Previews: New Scientist Magazine – February 5

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COVER STORIES

  • CULTUREClimate fiction has come of age – and these fabulous books show why
  • FEATURESDo we create space-time? A new perspective on the fabric of reality
  • FEATURESChristopher Jackson interview: How geologists can fight climate change
  • FEATURESInteroception: This ‘sixth sense’ could be key to better mental health
  • NEWS160,000-year-old fossil may be the first Denisovan skull we’ve found
  • NEWSSome bee colonies have to kill thousands of ‘selfish’ wannabe queens
  • NEWS

Inside British Art: ‘The Red Boy’ By Thomas Lawrence

Restorer Paul Ackroyd gets ‘The Red Boy’ ready to be displayed in the Gallery.

The Red Boy, or Master Lambton, are popular names for a portrait made in 1825 by Sir Thomas Lawrence. It is officially entitled with the name of its subject, Charles William Lambton, who was the elder son of John Lambton.

Paul Ackroyd, restorer, is cleaning ‘The Red Boy’, an iconic painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence. It was so popular it was the first-ever painting to feature on a British postage stamp.

Riverfront Walks: The London Docklands (4K)

Early morning walk in London’s Docklands, starting from Limehouse Basin to St Katherine’s Dock on January 31, 2022.

London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port of London, at one time the world’s largest port.

Morning News: French Election Polls, Soaring Debt, Saudi Weddings

In the first instalment of the series, we unveil our forecast model and visit one of the quiet suburbs where the vote’s outcome will probably be decided

Debt has soared as borrowing costs stayed low; we examine who will foot the enormous interest bills as rates rise. And the one place where marriages increased in the pandemic era. 

New Books: ‘South To America’ By Imani Perry

In her new book “South to America,” author Imani Perry seeks to change how people view the American South and, thus, the country’s history as a whole. Jeffrey Brown spoke with Perry, who traveled through the southern regions of the U.S. and explored the complexities and misperceptions she found along the way.

Science: Water Flow And Quantum Friction, Super Soap Bubbles, Hippos

How quantum friction explains water’s strange flows in carbon nanotubes, and the latest from the Nature Briefing.

In this episode:

00:53 A theory for water’s baffling behaviour in carbon nanotubes

At large scales, water flows faster through a wider pipe than a narrower one. However, in tiny carbon nanotubes flow-rate is flipped, with water moving faster through the narrowest channels. This week, researchers have come up with a new explanation for this phenomenon: quantum friction. If validated, it could allow material designers to fine-tune flows through tiny channels, which could be useful in processes such as water purification.

Research Article: Kavokine et al.

06:43 Research Highlights

Creating soap bubbles that last 200,000 times longer, and hippos’ habit of aggressively spraying dung when they hear a stranger.

Research Highlight: No bursting for these record-breaking bubbles

Research Highlight: Hippos know strangers’ voices — and make a filthy reply

09:08 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, a global study reveals how antibiotic-resistant infections have led to millions of deaths, and a genetic mutation that plays a big role in a dog’s size.

Nature News: The staggering death toll of drug-resistant bacteria

Nature News: Big dog, little dog: mutation explains range of canine sizes

Nature Video: 

Preservation: Mangroves National Park In Congo

This Wednesday is International Wetlands Day. Worldwide, wetlands cover 12.1 million km². But more than 30 percent have been lost over the past 50 years, despite them playing a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change. One example is the Mangroves National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s the only marine park in the country and it’s home to a wide variety of plants and rare animals, including sea turtles. But the park is increasingly threatened by poaching and illegal logging. The construction of a deep water port in the vicinity has also sparked controversy. Our correspondents report.

Views: The Woodlands Of East Lothian, Scotland

East Lothian, Scotland has some beautiful forests and woodlands. This film was shot at Binning Memorial Wood, Gosford Estate, Pressmennan Woods and Tynninghame Estate.

The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which as a result of late-nineteenth century Scottish local government reforms took the form of the county of Haddingtonshire for the period from 1889 to 1921.

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious