Belatedly another round of links to articles you missed the first time. There’s a lot in this issue, so let’s get cracking; science first as usual.
There is growing interest in what’s being called “Ecological Medicine”, by which they mean something even more holistic that holistic. One proposition is that intestinal worms could cure many modern ailments.
Adding to this voyage of discovery medical researchers are in sight of a new land as they are beginning to understand how and why chromosome errors are the cause of many otherwise unexplained miscarriages.
Now here’s one for your Christmas stocking list … Randall Munroe, of XKCD comic strip fame, has a new book appearing in November called Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words. It appears to do what it says on the tin.

And now three items on our favourite pets: cats. First scientists at the Smithsonian look at just how much cats are domesticated.
As we all know, cats are picky eaters. Again scientists are trying to understand why.
Something else being investigated is how much our pet cats are actually trying to talk to us. So far the reserchers seem to be only underlining what most cat owners already know.
Now an article which is applicable to more than just pet cats. So how does your pet’s brain compare with yours?
Talking of which how on earth do some people manage to be fluent in 30 languages?
So now let’s divert into food for a minute. Yet again researchers are telling us what most of us have known for years: eating more plants improves health and combats climate change. So why aren’t we doing it?
But then, at least in the Americas, we’ve reached the peak availability of avocados.
And now to mind-bendy things … Here are 14 psychological facts you should know. Number 12 is mind-boggling all on its own!
And here’s another 12 things that you know only if you don’t want kids. Wonder why we didn’t indulge in urchins?
Turning back towards the medical now … Have you ever wondered why some people have extra nipples? And yes, I’m one of the afflicted with a vestigial third nipple.
And here’s something else we’ve always known … Masturbation has health benefits. You do have to wonder how researchers get paid for this stuff!
But on the other side of the sexual divide, here’s our favourite sex educator, Emily Nagoski, with how to support a survivor in four sentences.
And now to the historical. The Denisovans seem to have been contemporaries of the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. But who were they really?
You would think, wouldn’t you, that there weren’t any obvious stone circles left to find in the UK. But no, archaeologists have found the highest stone circle in southern England on Dartmoor. And it wasn’t known before!
When we think of medieval maps, we think of a very rough and ready approximation to what we now know to be true. But some of them were extraordinarily accurate and we’re beginning to understand how and why.

Fairy Trees, or Wishing Trees, are a pagan tradition in the British Isles, elsewhere in Northern Europe and amongst Native Americans. They go back into the mists of pre-Christianity and were supposed to bring good fortune.
It isn’t such a stretch from trees to books — after all wood is used to make paper! Now we may have a large book collection, but it is nothing compared the hoard of bibliomaniac Richard Heber.
“Omnishambles” is an exception which works, whereas most blended words, or portmanteau words as Lewis Carroll called them, are irritating and ugly. So what is it that makes a good portmanteau word?
And finally, as usual I’ll leave you with a couple of looks at the absurd taboo of nudity. First, “Naturist Philosopher” asks how do women really feel about nudity? — dunno, try asking them! And then here are 10 easy steps to becoming comfortable with nudity.
More anon. Toodle-pip!