DINNER PARTY INTEL: The lights that fool sharks

1. Undersea safety lights

An experiment off the Mossel Bay coast hopes to save surfers from sharks, whose poor eyesight often leads these predators to believe the boarders are tasty seals. Laura Ryan, an Australian surfer and biologist, is conducting the experiments with LED lights attached below decoy seals. She says her research shows the lights put off the sharks. If done to surfboards and kayaks, occupants will be safe from sharks, especially the great white ones, she says.

2. Small brain, high IQ

Dogs with small brains are smarter, according to new canine research. In general, animals with more impressive cognitive abilities tend to have brains that are relatively large compared to their bodies. Not so dogs, says Ana Balcarcel of Montpellier University in France. She led the research, which found that smaller brains suggest “enhanced cognition” in canines. Retrievers, Rottweilers, huskies and collies are smart, not so much Jack Russells and Chihuahuas.

3. Editorial incentives

Fraser Nelson, who last month retired as editor of The Spectator, was known to have run a well-oiled machine. This could have been down to a standing order at the UK magazine that its fridge should always have at least two bottles of Pol Roger champagne chilling. His own office was well stocked with expensive whisky that he regularly measured with a spirit level.