I can’t say there’d be too many movies that are the subject of a comic strip about a family of four going along to said film’s premiere, but when we’re talking about 2001: A Space Odyssey it of course all makes sense.

Ok, so maybe there is something in adhering to a ritual of some sort – say following a special routine prior to a job interview – in the lead up to a significant event:

Recent research suggests that rituals may be more rational than they appear. Why? Because even simple rituals can be extremely effective. Rituals performed after experiencing losses – from loved ones to lotteries – do alleviate grief, and rituals performed before high-pressure tasks – like singing in public – do in fact reduce anxiety and increase people’s confidence. What’s more, rituals appear to benefit even people who claim not to believe that rituals work.

An oversize truck was prevented only at the last second from entering the tunnel under Sydney’s harbour, after a large stop sign being projected onto a water screen, that had been activated at the mouth of the tunnel, came to the driver’s attention.

This after the driver apparently failed to notice a number of prior warnings to stop his vehicle as it was deemed too big for the tunnel. I hate to think of the traffic chaos, and who knows what else, that would have resulted had the truck not been stopped in time.

Marijuana users tend to be slimmer, have less insulin, and more good cholesterol, than those who do not smoke it. So, next question, should we reassess our attitude to the largely illicit drug if it’s possible it may have health advantages?

Current marijuana users had significantly smaller waist circumference than participants who had never used marijuana, even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, tobacco and alcohol use, and physical activity levels. They also had higher levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”). The most significant differences between those who smoked marijuana and those who never or no longer did was that current smokers’ insulin levels were reduced by 16 percent and their insulin resistance (a condition in which the body has trouble absorbing glucose from the bloodstream) was reduced by 17 percent.

Be warned though, both the risks and benefits of cannabis, are not fully understood, and there are certainly downsides to its use.

Footage of London filmed in the late 1920s by British cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene. There’s even a snippet of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test, played between England and Australia, at the Oval, in 1926.

Recent outbreaks of NCoV, or Novel Coronavirus, H7N9, a new type of bird flu, and wild polio, are certainly cause for concern, especially for travellers who may visiting affected areas, but what are the chances of actually contracting any of these illnesses?

The World Health Organization has had a busy couple of weeks keeping track of three deadly strains across the world, and world travelers have probably been equally overcome with fear. And while the public-health group has been realistic in combatting a worldwide freakout – at least it’s been a bit more proactive than local governments in check-ups on novel coronavirus, Chinese bird flu, and now wild polio in Africa – the WHO did confirm over the weekend that the SARS cousin, NCoV, can spread between humans in the same room. If you’re already afraid of humans in the same room as you, here’s how to responsibly freak out on the viral news before it goes viral in the wrong way.

What would you prefer in an exercise regime? A longer workout of lower intensity, that will likely require you to leave the house and go along to the gym, or one that may constitute “seven minutes of steady discomfort”, but allow you experience said discomfort from the comfort of your own home?

In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfills the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort – all of it based on science. “There’s very good evidence” that high-intensity interval training provides “many of the fitness benefits of prolonged endurance training but in much less time,” says Chris Jordan, the director of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla., and co-author of the new article.

If you wish to try the workout, this website will help you step through each of the exercises inside the seven minute time frame.

News that a Burger King restaurant in the United Kingdom planned to add a gourmet burger, costing around £85, to their menu caused quite a stir a few years ago, but that didn’t stop Mark Post, a researcher at Maastricht University, in the Netherlands, from developing a burger costing in the order of US$325,000 to create.

Producing a burger that potentially requires a diner to take out a mortgage to pay for though, wasn’t the intention however:

The hamburger, assembled from tiny bits of beef muscle tissue grown in a laboratory and to be cooked and eaten at an event in London, perhaps in a few weeks, is meant to show the world – including potential sources of research funds – that so-called in vitro meat, or cultured meat, is a reality.

Food as you seldom see it, from a cutaway image prospective, the result of a collaboration between New York City based food stylist Charlotte Omnes, and photographer Beth Galton.

Now those of us who know little to no Latin can make sense of the the Latin jokes that feature throughout the Asterix comic books, thanks to the efforts of Andrew Girardin, who has recently been translating them into English.