Manchester is constantly positioning itself at the forefront of scientific discoveries.
Scientists born or based in our city have played truly integral parts in so many major breakthroughs throughout the centuries, including the invention of the first electronic stored-program computer in 1948, the discovery of the electron in 1897, and more recently in the 21st century, the creation of graphene in 2004.
But could this be their most important discovery yet? Probably not… but it certainly grabbed our attentions, that’s for sure.
That’s because scientists from the University of Manchester (UoM), together with the University of Oxford, have uncovered the secrets behind one of nature’s quirkiest plants – the Ecballium elaterium, also known as ‘the squirting cucumber’.
While the name might suggest otherwise, this breakthrough by Manchester‘s-own is no joke.
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Manchester scientists have unlocked the ‘explosive’ secrets of the squirting cucumber / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
This cucumber – which has intrigued scientists due to its dramatic seed dispersal method for a long time – spreads its seeds by launching them at high speed in a pressurised jet, sending them more than 10 metres from the parent plant.
For as long as the plant has intrigued scientists, the exact mechanism and its benefits were said to be “poorly understood”.
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But now, through using high-speed videography, image analysis, lab experiments, and mathematical modelling to examine each phase of the seed ejection process, scientists have found that, as the cucumber ripens, fluid from the fruit is squeezed into the stem, causing it to stiffen and straighten, and changing the inclination of the fruit so that it is better suited for launching seeds over long distances.
The internal pressure in the fruit is so high that, once it detaches from the stem, the fluid and seeds within the shell are explosively launched in a powerful jet.
Using applied maths, we have just decoded one of the most rapid motions in the plant kingdom: the squirting cucumber. Published today in PNAS, our work reveals how the stem stiffens to optimise the angle at which the fruit squirts its seeds in a jet of slime: pic.twitter.com/qVLAcNpWpE
This finding has been described as having “important implications” for the understanding of the plant’s population dynamics, could help scientists better understand how plants might adapt to environmental changes such as temperature, rainfall patterns, and soil conditions due to climate change, and even inspire new technologies.
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It also offers insights into evolutionary adaptations related to explosive fruit mechanisms.
Lead researcher Finn Box, from The University of Manchester, said that the Ecballium elaterium’s seed dispersal is a process that’s “almost unheard of in the plant world”.
He added that this particular research is “the first comprehensive mechanical explanation for how the cucumber plant launches its seeds with remarkable speed and precision”.
Featured Image – UoM
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‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September 2024 price, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
28th November 2024 
