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amusements, environment, history, links, medical, natural history, science, sexuality

Monthly Links for December

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So here we are with the last round of Monthly Links for 2024, and were ending with a fairly bumper bundle …

Science, Technology, Natural World

dog-like ancestral mammal

Let’s start off with Quanta Magazine‘s reviews of science during the year. [All are LONG READS]
The Year in Physics
The Year in Biology
The Year in Maths
The Year in Computer Science
For some reason Quanta don’t cover chemistry or medicine.

There’s this idea in theoretical physics that we are living in a simulation, driven by some higher powers. And now there is a possible new law of physics which could support this.

The mathematics of random gatherings is a bit of a riddle.

Exponential growth can be somewhat counter intuitive.

Meanwhile scientists have tossed 350,757 coins to prove that they’re not 50/50 heads/tails and that a fair coin is probably impossible.

By most standards our modern atomic clocks are pretty accurate, but they’re about to be superseded by nuclear clocks which are orders of magnitude even more accurate.

Somewhat at the other extreme there’s an ancient piece of space hardware which is surprisingly still working well beyond it’s intended lifespan.

Talking of space hardware, there’s growing concern at the quantity of space junk left flying about up above, and how it could destroy all possibility of further space missions.

There are, as NASA have discovered, a whole host of so-called “dark comets” flying about above our heads.

Let’s come back to earth, or rather the sea … a strange, previously unknown, predatory crustacean has been found miles deep in an ocean trench off the west coat of South America.

Land predators aren’t going to be left out … the 280-million-year-old fossil of a dog-like predator which is likely one of our oldest mammal ancestors, has been found in Spain (above).

From dogs to cats … scientists have made a lot of progress unravelling the complex genetics of ginger cats.

ginger kitten

Finally in this section, Independent SAGE, which was formed early in the pandemic to communicate good and transparent science, have been doing some navel-gazing to see what they could have done better. There are two summaries by Kit Yates of the published research paper: activities and organisation and lessons learnt.

Health, Medicine

Although it’s now a bit late for Christmas 2024, here are some generally applicable ways, from a GP, to avoid some common health hazards.

The science and medical community are getting worried about a possible pandemic of H5N1 bird flu. But how close are we really close to a pandemic?

Meanwhile Bob Hawkins is writing a series of four articles on how one models a pandemic in order to understand how various scenarios play out. Here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Here’s a look at why it makes sense to vaccinate boys against HPV.

Poliovirus has been found in wastewater in Spain, Germany and Poland. How important is this?

One of our most common symbols of Christmas, mistletoe, provides a number of therapeutic agents.

The Vagus Nerve, our most complex nerve, is responsible for the messaging associated with many of our organs, but it’s role in mental health is also being unravelled. [££££] [LONG READ]

Sexuality

It seems that sexual identity is much more fluid than we previously thought.

Sex educators provide 16 ways to talk to your children about bodies, porn and consent.

Environment

beaver kits

Here are five UK biodiversity success stories.

So what does happen to the natural world when people disappear? [LONG READ]

Carbon-positive gardening in your own back yard.

Hunting wildlife to remove them doesn’t work: hunt more coyote, get more coyote.

coyote

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

So how much do we know about really old people, and how reliable is it? [LONG READ]

Sweden is almost a cashless society, and that’s not good for who are left out.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

As one had always suspected, “Word of the Year” is a marketing gimmick which tells us nothing about the actual state of the world.

Many authors place imaginary books within their own real books. Now there’s an exhibition in New York which brings some of these imaginary works of literature to life.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Let’s start off with a summary of ten fascinating archaeological discoveries of 2024. [LONG READ]

It seems highly likely that the first tools were made from plants, not rocks; but it is difficult to prove. [££££] [LONG READ]

A Bronze Age pit in Somerset has revealed evidence not just of mass murder, but also cannibalism.

Back around 4500 years ago, the area which is now Iran is known to have had a number of sophisticated board games including the Royal Game of Ur; and of course there are no manuals. Now two researchers have looked at another of these games, which has not just the board but also many of the pieces, and worked out a possible set of rules for the game. (If you really want brain-ache, follow the link to the preprint paper at the end of the linked article for a detailed explanation.)

In Norway, a number of Viking women’s graves have revealed jewellery, coins, and a ‘vulva stone’

An archaeological site in Kent is turning up lots of Anglo-Saxon finds, including a remarkably well preserved sixth-century sword.

Two articles on the plethora of archaeological finds from the reconstruction of Notre Dame. First from Science and second from Good News Network.

Unexpectedly, letters from Elizabeth I, Benjamin Franklin and Lord Byron are among a collection discovered in British stately home.

Around the globe there are around 8,500 shipwrecks from WWI and WWII, and many are now a ticking time-bomb of pollution, or worse.
Polluting shipwrecks are the ticking time-bomb at the bottom of our oceans.

Food, Drink

Now here’s a curiosity … Diamond Geezer has discovered that the British are drinking a lot less tea than 50 years ago, but coffee consumption is about the same.

cup of tea

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

People have always needed to make sense of the world within their knowledge span, so they end up believing all sorts of things which later generations reveal to be rubbish.

Here are three articles from Corey S Powell in which he takes a cosmic look at thought …
Perspective from the stars
You Are a Ripple of Information
Your information bubble is your legacy

How Polynesian voyagers navigate Earth’s biggest ocean.

So just why don’t more women choose to propose to their male partners? Spoiler: patriarchy.

Once they reach 40 many women become invisible to men, and they won’t all accept it. [££££]

Another look at why women wear bras.

And finally for this year … ten reasons why you need to sunbathe naked.

nude sunbather

environment, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Here we go with this month’s collection of links to items you’ll wish you’d not missed.

Science, Technology, Natural World

First off, wasps … apparently hornets are able to hold their alcohol amazingly well. [££££]

hornet

Birds listen to their songs in a totally different way than we do. [££££}

Scientists have found a surprisingly intact sabre-toothed tiger kitten frozen in Siberian ice, and it’s revealing unknown details about the species.

In 2023 researchers sent a dummy alien signal to Earth, without telling anyone, and it has now been decoded although not understood!

Jupiter is large enough to swallow at least 1000 Earths, and yet it has no surface.

NASA has a large number of satellites studying the sun, and they’re providing some surprising discoveries unrelated to the sun.

Look deeper and you find that comets have sinkholes, which generate jets of material.

In another piece of work from NASA, they’ve discovered two galaxies, looking like bloodshot eyes, which seem to be in the process of merging.

And finally in this section, astronomers have rediscovered a “dandelion-like” supernova first spotted in 12th-century China and Japan. [££££]

dandelion supernova

Health, Medicine

H5N1 bird flu has been detected in pigs, which is a big cause for concern as they are a well-known “mixing vessel”. And a teenager hospitalised in Canada has H5N1 with mutation(s) which may make it more transmissible between people.

It turns out that humans evolved to share beds, and not only with their romantic partner.

Synaesthesia is strange (especially for those of us who don’t have it) but ticker-tape synaesthesia, where real life comes with subtitles, is really bizarre.

Sexuality

Girls, is it that you just don’t like sex, or is it that you don’t like patriarchal sex? [LONG READ]

So how do you like your dirty talk during sex? [££££]

Is using lube really that much of a taboo for straight couples? Seems it is. [££££]

Environment

OK, so let’s change track …

Japan tiny forest

Apparently British cities are taking on the Japanese concept of “tiny forests“.

And in a similar vein, relatively small patches of wildflowers in cities are as good as natural meadows for insect biodiversity.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

An amateur archaeologist has discovered another two stone circles on Dartmoor, and believes they add to the theory of a sacred arc of stone circles.

So who was Gunhild? And was she a victim of medieval ethnic cleansing?

On the other side of the world, a postgraduate student has serendipitously found a lost city in the Mexico jungle.

In Leicester they’ve found an 800-year-old burial pit containing 123 bodies, and it’s a complete mystery.

In the mid-13th-century, in what is now Turkey, a kingdom changed hands in exchange for a hat.

siren and centaur

In order to make sense of the world as best they could medieval people had lots of supernatural beliefs: elves and fairies; abductions and the undead.

On which subject, here’s a look at some medieval animal ghost stories.

When you’re a peasant economy and don’t have the resources to feed lots of livestock through the winter, November becomes Blotmonath, the month of animal sacrifice and trying to store the meat.

The British Library currently has an exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words. Here’s a review.

Food, Drink

Our drinking water contains many “forever chemicals”, but practically and personally what can we do to ameliorate this?

Wow! Ha ha!

So it’s that time of year, the season of Winter Vagina.

winter vagina

arts, environment, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Our packed monthly round-up of links to items you may have missed …

Science, Technology, Natural World

First up we have to highlight this years Ig Nobel prizes.

Palaeontologists have discovered several new species of extinct bone-crushing Tasmanian Tigers.

At the other end of the size scale, researchers looking in a Tibetan glacier have found over 1700 different frozen viruses.

Still with research reported in Popular Science magazine, the social white-browed sparrow weavers varying nest shapes demonstrate that birds have “culture”. Mind I thought we already knew that from the dialects of Meso-American parrots.

And while with “culture” apparently marmosets have individual “names” for each other.

Grief is well documented emotion in humans, and it seems some other species, but do cats grieve?

Scientists continue to unravel the meaning of our dreams.

So how do you know what that smell is? How does our sense of smell work? [LONG READ]

Leaving the animal world for the geological, in September 2023 something made Earth ring like a bell for nine days. [LONG READ]

Back in the early life of the solar system, it seems that Jupiter’s moon Ganymede was struck by an asteroid bigger than the one which wiped out the dinosaurs.

The asteroid Apophis is due to fly by very close to Earth in 2029, and now an astrophysicist is predicting a very slightly higher chance it may hit us.

Meanwhile, way out in the universe, researchers have discovered the largest jets ever from a black hole – and they make our galaxy look miniscule.

Health, Medicine

So how much proper risk assessment was done around Covid? And by whom? [LOMG READ]

OB/GYN Dr Jen Gunter shares some takeaways from the recent (American) Menopause Society Meeting.

Our bodies are full of nerves, but the longest one orchestrates the connection between brain and body.

While on brains, within the billions of neurons they contain there are trillions of typos – some good, some bad. [LONG READ]

And still on brains, it’s being suggested that many older people don’t just maintain, but actually increase, their cognitive skills. [££££]

And finally with things mental, a Stanford-led research group has identified six different types of depression each of which is likely to respond differently to various treatments. [LONG READ]

Sexuality

Sex historian Dr Kate Lister tries to explain exactly why women masturbate. [££££]

Environment

Nature is like art in many ways as for many humans both are subjective.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

Loughborough has installed a new memorial bell as a tribute to those who died from Covid, and a thank you to NHS and other key workers. And unusually for the UK, it’s a campanile. We need more campaniles.

In which David Hockney stimulates an academic epidemiologist and mathematician to think about four dimensional chairs.

Philip Curtis, the director of The Map House in London, talks about mapping Antarctica.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

We reported previously that Stonehenge’s altar stone had been identified as originating in NE Scotland. Now it seems that the front runner locations, Orkney, has been ruled out.

Further up into the cold lands, archaeologists are shedding light on a little known ancient culture in northern Greenland. [££££]

In Britain we are generally pretty ignorant about the way in which ancient India shaped science and mathematics.

Archaeologists in Spain have used DNA to uncover some of the secrets of a Christian cave-dwelling medieval community.

Meanwhile in Poland archaeologists have found the burial of two children suspected of being vampires.

Henry VIII did many notable things including accidentally changing the way we write history.

London

Our favourite London blogger, Diamond Geezer, visits Theobalds Grove (one stop outside Greater London). This is my home town; I was brought up just three minutes walk from this station! Needless to say it’s changed quite a bit since I last lived there in late 1970s.

I lived a couple of hundred yards down the road to the right of the church

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

So just why do men bother with depilation?

Emma Beddington set out to see what it’s like to spend a day as a dog, and finds it impossible.

People

A German mathematician who lived in France as a hermit, left thousands of pages of work. Now there’s a debate over whether he was a mathematical genius or just a lonely madman. [LONG READ]

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally some pictures of the first UK Hobby Horse Championships.

amusements, environment, history, links, medical, natural history, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Hello, good heatwave and welcome, to this months collection of links to items you may have missed but didn’t know you didn’t want to.

Science, Technology, Natural World

…

Against all the odds the aging spacecraft Voyager 1 is back on air and communicating intelligibly with ground control. Two items on this from Live Science and Scientific American [££££].

There are currently lots of sunspots and we’re nearing the solar cycle maximum … so the sun’s magnetic field is about to flip.

The search for a planet beyond Pluto has been going on since I was a kid, although astronomers can’t even agree Planet Nine exists, nor what they’re actually looking for.

Even so Planet Nine is amongst eight strange objects which could be hiding in the outer solar system – maybe.

Back down to Earth with a bump … Adam Kucharski asks “Can we predict who will win a football match?“.

Here’s a BBC News item about the beavers which have been reintroduced less than a mile from my house.

So it looks as if our invasive Asian Hornets have successfully overwintered here, although for some reason the government doesn’t see this as a huge problem!

They look like mini horseshoe crabs … some very rare, very ancient, three-eyed “dinosaur shrimps” (below) have suddenly emerged in Arizona.

…

How old is that termite mound? Researchers in South Africa have found 34,000-years-old termite mounds, beating the previously known oldest by 30,000 years!

Research is showing that our native wild orchids (not the tropical ones you buy in a supermarket) actually feed their seedlings through underground fungal connections. [££££]

Health, Medicine

How many of us are really aware that body organs aren’t always where they are supposed to be?

In addition you may have more body parts that you should have!

You should pay attention to your nipples – and this applies you you guys too, not just the gals – as they can tell you things about your health.

A chemist and an epidemiologist take a look at the whys and wherefores of sunscreen.

Apparently 80% of people with sleep apnoea are undiagnosed. Here’s what to look for.

Finally in this section, the little known Oropouche virus is spreading rapidly in South America; although usually mild it can cause serious complications and could become a healthcare emergency.

Sexuality

How might one start a conversation about sex with a partner or teen?

A cancer diagnosis, or indeed any serious illness, can affect how we approach sex.

Environment

…

I’m used to seeing green parakeets in my west London garden – they’re noisy, they’re quarrelsome, but they’re colourful and often comic – so how did they actually get here from India?

In good news, it seems that the Iberian Lynx, one of the world’s rarest cats, is recovering from near extinction.

…

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

Kit Yates lays out why it is important for democracy that we have a numerate society.

So what are the defining characteristics of a fascist? What should we look for?

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

…

Here are five mysterious ancient artefacts which still have archaeologists puzzled, including Neolithic stone balls (above).

Elsewhere archaeologists in Spain have found some 2000 year old liquid wine. I think I’ll stick to my 2019 Rioja, thank you!

Bridging the gap to modern times, here’s Going Medieval on, well, medieval gossip.

And coming right up to date, we have an item on the world’s most improbable post offices.

Food, Drink

Scientists have developed a method for making healthier, and more sustainable, chocolate by using the parts of the cocoa pod to replace loads of sugar. But they’ve not yet been able to commercialise it.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

So just what is it really like to live in Antarctica?

Emma Beddington investigates a wide range of time-sucking internet rabbit holes, and suggests what one might do to avoid them!

Put that alongside Messy Nessy’s regular blog 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today, who contributes the following exemplar.

…
An 18th century CE ivory dildo complete with contrivance for simulating ejaculation and its own discreet cloth bag. Now housed at the Science Museum in London.

Some stupid tourists seem to think that wild animals are cuddlable and cute! Why?

Only the crazy British would have a stinging nettle eating competition!

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And I’ll leave you this month with two things to try to get your head round …

First, Corey S Powell suggests that, like gravitational waves or ripples in a pond, we are just ripples of information in expanding outwards space-time. I see his point but I’m still trying to work out what it means.

And finally finally, a piece of science fiction suggesting that we could live forever if we merge biologically with the fungal network. [££££]

I suspect merging those two is going to be a bit like finding a unified theory of gravity and quantum mechanics.

history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Somehow we’ve almost got to the end of April, which means it’s time for our regular round up of links to items you may have missed. As well as the usual motley collection, we seem to have a lot of science-y stuff this month, so let’s get stuck in!

Science, Technology, Natural World

crab

It is interesting the way that Nature keeps evolving the same patterns independently. As an example, crabs have evolved five separate times.

Talking of the unexpected, researchers have used decades-old tins of salmon to track the health of the ocean’s fish stocks. [££££]

And on the subject of tracking … scientists in the UK have developed a trap which is an early warning system for Asian hornets.

And we keep the chain going … wasp researchers have agreed that the media is biased against wasps. Well who would have guessed!?

And now for something completely different … medical researchers continue to try to make sense of death and near death experiences. [LONG READ]

So why is it that some people always get lost, but others don’t? [LONG READ]

Researchers are using ancient records of previous total solar eclipses to help measure history.

I bet you didn’t know that billions of years ago the moon turned inside out, well sort-of. I certainly didn’t.

It’s well established that Stonehenge is aligned with the sun, but is it also aligned with the moon? Archaeologists and astronomers are about to use a rare lunar event to find out.

And still on space, NASA scientists have seemingly done the impossible and managed to bring the Voyager 1 probe back to its senses. Two, slightly different, looks in the Guardian and on Live Science.

Artists impression of Voyager 1

Health, Medicine

An epidemiologist highlights that kids don’t need to get diseases to be healthy.

Here a medical health researcher looks at the UK’s failure in 2020 to “act fast and isolate” against Covid.

And staying on pandemics, the consensus amongst scientists is that the next pandemic will be caused by a flu virus.

Changing tack somewhat … a top OB/GYN looks at the basics of menstrual blood and explodes more than a few myths.

And another myth exploded … it seems that time-restricted eating is linked to a 91% (ie. almost double) higher risk of cardiovascular death.

Lastly in this section: you’ve heard of dyslexia, but do you know about dyscalculia? [££££]

Sexuality

The somewhat outspoken sex researcher, Dr Kate Lister, asserts that all straight men should try pegging once.

Meanwhile sex educator Dr Emily Nagoski talks to the BBC about sex and orgasm myths.

And coincidentally two women talk in the Guardian about their experiences of their unexpectedly open marriages. First Cassie Werber; and secondly New Yorker Molly Roden Winter. [BOTH ARE LONG READS]

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

IanVisits reckons that according to an inoperative law we have the date of Easter all wrong.

UK Supreme Court building

Politicians in the UK fulminate about foreign courts having sway over our law, when in fact there are more foreign courts on UK soil pontificating on affairs elsewhere in the world.

Now what have I been saying for years? … Using phonics to teach children to read doesn’t work.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

Imaginary fashion art by Rose Wong

Here’s a blog post on the interesting work of New York artist Rose Wong.

Meanwhile Ian Dunt eulogises the word cunt.

Early medieval England saw a boom in the minting of silver coins, but until now no-one really knew why.

Mermaid Street & the Mermaid Inn, Rye

Mediaeval Mythbusting goes on the trail of the tales behind our more ancient pubs, including one of my favourites, The Mermaid in Rye. [LONG READ]

And Going Medieval discourses on obscenity, ancient and modern. [LONG READ]

London

London once had dozens of iconic green huts which were cabman’s shelters. Now there are only 13 and the final one has just got heritage protection.

Green London Cabman's Shelter

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

So here’s another look at the culture and usefulness of pubic hair.

And finally … Another of my favourite places in Dungeness, on which stands Prospect Cottage, the late Derek Jarman’s seaside home. It is sometimes open to the public, but the Guardian has some interior photographs.

Prospect Cottage, Dungeness

history, links, medical, nudism, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

OK, guys and gals, it’s time for our monthly round up of links to items you may have missed the first time round. So here goes …

Science, Technology, Natural World

There’s this giant star-shaped sand dune in Morocco whose mysteries are now beginning to be understood.

There are some mathematical techniques which can not only tell use where we’re going, but where we’ve been.

teenage brains graphic

Most parents would agree that teenagers are odd. Here are two reasons why.
First it seems there may be evolutionary advantages to the affliction of “teenage brain“. [£££]
Secondly apparently puberty triggers “teenage armpit odour” of cheese, goat and urine.

Now to something more wholesome … Every cat has a strange pouch under its belly and scientists still don’t know why.

Health, Medicine

Girls are entering puberty ever earlier, and for some it is proving a significant mental health risk. [LONG READ]

Along with this we must stop trying to normalise and ignore women’s menstrual pain and bleeding. [LONG READ]

coloured woman's hands over her pubic area

Mind you, it doesn’t help matters when menstrual health literacy is so alarmingly low.

Progressing through the reproductive cycle, here’s a piece of pregnancy and childbirth in 17th-century England.

Now for something different. Unusually some people are totally unable to picture things in their mind, they have no mind’s eye. [LONG READ]

Sexuality

This one’s not for the squeamish … Why do some people find it pleasurable to insert objects into their urethra? [LONG READ]

On safer ground, here’s a look at some new insights into people’s motivation for polyamory.

four people grpahic

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

It is much believed that girls avoid studying physics because the maths is too hard, but that is not the case.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

The world’s oldest known fossilized forest has been discovered in England.

A Copper Age necropolis, containing skeletons and still sharp weapons, has been found in Italy.

Burginda was an early medieval English woman who was not just educated but well-versed in African poetry.

A guy fishing with a magnet from an Oxfordshire bridge has pulled up an 1100-year-old Viking sword.

Viking sword

So how do historians sensibly divide the 1100-ish years of the Middle Ages into manageable chunks of time.

Just as today, medieval women had informal social networks to share health problems and medical advice.

In which 17th-century ladies go dildo shopping.

Don’t like a seven day week? How does a 10 day week sound? The French Revolutionary Calendar tried it for 13 years until Napoleon abandoned it in favour of keeping step with the rest of Europe.

French Republican timepiece

Food, Drink

There’s an impending risotto crisis as it seems the key Italian rice crops are dying due to drought. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Here’s one neurologist who makes a good case against daylight saving time. [LONG READ]

Meanwhile one sex researcher has vowed to never share her bed with anyone anymore. [££££]

There’s a growing belief that many of our ills, and especially those of younger generations, are all down to our dependence on smartphones.

You’ve doubtless heard of incels, now we need to start understanding the psychology of femcels.

And finally I’ll leave you with one (naturist) writer’s take on understanding the difference between naturism and primitive living. [LONG READ]

girls nude cricket
It’s very unlikely that “primitives” played cricket. ☺
history, links, medical, natural history, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Welcome to our monthly collection of links to items you may have missed but which struck me as interesting or amusing. We’ve got quite a collection this month, and as usual we’ll start with the hard stuff – the science – and then it’s all downhill.

Science, Technology, Natural World

Let’s start with something topical … So just why do we have leap years? [££££]

Scientists have again proven themselves wrong: this time they’ve concluded that Saturn’s moon Mimas probably has an underground ocean which they thought couldn’t exist.

On Earth, but not entirely disconnected, scientists have concluded that the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history happened 7300 years ago off Japan. [££££]

We’re familiar with Isaac Newton splitting light into a rainbow with a prism, but it was William Herschel (better known as an astronomer) who actually worked out what was going on beyond the red and the violet ends of the spectrum.

Changing tack entirely … Researchers have worked out a more detailed mechanism by which erections work – at least in mice – opening the door for better drugs for erectile dysfunction.

Which somehow brings us to penguins … One of the current team at UKAHT’s Port Lockroy station in Antarctica describes counting penguins and why the penguins think pebbles are cool.

So why do birds have skinny legs? [££££]

Let’s hear it for the Yellow-Crested Helmetshrike (below), which has been rediscovered after not being seen for 20 years.

Why don’t humans have gills? Spoiler: because guess what, we don’t live in water.

On a more macabre topic, scientists have discovered a detailed, and regularly timed, network of microbes for decomposing flesh.

Which takes us nicely on to …

Health, Medicine

It is estimated that one million people in England may have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

Bubonic plague is still a thing, albeit pretty rare, in America. The latest case is in Oregon.

We are still in the Covid pandemic – it’s only the fifth year – and it is still presenting challenges. [LONG READ] [££££]

An epidemiologist takes a long hard look at what you can do to boost your immune system – and what doesn’t work! [LONG READ]

Bodily secretions (blood, tears, wax) can tell us a lot about our health.

Should this be here or under History? … A bone analysis has revealed the first known cases of TB amongst Neanderthals.

Here’s some reassurance, especially for those of us in the springtime of our senility, that forgetting is a normal function of memory – and when we should start worrying about it.

Sexuality

Apparently some women (probably some men too) enjoy anal sex, it’s more common than supposed and it shouldn’t be a guilty pleasure.

Sex educator Emily Nagoski has a new book out (Come Together) which is a good excuse for a Q&A. [LONG READ]
And here’s an excerpt from Come Together. [LONG READ]

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

Here are two related items from lawyer David Allen Green on when the UK government hold a border poll in Northern Ireland. The first from Prospect magazine, the second from DAG’s Substack blog. [LONG READ]

The first UK banknotes featuring King Charles III will be released into circulation on 5 June this year.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

I’m not at all sure I fully understand how they’ve done this, but researchers have uncovered secret mathematical patterns in Bach’s music. [££££]

A controversial new analytical technique offers a fresh look at the Indo-European roots of our languages.

Between about 1909 and 1915 Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky photographed Russia using his ground-breaking colour process.

A portrait by Gustav Klimt (above) has been rediscovered after being lost for nearly a century.

The astonishing art of Mattias Adolfsson.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

We start this section with a long overview article on the emerging use of science in historical research. [LONG READ]

Forget our modern preconceived ideas, just what was life like for female Neanderthals?

What does jewellery tell us about the culture of Ice Age Europeans? [££££]

Here are two articles on the Egyptian’s practice of mummification. First, when did the Ancient Egyptians start mummifying their dead. And secondly their practice of mummifying baboons. [££££]

Having mentioned TB amongst Neanderthals earlier, researchers have used DNA to identify Down’s Syndrome in 2600-year-old infants. [££££]

Rare Roman funeral remains have been discovered beneath Holborn Viaduct in London
From

The devastating Roman-era plagues were associated with cold snaps.

Still with the Romans, what was life, and death, like for Roman legionaries? [LONG READ]

A haul of nearly 400 ancient medical tools from Turkey hint at rare Roman doctors’ offices.

We’re coming a bit more up to date with this look at St Margaret of Antioch. [LONG READ]

Still with the early medievals … A gold ring of Mercian Queen Æthelswith (above) was unearthed by a Victorian ploughman in Yorkshire.

A look at secret romantic communications in medieval times. [LONG READ]

And finally in this section, Going Medieval looks at the Black Death in Africa and Asia, and the interconnected Middle Ages.

London

Covenants, Easements & Wayleaves: the intricacies of London Infrastructure. [LONG READ]

The various parts of the London Overground train lines are to be given their own names and identity. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Not having children when you get old can be unsettling, but it need not be. [££££]

A huge “house share” in the Netherlands has always caused outsiders to speculate and gossip about the residents’ sleeping arrangements. [LONG READ]

Third century Buddhist scripture The Lotus Sutra still has relevance today.

Cats have many attention-seeking behaviours, but do they really suffer from a fear of missing out? [££££]

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally for this month, here’s Simon Tatham’s Portable Puzzle Collection.

food+drink, history, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Here we go again with this month’s collection of links to items which interested me and which you maybe didn’t want to miss.

Science, Technology, Natural World

On the colours of the stars. [££££]

There are some small “earthquakes” on the moon, and the cause is somewhat surprising.

They’re still hunting for the missing flight MH370, and now there is hope of finding it using divination by barnacles.

Scientists have found a huge, remote, Fijian cave, and it’s full of tiny endangered bats. [££££]

Scientists are looking at dreaming and REM sleep across the animal kingdom.

So just how old is the oldest aquarium fish? We know koi carp can live to 80, but Methuselah is even older.

Health, Medicine

Explaining both the neuroscience and physiology of fear and anxiety.

More screening for cancers sounds like it could be good for many of us, but there are serious questions over whether the NHS could cope with it.

Girls, your vagina has it’s own microbiome (just as our guts and skin do), so here are a few pointers on how to look after it.

Yes, it turns out the so-called “male menopause” is a thing for at least some men. [££££]

So is pee sterile?

The medicinal leech has a long history, and is still used today.

Most of us suffer from delusions of some form, however mildly. Here are the five most common.

We all have childhood memories – some of us more than others – but how reliable are they?

It seems that some people whose brains flatline but survive can recall lucid “experiences of death“.

Sexuality

Just what were the rules around masturbation in Ancient Greece? As if one can put rules round such a thing! [££££]

Here are some things most of us don’t know, but probably should, about emergency contraception.

Environment

A recent report says that Britain’s ocean fish populations are in a quite some trouble.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

Seemingly the speed at which someone talks has no relationship to intelligence.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Researchers have calculated that the species which were to become Homo sapiens suffered a population bottleneck, and could have gone extinct, almost a million years ago.

Meanwhile researchers in southern Africa have discovered some ½million year old timbers which appear to have been woodworked.

5000-7000 years ago there was a culture in what’s now Eastern Europe which burned its houses down every couple of generations – but we don’t know why.

On the age of, and reasons for, the Egyptian pyramids.

Along with Greek rules around masturbation (see above) the ancient world had various rules about with female beauty. [££££]

Two rare Roman cavalry swords from around 200AD have been found in the Cotswolds.

On a similar note, an early medieval warrior buried with his weapons has been found in Germany.

In around 900AD there was a very powerful woman who ruled over that Papacy.

On the involvement of the Templars in the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170.

A bit further on … a 14th-century cannon has been found off Swedish coast.

Cannibalism in human history has rarely been just about eating to survive.

An Ode to the Rag-and-Bone Man.

Food, Drink

Notable Sandwiches #68: Francesinha e Francesinha Poveira.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Do opposites attract? Apparently not as research is suggesting that couples are more likely to be similar than different.

Another for the girls … Attractive though it may be, in more ways than one, apparently going braless does come at a cost. However if you’re going to wear a bra, then find your correct size, ‘cos it probably isn’t what you think.

So what is it about school nicknames? Harry Mount suggests that while they can be fantastically rude, the ruder they are, the more affectionate.

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

Finally, this year’s Ig Nobel Prize winners have been revealed.

food+drink, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

We bring you this month’s action-packed collection of links to items you may have missed.

Science, Technology, Natural World

When cells divide how do they accurately copy their DNA once, and only once? [LONG READ]

bat

Bats in the UK harbour coronaviruses; none apparently immediately dangerous to us, but we need to know more.

China has a mysterious wildcat, but is the Chinese Mountain Cat actually a discrete species? [££££]

On the Byzantine labyrinths that make up a cat’s nose. [££££]

In potentially good news there’s a plan to establish the UK’s first feline blood bank.

Octopuses change their skin patterns while sleeping, which suggests that they may be dreaming.

octopus

If insects actually have memories, it seems they may not survive across metamorphosis. [LONG READ]

Scientists have discovered a species of palm that flowers and fruits only underground, but they don’t yet understand how it is pollinated.

Health, Medicine

It seems that we have a gene which prevents most bird flu viruses from infecting us.

Nightmare Warning … There’s an unidentified something which causes a green hairy tongue – luckily it’s benign, just disturbing.

Sexuality

In a possible explanation of why vibrators are so effective, researchers have discovered neurons in the clitoris and penis which are especially sensitive to vibration. [££££]

One couple talk about sex in their mid-70s.

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

One tax specialist is of the opinion that the UK’s Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has a completely erroneous view of the economy. [LONG READ]

Art, Literature, Language, Music

Some rarely seen Holbein sketches of the Tudor court are going on display later this year at the Queen’s Gallery.

pest rat

When the fantasy world wants a pest do they always choose rats?

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Pendants made from bits of giant sloth indicate that humans settled in the Americas a lot earlier than previously thought.

At the same time archaeologists believe they’ve found the USA’s oldest stone tools to date. [LONG READ]

Back in the UK a rare Neolithic polissoir has been found hiding in plain sight in Dorset.

Pyramids and other remains have been discovered off the western tip of Cuba.

carnyx

The Carnyx, a brass musical instrument, was used as a psychological weapon of war by the ancient Celts.

Pompeii bread oven

Pompeii continues to provide surprises. In a current excavation archaeologists are uncovering a building containing a bakery oven (above), courtyard, a fountain and a number of frescos including one of what has (jokingly) been described as an early pizza (below).

pizza fresco

The story of Salisbury’s Medieval Giant.

London

London’s Hyde Park was once the playground of Tudor and Stuart monarchs, courtiers, and the upper echelons of society. [LONG READ]

There’s a hidden world underneath Waterloo Station, which is being revealed on its 175th anniversary prior to redevelopment.

Food, Drink

The Guardian‘s food writer, Felicity Cloake, looks at a few food rules and suggests they can be safely ignored.

Rachel Roddy recreates that Pompeii “pizza” (see above).

Do we need to be worrying about the sweetener aspartame in diet drinks? Spoiler: probably not. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

A ramble around body hair and hairless bodies through the ages.

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally, please enjoy some highlights from this year’s Finnish Hobbyhorse Championships.

hobbyhorsing

history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

And yet already we arrive at time for our monthly round-up of links to items we thought interesting, and you might too.

Science, Technology, Natural World

A new dinosaur species has been discovered on the Isle of Wight.

Asian Hornets

There’s a crack squad of hunters keeping the island of Jersey free of the invasive Asian Hornets (above). And no these aren’t the “murder hornets” which are invading the west coast of North America which are even nastier.

Scientists are taking another look at just when animals like foxes started living alongside humans. [££££]

A new study is finding clues to when masturbation evolved in primates – because it isn’t just humans that indulge.

Palaeontologists believe that Homo naledi in South Africa may have made etchings on cave walls and buried its dead. [££££]

Well now this (isn’t) surprising … it seems that air quality filters are picking up airborne DNA which reveals what species are nearby.

Changing tack somewhat … the US is being urged to reveal its UFO evidence amid (more) claims it has intact alien vehicles.

Meanwhile the “gateway to the underworld” megaslump in Siberia is revealing secrets from 650,000 year old permafrost.

And back to humans … there’s a myth that we use only 10% of our brain, but it is just a myth. [££££]

Health, Medicine

Here are nine things you probably didn’t know about saliva.

Also from the Zoe Health Study, here’s a look at the importance of bile.

Sexuality

Some curious scientist has taken an in-depth look at the condition known as “Blue Balls“, and discovered some interesting things about sexuality.

WWI

Who knew that until fairly recently many countries officially provided whores for wartime soldiers near the battlefield? No, it isn’t much known and talked about. And it wasn’t just in wartime.

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

England is apparently going to trial providing a “universal basic income“. The trial will be in just two places with a very small number of people for two years, so don’t hold your breath.

One historian is suggesting that we’re on the brink of civil war – the US in particular but the Western world in general – but that we can avert it if we wake up. [LONG READ]

Art, Literature, Language, Music

So who actually knew there were officially many shades of black? [LONG READ]

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Archaeologists have found evidence of plague in Britain 4,000 years ago. And it is being suggested this might be the reason the culture and people who built Stonehenge suddenly vanished from the record.

WWI

A stunning 3,000 year old bronze sword (above) has been found in a Bronze Age grave in Bavaria.

Cricket clubs don’t generally expect to be the custodians of several Roman gods’ heads.

Also with the Romans, a stunning mausoleum has been discovered on a building site in Southwark.

Here’s the story of St Ursula and the 11,000 virgin martyrs. [LONG READ]

Minstrels played an important role in medieval society, and it is now being appreciated that their work could be mad, bad and bawdy.

A pair of shipwrecks full of Ming era porcelain in the South China Sea are telling us a lot about the historic Silk Road trade routes.

Myths based in medieval goings-on are not always accurate. Here’s the case of the Fowlmere Tunnel. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

And finally for this edition, here are 13 signals all cat owners should recognise. [LONG READ]

WWI