Researchers have discovered a new species of frog in Borneo. The frog which has been named Microhyla nepenthicola is only one centimetre long making it Asia’s smallest. It lives in the Nepenthes ampullaria plant which it uses as a habitat. The plant lives off decomposing organic matter which collects in its pitcher shaped cavity, and it is this cavity that the tiny frog uses to lay its eggs and hatch its tadpoles.

Scientists from Dundee University are conducting a study into the decline of honey bees. They hope to find out whether pesticides are harming the brains of the bees and whether it damages their navigation and foraging skills. The scientists will work with the Scottish Beekeepers Association to radio tag bees as part of a three year study. The bee population has fallen by 15% in the last two years something that could impact on food production as bees are vital crop pollinators.

According to this article a study has proved that chimpanzees expand their territory by attacking and killing their neighbours. According to the study groups of aggressive chimpanzees will invade their neighbours territory to obtain more resources or mates. The study was carried out in Uganda over a ten year period. During this time scientists recorded 18 attacks and found signs of three others. The attacks were carried out by a large male dominated community of chimps at Ngogo in Kibale National Park. In one case the aggressive males attacked a group of females from another group killing an infant that one of them was carrying and trying to take another from its mother. It is not clear whether the behaviour is an effort to acquire land or mates, however, the aggressive chimpanzees eventually began to occupy the area where most of the attacks had taken place expanding their territory by more than a fifth.

As someone who has had laser eye surgery in the past I am always interested to keep up with the latest developments in treatments and also to find useful information on the subject that might benefit others. I recently came across this useful website called Treatmentsaver.com The site covers various sorts of treatments including laser eye surgery, cosmetic surgery, dentists and treatment abroad, however, it was the laser eye surgery section that drew my attention.

The website offers independent and unbiased information about the different types of surgery and is a free service. Looking in more detail at the laser eye surgery section, the website provides a good overview of treatment types including Lasek, Lasik and more advanced treatments such as Wavefront laser eye surgery. The site highlights the differences between the various treatments including the possible risks associated with it, providing a useful resource for anyone considering the treatment.

The best feature of the website and something I would have found particularly useful when considering surgery is the ability to compare different laser eye surgery clinics and read reviews from people who have already had the treatment. Whilst most clinics do provide real reviews it is more reassuring in my opinion to read these from an independent source and I have added my own review here on the Ultralase page. You can also contact the clinics directly from the website in order to request an information pack, a quote or to book a consultation. When I had my treatment more than five years ago there was little or no independent information available so it is nice to come across a resource like this.

A new treatment could offer a solution for people who suffer from glaucoma. The treatment involves inserting a tiny iStent implant at the base of the iris. It works by allowing fluid to escape and thus relieving the pressure. Patient Mary McCall has become the first British patient to undergo the procedure on one eye which appears to have been successful, she will later have the other eye treated. Glaucoma is a progressive illness which is caused when the optic nerve is damaged by a build up of fluid. Although it can often be controlled with drops patients start to lose their peripheral vision and can go blind. The iStent procedure, however, stops the progression of glaucoma and could save the eyesight of many people.

If this article is to be believed then shoals of robotic fish could be used to detect water pollution. The fish which have been nicknamed robofish would be used in ports and harbours in Wales to detect pollution in slow moving water. The fish are just one of the ideas that have been put forward at the first marine sustainability conference in Bangor. A shoal of the fish will be tested off the coast of Spain in 2011 as part of a three year project which if successful could see them coming to a harbour near you.

I have been aware of phakix IOL treatment for some time as it was offered as an alternative when I was considering laser eye surgery. Up until now, however, it appears that it has only been offered to those patients who have very short sight. The treatment which involves a lens being inserted into the eye is thought to be safer than laser eye surgery. Although the results are the same it appears many patients prefer the procedure because it is less invasive.

Recent studies carried out found that in many cases patients patients had better vision a year later than with laser eye surgery. The findings may mean that it will be offered more commonly as a treatment rather than simply as a last resort if you are unable to have laser eye surgery as would have been the case in my situation. I am lucky enough to have undergone laser eye surgery and be happy with the results but a treatment with less complications and similar results can only be a good thing.

I still remember the trauma of childhood injections and have never really lost my fear of needles, tending to pass out when faced with an injection. I was interested to read this article which suggests some injections may soon become obsolete and be replaced with a vaccine that can be inhaled. Rather than being faced with the dreaded needle patients would simply breathe in fumes from a bag. Human trials on the vaccine will begin within the next few weeks and if successful could potentially lead to inexpensive vaccines for illnesses such as tuberculosis and cervical cancer. The bad news is, however, that it could take around five years to become available in Britain and whilst it may work with vaccines there are still blood tests to look forward to. :(

A species of rare frog has been found to produce a powerful painkiller that is 200 times stronger than morphine. The phantasmal poison frogs have recently been successfully bred in a British aquarium as part of a study on the poison they produce. Although the frogs poison is lethal it is thought that an extract from their skin can block pain 200 times more effectively than morphine. It also has the advantage of being non addictive and without serious side effects. The frog is thought to survive on just seven sites on the western slopes of Ecuadorian Andes so the breeding programme to preserve the species is just the first step in studying the frogs and any potential cure they might produce.

If this article is to be believed worms form herds and influence each others behaviour often making group decisions. The findings come after researchers found that worms use touch to communicate. By doing so they often decide to collectively travel in the same direction. Researchers noticed the behaviour when they were looking at how earthworms interact with microorganisms in the soil. In doing so they noticed that the worms also seemed to interact with each other and often clustered together.

An experiment was set up to find out where earthworms decided to go and whether they liked to travel on their own or in groups. 40 worms were placed into a central chamber with two extended arms. The worms were left alone with a view to seeing how they moved over a 24 hour period. In most cases the worms preferred to group within one of the chambers over the other.

In a second experiment worms were placed in a soil filled maze with two routes to food sources to try and test whether worms affected each others behaviour. One worm was added to the maze and after it choose its route to the food source a second worm was also added to see if it followed the same route. After repeated trials it appeared that the worms were no more likely to follow the same route. However, when two worms were placed in the maze at the same time they were more likely to follow each other suggesting that they use touch to communicate where they are going. It is still not known why the worms herd together but it is thought it might be that clustering together helps them to protect themselves. Either way it seems we have a lot left to learn about the simple earthworm.

According to this article scientists have identified a gene that prevents regeneration. It is thought that by switching off this gene may one day enable mammals to regrow lost limbs. Trials have been conducted on mice where the p21 gene was switched off. The mice lacking the gene were then able to gain the ability to regenerate lost and damaged tissues. They do this by forming a blastema, a structure which is associated with rapid cell growth and causes the cells to behave more like embryonic stem cells than normal mammal cells. Scientists hope that they might one day be able to accelerate healing in humans by switching off this gene temporarily.

According to this article the number of bugs in Britain’s soil has increased by 50% in the last ten years. In the first study of its kind scientists have analysed the soil. They took more than 2,600 samples from different geological and climatic areas across the country and measured them for invertebrates, nutrients, pollutants, acidity and carbon. They found that in the top 8cm of soil, there are 12.8 quadrillion living organisms. Whilst the number of invertebrates has gone up by nearly 50% it appears that the diversity of life (the number of types) has decreased. Scientists say that both of these things are caused by the rise of annual temperatures and rainfall, the warmer and wetter summers that we have been experiencing.

According to this article a study has found there could be potentially damaging effects from “third hand” cigarette smoke. Scientists have found that significant quantities of cancer causing chemicals are produced on surfaces even when a smoker has been away from the room for several days. It is these chemicals that linger in the room after smoking that they refer to as third hand. The chemicals are found to be present in significant amounts on chairs, tables, carpets and even skin. Nicotine can stick to indoor surfaces for several days where it interacts with nitrous acid released by car exhausts and gas appliances. When combined these chemicals form something called tobacco-specific nitrosamines which can cause cancer. It is thought that the amounts found are enough to pose a danger to non-smokers and young children so it seems there may be yet another way that smoking can kill you, albeit indirectly.

A dermatologist has developed a application for the iPhone which he claims can get rid of wrinkles and acne whilst you talk on the phone. Called AcneApp The application costs $1.99 and uses blue and red light to help kill bacteria and promote collagen growth. There is some scepticism over whether the product actually works as it is yet to undergo clinical study but its an interesting idea.

According to this article our DNA could affect our ability to burn off fat through exercise. Dubbed the “unfitness gene” it seems one in five of us will be unable to lose weight no matter how much we exercise. Researchers asked 600 people to take up cycling and then tracked their improvements in fitness.  They did this by measuring the amount the amount of oxygen they took in. By looking into the volunteers DNA they found 30 genes that affected oxygen intake and noticed that one in five had a combination of genes which meant their oxygen intake did not change despite the recent exercise. 10 per cent of the volunteers did see a massive improvement in their aerobic fitness, however, this could explain why some people find it hard to lose weight. Or it could just be that extra piece of cake you couldn’t resist.

According to this article many different types of animals exhibit heroic behaviour and it is not just limited to humans. The article suggests that dolphins, monkeys, fruit bats and ants will all rescue their fellow creatures when they are in danger. Dolphins have been know to rescue trapped and injured dolphin, often lifting them to surface to help them breathe. Monkeys will drive away attackers from vulnerable individuals such as females and infants and fruit bats will help other fruit bats that are in labour. Ants will offer help to other ants from the same colony if they are caught in traps although it appears this help does not extend to individual from outside their own colony. A group of scientists is now hoping to study and document this type of behaviour in more detail to try and determine whether the animal rescuers behaviour is indeed heroic.

According to this article a study has been carried out which has concluded that angels and fairies would be unable to fly. Angels and cherubs that are depicted with small feather wings would apparently be unable to take off because they would be too heavy. They would also lack the powerful muscles that they would need to be able to beat their wings. fairies on the other hand would be unable to cope with the distortion of the thorax needed for flight in fairies with butterfly wings. So it seems if angels should exist then they would stay firmly on the ground.

If this article is to be believed then scientists have managed to grow a form of meat in a laboratory for the first time. The researchers who are based in the Netherlands have created what they have described as soggy pork. They are now working on improving the muscle tissue by training it and stretching it to make it feel more like meat. Vegetarian groups have welcomed the news and have no ethical objection as its not a piece of a dead animal. Although no one has tasted the artificial meat yet it is thought that it could be on sale within five years.

According to this article case of superbugs that are resistant to all antibiotics are increasing across Britain and Europe. Intensive care doctors have reported a rising number of patients with infections that are resistant to all available antibiotics meaning there are no drugs to treat them. It is thought that part of the problem is the overuse of antibiotics for minor diseases. A survey carried out among intensive care doctors found that half of them had treated a patient with an infection that was totally or partially resistant to antibiotics within the last six months so it appears the problem is getting worse.

According to this article thousands of microscopic worms have been sent into space. The worms which were collected from a rubbish tip in Bristol have boarded the Atlantis space shuttle for a mission to the international space station. It is hoped that studying the worms will help scientists explain how astronauts build and lose muscle as they circle the earth. The worms will be exposed to conditions in space for four days before being frozen and returned to the laboratory where they can be studied.

According to this article a daily portion of dark chocolate could help protect the skin against the aging effects of the sun. A study found that just a few squares of chocolate every day can help to prevent wrinkles caused by UV light. Dark chocolate is very high in flavanols which occur in the cocoa beans and it is these antioxidants which protect the skin from the harmful UV effects. I’m not entirely sure if I believe the claims but its a good excuse to eat more chocolate.

I would describe myself as a pessimist so I was mildly pleased when I came across this article which suggests being grumpy could be good for you. Apparently being grumpy makes you better at decision making and less gullible whereas those annoyingly happy people tend to make more mistakes because they are more inclined to believe what they are told. The findings come after a psychology expert studied the effects of positive and negative emotions. He found that when you are more grumpy you get more problems sorted out and make less errors. This works quite well with my way of thinking.

Gravy is one of those things that can be really really good when it is done well but can also spoil a meal when done badly. Now it appears that The Royal Society of Chemistry have come up with a recipe for the perfect gravy. They have published the recipe as part of their Food Year and hope that it will become widely used for Sunday Lunch. The secret ingredients appear to be dark soy sauce and iodized salt. If you want to try the recipe it is available from the link to the article or below where I have added it for my own reference.

Ingredients:
The juices from a roast joint of meat, preferably beef
Flour
Vegetable water (cabbage)
Iodised salt
Teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
Pepper
Gravy browning if you prefer a darker gravy.

Method:
The joint should be cooked on a bed of halved onions, carrots and celery on to which juices from the meat will slowly trickle. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the roasting tin along with the vegetables. Sprinkle a small amount of plain flour over the meat juices and fat. Stir to form a dough (roux) gradually adding the water in which vegetables have been cooked, preferably cabbage water. Ensure all the meat juices and Marmite-like deposits on the bottom of the roasting dish have dissolved. Then add iodised salt to taste and a teaspoon of dark soya sauce (rather than gravy browning) or a little red wine. Simmer to reduce the volume of liquid to the right consistency, stirring occasionally.

According to this article tall people lead happier lives than their shorter friends. A study published in the journal Economics and Human Biology has found that most miserable men are almost an inch shorter than average. The research found that shorter people are generally more dissatisfied with their lives. 450,000 adults were interviewed about how they viewed their life. Tall people were more likely to be positive and judge themselves as happy, they were also less likely to feel negative emotions such as sadness and physical pain. I’m not convinced myself, I’m fairly happy but am also tall but I also have plenty of friends who are short but also happy.

If you are scared of spiders you might have an excuse if you are a girl. According to this article girls could have a natural fear of spiders. Researchers came to the conclusion after conducting an experiment on a group of children. They showed pictures of spiders to 20 children, 10 girls and 10 boys who were 11 months old. The boys didn’t seem bothered by the pictures but the girls already associated spiders with being afraid. Based on the findings it is thought that girls are genetically more susceptible to fearing potentially dangerous animals.

Many strange things have done in the name of science, this however is one of the strangest I have come across recently. A group of scientists have been looking into what would happen if zombies were to attack. They carried out a mathematical exercise and found that only frequent counter attacks would eliminate the creatures. The researchers choose to model the attack based upon classic slow moving zombies. They found that a strategy of capturing or curing the zombies would only prolong the inevitable and that peoples only hope of survival would be to deal with the zombies quickly and hit them hard and often. I’m glad this issue has been resolved, its reassuring to know that if zombies were to attack we are in fact doomed.

I drink quite a lot of milk so was interested to read this article that suggests it could cut the risk of dying from heart disease or a stroke. According to the article scientists have found that drinking milk can reduce the risk of dying from heart disease or a stroke by as much as a fifth. The research which was carried out at Reading University found that milk could have more health benefits than just building strong bones and helping growth and that there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying from coronary heart disease, stroke and colo-rectal cancer.

A group of Somerset based cheese makers have launched the first piece of cheese into space. The mission which is hoped to be the first space flight by a piece of Cheddar launched a 300g wedge of Cheddar into the upper atmosphere. Unfortunately not everything has gone to plan and the GPS tracking system has stopped working causing the cheese to be lost in space. The organisers are now appealing for help to find the cheese once it lands.. It is thought it could turn up anywhere between Pewsey in Wiltshire and Hertfordshire.

This is interesting, its a new treatment which could prevent the onset of macular degeneration, one of the main causes of blindness. The treatment can reverse the effects of age related macular degeneration. It works by using a short pulse laser to clean tiny particles of debris which cloud the patients sight. The technique rejuvenates the membrane behind the retina and allows the eye to return to a more youthful uncluttered state. The treatment is currently still in the trial stages with the next trial focusing on people who have already been treated for AMD in one eye, with the aim of halting the onset of AMD in their other eye.

This is interesting its a contact lens which can help blind people to see again. The treatment works by using the patients own cells to repair damage to the cornea. It is carried out under local anaesthetic and patients can go home just two hours after surgery. Under the treatment samples of stem cells are taken from a healthy eye. These are then grown on a contact lens for 10 days before the lens in inserted into the eye. After three weeks the stem cells heal damage to the cornea and vision begins to improve. So far three patients have been treated all of whom had poor vision caused by corneal disease, a form of blindness which affects around 10 million people worldwide.

This article is interesting it suggests that rooks are as intelligent as monkeys and that they are able to perform complex puzzles in order to source food. Four birds were given a puzzle with a small basket of worms inside a plastic tube. The worms were out of reach but the birds were also given a piece of straight wire. In each case the rooks bent the wire to make it into a tool and then used it to hook the basket of worms out of the tube. Unlike other animals which can learn how to solve a problem by using trial and error the rooks all solved the problem immediately despite never been shown how to do it. Researchers at Cambridge University believe that these results show that rooks have an intelligence to rival chimpanzees who are also able to craft tools using their hands.

According to this article £300,000 of taxpayers money was spent on research into finding out which kind of water ducks prefer. This hugely important and ground breaking research was carried out by Defra with the aim of making sure that ducks kept on farms are properly treated. During the three year study by Oxford University scientists offered the ducks different types of water including a trough, a pond, a shower and a nipple drinker. It was found that the ducks preferred standing under a shower and that they spent twice as long under the shower as they did in the other water.

If this article is correct then a cure for blindness could be developed within the next six years. According to the article a simple 45 minute operation which involves injecting new cells into the back of the eye could be the answer. The surgery is being developed by researchers at the Moorfields Eye Hospital in London to tackle the most common cause of blindness age related macular degeneration (AMD) which affects around 500,000 in the UK. The treatment involves growing human embryonic stem cells in a lab. These cells are able to turn into different types of cells and so can be used to create small patches identical to the damaged cells in the eyes of AMD sufferers. The cells are injected into the back of the eye where they replace these damaged cells are restore sight. The treatment has already been tested successfully on rats and pigs and human trials are due to begin within two years.

This article is interesting, it suggests that whales used to live on the land. Fossilised remains of an ancient whale from 47 million years ago seem to prove that the creatures were dependant on the land for resting and breeding and may have once lived completely on the land. The fossil found was a female whale that was pregnant with a calf when she died. The calf's position in the womb appears to back up the theory that at this point whales were not totally aquatic. Looking at the position of the calf in the womb it would have been born head first like land mammals rather than tail first as the norm in aquatic mammals. It is this that in the words of Phillip Gingerich of the University of Michigan shows “They clearly were tied to the shore".

This article from the National Geographic is quite interesting, it suggests that early humans were able to crack nuts with their teeth. Unlike us the Australopithecus africanus had strong chewing apparatus which was able to handle hard foods such as nuts and seeds when other food was not available. They also had well muscled heads that could withstand high forces such as the teeth of canines. I wish I could crack nuts with my teeth.

This is quite interesting, its an article about Professor Kenneth Libbrecht who has spent many years studying snowflakes. He has used a specially designed photo microscope to photograph snowflakes often in sub zero temperatures and has now published a book with some of his findings.  According to Libbrecht: "Each snowfall is a photographic adventure because each brings different crystals. And it's true - no two are exactly alike."

This article suggests that obesity could be contagious. Apparently its all down to how fat you feel compared to other people around you. Two leading economists have said that in a society where there are a growing number of overweight people, you are less bothered about staying slim. It seems that as obesity becomes more common the perception of what is counted as obese changes or as the article puts it "When my neighbour gets a little fatter, I ...become a little fatter since it is now not necessary to be so slim in order to compete." Judging by this if we want to be thin, we should make sure we have thin neighbours.

Scientists have filmed a shrimp on a treadmill as part of an experiment to see how far the crustaceans travel for food. The treadmill was built into a tank of water and enabled researchers to measure the shrimps activity levels. They found the shrimp can move at speeds of 66ft per minutes and that it can run for three hours before needing a rest. The shrimp in the film doesn't look too impressed. 

This is strange, its a cat that glows in the dark. The cat named Mr Green Genes has been genetically modified as part of an experiment which could lead to a treatment for cystic fibrosis. He looks like any normal cat until he is exposed to ultraviolet light, then he glows. Researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into the feline's genetic sequence to create what is formally known as a transgenic cat. That's all very interesting but my main thought on reading the article was "cool a glowing cat".

This is a rather unusual story that I came across, it about a girl who suffers from a condition that means she bleeds spontaneously from her pores. Twinkle Dwivedi who is 13 loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched. She has had to undergo several transfusions to replace her lost blood after it has seeped through here eyes, nose, hairline and the soles of her feet. She has also woken up covered in blood. Her family have consulted a number of doctors and even preachers but as yet no cure can be found for her condition which is thought to be caused by a rare platelet disorder.

This is interesting, its an article that describes how ants display a preemptive response to danger. In a Brazilian ant colony some ants choose to sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony. At sunset, the colony will protect itself by sealing off the entrances with sand. The problem with this is that a few ants must choose to remain outside to complete the job. These ants will be unable to reenter once the nest is sealed and so will die when the temperature drops overnight. A behavioural ecologist found that as many as eight ants would remain outside the nests. The remaining ants, however, were not stragglers they stayed outside the nest to deliberately help to hide the entrances and would spend up to 50 minutes carrying sand into the hole until it was sealed. By the time the morning came the ants that had stayed outside were dead. It is thought that the ants who remained outside were old or sick ants that chose to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the colony.

This is interesting its a solar powered bicycle. The device operates like a normal pedal cycle but has a canopy lined with solar cells overhead. As the user pedals along in the sunshine the rays charge a battery that powers a small electric motor in the back wheel. The battery can then power the bike forward at speeds of up to 15mph as well as lowering the resistance in peddling so that it is easier to cycle up hills. When the sun isn't shining the bike can be charged by plugging it into the mains. It is currently still only in the concept stage but the inventor hopes to find a manufacturer and mass produce it.

This article suggests that sitting still increases hunger. US researchers carried out a study where they monitored the appetite of a group of people who were asked to be active or inactive for day at a time. On the days when they were inactive the people were more hungry. Whilst the results are preliminary the study suggests that exercise decreases appetite whilst sitting still boosts it. I'm not sure how much truth there is in this but I defiantly eat more if I am bored and have nothing to occupy me.

I came across this article which suggests horizontal stripes can make you appear thinner. It had previously been thought that vertical stripes gave a slimmer effect but an experiment has now disproved this theory. The University of York Psychology Department asked a group of people to decide which women looked slimmer in 200 pairs of pictures, some of which had horizontal stripes and some vertical. The result was that even though the women were the same size the horizontal stripes made the model appear thinner and further research found that the ones wearing the horizontal stripes were 6% wider. I'm off to buy some stripy clothes.

This is interesting, its a contraption that could make Yves Rossy the first man in history to cross the Channel as a human jet. That's if it works. If it fails then he could end up swimming in the Channel. The device is powered by four small engines from a model aircraft and the wings are made of carbon fibre which is strapped to his back. The flight is planned for around the 24th of September depending on weather conditions.  I wonder whether he will make it.

Scientists have discovered the best way to swat a fly. Apparently flies are so hard to swat because they have the ability to plan and carry out an emergency take off in under 200 milliseconds. The trick then is to creep up on the fly and then try to anticipate which direction they are likely to fly to. It works because flies are unable to register slow movement but it still relies on guessing which direction the fly will go so doesn't seem entirely fail safe. We have a device in our house for catching flies, his name is Oliver and he rarely misses, catching them in mid air. Every house should have one.

Oliver relaxing after eating too many flies.

If you get stressed out when you do not have access to the internet then you could have discomgoogolation. That's the term that psychologists are using to describe the high stress levels that can be caused by internet dependency. Apparently monitoring of heavy web users showed increased brain activity and blood pressure when they were cut off from the internet with people feeling stressed and confused when they were unable to gain instant access to information. I'm not sure how true this is, personally I feel stressed if I don't have internet access because it prevents me working. What do you think? Do you suffer from discomgoogolation?

This article suggests that common moisturisers could cause skin cancer. The possibility was uncovered by accident when scientists were looking at the benefits of caffeine on the skin. During the test they applied moisturiser to the test subjects, mice who had been exposed to ultraviolet light. They discovered that the moisturiser increased the production of tumours. Three other moisturisers also increased the production of tumours by 69%. The cancers were generated were non fatal varieties that would usually be treatable but following these surprise results researchers will now go on to study the implications for humans.

This article suggests that clumsy children are more likely to become obese as adults because they exercise less. It is based on a study that found children with poor hand control and co-ordination are more likely to be obese later on in life. I'm not entirely sure the link is down to the children being clumsy, its more likely to be down to lack of exercise as children. I was a very clumsy child and have always managed to break pretty much everything I touch, I still amaze myself how quickly we seem to get through glasses in my house, I never have a set for more than a few weeks before an accident occurs. Whilst naturally clumsy, however, I have not grown up obese, although I was quite an active child.

This article suggests that the effects of alcohol do make people appear more attractive. Researchers found that as little as a pint and a half of beer is enough to make everyone seem more desirable. Men are worst affected with the effect lasting as long as 24 hours after a heavy drinking session. The results were based on a study done at Bristol University where male and female volunteers were randomly allocated a drink of vodka and lime or a similar tasting soft drink. There were then asked to rate the attractiveness of 20 male and 20 female faces on a seven point scale. Those who had been drinking alcohol scored the faces 10% higher than those who had not. The following day both sexes were tested again, this time the men who had been drinking the previous day scored the picture more highly than the non drinkers. The researchers concluded: 'Alcohol consumption increases ratings of attractiveness of facial stimuli.'

If you believe this article the invisibility cloak could soon be a reality. Researchers at the University of California have developed a material that can bend light around an object making it disappear. Obviously the item doesn't actually disappear it is simply no longer visible. The effect is based upon reversing refraction and the result is that only white light behind the object can be seen giving it a cloaking effect. The team involved have said that the principle could be scaled up to make one day make a cloak large enough to hide people. Interesting. Now what would I do with an invisibility cloak?

If you want longer legs then you might want to consider a leg lengthening clinic. Based in Russia the clinic claims it can literally add inches to your legs. The article cites two examples the first where a lady had her legs lengthened by 3 inches and another where a man has the procedure to correct the fact that he had one leg longer than the other. In both cases the treatment appears to have been successful. It does, however, sound really painful. The treatment involves having your legs broken in several places before being attached via metal pins to something called the IIizarov Frame. The frame provides a support of a cast and uses metal spokes to pierce the flesh and fix the bone in position. Rather than setting the bone the device gradually moves the two sections further apart causing new bone to grow and seal the break. It is possible to lengthen the bone as much as 2 inches in a month. I am lucky to be quite tall already but this procedure seems an awful lot of pain for the sake of a few extra inches. Ouch.

According to this article drinking two cups of tea a day can halve your risk of dementia. It is thought that chemicals in the tea called flavonoids help protect the brain although researchers do not yet know why tea protects against damage. Other studies have shown that tea can also help prevent the development of cancerous tumours and prevent against heart disease and stroke as well as strengthening teeth. All very good news, I drink lots of tea.

In an experiment to find out whether octopuses have a preferred arm out of the eight they use scientists have given them a Rubik's Cube. 25 octopuses have all been given one of the toys and the scientists will record their behaviour to see whether the creatures use a specific limb to pick up the toy. I have never managed to solve a Rubik's Cube, I wonder how long it will the octopuses to figure it out.

This article suggests that metal earrings and tooth filling could cause chronic back pain. Apparently the body reacts when it is pierced by pieces of metal and the nervous system tries to remove the offending object leading to the skin surrounding them becoming uncomfortable. This seems to be a fairly new theory but it is becoming more widely believed amongst professional chiropractors.  Personally I'm not convinced about the fact that jewellery can cause back pain but I have read other articles in the past that suggest people have been cured after having their metal fillings removed.

This article suggests that smaller dogs are more likely to be aggressive than bigger ones. A study on animal behaviour published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that smaller dogs were more likely to show aggressive behaviour. Dachshunds topped the list followed by the Chihuahua and the Jack Russell Terrier with a large dog the Akita only making number four in the list. I guess what the smaller dogs lack in size they make up for in attitude.

If you believe this article then we could all live on floating cities in the future. That's according to an architect who believes that floating cites could be the answer to rising sea levels. In theory each city could house 50,000 inhabitants in a self sustainable home which would have a lake at its centre. It would also have artificial marinas and mountains and would be powered by wind turbines and solar power. The architect has not yet estimated a cost for his design but believes it could be a solution to provide housing for refugees from islands that have been overtaken by the sea. It all looks very interesting, a bit like a massive lily pad.

A vaccine that could cure cat allergies is undergoing clinical trials. The research suggests that after the vaccine can make patients can develop a tolerance to cat allergens such as fur after just four treatments. The article doesn't say whether the effects of the vaccine are permanent or if it needs to be taken as an ongoing treatment. Perhaps this will be clearer after the clinical trials.

I hate injections and unfortunately have a history of passing out when I have had to have one. A new patch, however, could offer a vaccine without the need for a injection. The patch has been developed by the University of Queensland and tests on animals have shown it can be even more effective than a normal vaccination. It is the size of a 5p piece and contains thousands of tiny projections coated in the vaccine on the underside. Once applied to the skin these projections push through the outer layer of skin. The nanopatches need a fraction of the dose that would be needed for an conventional needle vaccination. They could also be safer, because they would avoid incidents of needle prick and cross contamination. They are also potentially cheaper to produce. All this sounds great, but for me the best part is that there are no needles involved, unfortunately they are not likely to available any time soon.

This article is interesting, its about a new type of contact lenses that can help to correct short sight. Unlike normal contact lenses you wear them at night. They help to reshape the eyeball by pressing on the eyeball and correcting the problem that causes short sight. The interesting thing is that because they correct your sight overnight, they do not have to be worn during the day. The lenses are basically like normal gas permeable or hard lenses rather than the soft type. They are shaped to the contours of your eyeball and then press on the cornea reducing the curvature and restoring it to the shape of normal vision. They do need to be worn every night because the effect is temporary and the eyeball will gradually spring back to its original shape. Whilst I can see it might take some getting used to wearing lenses whilst you sleep, this seems like a good idea. The lenses are suitable for people with short sight and a prescription of -5 or less.

I read this article that suggests eating a large breakfast can help you lose weight. It is based on research carried out on a group of women. Over several months the women who ate half their daily intake of calories in the morning lost more weight than those who ate a smaller amount. The bigger breakfast apparently helps because it makes you feel fuller during the day, meaning you are less likely to snack.

I often come across articles that make me think scientists have a little too much time on their hands. This is a good example. A group of scientists have been working really hard and have found the formula for the perfect sandwich. What a relief. It is based on algebraic variables and takes into account factors such as the thickness of the cheese and the bread and the amount of margarine that is used. You can give it a go here and can be sure you will never mess your sandwich up ever again. Thank you science.

In case you are wondering my perfect sandwich had the following dimensions.

White Bread : 10mm
Farmhouse Cheddar : 2.25 mm
Pickle : 3 mm (3 teaspoons, random chunk distribution)
Butter : 1 mm (average spread thickness)
White Bread : 10mm

The optimum thickness of Parkham Mature Cheddar for your sarnie strata selection is 2.25 mm.   

Researchers have found that a chemical derived from red wine can help keep the heart "genetically young". The chemical called resveratrol appears to stop age related changes in the function of heart genes producing an effect similar to eating a very calorie diet. Unfortunately the chemical does not stay in the blood for very long and a researcher said "In order to have any effect, you would have to drink literally gallons of wine, and that is not recommended."

I don't suffer from hay fever as much as I used to, probably because I no longer wear contact lenses since having laser eye surgery. I do, however, find that I get a constant sore throat and runny nose during the summer months. I was interested to find out that a hay fever vaccine is currently being tested. It is meant to the reduce the symptoms of hay fever by training the immune system to tolerate pollen. During a four week trial volunteers who received the vaccine reported a significant  improvement in their symptoms. The only problem I can see is that it involves having an injection every week. Being scared of needles I think I will just live with the hay fever symptoms until it comes in a pill format.

This is quite an interesting article showing images of how the world would look if human life ceased to exist. This picture shows how parts of London would rot and how flood waters would enter the city, as without power to the Thames Barrier central London would be mostly underwater. Other pictures show impressions of how Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge would decay. The pictures are based on both scientific expertise and an understanding of history to predict what would happen. Within a few weeks the planet would be plunged into darkness and within six months areas would start to be repopulated by animals including domestic pets. Within 40 to 50 years modern buildings would start to collapse and within 100 years cars would have rotted away. The more aggressive predators would become dominant with livestock being mainly wiped out. What a cheerful article.

A glue has been produced that can attach equally well to both to both wet and dry surfaces. It was inspired by sticky geckos that can climb using their sticky feet. The glue is similar in structure to a gecko’s foot and also contains a polymer that mimics the glue a mussel uses. It is likely to be used for adhesive tapes and water resistant adhesives for bandages.

The TV remote could soon be a thing of the past. Scientists in Australia have invented a device that allows viewers to control the TV by using simple hand gestures. The gadget includes a camera that can recognise hand gestures and could be easily incorporated into set top boxes. A clenched fist turns the TV on, a thumbs up sign controls the volume and a sideways sign can change channels.

A new moon has been discovered orbiting Saturn. This means there are now 60 known moons orbiting the planet. It was spotted by cameras on the Cassini spacecraft. It has not yet been officially named but is currently nicknamed Frank.

I read this interesting article about how Britain became an island. The evidence shows that Britain was split from France hundreds of thousand years ago by a huge flood. The evidence is based upon high resolution sonar images of the English Channel that show a deep scar in the limestone rock caused by a huge torrent of water. Its an interesting read and makes me wonder hoe different Britain would be today if it were still joined to France

I read this really interesting article about how London is slowly sinking. A combination of subsidence and rising water levels mean that every year London is around 3mm lower. This is according to the Environment Agency who has been monitoring the situation. With these findings they hope to be able to adapt London’s current flood defences to make use of a better natural floodplain as well as get a clear timeline of how much time they have to carry out existing improvements before the situation gets too critical.

I read this interesting article about a group of giant apes that been discovered in the Congolese jungle. The chimps are much larger than normal and due to their remote location are not afraid of people. They also exhibit different behaviour from most chimps building large nests on the ground rather than sleeping in the trees to avoid predators, as is more common. Local hunters claim that the large apes have also been known to kill and eat lions, although so far there is no evidence to support this claim other than the fact that one chimp was found eating a leopard. Once again it reminds me of those pub arguments, who will win chimp or lion? .... but what if its a giant lion eating chimp?

The world's largest telescope in the Canary Islands is to be used to scan the sky for planets. The telescope should be able to penetrate molecular clouds and see the most distant objects in the universe, so if there are other planets like Earth out there, there are high hopes of finding them.

An interesting article here which discusses whether fish have feelings or not. It talks about the assumption that fish have very short memories which has recently been challenged by scientists ,who found fish actually have a memory span of a few months. Now, I feel really bad for keeping my poor goldfish is a bowl when I younger, it must have been really bored, no wonder fish never look very happy.

The European Space Agency is currently looking for six people to go on a trip to Mars. Well. almost, its a pretend trip to Mars but the crew will experience isolation and confinement. The experiement is being run to help scientists understand how people cope in extreme conditions.

Analysis of cheetahs DNA found that they are also cheaters by nature. Litters of cubs were found to be made up of cubs from several different fathers. In fact 43% of litters contained cubs from multiple fathers.

I came across this interesting website thegreatturtlerace.com. It charts the progress of 11 turtles, each of which has been fitted with a transmitter on their journey from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands. Every day the site shows how far the turtles have travelled and which turtle is in the lead. The aim of the project is too raise awareness about how few of these turtles there are left in the wild.

Have you ever wondered what a Tyrannosaurus Rex would taste like? Well the chance is it would taste like chicken. Scientific analysis of a fossilised T Rex thigh bone showed that it was very similar to chicken protein suggesting a T Rex would have a similar taste. That’s a whole lot of meat.

We all know that science is really useful; after all without science so many important things would never have been discovered. With this in mind a group of innovative scientists have spent more than 1,000 hours researching how to create the perfect bacon butty. After trying out different types of oil, various cooking techniques and different cuts of bacon the scientists discovered that the bacon should be cooked under a preheated grill for seven minutes at 240C and should then be placed between two slices of bread each of which should be 1 to 2cm thick. Well it’s good to know that in a world that still hasn’t discovered the cure for so many life threatening diseases we can at least enjoy the perfect bacon sandwich.