In April 1971, Private Eye carried the story of how James Arkell, a retail credit manager, had dispensed with the services of two bailiffs who were on bail on charges of conspiracy to create a public mischief — despite the fact that he had for the previous year been in receipt of a monthly kickback from their company for putting debt-collecting work their way. It was not an especially spectacular story, but the subsequent letter from Mr Arkell’s solicitors Goodman Derrick and the Eye’s response set an important “legal” precedent which is often cited as _Arkell v Pressdram_ : > _Dear Sir, > > We act for Mr Arkell who is Retail Credit Manager of Granada TV Rental Ltd. His attention has been drawn to an article appearing in the issues of Private Eye dated 9th April 1971 on page 4. The statements made about Mr Arkell are entirely untrue and clearly highly defamatory. We are therefore instructed to require from you immediately your proposals for dealing with the matter. > > Mr Arkell’s first concern is that there should be a full retraction at the earliest possible date in Private Eye and he will also want his costs paid. His attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of your reply. > > Yours etc._ The Eye’s response: > _Dear Sirs, > > We acknowledge your letter of 29th April referring to Mr J. Arkell. > > We note that Mr Arkell’s attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of our reply and would therefore be grateful if you could inform us what his attitude to damages would be, were he to learn that the nature of our reply is as follows: fuck off. > > Yours etc._ Never one to miss an opportunity, Private Eye immediately published the exchange, with the case soon falling apart and Arkell withdrew his complaint (“ _Mr Arkell has now, albeit belatedly, complied with the suggestion made to him at an earlier stage of the proceedings_.”). The magazine has since used the dispute as shorthand when responding to threats e.g. “ _We refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v Pressdram_ ”. _N.B._ Pressdram Ltd is Private Eye’s publisher. Also, there was no legal “case”, despite the name by which the dispute is now known. ### Share this: * Share * * Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X * Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn * Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit * Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email * Like Loading... ### _Related_

Electric vehicle owners in Ireland are paying significantly more than most other European countries to charge their cars at home, according to research from DoneDeal Cars.

Meta removes exploit after it was spotted by researchers

An Asian hornet nest has been located in a sycamore tree in Cork city following an "intensive effort" by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The double standard in the way in which fascism and communism, the extremist ideologies of the Right and Left, are regarded distorts political discourse.

<div class="post-content"> <p>Nobody knows what sleeping mushrooms dream of when their vast mycelial networks flicker and pulse with <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/mushrooms-appear-to-have-electrical-conversations-after-it-rains">electrochemical responses</a> akin to those of our own brain cells.</p><p>But given a chance, what might this web of impulses do if granted a moment of freedom?</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-1 Purch_Y_C_0_1-container"> <div class="ad-slot priad-1 ad-slot--content-1 Purch_Y_C_0_1" id="Purch_Y_C_0_1"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_1', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Cornell University in the US and the University of Florence in Italy took steps to find out, putting a culture of the edible mushroom species <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleurotus_eryngii">Pleurotus eryngii</a></em> (also known as the king oyster mushroom) in control of a pair of vehicles, which can twitch and roll across a flat surface.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-2 Purch_Y_C_0_2-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-2 Purch_Y_C_0_2" id="Purch_Y_C_0_2"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_2', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Through a series of experiments, the researchers showed it was possible to use the mushroom's electrophysiological activity as a means of translating environmental cues into directives, which could, in turn, be used to drive a mechanical device's movements.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-3 Purch_Y_C_0_3-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-3 Purch_Y_C_0_3" id="Purch_Y_C_0_3"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_3', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>"By growing mycelium into the electronics of a robot, we were able to allow the biohybrid machine to sense and respond to the environment," <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/08/biohybrid-robots-controlled-electrical-impulses-mushrooms">says</a> senior researcher Rob Shepherd, a materials scientist at Cornell.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-4 Purch_Y_C_0_4-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-4 Purch_Y_C_0_4" id="Purch_Y_C_0_4"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_4', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Melding <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-created-a-cyborg-stingray-powered-by-the-heart-of-a-rat">meat with machine</a> is nothing new. Evolution <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/theres-a-surprising-reason-why-robots-cant-outrun-the-fastest-animals">has had hundreds of millions of years</a> to fine-tune organic machines, so it's only natural we'd turn to biology for short-cuts on making robust devices that can sense, think, and move how we want.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-5 Purch_Y_C_0_5-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-5 Purch_Y_C_0_5" id="Purch_Y_C_0_5"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_5', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Surprisingly, the Fungi kingdom is something of an untapped goldmine for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybernetics">cybernetic technology</a>. Easily cultured with relatively simple requirements and a propensity to survive where many other organisms would struggle, molds and mushrooms could provide engineers with a variety of robust living components to suit just about every sensory or even computational need.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-6 Purch_Y_C_0_6-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-6 Purch_Y_C_0_6" id="Purch_Y_C_0_6"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_6', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Often hidden from view, networks of fine fungal threads respond to changes in their surroundings as they weave through the soil in search of resources. A number of species even crackle with transmembrane activity that <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/fungi-communicate-with-patterns-that-look-uncannily-like-our-own-speech">resembles our own neural responses</a>, providing researchers with a potential means of eavesdropping on their secret conversations.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-7 Purch_Y_C_0_7-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-7 Purch_Y_C_0_7" id="Purch_Y_C_0_7"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_7', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>By applying algorithms based on the extracellular electrophysiology of <em>P. eryngii</em> mycelia and feeding the output into a microcontroller unit, the researchers used spikes of activity triggered by a stimulus – in this case, UV light – to toggle mechanical responses in two different kinds of mobile device.</p><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-137153" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_137153" style="width: 642px"><img alt="mushroom driven rolling robot" class="wp-image-137153 size-full" decoding="async" height="373" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px" src="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2024/09/mushroom_driven_rolling_bot.jpg" srcset="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2024/09/mushroom_driven_rolling_bot.jpg 642w, https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2024/09/mushroom_driven_rolling_bot-600x349.jpg 600w" width="642"/><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-137153">Real-time demonstration of a mycelium signal-controlled wheeled robot. (<a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/1038991">Robert Shepherd</a>)</figcaption></figure><p>In controlled experiments, the team used the signals from a fungal culture to govern the movements of a five-limbed soft robot and a four-wheeled untethered vehicle.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-8 Purch_Y_C_0_8-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-8 Purch_Y_C_0_8" id="Purch_Y_C_0_8"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_8', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>They were able to influence and override the 'natural' impulses produced by the fungi, demonstrating an ability to harness the system's sensory abilities to meet an end goal.</p><div class="aspect-w-16 aspect-h-9 youtube-iframe relative"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ZkkaM54RH8?feature=oembed"> frameborder="0″ allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen&gt;</iframe></div><p>"This kind of project is not just about controlling a robot," <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/08/biohybrid-robots-controlled-electrical-impulses-mushrooms">says</a> Cornell bioroboticist Anand Mishra.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-9 Purch_Y_C_0_9-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-9 Purch_Y_C_0_9" id="Purch_Y_C_0_9"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_9', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>"It is also about creating a true connection with the living system. Because once you hear the signal, you also understand what's going on. Maybe that signal is coming from some kind of stresses. So you're seeing the physical response, because those signals we can't visualize, but the robot is making a visualization."</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-10 Purch_Y_C_0_10-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-10 Purch_Y_C_0_10" id="Purch_Y_C_0_10"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_10', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>As clumsy as 'roboshroom' might look, the true value of the system may one day be realized in simpler mechanical setups that interpret <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/cyborg-soil-unearths-a-complex-web-of-hidden-microbial-cities">complex shifts in environmental cues</a> to deliver precise amounts of nutrient or pesticide to a soil environment, or automatically tailor responses to rising levels of pollutant or even react to changes in our own bodies.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-11 Purch_Y_C_0_11-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-11 Purch_Y_C_0_11" id="Purch_Y_C_0_11"></div> <script type="d9ec4e2a8a9a442a8762d8ff-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_11', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>There's a deeper wisdom in the whispers of mushrooms we're only just beginning to understand. Given an opportunity, they might even one day tell us what they're dreaming.</p><p>This research was published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.adk8019">Science Robotics</a></em>.</p> </div>