Technology Crank up your ringtone Bad news for anyone who likes a quiet life. Nokia of Finland has filed a patent on a way to make cellphones ring even louder, or play digital music tracks without the user needing headphones (WO 2004/34733). In addition to the usual small speaker, the phone body houses three cavities designed to resonate like organ … News
Humans Washington diary NO LESS a figure than former first lady Nancy Reagan thinks that President Bush should liberalise his policies on stem cell research. Scientists have been touting human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) as a potential cure for all sorts of diseases, ranging from Parkinson's to diabetes to the common cold, and are naturally eager to study … Opinion
Health Meats, no shoots, no leaves During his long career, Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson travelled thousands of kilometres on foot and by dog sled, lived for years with the Inuit, survived months on an ice floe, and at least once was given up for dead. But when he entered New York's Bellevue Hospital in February 1928, he was about to try … Features
Through the eyes of a child Descartes' Baby by Paul Bloom, Basic Books/William Heinemann, July in the UK, £20/$26, ISBN 0434007994 EXPLORING how the average person feels about their own existence is no trivial enterprise. In Descartes' Baby, Paul Bloom rises to the challenge, using insights from psychology and philosophy to argue that we are all natural born dualists, perceiving the … Books & Arts
Feedback A MORE unusual paper title than most: "Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate extensive morphological convergence between the 'yeti' and primates" (Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, vol 31, p 1). The authors had been supplied with "yeti" hair for DNA analysis, but we can skip further details and leap directly to their conclusion: "All our analyses clearly indicate … Regulars