Dairy cows, particularly in alpine regions (Switzerland, Austria &etc) are often seen (and heard) wearing bells. See photo: Although it’s traditional to fit such cows with bells, a question can, and indeed has, been asked : ‘Do Bells Affect Behaviour and Heart Rate Variability in Grazing Dairy Cows?’ Answers are provided in a 2015 PLoS […]
Tag: Switzerland
Viagra Induces Fractal Growth in Mushrooms in Switzerland
“Viagra Induces Fractal Growth in Mushrooms in Switzerland“, by Gabriele Losa [pictured here], appears in the special Cloning & Evolution issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. (The article is also online.) It begins: This study investigates the effect of Sildenafil (a synthetic drug that is known to much of the public as “Viagra“) on the growth […]
Smelov’s investigation of HPV on toilet seats in international airports
Lead author Smelov and colleagues write, in this letter to a medical journal, about a careful investigation that may (and may not) have small or nonexistent implications: “Are human papillomavirus DNA prevalences providing high-flying estimates of infection? An international survey of HPV detection on environmental surfaces,” Vitaly Smelov [pictured here], Carina Eklund, Laila Sara Arroyo […]
Cafeteria Review: CERN
Several Improbable Research persons (I am one of them) are at CERN for a few days. We sometimes dine in CERN’s main cafeteria, and are delighted at the goodness of the food and the general atmosphere — and equally delighted at the kindness, friendliness, and relaxed cheeriness of the people who work at the cafeteria. It’s […]