Here following, this month’s links to items you didn’t know you’d missed!
Science, Technology, Natural World
A new colour of cat (above) has been discovered – they’re black and white, but not as we know it!
We know it’s under genetic control, and that underneath all cats are tabby, but researchers have now worked out how tabby markings on cats form.
Scientists can be quite inventive when naming species; here are few of the best, including Agra vation. [LONG READ]
One young researcher is listening to seagrass meadows in an attempt to discover the full range of their biodiversity.
Last year’s Storm Ciarán’s ruined our tea. Here’s how.
A statistician looks at how to take the perfect penalty in football.
Scientists think they’ve discovered a cave on the moon, without being there.
So just how do astronomers work out the size of the solar system, again without going there?
And why do some planets have moons and others don’t?
And still in space, how often are we actually visited by asteroids?
Is it a fossil? Is it a meteorite? No it’s a meteor-wrong! [££££]
And finally for this section, we go from space to the ocean depths … Oceanographers think they’ve found an unexpected source of oxygen on the seafloor. [££££]
Health, Medicine
Yersinia pestis (aka. plague) is, as its name implies, a pest. And it keeps plaguing humanity.
One Anthropology Professor who studies how environmental stressors affect menstrual cycles (and a lot else) gives some scientific evidence as to why she personally hates tampons.
Which leads us nicely(?!) on to …
Sexuality
Kate Lister avers that women aren’t orgasming enough through penetrative sex and men had better start understanding why. She also has a message for men on giving oral sex.
So what’s the low-down on sexual incompatibility in long-term couples?
Environment
A large water beetle has been found in Cambridgeshire after an absence of over 80 years.
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
Underneath the vineyards of Champagne is a rich hunting ground for fossils.
Why was there a population crash during the neolithic? One suggestion is plague.
How the Sumerians influenced tennis.
More research on the Antikythera mechanism suggests it followed the Greek lunar calendar.
Tremors when Vesuvius erupted collapsed shelter walls and crushed the victims.
Still in Pompeii, archaeologists have found an ancient construction site, undisturbed since Vesuvius’ eruption.
Now we have Going Medieval telling us all about the mendicants. [LONG READ]
In support of medieval service magicians in preference to “manifesting”. [LONG READ]
One researcher claims to have uncovered a late 16th-century secret dossier of Elizabeth I’s spy network. Clearly they’d never heard of Francis Walsingham!
Samuel Pepys, it turns out, isn’t just a diarist and government administrator on th make, but also a connoisseur of fashion.
And coming up to date … Shackleton’s ship Endurance, wrecked in the Antarctic, is to get added protection.
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
If you’re one of the many lacking body confidence, here are some ideas which may help you attain it.
And here are some scientific tricks to keep your flower bouquets looking fresh for longer.
Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!
And finally, something on Larry, Chief Mouser of Downing Street, and other political pets. But there’s no mention of Attlee, the current cat of Mr Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
