We humans are an extremely important manifestation of the replication bomb because it is through us - through our brains our symbolic culture and our technology - that the explosion may proceed to the next stage and reverberate through deep space.

I need a teacher quite as much as Helen. I know the education of this child will be the distinguishing event of my life if I have the brains and perseverance to accomplish it.

People repeat behaviour that leads to flooding their brains with pleasurable chemicals. The short-term reward loop acts over hours to years and the long-term reproductive success loop over generations.

For an actress to be a success she must have the face of a Venus the brains of a Minerva the grace of Terpsichore the memory of a MaCaulay the figure of Juno and the hide of a rhinoceros.

For an actress to be a success she must have the face of Venus the brains of a Minerva the grace of Terpsichore the memory of a Macaulay the figure of Juno and the hide of a rhinoceros.

The families of many athletes - incensed at the sports leagues and hoping to make games safer overall - are increasingly making the brains of players who die prematurely and suspiciously available for study. Some athletes are even making the bequest themselves.

More and more NFL players have been willing their bodies to science so that their brains can be studied even if they die of other causes.

We're as clever as we think we are but we'll be a lot cleverer when we learn to use not just one brain but to pool huge numbers of brains. We're at a level technologically where we can share information and think collectively about our problems. We do it in science all the time - there's no reason why we can't do it in other endeavors.

Of all the failed technologies that litter the onward march of science - steam carriages zeppelins armoured trains - none has been so catastrophic to prosperity as the last century's attempt to generate electricity from nuclear fission.

There are so many different reasons as to why I love riding trains. But I think ultimately it's the romantic feeling of it. There's something about it that just transports me into old films.