At least two already have. In March 2004, Sony’s QRIO robot – a 58cm high humanoid bot that’s also rather good at dancing – conducted the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. A few years later in 2008, Honda’s Asimo conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performing Impossible Dream. The results sounded rather good, …
Mastitis, which causes breast tissue to become sore and inflamed, is most common in breastfeeding women. Despite patchy scientific evidence, mums all over the world swear that slipping cabbage leaves in the bra can work wonders. Furthermore, a recent study at a Cairo maternity hospital suggests that cold leaves reduce the engorgement that can lead …
An adult head weighs between 5kg and 6.3kg. Your neck muscles could cope with more weight, but an abnormally large head is usually a sign that something else is wrong. Proteus syndrome, for example, is caused by an extremely rare mutation in the AKT1 gene, right at the start of embryonic development. This causes excessive bone and tissue growth, and depending …
Warm milk may be soothing, but the jury is out on its soporific qualities. Milk contains a protein called alphalactalbumin, a source of the amino acid tryptophan. This forms serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood and sleep. Consuming alpha-lactalbumin increases blood levels of tryptophan. However, research shows that a large dose is required to give enough tryptophan for the desired effect. Milk also contains a bioactive peptide, casein hydrolysate, which …
In the UK, for example, the average man and woman are 178cm and 164cm tall respectively, and earn around £34,000 and £25,000 – and we might even know people who fit these two characteristics. But the search rapidly gets harder as we add more ‘typical’ characteristics, those who perhaps also drink the average amount per week, spend the average …
Navel lint, or belly button fluff, is mostly made from your underwear. The majority of clothing fibres just contribute to house dust, but underwear fibres get caught by the hairs below your belly button, which points upward and towards your midline. As your underclothes rub against your skin, the fluff ratchets its way up to …
To some extent, yes. Psychologists have tested this in various ways, including asking people to spend time learning pairs of words, and then asking them to deliberately forget some of them. Future memory for the deliberately forgotten words tends to be poorer. More recently, researchers have extended this concept to show that people can unlearn behavioural habits acquired in the lab (such as particular …
There are over 1,400 satellites orbiting over us, plus thousands of pieces of space junk that might survive entry through the Earth’s atmosphere. But the chances of being hit are extremely low. Most of the Earth is covered by sea, and the majority of land is uninhabited. All told, the European Space Agency puts the lifetime risk of being hit at …
What Are the Chances of Being Hit by Falling Space Debris? Read More »
Partly this is because, for a given bodyweight, women tend to have less muscle tissue to generate heat. But the hormone oestrogen also has a big impact because it has the side effect of thickening the blood slightly. This reduces blood flow to the tiny capillaries supplying the extremities. A 1998 study at the University of Utah found that this can mean women …
This hybrid drone combines four sets of blades (as found on a quadcopter) with a ’flying wing’ design, meaning you get the high speeds possible with the latter, combined with the vertical take-off and landing and hovering capabilities of the former. It comes with a handheld controller but can also be flown using a smartphone …
So far only two types of mental exertion have been shown to improve or preserve overall cognitive ability. One is musical training; the other is learning a new language, or practising a second one you have already learned. Gottfried Schlaug, director of the Music and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Harvard University explains: “Listening to and making …
Electric bicycles are increasingly popular, but they’re expensive. This new invention from French start-up Rool’in, on the other hand, lets you convert almost any bike into an electric one simply by changing a wheel! It’s equipped with photovoltaic cells that’ll provide enough electricity to power you along for up to 30km, while an accompanying smartphone …
Plug this nifty little device into your car’s cigarette lighter, and you’ll never forget where you parked your motor again – it’s linked to an iOS/Android app that’ll show you exactly where you left it. It can also alert you if anyone other than yourself (or another designated driver) attempts to drive your car, can send details of your precise location to friends, and …
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