Space minister and emptiness, Bass notes on musical fish, Light patient amusement, Loop soup

This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has four segments. Here are bits of each of them: Space politics — The UK is successfully playing catch-up with the US in boosting politicians who speak knowingly of the vast, mostly empty depths of the universe.The UK’s new space minister, Andrew Griffith – his official title is minister […]

Bulgarian yogurt in space, Science names hodgepodge, Sickens and the nose, Pomelo Penetration

This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has four segments. Here are bits of each of them: Bulgarian yogurt in space — “Can Bulgarian yogurt enhance astronauts’ performance during the Mars missions?” ask Izabela Shopova, Diana Bogueva, Maria Yotova and Svetla Danova in their study of that name published in the Journal of Ethnic Foods.The […]

Sex in Space (Victorianly), and Listed Cranks, and High-Tech Coffee-Sniffing

This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has three segments. Here are bits of each of them: The Kármán sutra — … The paper is almost Victorian in its voluminous discussion of possible regulatory mechanisms, but nearly complete avoidance of mentioning fornication. The highest moment of titillation comes in the following passage: “The […]

Improbable Research