Science

The dream of boldly going where only a few have gone before has inspired hundreds of people to sign up with space tourism companies like Virgin Galactic. But Nasa astronaut Anna Fisher, who made history by becoming the first mother in space, has warned many are unprepared for the rigours of spaceflight and the toll it will take on their bodies. Dr Fisher said she was sick for the first two days of her mission on the Discovery space shuttle in 1984 and said she was concerned that people paying hundreds of thousands of pounds did not fully appreciate what might happen. Speaking to The Telegraph as she was made godmother to the new Viking Orion ship, she said: “The one thing I am concerned about with tourists in space is people thinking you can just get on a rocket and just go into space. “It’s not like riding a commercial aircraft, not at all, and I can see all these problems with people up there and throwing up and messing up somebody’s flight that they paid … [Read more...] about Space tourists could be struck down by astro-sickness, warns Nasa astronaut

The normalisation of 'plus size' clothing and overweight models could be fuelling the obesity epidemic because it leads people to underestimate their own weight, a new study has shown. The plus-size movement may help promote body positivity but it is having the unintentional consequence that people start believing they are a healthy weight, researchers claim. Sociologists from the University of East Anglia said it could undermine efforts to tackle the obesity epidemic where more than three in five Britons are overweight or obese. Many companies now have plus sized ranges including Marks & Spencer’s Curve, which caters for women sized between 18 and 32. Speaking about Curve, Associate Professor Dr Raya Muttarak, of The University of East Anglia said: “By introducing a new design and styling tailored for plus-size customers and using carefully selected fabrics complementing fuller figures, Curve primarily contributes to promoting body positivity. “While this … [Read more...] about ‘Plus size’ clothing and overweight models may fuel obesity epidemic, warn researchers

The irritating ‘plink, plink’ sounds of a dripping tap has caused many a sleepless night. But now Cambridge University has discovered what causes it, and how to stop it. Using ultra-high-speed cameras and audio capture techniques, researchers found the noise is by the movement of a small bubble of air trapped beneath the water’s surface. The bubble forces the water surface itself to vibrate, creating the sound as it hits an empty, or water filled sink below. However changing the surface tension of the water that the drops are falling onto by adding washing up liquid causes the sound to vanish. “A lot of work has been done on the physical mechanics of a dripping tap, but not very much has been done on the sound,” said Dr Anurag Agarwal of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who led the research. “But thanks to modern video and audio technology, we can finally find out exactly where the sound is coming from, which may help us to stop … [Read more...] about Cambridge University discovers how to stop irritating ‘plink plink’ of dripping tap