Earth Hungry for change Something is badly wrong with the way we feed ourselves. In rich countries, food is cheaper than ever, yet premature deaths from diet-related diseases are soaring. Down on the farm, soil, water and biodiversity are under pressure as never before. In poor countries, it's even worse. In Africa, malnutrition is rife, while in India diet-induced … News
Humans Westminster diary POLITICIANS in a democracy are, I suppose, inevitably creatures of the short term. I would defend my trade, though, against the charge that we never look beyond the next election. Late last year this magazine mentioned the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's calculation that by 2050 greenhouse gas pollution from most sources is likely to … Opinion
Technology Mass hysteria FOR as long as Christopher Tully can remember, the dream has been there: understanding what gives everything its mass. Sure, the dial on your bathroom scales reflects how many atoms you contain. But when you go deep inside atoms, where mass comes from is a mystery. Why should anything weigh anything at all? If you … Features
Hans Kruuk, zoologist Essential reading? Kruuk's recent biography of animal behaviourist, Nobel prizewinner and friend Niko Tinbergen, Niko's Nature (Oxford), left him "tremendously impressed" once more by Tinbergen's The Study of Instinct (Oxford, 1951): "It provides such a lucid and enthusiastic rationale for studying the behaviour of animals. I feel every biologist should be aware of Tinbergen's four … Books & Arts
Return of the Black Death: The world's greatest serial killer by Susan Scott and Christopher Duncan Books & Arts
Feedback HOLLYWOOD still clings to the hugely unpopular regional coding system that is supposed to stop people in Europe and Australia watching movie DVDs intended for distribution only in the US. The object of the exercise is of course to allow Hollywood to release movies in the US before the rest of the world. The practical … Regulars