Ear bath helps explain rare urge to cut off own limb

Some people are seized with a desire to cut off their own limbs, which they somehow feel are not really part of their body. An attempt to treat them using indirect brain stimulation has failed, but could help explain what lies at the root of this strange disorder.People with body integrity identity disorder (BIID), or xenomelia, say that some part of their body – usually a limb – doesn't belong to them. They often resort to desperate measures such...

Read More

Girls may be more resilient to autism-linked mutations

More genetic mutations may be needed to give rise to autism in girls than in boys. The finding supports the notion that the female brain is somehow protected against autism, and this may in turn explain why four times as many males have autism than females.Although some cases of autism are associated with one mutation, most are thought to involve several genetic abnormalities. In the past few years, hundreds of mutations have been discovered that...

Read More

Today on New Scientist

Healing by faeces: Rise of the DIY gut-bug swap As regulators struggle to classify faecal transplants, people are doing it themselves to ease symptoms of colitis, Parkinson's disease and even autismSuper-rice defies triple whammy of stresses A strain of genetically modified rice can thrive in drought, salty soils and without fertiliser. It could help rice farmers cope with climate changeCurry cure: Chillies are the hot new thing in medicine Understanding...

Read More

Fewer mutations needed for autism in boys than girls

More genetic mutations may be needed to give rise to autism in girls than in boys. The finding supports the notion that the female brain is somehow protected against autism, and this may in turn explain why four times as many males have autism than females.Although some cases of autism are caused by one mutation, most are thought to involve several genetic abnormalities. In the past few years, hundreds of mutations have been discovered that can lead...

Read More

Healing by faeces: Rise of the DIY gut-bug swap

Continue reading page |1|2 LAST year wasn't kind to 27-year-old Jim. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and it was causing him a lot of pain. Drugs failed to provide relief, and it seemed as if the only option was to surgically remove his colon. Instead, he opted for something else. Two weeks after having filtered faeces inserted into his guts, Jim improved massively. "The blood and pain are reduced, and I'm not having to worry about going...

Read More

Super-rice defies triple whammy of stresses

For the first time, a single strain of genetically modified rice has been developed to handle drought, salty soils and lack of fertiliser. The aim is to "climate-proof" rice farms in Asia and Africa so that they can grow the same variety each year, regardless of the conditions.Crops have previously been developed that cope with individual environmental stresses such as drought and salt, but this rice is the first to counter three at once."Considering...

Read More

Curry cure: Chillies are the hot new thing in medicine

Continue reading page |1|2 |3 Could the heat of some spices solve some of medicine's biggest problems? (Image: Spencer Wilson) Understanding why mint tastes cool and chilli is hot could bring new cures for chronic pain, obesity and even cancer IT STARTS out as a pleasant tingle, before growing into a burning sensation that feels like your whole mouth is ablaze. You sweat, you cry, and your nose streams. You gasp for water, but it feels like nothing...

Read More

Crime rates could rise as climate change bites

In a warmer world it might be best not to leave your windows open. As temperatures rise, so do crime rates, suggesting climate change will lead to millions of extra offences in the coming decades. However, factors such as better policing may keep a lid on the problem.The link between temperature and crime has been researched for years, and criminologists agree that warm days see more offences. Nobody is sure why. Snow and closed windows in colder...

Read More

The WhatsApp edge: why it was a must-buy for Facebook

Continue reading page |1|2 As the dust settles on Facebook's $19 billion WhatsApp takeover, a social networking researcher explains what really lies behind the deal Now that Facebook has announced it is to buy the popular smartphone messaging platform WhatsApp, much has been made of the sum agreed, even more about might and power and competition rules. It's not what WhatsApp does (or might become) that the commentators are focusing on, but the billions...

Read More

'Great curtains of delicate light hung and trembled'

(Image: Reuben Tabner/LNP/Rex) Why try and describe the aurora borealis when I can just nick Philip Pullman's description?"The sight filled the northern sky; the immensity of it was scarcely conceivable. As if from Heaven itself, great curtains of delicate light hung and trembled. Pale green and rose-pink, and as transparent as the most fragile fabric, and at the bottom edge a profound and fiery crimson like the fires of Hell, they swung and shimmered...

Read More

Father of big bang carries its hiss on his cellphone

Video: Recording captures hiss of big bang radiation Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias accidentally discovered the afterglow of the big bang in 1964. Their now-famous horn antenna, built for Bell Labs in New Jersey, was supposed to be picking up the radio waves emitted by galaxy clusters and supernova remnants. But it recorded a temperature that was 3.5 kelvin hotter than it should have been, no matter where they pointed it.We now know this was caused...

Read More

Feedback: All shall have pills

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more All shall have pillsSOME time ago Feedback noticed posters plugging nutritional supplements, exhorting us to buy "his" and "her" pills from Vitabiotics, and shrugged. We started from a sceptical stance on the benefits of supplements, especially for the people who buy them – who probably have a more balanced diet than those who don't....

Read More

Sensor backpacks for oysters say when they are happy

IN A pleasant spot on Tasmania's coast, Barilla Bay Oyster Farm has been growing and serving oysters for more than three decades.But are their oysters as healthy as they can be? The farm is about to find out. Some of the oysters are having sensors the size of credit cards tacked onto their shells.Farm manager Justin Goc says the information will help him make better decisions. The farm is one of a handful of places that have joined a trial organised...

Read More

Rule-breaking black hole blows weirdly powerful winds

A black hole in a nearby galaxy is blowing a mighty wind. The black hole is about 100 times the mass of the sun but is causing the emission of millions of times more energy, breaking a long-accepted rule about the way black holes feed. The discovery suggests that even small black holes may play a larger role in galaxy evolution than previously realised.When black holes consume matter from their surroundings, the incoming gas and dust reach scorching...

Read More

Location-aware Wi-Fi lets fans be part of the show

A system for getting Wi-Fi access to every fan at a gig or match gives a whole new meaning to the concept of audience participation. Mexican wave, anyone? EVERY fan in a packed sports stadium or music venue will soon be able to get bespoke content direct to their phones, thanks to a new wireless system that knows exactly where every person is sitting.The system, developed by UK start-up Mobbra, will let organisers send football replays, backstage...

Read More

Some breastfeeding benefits questioned by US study

Breast is still best, but the long-term benefits of breastfeeding might have been inflated, say researchers who have compared the effects of breastfeeding and bottle-feeding on siblings.Short-term benefits, such as protection against chest and gut infections, have been clearly demonstrated in previous research and are not being questioned.But claims that breastfeeding boosts children's IQ and protects against a range of health conditions in later...

Read More

Music-making card turns objects into wacky instruments

Video: Music-making card turns objects into instruments Guitars, trombones and violins are so last century. A device about the size of a credit card lets you transform a plant into a piano or make a glass of water behave like a drum.Developed by Joseph Pleass and a team at Dentaku design studio in London, the pocket-sized board, called Ototo, combines a synthesiser with twelve touch-sensitive keys arranged like an octave on a keyboard. Conductive...

Read More

Today on New Scientist

Spacesuit future looks sleek, speedy and commercial An astronaut nearly drowned last year when his suit sprung a leak. But sleek skinsuits and high-tech "suitports" are about to transform spacewearZoologger: Superfemale mice have secret male DNA A female mammal that carries a "male" chromosome should struggle to reproduce, but if it is an African pygmy mouse, this offers an unexpected advantageEurope's law on e-cigarettes sets global benchmark Tough...

Read More

Spacesuit future looks sleek, speedy and commercial

NASA has learned the hard way that water is an extra-slippery customer in space. Water leaking around fan blades in a spacesuit life-support system almost caused an astronaut to drown last July, according to a report the US space agency released yesterday.Thankfully, Luca Parmitano, who was outside the International Space Station when he reported feeling water on the back of his head, abandoned the spacewalk in time and made it back inside. NASA...

Read More

Origin of organs: Thank viruses for your skin and bone

NEXT time you have a cold, rather than cursing, maybe you should thank the virus for making your skin. Genes borrowed from viruses seem to give cells the ability to grow into tissues and organs, and even reproduce sexually. Without these genes, animals could not have evolved beyond simple blobs of cells.Our cells often need to fuse with other cells, making big cells with multiple nuclei. They do this with the help of proteins on their outer surfaces...

Read More