 7

was rescued from a fishing net when four months old. He was released from the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in March 2015 after his wound healed, and has been identified 15 times at two locations.

Most of the seals that are rehabilitated at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary return to the wild

rehab. But this is only possible with young individuals – a frightened two-yearold seal can easily drag two men off their feet, while restraining an adult might require six to eight rescuers. Luckily most of the seals that are rehabilitated at Gweek return to the wild, and there’s every chance that they will be seen again and recognised. Every year Cornwall’s sealspotters receive sightings of ex-rescue animals from locations that are as widespread as Devon, Wales, France and Holland. It all goes to show just how mobile grey seals can be – and that the rehabilitation work is well worth the effort. As Sue says, “It’s often freezing cold and wet, but knowing that our efforts in research, rescue and rehab are making a difference is ample reward.” ß

ALI WOOD IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST: WWW.ALI-WOOD.COM. SHE TRAVELLED TO ASSAM WITH INDIA TOURISM AND ASSAM TOURISM.

HISTORY

Spectre at the feast An allegory depicting Elizabeth I in her later years, with the figure of death looking over her shoulder – just as, in a very real sense, the threat of starvation loomed over her subjects after a series of terrible harvests

Scan this QR Code for the audio reader 56

Vol. 8 Issue 7

THE DARK SIDE OF ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND THE ELIZABETHAN ERA IS OFTEN PAINTED AS A GOLDEN AGE. YET, SAYS JAMES SHARPE, FOR THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIFE DEN, BLIGHTED BY VIO WAS ANYTHING BUT GOLDEN, VIOLENCE, GRANCY A VAGRANCY AND CRUSHING HUNGER

A woodcut shows an idyllic harvesting scene from the 1600s. In the previous century, the ‘Merrie England’ of Elizabeth I was marred by disastrous crop failures

nterest in Elizabeth I and her reign (1558–1603) seems limitless, and invariably suffused with admiration – an attitude epitomised in The Times of 24 March 2003, on the quatercentenary of the queen’s death: “Tolerance found a patron and religion its balance, seas were navigated and an empire embarked upon and a small nation defended itself against larger enemies and

BRIDGEMAN

I

found a voice and a purpose… Something in her reign taught us what our country is, and why it matters. And as her reign came to craft a sense of national identity that had not been found before, so she came to embody our best selves: courageous, independent, eccentric, amusing, capricious and reasonable, when reason was all. The greatest prince this country has produced was a prince in skirts.”

In an ICM poll for Microsoft Encarta at the same time, 55 per cent of respondents thought Elizabeth had introduced new foods, notably curry, into Britain, while one in 10 credited her with bringing corgis to our shores. More soberly, in 2002 Elizabeth was one of just two women (the other, Princess Diana) in BBC Two’s list of ‘10 Greatest Britons’. Books, films, newspaper articles and Vol. 8 Issue 7

57

plays have all played their part in polishing the Virgin Queen’s reputation. There have been many biographies (around one a year from 1927 to 1957); countless novels; and Edward German’s 1902 operetta Merrie England, whose very title tells us what Elizabethan England was apparently like. More recently the Michael Hirst/Shekhar Kapur Elizabeth movies concluded that, under Elizabeth, England became the most prosperous and powerful nation in Europe.

SOCIAL BREAKDOWN However, not everyone who actually lived through the Elizabethan era was quite so convinced that they were in a golden age. Take Edward Hext, an experienced Somerset justice of the peace, who on 25 September 1596 wrote to Lord Burghley predicting imminent social breakdown in the county. Hext reported that thefts were prevalent, most of them carried out by criminal vagrants who would rather steal than work. He also complained that there had been food riots, with rioters declaring 58

Vol. 8 Issue 7

that “they must not starve, they will not starve”. Class hatred was manifest, he wrote, with the poor saying that “the rich men have gotten all into their hands and will starve the poor”. Hext was not, it seems, a lone doom merchant. On 28 September 1596 we find William Lambarde, another veteran justice of the peace, telling the Kent quarter sessions at Maidstone that those in authority needed to act swiftly – or the countryside would erupt. This wasn’t merely a case of two old men romanticising about the ‘good old days’. Hext and Lambarde knew they were on the edge of a major social crisis. The harvests of 1594 and 1595 were bad enough, but 1596 was disastrous, sending grain prices rocketing to their highest levels of the 16th century, with grim consequences for thousands. This crisis has rarely featured in popular accounts of Elizabeth’s reign. Yet it not only provides an alternative perspective on what life was like for ordinary men and

women in the 16th century, far from the glittering court of the Virgin Queen, but also deepens our understanding of how the regime functioned. At the heart of the problems confronting Elizabethan England was the challenge of feeding its soaring population. In 1500 there was around 2.5 million people in England. By 1650, that number had soared to more than 5 million– the economy simply couldn’t keep up. This manifested itself particularly in two ways. Firstly, the price of grain rose disproportionately: while the population of England more or less doubled between 1500 and 1650, the cost of grain – wheat, rye, barley, oats – increased six-fold. This had grave implications, since a large (and increasing) proportion of the population depended on buying bread, or bread-grain, in the market. Secondly, real wages – the purchasing power of a day’s pay – failed to keep up with prices. Whereas the price of grain rose by a factor of six, real wages did little more than double. And, of course, given the glut

BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY

HISTORY

“300 Londoners, marching north to embark for war service in Ireland, mutinied at Towcester, elected a leader, and took the town over”

of labourers, the chances of finding work, even at reduced levels of pay, diminished. Few people were wage earners in the modern sense, but most of the poor were dependent on waged work for a proportion of their income. The declining buying power of real wages pushed many into acute misery. As a result, the Elizabethan period witnessed the emergence of poverty on a new scale. By the 1590s, the lot of the poor and the labouring classes was bad enough at the best of times. What made it worse was harvest failure, for the steady upward progress of grain prices was punctuated by years of dearth, of which those of 1594–97 were remarkable for the misery they engendered. Yet for a prosperous yeoman farmer with a surplus of grain to sell, bad harvests could be a blessing: you had enough grain to feed your family, and enjoyed enhanced profits from the grain you took to market. If, however, you were a middling peasant, normally termed a ‘husbandman’, your position would be badly squeezed by harvest failure. Families

in this stratum desperately tried to maintain their status until their inability to meet mounting debts or some personal disaster sent them down to the labouring poor. As a result, by 1600, many villages in the south and Midlands were becoming polarised between a rich, and locally powerful, class of yeoman farmers and a mass of poor people. The impact of failed harvests on local society is illustrated vividly by the parish registers for Kendal in Westmorland. These record that, following the disastrous harvest of 1596, just under 50 parishioners were buried in December that year – compared with a monthly average of just 20 in 1595. The death toll remained high throughout 1597, peaking at 70 in a particularly grim March. London also suffered badly. Here, an average year would see burials running at a slightly higher level than baptisms (with the early modern capital’s formidable population increase being largely fuelled by immigration). Yet there was, it seems, nothing average about 1597: in that year, around twice as many Londoners were buried as baptised – and the seasonal pattern of the burials indicates that famine was the cause. No segment of England’s population was more terrifyingly vulnerable to high grain prices than prisoners awaiting trial in its county jails. The basic provision for feeding them was bread paid for by a county rate, a rate that did not increase in line with grain prices. The results were predictably catastrophic. We know of 12 coroners’ inquests on prisoners who died in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex county jails in 1595 – and 33 in 1596. In 1597,

that rocketed to 117. Some of these deaths resulted from starvation and many famineinduced maladies: the Elizabethan jail was an extremely efficient incubator of disease.

THE BURDEN OF WARFARE The social dislocation caused by the bad harvests of the 1590s was exacerbated by warfare. England was continually at war between 1585 and Elizabeth’s death in 1603 – in the Netherlands in support of the Dutch Revolt; in Normandy and Brittany in support of French Protestants in that country’s wars of religion; on the high seas against the Spanish; and, most draining of all, in Ireland. Conflict was costly (the government spent US$9m on war between 1585 and 1603 – much of it funded by taxpayers), it was not particularly successful, and involved the raising of large numbers of soldiers. Kent, a strategically important county, contributed 6,000 troops from a population of 130,000 between 1591 and 1602. Some towns where troops were concentrated saw serious unrest. Soldiers at Chester, the prime embarkation port for Ireland, mutinied in 1594, 1596 and 1600. The first of these episodes, in which the 1,500 soldiers billeted in and around the city “daily fought and quarrelled”, was only suppressed when the mayor of Chester declared martial law, set up a gibbet and hanged three men identified as ringleaders. In 1598, 300 Londoners marching north to embark for war service in Ireland, mutinied at Towcester, elected a leader, and took the town over. Soldiers were normally recruited from the rougher elements of society, and the experience of soldiering in late 16th century conditions did little to soften them. As a result, soldiers returning from wars tended to join the ranks of vagrant criminals. The crisis elicited a variety of reactions from those disadvantaged by it. One was to complain, which led to prosecutions for seditious words. In March 1598, Henry Danyell of Ash in Kent declared that “he hoped to see such war in this realm as to afflict the rich men of this country to requite their hardness of heart towards the poor”, and that “the Spanish were better than the people of this land and therefore he had rather they were here than the rich men of the country”. His were isolated sentiments, perhaps, but it is interesting that some inhabitants of ‘Merrie England’ were advocating class warfare and support for the nation’s enemies. Vol. 8 Issue 7

59

HISTORY

RESORTING TO CRIME

60

Vol. 8 Issue 7

The poor become poorer A beggar is whipped in the streets, 1567, in a period when hard times caused by poor harvests and the burden of warfare helped create more vagrants

“People might steal, they might participate in local grain riots but the chances of getting a large-scale popular revolt off the ground were seriously limited” by the increasing social polarisation that accompanied Elizabeth’s reign. In 1549, the Midlands and southern England were rocked by a large-scale popular revolt led by wealthy farmers and other notables – the natural leaders of village society. Over the following half a century, with the divide between rich and poor steadily growing, these same village leaders – the group from which parish constables, churchwardens and poor law officials were drawn – began to regard controlling the poor as a major part of parish government. They increasingly saw themselves as stakeholders in, rather than sworn opponents of, the Elizabethan regime.

But although they contained the crisis of the 1590s, government officials at all levels must have been painfully aware of the strain it imposed. When parliament met in October 1597 many of the county members would have had experience of interrogating thieves, placating rioters and fixing grain prices in their local markets, while many borough MPs would have been very aware of the pressure put on their towns’ poor relief systems. And it was that pressure that produced the crisis’s one major, concrete legacy – the near-comprehensive Poor Law Act of 1598, rounded off by further legislation in 1601. It may be more prosaic perhaps than Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world or the defeat of the Armada, but this piece of legislation has to rank among the defining achievements of Elizabeth’s reign. The two acts provided for a nationally legislated yet locally administered poor relief system that was in advance of anything then existing in a state of England’s size. They were arguably the much-feted Elizabethan Age’s most important legacy to later generations, and were inspired by the horrors of those harvest failures from 1594 to 1597. Perhaps the poor – who during those years resorted to theft, were reduced to vagrancy, rioted or were indicted for seditious words – had achieved something after all. ß

JAMES SHARPE IS PROFESSOR OF EARLY MODERN HISTORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK. HE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON A NEW HISTORY OF VIOLENCE IN ENGLAND

BRIDGEMAN

Theft was another remedy. Crime records from Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex suggest that there was a massive rise in property offences (larceny, burglary, house-breaking and robbery) – from an average of around 250 a year in the early 1590s to about 430 in 1598. Hard times were clearly encouraging the poor to steal, even though most of the offences were capital. Indeed, records suggest that just over 100 people were executed for property crimes in these five counties in 1598. Another reaction to high grain prices was a rash of grain riots across southern England. The ‘riot’, at least in its early stages, had much of the character of a demonstration, and the objectives were limited to controlling prices in the local market or preventing the export of grain from their area – there is little evidence of grain rioters envisaging what would today be called social revolution. The one incident where we know such an outcome was envisaged was a complete failure. This was the Oxfordshire Rising of 1596 when, following unsuccessful petitioning by the poor of the county authorities, five men began to formulate plans to lead a revolt. When the ringleaders met on Enslow Hill in the north of the county to spearhead their revolution, they found that nobody had turned out to join them. And so the men made their way home, only to be arrested. Following their interrogation and torture, two were hanged, drawn and quartered on the very hill on which their projected rising was supposed to begin, and the three others disappear from the historical record, presumably having died in prison. This crisis of the 1590s illuminates serious tensions in Elizabethan society far removed from the stereotypes of Gloriana’s triumphant reign. But it also, perhaps surprisingly, demonstrates the regime’s durability. People might complain, they might steal, they might participate in local grain riots. But, as the Oxfordshire Rising demonstrates, the chances of getting a large-scale popular revolt off the ground were seriously limited. But why? The answer comes in two parts. First of all, over the Tudor period, England’s county and town administrations established much closer links with central authority in the shape of the Privy Council (the body of advisors to the queen). They were learning the importance of working together to ensure the smooth running of government. The second half of the answer is provided

SCIENCE

OUR FUTURE ON MERCURY

RICH IN RESOURCES AND FUEL, THIS PLANET COULD BECOME OUR TICKET OUT OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM WORDS: STEPHEN BAXTER ILLUSTRATOR: MAGIC TORCH

On 9 May 2016, Mercury will pass between the Sun and Earth – the first transit in 10 years. And in 2017, the Japanese and European space agencies will be launching BepiColombo – the third ever space probe to visit Mercury. Space visionaries contemplate Mercury with an eye on the future

because the resource-rich world is close to the Sun and all of its energy. We asked Stephen Baxter, renowned science-fiction writer and member of the British Interplanetary Society, to envision how Mercury could be the stepping stone to exploring the Solar System and beyond.

Scan this QR Code for the audio reader

Vol. 8 Issue 7

61

SCIENCE

STAG E 1

Mercury, the innermost planet in our Solar System, was once an enigma. For years, its proximity to the Sun made it difficult for astronomers to observe – but the space age changed all that. NASA’s Messenger, the second space probe to Mercury and the first orbiter, was launched in 2004 and orbited the planet from 2011 to 2015. The data it returned gave us real knowledge about Mercury for the first time.

PECULIAR PLANET Mercury takes 88 Earth days to orbit the Sun, and rotates once on its axis every 59 Earth days. It was not until the 1960s that even these basic facts were established. But standing in any one place on Mercury, you don’t see the Sun rise every 59 Earth days because of that short year. Mercury is so close to the Sun that tidal forces have locked in its rotation periods: three Mercury ‘days’ are the same as two Mercury ‘years’. The net effect is that at any point on Mercury’s surface you will only see a sunrise every 176 Earth days. If you were to stand on Mercury, superficially it might seem like the Moon: a small, airless world with a rocky surface distorted by huge, ancient craters. But the details vary, because of the planet’s different location and composition. On Mercury, there are peculiar linear 62

Vol. 8 Issue 7

features called rupes (Latin for ‘cliffs’) that resemble wrinkles on a shrivelled apple – and it’s thought that is pretty much how the rupes formed, with the planet shrinking by a kilometre or so as it cooled. And Mercury’s gravity might surprise you. Though the planet is only a little larger than the Moon, its gravity is about twice as high. Mercury was once a more massive world with, like Earth, an iron core and a rocky mantle. An immense collision with another young world may have stripped off much of that mantle, leaving the planet with an outsize core and a higher density to match. If you could stand on Mercury, the Sun would look twice the size in the sky as it does from Earth – and there would be barely a scrap of atmosphere to shelter you, or to retain the heat in the night. At ‘noon’ the ground is hot enough for lead to melt; at ‘midnight’ the temperature plummets to nearly -200°C. Even the Messenger craft had to be designed to take these challenges into account. “The front side of the sunshade routinely experienced temperatures in excess of 300°C,” explains Helene Winters, mission project manager. “Whereas the majority of components in its shadow routinely operated near room temperature”.

You might think it will forever be impossible to live on Mercury. But nature, uncharacteristically, may have given future explorers a break. The planet has no axial tilt, so there are no seasons. This means that at the planet’s poles, there may be craters where the Sun never shines. And there lies a miracle, discovered by Messenger: water ice, delivered by

the impacts of comets and frozen in the permanent shadows – life support for future colonists. But aside from science exploration and perhaps some pretty extreme tourism, why would we ever want to go to Mercury? In fact, Mercury could be one of the Solar System’s most strategically valuable locations…

An artist’s impression of our arrival at Mercury. In reality, the chosen location would be in constant darkness

Vol. 8 Issue 7

63

SCIENCE

EARTH DISTANCE FROM SUN 152,100,000km 0km (att furthest point) MASS 5.97 x 1024kg 4kg RADIUS 6,378km DENSITY 5,514kg/m33 GRAVITY 9.8m/s2 YEAR 365.25 Earth th days DAY 24 hours DAY-NIGHTT CYCLE 1 Earth day DAY TEMPERATURE ERATURE 57°C (max) NIGHT TEMPERATURE MPERATURE -89°C (min) SOLAR POWER WER received PER M2 1,361 Wattss 64

Vol. 8 Issue 7

MERCURY DISTANCE FROM SUN 69,816,900km m (at furthest fuu r point) MASS 0.33 0.3 3 x 1024kg RADIUS 2,440km DENSITY 55,427kg/m3 GRAVITY 3.7m/s2 YEAR 888 Earth days DAY 599 Earth days DAY-NIGHT CYCLE DAY-NIG 176 17 7 6 Earth days DAY TEMPERATURE TEM 4427°C (max) NIGHT TEMPERATURE TEM --173°C (min) SOLAR power receiv received per M2 99,083 Watts

STAG E 2

It might seem odd, but Mercury may be a good site to mine. If we move off the Earth, a growing interplanetary civilisation is going to need resources, in terms of materials and energy – and Mercury has energy aplenty in the form of that concentrated sunlight. To capture as much energy as a square metre of solar-energy cells on Mercury would require six square metres on the Earth – and 60 square metres at Ceres, a dwarf planet that’s often touted as a good candidate for resource extraction.

RICH RESOURCES As for the resources, there is strong concern about the impact of mining on Earth, in terms of environmental cost; plus, resources extracted from Earth would be expensive to lift into space. So it would be far better to mine out there. That prospect may be coming closer, with the emergence of the Alliance for Space Development, led by the US’s National Space Society, to press for legislation and initiatives to allow

development of space resources. But where to mine? A first obvious choice is the Moon. While the Moon is deficient in volatiles like water, its surface is full of useful components such as oxygen, calcium, magnesium, potassium, even heavy metals like titanium and aluminium. Mercury’s mantle has pretty much the same composition, and so techniques developed on the Moon could easily be transferred there. In addition, the huge amount of solar energy received by Mercury could be used to drive the mining operations themselves, and for firing packets of resources to sites across the Solar System – perhaps using ‘mass drivers’. These electromagnetic slingshots were first suggested by Arthur C Clarke. It might be more acceptable to mine remote Mercury than to scar Earth’s Moon, plus Mercury’s huge core – mostly iron, but rich in other metals – is only 600km down in some places, whereas the Moon’s smaller core may be up to 1,400km down. There are still more imaginative schemes. All that sunlight could be

used as a free propulsion system. Imagine a solar sail, strong but thin, perhaps built out of Mercury’s aluminium. When sunlight hits a reflecting surface, it exerts a pressure – as if the particles of light are rebounding from the surface and pushing it away. The effect is small, but it’s useful, continuous and free. At the distance of Earth, a sail measuring 800m across would receive a lightpressure of about five newtons, which is similar to the thrust of the low-drive ion-propulsion engines used on NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. And the closer you get to the Sun, the greater the thrust – at Mercury you would get the same thrust with a sail measuring less than half that diameter. If you wished to ride a solar sail to Neptune, the most distant planet, it would be better to pay a visit to Mercury first to pick up the greater acceleration, and then sail outwards. Mercury may some day become the shipyard and principal port of the Solar System. And looking even further into the future, there are still bolder suggestions. Vol. 8 Issue 7

65

SCIENCE

STAG E 3

In his 1984 novel The Flight Of The Dragonf ly, physicist and sciencefiction writer Robert Forward suggested a solar-sail starship, to be built at and launched from Mercury: “a Solar-System-wide machine that would toss [the crew] to the stars on a beam of light”. At the core of Forward’s propulsion system is a set of 1,000 laser stations, each 30km wide, in orbit around Mercury. These together capture solar energy into laser beams with a combined total power of 1300TW, equivalent to about 1 per cent of all the sunlight intercepted by Earth, and blasted at a sail a thousand kilometres across. But Mercury’s future may hold greater miracles yet. Could we turn it into a second Earth? Terraforming, the art of turning an uninhabitable world into a habitable copy of Earth, is usually considered in the context of Mars. Mars has a similar orbit to Earth’s, a similar length of day, and at least some of the necessities for life in water and carbon. But Mercury does have some natural advantages, even over Mars. That relatively strong gravity would enable it to hold on to at least some of an imported atmosphere. And Mercury has a comparatively strong magnetic field – less than Earth’s, but stronger than that of Mars or Venus, perhaps a product of its huge iron core. Just as on Earth, such a field would help def lect harmful solar radiation from the planet’s surface. Otherwise, though, the challenge of turning Mercury’s liquid-lead, hard-vacuum surface into a shirtsleeve environment seems 66

Vol. 8 Issue 7

enormous. To emulate a sunny day on Earth, the incident sunlight would have to be reduced by some 84 per cent. Perhaps this could be achieved with a huge def lecting mirror – a sunscreen the size of Mercury itself. Mercury lacks water and other volatiles; even the polar deposits would be a minor scrape in this context. The dismantling of a small moon of Saturn, perhaps 300km across, could supply this need. Even then, imported terrestrial life would suffer from Mercury’s enormously long day-night cycle. Perhaps this could be jury-rigged using orbiting shields and mirrors.

IN A SPIN A more permanent but trickier solution might be to spin up the planet, so that it rotates more quickly. And in the same spirit, the sunlight issue could be solved simply by dragging the planet further from the Sun. Such schemes have been considered in sci-fi literature, by shooting massive objects – the fragments of moons perhaps – past the planet to use their gravitational fields to spin or drag it. A much more advanced culture than ours may have better ideas in the future. Mercury, a Moon-like world spinning close to the Sun, seems a dismal candidate for terraforming. But such is Mercury’s potential wealth in minerals and energy, and such is the pivotal role it may one day play in the development of an interplanetary, or even interstellar civilisation, that perhaps such a project will be considered by a future society inconceivably richer and more powerful than our own. ß

Vol. 8 Issue 7

67

NATURE

INDIA’S LAST APES

Scan this QR Code for the audio reader

ASSAM IS BEST KNOWN FOR TEA, BUT ITS SUBTROPICAL FORESTS ALSO OFFER REFUGE TO RARE HOOLOCK GIBBONS. ALI WOOD MEETS THE LOCAL PEOPLE DEVOTED TO CARING FOR INDIA’S ONLY WILD APES

68

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Vol. 8 Issue 7

69

DR AXEL GEBAUER/NATUREPL.COM (CAPTIVE)

Though they are of similar size (about 5.5kg), male and female western hoolock gibbons have very different coloration – males such as this have black fur and a distinctive white brow

NATURE

OUR GIBBONS “You first hear a baby hoolock gibbon sing with its family when it is four or five years old. When it is seven years old it sets off on its own to find a mate, and will live up to 40 years. If their mate dies, they don’t mingle again. Hoolock gibbons only have one partner in life, and usually no more than two or three young. That’s why I like them. They are like us.” DEVON BURON FOREST GUARD, HOLLONGAPAR GIBBON SANCTUARY

70

Vol. 8 Issue 7

W

lips and beckons us in the direction of the calls. Five minutes later we spot them – a black male and tan female. They perch a couple of metres apart, their characteristic long forearms holding onto the branches above, while their baby crouches below munching leaves. India has two species of gibbon, but Hollongapar is home to just the western hoolock (Hoolock hoolock). The eastern hoolock gibbon H. leuconedys, which varies slightly in colour and has a narrower gap between its bushy brows, is found close to the Tibetan border in Arunachal Pradesh.

CALL OF THE WILD The duet we’re hearing is territorial, Borah explains, but hoolock gibbons also have specific calls for mating, food and danger. If one family calls another will sometimes reply. The morning song – which in Hollongapar occurs every two to four days – can last up to half an hour, and identifies the singer’s species, sex and identity. Today the song bout climaxes after 15 minutes, and the family disappears. Gibbons get around using a lanky yet powerful alternate-arm-swinging technique called brachiation, which propels them at up to 55km/h, as they hurl themselves across gaps in the forest canopy as wide as 6m. Knowing that we’re unlikely to catch up with the superathletic gibbon family, we make our way back to the track. Deben points out an all-male group of capped langurs above us. Unlike gibbons, which are monogamous and live in small family groups based around a breeding pair, these monkeys form social groups of up to 15 individuals. Hollongapar offers a refuge to seven of India’s 11 primate species, and is one of the last strongholds of the rare stumptailed macaque, considered Vulnerable by the IUCN. Though the sanctuary has the highest primate biomass in India, the abundance of food means there is little competition. The gibbons are frugivorous and frequent the treetops, whereas Hollongapar’s other primates live in the middle and lower canopies. Living at the top of the canopy is not without problems, however. Gibbons are threatened

MAIN: A western hoolock gibbon carries her onemonth-old baby RIGHT: Tea plantations (top) have replaced the species’ crucial forest habitat – in contrast Hollongapar (bottom) offers tall trees with a suitable canopy

Vol. 8 Issue 7

71

HOOLOCK: BERNARD CASTELEIN/NATUREPL.COM; TEA: ALI WOOD; HOLLONGAPAR: NHPA/PHOTOSHOT

hen Kumud Ghosh wakes in his village amid the tea plantations of Assam he’s greeted by a spine-tingling sound somewhere between the hoot of an owl and the howl of a wolf. As Ghosh leaves his home a second, lower-pitched voice joins in, and by the time he’s walked the 2km stretch to Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, the duet has reached a magnificent crescendo. “When I hear the western hoolock gibbons sing, freshness comes to my body,” explains Ghosh, who has studied the species for 15 years. “For me, it is like listening to classical music.” Ghosh is one of the rangers at this 21km2 forest reserve in north-east India. Upgraded to a wildlife sanctuary in 1997, Hollongapar is home to hoolock gibbons, the only wild apes in the country. However, unlike Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, which is famed for its one-horned (Indian) rhinos, the reserve receives few visitors. As we step through the thick shrubs of the subtropical deciduous forest, my pulse quickens when I hear what sounds like a fire alarm. The noise is high-pitched and intermittent, accompanied by what could pass for the whoops greeting a best man’s speech at a wedding. Forest guard Deben Borah smiles, puts his finger to his

NATURE

Conservationists are working hard to protect the gibbons that live in Barekuri, such as this male. The local population stood at 21 individuals at the end of last year

OUR GIBBONS “The gibbons talk to other family groups. Occasionally they cross into each other’s territories, but just for a minute. I believe they sing in glee. Morning breakfast is like their prayers. When they are scared, it is different – a rough sound. And when they are enjoying themselves they sing freely, the male and the female. They go to and fro in the branches. They dance.” DAMBARU CHUTIA HEAD OF WECO, BAREKURI 72

Vol. 8 Issue 67

by habitat fragmentation because they cannot move easily between isolated patches of forest. Western hoolock gibbons are restricted to north-east India, China, Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh, and their total population has shrunk from 100,000 to fewer than 5,000 over the past 40 years. But at Hollongapar they have increased from 63 to 130 in the past decade.Yet even here habitat fragmentation has an impact. Running east to west through the middle of the forest is an old railway line, laid by the British, which cuts off three of the area’s 26 gibbon families. Though pig-tailed macaques and langurs happily cross the tracks, the gibbons keep to the canopy, away from predators such as pythons and leopards. Borah thinks that there could be a solution, which he hopes will see the gibbon gene pools mix after a century apart. He takes me on a walk along the old railway line, past two rhesus monkeys playing on the tracks. We also see bamboo trampled by Asiatic elephants – sadly five members of the forest’s 50-strong elephant population have been killed by trains in recent years. We come to a stop at a 15m-high iron ‘bridge’ built by the North-East Frontier Railway. It’s positioned in the spot

HOOLOCK X3: DHRITIMAN MUKHERJEE; BRIDGE: ALI WOOD

TRANSLOCATION: CAN WILD GIBBONS BE MOVED TO SAFER AREAS? REAS? Conservationists are cautiouss about the possibility of translocating g isolated groups of gibbons to repopulate ulate protected areas. Tarali Goswami, wami, a tour guide and World Wildlife Fund nd volunteer, says: “The hoolock gibbon iss intelligent, with a complex social life – itss mating and child-rearing behaviour is similar milar to ours. So you can’t just translocate this species as we have the rhinos of Assam. sam. Rhinos are primitive and easy to catch, ch, but hoolocks are top-canopy dwellers and d move quickly.” Samuel Turvey, senior researcher rcher at the Zoological Institute of London, also points nts out that so far such attempts have been few and far between. “Partly this is because there’s a preference e for ‘hands-off’ conservation management. But forests across ross Asia are becoming increasingly fragmented, so this sort of approach is likely to become more widely used in n future.”

ABOVE LEFT: This bridge at Hollongapar has been built to enable gibbons to cross railway tracks, uniting fragmented populations ABOVE RIGHT: Females are a golden/coppery brown, making the sexes easy to distinguish even when crossing the treetops at speed

where gibbon families call to each other across the tracks, and the structure – which will soon be covered in vines – is designed to allow them to cross. Dilip Chetry, the sanctuary’s director, says that the gibbons are already investigating the bridge, and he hopes they will go on to breed. But he cautions that the southern population may have developed serious genetic problems. It’s a familiar situation – small populations lose genetic diversity

HEADQUARTERS OF HOPE Back at Hollongapar HQ – a modest room next to the derelict railway station – Ghosh outlines the centre’s other initiatives to conserve western hoolock gibbons. It is carrying out job swaps with foresters from neighbouring states, and offering work placements to students. But the threats are many. As well as facing deforestation, hoolock gibbons are killed for food and their blood, which is believed to give strength to the foetus of a pregnant woman. Wildlife crime is taken very seriously in India, and hoolock gibbons are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). But Ghosh doesn’t believe that the ‘shoot to kill’ policy his country uses on rhino poachers will work here.“This forest is an island,” he says.“We are surrounded by villagers, and they play a vital role in conservation.Yes, by means of the gun you can protect the forest, but how many people must you kill first? We are trying to raise awareness that this forest is everyone’s property. It belongs to the villagers, and we want them on our side.” The Indian government is encouraging villagers to earn money through ecotourism – for example, by guiding tourists and offering home-stays to visitors – rather than poaching. Organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund are also working in the region, reducing human–elephant conflict and translocating rhinos. Hoolock gibbons might benefit indirectly from some of these initiatives, but there are no plans to also translocate them to protected areas. “Species translocation is a complex business, and in Vol. 8 Issue 7

73

NATURE

HOW TO SEE HOOLOCK GIBBONS • Getting around Assam can be tricky and English is not spoken in many rural areas, so it’s a good idea to travel with a local guide or organised tour. Find a list of tour operators at www.assamtourism.gov.in and more information at www.incredibleindia.org • Flamingo Travels & Adventures (www.flamingotravels. com/itin_wildlife1.html) offers a 15-day tour of Assam with four national parks and four sanctuaries. • Naturetrek (01962 733051, www.naturetrek.co.uk) offers a tour of Assam that includes an 11-day wildlife cruise down the Brahmaputra River, visiting Kaziranga, Nameri and Orang National Parks. • Rhino Club Adventure and Tours is run by Tarali Goswami, a former WWF volunteer who worked on tiger and rhino censuses. Tarali arranges bespoke tours; email her at [email protected].

OUR GIBBONS “The gibbons are often in our village and our gardens – they’re not afraid of us. They come for bamboo leaves, oranges, bananas and tender blackjack fruit. There was one family I used to love watching.”

India this field is still very new,” says Ghosh. “We are trying to motivate our scholars to study gibbons, because traditionally they are more MANAB CHUTIA PURANI MOTAPUNG VILLAGE interested in studying and working with glamorous species such as tigers and rhinos.” There are several other gibbon-conservation projects outside the Hollongapar sanctuary, and it’s one of these – in the district of Tinsukia – that we visit next.We head north-east along the banks of the Brahmaputra River into the floodplains of Dibrugarh.The forest, cotton trees and palm-fringed paddy fields give way to tea plantations stretching as far as the eye can see. Some plantations date back to colonial days when Scottish explorer Robert Bruce discovered tea. These are large, commercial operations with purpose-built villages, schools and hospitals for workers. The 19th century tea bungalows now accommodate tourists. Other plantations belong to the villagers – they are their own back gardens.

DHRITIMAN MUKHERJEE

THE HIGH PRICE OF TEA The international tea industry is the main cause of Assam’s deforestation, which has had a major impact on the western hoolock gibbons of Barekuri. Across this cluster of villages, spread over 15km2, there were only 21 western hoolock gibbons in six families at the end of 2015 – all of them living in village woodlots and bamboo patches. I meet villager Dambaru Chutia, who runs a charity called the Wildlife and Environment Conservation Organisation (WECO). “There used to be big trees before tea gardens came, but now the surviving gibbons have to steal the fruit from the villagers’ gardens,” he says. “Sometimes they even come down to the ground and walk.” Gibbons are the only 74

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Their long arms make hoolock gibbons brilliant acrobats, and they have an excellent sense of balance

non-human primates that walk primarily on two legs, but walking is still exceptional behaviour. “Gibbons rarely leave the canopy, so long as they can occupy good-quality forest,” explains Samuel Turvey, senior researcher at the Zoological Institute of London. “They are superbly well adapted for movement in the trees. By contrast, they’re clumsy and highly vulnerable on the ground.” That’s confirmed by conservationist Anwaruddin Choudhury, who has studied hoolock gibbons for years and says that domestic dogs are a real danger: “They can attack and even kill gibbons. So when gibbons are forced to come down to the ground, they cross as fast as possible.” Chutia takes me to the river’s edge. Next to us is a hut, from which WECO hopes to start birdwatching tours. He points to a small patch of forest across the water. “They’re the only big trees left round here now. Jhum [slash-and-burn] cultivation made way for tea gardens.” Chutia says that villagers enjoy the company of the gibbons, and believe the apes to be their ancestors. But in hard times people are forced to cut down the few remaining large trees for timber, and sell the fruit that gibbons love to eat. It’s a double whammy. Gibbons play a crucial role in seed dispersal and forest regeneration, so the knockon effect is that there will be even fewer trees in future. At Barekuri, WECO is persuading the villagers to plant more fruit trees and monitor individual gibbons. The charity also successfully campaigned to stop an oil company cutting down a vital corridor of silk-cotton trees that the gibbons used. “The villagers love their wild neighbours heartily,” Chutia says. “If the gibbons go, it will be a big heartache.” I think back to the moment I first witnessed a pair of hoolock gibbons sing their territorial duet, known to primatologists as the ‘great call sequence’. When they finished, they swung off vigorously through the trees. Surely this is one of India’s great wildlife spectacles – one that future generations deserve to see. ß ALI WOOD IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST: WWW.ALI-WOOD.COM. SHE TRAVELLED TO ASSAM WITH INDIA TOURISM AND ASSAM TOURISM.

SCIENCE

BUSTING THE MYTHS OF MODERN LIFE... DO MICE REALLY LOVE CHEESE? DOES SUGAR MAKE KIDS HYPERACTIVE? DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED YOUR FIVE-ADAY? WE PUT 29 COMMON BELIEFS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE TO SORT THE FACT FROM THE FANTASY WORDS: TOBIAS JOLLY

ILLUSTRATIONS: JAMES OLSTEIN

A PENNY DROPPED FROM THE TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER COULD KILL SOMEONE The building used as the basis of this myth varies. Much more constant is the terminal velocity of a penny, which is around 44km/h (27mph). The penny reaches that speed after it has been falling for about 15 metres (50 feet). Once the penny has reached its terminal velocity, it will not accelerate any further. Physicist Louis Bloomfield at the University of Virginia used this calculation to replicate the fall of pennies from tall buildings. He found that pennies at that speed would not break the skin – at most, they would just sting a little.

Vol. 8 Issue 7

75

SCIENCE

GOLDFISH ONLY HAVE A THREE-SECOND MEMORY The life of a goldfish isn’t always filled with joys that are worth remembering: countless numbers of these small fish have little to look back on other than a short trip in a tiny bag before being flushed down a toilet. But goldfish do have a better memory than just three seconds – much better in fact. Goldfish can remember the route to take in a simple maze, for example. A study by researchers at the University of Seville also suggested that the fish are able to develop and remember a mental picture of their environment. In the maze experiment, the fish could find their way to a goal from a start point other than the one from which they were trained.

Local honey cures hay fever Tablets containing pollen are somewhat effective at combating hay fever. Since some honey contains pollen, honey as a hay fever remedy seems plausible. But most honey contains little or no pollen. Even unfiltered local honey has no apparent impact on hay fever.

BUMBLEBEES DEFY PHYSICS They are big and fat with seemingly tiny wings, making their flight seem improbable. But since science is updated when there is new evidence, if a bumblebee’s flight really couldn’t be explained by current models then the physics would change. In reality, the insects do not defy any laws of nature. Those wings do indeed provide enough lift to hold up the entirety of a bumblebee’s 0.2g. 76

Vol. 8 Issue 7

HOUSEFLIES ONLY LIVE FOR 24 HOURS

Turning the thermostat up high will increase the rate of heating Unlike humans, who might meet an ambitious challenge by working harder, heating systems don’t put more effort in when they have further to go. Setting your thermostat to 30°C will only change the target temperature, not the heating speed. A higher setting will just risk wasting energy while getting you too hot.

It may seem unfortunate that the annoying housefly lives for more than a day. They can actually live for several weeks. The 24-hour myth probably comes from confusion with the mayfly, of which many species do have incredibly short lifespans in their adult stage. Part of the reason mayflies can get away with such a short lifespan, while still being able to find a mate, is that they swarm. Since a swarm of houseflies might be more of a nuisance than the odd one buzzing round your kitchen, we should probably be thankful that they do not share the mayfly’s lifecycle.

MICE LOVE CHEESE You’re not alone if you feel a sense of disillusionment after learning that your childhood cartoons were misleading you. Scientists from the University of Birmingham have confirmed earlier research by showing that wild-caught mice do not appear to have any apparent preference for cheese, and probably prefer seeds and grains. Crunchy peanut butter, another common mouse bait, was also not preferred (perhaps they prefer smooth). Given that adult mammals tend to have little of the enzyme lactase, required for lactose digestion, cheese probably isn’t great for a mouse’s health, either. Plus, feeding cheese to a mouse is a criminal waste of cheese!

YOU NEED TO DRINK EIGHT GLASSES OF WATER A DAY Being dehydrated isn’t great for your health, but the idea that we need to drink eight glasses (around two litres) of water in order to stay hydrated has no real scientific backing. Research suggests that health can be maintained with a much lower water intake. As concluded by Dr Heinz Valtin from Dartmouth Medical School, there’s also no evidence to specifically drink plain water. You can stay hydrated with any other fluids and the water that’s found in most food. Vol. 8 Issue 7

77

SCIENCE

HUMANS HAVE FIVE SENSES A significant problem with the idea that we have five senses is that there is no uncontroversial definition for what constitutes a discrete sense. Regardless of how you define a sense, it’s clear that we have probably more than five of them. The ‘non-traditional’ senses include nociception (the sense of pain), thermoception (the sense of temperature) and equilibrioception (the sense of balance). Admittedly, The Sixth Sense might not have been nominated for as many Oscars had it been about a boy who was able to sense how cold he was…

SHARKS DON’T GET CANCER There are plenty of documented examples of sharks with cancer. This myth has been used as the pseudoscientific basis for the use of shark cartilage as an alternative cancer treatment and is implicated in diminishing shark populations. The world of alternative medicine is filled with myths that could be included on this list, but not all such myths put entire species at risk. This one does.

78

Vol. 8 Issue 7

YOU NEED TO EAT FIVE PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEG A DAY

SUPERFOODS ARE REALLY GOOD FOR YOU

Campaigns that aim to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables the average person consumes have taken place across the world. For example, in Australia they have the ‘2 & 5’ campaign. These campaigns are based on the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 400g of fruit and veg per day. The five-a-day target is pretty arbitrary – you probably won’t be a lot worse off if you only manage four, and six would probably be slightly better. Five a day might be a reasonable target if you currently eat little or no fruit or vegetables, but there’s nothing special about that figure in particular.

Put simply, there is no academically recognised definition for ‘superfood’ – it is essentially a marketing term. While adding some berries and kale to your diet may be beneficial to your health, many of the specific claims made about various superfoods aren’t based on any real evidence. No single food has shown to be a health panacea worthy of the term ‘super’, and no one should think they can counteract the effects of a huge bowl of ice cream by liberally sprinkling it with goji berries.

MSG IS BAD FOR YOU Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a common source of the savoury ‘umami’ flavour found in many foods, such as tomatoes, soy sauce and parmesan cheese. It is used as a flavour enhancer by the food industry, but claims about MSG’s negative health effects have been around for a while, with supposed ill effects ranging from headaches to cancer. As a result, MSG has been studied extensively, and in 2007, a team at the University of Hohenheim examined all the research on MSG and concluded that even unusually high doses are not harmful. It has also been conclusively established that MSG makes things taste even more delicious.

ALCOHOL KEEPS YOU WARM Many drinkers have found that alcohol made them feel more resistant to cold weather on the walk home from the pub. This ‘beer jacket’ is the result of the blood vessels dilating, resulting in more blood travelling to the surface of the skin. Far from keeping you warm, alcohol is more likely to put you at risk of hypothermia as it can impair the body’s ability to regulate its temperature.

Adults can’t generate new brain cells Several areas of the adult brain contain the neural stem cells required for the growth of neurons. These areas include the dentate gyrus, thought to be involved in memory formation, and the olfactory bulb, which is involved in our sense of smell.

WE ONLY USE 10 PER CENT OF OUR BRAINS The origin of this myth is uncertain, but it didn’t originate from the scientific study of the brain. The myth is often found in self-help books that claim to tell you how to harness the power of the brain’s other 90 per cent. In reality, all the parts of the brain are highly specialised and there don’t appear to be any unused sections that you could learn to activate in an attempt at self-improvement.

SUGAR MAKES KIDS HYPERACTIVE It’s easy to understand why so many believe that sugar (a source of quick energy) causes hyperactivity, but numerous controlled experiments have failed to establish any causal relationship. The belief might be perpetuated by ‘confirmation bias’: a study at the University of Kentucky showed that when a parent was told that their child had just eaten a lot of sugar (even when they hadn’t), the parent was far more likely to describe their kid as hyperactive. Of course, this doesn’t mean feeding your children vast quantities of sugar is to be recommended.

THE TONGUE IS DIVIDED UP INTO DIFFERENT SECTIONS The absence of an umami section is not the biggest problem with the tongue map. The idea that our tongues are split into sections has been perpetuated by textbooks and teachers for decades, yet it has no basis in physiology. The receptor cells that identify the molecules underlying the basic tastes (sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami) are distributed on taste buds all over the tongue.

CAFFEINE DEHYDRATES YOU You may find yourself visiting the bathroom more frequently after consuming tea or coffee. This is probably due to the diuretic effect of caffeine, which is suspected to irritate muscles in the bladder. But even if you do pee more often, it doesn’t mean you’re passing a greater volume overall. The effect of caffeine on urine output has been investigated in numerous studies, which have been reviewed by dietician Dr Carrie Ruxton. She found that a moderate intake of caffeinated drinks is unlikely to have any significant effect on your overall level of hydration. Vol. 8 Issue 7

79

SCIENCE

GINGER-HAIRED PEOPLE ARE GOING EXTINCT Red hair is caused by a recessive variant of a gene, which means you need two copies of it to be a redhead. Currently, redhead alleles are found at a much higher concentration in some populations in northern and western Europe. It’s possible that as those genes spread out the probability of two people with a redhead allele having a child will diminish, which might make redheads less common, but as long as the genes are there, we will still have redheads.

THERE’S A CHEMICAL THAT TURNS PURPLE WHEN SOMEONE WEES IN A SWIMMING POOL Although this myth might serve a noble purpose, there is no ‘urine indicator’ that could be put into pools. In principle it may be possible to create a chemical that is colourless in the absence of urine, but colourful in its presence. But the difficulty in ensuring that it doesn’t result in false positives probably wouldn’t be worth the investment. Along with the difficulties in developing such a dye, you could probably also guarantee that any pool that used it would have a constant purple tinge.

LEFT-BRAINED PEOPLE SHAVING CAUSES HAIR TO GROW BACK ARE LOGICAL, RIGHTBRAINED PEOPLE ARE FASTER AND THICKER CREATIVE Shaved hair that hasn’t yet As described by the University of Utah’s Jared Nielsen in a study of brain scans from over 1,000 individuals, there is no evidence of left- or right-brain dominance. The idea that there are left-brained people who are logical and right-brained people who are creative may be a useful metaphor, but it has no more basis in actual science than astrology does. Though a left-brained Gemini like myself would say that.

80

Vol. 8 Issue 7

been exposed to the bleaching effects of sunlight may appear darker. And compared to the tapered end of an unshaved strand of hair, the sheared ends usually feel coarser. While these two effects might make recently shaved hair seem thicker, there is no evidence that shaving influences the growth rate or thickness of hair.

YOU LOSE A LOT OF BODY HEAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD If you leave any one body part exposed to the elements, that body part will play a major part in your heat loss. The 7 per cent of your body’s surface area that covers your head isn’t in any way special, however. The myth often claims a figure of around 50 per cent heat loss through the head. The implication of this percentage is that you’d be as warm if you went out wearing nothing but a balaclava as you would be if you went out fully clothed but without a hat. Feel free to try this at home.

BAREFOOT RUNNING IS BETTER FOR YOU Barefoot running has grown in popularity over the past few years. The proponents usually claim that running without traditional running shoes improves form, prevents high impact ‘heel strikes’ and reduces injury rates. However, media articles supporting barefoot running generally rely on questionable evolutionary hypotheses or anecdotes. A group of researchers at the University of Cape Town examined papers looking at the biomechanics of barefoot versus Stretching before exercise traditional prevents injury running. Dr Finnish researchers analysed Nicholas Tam studies covering almost 5,000 and his team participants and concluded that concluded stretching before exercise had no that while effect on injury rates. However, barefoot a gentle aerobic warm-up will running might prepare the muscles for reduce the risk a workout. of certain injuries, such as knee pain, it may also increase the risk of others, such as stress fractures to the feet. Individual experience may vary, but there is so far no scientific basis on which to prescribe barefoot running to reduce injury rates.

PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT SUICIDE IN WINTER The assumption that the dark and cold of winter cause a peak in suicides is understandable, but it’s not supported by the statistics. Researchers from Inje University in Seoul looked at studies from a range of countries, and found that the biggest peak is around April and May (in the northern hemisphere). This peak also varies based on a number of demographic factors, particularly age. The seasonal variation in the suicide rate is smaller in the UK, but winter is not the most dangerous period.

PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC TO BABIES MAKES THEM GROW UP SMARTER There may or may not be a correlation between intelligence and an appreciation for classical music. ‘The Mozart Effect’ that suggests classical music improves children’s intelligence was first described in an early 1990s study, but since then, it has not been established as a robust phenomenon that survives study replication. Parents’ time is probably better spent teaching their children that correlation does not imply causation.

A MALFUNCTION AT A PARTICLE ACCELERATOR COULD SUCK THE ENTIRE PLANET INTO A BLACK HOLE The idea that particle accelerators, particularly the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), might cause Earth-threatening black holes has been in the news since the LHC opened. Micro black holes are hypothesised to be generated by high-energy particle accelerators like the LHC, but they wouldn’t be a threat to the planet. Unlike their massive astronomical cousins, the hypothetical micro black holes would evaporate almost instantly. And although it would be an important discovery, no micro black holes have been detected at the LHC so far. ß

TOBIAS JOLLY IS A DATA ANALYST AND BIOCHEMISTRY GRADUATE.

Vol. 8 Issue 7

81

SUBSCRIPTION

SPE SUBSCRCIAL IPT OFFER! ION

4 EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE: GO ONLINE*

OR EMAIL subscribe@ media-group.com.sg FAX TO SINGAPORE 65-6449 9945 MALAYSIA 603-42926251 CALL HOTLINE SINGAPORE 65-6241 2673 MALAYSIA 603-79548989 MAIL TO Regent Media Pte Ltd, 20 Bedok South Road, Singapore 469277 or Unit 6.02 Level 6, Menara Maxisegar Jalan Pandan Indah 4/2 Pandan Indah 55100 Kuala Lumpur.

GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE

• Every issue delivered direct to your door • Exclusive subscriber-only offers and discounts

BBC KNOWLEDGE MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER

YES! I WANT TO SUBSCRIBE! PLEASE TICK ACCORDINGLY  Singapore, 1 year subscription, 12 issues for S$77

YOUR PAYMENT OPTIONS  CHEQUE Please enclose a cheque made payable to: Singapore: Regent Media Pte Ltd Malaysia: Regent Media Sdn Bhd

Cheque No.:

 Malaysia, 1 year subscription, 12 issues for RM216

Amount:

*Rates are inclusive of postage in SGP and MY

PERSONAL PARTICULARS

 CREDIT CARD* (VISA & MASTERCARD ONLY) *Singapore only

Title

Surname

Debited amount under”Golf Events and Marketing” will be reflected in your credit card statement for subscribers in Singapore.

Name NRIC

DOB

Name on Credit Card:

Tel Number

Mobile

Credit Card No.:

Email Expiry Date: Address Amount:

Country

Postal Code Signature:

MY PROFILE Gender

Age Group

Occupation

Annual Income

 Male

 Below 30

 Executive

 Below $50,000

 Female

 31 - 40

 Management

 $50,001 - $100,000



 41 - 50

 Professional

 $100,001 - $150,000



 Above 50

 Businessman

 Above $150,000

Date:

TERMS & CONDITIONS: • This subscription offer is non-refundable • Promotion is valid till the end of July 2016 • Subscription gifts where applicable are available on a while stocks last basis • The above subscription rates are only applicable to readers residing in Singapore & Malaysia • Gifts must be taken as provided and are neither transferable nor exchangeable for cash • Company reserves the right to replace gift when stock is unavailable • All prices are inclusive of GST and taxes • Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing • Subscribers/Winners will be notified by post • Subscription gifts/lucky draw prizes are to be collected at address stated on notification letter • Other terms and conditions apply

YOUR QUESTI0NS ANSWERED BY OUR EXPERT PANEL

&

DR CHRISTIAN JARRETT Christian is a psychology and neuroscience writer. His latest book is Great Myths Of The Brain.

DR ALASTAIR GUNN Alastair is an astronomer at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester.

PROF ROBERT MATTHEWS Robert is a physicist and science writer. He’s visiting professor in science at Aston University.

DR PETER J BENTLEY Peter is a computer scientist and author who is based at University College London. His latest book is Digitized.

LUIS VILLAZON Luis has a BSc in computing and an MSc in zoology. He is author of How Cows Reach The Ground.

DR MARK LORCH Mark is a senior lecturer at the University of Hull, where he teaches chemistry and science.

[email protected]

Can robots be creative?

PHOTO: GETTY

Yes they can. Creativity involves combining ideas together in novel ways. In nature, we see amazing creativity arising from evolution, where genes from different parents are uniquely blended. So when we use genetic algorithms, which mimic evolution, computers ‘cross over’ ideas in novel ways to produce highly creative solutions. Today, computers can compose music, produce art, and design unconventional and efficient solutions to problems. PB

Well done, but a robot can’t paint a Rembrandt – or can it? 83 83

Vol. Vo VVol ol. 8 Is ol IIssue ssue ssuuuee 6

Vol. 8 Issue 76

83 83

& IN NUMBERS

92 hours is the record for non-stop TV watching, set by five Austrians in early 2016

Are offices making us more sick? It’s hard to be sure. Several studies have found that workers in open-plan offices take more sick days than those who work in small groups or have their own private office. But this is mostly short absences of just one or two days. If cold viruses were spreading more effectively in offices, you would also expect the spread of flu as well, which would knock you out for at least a

week. So maybe open-plan offices are just more stressful and unpleasant to work in, and their employees are more inclined to ‘pull a sickie’. Or it may be that open-plan employees are less likely to be missed. A 2005 study found that ‘presenteeism’ (where employees come to work, even when they are sick) is more common in small offices. LV

75

Extreme measures are put in place when Barry eats curry for lunch

hamburgers are sold by McDonald’s around the world every second

What does sleep do Can dogs sense when someone is about to die? for the brain? Dogs are highly social animals and certainly sense when we are unhappy or in pain. A 2004 study also found that they can be trained to detect bladder cancer from the smell of the patient’s urine. So it’s certainly possible that dogs may be able to tell when someone is seriously ill. But there’s no evidence that they have any sixth sense that can tell you’ll be hit by a bus tomorrow. LV “But if you don’t feed me steak right now, you mysteriously might not wake up tomorrow…”

84

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Too much stimulation of your brain cells can lead to neurotoxicity, which is dangerous, and so one tentative theory holds that sleep is a chance for the brain to enter a detox mode in which overall levels of neural excitability are reduced. Sleep also helps the brain to learn, although the precise physiological processes that underlie this benefit are still being worked out. This means that after you’ve spent time revising or learning a new skill, it’s very important that you get a good night’s sleep. Doing so will help your brain to consolidate the neural connections that underlie new memories. CJ

What is the speed of gravity?

Gravitational waves, as visualised in this artwork, helped us prove that gravity travels at the speed of light

According to Einstein’s General Relativity, gravity travels at the speed of light. Proving it is far from simple, though: unlike light, gravity can’t simply be switched on and off, and is also extremely weak. Over the years, various attempts have been made to measure the speed using studies of astronomical phenomena, such as the time delay of light as it passes through the huge gravitational field of Jupiter. While the results have been broadly in line with Einstein’s prediction, they’ve lacked the precision needed for compelling evidence. That’s now been provided by the celebrated detection of gravitational waves. Analysis of the signals picked up by the two giant LIGO instruments in the US has confirmed that gravity does indeed travel through space at the speed of light. RM

THE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

PHOTO: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY X3 ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT

What will happen if I am jettisoned into space?

1. YOU WON’T EXPLODE Even without a spacesuit, your skin can resist a pressure difference of one atmosphere, so you won’t explode. Don’t hold your breath though, because without the atmosphere pushing against your chest, the air trapped in your lungs will expand and rupture the tissues inside, forcing air into your chest cavity and blood, like the worst case of the bends.

2. YOU WILL ASPHYXIATE Since you aren’t holding your breath, you have 15 seconds before you lose consciousness, or as few as five seconds if you are panicking. If you are rescued and restored to normal atmospheric pressure within 90 seconds, you have a good chance of making a recovery. But any longer than that, your heart will stop and even a defibrillator won’t save you.

3. YOU’LL FREEZE DRY In the vacuum of space, water will boil even at body temperature, so the moisture in your lungs, mouth and eyes will boil away a few minutes after you die, eventually drying you out like a mummy. And with no ozone layer to shield you from the Sun’s UV radiation, your desiccated corpse will char black over the next few months. Vol. 8 Issue 7

85

&

What evolved first: eyes or ears? The eyes can clearly be seen on this fossilised trilobite

Eyes, by at least 40 million years. The only invertebrates with ears are land arthropods and they didn’t emerge until about 480 million years ago. Older invertebrates had antennae that would have been able to sense vibrations in the water, but that’s not

quite the same thing as hearing. ring.. Trilobites already had complex compound ound d eyes 521 e eyespots eyyespots million years ago, and simple bac ck to 570 without a lens probably date back million years ago, when the first multicellular animals appeared. LV

Top 10 largest birds of prey (by weight) 6. Steller’s sea eagle Weight: 9kg Distribution: Russia and Japan 8. Lammergeier Weight: 8kg Distribution: Southern Europe, Middle East, China and Africa

8. Philippine eagle Weight: 8kg Distribution: Philippines 10. Golden eagle Weight: 7kg Distribution: North America, Eurasia and North Africa

86

Vol. 8 Issue 7

6. Harpy eagle Weight: 9kg Distribution: Mexico, Central and South America

PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY X5 ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT

T O P 10

2. Eurasian black vulture Weight: 14kg Distribution: South Europe and Central Asia

1. Andean condor Weight: 15kg Distribution: South America

2. Lappet-faced vulture Weight: 14kg Distribution: Africa and Middle East 4. Himalayan vulture Weight: 12.5kg Distribution: Central Asia and Himalayas

5. California condor Weight: 12kg Distribution: North America

PHOTOS: ALAMY, GETTY X4, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Is it possible to fool fingerprint readers? It depends on the technology used within the fingerprint reader, but it is quite possible to trick many of them. Some will be fooled by a mould of your finger made out of the same gelatin as gummy bears – the gelatin has a similar electrical conductivity as your finger. Some will be deceived by a fingerprint on a simple piece of sticky tape. Some are even outfoxed by a simple photocopied image of a fingerprint. Most are not aware if the owner of the finger is alive or dead. Like all security systems, fingerprint readers are not perfect. PB

Which planet, if it disappeared, would affect Earth the most? Jupiter, which has a mass three times the combined mass of all the other planets, dominates gravitational interactions within the Solar System. But even if it suddenly disappeared there would be very little impact on the movements of the other planets, which are mostly determined by the Sun’s gravity. There would be minor changes in the planets’ orbits about the Sun, but very little else. However, Jupiter does a great job of shepherding and absorbing small objects in the Solar System. With Jupiter gone, the main effect on Earth would be an increase in the rate of impacts from asteroids and other space flotsam. AG

Vol. 8 Issue 7

87

& Can gravitational waves teach us about the inside of a black hole? The recent detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes was a success for astrophysics. But from the outside it is impossible to tell anything about the inside of a black hole. The shape of the signal detected by LIGO revealed the masses of the two merging black holes, which led to an estimate of how powerful the event was at its source. But no observations, including those of gravitational waves, can probe beyond the event horizon of a black hole. AG

W H AT ’ S I N…

…TOOTHPASTE

Most of the ingredients in toothpaste are there to make it taste, smell and feel nice, act as preservatives, or bind everything together. The rest of the ingredients that are actually included for the good of your mouth include: SODIUM FLUORIDE This helps maintain the strength of tooth enamel and, despite controversies, is perfectly safe at the amounts found in toothpaste.

HYDRATED SILICA This mild abrasive used to rub away stains and debris. Alternatively, your toothpaste of choice might contain calcium carbonate (chalk), magnesium carbonate or aluminium oxides, all of which do the same job.

How do tunneling machines know where they are? SODIUM LAURYL SULPHATE This detergent crops up in all sorts of products including shampoos, washing powder and washing-up liquids. It helps remove fats, but mostly it’s just included to make a nice foam (which doesn’t actually help with the cleaning but we expect bubbles in cleaning products). It’s this stuff that makes orange juice taste vile after you’ve cleaned your teeth.

88

Vol. 8 Issue 7

TRICLOSAN This antibacterial agent appears in many toothpastes. It helps prevent gum disease, but it is a cause for concern after you spit. Triclosan is difficult to remove from sewage and when it enters the water systems it is toxic to some aquatic organisms.

To keep 1,000-tonne, 150m long Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) like those used for London’s Crossrail project on track, engineers rely on a laser-based system. Precise reference points are set up below ground behind the TBM, and laser beams are sent out from them into receivers in the machine. This keeps the TBMs heading in the right direction to within a millimetre or so over distances of up to 100 metres. RM

Tunnel Boring Machines are being used to excavate beneath London for the city’s Crossrail project

Is there life in clouds?

Yes. Up to two million tons of bacteria are lofted by air currents into the atmosphere each year, along with 55 million tons of fungal spores and an unknown quantity of algae. These microscopic life forms are thought to play an important part in the weather by causing the water vapour in clouds to precipitate into rain more often than it would in a lifeless atmosphere. LV

PHOTOS: GETTY X2, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, ALAMY, PRESS ASSOCIATION

Why do we use a decimal system?

The most obvious answer is – as Aristotle pointed out – that we have 10 fingers, which we can use for counting and displaying the results. This may be why many cultures have adopted the decimal system, but it’s not a watertight argument: some Native American tribes decided single hands are enough, resulting in quinary counting systems based on units of five. RM Vol. 8 Issue 7

89

& W H AT C O N N E C T S…

How much saliva do we produce in a lifetime?

…Caviar and beer

1.

Your saliva is mostly recycled, rather than produced, because you are constantly swallowing and reabsorbing it. But the flow rate is around 30ml of saliva an hour – a bit more when you’re eating, a bit less when you’re sleeping. That’s a wine bottle full every day, or 20,000 litres in your lifetime. In other words, 53 bathtubs full to the brim with saliva! LV

Caviar is the eggs of a fish called a sturgeon. The best caviar comes from the beluga sturgeon, Huso huso. The fish can live for over 100 years, but caviar harvesting normally kills the female.

2.

It’s actually very easy to fool the brain – just browse some basic optical illusions online to get an idea. So yes, VR can trick the brain in all sorts of ways. In fact, one of the obstacles to the next wave of gaming VR has been the way the technology confuses the brain with a mismatch of sensory signals. The visuals say you’re flying in plane, for instance, but your vestibular system (in your inner ear) says you’re stationary. The result for many players is motion sickness. Could we ever truly mistake the virtual world for the real world? For that we’d probably need whole-body immersion, not just a VR headset. CJ

90

Vol. 8 Issue 7

3.

4.

The lining of the swim bladder is made from almost pure collagen protein. This is dried to make isinglass. The name comes from the Old Dutch word huizenblass – ‘sturgeon bladder’.

Isinglass is traditionally added to caskconditioned beers to remove the sediment. The collagen causes suspended particles of the brewing yeast to clump together and settle at the bottom of the barrel, resulting in a clearer beer.

PHOTOS: GETTY X3, ALAMY, CONDITION ONE ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT

Could our brains be fooled by virtual reality?

Like most bony fish, the beluga sturgeon has an organ called the swim bladder. This is a gas-filled float that can be squeezed by the surrounding muscles to adjust its total volume and control the fish’s buoyancy.

W H AT I S T H I S ?

Osteosarcoma cells This is the world’s biggest model of a crystal’s structure and was created by Dr Robert Krickl. It shows the pattern of sodium and chloride atoms found in a single crystal of table salt. The model is over three metres tall and contains almost 40,000 balls and more than 10km of connecting rods.

Vol. 8 Issue 7

91

& W H O R E A L LY D I S C O V E R E D ?

CALCULUS

Isaac Newton

Gottfried Leibniz

Calculus is a powerful mathematical toolbox for dealing with phenomena in a state of flux, from the flow of water to the expansion of the cosmos. As such, a better name for it would be ‘fluxions’ – a term coined by Isaac Newton, one of the two 17th Century mathematicians regarded as its inventors, the other being the German Gottfried Leibniz. Not that Newton saw it that way. Having invented it in secret in the 1660s, he was horrified when Leibniz went public with similar methods, having independently discovered them about 10 years later. Newton launched an unjustified campaign of character assassination against Leibniz, yet could not stop the adoption of his rival’s name for the technique (from the Latin for ‘counting stone’). It’s now known that some basic ideas in calculus had been explored much earlier. For example, Archimedes showed how to work out the area enclosed by curves by dividing it up into tiny strips. This is a trick exploited in integral calculus to work out the total effect of a series of tiny changes. However, none of Leibniz and Newton’s predecessors realised the full power of what they were working on.

92

Vol. 8 Issue 7

Will we discover any more elements?

NO EASY ANSWER

Could Neanderthals speak? Forty years ago, the consensus was that they could not. Neanderthals didn’t make cave paintings, or flint arrowheads, and their larynx wasn’t positioned low enough to allow them to make the full range of human vocal sounds. But more recent discoveries have shown that Neanderthals had a hyoid bone, tongue nerves and hearing range that was very similar to modern humans, and quite different to other primates. Neanderthals also shared the FOXP2 gene with us, which is thought to be involved in speech and language. Prof Steven Mithen of Reading University has suggested that Neanderthals may have had a ‘protolanguage’ that was halfway between speech and music. LV

We most definitely will! New elements are created by smashing known ones together at super-fast speeds. Ununoctium (first identified in 2002, but only recently recognised and due to get a proper name soon) is the heaviest known element and was made by firing about 40 quintillion calcium nuclei (travelling at almost the speed of light) into californium (which is itself man-made)! This made just three ununoctium atoms that hung around for about one millisecond before radioactively decaying. The laboratories that found ununoctium (and other elements) are already busy smashing more atoms together in the search for elements to start a new row of the periodic table. ML

Do stars have a size limit? Astronomers reckon that stars probably can’t survive above a mass of about 150 solar masses. This is because the enormous radiation pressure and mass loss from the star would disrupt its gravitational stability. Although more massive stars have been discovered, such as the 265-solar-mass star R136a1, these are likely to form by the merger of two or more stars. But mass and physical size are not simply related, particularly for giant stars. The best candidate for the largest known star is UY Scuti which, although it is only about 30 solar masses, has a radius 1,700 times that of the Sun. Giant stars such as UY Scuti are known to swell up due to changes in their internal structure as they evolve. But there is no clear-cut equation that determines how big a star can get since it depends not only on mass, but composition, evolutionary history and the strength of its stellar wind. For giant stars, such as UY Scuti, the outer atmosphere can continue to puff up and grow essentially without limit. But at some point the diffuse gas of its outer layers become merged with the interstellar medium and cannot really be regarded as the stellar surface. AG

Our Sun (tiny yellow dot) compared to largest known star UY Scuti

IN NUMBERS

PHOTOS: ISTOCK, ALAMY, GETTY X3, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X2

48 million

people drink tea in the UK every day

25 per cent

of an apple’s volume is air, which is why they float

What effect does drinking too much water have on your body? If you drink more water than your kidneys can remove (approximately one litre an hour), the concentration of sodium and other electrolytes in your blood begins to drop. Beyond a certain point, your cells will uncontrollably absorb water by osmosis and swell up. In the brain this increases the pressure against your skull, which leads to headache, confusion, vomiting and (ironically) thirst. If it isn’t treated promptly, this progresses to seizures, brain damage and death. LV Vol. 8 Issue 7

93

Resource

A feast for the mind

EXPLORE OUR INNER ANIMAL Comedian Sara Pascoe has been thinking about the essence and origins of female sexuality. She talks to Helen Pilcher about her new book, Animal Why did you decide to write this book? I’ve been interested in the subject for a long time. I’d noticed that where feminist articles often blame magazines and popular culture for the way women feel and are treated, the scientific literature tends to focus more on biology and evolutionary theory. I wanted to write a book that combines both these angles, alongside my own personal experiences. There’s a lot of great science in the book. Where does your passion for science come from? A big part is from my mum. She’s amazing. She did a PhD in the genetics of autoimmune disorders while raising three children as a single parent. She was so excited about how experiments could be applied to help change people’s lives, and I think some of that rubbed off on me. How animal are we? We’re all part animal, part conscious. Writing Animal has made me realise how much of our behaviour is underpinned by millions of years of evolution. It can explain everything from mating preferences to jealousy and infidelity. But we’re more than that. We have these big, crinkly, clever brains that enable us to consider whether or not we should act on these animal impulses. When a dog humps someone’s leg, it’s not worrying about whether or not the leg fancies it back, or if the leg is married or underage. The dog is just acting on impulse. We, on the other hand, have the capacity to understand

Sara Pascoe’s new book looks at how different factors from biology to the mass media have influenced our perception of female sexuality 94 94

Vol Vol. oll. 8 Issue Issu Is sue u 7

that actions and desires are different things. That makes us unique. In your book, you say that our ideas of sexuality are often male-biased. Why do you think this is? The scientists who discovered evolution were Victorian men. At the time, women were oppressed and dismissed as coy, chattering nurturers. The view was that women got their pleasure not from having sex, but from having babies. It’s led to a model of human sexual behaviour that completely ignores female lust and pleasure as forces. So for example, if a woman sleeps with a co-worker, often it’s interpreted as an act of manipulation – her wanting to sleep her way to the top – rather than that she just plain fancied the guy. There’s this whole agenda going on. What was the most surprising thing you learned? How much ‘falling in love’ is influenced by brain chemistry. MRI scans show how love causes the brain to flood with dopamine. The release men get from orgasm is the same as a heroin user gets from a hit. It’s addictive. We have all of these songs and poems and conversations about love, but to see it happening in the brain in black and white is just huge. It doesn’t undermine love or take away any of the feelings or the magic. It just makes it even more incredible.

PHOTOS: ©DAVE BROWN

While exploring the neurochemistry of love, you underwent an MRI scan. How was that? Exciting! You lie there and you’re told to stay completely still and there’s all this clanging. I was like a child who wanted to impress their teacher – it’s the stillest I’ve ever been.

This is a very personal, emotive book. It made me laugh but it also made me cry. What do you hope to achieve from it? I want people to accept themselves and be forgiving of what they find. I want them to be interested and curious. A third of the book is about consent. There was a case in the US where a football player was found guilty of raping an unconscious woman, yet to this day he claims he did nothing wrong. I want to promote discussion. If we can educate people to better understand the issues surrounding consent, then this becomes a solvable crime. Our legal system is not set up to trial rape and sexual assault effectively. That needs to change. Has writing your book been cathartic? Yes, it really has. Sometimes, writing things down really helps you to work out what you think. I was able to look back at some of the more difficult parts of my life and put a full stop after them. It’s also made me realise how well my Mum has shaped me as a person. It’s almost like I’ve been able to write her a love letter… in a book.

Animal: The Autobiography Of A Female Body by Sara Pascoe is out now.

“MRI scans show how love causes the brain to flood with dopamine. The release men get from orgasm is the same as a heroin user gets from a hit. It’s addictive” Vol. 8 Issue 7

95

Witty Viewpoint CANNIBALISM

here is a lot of negativity towards cannibalism. In the 21st Century, it seems to have all but died out. There is scant mention of it on TV cookery programmes, either as a totemistic or nutritional diet choice. By clumsy chance, as I write this, I am sucking blood – my own – having gashed open my finger while rummaging for my laptop in my rucksack. Several years back, there was the gory news story of a German man who advertised for someone who would volunteer to be eaten. I’m not sure which magazines accept classifieds from hungry human flesh-eaters – these are the loneliest hearts columns. Apparently, the volunteer began to experience regret when he and the chef partook of his flesh together. I don’t know if this was an issue over seasoning, or the realisation that this was a less glamorous way to die than he’d imagined. It was while I was in Germany last month that my thoughts turned to the more positive sides of cannibalism. In Leipzig, I learnt that cannibalism can be a boon for the curious evolutionary geneticist. Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo is one of the founders of palaeogenetics. He led the team that sequenced the Neanderthal genome in 2010, which provided new evidence for interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans. Headlines appeared when suppositions were made that our genetic inheritance from the Neanderthals included allergies, incontinence and depression, but also our ability to fight disease. But what has all this got to do with cannibalism? One of the major problems of sequencing the DNA of extinct creatures, or any elderly relic, is the degradation that occurs over time. It is hard to find specimens untainted by bacteria, human touch or the multitude of other ways in which nature can maul a bone. In 1994, however, a large cache of Neanderthal bones was discovered in the El Sidrón cave in northern Spain. The bones had scars and cut marks across them, suggesting that they’d been sliced to remove flesh and muscle for the purposes of a meal. The archaeologists think that this particular family were victims of survival cannibalism, which means they were eaten out of necessity rather than desire (dietary cannibalism) or for mystical reasons (symbolic cannibalism). This terrible act of survival has given modern geneticists a great

T

96

Vol. 8 Issue 7

advantage. As the bones were lacking in tasty sinews, they were far less appealing to bacteria, wild dogs or anything else that might have scavenged, trampled or eroded them. All these things would have further damaged the integrity of the Neanderthal DNA. So the bone samples found themselves taken from a cave of death and destruction to the remarkably clean basement of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, where among Tupperware and UV light, Pääbo and his team now search for the holy grail of DNA. Within some of these pecked and sucked at bones will be gene sequences that reveal more about the effects of the coupling between Neanderthals and our Homo sapiens ancestors. In 17th-Century Europe, human remains were often used as ingredients in medicine. Charles II’s tincture, ‘the King’s Drops’, for instance, contained distilled human skull and was used to treat a variety of ailments. Unfortunately, snacking on human remains didn’t do much for Charles and co. But the sad necessity of cannibalism 40,000 years ago is helping us to discover why we are who we are. With new genetic sequences, we may make new medical breakthroughs – without the need to munch on a stillbeating heart ß

Robin Ince is a comedian and writer who presents, with Prof Brian Cox, the BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage.

ILLUSTRATION: JAMIE COE

“Cannibalism has all but died out. There is scant mention of it on TV cookery shows”

SCIENCE

MY LIFE SCIENTIFIC DAME JOCELYN BELL BURNELL In the 1950s, the assumption was that girls would get married and not have jobs I grew up in Co Armagh, N Ireland. My father was an architect who did his own surveying. Sometimes, he’d let me come along while he took measurements. Then in the car on the way home, he’d let me reduce the observations. It introduced me to science and taught me how to design a good experiment. In the 1950s, the assumption was that girls would get married and not have jobs. So at secondary school, girls did domestic science and boys did science. My parents had to fight to get me into science class. That first term we did physics and astronomy, and I discovered I was good at physics. I did a physics degree at Glasgow University, where I was the only woman in my honours class. When I walked into the lecture theatre, everybody would wolf whistle at me. When I told my female housemates I was the only girl, they presumed I would change subject, but it never occurred to me. To become an optical astronomer I would have to stay up at night, which I’m not good at. So I took an interest in radio astronomy, which you can do during the day. I didn’t think I was bright enough to go to Cambridge. When I was accepted to do a PhD there I was delighted. I spent the first two years – armed with screwdriver, wire cutters and pliers – helping to physically build the radio telescope. When it was up and running; the telescope generated miles of data. It was my job to analyse it all. A small, quarter-inch smudge caught my eye. After many careful checks, I realised it was a signal from an entirely new type of stellar object.

ILLUSTRATION: ORLAGH MURPHY

When we described this ‘pulsar’ to the media, journalists would ask my supervisor about the science, but ask me about my vital statistics. It made me feel objectified and a lot less appreciated. I was enormously pleased when, in 1974, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for the discovery of pulsars. It was the first time ever the prize had been awarded to astronomers, but my exclusion from it led some people to call it the ‘No-Bell’ Prize. Since then, I have had a rich and varied astronomical career. The lack of a Nobel Prize has been more than compensated for by the many other rewards I’ve been lucky

enough to receive. I think things are definitely improving for women in science, but there’s still a lot more work that needs to be done. I’m no longer an active researcher, but I do keep busy. I’m visiting professor at Oxford University and president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. I like classical music and I’m incredibly fond of my garden. I’m also very active in the Quakers. It’s an essential part of me. ß DAME JOCELYN BELL BURNELL is president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the discoverer of pulsars. Vol. 8 Issue 7

97

The Last Word THE TROUBLE WITH GENIUSES veryone has childhood heroes – a brilliant sports star, say, or an adventurer. It’s all part of growing up – as is discovering they weren’t quite as heroic as you thought. My first hero was Captain Scott, whose story of steely determination to reach the South Pole moved me to tears when I read it as a kid. Only years later did I find out that he was an amateurish bungler. My scientific heroes have fared better. Sure, Louis Pasteur sometimes cut corners in his scientific studies of disease, but the outcome saved countless lives. Physicist Richard Feynman was a bit of a show-off, but there’s no doubting his genius. And then there’s Albert Einstein, who just gets more impressive by the day. His theories are still producing the goods a century on – witness the recent detection of gravitational waves. Yet even he made mistakes. He never accepted quantum theory, and wasted years searching for a theory that unified the fundamental forces of nature. The tragedy of Einstein’s lost years is that it was clear his quest was doomed even as he worked on it. His rejection of quantum theory ruled out any hope of understanding the subatomic world. Then there’s the awkward fact that when Einstein started work, ‘everything’ involved just two forces of nature – gravity and electromagnetism. As the years went by, other fundamental forces were identified, but they didn’t stop Einstein. He was still working on his Theory of Some Bits of Everything on the day he died. Still, it’s the prerogative of all geniuses to pursue their own hobbyhorses, isn’t it? Maybe, but I can’t help being saddened when I learn that yet another brilliant scientist has been seduced into spending time on one particular Big Question: the nature of consciousness. Pondering how our brains create the sense of being conscious has entranced countless thinkers, from René Descartes to Nobel laureates like Francis Crick of DNA fame. None of them made any real progress, in the sense of developing theories that could be tested scientifically. And yet still they come. As you read this, some very clever people are in Arizona for the most prestigious conference devoted to the problem of consciousness. Held every other year since 1994, the week-long gathering used to be called Towards a Science of Consciousness. But it’s been 98

Vol. 8 Issue 7

renamed The Science of Consciousness. So after centuries of conjecture, beard-stroking and thought, have the great minds nailed down the problem to the point they can put rival theories to the test? Er, no, not exactly. The conference features the usual grab-bag of imponderables being kicked around by the usual mix of cerebral celebs. In short, the name change is just an exercise in rebranding – the scientific equivalent of steaming the label off a bottle of plonk and renaming it Château Lafite. Part of the conference has been designated the Pribram Session, named after Karl Pribram, one of the pioneers of brain research who died last year at the age of 95. He was yet another brilliant scientist who spent his latter years wrestling with the mystery of consciousness. The outcome was an enormous book whose thesis is flaky at best. I’m sure that Pribram’s peers will have a grand time in Arizona. But part of me wishes they would bend their intellects towards problems they can at least agree on. ß

ROBERT MATTHEWS is Visiting Professor in Science at Aston University, Birmingham

ILLUSTRATION: ADAM GALE

E

PREDICT MY FUTURE: THE SCIENCE OF US Premieres 15 July. Fridays at 9.40pm (JKT/BKK), 10.40pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW) The Dunedin Longitudinal Study, begun in 1972 and continuing today, follows a group of 1,037 New Zealanders since their births, examining early childhood behaviour to predict whether a person will have a more or a less stable and successful life as an adult.

TRIBES, ANIMALS & ME

SEASONAL WONDERLANDS

Premieres 4 July. Mondays at 8.45pm (JKT/BKK), 9.45pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW) Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan joins three of the world’s wildest indigenous peoples, each with a unique understanding of an iconic animal. In order to get closer to the animals, Gordon must earn the trust and respect of the tribe.

Premieres 20 July. Wednesdays at 7.00pm (JKT/BKK), 8.00pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW) Set in three of the most seasonally changeable landscapes on Earth this beautiful series reveals the stunning transformations that occur each year and how wildlife copes with them. (Svalbard / Okavango Delta / New England)

JOANNA LUMLEY’S TRANSSIBERIAN ADVENTURE Premieres 28 July. Thursdays at 8.50pm (JKT/BKK), 9.50pm (SIN/HK/MAL/TW) A fascinating three-part series in which we accompany Joanna Lumley on this most romantic, epic rail journey, from Hong Kong to Moscow, via China and Mongolia.

www.bbcasia.com BBC Earth is available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Mongolia. Please call your cable operator for more details or check out our website.

/BBCEarth @BBCEarthAsia

Brand New Series 4 Premieres 26 July TUESDAYS AT 9.45PM (SIN/HK) BBC Earth is available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Mongolia. Please call your cable operator for more details or check out our website.

www.bbcasia.com /BBCEarth @BBCEarthAsia