Use of the popular sports supplement creatine has shown promise in a small-scale clinical trial in helping people with diabetes get their blood sugar under control. Creatine is a popular nutritional supplement widely used across many sports. Creatine occurs naturally in the body, and is found mostly in muscle tissue. Creatine is a normal part … learn more→

At any given time, cirrus clouds — the thin wisps of vapor that trail across the sky — cover nearly one-third of the globe. These clouds coalesce in the upper layers of the troposphere, often more than 10 miles above the Earth’s surface. Cirrus clouds influence global climate, cooling the planet by reflecting incoming solar … learn more→

Think of your favourite magic trick. Is it as grandiose as David Copperfield’s Death Saw, or is it as simple as making a coin disappear in front of your very eyes? These two very different tricks have the same effect; they delight and astound, leaving the audience to ponder (usually unsuccessfully): How did they do … learn more→

No, Google has not sent me Glass to review as an educational tool. The closest I’ve been able to get to Google Glass is on Google’s Glass website. Here you can see “How It Feels“, “What It Does”, and “How To Get One“. Will a wearable browser / heads up display / audio & video … learn more→

What’s the difference between selling a secondhand music CD and transferring ownership of the same songs bought from iTunes? Not much, you’d think – except one’s illegal, according to a New York court. Earlier this month, ReDigi.com, which sells “used” digital music files, was found to violate copyright law after record label Capitol Records claimed … learn more→

Privacy and technology go together like music and dance: it’s only when both work well together that the magic happens. But what about privacy in the age of big data, an era in which your every move has been recorded somewhere in the digital world through your electronic transactions? Does the fact we’re churning out … learn more→

Some researchers in the US recently conducted an ‘experiment in the law as algorithm’. (One of the researchers involved with the project was interviewed by Ars Technia, here.) At first glance, this seems like quite a simple undertaking for someone with knowledge of a particular law and mathematical proficiency: laws are clearly defined rules, which … learn more→

Michelle Lee first set foot in Gabon in 2001: ‘I went with just a backpack expecting to stay three weeks, but ended up being the project manager there for six years,’ she tells me. Now a DPhil student at Oxford University’s WildCRU, working on land-use and conservation planning, back then Michelle gave up her desk … learn more→

As recently as 5,000 years ago, the Sahara — today a vast desert in northern Africa, spanning more than 3.5 million square miles — was a verdant landscape, with sprawling vegetation and numerous lakes. Ancient cave paintings in the region depict hippos in watering holes, and roving herds of elephants and giraffes — a vibrant … learn more→

From encouraging the first steps of life migrating from the oceans to the land, to stabilising Earth’s axial tilt against chaotic excursions, the moon is often put forth almost as a magical ingredient – a prerequisite for life. Of course, the question of the origin of life on Earth has long puzzled scientists. To date, … learn more→