This month’s collection of links to items you didn’t know you’d missed, and probably didn’t want to.
Science, Technology, Natural World
The universe is stealing our time! The days are getting shorter as Earth spins faster.
In an incredible feat of computing, the AI system Deep Mind has worked out the structure 200 million proteins in all the species whose genome has been sequenced.
Who first thought up the concept of zero? It seems the origins are somewhat elusive, but it looks like it may be in Sumatra. [£££]
Apparently the US regulators are imminently to certify the first small nuclear reactors. Now if they’ll just use the molten salt reactors then it will solve the problem of further high risk waste.
In more watery news a rare coloured sea slug has been found in UK waters for the first time.
The other side of the world, an incredible new jellyfish has been found off the coast of Papua New Guinea
Back on dry land, a group of scientists is planning to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine). Hmmm … good luck with that one!
So how are large migratory moths able to fly in incredibly straight lines for miles? Scientists are trying to find out.
Health, Medicine
There are times when I struggle to believe what scientists and medics can achieve, and this is one of them … they’ve managed to change blood type of donor kidney – if this stands up then it will be a major breakthrough in transplant surgery.
There’s an outbreak of the previously unknown “tomato flu” in India. Except that it isn’t; it’s actually viral hand, foot & mouth disease which not uncommon amongst children across the globe. (Hand, foot & moth disease is NOT related to foot & mouth in cattle etc.)
Sexuality
Something else what always amazes me is the breadth of Benjamin Franklin’s interests. For instance, who know he extolled the benefits of banging MILFs?
One far-sighted mother (in Australia) got help to give her autistic sone some confidence – she booked him a session with a sex worker! Now tell me again why sex work shouldn’t be legal.
Environment
Hedges. Britain excels at them, with a greater length of hedge than roads. And farmers are coming to realise they provide vital habitat and corridors for wildlife. [LONG READ]
Art, Literature, Language, Music
A short item from History Today on the way our expletives change over the centuries. [£££]
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
Researchers have been retrieving DNA from ancient teeth and estimated that the “cold sore” herpes virus (HSV-1) is a recent evolution.
It is being suggested that the reason many medieval monks has a high parasite load was because they were using their own excrement as fertiliser.
The first of our two articles this month from Going Medieval‘s, looks at sexual assault in the medieval world. [LONG READ]
And our second of Going Medieval‘s articles is all about rocking chicks what brew beer. [LONG READ]
Only 350 years after it sank in the Bahamas, the wreck of the cargo of treasure aboaud the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas is being discovered and recovered.
Bills of Mortality, basically early equivalents of death certificates, often in church registers, are an invaluable resource. A London Inheritance blog takes a look at what they can tell is abut early modern life in London. [LONG READ]
They said it is impossible to rebuild Notre Dame, using medieval carpentry and building skills … but France’s medieval carpenters are doing it!
London
A potted history of the London Taxicab.
A review of a book on origins of the more curious and interesting of London’s pub names.
Food, Drink
It seems there are some (natural) products which are able to interfere with your body’s ability to use the nutrients you consume – known as antinutrients.
