Deep background AS FISH in shallow waters become scarcer, commercial fishing boats are increasingly forced to go after deep-water fish. But the habits of species that live deep down cannot be studied using conventional methods, which involve tagging fish, and this makes it hard to get the information needed to ensure these new fisheries are managed sustainably. … News
Westminster Diary WE all approve of openness, don't we? Certainly the government is keen to radically improve everyone's ability to participate in public decision making. But according to a recent Home Office consultation paper on Openness and Animal Procedures, this kind of thinking is really based on "the assumption that information should be released except where disclosure … Opinion
No room for failure here! MATERIALS are vital to almost everything we make, and choosing which one to use and when is a thoroughly professional activity. The job of the materials engineer is to understand the properties of the materials that he or she works with, ranging from acrylic resins to zirconium alloys. This is most critical in aeroplanes, electronic … Features
Radiation and risk Every second, more than 100 cosmic rays fly through your body. At the same time, several radioactive atoms in the air you have inhaled disintegrate inside your lungs and a few thousand potassium atoms and two or three uranium atoms, which arrived in your food and drink, break apart inside you and bombard your body … Inside Science
The Last Word Starry-eyed Question : Why do we see stars when we receive a blow to the head? Answer : Our retina can only respond to stimuli in one way: by sending a signal along the optic nerve to the brain,which interprets this signal as light. Normally, the stimulus is light impinging on the retina, but other … Regulars