1)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8521868.stm worth it for the pencil drawings of that they look like.
2) Apparently clams, squids, sharks and crocodiles are at the 'equilibrium' stage of punctuated equilibrium. This means they may start evolving... any moment...
3) A new DC-SQUID is proposed that exploits the properties of the grain boundary junctions in high Tc superconductors. The orientations of the grain boundaries are chosen in such a way to establish a π/2 (rather than 0 or π) phase difference between the equilibrium phases of the two Josephson junctions in the SQUID loop. This property is exploited to increase the sensitivity and direction dependence of the SQUID for measuring magnetic flux without additional flux generating coils.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F77%2F25180%2F01134289.pdf%3Farnumber%3D1134289&authDecision=-203 4) It's me and Mrs Tard's 5 year anniversary so we escaping off to the remote wilds of Loch Rannoch. Catch ya later peeps!