So here goes with this month’s outsized collection of links to items you may have missed.

Science, Technology & Natural World

A few days ago I had a strange little bug in the house. It turned out to be the planthopper Issus coleoptratus. And I found out the nymphs of this insect are incredible as they have the only known mechanical gears ever found in nature. Here’s a piece about these gears.
[That’s my photo on the right.]

While we’re on strangenesses … What happens when octopus are give MDMA? Does it affect their distributed brain the same way it does ours? Well naturally scientists had to find out!

Many people don’t like termites (and for good reason) but they’re incredible insects which can actually teach us a lot. [VERY LONG READ]

Scientists have realised that they can mine twitter for observations of nature.

Fungi are another of the fascinating orders of nature.

Leaving the natural world behind, scientists have developed artificial genes which demonstrate that life does not have to be based on DNA. [£££££]

But then again, if there are dead civilisations out there in the cosmos, how are we going to conduct cosmic archaeology to search for them?

Health & Medicine

It seems that we dream even when under general anaesthetic. [£££££]

We all know that 98.6°F (37°C) is our normal body temperature. Except when it isn’t, of course.

So what is going on in our guts? And do probiotics actually make any difference?

The vagina is self-cleaning – so why does the ‘feminine hygiene’ industry exist?

100 years on from the Spanish flu and the disease still stalks us.

Many older people have been advised to take an aspirin a day, even if they don’t have symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Medics now think this is risky.

Men and women experience migraine attacks differently due to both physiology and sociology.

A new UK study of depression is recruiting 40,000 volunteers to find if there are genetic markers for the disease.

Sexuality

So what are the secrets to fulfilling sex in a long-term relationship? Seems like there’s no really special magic but lots of being.

Environment

Beavers are amazing creatures and it appears that they could have a role in combating climate change. (But you don’t ever want to have to sex one!)

How would you like a wolf living near you? Personally I’d rather like to have a wolf living in my area. How about you?

The National Trust in South Wales are experimenting with a return to medieval strip farming, and it sounds like an environmental win.

Finally someone has had the courage to call out what I’ve been suggesting for a long time: abandoning nuclear power could increase carbon emissions.

Art & Literature

Apparently the male nude is back in fashion in art circles.

History, Archaeology & Anthropology

Archaeologists were initially puzzled by the skeleton of a 3,000 year old ancient Greek female. But it turns out she was a master ceramicist.

A couple of years ago IanVisits went to Broughton Castle near Banbury. I went there recently during a conference in Oxford, and it is every bit as spectacular as IanVisits says.

In his late 17th century journal sailor Edward Barlow confessed to a rape. But he then covered it over and the evidence lay hidden until modern conservators got to work uncovering an intriguing tale.

Christopher Kissane in the Irish Times blows the lid on the historical nonsense which underpins UK’s Brexit floundering.

Lifestyle & Personal Development

From the annals of the unexpected … Many of us lack a degree of self-control, but researchers have shown that having a simple ritual can help.

We in Britain are losing our shared spaces (pubs, clubs, libraries, churches) and becoming more isolated and cliquey.

So how do you win friends and then keep them for years? Emma Beddington has some ideas.

Food & Drink

Britain’s Food Standards Agency has been testing meat products, and worrying they find 20% contain the DNA of animals they aren’t supposed to, and that it appears to be deliberate.

Shock, Horror, Humour

Finally this years Ig Nobel Prize winners were announced a week or so ago. DIY colonoscopy anyone? Or just the need to use a voodoo doll to get revenge on your boss?