Technology How to tell when oxygen is a patient's worst enemy FACED with a patient in respiratory distress in the emergency room, doctors usually administer high concentrations of oxygen via a mask. But for some people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a burst of oxygen can actually shut down the body's breathing reflex. Spotting at-risk patients normally takes precious minutes, but now a non-invasive sensor for … News
Health Patients should be told if medical implants may be faulty ASHAMED as I am to admit it, when I was told I needed a medical implant my immediate thoughts were not about its safety or reliability, but about its size. My device – an implantable defibrillator designed to shock the heart into beating properly – was to sit under the pectoral muscle in my chest. … Opinion
Earth Biodiversity: a new perspective JALUNG AYU has brought along his spear as well as his hunting dogs. The dogs are sniffing through the undergrowth, looking for bearded pig, but it doesn't look as though we will be catching any meat today. No matter; it's not what we came here for. We are in the rainforest to look at the … Features
Hitching a ride In Claude Combes's The Art of Being a Parasite (University of Chicago Press, £16/$25) you'll find a hidden world of some of the most bizarre animal behaviour. Watch out for projectile mites that launch themselves at their prey like missiles. You'll also learn why some Pyrenean frogs become parasite targets and some don't, how parasites … Books & Arts
Feedback "Potato-potato-potato" trademark HAVING read that Royal Mail has registered the colour red as a trademark (Feedback, 22 October) and, in a letter to New Scientist , that Cadbury in New Zealand has done the same with the colour purple (5 November, p 21), Jonathan Owens couldn't resist telling us that Harley-Davidson applied to have a … Regulars