Lovers that mirror each other's drinking habits are more likely to stay together, research on 47,000 couples has revealed.  Researchers suggest that this could be down to a gene that influences how much we drink, as well as how it affects us.

Heavier drinkers were more likely to pair up and stay with partners who also regularly consume alcohol, with light-drinkers attracted to others of their ilk.  Each person in these couples was also found to be more likely to share a specific variant of a gene linked with heavy or light alcohol consumption.

Experts from the University of Bristol analysed the genetic data of 47,000 couples in the UK Biobank, a national resource for health research, to make the finding.

They looked at each person's reported alcohol consumption and compared with those carrying a gene variant known as the ADH1B gene.

A different variant of this gene is also connected to whether we experience unpleasant side effects of alcohol, with heavy drinkers less likely to experience as severe hangovers.

Laurence Howe, a PhD student at the University of Bristol told the New Scientist that previous studies on the link between alcohol use and partner choice have relied mostly on self-reported data.  'We wanted to disentangle the possibilities using a genetic approach.  This suggests that alcohol consumption directly influences mate choice, adding to the growing evidence that humans are more likely to select a similar mate.'

The results also suggest that a partner's drinking can have a small effect on how much we drink.  Experts found that each extra unit that a partner drinks each week corresponded to a 0.26 increase in their other half's drinking.

While the link is interesting, researchers point out that variant of ADH1B is also linked to other factors that could influence our choice of partner.  That includes heavy drinking variant being linked to being from a poorer background.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal bioRxiv.

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An age old debate between owners of cats and dogs as to which pet is superior may have finally been settled, with canines coming out on top.  Man's best friend emerged victorious from a well-respected survey that discovered dog owners are twice as likely to call themselves 'very happy'.

The startling divide comes from a US survey designed to gauge the nation's political and religious situation and is likely to cause uproar among feline fans.  Those who look after both cats and dogs fall in the middle of the two groups.

The US General Social Survey has tracked a broad swath of American trends since 1972, offering comprehensive insight into the evolving face of the country.  Last year's edition was the first time it included questions asking about pets and the relationship between owner and animal.  It found non-owners of pets and pet owners have similar happiness levels but there is a noticeable divide within the latter.

People were asked if they consider themselves to be 'very happy' and, of this group, 36 per cent of them were dog owners.  In comparison, only 18 per cent of these 'very happy' individuals were cat owners.

Dog owners also clocked higher figures for seeking comfort from their animals, playing with them and even thinking of them as part of the family.

The difference between the two groups is more significant than the happiness divide between middle class and upper class people and almost as notable as the disparity between those who say they're in 'fair' versus 'good or excellent' health.

The findings reveal a strong correlation but cannot be taken to mean having a dog causes people to be happier.  It is possible a host of external factors play a role in the differences in happiness levels.

Data in the survey also revealed dog owners are more likely to be married and own their own homes than cat owners.  It is possible these then play a more pivotal role in the overall happiness levels of people than owning a dog.

The survey covers a wide range of topics including gender and identity, current affairs, civil liberties, religion and spirituality and politics.  It also discovered the number of Americans who identify as having no religion has risen 266 per cent since 1991.  This number is now statistically similar to the number of Catholics and Evangelicals in the country.

Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University who analyzed the data, said that experts have several theories about why the number of 'nones' has risen so dramatically in recent decades.  He told DailyMail.com: 'One of them is that many people used to lie about what they were.  Many people were (always) atheist or non-religious, but it was previously culturally unacceptable to not have a religion in America.'

Shifting political ideologies about social issues has also played a role, with fewer Americans comfortable with the rhetoric of their religious leaders.

Professor Burge said: 'Another (theory) is that the religious right kind of cleaved moderate Christianity and a lot of moderate Christians who were moderately attached said they didn't want to defend Jerry Falwell … and all the anti-gay and anti- abortion religious rights leaders.  So they said, 'You know what? I'm out.'

As the 'nones' have ascended, the number of mainline Protestant Christians has fallen 62.5 per cent since 1982, to now account for just 10.8 per cent of the US population, according to the survey.  The number of Catholics has gone up and down over the decades, cumulatively decreasing more than 4 percentage points from 27.3 per cent in 1972.

However, that indicates an overall stability for that religion, despite the decades of sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the Church, Professor Burge said.

'Catholicism is more cultural than religious in a lot of ways,' he said. 'People are less and less likely to disaffiliate from Catholicism than Protestantism, which is less cultural in that people are willing to walk away from it.'

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It would take at least 10 millions of years for the Earth to recover from climate change if it is serious enough to wipe out mankind, according to latest data.

The impact of modern day climate change has been compare to major extinction events such as the Great Dying that nearly killed all marine life and the extinction of dinosaurs.  Scientists who examined the fossil record say it is the evolutionary processes of microorganisms that limits the speed of recovery.

The millions of years it took for the Earth to recover from the extinction of the dinosaurs could offer fresh insight into the planet's recovery from ongoing global warming, say scientists.  The asteroid impact that led to the extinction of dinosaurs is the only event in Earth's history that caused global change faster than present day climate change.  This recovery period of habitats is present in the fossil records from the Great Dying that wiped out nearly all ocean life 252 million years ago, as well as the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs.

The researchers at the University of Bristol and University of Texas say that it also confirms the theory that after a major extinction event, ecosystems evolve in a way that takes millions of years for it to thrive again on Earth.

Dr Andrew Fraass from the University of Bristol and Dr Christopher Lowery at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) who conducted the research, say that their study is the first to find evidence in the fossil records.

This is in contrast to an alternative theory that says it is environmental changes that is the limiting factor in allowing recovery of life forms on Earth.

The team followed the recovery period of a tiny microorganism known as planktic foraminifera through fossils which dates back to the extinction of the dinosaurs over 60 million years ago.  The organisms, also known as foram, are aplenty in ocean sediments which meant the researchers could closely track them without any large gaps in time.

They discovered a high level of complexity, such as the development of new traits to create a new species.  This took place before they could fully evolve - a process that slowed down global recovery even when conditions allowed for it.  Their results suggest that while the earth was inhabitable much sooner after these large-scale disasters, evolution of organisms was the limiting factor that slowed the process down.  This explained why species took millions of years to recover even though much of the planet was technically habitable relatively soon after the 'Great Dying.'

The authors believe that the same recovery period of millions of years applies to all similar events including today's global warming.

Mr Fraass said: 'We're hoping that examining the rest of the planktic foraminiferal record will give us insight into how climate shaped their evolution.  With the past, slower, changes in climate we have in the geological record, we should be able to tease out more details about how climate change might impact these important plankton.'

The recovery from past extinctions could offer a road map for what might come after the modern ongoing extinction, which is driven by climate change, habitat loss, invasive species and other factors.

The full report was published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

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An author was accidentally locked out of his iPad by his three year old son for 25,536,442 minutes after the toddler repeatedly keyed in the wrong password.

Evan Osnos, a New Yorker staff writer posted the picture of the baffling error from his iPad on Twitter, the equivalent of being locked out for 49 years.  The message read: 'iPad is disabled try again in 25,536,442 minutes.'  The number of minutes displayed in the message equates to nearly 49 years and the photo has received over 100 responses so far with some users asking him to 'wait it out'.

The problem does not seem to have been resolved although according to official Apple instructions, entering the wrong password multiple times erases its content.

In the post, Mr Osnos, who is based in Washington, wrote: 'Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock.  Ideas?'

While some users mocked the situation, with one user Twitter/@Geopilot writing: 'Time travel seems to be your best bet', others tried to be more useful.

One user, @Byron_Mobley, sent a screenshot of text message to someone he claimed to be 'a friend certified by Apple', whose response was: 'Nothing they can do they will never use it again.'

According to the official Apple website, the response might not be far off.  Apple wrote: 'Locking yourself out of your iOS device and retrying with the wrong password too many times leads to permanent removal of data from the device.  If you enter the wrong passcode on an iOS device too many times, you'll be locked out and a message will say that your device is disabled.  At this point, the data on your device has been erased.  To recover the use of your device, you'll need to remove your passcode by performing a restore.'

Apple's official instructions were to restore the content of your phone - if you have backed it up - by connecting it to your laptop via iTunes.  If the data was not saved however, there is no way of retrieving the information.

Apple does not state exactly how many times a wrong password is entered before the information on the device is erased, although other websites suggest this is 10 times.

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Scientists examining potassium have discovered a new state of physical matter where atoms can exist as both solid and liquid at the same time.  The research is said to clear up whether there was a distinct state of matter or the atom structures represented a transition between two stages – whether solid, liquid or gas.

Tests were carried out on the 'simple metal', such as applying high pressures and temperatures, with powerful computer simulations used to study what was known as the chain-melted state.

Experts from the University of Edinburgh believe more than half a dozen other elements – including sodium and bismuth – are capable of existing in this new state.  It was previously unclear if this structure represented its own distinct state of matter.  By simulating the behavior of roughly 20,000 potassium atoms under extreme conditions, the researchers say they have confirmed a new, stable state of matter.

Dr Andreas Hermann, of the university's School of Physics and Astronomy, led the study which is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  He said: 'Potassium is one of the simplest metals we know, yet if you squeeze it, it forms very complicated structures.  We have shown that this unusual but stable state is part solid and part liquid.  Recreating this unusual state in other materials could have all kinds of applications.'

According to the team, the extreme conditions led to the formation of two interlinked solid lattice structures in the atoms.  These strong chemical interactions allowed the atoms to stay in solid form when heated.  The other atoms melted into a liquid state.

The study was supported by the European Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the work was carried out in collaboration with scientists from Xi'an Jiantong University in China.

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Global warming is causing glaciers to melt which has boosted sea levels by more than an inch (27 mm) since 1961.

A study suggests the total mass lost from glaciers is far more than previously thought.  Based on their findings, the authors suggest that glaciers could almost disappear in some mountain ranges by 2100 (including the Caucasus, Central Europe, Western Canada and the USA and New Zealand).

Glaciers, not including the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheets, account for more than 40,000 cubic miles (170,000 cubic kilometres) of water.  Warming temperatures are causing them to melt and experts now believe melted glaciers account for 25 to 30 per cent of current sea level rises.  Ice loss from all the glaciers is believed to approximately equal to the shrinkage of Greenland's enormous Ice Sheet and far greater than that of the Antarctic.

An international research team combined glaciological observations with satellite measurements to accurately determine changes to glaciers and how this affected sea levels.  Satellite images allowed researchers to track the surface of the Earth and provided data on ice thickness and how it has changed over many years.  Researchers were then able to spot ice thickness changes to more than 190,000 glaciers around the world.

Glaciers in Alaska, Patagonia and in the Arctic regions were found to contribute the most to glacier ice loss.  Those found in the European Alps, the Caucasus and New Zealand were also affected but due to their relatively small size only play a minor role when it comes to sea levels.

Michael Zemp, who led the study, explains: 'By combining these two measurement methods and having the new comprehensive dataset, we can estimate how much ice has been lost each year in all mountain regions since the 1960s.  The glaciological measurements made in the field provide the annual fluctuations, while the satellite data allows us to determine overall ice loss over several years or decades.'

Global mass loss of glacier ice has increased significantly in the last 30 years and narrowed it down to a ten year window spanning from 2006 to 2016.  This revealed a worrying statistic that 335 billion tons of ice is lost each year from glaciers alone.  This corresponds to an increase in sea levels of almost 1 millimetre per year.

'Globally, we lose about three times the ice volume stored in the entirety of the European Alps every single year!' says glaciologist Dr Zemp.

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

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Let’s face it – if you use a water bottle on a regular basis, you are probably not cleaning it nearly as often as you should be.  While it’s undoubtedly a good habit to keep a reusable bottle, studies have found these containers can harbor all sorts of potentially harmful bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli.  But for whatever reason, many of us still remain lax about the upkeep.

A San Francisco startup is hoping to offer a convenient (albeit pricey) solution with what it says is the world’s first self-cleaning water bottle.  The $95 LARQ bottle uses patented UV-C LED microchips built into the cap to purify your water and sterilize the inside of the container no matter where you are; according to the company, the technology kills off up to 99.9999% of bacteria.  Once you get past the price tag (yes, personal UV sterilizers don’t come cheap), the LARQ bottle is a straightforward piece of low-key tech that fits right into your daily routine.

The bottle itself is sleek and durable, and it really does keep liquid cold for hours on end.  It doesn’t leak or ‘sweat,’ so you can toss it in a bag without worrying about ruining your other belongings.  But most importantly, it zaps bacteria and viruses that typically thrive in moist environments.

After three weeks of daily use without any additional cleaning beyond its own built-in capabilities, the bottle never once developed a muggy smell.  And, almost a month in, the battery has yet to die since its initial charge.

LARQ uses patented UV-C technology to quickly eradicate bacteria and viruses.  It offers two modes of cleaning: Normal Mode and Adventure Mode.  The latter gives a more thorough cleanse; according to the firm, this clean cycle will kill 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.99% of viruses.

The cap emits 280 nanometer UV light that taps into the same photochemical reactions used by hospitals to sterilize surfaces in patients’ rooms.

‘When UV light is absorbed, it breaks the DNA’s chemical bonds and kills the bacteria or virus,’ the company explains.  It purifies without a filter, mercury, or ozone, making it the ‘world’s only mercury-free portable water sanitation system,’ according to LARQ.

In practice, engaging the self-cleaning system is about as simple as it gets: tap once for Normal Mode, and twice for Adventure Mode.  The bottle will also run a short clean cycle on its own every two hours.  When this happens, you’ll see its blue ring ‘breathing’ for about 10 seconds.

LARQ had its technology tested independently at Harrens Lab in California to see how effective the technology really is.  A report on the analysis shows it was able to kill off E. coli almost entirely: in 1 minute, it killed 99.9775% of E. coli, 99.9998% in 2 minutes, and 99.9999% of E. coli in 3 minutes.

As LARQ’s purification system is designed only to work with water, you’ll still have to give it a regular soap and water wash if you put another liquid, such as juice or coffee, in the bottle.  Otherwise, if you are only using water (which should be clear to the eye to begin with, with no heavy sediment, the company notes), there is no need for additional cleaning, and the battery lasts for one to two months.

With the health benefits considered, not to mention the convenience of not having to clean it, the LARQ bottle definitely lives up to its price tag.

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Hypersonic jet travel across the Atlantic has moved a step closer after scientists successfully tested technology to stop jet engines melting at speeds up to 25 times the speed of sound.

Researchers at Reaction Engines managed to make a 'pre cooler' work at a simulated speed of 3.3 mach or 2,500 mph (4,023kph) - that means large scale hypersonic engines that could be fitted to passenger jets are a step closer to being realised.   Their experimental Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine (Sabre) is designed to be fitted to large aircraft to ferry passengers around the world in hours and deliver goods into orbit for less.

The 'pre-cooler', which lets the aircraft travel at high speed without hot air rushing in and causing the engine to melt was tested at simulated speeds of more than three times the speed of sound.  The next stage of tests will see the technology tested at Mach 5.5 (4,200mph / 6,800kph), and could one day lead to flights between London and New York that take less than an hour.

Reaction built a testing facility on the ground in Colorado and used a General Electric J79 turbojet engine to replicate the conditions that the vehicle will experience at hypersonic speeds.  The firm hopes to make a reusable vehicle that would combine the fuel efficiency of a jet engine with the power and speed of a rocket.

Reaction, based in Oxfordshire, believe that the aircraft could travel the distance between New York and London in less than an hour when running at its proposed top speed.  The company also wants to take people and payloads into space and return to Earth.

A spokesperson for Reaction Engines told MailOnline that although this technology is decades away from use in passenger jets, the technology could be used in more immediate applications.

The heat exchanger technology has a wide range of potential commercial applications and the ability to revolutionise the approach to thermal management across a range of industries; from aerospace to motorsport, industrial processes, and the oil and gas industry.

The breakthrough test was conducted at the company’s newly opened TF2 test facility at Colorado Air and Space Port.  It comes 30 years after Reaction Engines was formed in the UK around an engine cycle concept to enable access to space and hypersonic air-breathing flight from a standing start.

The pre-cooling technology is designed to lower the temperature of the air coming into the engine from more than 1,000°C (1,832°F) to room temperature in one twentieth of a second.  To do this, the team developed a heat-exchanger to manage very high temperature airflows.

The tech is designed to chill air in the inlet of high-speed turbojets for hypersonic vehicles and ultimately will form the basis for the company’s Sabre engine for low-cost repeatable access to space.  The goal is to incorporate this technology into their Sabre engine, which would work like an 'air breathing rocket engine'.

It would carry significantly less fuel oxidant than a conventional rocket, making it much lighter.  From take-off to Mach 5.5 (5.5 times the speed of sound), it would take oxygen from the atmosphere, which would be fed into a rocket combustion chamber.  Here, it would be ignited along with stored liquid hydrogen and then switch at high altitude, burning liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen from on-board fuel tanks.

Mark Thomas, the Reaction Engines chief executive, told the Times: 'If you can pull it off, it's a game changer.  It kicks conventional rocket engines into touch.'

It did this by successfully quenching a 420°C (788°F) stream of gases in less than 1/20th of a second.  At low altitude and low speeds, it would behave like a jet, burning its fuel in a stream of air scooped from the atmosphere.  At high speeds and at high altitude, it would transition to full rocket mode, combining the fuel with the oxygen carried inside.

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It may be a half-century since former U.S. astronaut, Buzz Aldrin rose up to become one of the first-ever humans to step foot on the moon, but that doesn't mean he's done making a splash.

Aldrin stole the show at a recent reunion of astronauts involved in the Apollo space missions. From left to right: Charles Duke (Apollo 16), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7), Al Worden (Apollo 15), Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9), Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17), Michael Collins (Apollo 11), Fred Haise (Apollo 13)

At a recent reunion, eight former Apollo astronauts, and three of the four living men to have walked on the moon, gathered together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.  While the momentous feat of humankind's lunar landing was the subject of the reunion, Aldrin quickly stole the show, showing up in a glimmering silver suit, American flag socks, and an array of accessories replete with not one but two gold watches and an array of gold rings.  Photographer Felix Kunze shared the image of the astronauts on his website.

Aldrin has made the news for his bold fashion choices in the past, particularly during Men's Fashion Week in 2017 when he took to the runway with fellow man-of-science, Bill Nye.

The former astronaut wore a similarly silvery suit with a T-shirt that read 'get your a** to Mars,' while Nye donned a jacket that looks almost identical to Aldrin's above.  The event last month wasn't all about Aldrin, though.

In a panel discussion, astronauts discussed their sometimes harrowing journeys, including what it's like to drive the rover on the moon's surface and another about how Aldrin and Armstrong were nearly stranded on the moon's surface only to be miraculously saved by a felt-tipped pen, as reported by Space.com.

An anniversary of the first lunar landing comes with apt timing as the U.S. begins to shift back towards human space travel, particularly returning astronauts to the moon which hasn't been done since 1972.

In a recent and buzzy announcement, Vice President Mike Pence announced the White House's intention to expedite another lunar visit, slating the next visit for 2024.  Previously, NASA said that the soonest it planned to do so was in 2028, double the amount of time.  Pence said: 'Since the end of Apollo 11, we’ve forged incredible breakthroughs in our technology that have allowed us to go further, more safely in space than ever before.  We have the technology to go the moon and renew American leadership in human space exploration.'

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Female drivers in the world of auto-sport are genetically wired up to deal with the extreme conditions better than their male peers.  A study found that there is no difference between the physical fitness of males and females but women, with suitable training and experience, could become faster.

Debate over the differences in physical performance has raged for a long time as to whether women are as capable of enduring the brutal conditions at the wheel.  It also dispelled a common and unfounded myth that women are less tolerant of the high temperatures involved in Motorsport at a certain point on their menstrual cycle.

Carmen Jorda, a member of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, was criticised after encouraging female drivers to pursue 'less physical' racing opportunities.

Researchers at Michigan State University studied six people - three male and three female - to see if there was any difference between the sexes.  Evaluation was done in two classes of racing, closed and open cockpit, and found the physical durability to be the same.  Researchers analysed heart and breathing rate, core body and skin temperature as well as heat-induced stress, which can lead to heat exhaustion.

'Heat strain is the primary stressor in racing.  Women naturally have an elevated core temperature during a certain phase of their menstrual cycle.  The misperception was that they would potentially fatigue faster and become a safety risk to other drivers.  Based on our results, I'm here to say that's just not true,' said David Ferguson, an assistant professor who has spent 15 years studying the physiology of race car drivers at Michigan State University.

It was previously suggested that the luteal phase - the second half of the cycle which begins after ovulation and ends at the start of the next period - made women a danger to themselves and others.

'The luteal phase is when women can have higher heart rates, core body temperature and an increase in other physiological factors that are considered markers for fatigue.  Yet even during this time, these factors still were no different than what male drivers exhibited.'

The study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, also found that the structure of the car, whether a closed or open cockpit, was more of a factor causing higher physiological stress in both sets of drivers than any hormonal changes.

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