Mysterious: One of the few pictures available of the Begonia in the wild. – Picture courtesy of A Guide to Begonias of Borneo authors KUCHING: It is called the Begonia “Darth Vader” but despite the powerful Star Wars character it is named after, the plant species, endemic to Sarawak, is helpless against smugglers who take it [...]
Some bacteria are becoming resistant to our best drugs The global pharmaceutical industry is being called on to pay for a $2bn (£1.3bn) innovation fund to revitalise research into antibiotics. In return, there would be guaranteed payments to companies which produced vitally needed new antibiotics. There are currently very few new antibiotics in development amid a [...]
Octocopter Arch Aerial Long after the rifles of war are silent, danger still lurks in old battlefields. Some unexploded bombs are left behind deliberately, in minefields that once had tactical importance but were later rendered strategically irrelevant by shifting front lines. Others result from manufacturing error, with bombs that didn't do their job still carrying explosive [...]
Non-Newtonian Fluid Rory MacLeod, via Flickr CC BY 2.0 Liquids are great at absorbing bullets' energy. Fired underwater, an AK-47 can only send a bullet a few feet forwards, while in the air the same bullets would easily fly over 1,000 feet. This is great news for secret agents looking to avoid henchmen by swimming underwater, [...]