BIOGRAPHY BORIS JOHNSON: THE GAMBLER by Tom Bower (WH Allen £20, 592pp) Tom Bower is a compulsive chronicler of chicanery, or — as his many biographical victims would see it — a prolific perpetrator of hatchet jobs. Critics and enemies of Boris Johnson (of which there has never been a shortage) will therefore be disappointed … Read more
Children’s books with lots of really detailed pictures ‘make it harder for kids to focus and understand the story’, study shows US researchers modified half of a kids’ book to remove all its needless pictures 6–8-year-olds were given it to read while their eye movements were tracked The kids were less distracted and learnt more … Read more
Scientists discovered how mysterious stone forests were formed millions of years ago by using candy made in a kitchen. Believing these clusters of jagged tree-like limestone formations were formed in ancient oceans and lakes, researchers submerged hard candy in a tank of water to see how it dissolved. The candy wore down to a bed … Read more
A skier came across a surprising sight in a remote area of the Italian Alps – the preserved remains of a 400-year-old goat. With only half of its body sticking out of the ice, Hermann Oberlechner said the animal’s skin ‘looked like leather, completely hairless.’ Oberlechner had hiked six hours into the mountains, so an … Read more
At least, there is still one irredeemably British quality to this year’s Last Night of the Proms: the fudge. Not even the finest dairy herds of Devon and Cornwall could have confected something as thick, rich and clotted as the latest solution served up by the BBC. Instead of either ignoring the usual half-hearted complaints … Read more
The complex algorithm used to calculate a student’s A-level results this year is formed of a series of detailed stages looking at their school’s previous results. Exam regulator Ofqual had initially decided grades would be based on teacher assessments of how pupils would have performed, moderated by exam boards. But it became apparent that teachers’ … Read more
The US Navy has been studying young Marine Corps recruits to determine how the novel coronavirus pandemic is affecting the armed forces. The COVID-19 Health Action Response for Marines (CHARM) study has been looking at Marine newcomers between ages 18 and 19 since May 4. Scientists at the Naval Medical Research Center say the primary … Read more
Legendary commentator Clive Tyldesley has revealed his dejection in an emotional video after being replaced in his lead role with ITV after 22 years in the job. Tyldesley’s voice has provided the backdrop to a huge number of historic matches over more than two decades at major international tournaments and the biggest games in club … Read more
Jamie Carragher says he can’t understand why Watford’s players are staying away from training after the club confirmed three positive coronavirus cases on Tuesday night. The Hornets reported half of all positive coronavirus cases of the 748 tests that were carried out by Premier League clubs on their return to group training. The club’s captain Troy … Read more
Trying to analyze Donald Trump made a speech recognition bot literally CRASH – and the only way to make it work properly was to strip out its grammar and syntax tools Researchers assigned a speech recognition bot to analyze Donald Trump The bot struggled to make sense of his rambling and fragmentary sentences The team … Read more