A TIMES OF INDIA PUBLICATION

Volume 8 Issue 1 December 2017 `125

SCIENCE HISTORY NATURE FOR THE CURIOUS MIND

Endless
ENERGY
How the latest scientific breakthroughs
will help us beat fatigue

meet your second

Go with your gut!

CUPS OF TEA, CURRY &

Cricket
How India became popular
in Victorian England

R.N.I. MAHENG/2010/35422
edit r
From the

LETS EXPLORE OURSELVES!

Its our seventh anniversary and were celebrating it by rediscovering
the fascinating human body with you. Join us as we investigate
our 30 trillion cells (The A to Z of You), find always-welcome tips
to banish fatigue (Endless Energy), discover how scents can
be sexy (The Science of Chemical Attraction) and give in
to our gut feelings (Meet your Second Brain).
If youd rather not be so body-focussed, find out how predictive
EXPERTS THIS ISSUE
policing works (The Future of Fighting Crime), why the Victorians
loved India (Cricket, Curry & Cups of Tea), how rishis have been Suzi Eszterhas is an award-winning
perceived through the ages with Devdutt Pattanaik in our Indian wildlife photographer based in California.
Mythology section, and why you should know the work of Kamala Das, She is well known for documenting
rescued animals. Find out more
in Urvashi Butalias Know your Indian Author series. at www.suzieszterhas.com.
And, if all else fails, youll find cuddly creatures to coo over
in Wombat Hospital on our Portfolio pages. Devdutt Pattanaik is a writer, illustrator
and lecturer of mythology, who draws
attention to its relevance in modern times.
Primrose Monteiro-DSouza Based in Mumbai, he has over 30 books,
Editor & Chief Community Officer, and over 800 articles to his credit.
BBC Knowledge To know more, visit www.devdutt.com.

Padma Shri Urvashi Bhutalia is

a renowned Indian author and
publisher. In this issue, she lays out
the life and works of Kamala Das,
one of Indias firebrand writers.

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LETTERS
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BBC Knowledge intrigued or excited you?
Write in and share it with us. Wed love to hear
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CONTENTS
A TIMES OF INDIA PUBLICATION

FEATURES
46
Volume 8 Issue 1 December 2017 `125

SCIENCE HISTORY NATURE FOR THE CURIOUS MIND

The A to Z of You
Endless The Human Cell Atlas programme
ENERGY
How the latest scientific breakthroughs
will help us beat fatigue
aims to map all of the 30 trillion cells in our body

58
meet your second

Go with your gut!

CUPS OF TEA, CURRY &

The Science of
Cricket
How India became popular
in Victorian England
Chemical Attraction
Why do some aromas ignite passion
and some nauseating feelings?
Our expert breaks down the science
R.N.I. MAHENG/2010/35422

behind scents

52 60
Cover Final Nov 17.indd 1 16/10/17 3:47 PM

Meet your Second Brain

Your gut does more than just digest
Cover Story your food; it makes decisions for you!
Endless Energy
Never feel tired again! Our experts tell you
how to recharge your energy levels
66 Cricket,Curry
and Cups of Tea
Find out how Indian tea, curry and
cricket became an integral part of
Victorian England

70 10 Scientific Wonders
to See before you Die
Have a sense of adventure to explore the
unusual! Bring your sense of awe as you explore
the planets hidden natural wonders

82 The Future
of Fighting Crime
Future criminal masterminds better
watch out; scientists are creating
smarter technology to catch them

8
 REGULARS
8 Q&A: Your Questions Answered
How do mussels stick to wet rocks? Is gravity getting
weaker? Can photosynthesis be recreated in the lab?
These questions and more answered by our panel
of experts

18 Snapshots
Enthral and inform yourself with
38
these amazing photographs!

22 Discoveries & Innovations

Get your science news and updates here and check
out the coolest tech weve seen this month

36 On the Shelves
All the best and newest in books out there

38 Portfolio: Wombat Hospital

78
See the tireless efforts of the wombat rescue hospital
in Australia to reinvigorate the wombats
of the Outback

82
78 Indian Mythology: Rishis
Mythology expert Devdutt Pattanaik decodes the
mystery behind the mystics of Indian mythology

90 Know your Author: Kamala Das

Urvashi Butalia writes on firebrand author Kamala Das

93 Puzzle Pit
Let's get those grey cells churning

96 In Focus: Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla is one of the most underappreciated
inventors in science

18
70 5
DECEMBER 2017
 HERES HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
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Brand Publisher Abhishek Krishnan

Brand Manager Ritika Betala
Chief Financial Officer Subramaniam S.
Publisher, Print & Production Controller Joji Varghese

UK TEAM
Editor Graham Southorn
Deputy Editor Andy Ridgway
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Publisher Andrew Davies
Managing Director Andy
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6
DECEMBER 2017
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2010
ENG/
.MAH
R.N.I
 Q
questions
& Answers

&A
Dr Alastair Gunn
Astronomer, astrophysicist
Dr Helen Scales
Alex Franklin-Cheung Oceans expert, science writer
Environment/ climate expert
Luis Villazon
Prof Alice Gregory Science/tech writer
Psychologist, sleep expert
Prof Robert Matthews
Prof Mark Lorch Physicist, science writer
Chemist, science writer

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

WHY CANT
PENGUINS FLY?
Even the very smallest penguin, the fairy
penguin, weighs 1kg, which is about as much
as a herring gull. But herring gulls have a 1.4m
wingspan, compared with just 32cm for
the fairy penguin. Water is 784 times denser
than air, and, around 62 million years ago,
penguins began evolving adaptations for
swimming underwater. Their bones are filled
with heavy bone marrow rather than air
and they have much larger stomachs
for undergoing long fishing trips away
from the nest. LV

PHOTOS: GETTY X3, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X2

8
DECEMBER 2017

HOW LONG DOES
DNA LAST?
A study of DNA extracted from the leg bones
of extinct moa birds in New Zealand found
that the half-life of DNA is 521 years. So,
every 1,000 years, 75 per cent of the genetic
information is lost. After 6.8 million years,
every single base pair is gone. Bacterial RNA
is much tougher and sequences have been
Unlike other flightless
bird species, recovered from ice crystals that are
moa skeletons have 419 million years old. These are only short
no trace of wingbones
or wishbones
fragments of 55 base pairs though. LV
WHY ARE MOST PASSENGER
PLANES PAINTED WHITE?
The main reason is that it protects the aircraft from the effects of solar radiation.
Aircraft struggle to stay cool while loading and unloading passengers at airports
in hot countries, and brilliant white paint helps bounce back some of the sunlight.
It also helps protect aircraft parts made out of composite materials from damage
through ultraviolet radiation, which is substantially higher at altitude. RM
WHY DO HUMANS LIE?
Most people lie occasionally, although
there are individual differences in how
often lies are told. Lying is a part of
normal child development, emerging
early in life. Research published
in 2016 by Prof Timothy Levine,
a communications expert, investigated
reasons for lying. Most lies were told
for selfish reasons, such as covering
up a personal transgression
or gaining an economic
advantage. Lies were also
told to protect the feelings
of others and to maintain
social politeness. Overall, it seems
that lies occur when the truth poses
an obstacle that someone wants
to overcome. AGr
CAN THE BODY
SELF-REPAIR
NERVE DAMAGE?
Up to a point. If the body of the neuron is still
intact, the branches that extend out from
the cell body can regrow at a rate of about
2cm per month. If the surrounding
membrane of a nerve bundle is still intact,
the neuron can grow along this, to its original
target. But muscle cells left disconnected
for too long wont accept new nerve
connections. LV
The myelin sheath
(yellow) on a nerve cell
increases the speed at
which nerve impulses
travel. Here, the myelin
of the nerve cell
on the right has
become damaged
IS GRAVITY
GETTING
WEAKER?
Over the years, theorists have
proposed modification to
Einsteins theory of gravity that
allow this fundamental force to
vary with time. In the 1930s,
the eminent British physicist
Paul Dirac suggested that gravity
might get weaker as the Universe
expanded, prompting
astronomers to look for evidence.
During the 1970s, studies of the
Moon suggested it was moving
away from the Earth. Most of
the increase in distance could be
explained using standard theories
of how the gravity fields of the
Moon and Earth interact. But
some of the increase pointed to
a weakening of the force of gravity
itself, as Dirac had predicted.
The claim attracted a lot of media
interest, but, by the early 1980s,
experiments involving precise
timing of signals from planetary
probes found no evidence for
changes in the strength of gravity.
The original claim is now thought
to be the result of faulty analysis
of the Moons orbital motion. RM
 questions
& Answers

WHY IS BIG BEN

BEING TURNED OFF
FOR FOUR YEARS?
The Elizabeth Tower and the Great Clock are being
completely renovated. Although the clock will only
be out of action for two years, the bells have to
be silenced for the entire renovation period to protect
the workers hearing. The Big Ben bell weighs 13.76
tonnes and chimes at 118 decibels. At that volume,
you will suffer hearing damage after just 14 seconds
of exposure. To stop the bells, the weights that drive
the mechanism have to be lowered to the bottom of
the tower and secured. This takes half a day to do,
so it isnt practical to restart them after each workday.
But the chimes will be re-enabled for New Years
Eve and Remembrance Sunday. LV

W H AT S I N
NUMBERS

... the MMR Vaccine?

The active ingredient of vaccines can vary dramatically they might take the form of live
(but weakened) viruses, completely inactivated viruses or just fragments of a virus or bacteria.
There are numerous ways the vaccine might be administered, for example, orally, nasally or by a jab.
These factors require different components to make the vaccine easy to produce, effective
and stable. Lets take a single dose of a measles, mumps and rubella jab as an example. ML
217
The number of mice
spotted in the Palace
of Westminster in the
Water Recombinant first half of 2017

PHOTOS: GETTY X2, ALAMY, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY ILLUSTRATIONS: RAJA LOCKEY
464.4mg human albumin
100m
(93.47 per cent) about 0.3mg
(0.06 per cent)
Another stabiliser made by
Hydrolysed gelatin bacteria engineered to produce
a human protein
The number of black
holes in the Milky Way,
15mg (3 per cent) according to a new
A stabiliser that protects the viruses census
from the effects of changing Live virus particles

2
temperatures during preparation about 0.003mg
and storage (0.0006 per cent)
The smallest component of the
Sucrose vaccine are the weakened measles,
mumps and rubella viruses.
2mg (0.4 per cent)
Yet another stabiliser!
The age at which kids
Sorbitol should start learning
Sodium phosphate 15mg (3 per cent)
This is more commonly used
to code, according to
0.3mg (0.06 per cent) computing pioneer
This keeps the whole thing at a pH as an artificial sweetener. Here, Dame Stephanie
that the viruses need to stay alive. it acts as another stabiliser. Shirley.
10
DECEMBER 2017
 DO BLACK HOLES COLLAPSE?
The Schwarzschild radius (event horizon) of a black hole is
sometimes thought of as the black holes size. It is proportional
to mass, which means that more massive black holes have
bigger Schwarzschild radii. Left alone, black holes lose mass
due to Hawking radiation, so that their event horizons are slowly
shrinking. A typical black hole would take many billions of times
the age of the Universe to completely evaporate and disappear.
But, the interior of the black hole, or its singularity
(the point at which all the black holes matter is concentrated)
has already reached the limit of its density and cannot collapse
any further. AGu

HOW DO MUSSELS STICK TO

WET ROCKS?
Hundreds of sticky threads, known as byssus, glue mussels
to slippery, wave-pounded rocks. Mussels make the threads
by squeezing quick-setting liquid protein into a groove in their
muscly foot. The key ingredients are called mussel adhesive
proteins, or MAPs, which form weak bonds with the rock. Theyre
being investigated as the chemical inspiration for surgical glues that
would work inside living bodies, and for the production of hard-
wearing, self-healing polymers to manufacture replacement hip
and knee joints. Synthetic MAPs may even be used to fix anti-fouling
chemicals to the bottoms of boats, to stop animals like mussels
from sticking on. HS

THE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

WHAT IF EVERY PERSON ON EARTH HAD A CAR?

PHOTOS: GETTY X5, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY ILLUSTRATIONS: RAJA LOCKEY

1. Manufacture 2. Parking 3. Fuel 4. Exhaust

There are 1.2 billion cars in
the world today, and 7.5 billion
people. So well need at least
6.3 billion extra cars to make
sure everyone has their own.
This will require 5.6 billion tonnes
of steel, which is 3.5 times
as much steel as the world
produces each year.
On the roads, those 7.5 billion
cars will occupy 36 million
kilometres of road about half
the total length of all the roads
in the world. Cars normally only
spend about 5 per cent of their
time on the road network, but
there arent 7.1 billion parking
spaces either.
Even with 95 per cent of them
parked, the worlds cars
currently use 6.5 billion litres
of petrol a day. If this demand
scales linearly up to 7.5 billion
cars, the oil industry will need to
increase output more than five
times, sending oil prices to
hundreds of dollars per barrel.
Cars today emit 2.5 billion
tonnes of CO2 into the
atmosphere each year. If driving
habits stay the same, increasing
the world fleet to 7.5 billion cars
will add another 13 billion tonnes
per year. Thats nearly half
the current CO2 produced
globally by humans.
 questions
& Answers

HOW DO SCHOOLS OF FISH

SWIM IN PERFECT UNISON?
A fish decides where and how to move
relative to its position in the school.
If the fish behind gets too close (less
than two body-lengths), it speeds up;
if the fish in front gets closer than that,
it slows down. Schooling fish watch
one another and also feel the waves
their neighbours make as they swim,
with pressure-sensitive pores along
their body called the lateral line.
And each fish has its preferred spot
in the school. Some are natural leaders
and tend to hang at the front and guide
the whole school, while others choose
to follow. HS

DO OTHER PLANETS
INFLUENCE
EARTHS TIDES?

This wide selection

of wildlife can be
found on
Californias
coastlines

HOW DO SCIENTISTS KNOW

86 PER CENT OF SPECIES REMAIN PHOTOS: GETTY X4, ALAMY X3 ILLUSTRATIONS: RAJA LOCKEY

TO BE DISCOVERED? Earths tides are dominated by the combined

You can estimate the total number
of species in the world by graphing
the decreasing number of new species
discovered each year to predict the end
point. Or you can extrapolate the number
of new species found per hectare of
rainforest, to the number of hectares that
havent been studied. Or you can graph
the body size of each new species found,
on the assumption that larger species
tend to be discovered sooner,
12
DECEMBER 2017
and extrapolate that. The different
statistical models over the years have
been gradually homing in on a figure
of 8.7 million total species. Currently,
1.64 million have been named, so thats
81 per cent left to find (the 86 per cent
figure was based on 2011 totals).
This only covers eukaryotes (animals,
plants and fungi) though. A 2016 study
estimated that bacteria could add
almost another trillion species. LV
effect of the Sun and the Moons gravitational
pull. But the other planets, since they have
a gravitational pull of their own, also have
a small effect on the tides. Venus is the
strongest because it happens to come closest
to Earth. However, even at its maximum,
its influence is 10,000 times less than that
of the Sun and Moon together. Even the giant
planet Jupiter exerts a force less than one-
tenth that of Venus. So, for all intents and
purposes, the effect of the planets on Earths
tides is imperceptible. AGu
 W H AT H A P P E N S I N M Y B O DY

...WHEN I VOMIT?
Your body vomits when it senses various different threats. These threats can take the form of toxic chemicals or stress hormones in the blood,
swaying motions, or an upset stomach. Chemicals and hormones are detected by the brains chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ), swaying
motions are detected by the inner ear, while an upset stomach is identified by the vagus nerve. Once the signal for a need to vomit arrives
at the CTZ, it sets off a chain reaction.

1. Brainstem 2. Salivary glands 3. Diaphragm

The chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) Your mouth suddenly begins producing You take a deep breath to avoid getting
receives a stimulus that might warrant extra saliva. This is slightly alkaline and vomit in your lungs, then the diaphragm
vomiting. The vomiting centre begins forms a buffer to protect your mouth contracts in a few short pulses, squeezing
a choreographed sequence of actions. and teeth from incoming stomach acid. the stomach to create pressure.

4. Glottis 5. Abdominal muscles 6. Skin

The glottis closes, sealing the airway. The abdominal muscles contract to further The sympathetic nervous system raises
Nothing enters or leaves the lungs. increase pressure. The pyloric sphincter your heart rate and makes you sweat across
Diaphragm contractions without vomiting at the bottom of the stomach is held closed. your whole body, to shed the heat from this
cause dry heaves. The only way out is upwards. sudden exertion.

COULD JUPITER BECOME A STAR?

Jupiter is often called a failed star because, although it is mostly hydrogen like most normal
stars, it is not massive enough to commence thermonuclear reactions in its core and thus
become a real star. But the term failed star is a bit of a misnomer. Theoretically, any object
at all could be made into a star, simply by adding enough matter to it. With enough mass,
the internal pressure and temperature of the object will reach the threshold needed to start
thermonuclear reactions. That threshold is the least for the simplest element,
hydrogen. In order to turn Jupiter into a star like the Sun, for example, you would
have to add about 1,000 times the mass of Jupiter. But, to make a cooler
red dwarf, you would only need to add about 80 Jupiter masses.
Although the exact numbers are still a bit uncertain, it is possible
that a brown dwarf could still form (in which deuterium, rather
than hydrogen, fuses in the stars core) with only about
13 Jupiter masses. So, Jupiter cannot and will not
spontaneously become a star, but, if a minimum of
13 extra Jupiter-mass objects happen to collide with
it, there is a chance it will. AGu
 questions
& Answers

DO CHILDREN HAVE A BETTER

SENSE OF SMELL THAN
ADULTS?
Newborns can only smell a few different things, such as their
mothers body smell. Sense of smell improves up to about the age
of eight. But, from the age of 20 (or even 15, according to some
studies), the sense gently declines. Yet, some studies have
found that children cant detect certain musk odours until
they reach puberty. LV
WILL ELECTRIC CARS REDUCE
CAN PHOTOSYNTHESIS
BE RECREATED IN THE LAB?
Photosynthesis is the process of using light energy to convert
carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrates.
Plants and bacteria have been doing this happily for billions
of years. In 1912, an Italian chemist called Giacomo Ciamician
had the idea to copy nature. Eighty years later, the Swedish

POLLUTION? Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis was established to work

on the problem in earnest. Since then, artificial photosynthesis
Electric vehicles engines dont churn out polluting fumes, making has been a major area of research all around the globe.
them the obvious choice for improving local air quality in towns The tricky things are making it efficient at the relatively low
and cities. But, although they have the potential to drastically cut concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and turning
pollution, they are only as green as the electricity they run on. the lab-based science into a working technology! ML
Given that most electricity globally is still produced by burning
fossil fuels, charging an electric car can indirectly generate
similar amounts of greenhouse gases to a petrol-powered vehicle,
particularly in countries that rely heavily on coal power. As the world
embraces renewable energy, electric cars will increasingly gain
the upper hand in years to come. AFC

PHOTOS: GETTY X3 ILLUSTRATIONS: RAJA LOCKEY

14
DECEMBER 2017
 WHY ARE WATER AND ELECTRICITY W H AT C O N N ECT S

A DEADLY COMBINATION?
Water itself doesnt conduct electricity particularly well, its the chemicals ...KOALAS AND
dissolved in it that are the source of the trouble. For example, the salt content
of seawater makes it a million times better at conducting electricity than ultra-pure TABLE MANNERS?
water. Even so, even a trace of water can prove fatal with high voltages.
People have been killed thinking they can move live cables using
a freshly-broken tree branch. RM
1 KOALAS
Koalas mostly eat
eucalyptus leaves.
These have a high
water content,
so koalas hardly
need to drink.
This lets them
stay in the trees,
safe from predators.

2 ENERGY
But
eucalyptus is
a low energy
food. Even
though
koalas eat
over 1kg of
leaves per day,
they must spend
18-20 hours a day sleeping,
to conserve energy.

3 BRAIN POWER
Their low-energy lifestyle
means koalas cant sustain a large
brain. At just 0.2 per cent of body
weight, koala brains are one
of the smallest of any mammal.

4 TABLE MANNERS
Their tiny brains cant deal with
unfamiliar situations. If you give koalas
eucalyptus leaves on a flat surface, like
a plate, they wont recognise them as
food and wont eat them.
 questions
& Answers

W H O R E A L LY I N V E N T E D ?

TELEVISION

JOHN LOGIE PHILO

BAIRD FARNSWORTH
Transmitting signals over long distances was one of
the greatest triumphs of 19th-century inventors. Yet even
their ingenuity failed to solve the ultimate challenge:
the transmission of clear sound and images. Many tried, QUESTION OF THE MONTH
leading to a long list of supposed pioneers of television,

WHY ARE
the most famous being the Scottish inventor John
Logie Baird. In January 1926 he gave the first-ever
demonstration of the transmission of moving images,
and, by 1929, Baird was selling Televisor sets for 25
MOST PEOPLE
RIGHT
equivalent to 1,500 today. Bairds design offered small,
flickering, black-and-white images and involved the use
of a spinning, perforated disk invented in 1894 by
German engineer Paul Nipkow that scanned images
for transmission as electrical signals.

The technology needed to give television its mass
appeal is generally credited to the brilliant American
inventor Philo Farnsworth. While still a teenager, he
realised that emerging electronic technology could scan
images far faster and more finely than any mechanical
device, and, in 1927, he demonstrated the first electronic
television. A bitter patent dispute with the US electronics
company RCA then broke out. Despite ultimately
winning and being awarded a settlement plus royalties,
Farnsworth and his key role in the invention of television
-HANDED?
Many animals show a preference for one side of the body over
another, but the split between right- and left-handed varies. Seven
out of 10 chimpanzees are right-handed, but almost all kangaroos
are left-handed. In cats, males are nearly all left-handed and
females are nearly all right-handed. Humans have a higher
proportion of right-handers than any species, with left-handers
PHOTOS: GETTY X3, ALAMY X2, ANDREI REINOL

are now largely forgotten. RM making up just 10 per cent of the population. This is because we are
Post-war German a tool-using species, and also highly social. The very earliest flint
television tools, around two million years ago, dont show a strong bias
towards left- or right-handed versions. But its a big advantage if you
can use the tools someone else has made, and, from about 1.5
million years ago, we seem to have standardised on the right-
handed versions. Its not exactly clear why right-handedness won,
but it may be that one side of our brain was already specialised
for fine-motor control. One theory why left-handedness hasnt been
completely eliminated is that it provides an advantage in combat,
precisely because it is rarer, and, therefore, unexpected. You can
see this today in sports like tennis, where left-handed professionals
16 are more common than in the general population. LV
DECEMBER 2017
 W H AT I S T H I S ?

ON ICE
Sadly, this isnt an alien world. These weird
formations are ice-covered wooden poles
emerging from the sea at low tide.
The poles are all that remains of a dock on
the Paljassaare peninsula in Tallinn,
Estonia. It must have been chilly on that
day, because seawater requires
temperatures of -2C to freeze,
which is a little colder than
the 0C required by freshwater.

17
 snapshots
Nature

Snapshots

18
DECEMBER 2017
 Tunes in
the dunes
ORDOS, NORTHERN CHINA
Chinas first desert resort,
the striking Whistling Dune Bay,
sits among sand dunes with a rather
special ability: they can sing.
When the wind strikes them, the
dunes produce a sound described
as humming, booming, or roaring,
which led merchant traveller Marco
Polo to think they were possessed
by evil spirits. In reality, the noise
is caused by an avalanche of sand
grains. The sand grains in the
avalanche rub against each other,
creating small bursts of sound
due to shearing, says Dr Nathalie
Vriend, a geophysicist at Cambridge
University, the UK. These bursts of
sound can amplify due to the dunes
unique internal structure, creating
the booming sound that can be
heard from miles away.
Guests at the hotel are invited
to hear the unearthly sounds
for themselves by sliding down
PHOTO: EYEVINE

PHOTO: ALAMY

the dune to produce a rumble

reminiscent of an aircraft,
or squeezing a handful of sand to
make an unusual croaking noise.
 snapshots
Nature

Strange things
are afoot
This alien-like appendage is the foot,
or tarsus, of a mosquito. While
mozzies legs may not look like
much to the naked eye, this
scanning electron micrograph
image was taken at 800 times
magnification to reveal the tarsuss
intricate microstructure.
Incredibly, each of the bizarre-
looking formations serves
a particular purpose.
The two tarsal claws that are
clearly visible allow the mosquito to
grip onto most surfaces, like walls,
plants or your leg. The surrounding
structures, the socks, act as
buffers, allowing the mosquito
to land gently and accurately on
all manner of surfaces, says
BBC presenter and entomologist
Prof Adam Hart. It isnt just about
physical prowess the hairs on
the feet also act as sensory
structures, effectively allowing
them to taste with their feet!
The image is one of the top
100 selected to tour the UK as part
of the Royal Photographic Societys
International Images for Science.
Visit www.rps-science.org for
more details.
20
DECEMBER 2017
PHOTO: STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/RPS
 DISCOVERIES
Science
Discoveries

DISPATCHES FROM THE CUTTING EDGE

MEDICINE

HUMAN STEM CELLS USED TO FIGHT

PARKINSONS DISEASE IN MONKEYS
Clinical trials in humans are now being prepared after Japanese researchers
improved the symptoms of Parkinsons disease in monkeys for up to two years

P
ARKINSONS disease is
a progressive disorder that attacks
a group of nerve cells in the brain
known as dopaminergic (DA)
neurons. These are responsible for
transmitting dopamine a vitally important
chemical used to send signals to the parts
of the brain that control movement. As the
disease progresses and more neurons are
lost, sufferers develop trembling limbs,
speech changes and balance problems.
There is currently no known cure.
Now, a team at Kyoto University in Japan
has successfully used reprogrammed
human stem cells to restore brain function
in long-tailed macaque monkeys suffering
from Parkinsons-like symptoms, and hope
to begin clinical trials in humans in as little
as a year.
The researchers were able to produce
functioning DA neurons using induced
pluripotent stem cells (iPS) cells that are

PHOTO: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Parkinsons-like
symptoms
in macaques have
been reduced for up
to two years by the
new stem cell therapy

22
DECEMBER 2017

created by reprogramming skin or blood cells
into an embryonic state, allowing them to be
grown into any kind of human cell.
They created DA neurons from four people
without Parkinsons and three people with it,
and injected them into the brains of seven different
monkeys. All of the animals showed a marked
improvement in their movements. However,
the results depended on the quality
of the implanted cells rather than the quantity,
which is often the case in stem cell therapies.
We made DA neurons from different iPS
cell lines. Some were made with iPS cells
from healthy donors, others were made from
Parkinsons disease patients, said researcher
Dr Tetsuhiro Kikuchi. Each animal received cells
prepared from a different iPS cell donor. We found
the quality of donor cells had a large effect
on the DA neuron survival.
The monkeys were given drugs to prevent
their immune systems from rejecting the new
cells, and were then observed for up to two years
without issue.
The team is hopeful that it can begin recruiting
patients for this iPS cell-based therapy before
the end of next year.
Neurons created
from stem cells could
stall the progress of
Parkinsons disease
EXPERT COMMENT
Prof David
Dexter
Deputy research director, Parkinsons
All of UK, said:
the animals Not only did the new cells survive, and
were found in later dissections, but they also
integrated with the existing neuronal network
showed functioning like normal dopamine-producing
brain cells and allowing gradually improved
a marked movement over a 12-month period.
PHOTOS: FIONA ROGERS/NATUREPL.COM, GETTY
Although this is promising quality research,
improvement and the conclusions are backed up by solid
data that comes from a variety of sources,
in their including behavioural, brain scan and
histological analysis, there are still major
movements challenges ahead. We need to understand
if these new transplanted cells would succumb
to the same fate as the original cells that had
previously died.
There are also other types of brain cells
that are affected by Parkinsons, and additional
work must be done to tackle those symptoms
of the condition that are not caused by a lack
of dopamine.
 Science
Discoveries
A RC H A EO LO GY

ANCIENT CLAY TABLET

THINGS WE
SHOWS BABYLONIANS USED
TRIGONOMETRY CENTURIES
LEARNED THIS
MONTH

BIRDS USE THEIR

SENSE OF SMELL BEFORE GREEKS
TO NAVIGATE
A team at Oxford University
temporarily blocked the
sense of smell of a group
of Scopolis shearwaters
before tracking their
movements. The birds were
able to navigate as normal
across land but became
confused when flying over
the ocean, suggesting they
use a map of smells when
lacking visual clues.

WHISKEY TASTES
BETTER WITH WATER
Diluting your dram with
water can increase
the density of flavour
compounds on the drinks
surface, making it
a tastier tipple, Swedish
researchers say.

CLIMATE CHANGE At 13 x 9cm in size,

IS TURNING BROWN
BEARS VEGETARIAN
A group of bears on Alaskas
Kodiak Island have
switched from eating
spawning salmon to red
elderberries, thanks to
warmer summers causing
the fruit to ripen earlier.
They choose the berries
as they require less energy
to acquire.
THERE COULD BE
SNOW ON MARS
According to calculations
by researchers from the
University Pierre and Marie
Trigonometry, the mathematics of the
relationships between the lengths and angles
of triangles, has long been thought to have
started in earnest with the work of Hipparchus,
a Greek astronomer who lived around 100 BC.
Now, researchers at the University of New South
Wales, Australia, have found evidence of
trigonometry inscribed in cuneiform script (an
early system of writing) on a Babylonian clay
tablet that pre-dates Hipparchus by more than
1,000 years. They believe it may have been
used by ancient engineers to calculate how
to construct palaces, temples and canals.
Known as Plimpton 322, the tablet was
discovered in the early 1900s in what is now
the Plimpton 322 tablet
is about the size of
a large smartphone
why the ancient scribes carried out the
complex task of generating and sorting the
numbers on the tablet, said researcher Dr
Daniel Mansfield. Our research reveals that
Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-
angled triangles using a novel kind of
trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and
circles [as found in modern trigonometry]. It is a
fascinating mathematical work that
demonstrates undoubted genius.
The 15 rows on the tablet describe a
sequence of triangles that make up a
trigonometric table a chart detailing the
relationship between the three sides of a right-
angled triangle.
PHOTO: UNSW/ANDREW KELLY

Curie in France, the Red southern Iraq by American archaeologist
Planet experiences mini Edgar Banks a man whos said to be
snow blizzards. the inspiration behind fictional character
Indiana Jones. The tablet is thought to have
been made in the ancient Sumerian city
of Larsa in around 1800 BC.
The huge mystery, until now, was its purpose
24
DECEMBER 2017
A treasure-trove of Babylonian tablets exists,
but only a fraction of them have been studied
yet, said researcher Norman Wildberger.
The mathematical world is only waking up to
the fact that this ancient but very sophisticated
mathematical culture has much to teach us.
 S PAC E
BLACK HOLES MAY
HAVE HELPED LIGHT UP
THE UNIVERSE
Shortly after the Big Bang, the Universe was
completely dark. The intense expansion of
the fabric of space kicked up so much hot, dense
gas that light became completely trapped within
it for millions of years. As the Universe expanded,
it become more transparent and was gradually
lit up by galaxies and stars radiating visible
light. Exactly how this happened, however,
is something of a mystery.
Now, a team from the University of Iowa thinks
it may have an answer. They suggest that the
black holes that dwell at the centre of galaxies
caused matter to be flung out so violently that it
pierced the cloudy surroundings, allowing light
to escape. Its possible black holes are creating
winds that help the radiation from the stars
escape, said researcher Dr Philip Kaaret.
Thus, black holes may have helped make
the Universe transparent.
Their theory is that the effect is due to black
holes acting in a way similar to pirouetting figure
skaters, who fold their arms closer to their bodies
Matter being flung from
black holes could have
helped light up
the Universe
in order to spin faster. As matter is pulled in
towards a black hole by its extreme gravitational
pull, the black hole spins faster. This creates
an accelerating effect, resulting in a fraction
of the matter being flung away from the centre
of the black hole.
As matter falls into a black hole, it starts
to spin and the rapid rotation pushes some
fraction of the matter out, Kaaret said.
Theyre producing these strong winds that
could be opening an escape route for
ultraviolet light. That could be what
happened with the early galaxies. IN NUMBERS
The team proposed the theory after noticing
665
that ultraviolet light coming from Tol 1247-232,
a galaxy located 600 million light-years
from Earth, was waxing and waning. As stars
dont typically show changes in brightness
like this, other bodies had to be involved.
The team now plans to look for other nearby
galaxies that are leaking ultraviolet light,
DAYS
The amount of time spent
to help corroborate their theory. onboard the International
Space Station by American
astronaut Peggy Wilson
more than any other woman
to date.
20
MILLION
The number of lives that
will have been saved
by vaccination efforts in
the worlds poorest countries
by 2020, as estimated by
a team at the University of
North Carolina.
6,000
YEARS
The age of traces of wine
found in a terracotta jar
in a cave in Sicily. It was
previously thought that
winemaking developed
in Italy around 1200 BC.
 Science
Discoveries
S PAC E
NEARBY EARTH-SIZED EXOPLANETS
MAY HARBOUR HUGE OCEANS
Vast quantities of water may be sloshing around
on the surfaces of three potentially habitable
planets, offering fresh hope of finding life
outside of the Solar System.
In February this year, an international team
of astronomers announced the discovery of seven
Earth-sized planets orbiting the ultra-cool dwarf
star TRAPPIST-1, 40 light-years from Earth.
Now, researchers at Switzerlands Observatoire
de lUniversit de Genve have used data from
the Hubble Space Telescope to estimate that
the star systems outer planets may harbour large
quantities of water, including three that lie within
its habitable zone the distance from a star
where the planets surface temperatures
potentially enable them to support life.
This is an important discovery because
the presence of liquid water is thought to be
essential for the evolution of life. To make their
26 calculations, the researchers took advantage of
DECEMBER 2017
The outer planets in the
TRAPPIST-1 system could
be home to vast oceans
the fact that ultraviolet radiation from a star
causes water molecules on a planet to break up
into hydrogen and oxygen and escape through
PHOTOS: NASA/JPL CALTECH, JOSCHUA KNPPE, DEAN R LOMAX
the top of the atmosphere. They say that the four
outermost planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system,
including three in the habitable zone, dont receive
enough UV to have lost significant amounts of
water so most of the water they formed with
should, in theory, still be there.
However, further studies are required before
they can say for sure.
While our results suggest the outer planets are
the best candidates to search for water with the
upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, said
University of Geneva astronomer Vincent Bourrier,
who led the research, they also highlight the need
for theoretical studies and complementary
observations at all wavelengths to determine
the nature of the TRAPPIST-1 planets and
their potential habitability.
 PA L A EO N TO LO GY
LARGEST PREHISTORIC REPTILE
FOUND TO BE PREGNANT
The largest known fossilised specimen of
a prehistoric species of aquatic reptile called
Ichthyosaurus somersetensis has been found in
a museum in Germany and, in an unusual twist,
it turns out to be that of an expectant mother.
Although sometimes incorrectly referred to as
swimming dinosaurs, ichthyosaurs were, in fact,
an entirely separate order that evolved from land-
based reptiles that had returned to the sea,
much as manatees and whales have evolved
from previously land-based mammals. They
ranged in length from 1m to over 20m.
The I. somersetensis fossil in question is of
a 3-3.5m adult female. The fossil, which dates
back some 200 million years to the Early Jurassic
Period, was originally unearthed in the 1990s,
but, until recently, languished in the collection
at the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hannover,
Only three ichthyosaur
fossils containing embyros
have ever been discovered
TH E DOWN LOAD
FRB 121102
Whats that? An India
Germany. That was until it was spotted by Post tracking number?
palaeontologist Sven Sachs of the Bielefeld Its fast radio burst 121102
Natural History Museum, also in Germany. a mysterious
Suspecting it could in fact be an I. somersetensis electromagnetic signal,
specimen, Sachs contacted the University of originating in a dwarf
Manchesters Dean Lomax, who, along with his galaxy three billion
colleague Prof Judy Massare, had first described light-years away, that
the species. Not only did Sachs hunch turn out was first detected in 2012.
to be correct, the specimen was also found
to contain the fossilised embryo of a baby Hang on. Whats a fast
I. somersetensis, with a preserved section radio burst?
of vertebrae measuring a mere 7cm long. Fast radio bursts are
It amazes me that specimens such as this can powerful radio signals,
still be rediscovered in museum collections, originating in deep space,
said Lomax. This specimen provides new which last for just
insights into the size range of the species, but a few milliseconds.
also records only the third known example of
an Ichthyosaurus with an embryo. Thats special. Tell me more!
Only a handful of fast radio
bursts have ever been
detected, and no one has
so far figured out exactly
what they are. Current
theories range from the
radiation blasted out as
a neutron star is devoured
by a black hole, to encoded
messages from aliens.
Weird. So why are we
talking about it now?
Well, Breakthrough Listen,
a $100bn project that was
set up to listen for potential
signals from extraterrestrial
civilisations, has just
detected a series of
15 pulses from FRB
121102. If anyone is going
to decipher messages
sent by little green men, our
money is on them, so watch
this space literally!
 Science
Discoveries

THE LIFE CYCLE OF HIGH MASS STARS

Stars begin life as clouds of gas and dust, known as nebulae. Material within these nebulae begins
to clump together due to the action of gravity, and, as the material is drawn closer together, it heats up.
A star is born when the mass of particles becomes hot enough for nuclear reactions to begin fusing
hydrogen into helium within its core.

MAIN SEQUENCE RED GIANT SUPERNOVA NEUTRON STAR /

The first stage of a stars life
is known as its main
sequence. During this stage,
the outward forces generated
by the burning gases
are balanced by the stars
gravity. Our own Sun is
at this stage.
Eventually, the hydrogen in
the core begins to run out.
Now, hydrogen begins to fuse
into helium in the stars outer
layers, causing it to expand.
Depending on the stars mass,
it becomes a red giant
or supergiant.
If the star is large enough, it will
continue fusing heavier and
heavier elements within its core
until it becomes too heavy to
withstand its own gravitational
force. The core will collapse in
a huge supernova explosion
that blows away its outer layers.
BLACK HOLE
If the remaining core is up to
a few times the mass of the
Sun, it contracts to become
a neutron star an incredibly
dense type of star. If its bigger
than that, it contracts further
and becomes a black hole.

S PAC E

TINY BLACK HOLES MAY HAVE

HELPED TO FORGE HEAVY
ELEMENTS LIKE GOLD, PLATINUM
AND URANIUM

PHOTOS: KHAN ACADEMY, RITA FIOR/CCU ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT

We really are all made of stardust: everything from
the nitrogen in our DNA to the oxygen in our blood
was made in the interior of stars. Inside a star, hydrogen
atoms the smallest element are fused together
to create helium atoms the second smallest
element which are then fused together to create
heavier elements still. However, even the biggest,
most energetic stars are incapable of creating
elements heavier than iron.
So where do the heavier elements in the periodic
table such as gold, platinum and uranium come from?
Most are believed to have been created in the
energetic supernova explosions that occur at the end
of a massive stars life, but astronomers at University
of California, San Diego, have found another possibility:
they could be created as tiny black holes chow down
on neutron stars, the super-dense cores left behind
by exploding stars.
According to the teams calculations, a neutron star
could come into contact with a small black hole
and become devoured from the inside out by it.
The sheer violence of this event would lead to some
of the dense neutron stars matter being ejected
into space and forming heavy elements.
Small black holes can invade a neutron star
and eat it from the inside, said researcher Prof George
Fuller. In the last milliseconds of the neutron stars
demise, the amount of ejected neutron-rich material
is sufficient to explain the observed abundances
of heavy elements. As the neutron stars are devoured,
they spin up and eject cold neutron matter, which
decompresses, heats up and makes these elements.

28
DECEMBER 2017
 H E A LT H
CANCER PATIENTS COULD
BE GIVEN FISHY AVATARS
TO SPEED UP TUMOUR
TREATMENT
It may not look like the next big thing
in medicine, but, one day, this tiny fish
could play a key role in saving your life.
Portuguese researchers have found that
implanting tumours from human patients
into the larvae of zebrafish in effect
using them as a medical avatar
could help doctors to find more effective
treatments for aggressive cancers.
Currently, most chemotherapy
treatments are prescribed based on
their success in clinical trials involving
many patients. The downside to this
is that the exact nature of cancer varies
significantly across different patients.
Tumours respond differently to different
drugs and can even change over time,
which complicates matters further.
In some cases, the efficacy rate of
chemotherapies can be low, sometimes
around 35 per cent, said researcher
Dr Miguel Godinho Ferreira. This means
that some patients risk taking inadequate
drugs that weaken them, and, without
a proper test, there is no way to know
who will benefit and who wont.
In an attempt to increase these odds,
the team transplanted tumour cells
from five colorectal cancer patients
directly into zebrafish larvae and let
them develop for two weeks. They then
treated the zebrafish with the same
chemotherapy drug that was given to
the human patients. The tumours in
the zebrafish avatars responded to the
treatment in the same way as the human
tumours in four out of five cases.
Following this promising start,
the team now plans to spend the next
two years testing their method in
hundreds more patients.
If all goes well, we will be able to
inform oncologists on the result of the
different therapies in the avatars. They
will always have the final word in terms
of deciding which therapy to choose, but
with a tumour (red)
they will be able to base their decisions
on individual tests, said Ferreira.
T H E Y D I D W H AT ? !
JELLYFISH
MADE INTO
CRISPS
What did they do?
A team of gastrophysicists at
the University of Southern
Denmark created a new
method for drying out jellyfish,
turning them into edible
crisps.
Why did they do that?
With the worlds population
growing rapidly, its
imperative we look into
Zebrafish larva alternative sources of food,
implanted from
they say. Jellyfish have been
a cancer patient eaten in Asia for thousands
of years, but the practice has
never really taken off
in the West, despite
the relative abundance
of the invertebrates.
The researchers believe this
may be due to the unusual
texture created by the
traditional processing
procedure. In an attempt to
overcome this, they used
alcohol solutions to suck the
water out of the jellyfish,
leaving them similar in texture
to potato crisps.
What did they find?
The researchers say
the mouth feel and the
aesthetic appearance of the
jellyfish have gastronomic
potential and that they
actually taste pretty good.
Hmm well stick to ready
salted for the time being.
 Science
Discoveries
MEDICINE
NANOCHIP COULD HEAL INJURIES
WITH ONE TOUCH
Researchers at the Ohio State University have designed
a tiny device that genetically reprogrammes skin cells.
Its hoped it could be used to repair injured tissue,
including organs, blood vessels and nerve cells.
Dubbed tissue nanotransfection (TNT), the new
technique uses a coin-sized device that is placed
on the patients skin. The device is then zapped
with a small electric charge, triggering it to deliver
a package of specially engineered genes to the target
skin cells, transforming them into different types of cells
entirely. With this technology, we can convert skin cells
into elements of any organ with just one touch, said
researcher Dr Chandan Sen. This process takes
less than a second and is completely non-invasive,
30
DECEMBER 2017
PHOTOS: OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER, GETTY, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
This tiny device can turn
skin cells into the building
blocks of vital organs
and then youre off. The chip does not stay with
you, and the reprogramming of the cell starts.
Our technology keeps the cells in the body under
immune surveillance, so immune suppression is
not necessary.
In one experiment, the team successfully
reprogrammed skin cells to replace blood vessels in
a mouse with a badly-injured leg. Just one week after
treatment, active blood vessels began to grow in the
mouses damaged leg, and by the second week its limb
was saved. In another experiment, the chip was used
to create nerve cells that were then injected into mice
to help them recover from brain injuries caused by stroke.
Clinical trials in humans will start next year.
 PA L A EO N TO LO GY
100-MILLION-YEAR-
OLD FLOWERS FOUND
PERFECTLY PRESERVED
IN AMBER
Millions of years ago, in a pine forest
in Myanmar, a group of tiny flowers fell
tumbling to the ground. Upon falling,
they landed in a patch of tree resin,
which later fossilised into crystal
clear amber keeping them in perfect
condition until they were discovered
by a team at Oregon State University
earlier this year.
Dubbed Tropidogyne pentaptera
thanks to their distinctive shape
(penta means five and pteron means
wing), the flowers belong to a previously
undiscovered species of tree and date
back to the Cretaceous Period, making
them around 100 million years old.
The flowers lack petals but have
pronounced sepals green leaf-like
structures that protect the flower
while its in bud and measure
between 3.4 and 5mm in diameter.
The amber preserved the floral
parts so well that they look like they
were just picked from the garden,
said researcher Prof George Poinar Jr.
Passing dinosaurs may have knocked
the branches that dropped the flowers
into resin deposits on the bark of
an araucaria tree, which is thought
to have produced the resin that
fossilised into the amber.
The flowers have been placed
in the family Cunoniaceae, a group
of trees still common to the Southern
Hemisphere, and are believed to
have belonged to a rainforest tree.
The closest living relative to
the prehistoric tree is likely to be
the coachwood tree found in Australia.
This also has no petals, only sepals,
can grow to heights greater than 35m,
lives for centuries and produces
an attractive hardwood that is used
for flooring and furniture.
This little flower is
an incredible 100
million years old
S PAC E T R AV E L
HUMAN
WASTE COULD
BE THE KEY
TO LONG-
DISTANCE
SPACE TRAVEL
If we are ever going to have any chance
of making it to Mars, astronauts are going to
have to make the best use of every possible
resource even their own urine. Crew on-board
the International Space Station already have
a system in place that creates drinking water
from urine. But, now, a team at Clemson University
in South Carolina has taken things a step further
by making a system that can create plastics from
human urine and exhaled breath.
If astronauts are going to make journeys
that span several years, well need to find a way
to reuse and recycle everything they bring
with them, said researcher David Blenner.
Having a biological system that astronauts
can awaken from a dormant state to start
producing what they need, when they need it,
is the motivation for our project.
The system takes the nitrogen from urine
and carbon dioxide from exhaled breath
and uses them to feed a type of yeast, Yarrowia
lipolytica, that has been genetically engineered
to churn out monomers a special type of
molecule that can be strung together to form
plastic polymers. The plastic, in this case
polyester, can then be 3D printed to make tools
and replacement parts as needed.
 Science
Discoveries

We plan on using
microbots as tools
to manipulate cells
and measure
their properties

ENGINEERING

Folding robots controlled by magnetic fields can be used to study

microscopic objects such as cells. Prof Orlin Velev of North Carolina State
University explains how they work
ABOVE: What are your microbots made of? the field acts] and this is what distinguishes
Microbots could We started with so-called active particles that can perform our microbot assemblies: we can move them
one day be used
to target cancer simple tasks such as pushing and penetrating objects. Now were around and independently make them open
cells, like in studying complex self-folding shapes, such as cubes. Our aim and close.
this artists is to make interesting structures for use in future technologies. You can actually see the microbot in operation

PHOTOS: GETTY, PROFESSOR ORLIN D VELEV/NC STATE UNIVERSITY ILLUSTRATIONS: DAN BRIGHT
impression
Our particles are small cubes with one side coated with metal. and can use it to catch cells. When four cubes
BELOW: Four
They become magnetic when we apply magnetic fields and are set up in a box-like cluster, the configuration
cubes can be
arranged in are able to move and change shape. stores magnetic energy. By turning the magnetic
a box-like cluster, field on, it opens; when we turn the field off,
then opened and
closed like How do you build a bot? it closes. It behaves like a tiny Pac-Man.
Pac-Man to Our colleagues from Duke University make the cubes and metallise We made it swim towards a yeast cell, before
capture a yeast them, then we perform the research in my laboratory. We put a closing around it. We use magnetic fields again
cell (marked by
arrow) suspension of cubes in water into a small chamber surrounded by to drag the cell to a new position and release it.
electromagnets, then observe their behaviour with a microscope.
Originally theyre dispersed around, but, when we turn on the Why are microbots useful?
magnetic field, they begin assembling into different sequences. We plan on using microbots as tools to manipulate
Some sequences can fold like origami and repeatedly perform other types of cells, and to measure their
opening and closing motions, which we used to demonstrate properties. We are initiating a project to investigate
the microbot principle. cells and vesicles small lipid-based structures,
similar to cells, which are used for drug delivery.
How do magnets control One of the next applications is to characterise
movement? materials. Say you want to distinguish a cancer
When we turn the field off, cell from a regular cell: you can use fluorescent
cubes preserve their magnetic dye or you can use the microbot to pinch the cells
properties and interact with each and see their mechanical properties, which may
other. Every time we turn the field differ. So now we have a microscopic device that
on, they adopt one configuration; can be used in sorting and testing different cells
when we turn it off, they adopt in a culture. Were not going to address treatment
another. So we can reversibly of cancer, at least not at this stage. The most
fold and unfold them. In addition, exciting thing is that theres still so much we can
we can control field strength learn about how to make particles that have
32 and gradient [in which direction unique features we can use.
DECEMBER 2017
 prepare yourself for tomorrow

EAT MY DUST
Meet the supercar of tomorrow: the HIPERCAR (no, thats not a typo it stands for HIgh PERformance CArbon
Reduction). Its been designed by Ariel, the British manufacturers behind the Ariel Atom, who say that, when the car
rolls out of the factory in 2020, itll be the most advanced, and fastest-accelerating roadcar ever made.
The car is essentially a testbed where Ariel, and two other technology partners, will try to make electric cars go faster
and further than ever before. The HIPERCAR will manage 0-60mph in an eye-watering 2.4 secs, and will hit 100mph
in 3.8 secs (thats over two seconds nippier than the McLaren P1), before maxing out at a top speed of 160mph.
In fact, the speed and power are so monumental that simulations suggest the vehicle could end up wheel-spinning
at 100mph, so Ariel is looking at placing fans underneath the car to suck it onto the road to give it traction.
To give it a bigger range, Ariel and its partners have developed a revolutionary 35kW micro-turbine range extender.
When the car runs out of battery, this incredibly small, petrol-powered motor will generate extra electricity.
The team behind the car hopes the affordability and size of their range extender will mean this technology will find
its way into more electric cars, making them more feasible to the general public.
 Science
Innovations

Volocopter is fully
electric and has been
cleverly engineered
to minimise noise

Volocopters plans to build a fleet of autonomous helicopters for use as taxis

TRANSPORT
have been covered in this magazine before. But the German companys

AUTONOMOUS
ambitions were recently given something of a lift in the form of $30m of
investment from manufacturer Daimler.
The lower half of Volocopters heli-taxi looks like a standard helicopter,

HELICOPTER with two landing skids, a long, narrow tail and a cockpit that can house
two people. Where a standard helicopter would have rotors on the roof and

TAXIS COULD
tail, however, the Volocopter has, instead, a large, circular frame on which are
mounted no fewer than 18 individual rotors. This innovative design is said to

BE TAKING OFF
make the machine much more stable in the air than traditional helicopters.
The Volocopter made its first manned flight in 2016, but, with help from
PHOTOS: IVL, HYPERLOOP

Daimlers investment, the company now plans to develop an autonomous

version. Trials have started in Dubai this year, with a view to a fleet
of the vehicles being used for personal transport in and around the city
within a few years.
And, if that all sounds like a far-fetched proposition, just bear in mind that
many people said the same thing when engineer Gottlieb Daimler built the
34 first motorcycle in 1885
DECEMBER 2017

E N E RGY
IKEA IS SELLING SOLAR
STORAGE BATTERIES
With more and more homes sporting solar panels
on their roofs, furniture giant Ikea is now selling
a large domestic battery that will enable you to
store any excess power generated for future use.
Ikea started selling solar panels in 2013,
but stepped away from the market when
the UK government announced that it was
scrapping solar subsidies. Last year, it returned
to the solar fray, working in association with
Solarcentury, which is one of the biggest
and longest-established providers of solar
equipment in the UK.
Until now, however, anyone who installed Ikea/
Solarcenturys rooftop panels had no option
but to sell any excess power generated to
the National Grid. Now, the two companies
Ikeas lithium-ion
storage batteries are
made by established
manufacturer LG
TECH BYTES
ROBOTS GOT SEOUL
Visitors to Incheon Airport in
Seoul, South Korea, will soon
be greeted by robots made by
LG. The Airport Guide Robot
will offer directions and tourist
advice in Japanese, Chinese,
have taken a leaf out of Teslas book and English, and Korean, while
developed a large domestic battery Airport Cleaning Robots will
similar to Teslas Powerwall that can store keep the place looking smart.
that power for use at a later date, rather
than forcing users to buy electricity back from
the National Grid on less sunny days.
Anything that reduces our reliance on power
generated from non-renewable sources has
to be a good thing, but the stumbling block
for most people is going to be the price.
A basic Ikea/Solarcentury system consisting
of a battery and a couple of solar panels
will cost around 6,500, while the battery
alone (if you want to add one to an existing
power generation system) will cost in
the region of 5,000.
DRONE LAWS
UK owners of unmanned
aerial vehicles will have
to register all drones over
250g with the Department
for Transport and undertake
a safety awareness test,
according to new
government plans.
The move comes after
several incidents in which
drones caused safety
problems at airports.
DRIVERLESS CARS?
NO THANKS!
Indias transport and
highways minister Nitin
Gadkari has announced
plans to ban autonomous
vehicles in the country,
in a bid to protect the jobs
of Indias bus, taxi and
goods vehicle drivers.
 on the shelves

NEW
Books

READS
WORDS: MOSHITA PRAJAPATI

GOOD NIGHT STORIES FOR

Rebel Girls Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

Penguin
It has the distinction of being the fastest crowd-funded book in history,
and comes under monumental pressure with the onus of re-writing fairy
tales for little girls. Curated by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo,
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a collection of inspiring stories
about heroic women from history, right from Elizabeth I to Serena
Williams. The book details the struggles and triumphs of 100 women
past and contemporary who have certainly never needed rescuing and
whose actions have empowered and encouraged. It begins with
Ada Lovelace, the woman who is now credited with writing the first
computer program code, and travels through time, covering women of all
races, from diverse backgrounds and countries, disabilities, sexualities,
etc. It talks about the trials of Hatshepsut a female pharaoh of ancient
Egypt, of Jane Goodall, the primatologist and wildlife conservator, of
the painter Frida Kahlo, of Maria Callas, the opera singer, and Malala
Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Laureate. From India, the Rani of Jhansi
and Mary Kom are profiled in the book. Each profile is accompanied
by a quote and an illustration; 60 female artists from across the world
contributed sketches for the book. A must-read for anyone who needs that
nudge to keep imagining and achieving the impossible.
36
DECEMBER 2017
 Nicole Kraus
LITTLE FIRES Bloomsbury Publishing

AUTONOMOUS
EVERYWHERE
Celeste Ng
Penguin Press
The quiet community
of Shaker Heights in
suburban Cleveland is
shaken out of its life of
precise and strict rules by
new resident Mia and her
daughter Pearl. No one
is more affected by the
disarray in the community
than Elena Richardson.
The plot unravels as
the community attempts
to regain and retain its
picture-perfect faade.
The central theme of
the plot draws from
the conclusion that,
sometimes, one shared
Annalee Newitz
Tor Books journey can force two
very different people to
A genetics engineer-turned-drug pirate, an unlikely duo of a robot rediscover themselves
and a former military man fighting an evil capitalist empire, all three in a remarkable way.
unknown to each other. In the far future, in 2144, the planet is run The novel centres around
entirely on the basis of drug consumption and not the good kind. Zaxy a young novelist suffering
is manufacturing drugs that makes people addicted to working to the from writers block and
point of insanity. This bizarre drug epidemic is causing trains to crash, an old man who knows his
people to commit suicide, in short, it is causing mayhem in the city of days are numbered.
New York. Will they succeed in defeating the dark forces? Their renewed sense
of self-discovery forces
them to retreat into their
past to make amends
for their future.

FOREST
But can it, with secrets
emerging from every

DARK
window, door, and letter?

TURTLES SOURDOUGH
ALL THE Robin Sloan
WAY DOWN MCD
Lois Clary writes code for a
THE BURNING John Green company that exclusively creates
GIRL
Penguin
THE robotic arms. Stuck in

Claire Messud
W W Norton & Company
This coming-of-age story
follows the lives of two girls,
Julia and Cassie, who
have, since childhood,
planned their escape
from their small town of
Royston, Massachusetts.
But, as they grow older,
their lives take them
down separate paths.
Will Cassie survive the dark
times that lie ahead for
her? More importantly; will
her friendship with
Julia prevail?
This much-awaited novel
promises to be as quirky and
heart-wrenching as his last
tearjerker novel, The Fault In Our
Stars (2012). Fugitive billionaire
Russell Pickett is on the run,
with a hundred-thousand-dollar
reward on his head. Avas friend
Daisy wants to capture him,
so the girls decide to enlist
the help of Picketts son Davis.
The novel promises to be
a riveting tale of love, friendship,
and unflinching loyalty.
IMMORALISTS
Chole Benjamin
Tinder Press
In 1966, a travelling
psychic comes to New
York City and word soon
spreads that, for a fee, she
will accurately predict the
day of your death. Four
children sneak out on a
summer night to find out
when they will die. Will they
live their lives differently
now that they know, or
will they test the boundary
between reality, fate,
destiny, choice
and illusion?
a dead-end job, her only
solace in life is spicy soup,
accompanied by miraculously
restorative sourdough bread.
When the immigrant owners of
the restaurant she frequents
pack up and leave, the baker
leaves a crock of sourdough
starter for Lois. She learns to
bake, but the results are eerie
the finished loaves have faces
on them, and the dough begins
to sing. Lois finds out there is
a market at which people fuse
technology and food together,
but who are these people?
39
DECEMBER 2017
 portfolio
Wildlife

WOMBAT
HOSPITAL
An army of volunteers is working hard to rescue common wombats
at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania. SUZI ESZTERHAS visited
the animal rescue centre to find out how these fascinating marsupials
are reared and returned to the wild
38
DECEMBER 2017
 Spring explores an outdoor
area at the sanctuary.
As an adult, she will be
a master digger with long
claws and stocky limbs
and will spend a lot of time in
burrows. A burrow is just large
enough for a wombat and key
to its survival, providing
shelter, warmth and protection
from predators
such as dingoes
 portfolio
Wildlife

LEFT: Common
wombats are grazers
that eat grasses,
sedges, herbs and
the bark of some trees.
The sanctuary diet
of seven-month-old
Storm reflects what
she would consume
in the wild. The species
is crepuscular and,
therefore, usually
forages at dawn
40 and dusk
DECEMBER 2017
ABOVE: Sanctuary director Greg
Irons strokes an orphan called Tina.
He has been raising wombats for
about 15 years and describes them
as very affectionate when they
are young. When Tina becomes
independent, she will be released
on to land that is managed for
wildlife, preferably close to
where she was found

LEFT: When orphans like Spring

first arrive at the sanctuary, they go
to a foster home until they are
10 months old. Pacifiers are given
to joeys for comfort and they
receive round-the-clock care and
attention. Most common wombats
arrive at Bonorong because their
mothers have been hit by cars.
Habitat loss and mange there
has been a massive increase in the
disease in wombats in the last five
years also threaten the species
 portfolio
Wildlife

TOP LEFT: Storm plays with

a football at a foster home.
This natural behaviour is encouraged
using toys. When the youngster
is 10 months old, she will be slowly
introduced to Bonorongs enclosures,
where she can develop her instincts

LEFT: A five-month-old common

wombat called Ebony is fed milk
formula at Bonorong Wildlife
Sanctuary, Tasmania. A joey will
usually leave its mothers pouch
for the first time at about seven
months and will continue to suckle
until it is a year old. This marsupials
mother was hit by a car and killed.
Wombats generally stay at the
sanctuary until they are two years
old and weigh 20kg

42
DECEMBER 2017
ABOVE: Wombats are watched
carefully in the sanctuary (Storm and
Ebony are pictured) and the stages of
their release programme are tweaked
according to the individual some
will be ready to leave earlier than
others. Bonorong staff make sure
the wombats are digging suitable
burrows, recognising edible foods
and showing disinterest in people
before they are released

RIGHT: Wombats use their teeth

for burrowing and can chew through
tree roots that get in their way.
Storms foster mother must keep
a close eye on her while she is
staying in a house wooden
doors and electric cords are
no longer safe!
 portfolio
Wildlife

Common wombats prefer a variety

of different habitats, including coastal
forests, alpine woodlands and grasslands.
This individual was photographed in Cradle
Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park,
Tasmania. The species can be found in
most parts of the state. Released wombats
are not tracked or tagged because it affects
their natural behaviour

44
DECEMBER 2017
ABOVE: Six-month-old Spring
hides in an artificial pouch.
At birth, an immature young,
weighing about 2g and the size of
a jelly bean, will move to the pouch
and find a teat, which swells to
prevent the joey from falling out.
It will remain attached to this for
about five months. During that time,
the wombat will grow a thin
layer of fur
LEFT: Linda Tabone is a foster
mother who works for Bonorong
Wildlife Sanctuary. She is one
of many volunteers that support
this animal rescue service.
Forty wombats have come into
Lindas care over the past four
years and she has raised
24 through to release

Suzi Eszterhas is an award-

winning wildlife photographer
based in California. She is well
known for documenting rescued
animals. Find out more
at www.suzieszterhas.com.
Airborne Event is a
piece of art created by
Fred Tomaselli in 2003
 AOFto Z
THE

YOU
Our bodies contain some 30 trillion cells,
and a new project aims to map the molecular
signature of every single one
PHOTO: FRED TOMASELLI - AIRBORNE EVENT 2003 - COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND JAMES COHAN NEW YORK

WORDS: KAT ARNEY

M
apping the human body is one of biologys oldest
endeavours. By studying the battered bodies of
Roman gladiators, the 2nd-century philosopher-
surgeon Galen of Pergamon wrote medical texts
that stood as the pinnacle of anatomical knowledge
for more than 1,000 years, until the Flemish doctor Andreas
Vesalius came up with more accurate works. But it wasnt until
the invention of the first practical microscope in the mid-1600s,
a century after Vesaliuss death, that curious scientists could
finally begin to study cells the building blocks that make up
our tissues and organs.
Just as studying the tiniest subatomic particles has helped
physicists to unravel the workings of the cosmos, so biologists
have found that zooming in on our individual cells can reveal new
insights into the human body. For a long time, this has been
the domain of pathologists, studying the physical appearance
of cells and tissues, along with a relatively limited number
of molecular markers.
But, backed by the exciting new science of single-cell genomics,
a project called the Human Cell Atlas is aiming to create
the ultimate inventory of the human body, mapping every single
one of our cells in intricate detail. And the resulting guidebook
could revolutionise our understanding of health and disease.

CELLULAR SCIENCE
Its long been clear that cells in different organs look and behave
 science
The Human Body
in their own distinctive ways. For example, spherical immune
cells are primed to recognise infections, while spidery nerve cells
crackle with hundreds of connections. Nevertheless, each cell
still has the same basic set of instructions in the form of the
human genome, encoded within our DNA. The thing that makes
each cell type different is the particular set of genes active within
it, producing molecular messages called RNA. And because
a particular pattern of gene activity will be unique to a specific
cell type, the RNA made within it will be unique too, acting as
a kind of molecular fingerprint.
For several decades, researchers have been able to measure
the activity of genes in different cell types (known as gene
expression) by mashing up millions of cells and analysing the
different RNAs, getting a read-out of which genes are switched
on and which are off.
Yet this is only an average, and this method cant pick up
differences between individual cells. Its like looking at a crowd
from a distance and only seeing a colourful blur, rather than the
exact hue of each persons shirt. But, thanks to recent advances in
technology, we can now zoom right in to look at gene activity in a
single cell (see diagram below).
A typical human body contains around 30 trillion cells, but,
while it is often said that there are around 200 different types,
more detailed molecular analysis has revealed that this is a
massive underestimate. Is every cell in the liver exactly the same,
or have we only been measuring averages? What about the billions
of neurons in the brain, or the multitude of distinct immune cells?
These questions provided the spark for the Human Cell Atlas,
which aims to map gene expression patterns in billions of
individual cells.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
The idea flickered to life in 2012 when geneticist Dr Sarah
Teichmann came to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near
Cambridge to set up a research group studying gene activity
in single cells in the mouse immune system. Over coffee
and conversation with her new colleagues, she realised that
her techniques might solve a much bigger challenge.
Despite centuries of microscopy, we dont actually fully
understand the different cell types in the body, she says. When
I came to the Sanger Institute, we started bouncing ideas around.
It was a bit utopian because the technology just wasnt there yet,
HOW IT WORKS:
SINGLE-CELL
GENOMICS
In order to measure the gene activity in a single cell,
you need to isolate its RNA the molecular messages
produced when genes are switched on. By comparing
the sequences of these messages with the whole genome
(the complete set of DNA contained inside every cell),
researchers can figure out which genes are being
expressed in any particular cell at that time.
48
DECEMBER 2017
but we thought: what if someday it would be possible to atomise a
human body take a human and look at all their cells. Of course,
youre not vaporising a whole person, but we thought we could
take tiny samples from many different people and stitch it all
together into a kind of universal atlas.
With trillions of cells to analyse, this isnt the kind of task that
a single laboratory, or even a single institute, can handle alone.
Teichmann and her colleagues soon realised that a number
of other researchers were starting to have the same thoughts
as they were notably Dr Aviv Regev at the Broad Institute
in Massachusetts and began to build an international
consortium of single-cell enthusiasts ranging from geneticists
and molecular biologists to surgeons and machine learning
specialists. So far, the team has committed to studying four types
of tissue: the brain, the immune system, epithelial tissue (which
lines the surfaces of organs and blood vessels), and foetal
and placental cells. As well as cataloguing the cells of healthy
PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, WELLCOME IMAGES X2 ILLUSTRATIONS: ACUTE GRAPHICS
people, a key part of the project will be to understand how cells
change their activity when we get sick, so cancer cells are on the
initial list, too.
ROBOT RESEARCHERS
The scale of the Human Cell Atlas and the accuracy required
means that this is no longer the kind of work that can be done
by hand. To find out more about the technology involved, I visited
Dr Stephan Lorenz. He heads up the single-cell genomics facility
at the Sanger Institute, where a significant proportion of the work
for the Human Cell Atlas will be carried out.
He shows me around several large rooms full of huge cabinets
containing an army of high-tech, liquid-handling robots for
preparing and processing single-cell samples, supervised by just
two human staff. One impressive machine isnt so much a sonic
screwdriver as a sonic sampler, using sound pulses to whack
precisely-measured microscopic drops of liquid from one plastic
plate to another. Another can process more than 1,200 samples
in 90 minutes.
Over the last couple of years, theres been an explosion of
methods that allow us to measure these tiny quantities of RNA
that are present in a single cell, he says. We can now understand
how cells think and feel and see inside the mind of a single cell.
By looking at the messages in cells, we can infer their function
and even their identity. Whats more, he explains, he can even see
how individual cells in the immune system change when they are
1 Separate tissue sample into 2 Break open each cell
single cells, using high-powered to release the RNA messages.
focused laser beams, enzymes
or other techniques.
Modern images of blood cells taken with scanning electron
microscopes (main image) offer far more detail than earlier
microscope images, like these published in 1845

3 Convert the RNA into DNA 4 Amplify the DNA thousands 5 Read the DNA using 6 Analyse results to work out which
this process is known as or even millions of times to get next-generation genes are active, producing a gene
reverse transcription. enough material to sequence. sequencing tech. expression profile for that cell.
Repeat for cells around the body!
 science
The Human Body
SENSATIONAL CELLS
THE HUMAN CELL ATLAS IS INITIALLY
FOCUSED ON FIVE TYPES OF CELL
BRAIN
The brain is probably the most complex organ in
the body, made up of more than 86 billion nerve
cells (neurons). By mapping all the patterns of
gene activity in different brain cells, researchers
hope to understand how neurons wire up and
communicate, and what goes wrong in psychiatric
and neurodegenerative illnesses.
IMMUNE SYSTEM
There are hundreds of types of cell in the immune
system alone, each with distinct roles in spotting
and responding to infections or disease. Analysing
each cell type will reveal the changes that happen
as the immune system fires into action, and will
shed light on autoimmune conditions and
allergies.
EPITHELIAL CELLS
Epithelial cells are one of the most versatile cell
types. They make the linings of our organs,
ranging from the tubes of the gut to the delicate air
sacs of the lungs. Establishing how epithelial cells
carry out such a diverse range of roles will explain
how organs grow and are affected by diseases
such as cancer.
PLACENTA AND FOETUS
Studying these tissues will reveal how we grow
and develop in the womb, and how a healthy
placenta develops to provide oxygen and
nutrients. This will give us vital clues for
understanding what has gone wrong in babies
who are born with developmental disorders, or
when a pregnancy ends in miscarriage or stillbirth.
CANCER
By analysing gene activity in single cancer cells,
researchers hope to identify the changes that
trigger the growth and spread of tumours. They
are also searching for clues to explain how these
rogue cells can develop resistance to therapy, with
the aim of finding ways to prevent the disease
coming back again after treatment.
50
DECEMBER 2017
activated to fight infection, or watch the genes
that are switched on and off as one cell splits
into two.
Yet RNA messages arent the only thing that
gives a cell its identity. RNA carries instructions
to make proteins, which build physical
structures inside cells and carry out biological
functions in the body (for example, digestive
enzymes in the stomach or sturdy keratin
proteins that make up our skin and hair). Lorenz
and his colleagues are now developing methods
to analyse all the proteins inside a single cell.
It currently takes about three weeks to analyse
all the RNA in an individual cell, though the
process is speeding up all the time. Perhaps
an even bigger challenge than analysing all
of the cells is coping with the quantity of data
generated. Around 850,000 messages are
sequenced per cell. Multiply that by millions
of cells, and it quickly adds up.
WE CAN NOW
UNDERSTAND HOW
CELLS THINK AND
FEEL AND SEE INSIDE
THE MIND OF A CELL
To help with this, the Human Cell Atlas
consortium secured funding from the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative (set up by Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla
Chan) to develop ways to process and present
the torrent of information coming from
the sequencing labs.
Making the Atlas searchable and useable
is vital if it is to become a meaningful resource
for scientists. Although Teichmann doesnt yet
know how the data will be presented, she does
have one fun idea. The really futuristic vision
is that we will all be wearing virtual reality
headsets and be able to look at a virtual body
to point out parts that we want to see, she says.
MAPPING THE FUTURE
Its still early days for this incredibly ambitious
project, which officially kicked off in October
2016, but Teichmann thinks its feasible. I
would say for a draft Atlas, we need to analyse
between approximately 30 million and 1 billion
cells, she explains. Over the last eight years,
there has been an exponential decrease in cost
per cell and an exponential increase in the
A laboratory at the Sanger
Institute, where a lot of the
Human Cell Atlas research will
be carried out
number of cells per experiment. If that trend
continues we are in good shape.
As well as satisfying our scientific curiosity
about what were all made of, Teichmann sees
the Atlas as a source of huge potential benefits
for biomedical research, revealing leads for
new drugs or finding molecules that act as
biomarkers for diagnosing and monitoring
disease. At a deeper level, she hopes it will
answer fundamental questions about the links
between genes and health. As an example, she
mentions the harmful change (mutation) in a
gene called CFTR that causes cystic fibrosis,
which affects the lungs and other organs.
PHOTOS: GETTY X5, SANGER INSTITUTE
We know that CFTR is active in the lungs,
but, in fact, is expressed in other parts of the
body, too. So you could interrogate the Human
Cell Atlas and find those cells, to understand
why things are going wrong when its mutated,
she explains. Or say you want to know the side
effects of a drug that targets the product of a
particular gene. You could search the Atlas to
see where that gene is expressed which organs,
tissues and cells and then predict what the
anticipated side effects might be.
Understanding exactly what has gone wrong
in a wide range of diseases, quickly identifying
which cells and which molecules are
misbehaving, will help doctors to diagnose
conditions faster and select the most appropriate
treatment with less of the guesswork that goes
on at the moment.
Ultimately, Teichmann and her team see the
Human Cell Atlas as a fundamental resource
that will one day have an impact on almost
every aspect of biology and medicine. Perhaps
we could even call it Human Genome 2.0.
I like that! she laughs. The Human Genome
Project was all about deciphering the DNA
sequence, but the Human Cell Atlas is asking
what does that sequence actually stand for?
How is the genetic code read out to make a
human body? It really is mind-blowing!
KAT ARNEY is a science writer and broadcaster
who presents The Naked Scientists every week on
BBC Radio 5 Live. Her latest book, How To Code A
Human, is out now (16.99, Andre Deutsch).
 ENDLE
science
The Human Body

ENERGYHectic lives dont have to go hand-in-hand with feeling drained.

Read on to find out how the latest research will eliminate tiredness
for good
Words: SIMON CROMPTON

C
AN you keep your eyes open long enough to read this
feature? We wont be offended if you cant. The Royal
College of Psychiatrists says that one in five of us feels
unusually tired at any one time, and one in 10 feels
permanently fatigued. Tiredness and fatigue are
behind 20 per cent of UK doctor consultations, according to
a recent survey of GPs. No wonder doctors are regularly jotting
down a handy new acronym TATT (Tired All The Time) in
patient notes.
Tiredness is no joke. Sleep deprivation brings a heavy mental
and physical toll. Around 20 per cent of accidents on major roads
are sleep-related, according to the Department of Transport.
Plus, people who are sleep-deprived lose the ability to be
positive-minded, which researchers from the University of
Pennsylvania, the USA, say is likely to increase the likelihood of
depression. Theres also evidence that sleep deprivation
increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Even if youre getting enough sleep, feeling constantly fatigued
can be bad for you. Research from the University of Alabama
has found that working hard while fatigued increases blood
pressure. This is because tired people increase their effort
to make up for their diminished capability when they want
to accomplish a task.
For those with conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome
(CFS/ME) and cancer, it severely restricts quality of life.
52
DECEMBER 2017
 ESS
ILLUSTRATION: MAIT FRANCHI
 science
The Human Body

Some of us
may simply have
ARE YOU SLEEP-
been born with DEPRIVED OR FATIGUED?
Researchers use a simple sleep latency test to find out whether

a physical and people who are constantly tired are sleep-deprived or fatigued
for other reasons. If you lie down somewhere quiet during

psychological the day and fall asleep within a few minutes, you are either
lacking sleep or potentially suffering from a sleep disorder.

susceptibility If you dont drop off within 15 minutes, fatigue is the problem.

to tiredness

For millions of others, unexplained tiredness regularly rumbles TIRED BODIES

in the background. Is there something wrong with us? Are we
the victims of hectic 24-hour lifestyles? Why are we tired all
the time?
Until now, little has been known about the biological
processes that result in what we call tiredness or fatigue. Only in
recent decades, with growing concern about the prevalence of
conditions such as CFS/ME, has research money been invested
into the causes of long-term fatigue. And it is becoming clear
that, although there is a wide spectrum of tiredness types,
they are all linked and their causes interact.
Prof Julia Newton, director of the Newcastle Centre for Fatigue
Research at Newcastle University, in the UK, explains the causes
of tiredness via a classic bell-shaped curve graph. At the thin
BELOW end of the curve, there are people who just need to get some sleep
A mitochondrion, and get their lifestyle in order. At the other thin end of the curve,
a cells power
there are clearly people who have diagnosed or undiagnosed
pack, has a highly
folded inner
illness that is causing fatigue. And then, theres everything else
membrane thats in the wide middle part of the curve.
packed with The wide middle is the complex bit, covering tiredness caused
substances by combinations of many environmental, lifestyle and health
involved in the
factors. And recent research is beginning to reveal how genetics,
creation of ATP,
which the body cell function, inflammation and the brains response to light
uses for energy may all have an underlying role in this tiredness mainstream.
At a cellular level, scientists are increasingly
looking at the role of mitochondria the power
packs in every human cell in determining
how tired we feel. Mitochondria are miniature
organs (organelles) that convert oxygen, sugar,
fats and protein into a form of chemical energy,
called ATP, which the body uses to fuel the
brain and muscles. Diseases affecting the
mitochondria cause fatigue, so recent reviews
of research suggest that fatigue is closely
associated with mitochondria not working
properly because the body is not producing
particular enzymes, for example.
Studies into CFS/ME by American fatigue
expert Dr Robert Naviaux have shown
that the condition is characterised by changes
in mitochondria function. Naviaux believes
that these changes may be triggered by
stressors such as infection, or physical
and psychological trauma.
Naviaux cites new literature indicating
that stress can prompt metabolic changes,
which make organisms go into hibernation-like
states such as torpor, diapause and aestivation.
Each of these is an energy conservation state
that permits survival under conditions
of environmental stress at the expense
of a decrease in the ability to allocate energy
for daily work or activity, he says.
Mitochondria are central control points
for each of these processes.
This exploratory research about the metabolic
origins of fatigue may link with other studies
suggesting that, sometimes, tiredness has
underlying but undiscovered physical origins.
For example, recent studies have indicated that
severe fatigue is associated with raised levels of
PHOTOS: GETTY X2

leptin, a hormone produced in fat tissue, which

signals to the brain that the body has adequate
energy stores. This raises the prospect that too
much leptin possibly from too much body fat
means we naturally feel less energetic: if we
54
DECEMBER 2017
dont need food, we dont need to go out and do
something about it. This links with anecdotal
evidence that intermittent fasting and reducing
body fat can improve peoples energy levels.
It also links with research indicating that
people with CFS/ME can have high levels of
leptin and similar inflammation-producing
substances called cytokines. Cytokines, which
are also produced in fat, are released during
immune responses. Studies have shown that
low-grade inflammation robs mice of their
energy to run on a wheel. This suggests that
underlying tissue inflammation whether its
in response to a virus, a long-term condition
or a problem with cytokine regulation can be
enough to make us feel weary. Scientists in
the Netherlands have now started a major new
trial to find out whether anakinra, an
anti-inflammatory drug that blocks a particular
cytokine, brings an improvement in people with CFS/ME.
Newton is clear that these related underlying physical
vulnerabilities may be a factor in everyones continuing
tiredness not just those with a diagnosed condition. The
day-to-day fatigue that GPs see definitely relates to chronic
illness. The two arent separate,
she says.
NATURALLY SLEEPY
Theres new research to suggest some of us may simply have been
born with a physical and psychological susceptibility to
tiredness.Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the
UK analysed the genetic make-up of 111,749 people who
indicated they felt tired in the two weeks before samples were
collected for the UK Biobank. They found a genetic link between
those who reported tiredness and those prone to diabetes,
schizophrenia, high cholesterol or obesity. This raises the
possibility of a genetic link between tiredness and vulnerability
to physiological stress, said the team, led by Prof Ian Deary.
 science
The Human Body
The eye detects
light, sending signals to the
brains suprachiasmatic nucleus,
where the bodys circadian clock
is housed
NEVER SOCIAL JETLAG
BE
Many of us like to treat ourselves to
a weekend lie-in after getting up early for
work all through the week. But going to
TIRED
sleep and waking up at different times can
disrupt your circadian rhythms the brains
natural timing of sleep and wakefulness
AGAIN
hormone release. This social jetlag is
associated with sleepiness, feelings of
fatigue, bad mood and health problems.
A recent study from the Sleep and Health
THE SEVEN CAUSES Research Program at the University of
Arizona suggests that each hour of weekday
OF FATIGUE AND to weekend lag brings an 11 per cent
HOW YOU CAN BEAT
increase in the likelihood of heart disease.
THEM
TIP: Avoid weekend lie-ins and late nights,
and keep to the same sleep-wake pattern
whether youre a night owl or a morning
lark. Using an app or a tracker to chart
your sleep patterns can help.
56
DECEMBER 2017
However, the researchers also said that the
majority of peoples differences in
self-reported tiredness can be put down to
environmental causes rather than genetic
factors. So how we live our lives, and what
happens to us, is of first importance.
And the significance of our relationship
to daylight is becoming increasingly clear.
For decades, weve been told that keeping
regular habits and sleeping hours is important.
Now, research has confirmed the importance
of a part of the brain called the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN),
a group of cells in the hypothalamus
that responds to light signals fed
from the eye. When its light,
the SCN messages other parts
of the brain to release
hormones that make us feel
alert, and, when its dark, it
signals for the release of
hormones that make us feel
sleepy, like melatonin.
LACK OF EXERCISE CABIN FEVER
Although excessive exercise can cause Light, fresh air and stimulation are all
short-term fatigue, long-term tiredness important for brain health and SCN
is associated with too little activity. functioning, so being cooped up indoors
A University of Georgia review of research all the time can worsen mood and lower
found 90 per cent of studies agree that energy levels. Were particularly prone to
people who exercise regularly report less this during the winter, when days are dark,
fatigue than groups who dont. Exercise were stuck indoors, and short-term cabin
increases levels of energy-promoting and fever can eventually become seasonal
LIBRARY
mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such affective disorder (SAD). SAD,
as dopamine, norepinephrine and characterised by depression and feelings
serotonin. It also resets the SCN, the part of tiredness, is believed to be caused by PHOTO X7
SCIENCEGETTY
of the brain that regulates sleep and lack of sunlight, which disrupts the brains
wakefulness hormones. And exercise production of mood and sleep-regulating
LIBRARY,
reduces fat stores, which seem to be brain chemicals such as melatonin
associated with long-term fatigue. and serotonin.
PHOTO
PHOTOS: GETTY X2,
TIP: Try and find forms of exercise that fit TIP: Try and pop outdoors every couple
PHOTOS: SCIENCE
in with your lifestyle and what you enjoy, of hours, even if its just for a few minutes.
rather than automatically investing in It will clear your brain and may help with
a gym membership. This way, youll lethargy and fatigue. Go outside during
probably be more inclined to stick to it. your lunch break, rather than spending
it at your desk.
 If our habits are regular, our brain adjusts to
release hormones at the right time. If theyre
not, we end up in constant conflict with our
natural circadian rhythm. The blue imitation
daylight emitted from computer screens and
smartphones can confuse our SCN further,
especially if were using our screens at night.
Our brain is tricked into thinking its day when
its not, and we end up feeling awake when we
should be sleepy, so we dont get such a good
nights rest.
Theres increasing public and scientific
interest in using what are known as
chronobiotic agents to adjust the body clock
to counter sleep problems, tiredness and mood
disorders. Studies investigating whether taking
melatonin tablets reduces fatigue have been
mixed, and doctors warn against overuse
of the supplement. But some new types of
antidepressants, such as agomelatine, work
by regulating circadian rhythms and theres
evidence they improve daytime functioning
and reduce fatigue.
Some of us are tired for the simplest of
reasons, yet unaware of it, says Newton.
She sees hundreds of patients in her fatigue
clinic in Newcastle in the UK, and, for many,
the cause is almost too obvious for them to see.
Its amazing how many people dont associate
their daytime fatigue with poor night-time
sleep, she says. Sometimes, its simply a
matter of getting enough sleep. People tend to
just carry on doing what theyve always done
and dont rest properly.
People are amazed when I ask them to do
an activity diary, and then I ask: Well, when
actually do you rest? And they say: Im resting
here, when Im on Facebook. And I have to tell
them, sorry, but thats not resting.
Were in a society on a treadmill. Were all
push, push, push. And sometimes that just isnt
sustainable, physically and mentally.
SIMON CROMPTON is a freelance writer and
editor who specialises in science, health and
social issues.

DIET CAFFEINE AND DRUGS WORRY AND

Being overweight can cause tiredness
because your body is having to work
harder to perform everyday activities.
It also increases your risk of a condition
called obstructive sleep apnoea
where the tissues in the throat collapse
during sleep, causing airway blockage.
This leads to constant sleep interruption
and daytime tiredness. What you eat is
also important. Low levels of iron and
B vitamins can cause tiredness. And
having a diet high in fast-burning sugary
carbohydrates, like cakes and biscuits,
can leave you feeling tired when the
energy rush quickly wears off.
ALCOHOL
The trouble with drinking coffee is that
you need to keep drinking it: one of
the commonest symptoms of caffeine
withdrawal is fatigue. Research from the
Johns Hopkins Medical School found that,
although caffeine drinkers think their drink
of choice improves their performance
and mood, in fact it just counteracts the
adverse effects of caffeine withdrawal by
bringing them back to normal levels of
functioning.Alcohol causes tiredness too.
Short-term, it can result in restless sleep
and dehydration. Long-term, it can lead to
anxiety and depression, which are linked
to lethargy and sleeplessness.
Fatigue can be caused by prescribed and
recreational drugs. It has been reported
as a side effect of statins, allergy
medications, hormone therapy and many
cancer treatments. According to Frank,
the drug information organisation, the high
experienced with drugs such as cocaine,
speed and ecstasy is often followed by
a comedown of tiredness and depression.
Scientists at Imperial College London
demonstrated that smoking marijuana
long-term lowers levels of brain dopamine
a chemical that plays a key role in how
we experience motivation, pleasure and
reward. This can result in a lack of energy
and motivation.
DEPRESSION
Lack of sleep and fatigue are strongly
linked with depression and anxiety.
Some researchers believe that widespread
depression could be the reason why so
many of us feel constantly tired. Studies
carried out by the Texas A&M Institute
for Neuroscience back up this link.
Researchers measured brain oxygen levels
when people undertook various physical
and mental tasks, and found that they
fatigued more quickly when completing
complex mental activities. The brains
resources were being divided. So stress
and mental frustration are likely to make us
tire more easily, the researchers say.

TIP: Dietitians recommend a balanced
diet, including complex carbohydrates
such as wholemeal bread, brown rice,
beans, oats and pulses, which are slowly
metabolised by the body and lead to less
of an energy dip.
TIP: Test whether caffeine or alcohol are
the culprits for making you tired. Dont
drink them for at least a week, so you get
over any withdrawal symptoms, and see
whether you start feeling better.
TIP: If youre on prescription medications,
look up possible side effects on the leaflet
that comes in the box. Visit your doctor
or pharmacist to discuss any concerns.
For info about drugs, visit talktofrank.com
TIP: Try an NHS quiz at bit.ly/mood_quiz
to help establish whether your state
of mind is behind your tiredness. If youre
concerned that you or a loved one
is suffering from depression, visit
your doctor.
 science
Sexy Scents

The Science Of
CHEMICAL
ATTRACTION
Perfumes and other airborne aromas can tell a potential Fragrances come from peculiar places
partner a lot about you. SARAH CASTOR-PERRY reveals Musk (a base note with a woody, animal
the science of sexy scents aroma) was originally extracted from the anal
scent glands of the African civet cat or musk
deer. Ambergris is even weirder: its a waxy
substance regurgitated by sperm whales in
response to stomach irritation. Freshly thrown-
up ambergris isnt easy on the nose but, as it
floats and ages, it develops an aromatic, earthy
scent. Ambergris is so rare that, in 1908,
a lump weighing 500kg sold for the equivalent
of 500,000. Musk and ambergris have been
replaced by synthetic alternatives because the
animals that produce them are now protected.

Perfumes are made from sexy

secretions
The top notes of perfumes the small, volatile
molecules we smell first are highly scented
and often come from the secretions of flowers.
Mid notes, which can include frankincense
(above) will give perfumes an overall
'roundness', whereas base notes are heavy
molecules designed to linger long after the
scent is applied. The mid notes also disguise
the initially unpleasant smell of base notes,
whose chemical compositions are often similar
to sex hormones secreted by mammals.
Personality influences
which perfumes we pick
In the 1980s, the fragrance
psychologist Joachim Mensing
found that extroverts prefer
fresh scents, such as citrus
notes like bergamot (right).
Introverts prefer the perfumes of eastern Asia,
including sandalwood and jasmine, and those
with emotional instability like powdery
florals, like roses and violets. Mensing went
on to work with Este Lauder and Davidoff.

Flowers smell like insect

pheromones
Red roses are not the only option
for Valentines Day. Most perfumes
contain floral elements, which often
aim to mimic insect pheromones and
attract pollinators. These secretions
are extracted directly from the flower
or designed to imitate their scent.
From jasmine and rose to gardenia and
orange blossom, floral elements
form an important part of
a perfumes bouquet.

58
DECEMBER 2017
 Chemists reverse-engineer natural aromas
If you love a smell, you can bottle it. Thanks to
so-called headspace technology, chemists are able
to place an airtight glass sphere or flask around
a flower or object, suck out the air, and trap the
volatile scent compounds in a filter. These are
analysed using gas chromatography and mass
spectrometry to determine that scents 'recipe',
which can then be synthesised in a lab. One example
of the headspace technology created by perfume
manufacturers is the Living Flower system, invented
by Braja Mookherjee of International Flavors and
Fragrances in 1985.
We can smell
genetic compatibility
In 1995, Claus Wedekind had
women sniff t-shirts worn
by men for two days, then rate
how attractive they thought
the owners were. Genetics
revealed that women prefer
the smell of a man with major histocompatibility
complex (MHC) genes that differ from their own.
More variety in MHC improves the immune systems
chances of fighting infections, so women might pick
mates based on potentially producing healthier kids.
Humans produce
pheromones
Some animals secrete pheromones,
chemicals that affect another
individuals mood or behaviour.
Detecting pheromones requires
a vomeronasal organ. Despite not
having a working organ, our bodies
do release chemicals that could be
considered pheromones. In 2007,
evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey
Miller showed that lap dancers
get higher tips when theyre most
fertile, suggesting that women give
off sexy chemicals, while Saul
Miller found that male testosterone
levels increased when exposed to
the scent of an ovulating woman.
Hairy armpits
show off scents
Underarm skin contains
apocrine sweat glands (above)
that release mainly odour-
free sweat and pheromones.
Hair provides a great breeding
ground for bacteria, which
will work on secretions in
our underarm body odour
and enhance their natural
aromas. In the 1950s,
dermatologist Walter Shelley
found shaved armpits were
less likely to be described
as odourous.

We can also smell symmetry

In another sweaty t-shirt study, Randy Thornhill
showed that women prefer the smell of men with
symmetrical faces, and this preference is highest
when a woman is ovulating. Symmetry is thought
to reflect genetic quality and a lack of undesirable
mutations. Symmetrical men have higher-quality
DAVID HOSKING/FLPA, THINKSTOCK, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X2, ILLUSTRATION BY MAGICTORCH

sperm, larger bodies, more attractive faces and

are socially dominant. Women are also more likely
to have an affair with symmetrical men their
evolutionary urge to pass good genes to their offspring
overtaking the social desire to not cheat on
their partners.

Noses detect
vibrations
How do the molecules
in scents produce the
smell we perceive? Some
scientists claim that
olfactory receptors in
our noses respond to the
shape of scent molecules.
But biophysicist Luca Turin
believes we distinguish
PHOTOGRAPH: JYOTHY KARAT

between molecules based on how they vibrate

at different frequencies. Turin has supported
this theory by showing that two molecules with
different shapes can both have a sweet, tobacco-
like smell. This allowed him to create synthetic,
useable alternatives to molecules that smell nice,
but are too toxic for perfumes.
 science
The Human Body

Your digestive system is home

to a second brain, the Enteric
Nervous System, that may affect
mental processes such as mood

60
DECEMBER 2017
 MEET YOUR
SECOND
BRAIN
Decision-making, mood, disease scientists are
discovering that the network of neurons in our gut
is involved in a lot more than just digestion
WORDS: ROBERT MATTHEWS

Y
OURE facing a big decision whether thats to go into
a business partnership with a friend, say, or put money
into a promising new idea. Its a tough call, as there are
very few hard facts to go on. So its time to use your
second brain. Dont worry, youve probably used your
second brain countless times before; its just that, when you did,
you more likely referred to it as gut instinct.
New research is showing that this age-old phrase is surprisingly
accurate. We really do have a second brain that influences our
judgement, and much else besides. Known as the Enteric Nervous
System (ENS) enteric meaning to do with intestines its an
extensive network of brain-like neurons and neurotransmitters
wrapped in and around our gut.
Most of the time, were unaware of its existence, as its prime
function is what one would expect: managing digestion.
Yet the presence of all that brain-like complexity is no
coincidence. The ENS is in constant communication with the
brain in our skull via the bodys own information superhighway
the vagus nerve. And its now becoming clear that all those
signals flowing back and forth can influence our decisions, mood
and general well-being.
PHOTO: GETTY

 science
The Human Body
Your gut has capabilities that surpass all your other organs,
and even rival your brain, says ENS specialist Dr Emeran Mayer
of the University of California, Los Angeles, who is author of a new
account of the science of the ENS, The Mind-Gut Connection.
This second brain is made up of 50-100 million nerve cells,
as many as are contained in your spinal cord.
Researchers worldwide are now racing to explore the
implications. The results are revealing the key role of the ENS in
everyday health and also what happens when it malfunctions.
Links are emerging between the ENS and a host of disorders
ranging from obesity and clinical depression to rheumatoid
arthritis and even Parkinsons disease.
That, in turn, is opening up new approaches to treating these
conditions, with some quite promising results already appearing.

GLORIOUS GUTS
The ENS and the brain-gut connection look set to become
a major focus for 21st-century medicine. Yet the first hints of its
importance actually emerged over a century ago,
when researchers began making some strange
discoveries about our digestive system.
Experiments by British doctors on animal
organs revealed that the stomach and intestines
have the bizarre ability to work autonomously,
processing food even after theyve been removed
from the rest of the body. The ENS, it seemed,
was clearly far more sophisticated than just a bag
of nerves surrounding various organs, though
the reason for its complexity was far from clear.
Then, in the 1980s, researchers made another
startling discovery: the ENS is awash with
neurotransmitters, the biochemicals that
are vital to brain activity. By the late 1990s,
researchers began talking of the ENS as
the bodys second brain. That led to some
misconceptions, says Mayer: There was a lot
of hype around the idea that the ENS may be
the seat of our unconscious mind.
The reality is more nuanced and involves
another of the key targets of current medical

PHOTOS: NAOMI TJADEN, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS ILLUSTRATION: ACUTE GRAPHICS

research: the microbiome. This vast array of
bacteria, viruses and other organisms is found
throughout the body, but the biggest and most
diverse collection is in the gut.
Like the ENS, these microbes are principally
focused on the complex business of dealing
with digestion. But their behaviour in the gut
is constantly monitored by the ENS, and
the information is relayed via the vagus
nerve straight to the brain.
A clue to the key role the state of our gut plays
The Enteric
Nervous System in our well-being comes from the fact that
(ENS) centres on around 80 per cent of the vagus nerve is
the vagus nerve dedicated to reporting information to the brain.
and the digestive Suddenly, the idea of having a gut instinct
tract
no longer seems so ridiculous. Weve all
ABOVE RIGHT: experienced sensations like queasiness and
Stimulating the butterflies when faced with challenges, or felt
vagus nerve sick to the stomach when things dont go well.
externally via an
According to Mayer, the brain labels memories
ear clip can help
with depression of such situations with the effect they had on our
62 gut. The result is a rapid-access library that helps
DECEMBER 2017
 around 80 per
VAGUS
NERVE

cent of the vagus ENTERIC

NERVOUS
nerve is dedicated SYSTEM

to reporting
information to
the brain. Suddenly, Cerebellum
the idea of having
Medulla
a gut instinct
no longer seems vagus nerve

so ridiculous

Liver
Stomach

THE BRAIN
YOU NEVER
KNEW YOU Pancreas

HAD
If you thought the only brain in your
body is in your head, think again.
Your grey matter is in constant
communication with a vast network
of neurons and neurotransmitters
in your gut making up the so-called Small
Enteric Nervous System (ENS). Intestines
And the two are linked by an
information superhighway known
as the vagus nerve, which runs Colon
down each side of your neck
and into your chest, branching
out across your entire gut.
 science
The Human Body
Better knowledge of
the ENS could help us
treat conditions such
as arthritis (pictured)
BELOW: The
intestinal muscles are
full of nerve cell
bodies (black) and
their axons and
dendrites (yellow and
orange)
By stimulating the gut
to produce serotonin,
its possible to affect
eating behaviour, alleviate
anxiety and even enhance
brain functioning
64
DECEMBER 2017
assess new challenges based literally on gut
feeling rather than conscious, rational thought.
Thats not to say you should always go with
your gut. The quality, accuracy and underlying
biases of this gut-brain dialogue vary between
different individuals, says Mayer. While fast,
its response can also be warped by other life
events or even what you ate. And, sometimes,
its just plain wrong. Faced with a huge financial
decision, cool-headed analysis is a better bet
than a snap gut decision.
ELECTRIC FEEL
Its becoming increasingly clear that the ENS
influences our brain at deeper, more subtle levels
as well. Evidence is emerging that the ENS
influences our mood, and even plays a role
in depression. Exactly how it does this is still
unclear, but researchers are currently focusing
their efforts on one of the many
neurotransmitters that are found in the ENS:
serotonin.
Imbalances in serotonin have been implicated
in depression for a long time, which is why it is
the target of many drugs that have been
developed to treat the condition, such as Prozac.
Yet around 95 per cent of the bodys serotonin
is produced not by the brain, but by the ENS,
and is affected by what we eat, the state of our
microbiome and the signals sent along the vagus
nerve to the brain.
This mind-brain connection is now leading to
new approaches to treating depression. Studies
have found that sending electrical pulses along
PHOTOS: GETTY, ISTOCK, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
the vagus nerve can influence the brains use of
serotonin, helping to alleviate severe depression.
Until recently, fitting patients with the
necessary pulse-generating implant required
invasive surgery. But researchers at Harvard
University, the USA, and the China Academy
of Chinese Medical Sciences, China, have now
developed a device that stimulates the vagus
nerve externally, at the point where its most
easily accessible: the ear.
Tests of the clip-on device with 34 patients
with clinical depression has already produced
promising results, says research team member
HOW TO HACK FAT
Wave goodbye to treating obesity with
gastric bands and bypasses

The obesity epidemic sweeping the world has led

to a surge in the use of bariatric surgery to help
the most seriously obese. The idea seems simple
enough: by removing up to 75 per cent of
a patients stomach, even small meals will be
filling.But studies of patients undergoing such
operations have revealed a more subtle effect:
the surgery also affects the vagus nerve
connecting the enteric nervous system with the
brain. This has opened the way to less radical
methods of tackling obesity, by blocking the vagus
nerve signals controlling appetite.
A study published earlier this year reported that
by using an implanted device developed by US
company EnteroMedics, obese patients lost
around a third of their excess weight over a year,
with a quarter losing at least 50 per cent.
Researchers in France have now set up a trial
to see if similar success can be achieved using
a device that does not require surgery.

Dr Peijing Rong: This non-invasive, safe and low-cost method of
treatment can significantly reduce the severity of depression in
patients.
Recognition of the key role of the vagus nerve in gut-brain
communication is leading to other conditions being treated in
similar ways including obesity. In July, the journal Proceedings
Of The National Academy Of Sciences published the results
of an international study of vagus nerve stimulation among
patients with the crippling disease rheumatoid arthritis, which
affects half a million people in the UK alone. The technique,
which currently requires an implant, appeared to benefit some
patients by reducing inflammation in the body, a phenomenon
also linked to many other conditions including ulcerative colitis
and cancer.
Meanwhile, evidence is emerging for surprising links between
the gut and other disorders usually thought to start elsewhere,
such as Parkinsons disease. A team led by Dr Elisabeth Svensson
at Aarhus University, Denmark, recently reported that patients
whose vagus nerves had been severed to treat other medical
conditions benefited from a substantially reduced risk
of developing Parkinsons.
Work is now underway to understand this link, and use it
to treat or even prevent the degenerative nerve disease. To be able
to do this will naturally be a major breakthrough, says Svensson.
REAL-TIME DATA
The explosion of research interest in the ENS is impressive,
but its still early days in the quest to understand precisely how
it works. Most of the trials of vagus nerve stimulation are pilot
studies whose positive results may fade in bigger trials.
The sheer complexity of the gut-brain connection is daunting,
says Dr Xiling Shen of Duke University, the USA:
Disorders like irritable bowel syndrome are
only diagnosed by symptoms, but their causes
and mechanisms are completely unknown.
Together with colleagues at universities across
the US, Shen is working on a key tool for
unlocking the mysteries of the bodys second
brain: a device capable of monitoring the action
of the ENS in real time.
The prototype, which is currently being used
in animal studies, features an electronic implant
that can show how the ENS responds to different
neurotransmitters, drugs and diseases. This is
already casting new light on how the second
brain interacts with the one in our skull.
According to Shen, by stimulating the gut to
produce serotonin, its possible to affect eating
behaviour, alleviate anxiety and even enhance
brain functioning.
And this is just the start, explains Shen:
We are currently developing non-invasive
ENS recording technology that will allow
personalised and precision treatments.
At this rate of progress, we may all have
to prepare ourselves for the day when our family
doctor clips a device on our ear with the words:
I just want to check on the state of your
second brain.
ROBERT MATTHEWS is visiting professor in science
at Aston University, Birmingham.
 &
history
India in Victorian Britain

Cricket,
curry
cups of tea
As Queen Victorias friendship with her Indian attendant is explored
in the new film Victoria and Abdul, SHOMPA LAHIRI examines how the queen
helped popularise Indias cultural influence in all areas of British society,
from polo to pyjamas

Indian princes
and British Army
officers in a polo
team, c1880

ADVERTISING ARCHIVE/GETTY/ALAMY

66
DECEMBER 2017
 T
1 HEY cooked up Indian curries, played Indian sports, draped
themselves in Indian textiles and even voted for Indian politicians.
The Victorian era saw Britons falling in love with the culture
of the subcontinent, and it seems that the people took their prompt
from the very top. Queen Victoria herself declared a great interest
in the empires largest possession and greatest trading partner,
helping to popularise Indian delicacies, fashion, jewellery
and architecture.
The genesis of this passion for India can be traced back to the 16th century,
when British merchant adventurers began to import spices, dyes and, most
importantly, textiles from India via newly-discovered sea routes. From 1600,
the East India Company controlled this trade, and, from the 1750s, the commercial
interests of the company were consolidated into outright political and territorial
domination. After a massive rebellion against foreign rule in 1857, the British
government decided to place India under the direct control of the crown
the following year. Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877.
Victorias interest in India sprang, at least in part, from her Indian assistant
Abdul Karim, who came to Britain in 1887 to serve the queen. He rose within
Victorias affections, as well as in status to the title of Munshi (teacher or clerk),
teaching the queen Hindi and Urdu and advising on all matters concerning India.
2
Karim was one of a steady stream of Indian migrants coming to Britain during
the 19th century (estimates suggest more than 110,000), including domestics,
maritime workers, petitioners, performers, royalty, social reformers, students
and travellers. Concentrated in Britains port cities, especially London, Indians
were visible in Britains streets, docks, buses, trains, Inns of Court, medical
schools, universities, exhibitions and parliament.
Britons were most attracted to those aspects of Indian culture that they could
readily consume, such as food and textiles. But this relationship wasnt always
mutually beneficial. While consumers profited from innovations in textile
production in Britain, British machine-made textiles destroyed the Indian
textile industry that had inspired them, and impoverished Indian weavers.
For good and bad, Indian influences were discernible in all aspects of Victorian
society, from novels such as the The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins to
politics, sports, popular culture, fashion and diet.

FASHION AND HOME

A craze for the east

Victorians loved Indian designs, which were produced all over Britain

Indians were visible Victorian fashion was heavily influenced by India thanks to the use of Indian
fabrics, including cotton and silk, in the making of British clothes. Britons also
everywhere, from adopted and imitated Indian patterns, style, motifs and even garments such as
pyjamas and the Kashmir shawl.
Britains docks British women had worn the Kashmir shawl to provide a little extra

and buses to Inns

warmth over short-sleeved, lightweight dresses since the mid-18th
century. Soon, it had become a symbol of status, respectability and

of Court and
medical schools
1 An advert from the 1890s exhorts
Britons to drink & enjoy Liptons teas
2 An 1888 painting of Abdul Karim,
Queen Victorias Indian assistant
fashion, but one that was well out of the reach of all but the
wealthiest women.
However, in the mid-19th century, everything changed.
By then, the demand for the shawl had reached such a
crescendo that mills in Norwich, Edinburgh and Paisley,
near Glasgow, began producing imitations. Suddenly, women
of limited means could acquire shawls that, to the untrained
eye, appeared to be made in India.
Several emporiums opened in London to cater to
the demand for both British and Indian-made shawls,
among them the Liberty department store. Opening on
Regent Street in 1875, it had soon expanded its range
of Indian goods to stock not just shawls, cloaks,
scarves and jewellery to adorn the body, but Indian
fabric, furniture, carpets, rugs, incense burners and
brasses to decorate the home as well.
 history
India in Victorian Britain
POPULAR CULTURE

A shoemaker at Passion and ignorance

the Empire of India Indias style was everywhere, yet Britons still knew very little
Exhibition in White City, about the country
one of Victorian
Britains many displays Britons were continuously exposed to imperial propaganda through
of Indian culture advertising, the press, education and the church, as well as popular
culture. Theatrical productions with Indian themes such as
The Grand Mogul (1884), The Nautch Girl (1891) and Carnac Sahib
(1899) enjoyed long runs. The Indian pageant performed at Earls
Courts 6,000-seat Empress Theatre was particularly successful.
Outside the theatre, Victorians were entertained by Indian street
jugglers and musicians or Tom Tom players, as the drummers
were known in London. According to the Strand Magazine:
Ask the average man for what India is most celebrated, and
chances are 10 to one that he will ignore the glories of the Taj Mahal,
the beneficence of British rule, even Mr Kipling, and will
unhesitatingly reply in one word, Jugglers.
Another way ordinary Victorians encountered India and Indians
was through exhibitions. Some 5.5 million people visited the Colonial
and Indian Exhibition in 1886. All aspects of Indian art, architecture,
commerce and industry were exhibited, including a living exhibit
of Indian village artisans, who were, in fact, prisoners of Agra gaol.
As this example proves, it was not just Indians who were put on display
during the exhibition: Britons ignorance about Indian life was also
subjected to the harsh light of satirical scrutiny.

FOOD AND DRINKS

Curry finds favour

plus, its thanks to cheaper Indian tea that the Great British
tea break is invented
It was during the Victorian period that Britons fell in love
with curry, a culinary concoction that is today Britains
favourite dish. Though it was initially the preserve of the elite,
by the 1860s, spicy food had percolated down into the middle
and working-class diet. During that same period, curry powder,
pastes, chutneys and pickles became available on a mass scale,
manufactured by companies such as Crosse and Blackwell.
Curry was also perceived to be nutritious and economical
particularly when used with leftover meats.
Curry wasnt the only Indian delicacy to delight the British
palate. By 1900, Indian and Sri Lankan tea accounted for
90per cent of Britains tea imports, a fact reflected in a marketing
campaign for Lipton tea, which featured an Indian female
plantation worker and sandwich-board men dressed as Indians. MARY EVANS/ADVERTISING ARCHIVES/NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Like other colonial goods from India, tea was no longer
restricted to an affluent minority. In fact, it became a staple
of Victorian Britain, playing a central role in the rituals of daily
life. It helped to structure the working day in the form of the tea
break, and, among working-class families, it was even employed
as a term to describe the meal at the end of the day. New forms
of sociability developed around the beverage, which was drunk
in a wide range of locations, including family gatherings,
political meetings and, of course, tea shops.

An advert hails Indian curry

relish as delicious, piquant and
68 appetizing, 1890s
DECEMBER 2017
 POLITICS Kumar Shri
Ranjitsinhjis
Indians storm the barricades prowess on the
cricket pitch earned
of parliament... him 15 test caps
and the adoration
...and they ask difficult questions about Britains attitude of the British public
to their homeland

The Victorian era saw the election of two Indians to the House
of Commons. Dadabhai Naoroji became Liberal MP for Finsbury
Central in 1892, while Mancherjee Bhownagree was elected
Conservative MP for Bethnal Green in 1895.
Naoroji was elected by just a few votes, earning him
the nickname Dadabhai narrow-majority. Despite this,
he was to become a household name thanks, in part, to
the Tory prime minister Lord Salisburys public declaration
of doubt that Britons would elect a black man.
Naoroji was a fierce critic of the Raj, arguing that British rule
was draining India of up to 300m in the form of lost revenues,
interest on loans and excess of exports over imports.
By contrast, Bhownagree, known in India as Bow-and-Agree,
was a supporter of British colonialism in India.
The two men may not have shared the same views on Britains
relationship with their homeland, but their rise to power
ensured that India was discussed and debated at the symbolic
heart of Victorian political life: parliament.

SPORTS

Reinventing cricket
and how the ancient art of Indian club swinging entered
the classroom

Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji was arguably the most celebrated

of all Indians in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, feted
as a sporting hero and adored by the British public. And that
was because he was a master of a British obsession: cricket.
Ranjitsinhji or Ranji, as he was popularly known
achieved three notable firsts. He was the first Indian to gain
a place on a university cricket team, Trinity College, Cambridge;
the first to captain a county cricket team, Sussex; and, most
significantly, the first to represent England in test cricket.
Widely acknowledged as one of the finest batsmen of
the Victorian era and beyond, he brought innovation and style
to cricket and changed the face of British sport.
Yet, despite his legions of fans, Ranjitsinhji remained exotic,
described in the British press as graceful as a panther, with
wrists supple and tough as a creeper of the Indian jungle
a man who turned cricket into an oriental poem of action.
While cricket would go on to be widely popular, polo was
a more elite activity, introduced to Britain by Indian army
officers in the 1870s. Another subcontinental pastime brought
to Britain in the 19th century was Indian club swinging.
Originating from Hindu physical culture, this became
a very popular form of gymnastic exercise for both men
and women, spreading from the upper to the middle classes.
Club swinging spawned exercise classes and competitions
and became a part of physical education in schools.

Shompa Lahiri is a research fellow at Queen Mary, University of

BRIDGEMAN

London. Her books include Indian Mobilities in the West, 1900-947

(Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) and Indians in Britain (Frank Cass, 2000)
 earth
Travel

70
DECEMBER 2017
 SCIENTIFIC
WONDERS TO
SEE BEFORE
YOU DIE
Inspired by the USAs recent solar eclipse?
These equally impressive events and activities
will activate your wanderlust
WORDS: JAMIE CARTER

EXPLORE CRYSTAL CAVES

INSIDE A GLACIER
Drive along Icelands iconic Ring Road and youll pass many
enormous glaciers. Inside some of them are glorious ice caves with
translucent walls that produce weird light in hundreds of shades
of blue. Its a photographers dream. Most of them [the caves] are
PHOTO: STEVE WINTER/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGES
formed by water running either through tunnels in the ice, or on the
ground underneath the glacier, says landscape photographer Iurie
Belegurschi at Iceland Photo Tours, who takes groups into the ice
caves within the vast Vatnajkull glacier in southeastern Iceland.
Although there are many ice caves in Iceland, Vatnajkulls are
the most accessible. Safety is still important, though. Its safe to
visit ice caves from November to March when its coldest outside
and theyre stable, says Belegurschi. But always get a professional,
local ice cave guide, who will provide you with all the safety gear
and know exactly which caves are safe to enter.

WHERE TO GO: Southeastern Iceland

WHEN TO GO: November-March
 earth
Travel

2
BEHOLD A
NEVERENDING
LIGHTNING STORM
Think lightning never strikes twice? The odds are more
generous over the mouth of the Catatumbo River at Lake
Maracaibo, Venezuela, which hosts lightning storms
for up to 297 nights a year, thanks to some freakish
topographical conditions.
Lake Maracaibo is a huge body of water surrounded
by warm swamps, and encircled by the Andes.
The intense solar radiation heats up the water, slowly
saturating the atmosphere with water vapour. When cold
winds push down from the Andes, they force this warm,
moist air upwards, creating the perfect conditions
for the development of dense, lightning-bearing
WITNESS A DESERT cumulonimbus clouds.

SUPERBLOOM
Occasionally, the normally arid Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert,
and Chihuahuan Desert will burst into a carpet of yellow, purple,
and pink flowers. This is a superbloom, and it happens if theres
significant rainfall between September and January.
Each big bloom is different it all depends on how much rain
falls, and where, says Ed Madej, a retired geographer, botanist and
Watching the Catatumbo lightning is an experience
you will get nowhere else, says Jonas Piontek, a German
photographer who has travelled to Lake Maracaibo twice
to capture the storms. You are basically isolated from
everyone: no network, no internet, no real civilisation
around for a radius of at least 50km. Its just you and
nature, and one of the best shows on Earth.

4
volunteer researcher at Death Valley National Park. Theres one WHERE TO GO: Catatumbo Camp, Venezuela
substantial wildflower bloom every 5.3 years on average, and (www. catatumbotour.com)
a superbloom on average once every 11.2 years. WHEN TO GO: October-November

WHERE TO GO: Death Valley National Park, California, the USA

WHEN TO GO: February-March

WATCH
ROCKETS
LAUNCHING
Every launch is very
impressive and exciting
because you dont know what
3
will happen until the last
moment, says Dr Ken Kremer,

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

a science journalist and veteran
of over 80 rocket launches. You
hear the fire and fury for several
minutes seeing a launch in person is
a billion times better than watching on TV.
You could do worse than visiting NASAs Kennedy Space Center
in Florida, or Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The current hot
ticket, though, is going to watch a SpaceX reusable rocket launch,
then land back at Cape Canaveral.

WHERE TO GO: Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia

or Kennedy Space Center, Florida
BEST TIME TO GO: Check www.kennedyspacecenter.com or
www.nasa.gov

72
DECEMBER 2017
 PEER INTO HELL
As attractions go, the Darvaza Gas Crater in
Turkmenistans Karakum Desert is as strange as it
is scorching. Back in 1971, Soviet geologists were
searching the area for oil fields. Unbeknown to
them, they had started their exploratory drilling
on top of a cavern filled with natural gas.
The ground collapsed, swallowing their
equipment and opening up a huge crater. Fearing
that toxic gases could harm local people, it was set
on fire. This is called flaring, and is a familiar
way of dealing with such a problem. But it
backfired at Darvaza. Instead of burning for the
expected two weeks, its been blazing non-stop
5
ever since it was ignited.
At around 60 x 20m, the largest crater is now
a tourist attraction, which is referred to as the
Gates to Hell. Its best visited from Ashgabat,
the countrys capital, about 250km south.
Take an organised tour, specifically one that visits
the crater at night when its at its most spectacular.

WHERE TO GO: Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan

WHEN TO GO: Anytime
 earth
Travel

GAZE AT
LIQUID FIRE
6
So youre walking through a valley and
all of a sudden a waterfall catches on
fire, says photographer Dave Gordon.
He is speaking about a phenomenon that
takes place in Yosemite Valleys Horsetail
Falls during late February, when light
from the setting Sun causes the flowing
water to glow yellow, orange and red,
mimicking fire. It occurs once a year,
for a few days in a row, each lasting mere
minutes, says Gordon. So in total your
chance of seeing a Yosemite waterfall
turn into what looks like lava, or flowing
fire, is about 60 minutes per year.
The spectacle relies on many things;
the angle of the Sun as it sets, recent
rainfall levels that feed the waterfall,
and a clear sky.
There is something spiritual in being
able to visually witness the astrophysics
of our Solar System play out, says
Gordon. How many points in time had
to line up perfectly to make this exact
moment happen? Its nature at its
absolute best.
Yosemite National Park also happens
to be one of the most photogenic locations
on the planet, making the Horsetail Falls
phenomenon a favourite with
photographers, so expect a stake-out
if conditions are right.

WHERE TO GO: Yosemite National Park,

California, the USA
WHEN TO GO: Late February

74
DECEMBER 2017
 SEE COLOURFUL
LIGHTS IN THE
NIGHT SKY
The Northern Lights are more familiar, but
the Southern Lights are well worth a visit too.
8
Dunedin in New Zealand is probably
the easiest place to go if you want to see
the Southern Lights, but its only got about
as much chance as northern Scotland
or England, says Dr Melanie Windridge,
author of Aurora: In Search Of The Northern
Lights. Other good locations include Ushuaia,
OBSERVE HUNDREDS OF SHOOTING
STARS
South Georgia Island, the Falkland Islands
and Antarctica. The trouble with the
Southern Lights is that they happen mainly When comets tumble through the Solar System, they leave dust and rock in their
over the ocean or in Antarctica, says wake. As Earth orbits the Sun, its path takes it through this debris. These chunks of
Windridge. Auroras occur when charged space rock burn up as they pass into Earths atmosphere, causing a mesmerising light
particles emanating from the Sun strike atoms show. Although you can see a shooting star on any given night, there are a number of
in Earths atmosphere, causing the electrons predictable meteor showers throughout the year. In December, stargazers watching
of the atoms to move to a higher-energy state. the Geminids meteor shower can enjoy more than 100 shooting stars an hour.
When they hit oxygen they emit green, and Meanwhile, Mays Eta Aquariids and Octobers Orionids are worth a look both are
also red higher up, while nitrogen emits blue leftovers of the last visit of Halleys Comet in 1986. However, the top choice is
and purple colours, says Windridge. Augusts Perseids, whose meteors often leave mesmerising trails in the sky. Theyre
the leftovers of Comet Swift-Tuttles passage through the Solar System in 1992.

7
WHERE TO GO: Dunedin, New Zealand
WHEN TO GO: March-September
Your best chance to see shooting stars is after midnight because then you are on
the nightside of Earth as it hits the meteors head-on, says John Barentine,
programme manager at the International Dark-Sky Association in Phoenix, Arizona,
the USA.

WHERE TO GO: Dark Sky Parks (www,darksky.org)

WHEN TO GO: August or December
PHOTOS: GETTY X2, ALAMY
 earth
Travel

WATCH A TOTAL SOLAR

ECLIPSE
Dont worry if you couldnt make it out to the USA, this summer to
witness the solar eclipse they happen somewhere on Earth every
10
18 months. The spectacle is brief, but dramatic. The sky suddenly
darkens, and, if youre watching with eclipse glasses, you will see
the crescent of the Sun rapidly shrink and break up into a series
of beads, says eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler. Then you see
a beautiful diamond ring around the Moon.
Moments later, the Suns corona its super-heated outer
atmosphere appears as an ice-white halo. To catch the next one,
head out to Chile or Argentina for July 2, 2019.

WHERE TO GO: Chile or Argentina

WHEN TO GO: July 2 2019

9 PHOTOS: GETTY X2, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGES

76
DECEMBER 2017
 CHASE STORMS IN
TORNADO ALLEY
Ive been a storm chaser and spotter since I was little,
says Nicholas Langley from the group Tornado Alley Chasers
and Spotters. I would sit outside my house in Tennessee watching
storms roll in. It fascinates me how clouds can form out of thin air,
then explode into monster supercells.
A tornado is caused by updraughts and downdraughts of
unstable air during a thunderstorm, when a wind shear tilts to form
an upright vortex.
However, storm chasing comes with huge risks, particularly
traffic accidents. You get tunnel vision out there and you dont see
the surrounding area you just see the tornado, he says.
Tornado Alley is generally regarded to include the US states of
Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Tornadoes are typically
active in those states between March and late May.
Other areas of the world where violent tornadoes are frequent
include an area of the Pampas lowlands in Argentina, Paraguay and
southern Brazil, and coastal Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal.

WHERE TO GO: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas or Nebraska, the USA

BEST TIME TO GO: March-May
 history
Indian Mythology

They are the ones who saw what others could not see,
writes mythology expert DEVDUTT PATTANAIK,
in the second part of this series on Indian mythologies
Sketches: Devdutt Pattanaik

78
DECEMBER 2017
 Myth is a belief,
an article of faith,
which cannot be
verified scientifically.
Believers think it is
true; non-believers
feel it is false.
While science
restricts itself to how
questions (how did
the world come into
being, how are we
born), myth answers
why questions
(why does the world
exist, why do we live,
or die). Fiction is
nobodys truth.

I
Fact is everybodys
truth. Myth is
somebodys truth.
Mythology is
F you have seen films like The Lord of (puranas), technology of space (vastu-shastra),
the vehicle of myth; the Rings, or even Star Wars, you would time (jyotisha-shastra), and body (Ayurveda),
it is a set of stories, have seen characters who are called detailed manuals on warfare (dhanur-shastra),
symbols and rituals
magicians and sorcerers, who seem theatre (natya-shastra), governance (dharma-
that communicates
the myth that binds to have a deep understanding of the shastra), economics (artha-shastra), aesthetics
a community. world, and knowledge of spells by which (kama-shastra), and liberation (moksha-shastra).
The community to manipulate the forces of nature. These are special beings whose knowledge
transmits these
stories, symbols They are mysterious and powerful beings, makes them even greater than the gods.
and rituals over very different from sword- and bow-wielding Historians, however, believe that rishis were
generations. warriors. In Celtic mythology, they were known poets (kavi) who composed the thousand-odd
Religious
mythologies speak as druids. In Abrahamic mythology, they are poems that make up the Rig Veda. These
of god, demons, known as prophets, with direct access to God. included several women, known as rishikas,
heaven, hell, soul, In Jain and Buddhist mythology, they are the such as Lopamudra and Apala. The Vedic
and rebirth. Secular
mythologies speak
arhats. In Hindu mythology, they are the rishis. hymns were, over time, given melodies
of rights, justice, Hindus believe that knowledge (veda, in in the Sama Veda, and attached to rituals
equality, and Sanskrit) comes not from a human source, in the Yajur Veda. A similar set of poems that
diversity.
but from nature at large. This knowledge reveals functioned as skills to solve mundane household
Mythologies from
India are the major itself to one who is clear in mind and pure and personal problems was compiled
mythologies that of body. Such a person is called rishi, which in the Atharva Veda. People who transmitted
originated in India: means one who can see what others overlook. this Vedic knowledge were called brahmins,
Hinduism,
Buddhism, and
Rishis transmit knowledge through mantras the wisest of whom were often confused with
Jainism. Belief in or hymns. They have given the world techniques rishis. As time passed, scholars (shastri),
rebirth, hence to converse with the forces of nature (mantra- teachers (acharyas), mendicants (sadhus),
karma, is common to
samhita), the ancient lore of the gods and kings hermits (sanyasi), and saints (sant) came
all three of them.
 history
Indian Mythology
In the Puranas, which
started being
composed 1,500 years
ago, rishis are given
super-human status
to be identified as rishis. In South East Asia,
in countries like Thailand and Cambodia, where
Hinduism spread over a thousand years ago,
the word rueshi is used even today to refer
to people with occult knowledge such of
geometry, astrology and spells that can solve
mundane household and personal problems.
Much after the Vedas, when the epics
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata
started being composed, we encounter many
rishis. Some, like Vasishtha, serve as tutors
to royal princes such as Ram, while others, like
Agastya and Atri, live in the forest and share
their stories and knowledge when the Pandavas
meets them. Some, like Yaja and Upayaja,
perform magical rituals so that kings can
have children they desire.
In the Puranas, which started being composed
1,500 years ago, rishis are given super-human
status. They start being described as the
80
DECEMBER 2017
mind-born (manas-putra) of Brahma. We learn of seven primal
sages, or Sapta-rishis, who live in the sky to form the Great Bear
constellations. We learn how some rishis father various living
beings (jiva) through multiple wives. For example, Rishi Kashyapa
gives birth to birds through his wife Vinata, snakes via his wife
Kadru, fish through his wife Timi, devas who live in the sky via
his wife Aditi, and asuras, who live under the earth in pa-tala,
via Diti and Danu. Rishi Pulatsyas son, Vaishrava, is the father
of yakshas and rakshasas who live in the forests. Thus all living
creatures are connected to each other through the rishis, and,
ultimately, as progeny of Brahma. That is why the Upanishads
say Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or the whole world is my family.
We learn of rishis such as Brihaspati who serve devas,
and rishis such as Shukra who serves the asuras. Without their
support, kings cannot win wars. We learn of angry rishis like
Durvasa whose curse can cause Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune,
to leave Indras paradise. We learn of mischievous rishis like
Narad who travel between the realm of the gods, the realm
of humans, and the realm of demons, exchanging gossip
and creating trouble. We learn of Bhrigu, a rishi, who kicked
Vishnu on his right shoulder, to wake him up so that he pays
more attention to the world. Even today, in many Vishnu, or
Krishna, images, on the right shoulder, you will see a footprint
called Bhrigu-pada, or footprint of Bhrigu.
The rishi is typically visualised as a simple old man dressed
in clothes made of tree bark, living in the forest, eating roots
and shoots, and spending his time exploring nature through
rituals such as yagna, through the practice of yoga, which
involves breath, mind and posture control, and through
conversations with other rishis. A female rishi is called
a rishika. They live simple lives but have the power to curse
the gods, and conjure weapons.
Rishis are often classified into two categories: those who
perform yagna and those who practice tapasya. Vishwamitra
is a yagna-performing rishi who wants Ram to protect his
hermitage while he is performing his ritual. Harishchandra
interrupts his ritual and so is punished by being stripped
of his kingship. Rishis who perform tapasya lose complete
touch with the world and meditate so deeply that termites
build a hill around their body. In one story, a girl called
Sukanya puts a stick in a termite hill, thinking there are
fireflies within; she ends up blinding Rishi Chyavana.
She is forced by her father to stay in the forest and take
care of the blind sage.
What makes a rishi
While many people confuse rishis with brahmins, a rishi had
no caste. It was a status received when one purified ones body
and made it worthy of receiving mystical and occult knowledge.
We learn of a king called Kaushika who becomes a rishi called
Vishwamitra. We learn of Vyasa, whose mother is a fisherwoman.
There is much confusion about whether a rishi was married
or not. In early texts, rishis were married. Agastya is married
to Lopamudra. Atri is married to Anasuya. Vasishtha is married
to Arundhati. In fact, there are stories in which ancestors appear
in dreams of rishis and beg them to marry so that they can be
reborn. Kardama marries Devahuti only so that he can father
child and repay his debt to his ancestors. Jamadagni asks for
Renukas hand in marriage.
 Then there are stories in which rishis refuse
to marry, and this alarms the gods, who fear
that they will acquire so much power that they
will overthrow the gods, by supporting asuras.
And so Indra sends damsels known as apsaras
to enchant rishis away from their austerities,
compelling them to marry. Kaushika, who wants
Agastya took with him rivers
to be a rishi is distracted, by apsara Menaka and in his pot and mountains on
they end up having a child called Shakuntala
who is raised by another rishi called Kanva. a sling, and so southern
Rishis in culture and religion rivers are called Dakshin-
Rishis, it is believed, played a key role in Ganga and southern
spreading Vedic culture across India and beyond
to South East Asia. The story goes that once mountains
are called Dakshin-Kailas
Shiva gave a discourse on the Vedas on Mount
Kailas. All the rishis went North, and so the
earth tilted; to restore the balance, Shiva asked
Agastya to go south. Agastya took with him
rivers in his pot and mountains on a sling and
so southern rivers are called Dakshin-Ganga
and southern mountains are called Dakshin-
Kailas. There are stories of how he introduced
Tamil grammar to the south. Likewise, the west
coast of India is linked to Bhrigu and
Parashurama. When local kings killed his father
and stole his fathers cow, Parashurama picked
up an axe and hacked them to death. He then
threw the blood-soaked weapon into the sea.
The sea recoiled in disgust, revealing the
western beaches of Konkan and Kerala that are
till today associated with Parashurama. South
East Asian countries are also linked to rishis
such as Kaundinya and Markandeya who
travelled there over the sea and married local
princesses and spread Hinduism in Cambodia
and Bali.
In the Ramayana and the Mahabharata,
we see many tales of conflict between rishis
and rakshasas. Some have postulated that this
was a conflict between those who followed
Vedic culture and those who did not. Other say
this was the battle between humans who wanted
to practise agriculture and trade, and humans
who preferred to hunt and forage. What seems
clear is that rishis played a key role in the
foundation of Hinduism, as well as its spread
beyond the Gangetic plains across South and
South Asia. That is why they were revered,
and feared, by all: gods, demons and humans.

About the author

Devdutt Pattanaik is a writer, illustrator and lecturer of
mythology, who draws attention to its relevance in
modern times. Based in Mumbai, he has over
30 books, and over 800 articles to his credit. His latest
childrens books include The Girl who Chose:
Ramayana for Children (Puffin) and The Boys
who Fought: Mahabharata for Children (Puffin).
To know more, visit www.devdutt.com
 science
Crime

T H E F U T U R E O F

82
DECEMBER 2017
F I G H T I N G C R I M E

ILLUSTRATION: VLADO KRIZAN

Criminal masterminds had better watch out.

Scientists are on their tail and have some clever new ways to catch them.
In this special report, we look at the advances that are revolutionising
criminology and forensics
Words: ANDY RIDGWAY
 science
Crime
PREDICTIVE
POLICING
CAN WE PREDICT CRIMES BEFORE
THEY HAPPEN?
Its 4:30am on a Friday
morning in August and theres
a heavy police presence in
a quiet London suburb.
Its a respectable, leafy area
and, right now, nothing is
happening. In fact, its been
quiet for the past few days.
But the officers are on high
alert. Theyve been sent at the
say-so of a computer thats
calculated, on the basis of the
data fed into it, that a wave of
break-ins is highly likely
within the next 24 hours. In
other words, theyre policing
crimes that they think will
happen, rather than ones that
have happened. This is
predictive policing. And its
about to get much, much
more sophisticated.
The idea of predicting where
crimes will take place isnt
new. For decades now, police
forces in the UK and the US
have been creating hotspot
maps that identify the areas
where most incidents are
taking place, and then sending
more police officers to those
areas. Predictive policing
takes this to the next level,
84
DECEMBER 2017
crunching big data using
algorithms based on those that
help to predict when and
where the next earthquake
aftershock will be, or how
a disease will spread.
These algorithms generate
information that police
officers can act on, and it
seems to work. In tests,
their predictive powers appear
to outperform the more
traditional techniques used
by crime analysts.
Their successes have led to
predictive policing being
adopted by several US police
departments, such as
California and Arizona, as
well as Kent Police in the UK.
But not everyones
convinced about predictive
policing or how its
implemented at least. Among
them is criminologist Prof
John Eck at the University of
Cincinnati, USA. His problem
isnt so much with the
predictive policing software
itself, but the idea of sending
out large numbers of staff to
patrol problems highlighted by
the algorithms. Why would
Staff from the
University of
California
demonstrate
predictive
policing with
Los Angeles
police
you want to keep sending large
amounts of expensive public
servants to these locations?
he says. Instead, we should be
asking why this location has a
persistent crime problem, and
what we can do to keep it from
happening. Eck would prefer it
if the police encouraged owners
of businesses and other properties
highlighted as crime hotspots to
step in and make changes, such as
shops with high shoplifting rates
repositioning displays. Critics
have raised other concerns too,
such as the possibility of crimes
simply shifting to other locations
when problem areas are targeted
by the police.
But predictive policing is
becoming more and more
widespread, and it could be about
to change radically. Earlier this
year, a bunch of mathematicians
led by Prof Mark Girolami at
Imperial College London were
awarded 3m from the
government to take predictive
policing to the next level.
Whereas todays tools just rely
on crime data such as the
locations, dates and times of
incidents Girolami and his team
will be working on how to
integrate the likes of Twitter
feeds, newspaper reports and
socioeconomic data to sharpen
the predictions. Text documents
will be converted, or coded, into
numerical representations, with
counts
86 of words and phrases
such as descriptions of assaults
or break-ins to highlight
geographical areas of concern.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK ILLUSTRATION: VLADO KRIZAN
All of these streams of
information will be coded
and integrated using our secret
sauce, says Girolami, referring
to the complex maths that will
draw all of this disparate
data together.
Whats more, this new
predictive tool aims to work out
the extent to which crime will be
displaced to a neighbouring area
when the number of police in the
original area suddenly shoots up.
Our models will be able to
propagate what would happen,
says Girolami.
AUGMENTED CRIME
SCENES
SCENES GET OVERLAID WITH INFORMATION
FROM A CSI EXPERT SO EARLY ARRIVERS
KNOW WHAT TO BAG UP AS EVIDENCE
Being the first police officer
to arrive at a crime scene is
a stressful business. Are the
culprits still here? Is it safe
for me to walk around? Does
anyone need medical help?
In these circumstances, its
easy for what might later turn
out to be a vital piece of
evidence to be polluted in
some way trodden on,
knocked over, or mishandled.
But soon, officers arriving at
such scenes may have the
finest minds in crime scene
investigation to guide their
every move, even if theyre
working at the other end of
the city.
The idea is to use augmented
reality, where a view of the
real world is augmented in
some way with digital data.
Researchers at Delft University
of Technology in the
Netherlands have been
working with Dutch police,
the Netherlands Forensic
Institute and the Dutch Fire
Brigade to develop a system
in which crime scenes get
overlaid with information
from a CSI expert so early
arrivers know what to
bag up as evidence or
investigate further.
In one recent trial of the
technology, officers were faced
with a mock ecstasy lab in the
kitchen of an apartment.
A smartphone mounted on
an officers shoulder beamed
live video to a crime scene
investigator who then
annotated what they could see,
highlighting the chemicals
and equipment that would
need to be removed for
analysis. The officers on the
ground viewed the scene and
annotations through a second
smartphone they were
holding, and, in another test,
the smartphones were
replaced with augmented
reality headsets.
 science
Crime

EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE
Even the tiniest scraps of evidence can help to catch a criminal

GUNSHOT FORENSICS
Gunshots ring around a city-centre street. One man lies dead in the road and another tells
the police he fired his gun in self defence after being shot at. No one saw what happened.
The one thing the police do have is video footage from a mobile phone; while it doesnt
actually show the shooting, the sounds of the gunshots have been captured. Dr Robert
Maher at Montana State University is the man to call. By firing assorted weaponry near
a semicircle of 12 microphones, he has developed a database of soundwaves produced by
different guns. The aim is to enable different gun types to be distinguished from a sound
recording, helping police unpick exactly what went on in cases like our shoot-out.

GENETIC MUGSHOTS SCENT OF

Soon, a drop of blood could A VILLAIN
provide forensic scientists with In the future, could
all the information they need vanishingly small traces
to draw the mugshot of a of perfume or aftershave
suspect. Researchers are on a shirt could be enough
starting to establish how our to bring the attacker to justice?
genes shape our faces, and, if Fragrances are notoriously
they manage to hone their difficult to detect because
techniques enough, it would they are made up of volatile
mean that they could recreate molecules that evaporate
a persons visage from a tiny rapidly. But a team led by
DNA sample. Dr Mark Shriver, PhD student Simona Ghergel
an anthropologist at at University College London,
Pennsylvania State University, the UK, has found that the
the USA, is on the case. cocktail of compounds that
Working with Dr Peter Claes, make up perfumes can be
an imaging specialist in transferred between clothes
Belgium who captured and subsequently detected.
three-dimensional images of The highly-sensitive detection
over 600 volunteers faces, he technique is known as gas
analysed a bunch chromatography-mass
of genes and was able spectrometry. In one test,
to pinpoint 24 versions, when two fabrics had been
or variants, of 20 genes that in contact for just one minute,
would help with predicting 15 out of 44 fragrance
someones facial shape. components in a male cologne
were found. PHOTOS: GETTY X3 ILLUSTRATIONS: VLADO KRIZAN

WHATS IN A HAIR?
Give a strand of your hair to Dr Glen Jackson
at West Virginia University and he can tell your
age, sex, what you eat and how much you exercise.
For police with little to go on from a crime scene
other than a few bits of hair, this information can
be gold dust. Jackson and his team measure the
ratio of isotopes atoms of the same element with
different numbers of neutrons within the 21
amino acids found in keratin, the main component
of hair. So far, they have found 15 isotope ratios
that provide a window into who someone is.
86
DECEMBER 2017
 MICROBIAL
FINGERPRINTING
Its a slightly unsettling
thought that each of us sheds
around 30 million bacterial
cells from our bodies every
hour. They waft into the air
and cling to objects weve
touched, like furniture
and mobile phones. The
community of microbes that
live on and in our bodies, our
microbiome, is also unique.
Soon, criminals may be
linked to a crime scene by the
trail of bacteria they haplessly
leave behind. In one study,
Dr James Meadow, then at the
University of Oregon, found
that people could be identified
simply from the invisible
cloud of bacteria they left in
the air even when the air
was sampled four hours after
they had left the room.
 science
Crime
LIAR,
LIAR,
BRAINS
ON FIRE
Can brain scans
reveal when
someone is fibbing?
Since 2000, neuroscientists
have been investigating
whether fMRI (functional
magnetic resonance imaging)
brain scanners could make
the ultimate lie detectors.
fMRI works by measuring
blood flow of blood in the
brain the harder a specific
region is working, the greater
the blood flow to it. Research
on fMRI and lie detection
involves popping a bunch
of volunteers into a scanner
and inviting them to tell porky
pies. In some instances,
researchers have found
the tests to be 100 per cent
accurate, with brain regions
such as the ventrolateral and
medial prefrontal cortices
springing into life and giving
away the deception. And in
one study, published in the
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
in 2016, fMRI was 24 per cent
more likely to spot fibs than
a traditional polygraph test.
But many neuroscientists are
sceptical of fMRIs ability to
detect lies. For one thing,
the test seems easy to beat.
In a piece of research, Harvard
students were asked to lie
while they were in an fMRI
machine. The accuracy of the
tests slumped to 33 per cent
when the lying students
wiggled their fingers and toes.
Designing a test thats realistic
is tricky, too something that
worries Dr Anthony Wagner,
a psychologist at Stanford
University, in the USA. Is an
instructed lie in a low stakes
88
DECEMBER 2017
Brain analysis using fMRI
scanners can help spot
when someone is fibbing
situation about a meaningless
event the same as a person MANY NEUROSCIENTISTS
choosing to lie about
something they observed or ARE SCEPTICAL OF FMRIS
an act they committed which,
if caught, could see them ABILITY TO DETECT LIES.
paying a significant fine
or going to jail? he says. FOR ONE THING, THE TEST
Such concerns havent stopped
US lawyers trying to get fMRI SEEMS EASY TO BEAT
evidence admitted in court
to prove that their client is
telling the truth. Judges have
PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X2 ILLUSTRATION: VLADO KRIZAN
refused the requests so far.
Sooner or later, there will be
a judge who will decide to go
against the mainstream and
allow this, says Dr Daniel
Langleben at the University
of Pennsylvania, the USA.
It will be a precedent and
there will be another case,
and another one, then there
will be a free-for-all. Its not
a good outcome. Langleben
argues that it would be better
to conduct a large trial of fMRI
lie detection to shine a light on
issues such as how sensitive
the technique is to attempted
trickery, such as a criminal
wiggling their fingers and toes.
AI
DETECTIVES
There has been a spate of
armed robberies in the city.
And detective VALCRI has
been tasked with scanning
thousands of records of
previous crimes to find
patterns and connections that
could help track down who is
responsible. The thing is,
VALCRI isnt human.
VALCRI, or Visual Analytics
for Sense-making in Criminal
Intelligence Analysis, is an AI
system that can scan police
crime reports, interviews,
videos and pictures,
interpreting words and
recognising faces. Its aim is to
identify links between crimes
that might provide detectives
with an all-important
breakthrough. These links
may be similarities in the
modus operandi of the thief,
a reccurring weapon, or
similar descriptions by
witnesses. Funded by the EU
and led by Prof William Wong
at Middlesex University
London, VALCRI can learn,
too. When a crime analyst
decides whether a piece of
evidence identified by the
system is relevant or not, it
will use that information to
improve future searches.
It is currently being tested by
police in the West Midlands
and in Antwerp, Belgium.
VALCRI isnt alone other AI
systems for crime detection
have been developed to do
everything from sifting large
volumes of documents for
clues in fraud cases to helping
forensic teams determine how
many people have contributed
to a large, multi-person DNA
sample something thats
tricky to fathom at present.

ANDY RIDGWAY is a Bristol-

based freelance science writer.
 Literature
Great Indian Authors

KAMALA
DAS
URVASHI BUTALIA on the life and
times of Indian English poetess and
littrateur and Malayalam author,
Kamala Das

90
DECEMBER 2017
 I N her well-known poem, An Introduction, Kamala Das (later called Soraiyya)
describes herself thus
I am Indian, very brown,
born in Malabar, I speak three languages write
In two, dream in one
Elsewhere, speaking about the importance of love in her life, she says
Love became a swivel door
When one went out another came in
Then I lost count for always in my arms
Was a substitute for a substitute

It was such writing that earned Kamala Das the epithet of being a confessional
poet she was often the subject of her own writing, and had little fear about
making herself vulnerable through her poetry and her prose. Much of the writing
in her six books of poetry speaks frankly of the womans (her own) experience
of understanding her body and coming to terms with her sexuality, with desire,
with pleasure and, indeed, with sexual violence.
It was unusual for a woman to write so openly about sex and sexuality
and Kamala Das did not always receive appreciation for her work as it made
many people uncomfortable. Despite this, however, writing remained her first
love. And, over the years, as she wrote her volumes of poems, her novels,
her journalistic columns, an autobiography, Kamala Das became almost a cult
figure as a writer in her home state of Kerala, and one of the best known writers
from there.

EARLY LIFE
Born to Balamaniamma, a much respected poet in her own right, and VM Nair,
who worked with Mathrubhumi, one of Keralas most important papers, and later
Writing became
in the corporate sector in Kerala, and niece to another writer, her uncle Nalapat her life and her way
Narayana Menon, Kamala Das absorbed the writerly gene early on in life,
and became a lover of poetry. She was inspired by both her mother and her uncle. of not only finding
Of him, she wrote that she would watch him work from morning till night
and how she yearned for a similar life that she thought that was a blissful life.
her own subjecthood
Later, in her own life, Kamala Das, too, worked from morning till night, and identity, but also
but, in this case, it was domesticity that trapped her. And it was only when
the days work was done that she would sit down to write at night. This was talking about
not, by any stretch of imagination, a blissful life, and it resulted in her becoming the experience
Images: The Times of India Group. BCCL. All Rights Reserved

very ill.
As was common at the time (she was born in 1934), Kamala Das was married of being a woman
early. She was barely 16 when she was married to Madhav Das. It is said that he
encouraged her writing, and English and Malayalam became her chosen languages.
But it is also true that, in much of her writing, she accused him of being brutal
in his sexual demands and of nurturing homosexual tendencies. Their first child
was born in the same year and she writes that it was not till she had her third
child that she actually began to mature as a woman.
For Das (she wrote under the name Madhavi Kutty in Malayalam), writing
became her life and her way of not only finding her own subjecthood and identity,
but also talking about the experience of being a woman, or recognising, accepting,
rejoicing in a womans sexuality, and of dealing with a society that does not
sanction even the merest expressions of womens sexuality.

OTHER INTERESTS
But there were other things, too, that interested her. She was, at heart,
a humanitarian, and someone who wished to change the ways of the world.
It was this that led her to offer refuge and help to mothers and orphaned children.
Later, believing that participation in politics could help to change things, Kamala
Das founded a political party that focused on humanitarian issues, the Lok Seva
Party, which did not meet with much success. Similarly, her foray into electoral 91
DECEMBER 2017
 Literature
Great Indian Authors
politics in 1984, when she stood for the general
election, did not succeed and she lost.
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
WITH A DIFFERENCE
One of the most important and difficult
moments in Kamala Dass life was the
publication of her autobiography, My Story,
which was written originally in English,
but then first published in Malayalam as
Ente Katha, in serial form in a local magazine,
and then as a book. Using the genre of
autobiography but infusing it with fictional
devices and techniques, Kamala Das created
a compelling narrative, in 50 chapters,
of a womans life.
What set this book apart, however, was its
frank treatment of sexuality, and its exposure
of the intimate details of the authors life.
For example, she described the terrible
violence of the first night of her marriage,
and the cruelty of her husbands sexual
demands. She later talks of the ways in which
he ignored her or was indifferent to her,
his attraction to another man, and yet,
in her other writings too, his encouragement
and support of her writings.
My Story exploded into the book market
in both English and Malayalam and created
a sensation. It turned into an instant bestseller
and remains so to this day but it also brought
Kamala Das much abuse and criticism for being
narcissistic, for writing pornography, and
for being obsessed with herself. Although
My Story continues to be read as a true account
of the writers life, she later said that she
had fictionlised some parts of it.
ANOTHER STEP IN LIFE
The second really important move in Kamala
Dass life came when she was in her sixties. In
1999, she chose to convert to Islam, and took
the name Soraiyya, becoming Kamala Soraiyya.
This created a furore among friends and
relatives. Many thought it was just a stunt,
that, in announcing her conversion, she was
merely seeking publicity, while others approved
of it. The Hindu right wing, vociferous and
righteous, tried to present her as a woman who
had been wrongly lured away by Islam, but,
as with everything else in her life, Kamala was
vocal about her personal choices.
She came out in the media and spoke frankly
about her decision, describing it as a spiritual
quest in which she had been engaged for
many years. She had, she said, read the Quran
carefully, and had found much in it to attract
her to Islam and much that she found more
amenable to her way of thinking. She did not
92
DECEMBER 2017
care that people criticised her; the decision,
she felt, was hers and hers alone. Responding
to an interview question about the threats she
had received from Hindu fundamentalists for
her writing, she said: I am not frightened by
these threats. The policemen had come to me
offering security. I have refused to accept their
offer. I have left everything to Allah. He will
protect me to the last. I dont need the security
of mortals, when I have surrendered myself
to Allah, the biggest Protector. I am sure
He will take care of me.
Her son, MD Nalapat, former editor of
Mathrubhumi, who had also worked with
The Times of India in Bangalore, said that he
received a number of threatening telephone
calls, apparently from Hindu extremists.
One caller even threatened to kill her.
At some point, worn out with balancing
the demands of her domestic life and writing,
Kamala Das became quite ill. She describes this
moment in her autobiography: My Story is my
autobiography which I began writing during my
first serious bout with heart disease [an affliction
that was to dog her through her life]. The doctor
thought that writing would distract my mind
from the fear of a sudden death. Between the
short hours of sleep induced by the drugs given
to me by the nurses, I wrote continually, not
merely to honour my commitment but because
I wanted to empty myself of all the secrets so
that I could depart when the time came with
a scrubbed-out conscience.
Kamala Dass writing
TO THE END was shaped not only
Kamala Dass writing was shaped not only
by her mother and uncle, but also by her early by her mother and
childhood spent in Kolkata, as well as a life in
Kerala. One of the enduring aspects of her work uncle, but also by her
is her nostalgic longing for her family home in early childhood spent
Kerala, the large house with children in and out
of it and she refers to it in much of her work. in Kolkata, as well as a
Indeed, loss, longing, a desire to belong,
a desire to be loved, a search for meaning, life in Kerala
all of these dominate Kamala Dass work.
She received many awards in her lifetime,
including the Asian Poetry Prize, the Asia
World Prize and the Sahitya Akademi award.
Das was also nominated for the Nobel in 1984
and was shortlisted.
Kamala Das died in 2009.
In death, as in life, she defied norms.
Women were allowed to bathe and prepare her
body for burial, and the funeral was attended
by Christians, Jews, Muslims and others.
Perhaps, the best epitaph for her is contained in
the following lines, her own words:
I am different
I am an entity.
PUZZLE PIT
CROSSWORD NO. 40 Across
1 The human body has twelve pairs of these (4)
3 Glands that secrete tears (9)
1 2 3 4
5 Belly button (9)
8 It is also known as the voice box (6)
9 The grinding tooth (5)
5 6 7 8 10 One of the bones of the ear (5)
12 Flap of cartilage that closes the windpipe
while swallowing (10)
9 10 11 14 An adult human has 206 of these (5)
15 One of two main chambers of the heart (9)
17 Transparent membrane that forms the front
covering of the eye (6)
12 13
18 Fibrous protein that can be found in hair and nails (7)
14 20 Common term for the patella (7)
25 Organ that is protected by the cranium (5)
15 26 Largest part of the human brain (8)
27 Jawbone (8)
16
28 Protective sac around the heart (11)
17 18
Down
2 Longest nerve of the human body (7)
4 Pair of glands situated near the kidney (7)
19 20 21 22
6 The study of muscles (7)
23 7 Smallest bone in the human body (6)
11 Vital hormone secreted by the isles of
24 25 Langerhans in the pancreas (7)
13 The spinal column has ___ - ___ vertebrae (6-5)
26
16 Its deficiency can lead to anaemia (4)
27 19 The tail bone (6)
21 Main artery of the human body (5)
22 Largest organ of the human body (4)
23 Type of teeth that erupt between the age of 17 and 25 (6)
28
24 Longest bone in the human body (5)

SOLUTION OF CROSSWORD NO. 39

S P I E L B E R G
P I K E T A T I A N A
HOW ITS DONE R
E
E
I
D
I A
Y
C
The puzzle will already be familiar to crossword enthusiasts, although the British S K Y N E T G M O R P H E U S
I H E C O T
style may be unusual as crossword grids vary in appearance from country T H I R T E E N T H E
Y I S A S I M O V
to country. Novices should note that the idea is to fill the white squares with R M P R E C R I M E R E
E A S O O D O N
letters to make words determined by the sometimes cryptic clues to the right. D S S N L B
D E L O R E A N O O
The numbers after each clue tell you how many letters are in the answer. W A B G T C
A N A I Y
All spellings are UK English. Good luck! R E Y C S L
F R E P L I C A N T S O
A A H N
D R M A N N R M I M I C S
X I N D I
 Brain teasers
Puzzles

PUZZLE PIT FIND YOUR WAY OUT OF THE MAZE

PICTURE SEARCH
In the jumble below, the words represented
by each of the 16 pictures are hidden either
horizontally, vertically or diagonally forward
Picture
or backwards but always Search in a straight line.
See
In the how many
jumble below, of them
the words youby can
represented each offind.
the 16 pictures

Look outalways
wards but forindescriptive
a straight line. Seenames.
are hidden either horizontally, vertically or diagonally forward or back-
how many of them you can
find? Look out for descriptive names..

P C Z M B K W F I D D L E
R U E Y C Z T O D W P S F
O E L U Z I D P B H A C O
T S R O C G D Z L M I T R
C T G H O E J H J Z N T C
A I E T W T J B L A T Y H
R C L L F E S G S J B P I
T K H A I L V A M J R J D
O P A T I F E S X S U L O
R Z W O O H Y S E E S A W
P B N C P O Z X K Z H K A
J S R E K G T T R I P O D
G M O U S T A C H E Y I B

Solution to Picture Search

SCRAMBLE
Bow, cue stick, fiddle, file, lion, moustache,
orchid, paintbrush, pheasant, protractor, see-
saw, stool, tap, tooth, tripod, truck,

move one
Solve the four anagrams and
to form fou r ordinary words.
letter to each square
d with an asterisk
Now arrange the letters marke
(*) to form the answer to the
riddle or to fill in
. HEAD & TAIL
the missing words as indicated
the form
to fill the blank in
* Look at the clue nd part of
* *
ord. The seco
GMAEI of a compound w st part of the next
fir
* * * * the answer is the
PILST answer, etc.
Good
* * * Au revoir
LOYCDU
le
* * * Municipal ru
AARFFY
r
Court matte
thinks what
A fool often fails because he
- John Churton Co llins (9,.,4) Travelling ba
g
is ____ is __.
ysis
Detailed anal
exams
Prepare for
Nosed
Pragmatic

94
DECEMBER 2017
 BBC KNOWLEDGE QUIZ
ENIGMA CODE See how you fare in the general knowledge
quiz given below.
Each colour in our code
DOUBLE BARRELL Ratings: 1-3 Poor, 4-5 Fair, 6-7 Excellent
ED
represents a letter. When you
have cracked the code, you will What word 1) Who did Sloane Stephens defeat in the
can
be able to make seven words. five words sh be placed in front of the 2017 US Open Final?
ow
The clue to the first word is given another word n to form, in each case, a) Madison Keys
to help you get started. ? b) Serena Williams
c) Maria Sharapova
The clue: Take a chance
Enigma code
W O R N 2) What was the capital of the Mughal
F
Each colour in our code Empire from 1571 to 1585?
F
represents a letter.

When you have

L E S S a) Shahjahanabad
cracked the code you
will be able to make up
b) Agra
F seven words.
T A K E R c) Fatehpur Sikri
The clue to first word is
given to help you get
F 3) Which popular word game invented by
F U L L Y
started.

F
The Clue : Bring to
an end Alfred Mosher Butts?
a) Scrabble
F Solution to F R E E b) Boggle
Enigma Code :
Finish, Fasten, Finite c) Taboo
F Infant, Infest, Sifter,
Strife

4) Who was Jeeves boss in the Wodehouse

novels?
BRAIN TEASERS a) Lord Emsworth
b) Bertie Wooster
1) A man says, "I am going to drink 190,747 when multiplied c) Psmith
water because I don't have together?
water. If I had it, I would drink 5) Which guitarist has been nicknamed
wine." What does he do 5) One day, one of a pair of identical Slowhand?
for a living? twins celebrated their birthday. a) Eric Clapton
Two days later, the other twin b) Jimi Hendrix
2) When a clock's reflection is 2.30, celebrated their birthday. c) David Gilmour
what time is it really? The twins were born within 5
6) Who is the founder of analytical
3) What three rhyming words are minutes of each other - so how psychology
associated with the following can this be explained? a) Sigmund Freud
words: b) Ivan Pavlov
WHITE; MONEY; STUDENT c) Carl Jung

4) Can you find three consecutive 7) What is the SI unit of magnetic flux?
prime numbers which total a) Weber
b) Joule
c) Newton

PICK & CHOOSE

6. c) Carl Jung, 7. a) Weber
Sikri, 3. a) Scrabble 4. b) Bertie Wooster, 5. a) Eric Clapton,
BBC Knowledge Quiz: 1. a) Madison Keys, 2. c) Fatehpur

of sets of letters
sing the right combination
Skopje, 5. Enthusiasm, 6. Masticate
Solve the six clues by cho and only in
ers can be used only once
Pick & choose: 1. Marooned, 2. Pester, 3. Picturesque, 4.

given below. Each set of lett spe cifies how many

r at the end of the clues
second twin could celebrate their birthday.
the order given. The numbe
year 2000 is a leap year and Feb 29 had to occur before the
the solution.
sets of letters are used in
other was born 5 minutes later on Mar 1, 1999. However, the
One was born on Feb 28, 1999 just before midnight. The
SCHOLAR) 4. 53, 59 and 61. 53 x 59 x 61 = 190,747. 5.
1. Stranded
BLUE COLLAR; a DOLLAR is MONEY; and a STUDENT is a
COLLAR, DOLLAR, AND SCHOLAR (WHITE COLLAR vs
to buy or even make wine. 2. 9.30. 3. The three words are:
2. Annoy persistently so if he lacks water he has no income and he wont be able
Brain Teasers: 1 He is a farmer. He needs plenty of water,

3. Strikingly expressive
Double Barrelled: Care
Strife
4. Capital of Macedonia
Enigma Code: Finish, Fasten, Finite, Infant, Infest, Sifter,
Head & Tail: Good-Bye-Law-Suit-Case-Study-Hard-Nosed

5. Passion or eagerness Churton Collins

often fails because he thinks what is difficult is easy. - John
Scramble: Image, split/spilt, cloudy, affray Answer: A fool
6. Chew tooth, tripod, truck
TUR MAR ASM orchid, paintbrush, pheasant, protractor, see-saw, stool, tap,
ATE ENT PES Picture Search: Bow, cue stick, fiddle, file, lion, moustache,
ESQ MAS UE
SKO OON HU Solutions:
TIC PIC TER
ED SI PJE
 In focus
Tesla
NIKOLA
TESLA
(10 July 1856 7 January 1943)
WORDS:
MOSHITA PRAJAPATI
B
ORN in Croatia, Nikola Tesla grew to be a bright,
inquisitive, sensitive and somewhat eccentric child, who
was fascinated by the world around him. He once jumped
off the roof of a barn while holding onto an umbrella.
He devised a bug-powered motor using June bugs, but had to
call off the experiment after a friend ate some of the bugs.
And, famously, he once tried to generate electricity by rubbing
two cats together!
On June 6, 1884, he arrived in the USA to be hired by Thomas
Edison to perform experiments in basic electrical engineering,
but was soon moved up to re-design the direct current generators
that ran Edisons business. Tesla was offered about $50,000
(roughly 1.1 million dollars in todays rate). Tesla left Edison after
the latter refused to make the payments promised.
He joined George Westinghouse in 1888 to form a system of
alternating current, competing with the direct current that
Thomas Edison had a monopoly on. The battle over electricity
fought between the three great inventors of the time was dubbed
the War of the Currents by the press. Westinghouse won
the contract to power the 1893 World Fair in Chicago with
alternating current, and the exposition was the perfect platform
to showcase the brilliance of Teslas AC system. In 1895,
Westinghouse and Edison built the worlds first hydroelectric
power plant at Niagara Falls.
In 1899, Tesla shifted to Colorado. He built a 80ft tower, 142ft
metal mast with massive Tesla coils curved around it, which,
according to the inventor, was going to transmit power wirelessly
across large distances. He did manage to blow out the local
96
DECEMBER 2017
El Paso Power Company, singe a few butterflies,
and, if local gossip is to be believed, cause
artificial thunder and lightning. It is not known
if he did manage to transmit power.
He soldiered on, moving to Long Island, New
Jersey, to built another station. The Tesla Tower
was a 187-ft-tall metal lattice tower topped with
a bulbous antenna that would, when functional,
communicate and even transfer power across
the Atlantic Ocean. Italian inventor Guglielmo
Marconi, who transmitted the letter s across
the Atlantic, beat him to it. Teslas funding was
cut, and the station fell to despair, with parts of
the tower being dismantled and sold as scrap by
the US Government.
Tesla soon retired from public life, following
a nervous breakdown. He spent the rest of his
life in New York, feeding pigeons in parks,
and dying alone at the age of 86.
Appreciation for Tesla is widespread. His
inventions, his thinking and his initially-derided
ideas gained prominence in mainstream science
by way of pop culture. The Wikipedia page on his
undeniable and influential presence in popular
culture speaks volumes about this quiet scientist
who eschewed glory and recognition in favour of
creating a future for mankind through his
irreverent thoughts on science.
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