Sulphites are sulphur compounds that occur naturally in the grapes and hops used to make wine and beer. They prevent the growth of the bacteria that make the drink go cloudy and literally turn the alcohol to vinegar. Most wines and beers have extra sulphites added and some people claim that this can cause headaches. But there is more sulphite in a dried apricot than there is in a glass of white wine.
Diverse thinkers, from the ancient Greek philosophers through contemporary quantum cosmology and eternal inflation theory, have called time an illusion. For them, the perception of time passing...
Phlegm is the mucous secretion of the respiratory passages. The cilia cells that line these passages are continually driving the phlegm upward to the throat, where it triggers the swallow reflex...
Ordinary glass absorbs 97 per cent of the UVB rays that cause sunburn and some skin cancers, and 37 per cent of the less harmful UVA radiation. This translates to a protection of about SPF30, so...
It depends on how high (or low) you set the bar of fluency. Ziad Fazah, born in Liberia, brought up in Beirut and now living in Brazil, claims to be the world's greatest living polyglot, with a...
Vomiting is a deliberate response by the body that evolved as a purging mechanism to remove toxins or foreign bodies from the stomach and oesophagus. Since stomach contents are highly acidic,...
The time taken for the Moon to spin on its axis is almost exactly the same as the time it takes to orbit the Earth. Hence, the Moon always keeps the same side pointing our way. This is not a...
No. They have always been very aggressive, particularly when defending nesting sites. What they are becoming is more numerous. In the wild, herring gulls might only raise one chick to maturity for...
That depends on what you mean by ‘life’, but it’s reasonable to say that the absolute minimum requirement is the existence of molecules made from relatively heavy elements like...
In 2011, a 10-year-old girl called Erin Moran was struck by lightning while sitting at the window of her bedroom in Merthyr Tydfil. Glass is a good insulator, so it is very unlikely that a window...
Tired eyes get dry, and rubbing stimulates the lacrimal glands to produce more fluid. Tiredness also closes your eyes, so you may rub to keep them open. Finally, there’s a connection between...
Animals are a notorious source of infections in humans. The Spanish Flu Pandemic, which killed over 20 million people between 1918 and 1920, is believed by many researchers to have had its origins...
Parrots are the longest-lived order of birds: cockatoos and Amazonian parrots can reach the age of 75 or older. Even budgerigars live for 15‑25 years, which is an exceptionally long life for such...
Trees release oxygen when they use energy from sunlight to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water. Like all plants, trees also use oxygen when they split glucose back down to release energy to...
What an impossible question! If I could answer it I would have solved a great philosophical puzzle - how activity in a brain can be 'about' something, such as wanting a strawberry ice cream or...
It isn't. When it passes through some mediums, such as water, it slows down considerably. In the case of diamond, its speed is cut by over 50 per cent. But according to Einstein's Special Theory...
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The Astronomers Retailer Guide 2013
There’s no better place to buy than from a specialist retailer
Focus picks the five best bits of tech at the UK's largest technology show
so, which the fastest of all the sci fi ships...
The Red Kite What’s on (18 – 24 May 2013) Back-of-an-envelope calculation about c and w... this mans a star Landsat and a Changing Earth Pilotless Passenger Planes Prepare for Take-o... Does anything exist outside of the universe? book review: Lazarus Effect pg 104 May 2013 Company Develops System to Raise Intellectual...
Diverse thinkers, from the ancient Greek philosophers through contemporary quantum cosmology and eternal inflation theory, have called time an illusion. For them, the perception of time passing...
Air crash investigators have found that flight stewards in rear-facing seats have suffered less severe injuries in accidents than forward-facing passengers. This is because the energy from the...
While Britons have pioneered all sorts of things from the steam engine and the computer to passenger jets and rugby football, we have dismally failed to maintain world dominance in much at all...
Most people agree that the years seem to pass at an ever-accelerating rate. That’s because traditions, anniversaries and celebrations gradually accumulate and merge, so that the difference...
Ordinary glass absorbs 97 per cent of the UVB rays that cause sunburn and some skin cancers, and 37 per cent of the less harmful UVA radiation. This translates to a protection of about SPF30, so...