Tim Radford Life is what you make of it. Right now, what you make of it is money. You can isolate a length of DNA, describe it, make something inventive, propose a use, pay some money and claim it as yours at a patent office. Congratulations. You have joined the 21st-century gold rush. You have […]

Guy Clapperton A photographer who takes a picture retains the copyright unless it is signed over to someone else. But if the picture is held electronically, international copyright law becomes null and void. Sounds ludicrous? Not according to Sygma, the French picture library that was recently acquired by Bill Gates’s picture giant, Corbis. The company […]

Guy Clapperton A photographer who takes a picture retains the copyright unless it is signed over to someone else. But if the picture is held electronically, international copyright law becomes null and void. Sounds ludicrous? Not according to Sygma, the French picture library that was recently acquired by Bill Gates_s picture giant, Corbis. The company […]

It’s head-smashing, thumping, shaking time again. This year, like every year, you need to know how to get the better of a dreadful festive season hangover. Dehydration caused by the alcohol you consumed combined with the effects of congeners (the other ingredients and flavourings in drinks) cause the hangover. Some of them are natural to […]

Brenda Atkinson The Prophetic Nun by Guy Butler (Random) It’s not an easy task to review a book which, although evidently written as a work of great personal interest and passion, has (or so I imagine) limited appeal for most people. The Prophetic Nun is such a book. A well-researched document of the artistic and […]

Fiona Macleod THORNS TO KILIMANJARO by Ian McCallum (David Philip) On one level Thorns to Kilimanjaro is a tale of adventure about climbing the highest free-standing mountain in the world; on another it is about a man’s quest to lay to rest a few bothersome personal ghosts. The main character, Hamish Malcolm, sets off to […]

Jessica Piombo crossfire Over the past few weeks a debate has emerged in the pages of the Mail & Guardian over what people who fail to see a viable alternative to the African National Congress should do with their votes in the upcoming local elections. Glenda Daniels, describing the dilemma of voters disillusioned with the […]

Deon Potgieter boxing Despite losing a week’s training because of the rantings of Glen “The cry baby” Catley, Dingaan Thobela says he is approaching readiness for the first defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) super- middleweight world title on December 15. Thobela had to fly to Paris last week to defend himself at a […]

ONGERI JOHN, Dar es Salaam | Friday DROUGHT-ravaged Tanzania has introduced electricity rationing as shrinking dams begin to cutting into its hydro-electric capacity. Energy ministry permanent secretary Patrick Rutabazimbwa said major rain catchment areas had been hit by a year-long drought, drying up important feeder dams for the country’s hydro-electricity generating stations. Rutabazimbwa added that […]