Medical marvels from spaceMEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS and the detection of bootleg whiskey are not commonly associated with advances in space exploration. However, scientists are starting to apply space-age solutions to more down-to-earth problems.
Ireland's other liberator, of algebraSMALL PRINT: DANIEL O’CONNELL may have been known as The Liberator, but another important figure in 19th-century Ireland earned a similar title – mathematician William Rowan Hamilton (right) is considered to have liberated algebra.
Features »
Teenage kicks in the hormonesWhat makes the teenage years so awkward for everyone? A lot has to do with maturing and the wiring processes in the teenage brain, writes CLAIRE O’CONNELL
Diamonds are a lab's best friendWe know they make the rich look richer, but most diamonds are used in industry, and synthetic diamonds are hot on their heels, writes JOHN HOLDEN
Atomium Culture »
A molecule with intriguing past and promising futureBILSKA (Jagiellonian University in Krakow): The past two decades have witnessed a surge of interest in the pharmacology of lipoic acid, particularly its therapeutic effects in the treatment of many apparently unrelated diseases, of which diabetes, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative changes, joint diseases, and AIDS.
Living a Lie? MAYERHOFER (LMU Munich): Passing, or concealing an aspect of ourselves that might be regarded as a “weakness”, is a phenomenon that affects many of us – in real life and in literature.
Rafts in our cellsDE ALMEIDA (University of Lisbon): a new role for lipids in the molecular organization of life.
Comment »
- Star-rated therapies often useless
Involving celebrities in the promotion of what is essentially pseudoscientific nonsense is neither safe nor helpful
- Why drugs feature in elite sports
Participation in top-level sport generates pressure on athletes to suspend certain moral principles in the pursuit of athletic achievement, writes WILLIAM REVILLE
News »
- The alternative Nobel prizes
SMALL PRINTS : DID YOU know that leaning to the left can make the Eiffel Tower seem smaller, that you can make diamonds from old ammunition, and that there are methods to detect brain activity even in dead salmon?
- Electric repairs for heart damage?
SMALL PRINTS : Could electrified nanotubes offer a route to help repair damaged hearts in the future?
