A rare giant skeleton of a dinosaur which last roamed Earth more than 150 million years ago was acquired for the Natural History Museum of Denmark, it has confirmed.
Mystery surrounded who had bought the 55-foot specimen of the long-necked Diplodocus longus when it fetched £400,000 at an auction in West Sussex last month.
But now the Natural History Museum of Denmark has confirmed it acquired the striking female skeleton, nicknamed Misty, following a donation from the Obel Family Foundation.
Bra that helps prevent over-eating
Scientists have developed a smart bra which can measure the wearer’s mood to help prevent over-eating.
M.C. Schraefel, a professor in computer science and human performance design from the University of Southampton, has helped to design the bra which is fitted with sensors that monitor heart and skin activity.
The data from the prototype device is then analysed by a smartphone app which can highlight when “emotional eating” is most likely to occur and offer advice to the wearer. The app can then provide suggestions such as carrying out calming breathing exercises to reduce the user’s stress levels.
Over the mountain on a Boris bike
London Mayor Boris Johnson has praised three friends who managed to take a “Boris bike” on a gruelling trip up a French mountain before returning it with 22 seconds to spare before the 24-hour rental limit expired.
Matthew Winstone, Ian Laurie and Robert Holden paid the £2 daily hire charge for the bike, which they took from New Kent Road in Southwark, south London, at 3.58am on October 26. They then took it by van through the Eurotunnel and drove to Mont Ventoux, a Tour de France landmark, where Mr Holden, from Teddington, south west London, pedalled the three-speed 23kg bike to the top.
The group managed to get the bike back to London by 3.57am the following day – just in time to avoid the £150 Transport for London fee for going over 24 hours. Their efforts have so far raised more than £3,600 for Macmillan Cancer Support which was chosen because Holden’s father suffered from the disease.
Phone students for Christmas carol
The phones are jingling off the hook at Dial-a-Carol, a student-run project on the University of Illinois Champaign campus.
It is a hotline of sorts for people who prefer hearing holiday music sung by a choir of amateurs who have been up all night studying.
The programme was started in 1960 by a former hall secretary, Betty Gordon, and a group of dorm residents. Last year, the student volunteers took more than 4,000 calls from people all over the world requesting such holiday tunes as Jingle Bells, White Christmas and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.