2 April 2022 | New Scientist | 53The back pages Puzzles
Quick quiz #145
1 How many types, or flavours,
of quark are there?2 The two types of vascular tissue in
plants are the xylem and the what?3 Following humans and chimpanzees,
what was the third ape species to
have its genome sequenced?4 The layered, fossilised structures created
when microbes are overlaid with sediment
are known as what?5 Where in our solar system would
you find Makemake and Orcus?Answers on page 55Puzzle
set by Brian Hobbs
#161 Reduction deduction“When exactly is a person supposed to
celebrate their half birthday?” wondered
Lionel. “I mean, you could celebrate your
182/365th birthday, or your 183/365th
birthday, but unless it is a leap year, the
1/2 fraction never arrives.”“The world’s greatest mystery,” said Jill.“But the good news is that if you write
every date as a fraction, so 1 January is
1/365 and 2 January is 2/365 and so
on, then my birthday falls on a day where
that fraction is reducible,” says Lionel.“Reducible?”“You know, can be simplified, like 12/18
can be reduced to 2/3. My birthday fraction
can be reduced, but the next day can be
reduced even more, to numbers on the
top and bottom that are even smaller.”“I’ll be sure to celebrate by reducing the
number of presents I get you,” says Jill.When is Lionel’s birthday?Solution next weekCryptic crossword #80 Set by Rasa
Scribble
zoneAnswers and
the next quick
crossword
next weekACROSS
1 Astronomer playing Handel melody (6,6)
9 Euphemism for rude word
returns in farewell material (7)
10 Type of bond I ought to cut
before the end (5)
11 Be not so haphazard in pursuit
of ten synthetic lifeforms (8)
12 Hey, by the way, spreadsheet
isn’t filled in (4)
14 Shower participant fixed remote (6)
15 Snoops around a backed-up
spring, for example (6)
18 Racetrack figures correct in retrospect,
having doubled down (4)
20 Denied PM sabotaged AI company (8)
23 Treat quicklime by adding
water, salt and pigment (5)
24 Spun segment of dodgy rat
edutainment (7)
25 Unsurpassed study probing trail of
evidence after unhinged rant (12)DOWN
2 Nearly stop financially supporting
court no longer in use (7)
3 Write startling word, interrupting
acceptable sort of test (4,4)
4 Want day at home for all of us (6)
5 Seed case part initially doesn’t
appear in rainy month (4)
6 Provides diameter used
in optical equipment (5)
7 You vacated island in a board game
where many jaguars live (7)
8 Echo pierces mythical flower (4)
13 Hardened fill-in worker expressed
hesitation with magazine VIP (8)
14 Academic includes directions
for evening event (7)
16 Boy eats lean, strong-smelling cheese (7)
17 British bird name associated
with Charles Darwin (6)
19 Upcoming commercial involves
hard-drive feature histrionics (5)
21 Pigeon relative repeated note (4)
22 For listeners, auctions off
animation collectibles (4)Our crosswords are now solvable online
newscientist.com/crosswords