Life Time-lapse footage shows snail embryo in high gear Video: Snail development from embryo to hatching Some snails mature faster than others – even before they hatch. Microscopic images have captured those early milestones in a snail's life in minute detail, revealing that a snail's pace of development before hatching is inherited from its parent. Oliver Tills of Plymouth University, UK, and colleagues tracked … 51¶¯Âþ
Life Separating neuromyths from science in education Are you a creative, right-brain type? Do you learn best visually? These are all neuromyths that badly need debunking, says a UK teacher and writer Opinion
Technology Firms unite to bring internet to billions of new users Get me cheaper data, please "I BELIEVE connectivity is a human right, and that if we work together we can make it reality." These were the lofty ideals Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed on 20 August, when he declared his intention to bring internet access to "the next 5 billion people" – that is, the … 51¶¯Âþ
Life Surf's up for pack of hunting sharks See the full-sized image to appreciate the sharks in full flow (Image: David Doubilet) IF ASKED to name a marine predator that hunts in groups, it's likely dolphins would be your first answer. But as this unique shot of lemon sharks by underwater photographer David Doubilet shows, these predators are also capable of coordinated hunting. … Regulars
Life The knockout enigma: How your mechanical brain works Your neurons are whirring with movement like clockwork. Understanding how it works may give us a new way to tinker with the brain Features
Earth Did a bet on metal prices save the lives of millions? Hot topic: nickel was one of the five metals at the heart of a crucial wager (Image:Jean Guichard/Corbis) Paul Sabin reveals the huge repercussions of a wager in The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and our gamble over Earth's future THIS was a brilliant idea for a book. In The Bet , Paul Sabin has … CultureLab
Enigma Number 1764 Secret passages KATHRYN and her school friends have been using a Lorenz-type code to pass covert messages to each other. Each letter is expressed as a five-digit binary number such that A = 1 = 00001, M = 13 = 01101 and so on, but other symbols are represented by 00000 and by 11011 upwards. … Regulars
Feedback: Profitable protection Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more Profitable protection HATS made from tinfoil have become a synonym for paranoia about electromagnetic radiation, spies implanting voices into victim's brains, and all that. Their linguistic usefulness, however, is not matched by economic potential, because of the ease of making … Regulars