Technology Unfit for flowers Cut flowers wilt and die faster if bacterial colonies are allowed to build up in their water. In patent application WO 2004/15413, the Dutch research institute TNO details a way to tell when the water needs changing. A sample of vase water is poured into a jug containing a plunge filter. This is pushed down, … News
Fire man Phil Cheney grew up in a fishing village on Phillip Island, off the southern coast of Australia. He moved inland to become a forester, taking a diploma in forestry at the Australian School of Forestry in Canberra, and a BSc in forestry at Melbourne University. He has studied wildfires over four decades, and headed the … Opinion
Save the rhino maggot! IN OCTOBER 1995 a white rhino, recently arrived in England from South Africa, excreted an insect larva in its dung. Concerned about what this maggot was doing inside their endangered animal, the rhino's new owners called in entomologist Martin Hall of the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London to have a look. The larva pupated, … Features
Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke Volcanism by Hans-Ulrich Schmincke, Springer-Verlag, $79.95, ISBN 3540436502 THEY can be stunningly beautiful yet they can have a deadly allure. Active volcanoes threaten the inhabitants of 10 major cities from Tokyo and Seattle to Auckland and Mexico City. Hans-Ulrich Schmincke is a German volcanologist with an international reputation, and he has done us all a … Books & Arts
Whole World on Fire: Organizations, knowledge, & nuclear weapons devastation by Lynn Eden Books & Arts
Feedback BACK on 7 June 2003 we mentioned the Library Hotel in New York, whose rooms are catalogued according to the Dewey decimal system and are furnished with appropriate reading and viewing. Shortly afterwards, it seems, things started to get complicated – and we sincerely hope our story had nothing to do with bringing this about. … Regulars