Italy's Berlusconi announces fresh run for PM

ROME: Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday ended weeks of speculation by announcing he would run again for the job of prime minister, the post he was forced out of last year.

"I am running to win," the leader of the right-wing populist People of Freedom (PDL) party told journalists in Milanello, near the northern city of Milan.

He had called a meeting of the PDL for Sunday and had opened talks with his former coalition allies the Northern League to try to agree on a joint campaign backing a single candidate, he added.

"When I did sport, when I worked and studied, I never entered into a competition to be well-placed but always to win," he said.

"I hope to be in a position to be able to explain to Italians that there is a need for a force that enjoys a majority to change the rules of the constitution."

In the coming campaign he wanted to present several new faces, "because there are numerous people who have the right to feel tired," he added.

He had been in contact with a number of figures in the world of business, sport and university, he said.

"I hope to be in a position to be able to explain to Italians that there is a need for a force that enjoys a majority to change the rules of the constitution."

A general election is expected to be held in March or April of next year but the precise date has not been set, nor is there any agreement on a reform of an election law widely seen as unsatisfactory.

Berlusconi's announcement confirmed comments by leading members of his party and strong hints that he had himself made over the past few days.

In October, he had said that he would not run again for the premiership. On Wednesday evening however, the 76-year-old media tycoon said he had been assailed by requests to return to the field as soon as possible."

This will be his sixth bid to become prime minister, a post he has already held three times over a political career spanning two decades.

A parliamentary revolt forced him from office in November last year as he was fighting a series of scandals that had damaged his reputation and, said critics, the country's standing. The financial markets had reacted so badly that Italy was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

Mario Monti took over as prime minister at the head of an unelected government of technocrats. He set about introducing a policy of tax rises and austerity measures to get the economy under control.

On Thursday, PDL lawmakers abstained from confidence votes in the government to protest Monti's policies, but stopped short of bringing down the executive they have supported until now.

The renewed political tension has once again spooked the financial markets and Pier Luigi Bersani, the newly-nominated leader of the centre-left Democratic Party accused Berlusconi of "incoherence".

"It's clear that you have not reflected on past mistakes and that for you the Monti government has not been a transition but a parenthesis that opens and closes and everything is like before," he told PDL lawmakers in parliament.

"You are being irresponsible!" he said.

Responding on Saturday however, Berlusconi dismissed the criticism.

"Bersani has already started his election campaign and, so far as I am concerned, we have acted in a very responsible manner."

Bersani was voted in as the leader of the Democratic Party only last weekend. Recent opinion polls put him comfortably ahead in the run-up to the spring election.

Monti's government is in any case due to end its term of office next spring, but the PDL's change of tack has raised the possibility that it might not last that long.

President Giorgio Napolitano was due to meet Monti later Saturday for talks.

Napolitano has sought to reassure the public, describing recent developments as "pre-election tensions".

But it has been enough to shake the markets: the yields between benchmark Italian and German 10-year sovereign bonds at one point on Friday widened to 330 points, from around 300 points on Monday.

- AFP/fa

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Gift ideas for the audiophile in your life

The tiny Firestone Audio Fireye Mini headphone amplifier

(Credit:
Firestone Audio)

While audiophile gear can be quite expensive, picking out a selection of terrific gift ideas that won't break the bank is still doable. Here you'll find books, music, gear, and even a free download that will put a smile on any audiophile's, or music lover's, face. The Audiophiliac had a self-imposed price limit of $100 max and easily met that goal. Seven of the 10 gift ideas are under $50!

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.

Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't need it to flourish. The research team from the University of Florida in Gainesville thinks this ability is related to a plant's inherent ability to orient itself as it grows. Seeds germinated on the International Space Station sprouted roots that behaved like they would on Earth—growing away from the seed to seek nutrients and water in exactly the same pattern observed with gravity. (Related: "Beyond Gravity.")

Since the flowers were orbiting some 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the Earth at the time, the NASA-funded experiment suggests that plants still retain an earthy instinct when they don't have gravity as a guide.

"The role of gravity in plant growth and development in terrestrial environments is well understood," said plant geneticist and study co-author Anna-Lisa Paul, with the University of Florida in Gainesville. "What is less well understood is how plants respond when you remove gravity." (See a video about plant growth.)

The new study revealed that "features of plant growth we thought were a result of gravity acting on plant cells and organs do not actually require gravity," she added.

Paul and her collaborator Robert Ferl, a plant biologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, monitored their plants from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida using images sent from the space station every six hours.

Root Growth

Grown on a nutrient-rich gel in clear petri plates, the space flowers showed familiar root growth patterns such as "skewing," where roots slant progressively as they branch out.

"When we saw the first pictures come back from orbit and saw that we had most of the skewing phenomenon we were quite surprised," Paul said.

Researchers have always thought that skewing was the result of gravity's effects on how the root tip interacts with the surfaces it encounters as it grows, she added. But Paul and Ferl suspect that in the absence of gravity, other cues take over that enable the plant to direct its roots away from the seed and light-seeking shoot. Those cues could include moisture, nutrients, and light avoidance.

"Bottom line is that although plants 'know' that they are in a novel environment, they ultimately do just fine," Paul said.

The finding further boosts the prospect of cultivating food plants in space and, eventually, on other planets.

"There's really no impediment to growing plants in microgravity, such as on a long-term mission to Mars, or in reduced-gravity environments such as in specialized greenhouses on Mars or the moon," Paul said. (Related: "Alien Trees Would Bloom Black on Worlds With Double Stars.")

The study findings appear in the latest issue of the journal BMC Plant Biology.

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Australian DJs Behind Prank Call Under Fire

An outpouring of anger is being directed today at the two Australian radio hosts after the death of a nurse who was caught in the DJs' prank call to hospital where Kate Middleton was treated earlier this week.

Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital - the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank in a letter to the Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of Southern Cross Austereo, the Australian radio station's parent company.

Glenarthur said the prank humiliated "two dedicated and caring nurses," and the consequences were "tragic beyond words," The Associated Press reported.

DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, radio shock jocks at Sydney's 2Day FM have been taken off the air, but the company they work for did not fire them or condemn them.

"I think that it's a bit early to be drawing conclusions from what is really a deeply tragic matter," Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo told a news conference in Sydney. "I mean, our main concern is for the family. I don't think anyone could have reasonably foreseen that this was going to be a result."

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead Friday morning after police were called to an address near the hospital to "reports of a woman found unconscious," according to a statement from Scotland Yard.

Circumstances of her death are still being investigated, but are not suspicious at this stage, authorities said Friday.

Following news of Saldanha's death, commentary on social media included posts expressing shock, sadness and anger.

Nurse Duped by 'Queen's' Prank Call Found Dead Watch Video

Jacintha Saldanha, Nurse at Kate Middleton's Hospital, Found Dead Watch Video

A sampling of some of the twitter posts directed at the DJs included: "you scumbag, hope you get what's coming to you" and "I hope you're happy now."

The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the hospital for more than four years. They called her a "first-class nurse" and "a well-respected and popular member of the staff."

The hospital extended their "deepest sympathies" to family and friends, saying that "everyone is shocked" at this "tragic event."

"I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances, she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India," Saldanha's husband posted on Facebook.

The duchess spent three days at the hospital undergoing treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, severe or debilitating nausea and vomiting. She was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha," a spokesman from St. James Palace said in a statement.

On Friday, Greig and Christian had been gloating about their successful call to the hospital, in which they pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and were able to obtain personal information about the Duchess's serious condition.

"You know what they were the worst accents ever and when we made that phone call we were sure a hundred people at least before us would have tried the same thing," said Grieg on air. She added with a laugh, "we were expecting to be hung up on we didn't even know what to say [when] we got through."

"We got through and now the entire world is talking, of course," said her co-host Christian.

When the royal impersonators called the hospital, Saldanha put through to a second nurse who told the royal impersonators that Kate was "quite stable" and hadn't "had any retching."

The hospital apologized for the mistake.

"The call was transferred through to a ward, and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement. "King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."

"This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore," John Lofthouse, the hospital's chief executive, said in the statement. "We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously, and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."

The radio station also apologized for the prank call.

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North-east Japan quake rattles same fault as last year

The large earthquake today 245 kilometres off the east coast of Japan involved the same fault as in last year's devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which killed 15,000 and wrecked the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility.

The latest quake, of magnitude 7.3, struck at 5.18 pm Japanese time and was centred 160 kilometres southeast of the epicentre of the Tohoku quake.

Reports spoke of buildings swaying violently in Tokyo and in many cities along the east coast. There have been no reports of casualties, although evacuations were ordered in some cities.

A tsunami 1 metre high washed ashore at 6 pm Japanese time in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture, a region which suffered severe damage last year. But tsunami warnings along the east coast of Honshu island from the far north down to Tokyo were lifted around two hours after the quake.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said that all nuclear facilities, including Fukushima, were undamaged.

"Same fault zone"

Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, told New Scientist that today's quake originates from the same fault zone as the Tohoku quake. "It appears to be at the same interface, where the Pacific plate moving towards Japan is diving beneath the Okhotsk plate," says Baldwin.

According to Baldwin, the quake is one-fiftieth the size of the magnitude 9 Tohoku quake, which released 350 times as much energy. By mid-morning UK time, USGS had detected five aftershocks, the largest of which was of magnitude 6.2.

He says there is always a possibility that the quake could be the prelude to an even larger one. "But as a rule, most aftershocks are smaller than the first."

Baldwin stresses the extreme seismic activity around Japan, which straddles four continental plates all rubbing against one another. "Since 1978, there have been 15 quakes of magnitude 7 or higher," he says. "These happen pretty regularly."

Brian Baptie of the British Geological Survey (BGS) agrees that aftershocks are likely to be smaller, but notes that the devastating quake in 2011 was preceded a few days earlier by a magnitude-7 quake in the same zone. Whether large quakes trigger other "megaquakes" through a geological domino effect is hotly debated.

The BGS has produced a map showing the epicentres of the Tohoku event and today's quake.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

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Football: All options open for Euro 2020: Platini

NYON, Switzerland: UEFA president Michel Platini on Friday said that he was open to all options for the European championships in 2020, a day after the ruling body said that the tournament would be held across the continent.

"It's a blank page at the moment," said the former France captain. "I can't tell you where we're going to go. We haven't yet gone into the details. It's a one-off decision."

Platini first mooted the idea of holding the 60th anniversary of European football's premier competition in a number of countries before the final of this year's edition in Poland and Ukraine, which was won by defending champions Spain.

On Thursday, UEFA's executive committee was virtually unanimous in supporting the idea, which Platini said had been circulating for a number of years and had been the subject of numerous meetings and discussions with national associations.

Many fans suggested that the decision, opposed only by Turkey which had previously submitted a bid to host the tournament in eight years' time, would lead to increased costs and could destroy the atmosphere of the competition.

But Platini, who has argued that a Europe-wide competition would relieve pressures on one or two host nations given the current parlous financial climate in many countries, said more work was required to thrash out the detail.

"There are political decisions and geographic decisions," he told reporters in Nyon, Switzerland, where UEFA is based. "It's not a case of a fan watching his team in Cardiff (Britain) then in Astana (Kazakhstan) and then in Sweden.

"Nothing is decided at the moment. I put forward the idea, the associations voted. I propose things and the executive committee decides."

UEFA secretary-general Gianni Infantino said that the project would be re-examined in January or March next year and that host cities would be chosen in early 2014.

"We're looking at something bigger and more united," Platini said. "Countries that would never have had the chance to host the Euros will be able to participate in this festival of football.

"The situation is difficult in Europe. It's hard to ask one country to invest in 10 stadiums like in Ukraine. There's also the idea of belonging to a European country. It's a great idea to mark the anniversary.

"The Euros will go to the fans. It'll meet supporters. In previous years, they had to go to the Euros. Everything will be done so that the fans are able to get to games."

Asked about the personal misgivings expressed by FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke, who said last week that a Europe-wide Euro would "kill the spirit of the competition", Platini said not everyone at the world governing body had doubts.

"I've received congratulations from the president of FIFA (Sepp Blatter), who said it was an great idea," said Platini.

England's Football Association (FA), meanwhile, registered their interest early in staging the semi-finals and finals at London's Wembley stadium, while the Scottish FA also said they would be keen to participate.

"Clearly Wembley is incredibly highly thought of by UEFA and it is something we will push for," said FA chairman David Bernstein.

"UEFA want to hold the semi-finals and the final on the same ground, or in the same city and I think we would be on their shortlist -- but there would be some strong competition.

"The public want it and we'd want it and it would be wonderful to have it here."

The host cities bidding process will begin in March, with decisions on venues set to be made in early 2014.

The next European championships in 2016 are to be held in France, with an increase in the number of teams from the current 16 to 24.

- AFP/fa

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Negative Yelp post lands reviewer with $750K suit

Dietz Development's current Yelp rating.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

The Web is a lovely place to not merely get mad, but get even.

But what if the company you're criticizing thinks your version of "even" isn't even-handed?

A woman in Fairfax, Va., may now have to go to court to prove that her Yelping assessment of a contractor's work was vaguely just.

The way the Washington Post tells it, Jane Perez believed that Christopher Dietz had not merely damaged her home, as opposed to repair it, but also invoiced her for work he never did at all.

And then there's the jewelry.

Perez suggested that some of her baubles went missing and that it could only have been Dietz who had thieved them. He, she claimed, "was the only one with a key."

Oh, I almost forgot. She also accused him of trespassing on her property.

Some might have imagined that such serious accusations placed on Yelp might incite a reaction. Perez, apparently, did not. She told the Post that she never, ever imagined her self-expression could result in the expression of a $750,000 lawsuit from Dietz.

Dietz, you see, says he had a very nice Yelp score until Perez dropped her feelings online. He claims he has lost $300,000 worth of business.

"There is no one to protect businesses when people slam their name," he told the Post. Has he not heard of the Serbian mafia?

Dietz's version tends to revolve around the idea that Perez asked him to perform work beyond the scope of their agreement and refused to pay him. The job he agreed to do, he says, he most certainly did.

Sometimes, relations between home owners and contractors can deteriorate to the level of Apple-Samsung.

Contractors sometimes (often) take on too many jobs at once. They sometimes (often) don't complete work on time. Their final invoices can sometimes seem as if they were written by the author of "50 Shades of Grey."

Yet if the facts are as the Post stated them, Perez certainly made serious accusations of a factual -- rather than opinion-based -- nature.

One imagines that the lawsuit will demand that she prove her accusations.

She has removed her Yelp review. This, she says, is because Dietz fired back at her online and made false statements. These were, astonishingly enough, ranked very highly by Google when she searched her own name.

There have been cases where businesses have gone after negative reviewers with the simple intention of silencing them. There are several governments around the world that work on the same principle.

Sometimes, courts don't look fondly upon companies that go after reviewers.

Last year, a California dentist was ordered to pay $81,000 in legal costs to Yelp and to a husband and wife who wrote a negative review.

In this case, the judge decided that the review raised matters of public interest -- mercury in dental fillings, as it happens.

However, in the Perez case, the review seems to raise clear matters of fact.

More Technically Incorrect

Oddly, though, the Yelp entry for Dietz's company now contains very polarized reviews, resulting in Dietz Development only having a cumulative 2-star rating.

Reviewer David H. offers: "Pay no mind to hateful hipsters who post negative reviews of a company they have no knowledge of."

On the other hand, Hydd L. insists: "I would never do business with a 'man' (more like boy) who can't handle criticism in a calm, professional manner."

Then there Chris E. who writes: "Part of choosing a contractor is looking into their business online and here I find out that instead of encouraging his customers whom he has good relations with to write positive reviews that would bury the negative he sues a woman for writing a poor review that only ALLEGED that he may have stole property.

Ah, yes, only alleged.

I wonder which side, should this get to court, will have its facts straight.

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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano

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  Cassiopeia’s Bubble

  Image courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSF

  A new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible for this enticingly crisp image of the Bubble Nebula. Released on December 4, this closeup highlights the sphere of gas blown out by the nebula's central star, which is 45 times larger than our own sun.

  Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the Bubble Nebula is ten light-years across. Intense radiation from the massive star causes the otherworldly glow that lights up what looks like a celestial soap bubble.

  (Related: "Amazing Hubble Images.")

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Midnight Light

  Photograph by Frank Olsen, My Shot

  Delicate green auroras light up the water at Buksnesfjord, Norway, in a picture taken just after midnight on December 4.

  (See pictures of auroras sparked by a massive solar flare.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Great Escape

  Image courtesy SDO/NASA

  Sheets of plasma—or superheated gas—break off from the surface of the sun in this image taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Before floating free, the plasma rose up and danced along pathways determined by magnetic fields. These unseen forces pushed and pulled the gas into contorted shapes.

  (Learn about the sun.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  New Look

  Image courtesy NASA

  What looks like a jawbreaker is actually a gravity map of the moon. Red areas indicate places with higher gravity fields while blue areas indicate lower gravity fields.

  (Learn about lunar exploration.)

  Twin probes circling the moon—part of NASA's GRAIL mission—since 2011 have been recording changes in gravity as they fly over peaks and valleys on the lunar surface. As one probe flies over an area with a greater gravity field, the washing-machine-size instrument speeds up slightly, increasing the distance between it and its sister probe. These minute changes in position have enabled scientists to construct this very detailed view of local changes in the moon's gravity.

  (How well do you know your moon myths? Take our quiz.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Grainy Picture

  Illustration courtesy L. Calçada, ESO/NAOJ/NRAO
  

  In this artist's conception of fine-grained particles around a brown dwarf—or a failed star—bits of debris are on their way to becoming a rocky planet.

  Current thinking on Earthlike, rocky planet formation says that random collisions between tiny debris occur in the disc of material surrounding newborn stars. But the recent discovery of such a disc surrounding a brown dwarf has some astronomers rethinking that hypothesis. If planets can form from the debris around these failed stars, then rocky planets may be much more common than previously thought.

  (Related: "Coldest Star Found-No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee.")

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Night Vision

  Image courtesy Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Suomi NPP/NASA

  The Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime image of the aurora australis over the Antarctic coast south of South Africa. Despite the winter darkness and a waning crescent moon, the auroras produced enough light for sensors on board the new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite to capture the boundary between the ice shelf and what some scientists call the Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean (dark line across the bright center swirl).

  Launched last year, Suomi NPP enables scientists to capture nighttime images of the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The new sensor is so sensitive, it can capture the lights from one ship at sea.

  (Learn about Antarctica.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Pearl Islands

  Image courtesy Michael Taylor, Landsat/NASA

  In NASA's Landsat 5 satellite image, the Mergui Archipelago shows off the vibrant greens of its rain forests and the brilliant blues of the surrounding tropical ocean. Located along the southern border of Myanmar (Burma), next to Thailand, the area is known for valuable pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) and a highly diverse concentration of plants and animals.

  (See photos of Myanmar.)

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Venusian Volcano

  Illustration courtesy AOES Medialab/ESO

  The Venusian atmosphere is made mostly of carbon dioxide, along with periodic spikes in sulfur. Recent research has found that volcanoes on the planet's surface, seen here in an artist's conception, are likely injecting that sulfur into the upper atmosphere. Direct confirmation is difficult, however, since Venus's thick atmosphere precludes a peek at its peaks.

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  











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  Image courtesy SSI/ISA/ESA/NASA

  Published December 6, 2012

  
  

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Nurse Duped by 'Queen's' Prank Call Found Dead

The hospital receptionist who was hoaxed by a prank call from a DJ claiming to be the queen asking about Kate Middleton has been found dead.

"It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement released today.

The nurse was identified as Jacintha Saldanha. The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the hospital for more than four years. They called her an "first-class nurse" and "a well-respected and popular member of the staff."

"We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital," the statement said. "The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time."

The hospital extended their "deepest sympathies" to family and friends, saying that "everyone is shocked" at this "tragic event."

"She will be greatly missed," the hospital said.

Earlier this week, the hospital fell for a prank call from an Australian radio show where the hosts pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles looking to speak to Kate Middleton, who had been admitted to the hospital for her pregnancy. The call was put through to a second nurse who told the royal impersonators that Kate was "quite stable" and hadn't "had any retching."

Saldanha was the nurse who transferred the impersonators to the second nurse who gave information about Kate's condition.

Kate Middleton Leaves Hospital After Extreme Morning Sickness Watch Video

Kate Middleton Pregnant: Royal Couple Expecting Watch Video

Kate Middleton Pregnant: Hospital Stay Forces Announcement Watch Video

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha," a spokesman from St. James Palace said in a statement.

"Their Royal Highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time," the statement said.

Police were called to an address near the hospital at about 9:35 a.m. GT today to "reports of a woman found unconscious," according to a statement from Scotland Yard.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. "Inquiries continue to establish the circumstances of the incident. Next of kin have been informed," the statement said.

Circumstances of the death being investigated, but are not suspicious at this stage, according to police.

The duchess spent three days at the hospital undergoing treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, severe or debilitating nausea and vomiting. She was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.

The Tuesday morning prank call came from Australian DJ's Mel Greig and Michael Christian. They impersonated the royals, complete with exaggerated accents. They even enlisted two co-workers to bark like the queen's pet corgis.

The queen impersonator asked for her granddaughter and was promptly transferred to another hospital employee.

"I'm just after my granddaughter, Kate. I want to see how her little tummy bug is going," the radio host said, suppressing laughter.

"She's sleeping at the moment, and she has had an uneventful night and sleep is good for her," the nurse said. "She's been getting some fluids to rehydrate her because she was quite dehydrated when she came in, but she's stable at the moment."

The fake royals went on to ask when would be a good time to visit and were told that "anytime after 9 o'clock would be suitable."

"She's quite stable at the moment. She hasn't had any retching ... since I've been on duty. And she has been sleeping on and off. I think it's difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well," the nurse said.

The hospital apologized for the mistake.

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Zoologger: The toughest eggs in the world

Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals – and occasionally other organisms – from around the world

Species: Eucypris virens
Habitat: Temporary ponds throughout Europe and central Asia, shrugging things off in a blasé manner

As anyone who has ever dropped one will know, eggs are fragile things. They are so easy to break, it's a wonder they make it to hatching point – particularly when you consider that they have probably been sat on by a chicken.

But while many birds lay fragile eggs, other species have evolved distinctly tougher ones. They have had to, because they live in harsh or even toxic environments.

The champion of tough eggs may well be a tiny crustacean called Eucypris virens. Its eggs can be frozen, irradiated, drenched in saltwater or digestive enzymes, deprived of oxygen or exposed to pesticides – with no discernible ill effects.

Asexual spread

E. virens is a kind of crustacean called an ostracod, or seed shrimp. This is another of those luckless groups of animals that hardly anyone is interested in, despite being extremely common and critical to many ecosystems. At first glance they could be mistaken for molluscs, as their bodies are encased in hard shells rather like those of clams.

Like many seed shrimp, E. virens exists in two forms: sexual and asexual. The two are subtly different in shape, and while the asexuals are found throughout Europe, the sexual forms are confined to the south, particularly Spain.

The sexual E. virens are best known for producing some of the largest sperm known in the animal kingdom. A single sperm can measure up to 1 centimetre, which is several times longer than the animal itself.

Still, asexual E. virens have spread further, possibly because they can spread faster into new environments. It only takes one asexual individual to colonise a new area, which explains how they were able to rapidly spread north after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age.

While E. virens appears to be widespread, that may be an illusion. A 2010 genetic analysis suggested that what was thought to be one species might actually be at least 40, only one of which had been recognised.

Pond life

E. virens lives in temporary pools that last just weeks or months before drying out. They lay piles of dormant "resting eggs" that have evolved to survive being left high and dry, and then hatch when the water returns.

Wondering just how hardy these eggs are, Jochen Vandekerkhove of the University of Gdańsk in Poland and colleagues subjected both asexual and sexual eggs to a range of stressors and monitored how many hatched successfully.

The eggs were variously frozen to -72 °C for three weeks, exposed to ultraviolet B radiation for 10 hours, deprived of oxygen for a week, exposed to four digestive enzymes, drenched with salt water and treated with insecticide. Control eggs were stored in the dark without water.

Only the UV-B radiation had any effect, slightly delaying the hatching of asexual eggs. Sexual eggs were unaffected. Nothing else had any discernible effect.

This extreme tolerance puts E. virens in an elite group of animals that cope with a huge range of different environments. Many animals can survive being frozen or being exposed to toxins and other stressors, but it's unusual to be able to survive so many different things.

The only animals that can top E. virens are the tardigrades, or "water bears": tiny invertebrates that can handle being frozen to just above absolute zero, that's -273 ºC, and have even survived in the vacuum of space. Someone needs to send E. virens eggs into space to see if they can, too.

Journal reference: Freshwater Biology, DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12051

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