Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BBC Earth February 2018
BBC Earth February 2018
BBC Earth February 2018
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
COULD HELP TO
FIGHT DEPRESSION
p16
WILL WE EVER BE
ABLE TO FORECAST
THE WEATHER?
p80
WILDLIFE ON THE
BORDERLINE
p54
UNLOCKING THE
SECRETS OF
PPS 1875/01/2016 (025609)
MCI (P) 002/09/2017 ISSN 2529-7503
9 771793 983016
02
THE BRAIN
How 'minibrains' being grown in labs could reveal the mysteries
SGD 7.50 | THB 240 | NT 200 | RM 18
behind human development and disease p28
TV HIGHLIGHTS
How to Stay Young S2
You may be free from grey hairs and wrinkles, but do your
insides tell a different story? A team of health experts meet
ordinary people to reveal how quickly their organs, skin,
muscles and brain are growing old. Discover the secrets
that could hold the key to living longer, healthier lives.
Premieres 12 February
Mondays at 9.30pm (JKT/BKK)
10.30pm (SIN/HK/MY/TW)
Premieres 19 February
Mondays at 8.40pm (JKT/BKK)
9.40pm (SIN/HK/MY/TW)
Premieres 27 February
Tuesdays at 9.40pm (JKT/BKK)
10.40pm (SIN/HK/MY/TW)
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Y Send us your letters to bbcearth@media-group.com.sg WELCOME
THE FLIP SIDE OF ADVANCEMENT
Apart from New Year festivities, one other thing was welcomed with
much excitement in the final week of last year. The new season of Black
Mirror was released, a show that has elicited in its loyal viewers an
BBC Earth Magazine
eerie sense of foreboding towards the rapid rate at which our world is Includes selected articles from other BBC specialist magazines,
becoming dependent on technology. including Focus, BBC History Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Such is the power of science fiction though, it has an almost
anticipatory nature to it. It could occasionally even trigger an idea that
www.sciencefocus.com
science eventually uses as a template for future innovation. After all,
the flatscreen TV was at one point just a fancy bit of animation on The
Jetsons. Remember that? www.historyextra.com
The truth is, though, that we still need ample technological advancement
for the good of the world. While the extremes can be scary, it www.discoverwildlife.com
is also true that technology is needed for dealing with real
issues like disease, climate change or even for energy
conservation and sustainability practices. IMPORTANT CHANGE:
One such example is our cover story this month, The licence to publish this magazine was acquired
where Simon Crompton takes us through the research from BBC Worldwide by Immediate Media Company
on the human brain that could help tackle difficult on 1 November 2011. We remain committed to making
diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and a magazine of the highest editorial quality, one that
autism (p28). Elsewhere in the issue, we also explore complies with BBC editorial and commercial guidelines
the ways in which technology can help improve and connects with BBC programmes.
methods of weather forecasting (p80). With the
amount of devastation that can be caused to humans, The BBC Earth television channel is available in the following
animals and the environment by natural disasters, this regions: Asia (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia,
is one place where pioneering research is crucial. Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan)
Vol. 10 Issue 2 3
CONTENTS VOL. 10 ISSUE 2
FEATURES
20 54
From autism to Alzheimer’s, lab-grown mini-brains
could be the key to solving the biggest mysteries about
human development and disease
36 Harpy Heaven
Jonathan Elphick documents his observations of the
rarely spotted harpy eagle in Panama
28
REGULARS
3 Welcome 98 The Last Word
A note from the editor sharing her thoughts Robert Matthews on why natural disasters don’t worry
on the issue and other ramblings us more
80 Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast The Weather?
Duncan Geere investigates why even in today’s advanced 6 Snapshot UPDATE
world we still have trouble predicting the weather Stunning snaps from across the fields of 14 The Latest Intelligence
history, nature or science Sleep deprivation could help to fight depression;
RESOURCE consciousness restored in man after 15 years in a
94 Book Review 28 Comment & Analysis vegetative state…
This month, we list out our favourite literature from Helen Czerski on rainbows in ice
last year that you must add to your shelf 85 Q&A
97 My Life Scientific Do blind people see in their dreams? How are calories in
96 Time Out Helen Pilcher talks to Dr Andrew Digby about food calculated? Are the fish in a shoal all the same age?
Crossword puzzle to stimulate your brain career changes and the charismatic Why do I weigh less in the morning?
4 Vol. 10 Issue 2
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BBC Earth Magazine, MCI (P) 002/09/2017, ISSN 2529-7503, PPS 1875/01/2016
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Snapshot
Naples at Night
Crew aboard the International replaced in newer developments
Space Station took this by orange sodium bulbs (yellow-
photograph of the city lights of orange). To the northeast, the
Naples and the Campania region lightless gaps between the homes
of southern Italy. The Naples and businesses are agricultural
region is one of the brightest in fields. The bright yellow-orange
the country; roughly three million complex amidst the fields is the CIS
people live in and around this emporium, the largest commercial
metropolitan area. retail facility in Europe. The large
The different colours of lights in the black circular area in the photo is
scene reflect some of the history of Mount Vesuvius, the only active
development in the area. The green volcano on Europe’s mainland.
lights are mercury vapour bulbs,
an older variety that has been PHOTO: NASA
10 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Vol. 10 Issue 2 11
Snapshot
12 Vol. 10 Issue 2
The Bluest
of Ice
Acquired on November 29, 2017
by Operation IceBridge during
a flight to Victoria Land, this
image shows an iceberg floating
in Antarctica’s McMurdo Sound.
The part of the iceberg below
water appears bluest primarily
due to blue light from the water
in the Sound. The undersides of
some icebergs can be eroded
away, exposing older, denser,
and incredibly blue ice. Erosion
can change an iceberg’s shape
and cause it to flip, bringing
the sculpted blue ice above the
water’s surface. The unique step-
like shape of this berg—compared
to the tabular and more stable
berg in the top-right of the image—
suggests that it likely rotated
sometime after calving.
Operation IceBridge—an
airborne mission to map polar
ice—recently made several
flights out of the McMurdo and
Amundsen-Scott South Pole
stations, giving researchers greater
access to the interior of the icy
continent. For the ninth year in a
row, flights over Antarctica have
turned up ample science data, as
well as spectacular images.
PHOTO: NASA
Vol. 10 Issue 2 13
SPECIAL FEATURE
THRILLING
ESCAPADES
IN EASTERN
AUSTRALIA
These three states on the east coast of the Australian continent
can be the perfect source of adrenaline for your next vacation
1. ACTION PACKED: MIGHTY BLUE MOUNTAINS
Hill is the perfect solution, a unique
NEW SOUTH WALES Just a 90 minute drive to the west of outback experience complete with an
Sydney, The Three Sisters is an iconic authentic milk bar, famous sodas, and
SOAK UP SYDNEY
rock formation which happens to milkshakes. The local mailman also
No matter how popular it gets, the be a part of the World Heritage Blue takes visitors out on tours, a first hand
stunning Sydney harbour will still Mountains. Ideal for canyoning and opportunity to witness his epic 550 km
captivate first-time and returning visitors caving, the mountains have deep fissures mail run. If not on foot, visitors can even
alike. Take to the stunning water at a gouged from the sandstone over eons. take a camel safari to see indigenous
pace of your choosing. You can take Jenolan Caves is a labyrinth of stalactite- animals, reptiles, birds and vegetation,
a ferry to soak in the views and use lined limestone chasms carved by along with a chance to explore the Mundi
the slow speed to capture the perfect underground rivers. Scenic World takes Mundi ruins, steep water-filled gullies, dry
shot, or get the wind in your hair by you into the Jamison Valley floor, via creek beds and ranges, all on a working
trying jetboating. You could even test railway, cable car and skywalk. Follow sheep and cattle station.
your endurance by kayaking across the boardwalk through the trees and
the water. Lounge on any one of take in the sounds and tranquillity of the SURF’S UP!
Sydney’s 70 sparkling beaches, or get Jurassic rainforest. No trip to Australia is complete without at
active as you dive with sharks at Manly least taking a shot at surfing. First-timers
SEALIFE. Refuel with a yum cha feast OUTBACK DISCOVERIES can head to Australia’s most famous
in Chinatown or tuck into a hearty pie at For generations the continent has strip of sand, Bondi Beach, to learn
Harry’s Café de Wheels; this city truly attracted visitors hoping to get a real to surf. Let’s Go Surfing’s friendly and
has it all. taste of 1950’s outback Australia. Broken professional staff can help you catch the
14 Vol. 10 Issue 2
GET YOUR HEART RACING 3. ALL IN ONE: VICTORIA
Unlike other bridge climbs in the world,
Brisbane’s Story Bridge Adventure THE ULTIMATE AUSSIE ADVENTURE
Climb allows you to actually climb up From abundant wineries to craft breweries,
wave of your dreams. Palm Beach, the and abseil down. Thrill seekers can also at just a 1.5 – 3.5 hours drive away from
most northerly of Sydney’s beaches, is a head to the only bungy site in Australia the city, visitors can discover a variety
huge crescent of sand which is another at the AJ Hackett in Cairns. Catch great of natural vistas and abundant activities.
great spot for surfing. It also happens to views over the rainforest and out to the The area abounds in stunning beaches
be the stunning locale from the Home and Great Barrier Reef, that is if you find ranging from the Great Ocean Road and
Away TV series. yourself brave enough to keep your Mornington Peninsula, as well as iconic
eyes open on the way down. native animals at Phillip Island, the Yarra
2. BACKPACKING BOUNTY: Valley and the Grampians regions. The
QUEENSLAND DIG A DINO AT THE AUSTRALIAN Grampians region is also renowned for its
AGE OF DINOSAURS national parks and world-class climbing.
TAKE A DIVE ON THE WILD SIDE The Age of Dinosaurs is not just a
Another one for the bucket list, visitors museum – it’s a living heritage that CYCLE IN THE CITY
can head to the Great Barrier Reef for continues to uncover secrets from Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the
a lesson in diving. The reef is the only the past. Located in Winton, in north international governing body for sports
natural organism that can be viewed Queensland, this is the only place in the cycling, named Melbourne ‘Bike City’.
from outer space, and is known as one of southern hemisphere where people can Humble Vintage rents out fully restored
the seven natural wonders of the world. actually get their hands on dinosaurs vintage bikes and custom-made maps that
Between the months of June and August, by volunteering to drill the soil off the show you the coolest attractions, bars and
join fellow travellers at the only place in bones, or by taking part in a dinosaur shops off the beaten track. For shorter
the world that let’s you swim with the dig each August. trips, the Melbourne Bike Share Scheme
dwarf minke whale. allows patrons to hire bikes with rates as
FUN AND GAMES AT GOLD COAST low as AUD3.00 a day for trips lasting up
An international fun-filled destination to 30 minutes.
that also boasts some of Australia’s
best, most consistent waves, Gold GET UP CLOSE WITH NATURE
Coast is certainly a worthy addition Give back to the environment by booking
to this list. Apart from lounging at a ‘voluntourism’ or ‘wwoofing’ (willing
the beach or surfing the waves, you workers on organic farms) holiday.
can also head inland for treks in the Programs include Koala Conservation
World-Heritage listed rainforest of and Tiger Quoll Conservation at the Great
the Gold Coast hinterland. There you Ocean Ecolodge, as well as volunteer
can swim in crystal-clear rock pools, packages with penguins at the Phillip
explore rainforest retreats like Mount Island Nature Parks. Conservation
Tamborine, and see Australia’s largest Volunteers Australia also provides many
glow-worm colony. programs for the perfect eco-vacation.
Vol. 10 Issue 2 15
Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
PSYCHOLOGY
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Although counterintuitive, a
bout of sleeplessness could
help tackle depression
COULD HELP TO
FIGHT DEPRESSION
Large study finds that ‘wake therapy’ is as effective
as antidepressants
PHOTOS: GETTY
16 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Sleep deprivation
therapies could
offer new hope
to sufferers
E X P E R T C O M M E N T
ALICE GREGORY
PROFESSOR OF SLEEP PSYCHOLOGY,
GOLDSMITHS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Vol. 10 Issue 2 17
Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
ANTHROPOLOGY
18 Vol. 10 Issue 2
NEUROSCIENCE
CONSCIOUSNESS
RESTORED IN
ZOOLOGY MAN AFTER
ADORABLE BRAZILIAN FROGS 15 YEARS IN A
CAN’T HEAR THEMSELVES SPEAK VEGETATIVE STATE
Two species of tiny frogs, known as the ear that would normally detect A vagus nerve
pumpkin toadlets, which live on the the high frequencies involved is stimulator being used
to treat epilepsy
floor of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, are vestigial in the two species involved.
unable to hear their own (and each In other words, like the human
other’s) cries, it has been discovered. tailbone, it’s still there but no longer
This makes them the only two does anything.
species known to have evolved in Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard
this way. The discovery was made by from the University of Southern
a team of scientists from Brazil, Denmark said: “We have never seen
Denmark and the UK, led by Dr this before: these frogs make sounds
Sandra Goutte from Brazil’s that they cannot hear themselves.”
Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Goutte added: “One would think
In order to find a mate, most frog that if a signal is not perceived by its
species signal their presence to target audience, it would be lost A 35-year-old man who had been in a
members of the opposite sex by calls, through evolution.” vegetative state for 15 years following a car
but making such calls consumes It’s thought that the calls have accident has shown signs of
energy and can attract predators. The been retained because the bright consciousness after receiving pioneering
two species of pumpkin toadlet also orange toadlets have replace nerve stimulation therapy. The outcome
make such calls, but laboratory auditory with visual signalling, and challenges the belief that disorders of
testing at the University of Southern that the throat-swelling that consciousness that persist for longer than
Denmark suggested they are unable produces the call is now the way the 12 months are irreversible.
to actually hear them, while toadlets attract a mate – with the The procedure, which was carried out by
anatomical studies at Cambridge resulting call now a mere by-product a team of neuroscientists based at the
University confirmed that the part of of this visual signal. Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc
Jeannerod in Lyon, France, involved
implanting a device into his chest to
stimulate his vagus nerve – a major nerve
that runs down through the body from the
brainstem and is involved in walking and
The pumpkin toadlets’
bright colours warn many other important motor functions. The
predators of same therapy is used to treat seizures.
their toxicity
One month after the implant, the man
went from being in a completely vegetative
state to being able to turn his head, follow
objects with his eyes and listen to his
therapist reading a book.
Recordings of brain activity also revealed
major changes in areas of the brain
involved in movement, sensation, and
awareness. After many years in a
nonresponsive state, he had entered a
state of minimal consciousness.
“Brain plasticity and brain repair are still
possible even when hope seems to have
vanished,” said lead author Dr Angela Sirigu.
The researchers are now planning to
extend the study to further investigate
the technique.
Vol. 10 Issue 2 19
Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
A competitor uses
a brain-computer
interface at
2016’s Cybathlon
Championship
20 Vol. 10 Issue 2
GENETICS
Vol. 10 Issue 2 21
Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
PETS
Dogs don’t recognise changes to their own appearance – the ‘mirror test’ of
intelligence. But as dog cognition expert Dr Alexandra Horowitz explains,
there’s a reason they fail
ABOVE: Microbots Why is self-recognition a sign of their own head, not the mirror, and tried to smell
could one day be
used to target cancer intelligence? the dye on their fingers. That was considered
cells, like in this Self-recognition comes out of the comparative passing the mirror self-recognition test.
artist’s impression
cognition field, where people test if non-human
animals can problem solve, imitate or learn, just Which animals pass the test?
as we would ask of children. Some questions are Dolphins have passed using marks on their sides
about meta-cognition – thinking about thinking. and a reflective surface in their aquarium, moving
One meta-cognitive skill is ‘theory of mind’ – the their bodies in unusual ways to see the mark. One
realisation that others have minds different from African elephant passed the test and magpies
your own, and know things you don’t. Humans have passed. But a number haven’t passed, like
gain this skill after about the age of three. rhesus macaque monkeys. Dogs don’t pass the
test. But think about differences in sensory
PHOTOS: GETTY, ALAMY ILLUSTRATIONS: DAN BRIGHT
What is the mirror test? equipment and what’s important for animals –
This involves looking at yourself in the mirror and whether they live with others, their social
recognising that something has changed. The organisation, whether they groom themselves. All
story goes that [psychologist] Gordon Gallup seem relevant to whether one might pass. With
was shaving, and wondered if his captive dogs, you have not a visual but an olfactory
chimpanzees would look in a mirror and see [scent-driven] creature.
themselves the way he did. So he put a mirror in
their enclosure. They attacked because there So how did you test dogs?
was a chimp running at them, but they soon I looked at a natural dog behaviour: they urinate,
learned and started to examine themselves. He leaving information in their pee. They also sniff
surreptitiously marked chimpanzees on the other dogs’ urine markings, so something is
forehead with an odourless red dye and communicated, presumably about identity.
recorded their behaviour the next time they saw They’re interested in who else is around. So I
their reflection. His chimps touched the mark on designed an ‘olfactory mirror’. I collected urine
22 Vol. 10 Issue 2
YOGIS
Practising yoga for just 25 minutes a day can boost brain
function and the ability to control negative actions,
researchers at the University of Waterloo have found. The
effect is thought to be due to the release of endorphins and
increased blood flow in the brain.
THE CHEERFUL
Being in a good mood when you get a flu jab could boost
its protective effect, researchers at the University of
Nottingham have found.
GOOD MONTH
BAD MONTH
Vol. 10 Issue 2 23
Update THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE
W H AT W E
L E A RNED
T HIS MON T H
FISH HAVE
PERSONALITIES
University of Exeter researchers
studying Trinidadian guppies
found that particular guppies
were consistently more cautious,
curious or aggressive than
others across a range
of situations and environments.
ZOOLOGY
MOODS ARE
JELLYFISH SLEEP, DESPITE
CONTAGIOUS, HAVING NO BRAINS
DEPRESSION ISN’T
A US study has found that Science still can’t fully explain why we need times per minute by day. In an experiment
teenagers whose friends are in sleep, but many current theories involve where a shelf in the water was pulled out from
a good or bad mood are more clearing the brain of waste chemicals. A under them, jellyfish in this slower-pulsating
likely to feel the same way – rethink maybe required, however, because state took longer to reorient themshelves on
although this doesn’t apply if research at California Institute of Technology the ocean floor than jellyfish that were
their friends are (Caltech) shows that Cassiopea jellyfish, ‘awake’. Finally, if the jellyfish were ‘prodded’
severely depressed. which have no brain at all, exhibit similar sleep with jets of water during the night, they tended
behaviour to humans and other mammals. to fall into the quiescent state the next day
GIRAFFES’ LONG Cassiopea, the upside-down jellyfish, are when they would usually be awake.
NECKS MAY BE known for sitting on the ocean floor and This suggests that jellyfish, which are an
A COOLING pulsating. So how can you tell if they’re ancient group of animals, do indeed sleep,
MECHANISM snoozing? Scientists use three criteria to define suggesting sleep may be a behaviour acquired
Giraffes’ necks are an ‘sleep’ across the animal kingdom. Is the early on in our evolution and never abandoned.
evolutionary mystery, but a new creature less active? Is it less responsive to “Jellyfish are the most evolutionarily ancient
study suggests that distributing external stimuli? And if you deprive it of ‘sleep’, animals known to sleep,” said researcher Ravi
PHOTO: CALTECH
body mass in this way enables is it more prone to such a state afterwards? Nath. “This finding opens up may more
them to present a smaller The Caltech team monitored the jellyfish 24 questions. Is sleep the property of neurons?
surface area to bright sunlight, hours a day and found that they pulsate about And perhaps a more far-fetched question: do
and hence keep cool. 39 times per minute at night, compared to 58 plants sleep?”
24 Vol. 10 Issue 2
GENETICS
2,370
healthy pregnancy, the cells researchers to snip out individual and understand some causes
in the egg divide for around ‘letters’ of DNA code and of pregnancy failure. It will
seven days until they form a rearrange them, altering the take many years to achieve
ball of around 200 cells called gene’s function. such an understanding, our
a blastocyst, which then goes study is just the first step.”
The temperature, in degrees
centigrade, of an asteroid that
smashed into what is now
It’s hoped the embryo Canada 40 million years ago –
research could lead to new the hottest temperature of any
fertility treatments
object ever known to be on the
surface of the Earth.
30
MINUTES
The maximum time period
we should be inactive for.
Moving for at least a few
minutes every half hour
can help prolong your
life, researchers from the
University of Columbia say.
6,000
The percentage of all of
the world’s known plant
species that are currently
growing in botanical
gardens across the globe.
Vol. 10 Issue 2 25
COMMENT & ANALYSIS
W
e love it when a gift that off the near and far surfaces of the
we’ve carefully chosen cracks. The blue colours told me that
makes someone happy. some of these cracks were only a few
But when the recipient of the hundred nanometres thick, and as
present is a small child we have they widened, the colours merged into
to accept that the real source of yellow, then pink, and then green. The
joy is often the packaging rather colours let me see the width directly.
than its contents. Physicists have But ice cracks all the time. When
a similar streak, and can often be you put an ice cube into a drink, you
left in a corner happily playing with quite often hear the popping sound
something that isn’t meant to be as cracks form. In this case, it’s
the main attraction. This time, the because the outer ice expands slightly
culprit was one particular chunk of as it warms (before it melts) and the
ice, on a day that had been filled mismatch in size between
with the stuff. inside and outside forces the structure
The star of the show was a cave to break. So why do we never see
in the side of a glacier, and we had colours in an ice cube? I suspect
spent an afternoon working there, that it’s because the cracks in an ice
filming for a BBC documentary. But cube are too wide – they just open
right at the end of a long day, when up until the inside and outside of
everyone was tired and ready to go the ice cube are the same size. My
home, our guide said a child had guess is that the cracks in this glacial
once told him there were rainbows ice followed hidden layers of stress,
in the ice at one specific spot next possibly left over from the ice flowing
to the cave. He fished out an ice sideways under pressure. Instead of
axe, hacked into an unassuming pulling apart, the two surfaces were
glacial pimple, and out came a just shunted over each other, leaving
chunk of ice filled with rainbows. a truly tiny gap in between. The final
Except that wasn’t quite it – there sideways shimmy might even have
were sheets of blues, pinks and been caused by the impact of the
greens, glinting inside the clear ice. guide’s ice axe.
And once I had been given this toy As I held the ice, I could see the
to play with, I didn’t want to leave. colours fading as the warmth of
As the colours in the ice were the sunlight softened the ice and
the same as those seen on the cracks vanished. The guide
soap bubbles, they were a dead commented that this was the most
giveaway of what was going on. Light hitting a thin soap excited he had seen me all day. I could have spent hours
film can reflect off both the near and far surfaces, and when there, looking at the prettiest fracture patterns I had ever
ILLUSTRATION: KYLE SMART
those two reflections overlap with each other, some colours seen. But everyone else was hungry and waiting for me, so
of the rainbow are enhanced and some suppressed. In any eventually I had to leave. Still, I carried my excitement home
one spot, we just see one colour, the one that comes from with me, because the unexpected colours in the ice had
the specific mix of the rainbow that’s on offer from that been the best toy of the day.
place. And only some combinations are possible, which is
why blue, pink and green dominate. But there was no soap
in the ice to cause the effect. Instead, there must have been Dr Helen Czerski is a physicist and BBC science presenter. Her book,
incredibly thin, sheet-like cracks, and light was reflecting The Storm In A Teacup, is out now
26 Vol. 10 Issue 2
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SCIENCE
UNLOCKING
THE
SECRETS
OF THE
BRAIN
From autism and schizophrenia to Alzheimer’s, lab-grown
mini-brains could be the key to solving the biggest mysteries
about human development and disease
WORDS BY SIMON CROMPTON
28 Vol. 10 Issue 2
ILLUSTRATION: MAGIC TORCH
Vol. 10 Issue 2
29
SCIENCE
fascinating. Each was made from bulging layers of cells Lancaster’s mini-brains are enabling her to prise open
connected by cavities, just like the fluid-filled ventricles the ‘black box’ of human brain development. Because
that connect the hemispheres
of the cerebral cortex in a real
brain. Even the layers of cells
mimicked the arrangement in
“Despite their ‘mini-brain’
normal brain tissue, with stem nickname, these organoids are a
cells lining the ventricles and
layers upon layers of more long way from being full-size
specialised cells and neurons
built up towards the outside. human organs”
30 Vol. 10 Issue 2
One of Madeline
Lancaster’s cerebral
organoids, seen here in
cross-section
Vol. 10 Issue 2 31
SCIENCE
The brain-like appearance of these organoids raises Pasca and his team have managed to grow mini-brains
ethical as well as scientific questions. Can they think, and for more than two years – a staggering 800 days is their
are they conscious? According to Lancaster, the answer current record – and shown that they can generate most
is almost certainly no. “I think of them as being a bit like of the same cell types and structures found in real
brain tumours,” she says. “Tumours contain many more human brains. They’re using the technique to
neurons than our mini-brains in a dish, but no one is investigate the roots of severe autism and epilepsy
concerned that their brain tumour is thinking or has syndromes, by generating organoids with IPS cells
consciousness, and nobody is sad that it has been taken derived from skin samples of affected children and
out and thrown away. That’s what we have here. It’s not then carefully comparing them with cultures grown
an organised network, and it cannot make a functional from healthy cells.
thinking circuit – it’s a ball of brain tissue, and just “We can use electrodes to measure how the cells
because you have neurons doesn’t mean it can think.” are talking to each other, and microscopy to see
Today, she and her team are growing mini-brains from how the cells move and make connections with
human embryonic stem cell lines – the multi-purpose cells each other,” he explains. “Many of the genes
originally found in very early human embryos, but now associated with these disorders are involved in
cultivated in the lab. She’s also using so-called induced the connections between nerve cells, so we can
pluripotent stem (IPS) cells: adult cells that have been see how the gene changes in these patients are
pushed back to an embryonic state with a cocktail of impairing the communication within the brain in
molecules first discovered by Nobel Prize-winning a non-invasive way.”
Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka. Depending on the He’s now taking these ideas even further,
exact conditions used, Lancaster can nudge her sticking together organoids that mimic different
organoids to develop all kinds of cells, from the fluffy regions of the brain and studying their
choroid plexus (which would connect with blood vessels interactions – a technique he describes as ‘brain
in a real brain) to pigmented light-sensing cells that are Lego’. The team is using these hybrids to spy on
usually found in the retina at the back of the eye. the brain as it wires itself up, focusing on what
“There’s just so many cell types to look for,” she says, happens to so-called inhibitory neurons that
“But depending on the method we use, every time we normally help to calm down brain activity but are
look for something that we know should be there, we faulty in people with epilepsy and autism.
find it.” “Inhibitory neurons are not born in the cortex
on the surface of the brain: they are born in a very
WIRING UP deep region of the forebrain and have to migrate
Mini-brains don’t just allow researchers to study normal millimetres over many months after birth,” Pasca
developmental processes. Sergiu Pasca, Assistant says. “It’s really fascinating to watch in our cultures
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at – they kind of pull themselves up and jump along.”
Stanford University in California, is using them to But when Pasca and his colleagues looked at
understand what goes wrong in autism, schizophrenia, organoids grown using cells from patients with a
epilepsy and other neuropsychiatric disorders. form of autism that is associated with epilepsy, they
“Most of the psychiatric drugs we have today have saw a very different picture. The inhibitory cells were
been discovered by chance – we know very little about moving in a very peculiar way, jumping more often but
the origins of these disorders and the question is why?,” less efficiently and eventually getting left behind.
he asks. “Unlike cancer biologists, who can take out a Impressively, the researchers were then able to identify
tumour, put it in a dish and find ways to treat it, we a drug that could rescue these lagging cells, correcting
cannot do that with the brains of our patients with the wiring defect and pointing towards a potential future
mental disorders!” treatment for children suffering from the same condition.
holding ‘mini-brains’
current record”
32 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Vol. 10 Issue 2 33
SCIENCE
Selina Wray
at work in her
laboratory
at University
College London
ALL THE
ORGANOIDS
It’s not just brains: researchers are GUT LUNG
creating three-dimensional organoids Scientists have made Although they’re a long way
from many different types of tissue, organoid versions of many parts from a ‘lung in the lab’, lung
not only to study healthy devel- of the gastro-intestinal tract, from organoids grown using reprogrammed
opment but also to discover what taste buds to the intestines and stem cells from patients with diseases
happens when things go wrong and stomach. Intestinal organoids can be such as chronic asthma and cystic
to develop future therapies. Here are manipulated to produce insulin, fibrosis could be useful models for
some of the types they’ve managed suggesting possible future finding new treatments.
to grow so far… treatments for diabetes.
34 Vol. 10 Issue 2
turning them into IPS cells and then growing
organoids. Wray can spot differences
compared with organoids from unaffected
people after just a few months, finding increased
levels of the forms of certain molecules that are
associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
However, there’s a problem with this approach:
mini-brains mimic the very earliest stages of life,
while dementia is a problem that takes decades to
develop. To solve this, researchers are working on
CHARLIE ARBER & CHRIS LOVEJOY/UCL
medicine – that you could take somebody’s cells the potential of mini-brains to change lives.
and grow organoids in the lab, screen a panel of “Our organoids are grown from cells taken
drugs against them and say, ‘Okay, we think this from real patients,” he says. “These kids have
person will respond to drugs ABC, but this person severe neurodevelopmental disorders that
will respond better to drugs XYZ,’” she says. “That’s really impair their lives, and to think that a few
happening in cancer biology, this idea of being able months later you can derive brain tissue from
to stratify patients on a molecular basis, and while I those patients in a dish and start asking
think we are a long way off, I love the idea of questions about how the disease may arise –
growing someone’s neurons so we can work out that’s what makes this exciting.”
what therapies we should be giving them.”
Vol. 10 Issue 2 35
NATURE
HARPY
H E AV E N
36 Vol. 10 Issue 2
It may recall the mythical
JOÃO MARCOS ROSA
Vol. 10 Issue 2 37
NATURE
arlos turns and grins. “I think we’re finally going ABOVE: Visiting rangers and guides and then further afield, and lodges
38 Vol. 10 Issue 2
CANOPY
TOWER:
FROM RUIN
TO ECOLODGE
Slim and dapper in his jaunty red hat,
Raul Arias de Para may be 70 but still
has a child’s delight in wildlife. In 1999,
this ex-banker and politician-turned-
conservationist, whose grandfather was
a founder of the Republic of Panama, had
a brilliant idea. He decided to convert an
abandoned US military radar facility near the
Panama Canal into a bird- and mammal-
watching lodge, which he named Canopy
Tower. Its now-famous upper deck has a
360° vista across the surrounding rainforest,
providing stunning eye-level views of
otherwise hard-to-see canopy birds, from
toucans to tanagers, while monkeys and
sloths entrance viewers from the floor below.
Find out more at www.canopytower.com
Vol. 10 Issue 2 39
NATURE
Though not quite the largest bird of prey – that title belongs to the
condors – the harpy eagle is arguably the most powerful. It measures
around 0.9–1m from meat-cleaver beak to tail. The wings, which
span up to 2m, are relatively short for the eagle’s size, but combine
with a long tail to give this mighty bird – like a giant sparrowhawk
– great manoeuvrability in flight. The tail acts like a rudder as it
steers through the dense forest. As with sparrowhawks, females are
considerably larger than their mates – at a maximum of 9kg, they
weigh up to twice as much.
Harpies hunt mainly by making short flights from one tree to
another, pausing at each look-out to locate unwary sloths and
monkeys, their chief prey. The dark interior of the forest renders
hearing more important than vision. These eagles have a large
circular facial disc like that of owls and harriers, which directs
sound into the ears and enhances hearing in a similar way to
cupping your ears with your hands.
Such hefty prey requires some heavy lifting. Harpies’ immensely
thick legs and feet are powerful enough to rip sloths and monkeys
from branches. The talons are the largest of any raptor, the sabre-
like hind claw being up to 7cm long. A big female harpy can fly
off clutching a male howler monkey or adult brown-throated sloth
weighing almost as much as she does. Even so, many hunting
attempts will end in failure.
Harpies also prey on other arboreal mammals, suchas kinkajous,
opossums and olingos, as well as iguanas and large birds such as
A fully grown youngster,
macaws. Very occasionally they may take the odd ground-dwelling by now sporting the
animal, such as a young peccary, armadillo or snake. species’ famous crest. It
will be four years before
it acquires its first adult
RICHNESS OF ANIMAL LIFE plumage
Seeing this stunning predator may have been the high spot of my
trip – literally, as the nest was over 30m above the forest floor – but
there was so much else to marvel at. Panama is phenomenally rich in
wildlife for a compact country slightly smaller than Scotland. It hosts
1,000 species of bird (about 100 more than have been recorded in
the whole of Europe) and over 10,000 plant species, including some
1,200 orchids and 1,500 trees. New species are being discovered
every year.
The harpy eagle seems an appropriate symbol of all this diversity
– its domain, the rainforest canopy, is the richest part of the richest
land habitat on Earth. Researchers estimate that 60–90 per cent
of rainforest life is found mainly or exclusively in this sunlit layer,
which typically soars 30–45m above ground level. In the Darién, the
rainforest canopy is the home of the aforementioned monkeys, sloths
and kinkajous, not to mention toucans, parrots, trogons, tanagers
and a myriad other colourful birds, as well as many species of frog,
lizard, bat and countless invertebrates, especially ants.
By contrast, shade cast by the dense umbrella of the canopy
makes the forest interior a dark environment, with as little as five per
cent of sunlight filtering down to the lower layers – the understorey
and shrub layer. The forest floor receives even less light: typically just
two per cent. This is why so little vegetation grows there. Shallow
soils mean that trees are often toppled by storms. A big tree crashing
down creates an open area that allows light to break in, bringing
new opportunities for trees, shrubs and vines to create a jungle of
vegetation in a short time.
One particular rainforest feature with which the harpy eagle
is closely associated is the presence of extra-tall trees reaching
40–60m that tower above the canopy. Known as emergent trees,
these form what is sometimes called the ‘overstorey’. A common
example in the Darién is the cuipo, which has a massive pale grey
40 Vol. 10 Issue 2
During migration
periods flocks of
raptors funnelpast the
capital, Panama City
THE HARPY EAGLE SEEMS AN A rare photo of an The immature eagle goes through a sequence of
APPROPRIATE SYMBOL OF adult harpy eagle
carrying opportunistic
armadillo prey. Sloths
plumages and will remain within 100m or so of the
nest for at least 15 months – and in the same general
DIVERSITY. ITS DOMAIN IS THE and monkeys are
usually on the menu area for up to 30 months. Observations of captive
birds indicate that females may not breed until they
RICHEST PART OF THE RICHEST are five years old, and males at some stage before
they are nine. Should an eagle evade disease and
LAND HABITAT ON EARTH injury, and persecution by humans, it stands a chance
of surviving 25 or even 35 years.
Indigenous Emberá communities in the Darién are
trunk that bulges at the base. This is one of the trees using their valuable knowledge of the forest to help
most favoured by eagles for their nest. locate harpy nests, giving a boost to lodges like the
Pairs of harpy eagles mate for life and share the three in the Canopy ‘family’, and to tourism in
task of building the impressive stick structure, often Panama in general. The Emberá in turn make
wedged in a large fork, adding green leaves and seed money from taking visitors in dugout canoes
pods to the shallow cup. Although no courtship rituals and selling handicrafts. By these means they
are known, the male and female have been observed can afford to reject any financial incentives
to call softly to one another and rub their powerful bills offered by loggers, and thus maintain their
together while nest-building, presumably helping to respect for the forest and its wildlife.
reinforce the pair bond. Watching the eagle nest with Carlos and
Female harpies lay two eggs, but are not David, I can’t help wondering what fate has in
known to rear more than one chick, failing to store for its spectacular young inhabitant. Species
incubate the second egg (should like harpy eagles, that reproduce so slowly, can be
both eggs hatch, the younger extremely vulnerable to changes in their environment.
chick will likely fail to compete But I take heart from the fact that ecotourism is giving
with its sibling).The incubation the forest in this corner of Panama a much more
period is about eight weeks. The secure future.
youngster, which has white down,
generally fledges at between six and seven
months of age, but even after that length of
time may still beg for food from its parents. It Jonathan Elphick, an ornithologist and natural-history author, has
will be protected by them for a further three visited Panama several times. His books include The World of
or four months. Birds, published by the Natural History Museum
Vol. 10 Issue 2 41
HISTORY
A CARPET OF FLOWERS
Mourners left more than a
million bouquets outside
Kensington Palace in the wake
of Princess Diana’s death
in a car crash on 31 August
1997. The scale of public grief
“escalated to a point when
few people could remember
a precedent”, says
Dominic Sandbrook
42 Vol. 10 Issue 2
WHEN GRIEF
GRIPPED
A NATION
What does the extraordinary outpouring of
emotion that followed Princess Diana’s death
tell us about the state of Britain 20 years ago?
Dominic Sandbrook investigates
BRIDGEMAN
Vol. 10 Issue 2 43
HISTORY
T you can feel a nation changing he told the cameras that morning, “the
course, and the summer of 1997 felt
like one of them. On the first day of May, the
people’s princess.”
Later, Blair himself admitted that it just emerging from
British electorate had unceremoniously
slammed the door on 18 years of
sounded like “something from another age.
And corny. And over the top.” But it caught a period in which
Conservative government, handing Tony
Blair’s Labour party the biggest landslide in
the public imagination for a reason. For in
the next few days, the popular reaction to crying in public was
postwar history. When, in the small hours of
the morning, Blair addressed Labour’s
Diana’s death escalated to a point when few
people could remember a precedent. regarded as a sign
election-night party at the Royal Festival
Hall, he began with the words: “A new dawn
Outside her London home, Kensington
Palace, well-wishers left more than a million
of weakness
has broken, has it not?” bouquets. At the family home, Althorp, so
At lunchtime the following day, as his car many people tried to bring flowers that the the locals gathered around to watch the
pulled into Downing Street for the first time, police begged them to stay away because pictures. The spectacle of the villagers
London was bathed in brilliant sunshine. the traffic chaos was endangering public solemnly listening to Charles Spencer’s
Britain, Blair had once said, must be a safety. When Diana’s funeral was held at eulogy, delivered in a language almost none
“young country” again. And as the new Westminster Abbey on 6 September, an of them understood, was one of the most
prime minister shook hands with the lines of estimated three million people poured into extraordinary things I have ever seen.
Labour activists waving their Union Jacks, the streets of London, while a further 2.5 Twenty years on, Diana’s death remains
there was a palpable sense that something billion people watched the worldwide an obvious landmark in our recent history.
had changed. television coverage. Yet the passions that surrounded it – the fury
Three months later, on Sunday 31 August, at the popular press, which was thought to
Blair was in his constituency home in the A GLOBAL SPECTACLE have hounded her to her grave; the outcry at
north-east of England when he heard the I was in the Balkans that summer, the royal family, who were criticised for their
terrible news that Diana, Princess of Wales backpacking after graduating from reluctance to mourn more publicly; even the
had been killed in a car crash in Paris. Almost university. Diana’s death made the front enthusiasm for Tony Blair, who saw his
immediately his thoughts turned to what he page of every Bulgarian newspaper for days. public satisfaction rating rise to a record high
REUTERS/GETTY
would say, scribbling some thoughts on the On the day of her funeral, my friends and I – have now faded to the point when many
back of an envelope. Among them was a were in a little Black Sea fishing village. At feel almost embarrassed to recall them.
phrase suggested by his press chief, Alastair the appointed hour, a man came out into the In the aftermath of the wedding of Prince
Campbell, that came to capture the public’s square carrying a battered old television, and William, the diamond jubilee and the birth of
LEFT: Princess Diana during a visit to an Angolan minefield, 15 January FROM L TO R: Charles Spencer and Princes William, Harry
RIGHT: A visibly shaken Tony Blair reacts to the news of Diana’s death, 31 August and Charles at Diana’s funeral
44 Vol. 10 Issue 2
a new heir, the monarchy has never been there is actually a good precedent for the that demand for colourful ribbons and other
more popular. Despite having left office 10 events of 1997: the death of Princess bright clothes collapsed so completely that
years ago, Tony Blair is arguably one of the Charlotte of Wales in 1817. manufacturers begged the government to
least popular public figures in the country. As the eldest child of the future George IV, reduce the mourning period, which they
And even Diana herself has disappeared Charlotte would have become queen if she resolutely refused to do. As the Whig
from our national conversation to an extent had lived. Like Princess Diana, she was the politician Henry Brougham remarked:
that would have seemed unimaginable in child of an unhappy marriage with a “It really was as though every household
those heady days after her death. By 2016 complicated love life of her own. Her father throughout Great Britain had lost a
there were even reports that her grave at tried to arrange a match with the Prince of favourite child.”
Althorp was overgrown and neglected, a Orange, but despite signing a marriage One lesson of Charlotte’s death is that
metaphor for the way the most contract, she eventually broke off the there is nothing the British people enjoy so
photographed woman in the world has faded engagement. At one point, when her father much as a chance to indulge their taste for
from our national story. tried to confine her to her house, she fled, public sentimentalism. But there was an
What does it all mean? And what will managing to escape by the simple process obvious difference between 1817 and 1997.
future historians make of the moment when, of running into the street and hailing a cab. In the age of the Regency, nobody talked of
as the legend has it, a nation wept as never Not surprisingly, all this made her a national the stiff upper lip. In the late 1990s, thanks
before, and when the monarchy itself celebrity: whenever she took a coach to the not least to Paul Gascoigne (pictured below
seemed in peril? seaside, she was invariably mobbed left), who had wept so spectacularly at the
by huge crowds. end of the 1990 World Cup, Britain was only
PUBLIC FRENZY Alas, after a successful marriage to just emerging from a long period in which
The first obvious point is that Diana’s death the future Leopold I of Belgium, public tears were generally regarded as
was not unprecedented. Royal occasions Charlotte died at the age of 21 while weak and unmanly.
have always provoked public fervour and delivering a stillborn son. In the In this context, the outpouring of national
commanded vast crowds, while one of the aftermath, the country was sentiment at Diana’s death had a clear
few certainties of history is that the death of plunged into mourning. political connotation. The outgoing
an attractive young woman, especially one Even the poorest people in Conservative administration had not
with small children, will always produce the land were reported to be only been dominated almost entirely
more public tears than the demise of an wearing makeshift black by men, it had been led by a prime
older one, or a man. The frenzy following armbands, while the capital’s minister immensely unlikely to burst into
Diana’s death was indeed different from the shops, the docks, the law courts tears in public, the determinedly
GETTY
more solemn reactions to the deaths of and the Royal Exchange closed understated and ostentatiously
George VI in 1952 or Victoria in 1901. But for two weeks. The story goes unemotional John Major.
Elton John sings ‘Candle in the Wind’ in Westminster Abbey Spectators weep at the funeral procession, Whitehall, 6 September. Two out of three Britons professed to being upset,
or very upset, by Diana’s death
Vol. 10 Issue 2 45
HISTORY
Princess Charlotte
of Wales, died 1817
Like Diana, Charlotte captured the public imagination
like no other member of the royal family. When the
daughter of the future George IV died in childbirth at the
age of 21, The Times thought it a national “calamity” –
although the radical poet Shelley claimed that the
execution of three men in Derby, who had been
convicted of plotting against the government, was a
much greater calamity.
When her funeral was held in
Windsor, thousands turned out to
watch, and “the road and streets
through which it passed were
Victoria’s funeral procession snakes
lined with spectators”. through London, February 1901
Afterwards, Charlotte’s doctor,
who blamed himself for her
demise, committed suicide. Queen Victoria, died 1901
Princess Charlotte’s Since Victoria was 81 when she died, her death hardly came as a shock. But,
death in childbirth
was deemed a
as she had been on the throne since 1837, millions of people had never
national “calamity” known another monarch, and her funeral was a genuinely international event,
with one of the largest gatherings of European royals in history.
Victoria had left detailed instructions, asking for her coffin to be draped in
white, and requesting a military procession, with the coffin on a gun
carriage. Again the funeral was held in Windsor, with thousands lining the
streets. But every city in the British empire observed a period of mourning,
from Canada to India.
46 Vol. 10 Issue 2
With its invocations
of the people
against a remote
elite, 1997 can look
like a harbinger of
things to come
But if Major was a man who always seemed
uncomfortable talking about his feelings in
front of the cameras, Blair was different. And
his visibly emotional reaction – the tremor in
his voice, the sentimentalism of his words –
struck a chord with a nation rediscovering the
intoxication of collective tears.
There was another element to the death
and funeral of Princess Diana: the
extraordinary prominence of a man who,
only a few years earlier, would have been an The gun carriage carrying Diana’s coffin approaches Westminster Abbey. An estimated 2.5 billion people watched her funeral
on television
utterly implausible guest at such a solemn
royal occasion. This was Elton John, whose
rendition of ‘Candle in the Wind’, which he at the funeral?” complained Raul Jaylan of September 1997 looks like a harbinger of
memorably performed at Westminster London N11. “I’m sorry, but this man made things to come. After all, squabbles about
Abbey, soon became the most popular Freddie Mercury’s tribute concert look cheap. flags and invocations of the ‘people’ against
single of all time. Hopefully he will at least take that stupid rug a remote elite are only too common today.
Released on Saturday 13 September off his head.” But as the record sales suggest, Yet perhaps Diana’s death also serves
1997, ‘Candle in the Wind’, rocketed to most people were rather more charitable. as a lesson that, whatever grand pattern we
number 1 within minutes of the shops Indeed, at one level the success of ‘Candle in impose on the past, it can never be anything
opening. By lunchtime that day, most stores the Wind’, like the spectacle of Diana’s funeral other than a partial and misleading sketch.
had already sold out; the next day, Mercury itself, was a powerful reminder that no Yes, millions turned out for her funeral. But a
Records sent a thousand employees to the successful monarchy can ignore the appeal of poll afterwards found that, while two out of
printing presses to prepare another million popular culture. three people said they had been upset or
copies for Monday. By this point the record Fifteen years later, after the concert that very upset by her death, the rest had been
had already sold more than 600,000 copies, marked the 2012 diamond jubilee, the relatively unmoved. Three out of ten had
going platinum in just 24 hours. By the end conser-vative columnist Peter Hitchens either laid flowers or wanted to; yet seven
of the year, sales had reached almost 5 lamented that the Queen had “pledged out of ten had no intention of doing so.
million, which meant that one in five allegiance to the vile new culture of talentless During the funeral, as the historian
households owned a copy. celebrity”. Yet monarchies have always Thomas Dixon remarks, the television
harnessed the energies of their most cameras unwaveringly zoomed in on faces
ROCK ROYALTY successful, fashionable and popular cultural streaked with tears or contorted with
In a wider context, the remarkable thing was figures, from Hans Holbein’s portraits of emotion. What they did not capture, though,
not the song’s astounding popularity so Henry VIII and Handel’s coronation anthems were the faces that remained unmoved, or
much as the fact that Elton John had for George II to the Queen’s cameo the millions of people who were simply doing
performed it at all. He was hardly an obvious alongside James Bond at the 2012 something else.
candidate to sing at such a solemn royal Olympics. In that sense, there was nothing No doubt there were many people like that
occasion. The former NME journalist Barbara inappropriate about Elton John’s presence in 1817, too: those who simply got on with
Ellen thought “a pop song at a royal funeral at Diana’s funeral. their lives, even as their neighbours pulled on
seemed about as appropriate as receiving The greatest temptation is to see the the black crepe. Historians rarely mention
holy communion in a nightclub toilet”. reaction to Diana’s death as a reminder, in them, of course. But they were there, all
Meanwhile the Spectator’s Simon Hoggart an increasingly individualistic age, of the the same.
wrote that “there was something deeply appeal and power of collective national
moving about the sight of a plump, red- sentiment. Twenty years on, when our
nosed gay in a ginger wig performing at a politics is much more visibly informed by
royal occasion of any kind”. questions of patriotism, national identity and Dominic Sandbrook is a historian and television
One reader of the Guardian was less deeply collective belonging – Scottish or British? presenter. His books include Seasons in the Sun:
moved. “Who suggested that Elton John sing British or European? – the first week of The Battle for Britain, 1974–1979 (Penguin, 2013)
Vol. 10 Issue 2 47
SCIENCE
48 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Fancy some porcupine, baobab and honey (with bee larvae) for
dinner? Don’t grimace: this hunter-gatherer menu might hold
the secret to a healthier you. Prof Tim Spector reports on how
he gave his microbes a treat by living with the Hadza people
REWILD
YOUR DIET
C
limbing to the top of a huge rock
after a gruelling nine-hour drive in
a 4x4 over bumpy tracks, we knew
we had arrived. It had been an epic journey
just to start this unorthodox camping trip.
Here in Tanzania, a stone’s throw from the
famous Olduvai Gorge site of the earliest
human remains, with the stunning plains of
the Serengeti in the distance, we marvelled
at the amazing sunset over Lake Eyasi.
Scan this QR Code for I had not come here just to look at the
the audio reader scenery, though, breathtaking as it was.
Strangely, I had signed up for a scientific
experiment with my gut microbiome. This
vast community of trillions of bacteria and
fungi inhabit every nook and cranny of your
gastrointestinal tract, and have a major
influence on your metabolism, body weight,
propensity to illness, immune system,
appetite and mood. These microbes mostly
live in your lower intestine (the colon) and
outnumber all the other cells in your body
put together. Conceptually, we should
view them as a newly discovered organ,
weighing slightly more than our brains
and nearly as vital. There are some organs
we can live without, including our spleen,
gall bladder, tonsils and appendix, but
we wouldn’t survive long without our gut
microbes. Intriguingly, no two microbiomes
are the same – we are all unique. And
more than ever, we’re finding out just how
important these microbes are.
According to research, the richer and
more diverse the community of microbes is
in your gut, the lower your risk of disease
and allergies. This has been shown in
animal tests and also in human studies
comparing the microbes of people with
and without particular diseases. Examples
from recent work at King’s College London
include studies of diabetes, obesity, allergy
and inflammatory diseases like colitis and
PHOTO: GETTY
Vol. 10 Issue 2 49
SCIENCE
Artificially coloured microscopic than the average Brit. Jeff and his team
image of the human intestine,
showing its array of beneficial
had previously worked out that the average
microbes (yep, all those little Hadza person eats around 600 species of
shapes are microbes) plants and animals in a year and has huge
seasonal variation. They have virtually none
of the common Western diseases such as
obesity, allergies, heart disease and cancer.
In contrast, most Westerners have fewer
than 50 species in their diet and are facing
an epidemic of illness and obesity. From
looking at our UK data, we can see a clear
link between the amount and varieties of
plants we eat and gut diversity.
50 Vol. 10 Issue 2
cultivated berries, which are bred for looks
and sweetness. This was powerful fuel for
my microbiome.
After hanging out with the women and
children doing some foraging, I had a
late lunch of a few high-fibre tubers dug
up with a sharp stick and tossed on the
fire. These took a little effort to eat – mine
was a bit too ‘al dente’ like tough, earthy
celery. Babies were being breastfed and
passed around for everyone to cuddle
and play with. I never saw or heard any
crying and they all looked healthy. They
are weaned on baobab from six months
and have 20 times the fibre intakes of
Western kids. Some had large pot bellies
– but rather than suggesting malnutrition,
it showed their high fibre intakes and the
resulting gas from the fermentation. I
quickly learnt they were in no discomfort
and were also amused by their noisy farts.
After my baobab juice I soon joined in!
A few hours later we were asked to join
a hunting party to track down porcupine,
which is a rare delicacy. Even Jeff hadn’t
tasted this creature in his four years of
field work.
Two nocturnal porcupines had been
tracked to their tunnel system in a termite
mound. After several hours of digging and
tunnelling by the slimmest of the Hadza,
who occasionally shouted to his mates
on the surface to dig more holes, the
animals were spotted. Two porcupines
were eventually cornered, speared and
thrown to the surface. A fire was lit. The
spines, skin and valuable organs were
expertly dissected and the heart, lung and
liver cooked and eaten straight away. The
rest of the fatty carcass was taken back to
camp for communal eating. It tasted much
like suckling pig. We had a similar menu
the next two days, with the main dishes
including hyrax – a strange, furry, guinea
pig-like animal and some birds I didn’t
recognise caught by the older children.
I expected more berries for dessert –
but we were in for a treat. With the help
of some birds called honeyguides, a bee
nest that was ripe for harvesting had been
spotted 10m up a baobab tree. One of
the Hadza used small wooden stakes to
nimbly climb the tree and then confused
PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, JEFF LEACH
Vol. 10 Issue 2 51
SCIENCE
1 9
12
8
2
6 10
11
5 13 14
1. INCREASE YOUR FIBRE INTAKE. Aim for 6. EAT PLENTY OF FERMENTED FOODS 10. STROKE ANIMALS. Studies have shown
more than 40g per day, which is about double CONTAINING LIVE MICROBES. Good that people living with dogs have more
the current averages. Fibre intake has been choices are unsweetened yoghurt; kefir, microbial diversity.
shown to reduce heart disease and some which is a sour milk drink with five times
cancers, as well as reduce weight gain. as many microbes as yoghurt; raw milk 11. AVOID ANTIBIOTICS AND
cheeses; sauerkraut; kimchi, a Korean dish NONESSENTIAL MEDICINES. Antibiotics
2. EAT AS MANY TYPES OF FRUIT AND made from garlic, cabbage and chilli; and destroy good and bad microbes, and it
VEG AS POSSIBLE, AND TRY TO EAT soybean-based products such as soy can take weeks to recover, so don’t take
SEASONALLY. The variety may be as sauce, tempeh and natto. them unless you need them. Their use is
important as the quantities, as the chemicals also associated with obesity and allergies
and types of fibre will vary, and each support 7. DRINK A BIT OF ALCOHOL. In small in animals. Even common medications like
different microbial species. quantities, alcohol has been shown to paracetamol and antacids can interfere
increase your gut diversity, but large with microbes.
3. PICK HIGH-FIBRE VEGETABLES. Good amounts are harmful to your microbes
examples are artichokes, leeks, onions and and your health. 12. DON’T BE HYGIENE OBSESSED.
garlic, which all contain high levels of inulin Fastidious washing and overuse of antibacterial
(a prebiotic fibre). Some vegetables like 8. STEER CLEAR OF ARTIFICIAL sprays may not be good for your gut.
lettuce have little fibre or nutrient value. SWEETENERS LIKE ASPARTAME,
SUCRALOSE AND SACCHARINE. These 13. SPEND TIME CLOSE TO A LEAN
4. CHOOSE FOOD AND DRINKS WITH HIGH disrupt the metabolism of microbes and PERSON. Studies in mice have shown that
LEVELS OF POLYPHENOLS. Polyphenols reduce gut diversity – in animal studies this leanness may be contagious. Microbes from
are antioxidants that act as fuel for microbes. has led to obesity and diabetes. Ditch the a lean animal can reverse obesity in a fat one,
Examples are nuts, seeds, berries, olive oil, processed foods too, as these also upset but strangely, obesity microbes are harder to
brassicas, coffee and tea – especially microbes’ metabolism. transmit than lean ones.
green tea.
9. SPEND MORE TIME IN THE 14. AVOID FOOD AND VITAMIN
5. AVOID SNACKING. Also, try to increase COUNTRYSIDE. People living in rural areas SUPPLEMENTS.
intervals between meals to give your microbes have better microbes than city-dwellers. Only a tiny proportion of supplements have
a rest. Occasionally skip meals or have an While you’re at it, dust off your trowel: been shown to be beneficial. Instead, focus
extended fast – this seems to reduce gardening and other outdoor activities are on eating a diverse range of real food to get all
weight gain. good for your microbiome. your nutrients.
52 Vol. 10 Issue 2
“My gut microbial
diversity and number
of species increased
by 20 per cent”
was food – above, on and below ground – on me, I had a moment of feeling totally
with plenty of time for chatting, practising alone and useless with no clue which way Prof Tim Spector is professor of genetic
archery and socialising around the fire. I to go. After some aimless wandering and epidemiology at King’s College London, and author of
did briefly get a tiny glimpse of the other shouting I returned to the old fire. This The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat.
more dangerous side of their lives. While should have been reassuring, were it not He tweets from @timspector
Vol. 10 Issue 2 53
NATURE
WILDLIFE
ON THE
BORDERLINE The barriers along the US–Mexico frontier
carve up habitats and age-old migration routes,
impacting on a host of species
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY KRISTA SCHLYER
54 Vol. 10 Issue 2
After travelling the
US–Mexico border wall
for 90m, looking for a
place to cross, these
collared peccaries turned
away. This stretch of wall
in Arizona bisects the San
Pedro River corridor
Vol. 10 Issue 2 55
NATURE
USA
CALIFORNIA
San Diego
ARIZONA NEW MEXICO
Tijuana
THE Douglas
Ciudad
El Paso
Existing border fence
56 Vol. 10 Issue 2
ONE OF THE MOST BIODIVERSE
ECOSYSTEMS IN NORTH AMERICA
IS RAPIDLY BECOMING ONE OF THE
WORLD’S MOST DIVIDED PLACES
Such monuments were erected all along the border, from the CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
LEFT: The best hope for
Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. But today this particular the continued survival
one carries a weighty importance – it is situated on one of the of bighorn sheep is
open travel corridors;
few migration pathways remaining to a suite of transnational The border wall has
grassland species. fragmented bobcat
habitat; Kangaroo
The US–Mexico border, a line drawn in the sand by two rat populations are
nations, is fundamentally defined by a natural boundary at the being split by walls
built through the
overlap of the temperate and tropical zones. Here the north California dunes; Elf
and south meet and mingle, sharing an assortment of trees, owls are facing habitat
destruction in the
cacti, wildflowers and grasses that don’t coexist anywhere borderlands; Migration
else. Natural borders like this are unusual places, prone to corridors are being
severed by border
biological extravagance. barriers
Prior to the Gadsden Purchase, this land was claimed by
Mexico, and before that Spain. In the millennia that preceded
Spain’s conquest of North America, it was the domain of native
people; and before that, it belonged to the jaguar.
Strength, adaptability and stealth earned the jaguar its
position as an apex predator in the Sonoran Desert. “Jaguars
evolved here in North America before they moved south
into the tropics. So in a very fundamental sense they belong
here,” says Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate for the
Center for Biological Diversity. And somewhere out within
this grassland sea, or padding through shadows in the river
corridor, the jaguar still roams. Only now the big cat is fighting
for its existence in an arid world at the boundary of two nations.
Vol. 10 Issue 2 57
NATURE
In the early 20th century, jaguars started to disappear, CLOCKWISE FROM for restoration. Central to jaguar conservation are two basic
ABOVE: The border
largely due to hunting and habitat loss. In 1963, the last wall now bisects the needs: space and pathways for travel.
known female jaguar in the United States was killed near grasslands of the “Like most apex predators, jaguars need large areas
Coronado National
the Grand Canyon, and for decades the largest cat in the Memorial and San of wilderness,” Serraglio explains. “And they travel long
western hemisphere was feared to have been driven to Pedro River corridor; distances to find what they need. Connectivity is critically
A gila monster
extinction in the US. But then, in the 1990s, a ray of hope on a conservation important for jaguars.” This puts the future of this cat at
appeared in the form of a photograph captured in south- property in Mexico; the mercy of the prevailing US policy of building walls and
A male jaguar in
east Arizona. Since then, there have been hundreds of southern Arizona; expanding militarisation of its southern border. “If jaguars
photos and sightings of male jaguars. “We don’t know Altamira oriole are ever going to recover in the United States, the breeding
in Lower Rio
where the nearest female is,” Serraglio admits. “We know Grande Valley population in northern Mexico must be able to expand
there is a breeding population around 200km south of the north,” Serraglio says. And jaguars are not alone.
border, but we don’t know if there are some closer, even in The US began intensifying border enforcement in 2005
the United States. Jaguars are so cryptic.” when Congress approved several measures aimed at
fast-tracking the construction of a wall. In addition to
IN SEARCH OF A MATE mandating 1,120km of wall, the federal measures removed
Researchers know that young male jaguars are coming to environmental and other bedrock protections for land,
the US to find new territory. They live here for a few years people and wildlife. Since that time, about one-third of the
until a biological urge kicks in, and then head back to border has been walled, largely over landscapes set aside
Mexico to find the nearest female. “They have to go back,” specifically for wildlife and wilderness.
Serraglio says. “They have to find a female.” Dismissal of environmental law along much of the
Jaguar researchers believe that when the northernmost border has jeopardised populations of numerous species,
female jaguars begin to branch out, if migration including the jaguar, ocelot, collared peccary, pronghorn
pathways are open to them, they will find their antelope and black bear. For many species, the wall poses
way to the United States. And when that female a direct threat by blocking access to scarce water and
pioneer arrives, Seraglio says, it will be a game- food resources. Barriers have also isolated individuals
changer. In the meantime, conservation organisations from mates on the opposite side of the border, which
have been working to raise awareness and create a plan worries biologists.
58 Vol. 10 Issue 2
A 2011 study found that black bears in the Sierra Madre
mountains are genetically linked with bears across the
border in south-east Arizona; any barrier that separates
bears in Mexico from those in the US will threaten this
isolated southern population. “Black bears are much
less abundant in Mexico,” says Juan Carlos Bravo, who
directs the Mexico Program for the Wildlands Network, an
organisation focused on restoring landscape connectivity.
“They depend on open corridors into the United States for
genetic diversity.”
Vol. 10 Issue 2 59
NATURE
The construction of a border wall has destroyed and ABOVE: A desert For conservationists, the rise of border walls constitutes a
cottontail at the
fragmented critical habitat all along the border. In Texas, border wall during tragedy of epic proportions for thousands of wild species.
where the Rio Grande delineates the frontier, more than its construction in And this threat to global biodiversity goes well beyond the
southern Arizona.
95 per cent of the native habitat has been lost to human The barrier restricts borders of North America, as more nations reinforce their
development. The remaining five per cent is located the passage of the borders worldwide.
species and other
almost entirely on wildlife refuges along the river corridor. land mammals Here in the Huachucas, looking out over the San Pedro
This scant remaining habitat provides a lifeline for River and the mountains rising above the Mexican grasslands,
endangered wild cats, imperilled reptiles and insects, and the intention of newly elected president Donald Trump to
globally important bird populations. expand the US–Mexico border wall casts an ominous pall.
For now, however, the border at the foot of the Huachucas
VITAL HABITAT is defined by a 2.5m-high barbed-wire fence. It poses little
More than 500 species of bird depend on the Lower Rio obstacle to the jaguar, which can jump over this barrier or
Grande Valley. Many make their homes along the river, sneak under if need be.
while others rely on its relatively lush surroundings to rest Recent evidence shows jaguars are doing just that. In late
and refuel after gruelling flights over the Gulf of Mexico 2016, a camera-trap captured the image of a new jaguar in
or the vast deserts to the west. Every remaining acre of Arizona – one whose sex could not be determined. The mere
native habitat here may make the difference between possibility it may be that long-awaited female caused jaguar
death and survival for migratory birds such as northern conservation hopes to soar. But to the east of the Huachucas,
cardinals, altamira orioles, green jays, kiskadees and an 11m-high wall has already been built right up into the
many more. foothills, a wall that stretches for dozens of miles across the
Bobcats also use the Rio Grande. But in 2009 San Pedro Valley.
researchers found that after the border wall fragmented I myself have witnessed numerous species trapped by this
wildlife refuges in southern Texas, bobcats were killing wall, including collared peccaries, animals with an important
bobcats and dying on roads as they fought over shrinking ecological role as both a prey species and seed distributor. The
territory and roamed the Lower Rio Grande Valley imposing edifice also blocks the passage of pronghorn, mule
searching for new homes. and white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits and indeed every other
60 Vol. 10 Issue 2
A WORLD OF BARRIERS
In 2015, construction began on more border walls worldwide than at any other time in
recorded human history. Barriers between Russia and Ukraine, Burma and Bangladesh,
Mexico and Guatemala, Turkey and Syria have all gone up in the past few years, largely
motivated by fears of terrorism and increasing human migration. A total of 63 walls
were built or under construction by the end of 2015, compared with fewer than 20
when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Here are four examples of how barriers are
affecting wildlife in Europe, Asia and Australasia.
1 Czech Republic/Germany
815km fence
Reason for border: During the Cold War,
2 Mongolia/China
4,710km fence
Reason for border: The original fence was
the Iron Curtain was heavily guarded built following a border treaty in 1962. In 2008,
and electrified. the Chinese built a 100km fence to protect
Impact on wildlife: The Iron Curtain fell livestock from wolves.
over 25 years ago but red deer on the Impact on wildlife: Khulan, or Mongolian wild
border between the Czech Republic and asses, were fitted with GPS collars in a 2013
Germany still do not cross the divide, study, which demonstrated that the fence
which is now forest and open land with presented an absolute barrier in the south-east
no barrier. A study of 300 deer found Gobi Desert. While the barrier restricts wild ass
the animals on each side of the border movement and migration between countries,
maintained old boundaries and were the border area has become a grazing refuge
terrestrial animal, through one of the most completely separate populations. for the animals in harsh winters.
Jaguar: UA/USFWS; stag: Frank Sommariva/Imagebroker/FLPA; ass: Eric Dragesco/naturepl.com;
Vol. 10 Issue 2 61
HISTORY
THE BLOODY
ROAD TO
PARTITION
2017 marked the 70th
anniversary of the end of the
British Raj. Yasmin Khan
describes eight of the images
that define the creation of
the independent states of
India and Pakistan. Then, in
a timeline on page 70, she
explores some landmark
moments in the turbulent
story of India’s partition
WAITING IN LINE
Men queue for drinking water in a
refugee camp in New Delhi, 1947.
Between 12 and 15 million people
were displaced by partition – by the
end of 1947, more than 3 million of
them were living in camps. Many
were driven there by escalating
ethnic violence
62 Vol. 10 Issue 2
GETTY IMAGES
Vol. 10 Issue 2 63
HISTORY
64 Vol. 10 Issue 2
A partition of literature
Summer 1947
This famous image, taken by the Pakistan respectively on a 4:1 ratio.
American photographer David Douglas Yet this photograph may have been
Duncan, seems to show the division of staged or doctored. As the writer
a library, with stacks of books allocated Anhad Hundal pointed out, the books in
to India and Pakistan. As the mountain the Imperial Secretariat Library in New
of literature grows ever larger, the Delhi, where the photograph was taken,
young librarian BS Kesavan struggles were never actually divided.
with his mammoth task. Nonetheless, there was a proposal to
The photograph – published in Time divide this library, and many others
magazine in 1947 – seems to epitomise were unquestionably split up. Worse
the petty yet momentous nature of the still, a huge number of archives and
division between the two new precious manuscripts were lost during
countries. Many squabbles erupted in the chaos that followed partition.
government offices about the fair Indians and Pakistanis continued to
allocation of goods. Mundane objects contest lost property and possessions
that belonged to the state, including for many decades after 1947, and some
cutlery, stationery and office furniture, residential property disputes continue
were divided up between India and to the present day.
Mundane objects,
including cutlery and
office furniture, were
divided up between India
ALAMY
66 Vol. 10 Issue 2
A desperate exodus
19 September 1947
Vol. 10 Issue 2 67
HISTORY
GETTY IMAGES
68 Vol. 10 Issue 2
The despair of the refugees
October 1947
This iconic image of a young Muslim violence along the way.
boy looking out over a New Delhi refugee The camp in this picture was at Purana
camp with his head in his hands seems to Qila, the old fort of New Delhi. The boy
define the confusion and anxiety of the sits upon the fort’s ramparts while, on the
partition period. horizon are the cupolas of the Red Fort,
A quarter of a million refugees passed the seat of Mughal power in India, which
through New Delhi in the summer of 1947, had been a British barracks since 1857.
using makeshift cloths and sheets to This image was also taken by Margaret
separate their temporary homes. Most Bourke-White, who travelled widely in India
would make new homes in Pakistan, in 1947 for Life magazine, and took many
although many perished from disease and of the defining images of partition.
GETTY IMAGES
Vol. 10 Issue 2 69
HISTORY
In 1945 India emerged from the Second World Violence blights north
War a transformed nation – both economically and east India
and politically – and its people craved freedom
from British rule. It was a divided nation. Extreme violence broke out in late 1946 in
The nationalist Congress Party leaders – north India, particularly in the regions of
Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru – Noakhali (Bengal), Bihar and the United
claimed to represent all south Asians but they Provinces. This was different to earlier episodes
were struggling to keep their movement – not just in scale, but also because women and
non-violent, and had spent several of the war children were increasingly being targeted.
years in prison. In 1946 the British decided to Gandhi toured the afflicted regions to try and
leave India but could not settle the question of a bring peace to the troubled areas. He threatened to
constitutional settlement. fast until death if the violence did not stop.
Meanwhile, local political leaders and agitators from all
communities were involved in spreading rumours and
increasing ethnic tension.
economic factors. The announcement of the boundary states were organising a formal
line was held back until after independence day. ‘exchange of population’ in the Punjab,
Inevitably, many were deeply disappointed by the which would see 6 million people
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
decisions that Radcliffe made. moving in both directions.
with India’s new flag in July 1947
70 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Gandhi – pictured in his mobile hut in East
Bengal, 1946 – threatened to fast until
death if the violence didn’t stop
30 January 1948
Vol. 10 Issue 2 71
SCIENCE
DIGGING FOR
ELECTRICITY
igh up in the Andean Mountains in
72 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Vol. 10 Issue 2 73
SCIENCE
PREVIOUS PAGE:
Raúl Martinez at an
evaporation pool, where
lithium carbonate is
concentrated from brine.
Miners must protect their
skin and eyes from the
Sun’s UV radiation and
the surface glare
74 Vol. 10 Issue 2
MAIN IMAGE:
Evaporation pools,
separated by levees,
concentrate the lithium
BELOW RIGHT:
Lithium-rich brine
is pumped from
beneath the crust
Vol. 10 Issue 2 75
SCIENCE
76 Vol. 10 Issue 2
LEFT: A young boy
amuses himself
by playing football
while his dad makes
bricks for building
salt hotels
UNCERTAIN TIMES
The Bolivian government plans to plough
$925m into the lithium industry by 2019.
President Evo Morales dreams of building a
high-tech future for his country, based on
manufacturing smartphone and electric car
batteries. However, outsiders claim he needs
foreign investment, and so far this hasn’t been
particularly forthcoming. What’s more, there’s
no guarantee of lucrative markets like China
being reliant on lithium in the future. Prof Martin
Bertau, director of the Institute of Technical
Chemistry at TU Bergakademie in Freiberg,
Germany, thinks lithium battery-powered cars
may only be a short-term solution for China,
while another potentially greener technology
based on methanol fuel cells ramps up. “If
direct methanol fuel cell cars emerge [in China],
lithium electrical vehicles may lose their
significance overnight,” he says. “It is this
scenario that truly will not be helpful for Bolivia.”
There also remains uncertainty over the
environmental damage that could be caused by
widespread lithium mining on the salt flat, with
accusations flying back and forth between
mining and environmental organisations.
According to Martinez, all mining activities at
Salar de Uyuni must comply with state
regulations to reduce their environmental
impact. The Bolivian National Evaporite
Resources Authority has switched from
lime-based to sulphate-based technology
because this produces less sludge, although
research on the impacts of sulphate in this
environment is scarce.
Vol. 10 Issue 2 77
SCIENCE
MIDDLE RIGHT:
Compounds
extracted from the
brine are stored in
large silos
BOTTOM RIGHT:
Battery-grade
lithium carbonate
78 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Vol. 10 Issue 2 79
SCIENCE
WILL WE
EVER BE ABLE TO
FORECAST THE WEATHER?
In October 1987, the Great Storm wreaked havoc across the south of the UK, taking everyone
by surprise. Now, 31 years on, why do we still have trouble predicting the weather?
WORDS BY DUNCAN GEERE
n the morning of 16 October 1987, southern England The culprit was the Great Storm of 1987, as it became known.
80 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Forecasters had seen it coming. Five days
earlier, the BBC’s farmers’ forecast warned
that the weather would be “becoming very
windy later in the week”. By the middle of the
week, however, the computer models that
meteorologists use to make their predictions
had become more uncertain. Shipping
forecasts continued to warn of dangerous TOP: The Sealink
weather, but the inland forecasts cautioned ferry Hengist
remained beached
of rain rather than winds. On the lunchtime for a week after
the 1987 storm,
news, weather presenter Michael Fish issued and it took four
a now infamous proclamation that there months to repair
would be no hurricane, and by the time most a meteorologist at the
people went to bed, no warnings of University of Reading. “The
unusually strong winds had been issued on subtropical air mass sitting in
TV or radio. As the night continued, however, the middle of the storm provided
the storm grew stronger and stronger. a huge amount of heat energy to spin the VIRTUAL WEATHER
Meteorologists began to realise what was storm up.” Computer simulations of the atmosphere
happening and issued ever-worsening alerts “There was also a very small feature work in pretty much the same way today as
to emergency services and the government. developed within it, which we today call they did back in 1987, and it’s a three-step
At 10:35pm on 15 October, Force 10 gales a sting jet, but was unknown to process. The first step is to collect data from
over the channel were forecast. At 1:40am meteorologists in 1987,” adds Mel meteorological stations on the ground,
on 16 October, warnings of Force 11 were Harrowsmith, head of civil contingencies buoys in the ocean, weather balloons in the
issued. The military was notified that its at the Met Office. “A sting jet is, sky and satellites up in orbit. This can tell us
assistance may be required to deal with the effectively, a small core of very strong what the state of the atmosphere is at any
storm’s consequences. winds, and they tend to happen towards given time.
So why was this particular storm so the back end of a storm. So you get this That data is then plugged into the
damaging? “One thing people talk about very narrow, very strong core of wind computer model itself – a set of equations
when they remember the storm was just how that touches down on the ground and that reflect how air and water (the chief
warm it was that night,” says Dr Pete Inness, can cause a lot of devastation.” components of weather) behave under
different circumstances. Hot air
tends to rise over cold air, for
example, and holds more water
vapour. But as hot air rises it
cools, and the water vapour
condenses out into water
droplets – just like on your
mirror when you take a shower.
That’s how a cloud is made.
Finally, to get a forecast, the
atmosphere is split up into a
series of ‘boxes’. Each box is
given data from real-world
observations and then allowed
to develop according to the
equations defined in step two.
By seeing what happens in
those different boxes over time,
we get a weather forecast.
PHOTO: GETTY
Vol. 10 Issue 2 81
SCIENCE
storm that had recently hit Florida. It was a fair that it’s going to be a long time, if ever, before we can perfectly
defence: the term ‘hurricane’ refers to tropical predict what the weather will do in every circumstance.
cyclones, not those that originate outside the Finally, there are those boxes, which meteorologists refer to as
tropics, as the Great Storm did. While wind speeds the ‘resolution’ of the model. Think of them like the pixels of your
reached a level on the Beaufort scale labelled laptop or smartphone: the more you have, the better the picture
‘hurricane force’, the Great Storm was never a hurri-
you get, but the more computing power it takes to run them all at
cane. Fish was effectively right, but it mattered little:
his name was forever associated with embarrass- the same time. The same is true for weather models. This may be
ingly incorrect predictions. why the Great Storm of 1987 was so poorly forecast. “The boxes
82 Vol. 10 Issue 2
“On the lunchtime news, Michael Fish issued a
now infamous proclamation that there would be
no hurricane, and by the time most people went to
bed, no warnings had been issued”
back then were about 150km by 150km,” But that’s not all. We now have access to more
Harrowsmith says. “So if you have a small feature weather observations, chiefly due to improvements in
inside that box, the model cannot see it.” The sting jet satellite and radar technology. The Met Office is in the
that made the storm particularly damaging was about middle of upgrading its radar network to be able to see
50km across, making it impossible for the model to not only where it’s raining but also the size and shape
take it into account. of raindrops. This will help forecasters to differentiate
between rain and snow – revealing whether that
ON THE UP oncoming storm is a downpour or a blizzard.
Since 1987, meteorologists have made substantial We also have much more data from the Atlantic.
progress in all three areas of weather modelling, “As a result of the Great Storm, the Met Office realised
making forecasts far more reliable. “Our four-day they didn’t have enough observations over the
forecast now is as accurate as our one-day forecast ocean,” says Dr Hannah Christensen at the US
was 30 years ago,” says Harrowsmith. National Center for Atmospheric Research. “So they
Some of that progress is down to increased set up a lot more observational buoys out to the west
supercomputing power. In 1982, the Met Office and south, to fill in some of the gaps.” Plus, new
computers could handle 200 million calculations per techniques like ensemble forecasting – where several
second. In 1997, that figure was one trillion forecasts are run at the same time with slightly
calculations per second, and earlier this year, the Met different starting data – can give us an idea of how
Office installed a new supercomputer capable of a certain a forecast is. If all the models still come up
stunning 14 quadrillion (that’s 14 with 15 zeros after it) with the same forecast, meteorologists can be more
calculations per second. sure it’s correct.
A RE W E GE T T I NG MOR E H U R R IC ANES ?
season. This saw Katrina, one of 15 hurricanes that With sea levels rising, storm surges can make it
year, devastate the US coastline and left much of further inland, potentially leading to more
New Orleans underwater. widespread flooding.
Dr Dann Mitchell,
climate scientist Is there a link with climate change? Are we getting better at predicting
at the University We know that a warmer atmosphere can hold more hurricanes?
of Bristol rain than a cooler atmosphere, so the downpour The hurricane path is perhaps the most important
over Texas during Hurricane Harvey may have been part of a forecast because you need to prepare
In the Atlantic basin, the hurricane season normally worsened by climate change. We also know that when a hurricane’s on its way. This is especially
lasts from June to November, peaking in hurricanes get their energy from the heat in oceans, true if the system is travelling over low-lying
September. The fact that we’ve seen eight so warmer oceans are theorised to lead to stronger islands, where storm surges can be devastating.
hurricanes as of 25 September, 2017 is markedly hurricanes, although not necessarily to a change in Due to these risks, the US has invested heavily in
out of the ordinary – the average per season is six. the number of storms. But it’s too early to say for predictive research, and now a reasonable forecast
However, perhaps more profound is the sheer sure whether the strong hurricanes we’ve been of a hurricane’s path can be made three to five days
number of strong hurricanes: 2017 was the first seeing recently are a result of climate change. To ahead of time. A day before the hurricane hits,
time in recorded US history that three Category 4+ know this, we need to see a trend over a longer we can forecast its centre to within about 64km
hurricanes had made landfall in a single season. period, so time will tell. We’re more sure, however, (40 miles). It was remarkable how close to the
But whatever the remainder of the season brings, that climate change will worsen the impact of any forecast Hurricane Irma came, and this undoubtedly
it’s unlikely to be as active as the famous 2005 storm surges caused by a hurricane’s strong winds. saved lives.
Vol. 10 Issue 2 83
SCIENCE
84 Vol. 10 Issue 2
QA &
DR ALASTAIR ALEXANDRA DR PETER PROF ALICE PROF MARK CHARLOTTE
GUNN CHEUNG J BENTLEY GREGORY LORCH CORNEY
Astronomer, Environment/ Computer Psychologist, Chemist, Zoo director,
astrophysicist climate expert scientist, author sleep expert science writer conservationist
Do blind
people see in
their dreams?
People who are born blind, or become blind
early in life (before around five or seven years
of age), do not experience visual imagery
when they dream. People who became blind
later typically do retain some visual imagery
when they dream – but less so than in sighted
individuals. A study by Danish researchers
found that the longer someone has been
blind, the less likely they are to dream visually.
And while those who were born blind may
not see in their sleep, they are more likely
than those with sight to experience auditory,
olfactory, gustatory and tactile components to
their dreams. AGr
PHOTO: GETTY
Vol. 10 Issue 2 85
QA
&
86 Vol. 10 Issue 2
IN NUMBERS
Did Homo sapiens
and Neanderthals
56
The percentage of green turtle How are calories
interbreed?
289
food, and as such play a key role in the science of
nutrition. During the late 19th Century, scientists
began the laborious task of measuring the calorie
content of food by burning it in a sealed container
The number of species of and measuring the heat released. While studying Yes, and more than once! DNA analysis
Japanese marine life that the results, a rule of thumb emerged: weight for suggests that the earliest encounter between
have washed up in the US on weight, fat contains nine calories per gram, around the two species was 100,000 years ago, just as
debris from 2011’s tsunami. twice that in protein or carbohydrates. This led to the earliest wave of Homo sapiens was
the so-called Atwater system for calculating the migrating out of Africa. They met Neanderthals
1,300
calories in food without lab tests: work out the moving eastwards from Europe to Asia and
proportions of fat, protein and carbs it contains, swapped genes. Later interbreeding periods
and multiply by the relevant ‘Atwater factor’ giving happened 55,000 and 40,000 years ago, and
The length, in kilometres, the calories contained in each component. But each time we acquired some Neanderthal
of the Deep Underground while it’s quick and cheap, there’s growing concern genes. Unless you are of sub-Saharan
Neutrino Experiment, which is the Atwater system misses subtleties of how the descent, your genome contains 1-4 per cent
currently being built. body uses calories. RM Neanderthal DNA. LV
Vol. 10 Issue 2 87
QA
&
T O P 10
How far
Longest-lived cells offshore can
in the human body wind farms be
On average, the cells in your body are replaced every 7 to 10 years. But those
numbers hide a huge variability in lifespan across the different organs of the body.
located?
Neutrophil cells (a type of white blood cell) might only last two days, while the cells in
the middle of your eye lenses will last your entire life. And it’s even possible that your Sea depth is often the limiting factor
brain cells might have longer maximum lifespans than you do. In 2013, researchers when it comes to constructing offshore
transplanted neurons from old mice into the brains of longer-lived rats and found that wind farms. Conventional turbines rest
the cells were still healthy after living for two whole mouse lifespans! on the seabed and can’t be installed in
water deeper than about 40 metres. In
most regions this means they cannot be
built more than 30km from shore.
Brain cells
200+ years? Floating wind turbines could, however,
be a game changer. The floating turbines
currently being installed at the Hywind
wind farm near Peterhead in north-east
Eye lens cells
Lifetime Scotland can operate in water up to 1km
deep. Such technologies could make it
possible to build wind farms much further
Egg cells out to sea, where winds are typically
50 years stronger. AFC
Intestinal cells
(excluding lining)
15.9 years
Fat cells
8 years
Hematopoietic
stem cells
5 years
Liver cells
10-16 months
Pancreas cells
1 year
88 Vol. 10 Issue 2
The floating wind turbines
being installed at Hywind
were built in Norway and
towed across the sea to
Scottish waters
Vol. 10 Issue 2 89
QA
&
FACT OR FICTION? W H AT C O N N E C T S…
...EXPLODING STREETS
Eating chocolate gives you spots AND ZINC?
1.
Explosions
In 1992 a series of
10 explosions in
the city of
Guadalajara,
Mexico, killed
more than 250
people. The
explosions burst from
directly under the
downtown streets and
2.
left 15,000
people
homeless.
Fumes
It was caused by
UNCERTAIN petrol leaking into
The research evidence is very weak either way. Relatively few studies have looked at the link the sewers,
between chocolate and acne (or milk fat and acne), yet all of them have serious problems with creating
their methodology. Some trials were too short to rule out natural cycles of acne flare-ups, others explosive
PHOTO: GETTY X4, SHUTTERSTOCK, VILAIWAN M FERNANDES/DESPLAN LAB/NYU DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY ILLUSTRATION: RAJA LOCKEY
had too few people, or didn’t have proper controls. One study simply involved a questionnaire fumes. This
happened after
asking people to recall what they had eaten while in college, years ago, and how bad their acne
new water pipes
had been. While there is some evidence that diet can exacerbate acne in people who already were laid
suffer from it, there is no clear data to pin down whether it is caused by fat, sugar, hormones in underground,
milk, or cocoa. If chocolate does cause spots, the effect seems to be very small. LV alongside a petrol
pipeline that crossed the city.
4.
CO2 as they grow, transforming it into AFC
biomass. Planting trees or crops therefore
results in a net removal of CO2 from the air.
Zinc
The zinc coating on the
galvanised pipes
caused an
electrolytic
reaction that
turned the
damp soil into a
battery. The
steel pipe acted
as the anode and
was eroded away,
causing the petrol to leak.
90 Vol. 10 Issue 2
W H AT I S T H I S ?
Vol. 10 Issue 2 91
QA
&
W H O R E A L LY I N V E N T E D ? W H AT ’ S I N…
IBUPROFEN
The active ingredient
SODIUM LAURYL SULPHATE
only makes up 200mg of a
A detergent that crops up in many
standard tablet.
household products, including
shampoo and toothpaste. In tablets
GALILEO JOHANNES LACTOSE it is used as a lubricant to stop
GALILEI FABRICIUS This is used in many tablets, the various ingredients sticking to
including aspirin and manufacturing equipment.
Caused by magnetic storms breaking
paracetamol, to bulk them out.
through the Sun’s surface, these relatively
cool patches appear as black spots that TITANIUM DIOXIDE
seem to move across the Sun’s disc. They SILICON DIOXIDE This turns up in a lot of
This is added during the products, from tablets to
are sometimes so large they can be seen manufacturing process to help sunscreen to paint. It is used
with the naked eye through thin cloud or at the various powders that make as a white pigment.
sunset. As such, their existence has the tablet flow nicely together.
probably been known about since
prehistoric times, and Chinese astronomers
kept records of them over 2,000 years ago.
However, the true nature of sunspots only
became clear with the advent of modern
astronomy in the early 17th Century. Belief
in the Ancient Greek model of a perfect
Universe was still widespread, making the
very existence of ‘blemishes’ on the Sun
deeply controversial. In 1611, the Jesuit
scholar Christoph Scheiner insisted they
were moons in orbit around the otherwise
pristine Sun. Galileo was unconvinced, and
argued for clouds in the solar atmosphere. Do all galaxies rotate in the
The first person to show the sunspots
were features on the Sun itself was a
same direction?
German astronomer named Johannes
Fabricius. Using a pinhole camera, he If all galaxies formed from the same cloud in small areas of the Universe and this is
observed clusters of sunspots for months, of spinning material, we might expect probably a result of the distribution of
showing that they vanished over the Sun’s their spin directions to be the same. This dark matter throughout the Cosmos.
western edge, then appeared again two is similar to the planets of the Solar The matter in these filaments tends to
weeks later on the other side. This System, which all spin in the same move in a corkscrew motion towards the
PHOTOS: GETTY X5 ILLUSTRATION: RAJA LOCKEY
confirmed they were part of the Sun’s direction as the proto-planetary cloud area of highest density. The result of this
rotating surface – and made Fabricius the from which they formed (except for Venus is that there can be a preferential direction
first solar scientist. RM and Uranus which were probably made to of spin for galaxies forming in the same
spin in the opposite direction by large filament, although it also depends on the
impacts). But, although galaxies do not galaxy’s mass. Hence, if we look out into
form from the same cloud of material, the Universe, there can be areas that
they are not randomly distributed in appear to have a preferential direction for
space; they form along ‘filaments’ with galaxy rotation, but averaged over the
‘voids’ in between. This means that proto- whole Universe, their spin direction is
galaxies actually are gravitationally linked actually random. AGu
92 Vol. 10 Issue 2
Why does spicy food make
my nose run?
Vol. 10 Issue 2 93
RESOURCE A FEAST FOR THE MIND
01 CURL UP
WITH A BOOK
Here are 13 of our favourite long reads from last year
Why do we keep pets? Bradshaw argues that it goes The octopus is essentially an alien species right here
beyond cuteness and companionship, and all the way on Earth – a sentient being whose intelligence has
back to an ancient connection in our shared past. evolved entirely independently from our own.
Weaving together psychology and evolutionary Godfrey-Smith peers into the minds of these
science, the book will give pet owners a newfound cephalopods, revealing what they can tell us about
appreciation for their furry friends. the nature of consciousness itself.
It takes a talented writer to bring the concept of In this breezy introduction to the new science of
infinity to life, but Cheng’s infectious enthusiasm gastrophysics, Spence explains why our mealtimes
makes maths a delight. Discover why some infinities are a truly multisensory experience. It turns out that
are bigger than others, and why there’s always room everything from the background music to the colour
at an infinite hotel, even if it’s full. and shape of our plates affects the taste of our food.
The winner of this year’s Royal Society books prize, Who better to describe life in space than someone
Fine cuts through gender stereotypes with panache, who’s walked the (space)walk? Tim pens answers to
dispelling the myth that testosterone creates a the public’s burning questions, revealing what space
deep-rooted division between the sexes and smells like, how he enjoyed a cosmic cuppa, and what
discussing what this means for the society we live in. it felt like to return to Earth.
The second book on our list to tackle gender Every breath we take tells a story as old as the Earth.
stereotypes, Saini discusses how centuries of science Kean’s eye-opening guide to the science and history
have painted a distorted picture of sex differences, of our atmosphere takes in everything from
the impact this has had on women in society, and how radioactive pigs and spontaneous combustion to
we’re finally beginning to redress the balance. Julius Caesar’s final moments and some unforget-
table performance art at the Moulin Rouge.
94 Vol. 10 Issue 2
02 GET
GRAPHICAL
Last year has seen a wealth of beautiful, science-themed graphic novels
and illustrated books. Here are some of our favourites…
Vol. 10 Issue 2 95
TIME OUT
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
GIVE YOUR BRAIN A WORKOUT
DOWN
1 Frenchman set off an ember in lining (8)
2 Fool king, in charge of an acid (6)
3 Trendy, if tiny, displaying limitlessness (8)
4 Slow down engineers by throwing dart (6)
5 Total type of zero (8)
6 Work together to get position indicator (10)
7 Many CID characters are energetic (7)
8 Blade twirled round shows ability
to shine (6)
11 Concoction is eaten in Greek winds (7)
16 The Spanish have designation for part
of tooth (6)
19 Reported occasion for flavouring (5)
20 Overweight fellow at a junction (3)
22 Alright for a Greek character to have
an animal (5)
23 Endlessly debate sports equipment (10)
25 Hear ripple put out by printer, say (10)
26 Some bread for a swan (3)
27 Fungus growing on chocolate (7)
30 Boil pelt with relative (8)
31 Criticise scare about a gland (8)
32 Resistance to infection is often diplomatic (8)
33 Weep, having gone off temperature reducer (7)
35 Acceptable to spin guns around one nail (6)
36 Relaxed as van is brought back by guide (6)
37 I would work first on moon – that’s addictive (6)
ACROSS
9
10
Disorderly exit – scene is a way of life (9)
Environmental transfer has nothing in tandem (8)
26
28
Revolutionary claim involving compound (8)
Free to wander around coral ridge (4)
ANSWERS
Solution to crossword in the
12 Dullard of calibre (4) 29 Ready-made pressure to judge sailor (6) previous issue
13 Sign about a domineering woman (6) 31 Chap is confused by one Indian game (7)
14 About spy being a catalyst (7) 34 Exploding pulsar for a mineral (9)
15 Displace a strange, Ancient Greek doctor (9) 36 Dan’s sort upset by medium desert wind (9)
17 Ugli variety in old America found in marshes (9) 38 Bear has opening in ear (7)
18 Tear us away to unknown river mouth (7) 39 Mother’s character? (6)
20 Enemy volunteers to get left in 40 Appearance is spiteful, by the sound of it (4)
defensive position (6) 41 Sack everyone with bearing in defence (8)
21 About to find honour in stupor (4) 42 Scientist is at an organisation with Thomas (9)
24 Caught by Peter ordering virtual companion (8)
96 Vol. 10 Issue 2
MY LIFE SCIENTIFIC
DR ANDREW DIGBY
“This month sees a milestone
as we finish sequencing the
genetic codes of all living
”
How did a former astronomer come to care for
the world’s weirdest parrot? This month, Helen
Pilcher talks to Dr Andrew Digby about career
changes and the charismatic kākāpō
Have you always been interested in science?
Always. My mum was a laboratory chemist at a brewer’s
in Norwich. She encouraged me and my brothers to take
an interest in science when we were kids. I loved going to
local nature reserves and watching the sky at night. I also
recorded the weather every day for seven years: rainfall,
temperature, wind speed, that sort of thing. If we went on
holiday, I’d get the neighbours to do it so there weren’t What’s that like?
any gaps in my data. It’s like the premier league of conservation. Without our help, the
species would undoubtedly go extinct. We manage the birds on
How did your scientific career begin? predator-free islands and do everything we can to help them breed.
My PhD in astronomy led to a post-doc with NASA. We built This month sees a milestone as we finish sequencing the full genetic
an instrument that looks for planets in distant solar systems codes of all living and a handful of dead ones too. It’s the
and deployed it on a US Air Force spy telescope, on a first time this has ever been done for all members of a species.
mountain in Hawaii. During the day, they’d use the telescope
to snoop on satellites. It was all very secret. Then at night, Why is it so important to sequence the genomes of all
when I went to use it, I had to be escorted everywhere of the ?
because I’m not a US citizen. It was a bit crazy, but we did It gives us a whole level of information that we’ve never had before.
find some candidate planets. We can use this information to shed light on the birds’ family tree
and problems such as infertility and disease. It’s going to be an
How did you come to work in conservation? amazing resource, available to anyone that wants to use it. But the
I live and work in New Zealand now. When I first arrived, is only half of my job.
I got a job doing weather forecast modelling, but also did
some voluntary work counting kiwi on the side. That led to What’s the other half?
a second PhD, studying the bioacoustics of kiwi calls, but I I look after another endangered New Zealand bird called the .
never dreamed I’d end up working with . It looks like a bit like a non-endangered bird called the pukeko, and
is often mistaken for it. Its main problem, however, is that it lacks
What is a ? |the ’s charisma. It’s in desperate need of some positive PR.
are these weird, green, nocturnal, ground-dwelling Can you give it a mention, please?
parrots that are unlike any other bird. They are found only
in New Zealand and have nearly 30 million years of unique Consider it done.
evolutionary history. They’re also incredibly charismatic,
but they’ve been decimated by invasive species so there
are only around 150 alive. I’m now the scientific advisor for Dr Andrew Digby is a scientist for the Kakapo and takahe recovery programmes
the national Recovery Program. at the New Zealand Department of Conservation
Vol. 10 Issue 2 97
THE LAST WORD
about risk – and the theory behind this by the classic response of each new
is pretty solid. But as a way of getting generation to the dire warnings of their
people –and politicians – to take elders: “Yeah, whatever…”.
risks of natural disasters seriously,
it doesn’t really work.
That’s because the formula is
only really helpful for deciding Robert Matthews is visiting professor of
how best to protect the whole of science at Aston University, Birmingham
98 Vol. 10 Issue 2
CHINESE NEW YEAR:
THE BIGGEST CELEBRATION
ON EARTH
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