These two men aren't miners: they're astroparticle physicists whose lab is over half a mile beneath Yorkshire. They're looking for dark matter. They're not sure if it exists or if they'll find it. But they've got until March, and if they do, our world will never be the same again. ...read
Dark matter: Deep in a mine on the edge of the North Yorkshire moors, a British-led team is trying to solve the biggest mystery in the universe
The city of the future: It's a story of camels, penguins and cars you don't drive
Masdar City, located between Abu Dhabi Airport and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, is a template for a vision of a new kind of city, says NORMAN FOSTER. Covering an area of around three-and-a-half square miles, it will eventually be home to 40,000 people and hundreds of businesses. ...read
LIVE COLUMNISTS
- THE INSIDER: 'You've got the biggest one I've ever seen,' said Kim Cattrall. 'Darling, it's enormous!' She was referring to my billboard
- JAMES MARTIN: The Pingu-friendly version of Fiat's 500 is a two-cylinder...but not as we know it ...but not as we know it
- DYLAN JONES: Talking Italian - the visual guide Gestures have become so important in Italy that guides are printed in dictionaries
In Demand: 23rd January 2011
payasugym.com
£400, olympus.co.uk
public.uk.com
uk.hermes.com
TECH WORLD
It's got big numbers, only three buttons and knows exactly where you've been. Meet Nike's merciless Sportwatch GPS
It's light. It looks great. And unlike normal lap-timer watches, you CAN'T cheat. It's the size of a normal watch, and weighs just 66g, but offers fast, solid GPS capability - on test, it picked up a signal inside a building with a glass roof. ...read
THE SECRETS OF MY SUCCESS
TAKE THE WEIGHT OFF YOUR MIND
They weigh you and your body fat (and the really grown-up ones tell your PC, too).
A stylish weight-watcher that does just about everything but hide the biscuits. Stand on its stainless steel platform and it will display - in a large font - your body-fat, BMI (body mass index) and weight measurements, as well as telling you how hydrated your body is, your muscle mass and your BMR (via bioelectrical impedance analysis). It has a 12-user memory, plus athlete and child modes.
With its sleek, minimalist glass surface and a clear, backlit LCD screen, John Lewis's bargain-priced machine will sit elegantly in any modern bathroom. It features a ten-user memory and displays your body-fat percentage, BMI, BMR (basal metabolic rate), water mass and even your bone mass. It also gives accurate readings on soft surfaces thanks to its special 'carpet feet'.
Highly priced and highly sophisticated, this system will give you a physical so detailed you might think you're on Harley Street. It measures your muscle mass, calorie intake, metabolic age, bone mass, body fat, visceral fat and overall physique. Privacy is assured, since there's no screen; instead, it'll automatically send your readings to a Garmin fitness watch, a Tanita remote display or (via a £50 USB stick) a computer.
Every time you step gingerly onto these glass-and-aluminium scales your weight, fat mass and BMI are recorded and the information is beamed via Wi-Fi to your home computer or iPhone. Then, via graphs on a password-protected website or a free downloadable app, you can track and share your impressive progress - or lack thereof. It can store data for up to seven other users, too.
As the name suggests, it's all about BMI with this clinical-looking machine. Input your height in metres and it will calculate the figure for you, using four colours to reveal which weight category you fall into. It can also work it out for your children. There are no bells and whistles, but it's a very cheap machine (the cheapest on test here) and it does the job.
These scales use eight sensors - for your feet and hands - to provide more accurate entire-body measurements. (The hand sensors are attached to the LCD display, which separates from the main unit when in use.) Input your height, age and gender and the Omron will tell you your BMI, your body-fat percentage and visceral-fat level.
With a striking, modern design, the Soehnle is ideal for those wanting to monitor themselves regularly during a diet or personal-training programme. Measuring your muscle mass and body-fat and body-water levels in 0.1 per cent increments, it shows trend curves and recommended actions on its separate wireless, wall-mountable display.
'A school reunion? It would be pointless. There wouldn't be anybody there': Clint Eastwood at 80
What does America's most famous film star do at 80? Take a story about the afterlife by the British author of The Queen and film it in London, of course - and grant a rare interview to Live about how he's facing up to his own hereafter.
...read
MOTORING NEWS
JAMES MARTIN: The Pingu-friendly version of Fiat's 500 is a two-cylinder...but not as we know it
You’d think the tiny engine would struggle with motorway speeds, but you can pull out to overtake without ever embarrassing yourself, and it cruises very calmly at 70 in fifth gear. ...read
OBJECTS OF DESIRE - THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE GADGETS
SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME
Six of the best sat-navs - and all for under £100...
Features: UK and Ireland maps, 4.3in touchscreen, two-hour battery life, 3D junction views
Verdict: Well built, with many more features than you'd expect for less than £100. And the menu is intuitive - it can learn your driving style.
4/5
Features: UK and Ireland maps, 4.3in touchscreen, safety camera updates, two-hour battery life, SD card slot
Verdict: Not a patch on the Tom Tom or Garmin for accuracy and usability but for a decent touchscreen at a low price you can't grumble.
3/5
Features: UK and Ireland maps, 4.3in touchscreen, free ecoRoute software, lane assist, Bluetooth calling, 2D/3D images
Verdict: Packed with features but only 15mm thick, we like the Garmin's ability to speak road names and not just numbers. Lacks traffic updates.
5/5
Features: UK and Ireland maps, 3.5in touchscreen, SD card slot, 2D/3D mapping, postcode search
Verdict: Lacks top-brand polish but we're impressed, especially with the 'last mile' feature, which records the location of your car after parking.
4/5
Features: UK and Ireland maps, 5in touchscreen, SD card slot, full postcode search, safety camera update
Verdict: Huge widescreen aside there's not a lot to love about this. The display lacks contrast and it sometimes failed to keep up with the car's location.
2/5
Features: UK and Ireland maps, 3.5in touchscreen, easy-mount system, instant updates
Verdict: Stripped to the bare bones, but a very reliable sat-nav, perfect for the occasional/first time user. The window mount is excellent.
4/5
She's electric: The 139mph eco car
Made in Norfolk, driven by battery and 0-100mph in 8.5 seconds. The only catch? It's £100,000 (oh - and if you want to go further than 150 miles, you'll have to plug it into the recharger).
£15m for a three-bed flat (in rather a good location)
The Candy brothers' One Hyde Park opens this week... with £1bn worth of flats already sold, proving there are still some squillionaires out there. Entry-level buyers need not apply...
Ben Fogle's top winter-survival jackets
It's a chill wind that blows us no good...so why suffer? Adventurer Ben Fogle tests four hi-tech jackets to beat the freeze.