Have you ever looked at a balloon animal and wondered how to describe it geometrically? Well, somebody did, and they wrote a whole paper about it - Feedback, @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/2582605-the-mathematics-of-balloon-animals/

Artificially-elongated fingernails were a marker of social status and conspicuous leisure, but no longer, say social scientists - Feedback, @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/2581378-a-handy-guide-to-the-science-of-super-long-fingernails/

Just loving how John Cleese, now reduced to one of his own caricatures, rages about immigrants coming to the UK and failing to accept "our" culture, from his home in ... (checks notes) ... Nevis in the Caribbean.

One patient in 20 is exposed to preventable harm in healthcare systems. Reducing these medical errors requires thinking carefully about systems and processes - @doctors-net-uk.bsky.social https://loom.ly/-1YmWig

Some characters in movies often die: wise mentors, teen girls having sex in horror movies, and, for some reason, geologists - Feedback in @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/2580175-why-do-fictional-geologists-keep-getting-killed-off-in-movies/

Feedback has been spending far too much time reading the latest output of entirely made-up research studies from the Journal of Imaginary Research

Can you guess the origin of 7 tiny species on a fictional archipelago? | New Scientist

Feedback has been spending far too much time reading the latest output of entirely made-up research studies from the Journal of Imaginary Research

newscientist.com

There's a magazine called the Journal of Imaginary Research that publishes entirely made-up research, and their latest issue includes an evolutionary puzzle - Feedback, @newscientist.com https://loom.ly/ENG1Cq0

Fatimah Jackson is a biological anthropologist who has studied human diversity. Her latest project: working out what to do with the human remains collected by universities etc without consent. I profiled her for @sciencenews.bsky.social. https://loom.ly/hEapET8

Achievement unlocked: after years of loyal listening I finally had an email read out on @kermodeandmayo.bsky.social (from about 7:20) Apple: https://loom.ly/now2wQE Spotify: https://loom.ly/EfzmI1c YouTube: https://loom.ly/1twde8g

One of the biggest trends in human evolution is that we became a fair bit taller and a lot heavier. (Our Human Story, @newscientist.com) https://www.newscientist.com/article/2533221-how-humans-evolved-to-be-twice-as-big-as-our-ancestors/

How come lugworm poop looks like it has fallen to the ground, when they defecate upwards? Feedback in @newscientist.com asks the big questions https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg27136032-200-a-surprisingly-detailed-look-at-the-physics-of-a-lugworms-poop/

We often assume that natural selection favoured intelligence and big brains, but this might not be true at all - @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/2532890-human-brains-may-have-got-bigger-for-no-particular-reason/

In further evidence that capitalism is entering a terminal phase, there is now a company selling probiotic underwear, reports Feedback in @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg27136022-300-do-you-want-your-underwear-with-added-probiotics/

Doctors often give patients tests or medicines, not because they'll help, but to prevent a complaint. How can we reduce this "defensive medicine", without inadvertently harming patients? @doctors-net-uk.bsky.social https://loom.ly/CHbTX1M

Are some people more prone than others to cry when chopping onions? And what does that have to do with a cat? All this and more in Feedback in @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg27036012-700-hold-the-onions-and-see-if-they-make-you-cry/

A pair of wooden posts, erected 5000 years ago, pointed to sunrise on the summer solstice. They may have been a precursor to Stonehenge - @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/2530818-ancient-monument-may-have-been-an-early-stonehenge-prototype/

Feedback in @newscientist.com tackles a pressing question: Reptiles with a larger body mass tend to have longer Wikipedia entries, but does that apply to the noted fictional reptile Godzilla? https://loom.ly/K62jWok

Who wins as a result of the EHRC trans code? Nobody. Nobody at all. None of this has any meaning whatsoever. It is just a needless act of administrative bother and political self-harm. open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

This always gives me a little happy: my feature on the origins of life is this week's cover story in @newscientist.com In shops tomorrow morning! https://www.newscientist.com/issue/3600/

In more shock "autistic people are diverse" news, it seems people with autism can have unusually strong OR unusually weak connections between brain regions, with different mechanisms responsible. @newscientist.com https://loom.ly/T42CBPA

If I ever do something like this to my daughter, you all have my permission to euthanise me.

Libby@captainlibatron.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What year is it?

New feature for @newscientist.com: When it comes to explaining how life began, sometimes the old ideas are best. Specifically, an idea put forward about a century ago and neglected for decades. https://loom.ly/3-IbpNs

I had a lot of fun chatting about anatomy, evolution and embryology - and my new book HUMANS - with Mike Marshall of News Scientist. You can watch the conversation here: youtu.be/tdzytD39vFI?...

The Evolutionary Accidents That Made Us Human

YouTube video by New Scientist

youtu.be

Many people believe themselves to be funny. But who is most prone to this delusion, wonders Feedback in @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg27035991-800-think-you-have-a-good-sense-of-humour-so-do-most-people/

I know a reasonable amount about the evolution of birds, but palaeontologist @stevebrusatte.bsky.social's new book about them still managed to surprise me. Review in @newscientist.com https://loom.ly/mvHFkcs

You can now watch my full interview with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social for @newscientist.com, about the animal origins of the human body. NS: https://loom.ly/6vdtOMU YouTube: https://loom.ly/k3LiB_4

From biochemistry in our cells, which dates back to the first single-celled creatures living in the ancient oceans, to our arms and legs, which evolved when amphibians crawled onto land, our bodies are far older and more animal than we like to think. Alice Roberts explains more.

The Forgotten Origins Of Your Human Body

Physically, Homo sapiens isn't that special in the animal world. Bu...

m.youtube.com

"Humans: The evolution of a species" is out today in the US and Canada! It's a lavishly illustrated account of our origins, written by a team of experts and also some hack called Michael Marshall. https://dk.com/products/9780241682746-humans

We know that humans migrated out of Africa, but we sometimes get into a muddle about how and when and why - @newscientist.com https://www.newscientist.com/article/2529312-what-really-happened-when-ancient-humans-migrated-out-of-africa/

I know nothing about this book or its author, beyond his Wikipedia page, but my spider sense, trained by years of @ifbookspod.bsky.social, tingled as soon as I saw this promo image. I just have this niggling suspicion that a lot of the book’s content might in fact be quite stupid.