The Conversation

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at StanfordBy Ian Bailey, Lancaster UniversityScientists working on an experiment at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US have taken a step forward in developing a technology which could significantly reduce the size of particle accelerators. The technology is able to accelerate particles more rapidly than conventional accelerators at a much smaller size.

Sunglasses are the first line of defense for celebrities. Marie Havens/ShutterstockBy 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.

vivaviena, CC BY-NC-SABy Vincent F Hendricks, University of CopenhagenScience, 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.

Bras have come a long way in 100 years. Credit: EPA/HOBy Deirdre McGhee, University of WollongongThis 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.

Our brains make judgments about images before we're even aware of making a decision. A Health Blog/Flickr, CC BY-NCBy Daniel Bennett, University of MelbourneWhat 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?

The Drax plant in Yorkshire. Gareth Davies, CC BYBy Richard Tol, University of Sussex

Rosetta mission: A giant leap for humans and robots. Huart, ESABy Natalie Starkey, The Open University

Old fashioned scandals meet new-fangled complexity. Andy Dean PhotographyBy Mark Israel, University of Western Australia

Brand Beckham. Dave Thompson/PA WireBy Tamara Friedrich, University of WarwickVictoria Beckham has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Management Today. She topped their list of 100 successful entrepreneurs thanks to her fashion company’s turnover, which has grown from £1m to £30m in the past five years, and its employment growth, which has grown from three members of staff to 100 in the same time.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Gavin Andrew Stewart, CC BYBy Arnaud Chevalier, Royal Holloway and Olivier Marie, Maastricht UniversityGermany and the rest of Europe are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the associated communist regimes in Eastern Europe.