Technology We can't hold back the water any more LAST winter's floods on the rivers of central Europe were among the worst since the Middle Ages, and as winter storms return, the spectre of floods is returning too. Just weeks ago, the river Rhône in south-east France burst its banks, driving 15,000 people from their homes, and worse could be on the way. So … 51¶¯Âþ
Humans Westminster diary UNLESS you have experienced the displeasure of the extreme animal rights lobby, as I have, it is difficult to imagine what it can be like. I have become concerned of late with the dire situation facing the UK's Institute of Animal Technology, the professional association of animal technicians. The IAT is unable to hold its … Opinion
Bat out of hell In 1819, the French corvette Uranie called in at Guam, the largest and southern most of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. It was one of many landfalls during the Uranie's four-year voyage around the world, but Jacques Arago, the expedition's artist, had lost none of his enthusiasm for observing native islanders. The Chamorros … Features
New Year resolution After the holiday feasting comes the remorse of conscience as you assess the damage from pigging out on rich foods. For most people the body is the first target of new year resolutions. Dieting in January has become a hardy perennial for December's gluttons, and an increasing obsession all year round for many more. But … Books & Arts
A Reason for Everything: Natural selection and the English imagination by Marek Kohn (2004) Books & Arts
Feedback THIS column once engaged in a lively two-month debate with the public announcements board at Northwood station on the London underground. So we were delighted to hear from researcher John Gilbey that another form of noticeboard is doing its bit to challenge email and text messaging's hegemony over 21st-century communications. The laboratory whiteboard, Gilbey points … Regulars