Gå ubegrenset med Magzter GOLD
Få ubegrenset tilgang til over 9000 magasiner, aviser og premiumhistorier for bare
Prøve GULL - Gratis
Mystery of Pacific voyages guided by spiritual GPS
The Observer
|August 03, 2025
Researchers bid to unlock secrets of Marshall Islands' 'wave pilots' – and learn more about Alzheimer's
Somehow Alson Kelen knows the way across the Pacific Ocean, without GPS or sextant or sometimes even the stars to guide him.
Ask him how he manages to navigate from atoll to atoll in the Marshall Islands, midway between Hawaii and Australia, and he might mention the swell of the waves or the spiritual qualities of the sea.
This week, scientists from the UK will try to establish exactly how he does it. Kelen will sail from Majuro, the Marshalls' capital, 75 miles north to Aur atoll, with a team including psychologists from University College London and the University of Stirling. They will monitor Kelen and others on board to understand the brain of a Marshallese wave-pilot - and the brains of untrained passengers trying to work out where they are when all they can see is ocean and sky.
Denne historien er fra August 03, 2025-utgaven av The Observer.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Observer
The Observer
Can a biopic of the Boss be anything other than blinded by his light?
Heavens above, not another biopic. I'm still in recovery from A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s attempted unveiling of The Mysterious Soul of Bob Dylan starring Timothy Someone-or-other.
2 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Reeves is still only getting part of the Brexit message
The financial markets, and much of the media, seem obsessed by the level of public sector debt and borrowing.
3 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
The anonymous Twitter troll account set up to discredit Virginia Giuffre
The online attacks came thick and fast, all 479 of them designed to discredit the accuser of Epstein, Maxwell and Prince Andrew.
5 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Badenoch and Farage should stop playground politics of making rules they can't keep
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That's the golden rule I remember being taught as a child in primary school. Not a bad guiding principle.
3 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Museums are in the pink while corporate sponsors remain shy
By embracing private philanthropy, the sector has received record sums, however businesses are feeling burnt by protests, write Nicole Fan and Stephen Armstrong
3 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
'Democrat saviour' or 'commie bastard': Mamdani, would-be king of New York
The 34-year-old socialist set to become the Big Apple's first Muslim mayor may be the left's greatest hope - and biggest threat. Hugh Tomlinson joins the new star of US politics on the campaign trail
8 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Use Russia's money
Europe has missed its chance to hit Putin's finances
2 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Struggling 'clean food' brands dig in for long haul
Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, wrote Keats. Not if you're in the plant-based food industry. Sales at major brands, including Oatly and Beyond Meat, are stalling.
2 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Reeves mission: to build a European Silicon Valley centred on 'golden triangle'
Brexit is costing the UK 80bn a year in lost taxes, hitting output by up to 8% and investment by more than twice as much. The chancellor has her work cut out
5 mins
October 26, 2025
The Observer
Academics sign letter of support after ‘vile’ abuse of Israeli professor
Tom Watson, Margaret Hodge, Michael Grade, Prof Andrew Roberts and hundreds of academics are among more than 1,600 signatories of an open letter condemning a “targeted harassment campaign” against an Israeli professor at a London university.
1 mins
October 26, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size