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The highly adaptable nature of viruses is one of their most dangerous strengths. They are programmed to survive at all costs, mutating into different forms that often make the leap between different species. The infamous Ebola virus, which has infected almost 15,000 people in Africa this year, first evolved in monkeys and then evolved into a form which could be transmitted to humans.

Mammal to mammal transmission is not a huge leap to make, however, as the physiology involved is similar in each species. But could viruses that affect totally different life forms, such as algae, possibly evolve into a variety that could threaten humans?
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Like it or not, mathematics underpins our whole existence, either by conscious design or through natural selection. Our ancestors were very appreciative of the significance of mathematics, illustrated by the precise geometric alignments that have been observed in the construction and placements of ancient monuments on earth, such as Stonehenge and the pyramids, that align them with other monuments nearby, and also with astronomical events such as sunrise or sunset.
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"Mindfulness" is becoming the latest buzz word being applied as a solution in almost every industry, profession and human condition in the developed world. In British newspapers published in 2004, the term was used in articles just twice, yet ten years later that figure had risen to 150 mentions.

But what is exactly is mindfulness and why is it becoming a global panacea?

The practise of mindfulness has been derived from ancient Buddhist philosophies, and is described in the dictionary as "the meditative state of being both fully aware of the moment and of being self-conscious of and attentive to this awareness; a state of intense concentration on one’s own thought processes; self-awareness."
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A combination of industrial pollution and climate-change-driven oxygen loss is turning the great Canadian lakes into jelly, according to new research by Cambridge University scientists published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

A "battle of the plankton" between two competing species, Holopedium and the planktonic Daphnia, has been taking place in the delicate ecosystem of the lakes; however, calcium depletion in the lakes is making survival difficult for Daphnia, which require the mineral to form a vital component of their exoskeleton defending them from predators, and consequently populations of Holopedium have doubled since the 1980s. Without the presence of Daphnia, algae is multiplying and providing an unlimited food source for its competitor.read more