Inflammation of the populace, Anarchist cookbook tip, Necrophilia update, Happily horrific

This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has four segments. Here are bits of each of them:

Learning from mole rats — Marketers who specialise in inflammation of the populace won’t have missed the Journal of Experimental Biology‘s appreciation of hyaluronan. Beneath the headline “Underground anti-aging secrets from burrowing rodents“, the journal says…Anarchist cookbook tip — Books can be dangerous in little-anticipated ways. Feedback reminds you to be careful when using The Anarchist Cookbook. If you don’t cook your anarchist to the proper temperature, there may be problems. Similarly with The Shredded Vegan Chef. If you don’t properly shred your vegan chef, distress can result. If your hobby is astrophysics, the warning applies to The Whole Earth Cook Book.Post-deadly encounters — After the world became aware two decades ago of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard duck, more reports of “Davian behaviour” found their way into the public record. Here is a quick update….Happily horrific titles – Some medical papers have titles so intriguingly horrifying that – to anyone who loves a good horror story – the title almost begs the reader to NOT read the study itself. Why avoid the complete study? Because one’s imagination, when overstimulated, can conjure up wonders. In comparison, the actual you-could-go-see-it-yourself details might seem mundane, dull, even comparatively dreary. Reading them could produce literary disappointment and disgruntlement – maybe even the death of curiosity. For example…