Chaos theory
In this wide-ranging book, Palmer comes over as a fearless polymath, galloping from ‘trouser state space’, which is tiny compared with the state space of weather, to the intriguing link between Eureka moments and relaxation, where he talks about the interplay between the ‘lower power stochastic and power-intensive deterministic modes of our brain’.
Being young never gets old
This book is a good place to start for those interested in the science of ageing. It is a comprehensive introduction to the topic but also an entertaining read full of fascinating stories of those that successfully escaped death for much longer than expected and could hold the key to humans doing the same.
The messy story of insulin
In a new retelling of the insulin story timed to the centenary of this research, molecular biologist turned historian Kersten Hall shows that this romantic discovery drama with a cast of three doesn’t come close to describing the real events, which were much messier. The prize, still debatable, essentially rewarded good luck.
Capturing CO2
Controlling global warming requires us to reduce the amount of CO2 we put into the atmosphere – and to remove some of the CO2 we’ve added. Richard Corfield reports
App for blood O2
Researchers in the US have shown smartphones can estimate blood oxygen levels and signal hypoxemia, when levels fall too low (npj Digital Medicine, doi: 10.1038/s41746-022-00665-y). This is a leading indicator for dangerous complications for diseases such as asthma and Covid-19.
An end to obesity
A new pipeline of safer weight loss drugs could spell the end of obesity, but are they too good to be true? Jasmin Fox-Skelly reports
Food for feed
Global food supply could benefit if more byproducts were directed towards feeding animals, according to a new study. Today, up to 40% of land and 30% of cereal crop production is used for animal feeds, and 23% of captured fish goes to ‘non-food’ uses, such as fish and livestock feeds.
Africa nutrition deal
A new partnership agreement to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition aims to assist the nearly 282m African people classified by the World Bank as undernourished.
2.5D materials
Creating 2.5D materials with novel electrical and optical properties could provide alternatives to silicon in the next generation of computer processors and solar cells, Jon Evans reports
Ammonia strategy
Everyone it seems has a ‘Hydrogen Strategy’ in the works. The EU’s Green Deal, the US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Program Plan and of course the UK’s Hydrogen Strategy. So here comes the latest twist: to deliver hydrogen to the market in the form of ammonia.