Life Genetically modified yeast can sniff out explosives What do you get if you cross a rat, a jellyfish and brewer's yeast? Happily, the answer is not the latest genetically modified food, but a low-cost explosives detector. Danny Dhanasekaran, a molecular biologist at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has coaxed a simple yeast into harnessing a rat's sense of smell to sniff the … 51¶¯Âþ
Can media coverage of suicides inspire copycats? On 28 April, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, Pedro Ruiz, did what many of its members wish he had done earlier. He wrote an open letter to the news media asking editors to stop airing photos, video clips and writings of Cho Seung-hui, the student who killed 32 people and then himself at … Opinion
Life A quirky look at our quirky species Audio: Hear Richard Wiseman discuss this feature as part of SciPod, 51¶¯Âþ's weekly podcast . Did you know that fruit and vegetables have personalities? According to research carried out by Robert Sommer at the University of California, Davis, in 1988, lemons are seen as dislikable, onions are stupid, and mushrooms are social climbers. Sommer … Features
Life The word: Reactance THE teenage girl who wins the boy by playing hard to get. The parents whose disapproval of their daughter's boyfriend only drives her into his arms. The child who will wear anything except what her mother suggests. These are all examples of reactance: the inclination to do precisely the opposite of what someone wants you … Regulars
Feedback Interplanetary scales THE scales Mary Lunnen's husband bought recently were apparently made with other planets in mind: "When to calibrate – calibration is almost never required. If the scale is inaccurate, calibration may be desired when the scale is first set up for use, or if the scale is moved to another altitude or gravitation. … Regulars