Technology Breath test for breast cancer A SIMPLE 2-minute breath test at a doctor's surgery could detect breast cancer at an early stage. Some medical conditions cause patients to exhale volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their breath. In the US, a breath analyser made by Menssana Research of Fort Lee, New Jersey, is already being used to detect telltale VOCs in … 51¶¯Âþ
Technology Iran's nuclear fantasy "WE HAVE the right to develop nuclear technology." This is the surprising answer that many Iranians, secular or religious, give to western journalists asking about their country's plan to expand its nuclear capabilities. The west should not be too surprised by this: the Iranian regime has been carefully and systematically shaping public opinion on the … Opinion
Aliens in sheep's clothing In 1822, an exceptionally loud pair of trousers helped to launch a fashion revolution. Scotland's celebrity author Sir Walter Scott created a sensation when he wore woollen trousers in a black-and-white check to welcome King George IV to Edinburgh – the first visit by a British monarch in more than a century. Although the design, … Features
Two sides in no-man's-land IT LOOKS like an ordinary Sunday soccer match, but not much is ordinary here. The playing field is next to the Ukrainian town of Narodichi, which is close enough to the Chernobyl power plant still to be feeling the effects of the catastrophic explosion there 20 years ago this month. Surface levels of radioactive fallout … Books & Arts
Feedback Pasta and intelligent design WITH the news that Bobby Henderson's long-awaited book The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is out and available at bookstores and online booksellers, our thoughts turn inevitably to the related topics of pasta and intelligent design. In particular they turn to an experiment performed by Thomas Schneider that, it is … Regulars