Today on New Scientist: 30 January 2013

Timbuktu's precious scientific texts must be saved Islamist militants in Mali have burned documents that attest to science in Africa before European colonisation - what remains must be protectedThink that massage feels good? Try adding drugs Nerve bundles that respond to stroking have been identified and chemically activated in miceHow Obama will deliver his climate promise The US is set to...

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Brazil night club owner attempts suicide

SANTA MARIA: An owner of the Brazilian night club where 235 people perished in a weekend fire tried to commit suicide, police said Wednesday, as the number of survivors seeking medical treatment after the disaster continued to rise.Elissandro Sphor tried to kill himself with a plastic shower hose, said senior police official Lilian Carus in the town of Cruz Alta 125 kilometres from Santa...

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65,000 ping-pong balls turn pool party into cool party

Who would've known ping pong balls have so many uses?(Credit:Red Paper Heart)Pools aren't just for swimming, you know. Brooklyn art studio Red Paper Heart made some pretty nifty art with a swimming hole and 65,000 ping-pong balls. Before you dismiss that as an exercise in lunacy, take a look at a clever interactive pool party experience for yourself in the video below.Red Paper Heart created the mesmerizing...

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Water Demand for Energy to Double by 2035

Marianne Lavelle and Thomas K. Grose The amount of fresh water consumed for world energy production is on track to double within the next 25 years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects.And even though fracking—high-pressure hydraulic fracturing of underground rock formations for natural gas and oil—might grab headlines, IEA sees its future impact as relatively small.By far the...

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Jodi Arias Trial: Defense Attacks Ex-Boyfriend

Defense attorneys for accused murderer Jodi Arias went on the attack today, drawing testimony from an ex-girlfriend of Travis Alexander in order to portray Alexander as an insensitive philanderer who was obsessed with sex.Arias is charged with killing Alexander in a jealous rage in June 2008, and her lawyers are attempting to convince the jury that it was a case of self defense...

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Today on New Scientist: 29 January 2013

Creatures of the air caught in the mist Photographer Todd Forsgren uses mist nets to briefly ensnare a variety of tropical South American birds before releasing them, unharmedDrug reduces enlarged prostate with few side effects Shrinking enlarged prostates by blocking a potent growth factor could avoid problems - such as erectile dysfunction - that accompany current treatmentsClimate change blamed...

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US Senate confirms Kerry as next secretary of state

WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Senator John Kerry as the next secretary of state, approving President Barack Obama's pick to replace Hillary Clinton by a wide majority.The Senate voted 94-3 in favour of Kerry, after the chamber's Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination earlier in the day.His nomination was pushed through the Senate in a matter of days, given...

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'Downton Abbey' as SNES video game: Fluff those pillows!

Test your fluffing skills.(Credit:Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET)It's fun to sit around and play "What if?" What if Google acquired Microsoft? What if Superman and Spider-Man made a movie together? What if "Downton Abbey" were a Super Nintendo game? We have a pretty good answer to that last question.YouTube user Bill Kiley posted a video showing what the imported PBS megahit would look like...

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What Does First-century Roman Graffiti Say?

A.R. Williams A facelift of the Colosseum in Rome that began last fall has revealed centuries of graffiti. Removing the accumulated grime and calcification, experts discovered layers of inscriptions on the section of a wall seen here—designs in red and faded gray from antiquity, and lettering in black left by visitors in modern times.Built in the first century, the Colosseum may have held...

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Palin and Fox Part Ways, but Is She Really Over?

Sarah Palin's break up with Fox News should not have been, well, breaking news, as she had publicly complained in August on Facebook that the network had canceled her appearances at the Republican National Convention. And going back even further, Palin didn't give Fox the scoop in October 2011 when she announced she wasn't going to run for president. Still, the news of the...

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