Dogs are highly social animals and certainly sense
when we are unhappy or in pain. A 2004 study also
found that they can be trained to detect bladder
cancer from the smell of the patient’s urine. So it’s
certainly possible that dogs may be able to tell when
someone is seriously ill. But there’s no evidence that
they have any sixth sense that can tell you’ll be hit by
a bus tomorrow. LV
Too much stimulation of
your brain cells can lead to
neurotoxicity, which is
dangerous, and so one
tentative theory holds that
sleep is a chance for the
brain to enter a detox
mode in which overall
levels of neural excitability
are reduced. Sleep also
helps the brain to learn,
although the precise
physiological processes
that underlie this benefit
are still being worked out.
This means that after
you’ve spent time revising
or learning a new skill, it’s
very important that you get
a good night’s sleep. Doing
so will help your brain to
consolidate the neural
connections that underlie
new memories. CJ
What does sleep do
for the brain?
Are offices making us more sick?
It’s hard to be sure. Several studies have found that
workers in open-plan offices take more sick days than
those who work in small groups or have their own
private office. But this is mostly short absences of just
one or two days. If cold viruses were spreading more
effectively in offices, you would also expect the spread
of flu as well, which would knock you out for at least a
week. So maybe open-plan offices are just more
stressful and unpleasant to work in, and their
employees are more inclined to ‘pull a sickie’. Or it may
be that open-plan employees are less likely to be
missed. A 2005 study found that ‘presenteeism’ (where
employees come to work, even when they are sick) is
more common in small offices. LV
“But if you don’t
feed me steak right
now, you
mysteriously might
not wake up
tomorrow...”
Extreme measures
are put in place when
Barry eats curry for
lunch
Can dogs sense when
someone is about to die?
&
is the record for
non-stop TV watching,
set by five Austrians in
early 2016
92
hours
hamburgers are sold
by McDonald’s around
the world every
second
IN NUMBERS
75