The Conversation

Many of society’s energy challenges require gigawatts of power, but many more are small – and some are entirely microscopic. To drive a new generation of tiny micromachines that could deliver drugs or clean traces of pollution, physicists are increasingly looking to biology for inspiration.In work published in the journal Science Advances, my co-authors and I present a simulation of a sort of tiny “windfarm” powered by the natural self-organization of bacteria. It’s a small step towards harnessing the energy potential of microorganisms.

Last week, a small group of people held a protest outside Channel Nine in Sydney. They were objecting to the network’s treatment of Adam Whittington, the Australian man whose company “recovered” Sally Faulkner’s children on the streets of Beirut.It’s clear there is a high level of concern within the community. Some concerns relate to Nine’s treatment of Whittington and his colleagues, who remain imprisoned in Lebanon. Others include Nine’s apparent involvement in arrangements for what might constitute the criminal act of child abduction, the payment of A$115,000 by Nine to Whittington’s company, and the crew’s close involvement on the scene and afterwards in Beirut.

If the food industry is not in crisis, it certainly contains an increasing level of complexity and associated risks. A recent analysis suggested 50% of US food production is wasted, with global estimates above 30%.Retailers want perfect produce, leading to wastage occurring throughout the food supply chain. They also seek low prices, leading to industrialization of processes.

You find yourself sitting in your doctor’s surgery. It’s only been a few days since your initial visit to check on these pounding headaches you’ve been waking up with, along with some dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and a general drowsy and disconnected feeling.

Dear class of 2016,Finishing school can be a daunting experience but you are young, bright and have your future ahead of you — easy for me to say, you might think.I could fill a book with the things I wish I’d known when I left school – how to iron, how to put up a shelf, how invaluable learning languages is. Though the biggest one is how everyone is in the same boat, and how no one really knows what they want to do when they leave school.So, with this in mind, let me impart some of my age old wisdom onto your young shoulders. Here are some of the most important life lessons I wish somebody had taught me before the final school bell rang.

For many years, scientists have believed that there is a connection between severe antisocial behavior and abnormal brain development. But there has been very little research testing this idea.

Death touches everyone at some stage during their lives, and usually more than once. It also triggers certain laws around what happens to the body after death – and some glaring omissions.1. Corpse disposal – the basicsRespect for the dead and protecting public health make burial or cremation an urgent task when someone dies. Certain aspects are heavily regulated – such as the minimum depth of graves, the siting and management of burial grounds and crematoria – but there are comparatively few laws governing actual bodily disposal. For example, there are no set time limits for disposing of the dead.

A core platform of the massive promotion of e-cigarettes has been the argument that because these products involve no combustion but only vaporization, they must be substantially less dangerous than smoked tobacco. Few – including me – would disagree with that.

UK bookmakers will undoubtedly benefit from three of the home nations (England, Northern Ireland and Wales) making it to the Euro 2016 finals. But if you want to bet with your head, rather than your heart, where should you put your money?You might be surprised that there is sometimes a way that you can bet and be guaranteed to win. If you can find the right set of odds and put the right amount of money on each outcome, you will win back more than the total amount you bet, no matter what happens. For example, with the following odds, if you bet a total of £73 across the different teams left in the tournament, you’d be guaranteed to have a final balance of at least £99.

Sometimes we all just want to take a day off, be it from work or school. In the classic 1980s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, the title character spent his day off gallivanting around Chicago, seeing the sights and even hijacking a parade. Unlike the super-confident Ferris, most of us would probably worry about getting caught if we took off like that. But is that fear really justified?

Mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way. The practitioner learns to avoid dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. This can be difficult, especially for people suffering from anxiety and depression, but, if achieved, it can bring lasting relief.NHS mental health services are increasingly offering a therapy called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) which is, as the name suggests, based on mindfulness skills. MBCT is an evidence-based group therapy. It combines training in mindfulness skills and practices with cognitive therapy (learning about managing and changing one’s negative thought patterns).

Warning: this article contains spoilers for those not up to date with Game of Thrones season six.Events in HBO’s Game of Thrones TV series have got people talking about what it means to return from the dead. But while resurrection appears to be a very real possibility for some of the religions of mythical Westeros – not least Jon Snow’s resurrector, the “red priestess”, Melisandre – what can the Bible add to the discussion?