In March, a few weeks before the tulips bloom, hordes of private planes descend on the Dutch town of Maastricht for the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), the largest and most prestigious art and antiques fair in the world. Taking place this year from March 13 through 22 and featuring 275 dealers and galleries from around the world, TEFAF offers unique one-stop shopping.

Attendees will be treated to a wide array of top-tier Old Master works, such as a charming 17th-century marriage portrait of a richly dressed…

Scientists zoom in and out as the brain processes sound

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have mapped the sound-processing part of the mouse brain in a way that keeps both the proverbial forest and the trees in view. Their imaging technique allows zooming in and out on views of brain activity within mice, and it enabled the team to watch brain cells light up as mice “called” to each other. The results, which represent a step toward better understanding how our own brains process language, appeared online Ju…

Comic-book characters are experiencing something of a renaissance, inspiring wildly successful movies, television series, video games, and now pens. The Italian pen maker Montegrappa has introduced a new line of eight pens inspired by heroes and villains from the DC Comics universe. In contrast to the gritty takes on these iconic characters that are popular today, the Montegrappa pens are inspired by their campier, silver-age (approximately 1956 to 1970) incarnations. Each pen is priced from $395 to $475, depending on nib type. (<a href="http://www.montegrappa.com/products/writing_instruments/dc_comics/i…

The new flagship for Dassault Aviation, the Falcon 8X, flew for the first time in early February, just over a month after the ceremonial first rollout at the factory in Bordeaux, France. The three-engine jet was in the air for about two hours, reaching altitude of 15,000 feet. The program is on track for deliveries to start in the second half of next year. The 8X offers a spacious cabin 42 feet long—3.5 feet longer than the 7X’s—and a range of more than 7,400 miles. Like the 7X, the 8X can fly steep approaches…

Molecular “Eat Now” Sign Makes Cells Devour Dying Neighbors

A team of researchers has devised a Pac-Man-style power pellet that gets normally mild-mannered cells to gobble up their undesirable neighbors. The development may point the way to therapies that enlist patients’ own cells to better fend off infection and even cancer, the researchers say.

A description of the work was published July 15 in the journal Science Signaling.

“Our goal is to build artificial cells programmed to eat up dangerous junk…

Instead of traditional precious gems, Cresta Bledsoe and Jacquie Aiche have turned to unconventional materials—well-preserved shark teeth—as centerpieces for their latest jewelry works, giving the fossils an extraordinary second life.

For decades, relatives of Bledsoe’s combed the shores of Ponte Vedra Beach on the northeast coast of Florida for fossilized shark teeth, eventually accumulating a vast collection that she now sets in recycled 18-karat gold and crafts into earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracel…

Brain might be more resilient with advanced schooling

Better-educated people appear to be significantly more likely to recover from a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), suggesting that a brain’s “cognitive reserve” may play a role in helping people get back to their previous lives, new Johns Hopkins research shows.

The researchers, reporting in the journal Neurology, found that those with the equivalent of at least a college education are seven times more likely than those who didn’t f…

On March 7 at its Oxford location, Bonhams will auction off a 182-lot private collection containing no fewer than 24 antique horse carriages and coaches. If there was any doubt about the exceptional nature of the auction, look to Lot 224. A scarce and coveted mostly original circa-1878 Concord Coach with coachwork by Abbot and Downing, estimated at $240,000 to $270,000 and capable of seating nine passengers, is not even the auction’s top lot.

That honor goes to a circa-1835 traveling landau made by the Lond…

During a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu, Calif., last week, an early-’80s Porsche 911—clearly headed to or from the beach—zipped by. Clean and unadorned, the pre-’90s 911s are the essence of simplicity, without shiny trim, scoops, or spoilers to compromise their perfect profile. But this car, with a quintessentially West Coast Chiffon White paint job and black interior, did sport one very inapposite addition. Extending 6 feet from the sunroof and standing like a dictator in a state limous…

Younger women with diabetes have a higher risk for heart disease

Most women will say they want the same opportunities as men. But they probably don’t feel that way about their heart-disease risk.

Although it’s well established that women without diabetes have a far lower risk of heart disease than men, a new study shows that among women younger than 60 who have diabetes, the risk increases fourfold.

“We were surprised to find that in the presence of diabetes, any gender differences in the risk of hear…