Bizarre gout treatments in ancient manuscripts

Baking a salted owl and grinding it into powder can treat gout and so can stuffing a puppy with snail and sage, roasting it over a fire and using the fat to make a salve, according to mediaeval manuscripts. The Cambridge University Library said the treatments are among 8,000 medical recipes contained in 180 documents - mostly dating to the 14th or 15th centuries. The treatments are a “reminder of the pain and precarity of mediaeval life,” an expert told Sky News.

Ancient creature with no anus is not a human relative

A mystery surrounding a 500 million-year-old microscopic creature with a mouth but no anus has been solved at last. Although previous studies had suggested that Saccorhytus coronarius, a tiny sack-like creature, was related, researchers now say they are confident that it is in fact part of the same evolutionary group as arthropods, which includes insects and crustaceans. “One less relative to be embarrassed about,” said The Guardian.

Volcano warnings from UK experts

British researchers said there is a one in six chance of a major volcanic eruption happening this century. Writing in the journal Nature, the experts said the world is “woefully unprepared for such an event”, which could have “repercussions for supply chains, climate and food resources worldwide”. Although Nasa has allocated more than £200m to projects to deflect asteroids, there is no investment to prevent or mitigate large-magnitude eruptions, noted The Times.