Entertainment

Obituary: Lewis Collins

Lewis Collins, best known for his role as Bodie in the 1970s TV series The Professionals, has died aged 67 after a five-year struggle with cancer.

His agent said Collins died peacefully in his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday surrounded by his family, and asked for privacy during this very sad time.

The Professionals was a major hit on ITV from 1977 to 1983 due to its action-packed plots and memorable theme tune. The show thrust Collins and co-star Martin Shaw, who played Doyle, to stardom as a crime-fighting duo.

The pair worked as agents of a fictional unit called CI5, an amalgam of MI5 and the CID, targeting major league criminals from international drug dealers to terrorists.

Shaw, appearing in a West End production of Twelve Angry Men, said: I was very sad to hear today that Lewis has died. We spent a very tough four years together in making The Professionals, and shared in the production of what has become an icon of British television. He will be remembered as part of the childhood of so many people, and mourned by his fans. I send my love and condolences to his family, and the great many who will miss him — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Science

Are Imperial Measurements outdated? / Matt Parker

In response to feedback from our awesome subscribers we asked Matt Parker to give us his guide to imperial measurements! Is an inch really an inch or is it three barleycorns? So a 6 inch ruler is actually 18 barley corns! Now where is that bag of barley… — via Youtube

Design

Purple House / Hillingdon

A sought after address due to the convenience of being located on the Uxbridge Road and a family inspired design are the hallmarks of this cleverly planned and extended four bedroom semi-detached home — via Right Move

History

Bay Psalm Book, published in 1640s, sets new world record after selling for more than $15m at auction

The first book printed in what is today the USA has sold for more than $15 million at auction in New York, becoming the world’s most expensive printed book.

A translation of Biblical psalms, The Bay Psalm Book was printed by Puritan settlers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1640.

One of only 11 surviving copies from the original 1,700, it was sold at a one-lot auction in just minutes by Sotheby’s.

Bidding opened at $US6 million and closed swiftly at a hammer price of $US12.5 million, rising to $US14.165 million (around $15.5 million) once the buyer’s premium was incorporated.

The book, with its browning pages and gilt edges, was displayed in a glass case behind the auctioneer to the small crowd who attended the auction.

The bidding lasted less than five minutes, and was won buy David Rubenstein, a billionaire American financier and philanthropist — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Science, Technology

Polymer gel, heal thyself: Engineering team proposes new composites that can regenerate when damaged

When a chair leg breaks or a cell phone shatters, either must be repaired or replaced. But what if these materials could be programmed to regenerate — themselves, replenishing the damaged or missing components, and thereby extend their lifetime and reduce the need for costly repairs?

That potential is now possible according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, who have developed computational models to design a new polymer gel that would enable complex materials to regenerate themselves — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Design, Wildlife

Let’s Sea Ring Holder / ModCloth

A true sucker for twinkling accessories, this charming creature offers eight curled tentacles that clutch each specimen, a pair of dimpled eyes for inspecting every detail, and a chrome-like finish that complements your glittering collection — via ModCloth

Entertainment

Trailer: Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, including stops in Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. But mayhem follows them overseas as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine, the World’s Number One Criminal, and dead-ringer for Kermit — via Youtube

Design

Princess Machine / GoldieBlox

We’re GoldieBlox, a toy company out to show the world that girls deserve more choices than dolls and princesses. We believe that femininity is strong and girls will build the future — literally.

Our founder, Debbie Sterling, is a Stanford engineer who decided last year that girls need more choices than the pink aisle has to offer. She developed GoldieBlox, an interactive book series + construction set starring Goldie, the kid inventor who loves to build.

This year, we wondered what we could do to showcase the amazing inventive power that girls have. So… we might have recruited three young girls and that guy who made OK Go’s famous Rube Goldberg machine to turn an average home into a massive, magical contraption — via Youtube

Wildlife

Orphaned Cougar Cubs / Oregon Zoo

A trio of Cougar cubs quietly moved in behind the scenes at the Oregon Zoo’s veterinary medical centre. The three cubs were found orphaned in southwest Oregon in late October and stayed at the zoo temporarily while they awaited flights out of town to new, permanent homes in New York and Kansas — via ZooBorns

Health, Rights

Australian Vaccination Network loses appeal against name change order

The Australian Vaccination Network has again been ordered to change its name, after losing an appeal against a ruling that its current name is misleading.

The New South Wales Administrative Decisions Tribunal has upheld a ruling by the state’s Fair Trading department that the anti-vaccination group’s current name could mislead the public.

The AVN can elect to make a further appeal against the ruling, but Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts has warned the organisation risks a hefty legal bill because the department will seek legal costs.

The AVN must change its name now, Mr Roberts said.

We’re awaiting advice from the AVN as to what they consider an appropriate name would be.

We reserve the right to reject any names we consider inappropriate, but again my clear message to the Australian Vaccination Network is be open and up-front about what you stand for.

The Australian Medical Association was among those that complained to Fair Trading about the AVN’s name — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Wildlife

Haller’s Round Stingray / Tennessee Aquarium

A new Haller’s Round Stingray arrived at the Tennessee Aquarium with a surprise of her own to share: she gave birth to a litter of five on 21 October, soon after her arrival. Each baby now measures about 8 cm, minus the tail, and could grow to be slightly larger than 30 cm in disk size as adults. Stingrays give birth to live young, which absorb nutrients from a yolk sac and then a special uterine milk before birth. Born fully developed, the babies are immediately able to swim and feed, requiring no parental care — via ZooBorns