An Austalian geneticist has sparked a controversial debate, by putting a new spin on the old question ‘what will happen when the Y chromosome drops off?’ The Y chromosome (the trigger that makes males, well, male) has been slowly shrinking down over the generations, and will eventually vanish completely. Professor Graves speculates that this could result in the creation of a new species of human being. Other specialists aren’t entirely convinced that the theory could become reality, but there’s little cause for worry – it’ll take a good 15 million years to happen, if at all.

We already know that nuclear power is uneconomical, damages the environment and leaves us with a nasty and as-yet-unsolved waste problem – ‘energy too cheap to meter’, it isn’t. But here’s another reason for not investing in new nuclear plants – the weather. It’s been awfully dry this year, hasn’t it? We’ve had real droughts in both the US and Europe. The thing is, nuclear plants need a lot of water to run safely and efficiently, and the global water shortage is one of the major unmentioned crises currently facing the human race. Lucky there are better options available, eh?

The media doesn’t do science many favours in its endless search for the eye-grabbing headline. One of the NewScientist bloggers has a good summary of the problem, using as an example the AFP headline used to announce the results of a genetic study of the Maori people of New Zealand, and the identification of a gene that influences aggression and risk-taking in Maori males. The headline? “‘Warrior’ gene claimed to fuel violence in New Zealand Maori.” Overstatement may encourage discrimination and stereotyping, but hey, it sure shifts newpapers.

A new scientific study of ocean-floor sediment from the Arctic regions is shedding new light on a period of Earth’s history when there was a massive peak of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – no prizes for guessing that the evidence indicates that the North Pole was unusually warm and wet during this time. The results of this study should promote greater understanding of the Earth’s climate as a system – and not a moment too soon, as another study shows the Greenland ice-cap may be melting at three times the speed previously estimated. Time to sell off that beach-front property and invest in renewable energy, perhaps?

In a report that will doubtless excite litigation specialists world-wide, it is announced that big-name brands have their reputations ‘damaged’ by other products having the same brand name, even if the product is of a totally different type. In the mean-time, more brand-related news from the subcontinent – the state government of Kerala, India, has banned Pepsi and the Coca-Cola Company from manufacturing or selling their products in the area. It looks like some brands manage to damage their own reputations quite successfully, too.