Latest research news

Friendly fishing still kills dolphins
Dolphin-friendly tuna fishing could still be killing thousands of the marine mammals each year by separating vulnerable calves from their mothers, a scientist has found.
( The Guardian )

Half a million asthma sufferers live in fear
More than half a million asthma sufferers in the UK are living in fear that their next attack will kill them, a report revealed today. Of the 2.6 million with severe symptoms, one in five is seriously concerned that their next asthma attack will kill them.
( Independent )

Antisocial behaviour is all in the genes
Bad behaviour in children and adolescents is largely inherited, a study has found. A team from the University of Wales College of Medicine has found that identical twins, who share all their genes, exhibit the same patterns of behaviour much more strongly than non-identical twins.
( Times )

How jet lag puts you in two minds
Scientists have found that a mammal’s brain contains two timekeeping centres, one running on cues such as sunrise, the other sticking strictly to the clock. The research, published in the journal Current Biology , might some day lead to a cure for jet lag, if a drug can be developed to coax these two internal clocks back on to the same time when travel has pushed them apart.
( Times )

Oldest star map goes on show
The oldest known map of the stars will go on display in Britain this week in an exhibition that will demonstrate the supremacy of early Chinese astronomy. A fresh analysis of the star chart, which was found buried in a desert cave on the ancient Silk Road between China and the West, has dated the manuscript to as early as the 7th century AD.
( Independent )

Medieval sea chart is current
The 16th-century Carta Marina, complete with sea monsters, gives an accurate location for dangerous eddies. A satellite image of the north-east Atlantic has revealed that medieval cartographers knew much more about ocean currents than was thought.
( Daily Telegraph , published in The Times Higher , April 30)