Science & technology | Synthetic biology

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Home-brewed heroin may soon be in the works

SHORTENING an industry’s supply chain is bound to affect the activities of its suppliers. That is as true of the recreational-drugs business as it is of any other. Some street pharmaceuticals, such as methamphetamine and cannabis, are already produced near their main consumer markets—whether cooked up in laboratories or grown under cover. But others, particularly cocaine and heroin, still have to be imported from far-flung places where the plants which produce them flourish in the open (think of poppies in Afghanistan).

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Only connect”

India’s one-man band

From the May 23rd 2015 edition

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A thoughtful robot sitting on a rock, resembling The Thinker, with a question mark above its head

Researchers lift the lid on how reasoning models actually “think”

They plan sentences far in advance. They also bullshit themselves when reasoning out loud

This illustration depicts a surreal, anthropomorphic clock with facial features. The clock face includes eyes, a nose, and lips arranged along the clock hands, giving it a whimsical and expressive look. The background is green, and the figure wears a white

How Daylight Saving Time affects your sleep and diet

This annual time shift has long-lasting effects on health


Finnish designed electric motorcycle Verge

Motors in the wheels take EVs further

Simpler to build, lighter and extra range


What does space miso taste like?

It should make the diets of astronauts more interesting

Mitochondria transplants could cure diseases and lengthen lives

A technique that may create a new field of medicine

Is red meat unhealthy?

Overdoing it could give you heart disease or cancer