The mathematics of balloon animals | New Scientist
Josie Ford
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more
Bloons and doubloons
This edition of Feedback is an exercise in time travel – in that every item is something from absolutely ages ago that we somehow missed. We would feel guilty, but it is the summer holidays (in the northern hemisphere, anyway) and many readers will have half an eye on their errant children, so we thought we could get away with it.
Cell-inspired synthetic fibers reveal a reversible route to self-protecting smart materials
Researchers at the University of Bayreuth, together with colleagues from Freie Universität Berlin and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, have developed a synthetic fiber system inspired by the cellular cytoskeleton that protects itself through controlled bundling. The findings open up new avenues for smart, switchable materials whose properties can be deliberately altered in response to a specific stimulus. The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Is hemp a thirsty crop? New research measures just how much water cannabis farming can use
by Trevor Hill, Alistair Clulow, Anthony Palmer, Richard Kunz, Shaeden Gokool, Sukhmani Mantel, The Conversation
In South Africa, it's been legal for several years for people to grow hemp (a type of Cannabis sativa with very low levels of the psychoactive compound THC) for personal use following changes to the law. There's also been a growing interest in its medicinal and industrial potential for clothing, insulation and paper production. Many see it as a "green gold" opportunity for small-scale farmers.
Human activity more than doubles Arctic fire occurrence, satellite analysis suggests
Fires in the Arctic are not solely a regional issue, as shown by the hazy skies in Switzerland last summer despite otherwise sunny weather. Smoke from major fires in northern Canada crossed the Atlantic and reached Europe. Until now, large-scale studies of Arctic tundra fires have focused primarily on rising temperatures and drought as the main drivers. The role of human activity has received much less attention, even as industrial development, settlements, roads and other infrastructure expand rapidly in parts of the Arctic, particularly in connection with extractive industries such as oil and gas production and mining.
'Like the end of the world': The eclipse chasers flocking to Spain
Suddenly, the world is plunged into an eerie, violet darkness. The temperature drops. Birds and other animals, bewildered by unforeseen night, start behaving strangely. Stars and planets appear in the sky next to the blotted-out sun.
Egg oiling offers a targeted way to reduce raven predation on vulnerable prey
Common ravens are intelligent omnivores that regularly consume the eggs and young of nesting birds, and their populations are boosted by human-provided food and nesting resources. This has resulted in elevated predation by ravens on many sensitive prey species, including greater sage-grouse.
Fuego volcano spews more ash and mud as Guatemala shelters 1,700 who fled nearby villages
by Sonia Pérez D.
Guatemala remained on alert Tuesday after evacuating villages during an eruption of the Fuego volcano, one of Central America's most active.
Snakes aren't simple tubes. Their bodies have five regions—including a short neck
Snakes are seemingly simple in structure: a head attached to a long, unremarkable noodle. They do have some pretty cool features at the front end, with venomous fangs and the ability to stretch their mouths and swallow large prey whole, but their bodies are not just the simple tubes we once thought.
Cells of the same age can follow sharply different biological aging paths
New research reveals that cells of the same chronological age can follow dramatically different biological aging paths, offering new insights into cancer, neurodegeneration and the fundamental biology of aging. Rather than aging uniformly, tissues become a mosaic of biologically younger and older cells, with some individual cells aging much faster than others—a discovery that could reshape how scientists understand aging and the earliest origins of age-related disease.
#Nature isn't one-size-fits-all, study finds
People often talk about "getting out into nature" as if all green spaces offer the same experience.
But a new University of Michigan study suggests that's far from the case. Whether you're strolling through a city park or hiking deep in a national forest can shape not only what you do, but also how you feel, who you spend time with and how you remember the experience.