By Vanessa Brown, Nottingham Trent University

It’s been a disappointing couple of weeks for the Scotch whisky industry.

Diageo reported that it is delaying plans on a £1 billion new-build distillery just north of Inverness following a slow-down in the company’s key whisky markets, particularly Latin America and China.

By Vincent F Hendricks, University of Copenhagen

Science, like any other field that attracts investment, is prone to bubbles.

Overly optimistic investments in scientific fields, research methods and technologies generate episodes comparable to those experienced by financial markets prior to crashing.

By Deirdre McGhee, University of Wollongong

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the first bra patent.

Amazingly for the time – 1914 – it was made by a woman in her twenties, Mary (Polly) Phelps Jacob (nee Crosby).

Polly made her bra initially from two handkerchiefs and some ribbon with the intent to show off her substantial cleavage in a sheer evening gown that had a plunging neckline. The handkerchiefs formed the bra cups and the ribbons formed the straps.

By Daniel Bennett, University of Melbourne

What makes us decide? At one level, this seems like an easy question: we think our options through, pick the one we like best and act on it.

If we dig a little deeper, though, the question becomes more difficult to answer. How do we settle on what our options are? What makes us prefer one option to another?