Technology Shock waves tear food bugs apart SHOCK waves have been used for the first time to destroy a host of common food bacteria. If the technique can be perfected, it could one day be used instead of pasteurisation to sterilise baby foods, dairy products and fruit juices without spoiling their taste. The process is being developed by Achim Loske and colleagues … News
Humans Westminster diary IN JULY I spent three-and-a-half days sitting as rector alongside the vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellors at the University of Edinburgh's graduation ceremony. From my vantage position on the dais, I was amazed at how many graduands wore spectacles. Having read the news item "Blame lifestyle for myopia, not genes" (New Scientist, 10 July, p 12) , … Opinion
Ramesses rides again ON AN autumn day in 1976, a French Air Force plane touched down at Le Bourget airport just outside Paris. The plane was carrying one of the world's great statesmen, a famous war leader in need of urgent medical treatment. Ramesses II may have been dead for more than 3000 years but his mummified body … Features
Dumb numbers DID you realise that schools in the US have been getting steadily safer, despite terrible incidents such as the massacre at Columbine? That statistic – that schools are getting safer – may feel like a comfort blanket of truth in an uncertain world. In More Damned Lies and Statistics Joel Best breaks the bad news … Books & Arts
Feedback UNUSUAL units continue to flood in. There appears to be an inexhaustible supply – though how could we be sure, since we lack (so far) a unit unit? During the eight-and-a-half minutes of a launch, NASA declares in an email it sent to Gary Collins, "the shuttle's three main engines produce energy equivalent to 23 … Regulars