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The surprisingly simple supernutrient with far-reaching health impacts

Most ingredients touted as the key to better health fail to live up to the hype but fibre bucks this trend, with benefits for the whole body, not just the gut




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How to cut through the latest nutritional fads

From the benefits of fermented foods to diets that promise a better hormone balance, there is a confusing array of dietary advice out there




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Is personalised nutrition better than one-size-fits-all diet advice?

Our metabolism's response to food is highly idiosyncratic and there are hints that tailoring our diet to these personal differences can deliver health benefits




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Are we really ready for genuine communication with animals through AI?

Thanks to artificial intelligence, understanding animals may be closer than we think. But we may not like what they are going to tell us, says RSPCA chief executive Chris Sherwood




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Michelangelo's 'The Flood' seems to depict a woman with breast cancer

The Renaissance artist Michelangelo had carried out human dissections, which may have led him to include women with breast cancer in some of his pieces




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Mountaineering astronauts and bad spelling? It's advertising's future

Feedback digs into a baffling ad for a mobile game and identifies a new and devilish way to advertise a product online: make it as confusing as possible to encourage people to click (it worked on Feedback)




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Spies can eavesdrop on phone calls by sensing vibrations with radar

An off-the-shelf millimetre wave sensor can pick out the tiny vibrations made by a smartphone's speaker, enabling an AI model to transcribe the conversation, even at a distance in a noisy room




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The surprising truth about the health benefits of snacking

We get about a quarter of our calories from snacks and new research shows that this isn't necessarily bad for us. Done right, snacking can boost our health




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One in 20 new Wikipedia pages seem to be written with the help of AI

Just under 5 per cent of the Wikipedia pages in English that have been published since ChatGPT's release seem to include AI-written content




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There may be a cosmic speed limit on how fast anything can grow

Alan Turing's theories about computation seem to have a startling consequence, placing hard limits on how fast or slow any physical process in the universe can grow




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The science of exercise: Which activity burns the most calories?

Running, swimming, HIIT or walking – what is the best way to work out? The answer is complicated, and depends on the person, finds Grace Wade




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The COP16 biodiversity summit was a big flop for protecting nature

Although the COP16 summit in Colombia ended with some important agreements, countries still aren’t moving fast enough to stem biodiversity loss




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Heat can flow backwards in a gas so thin its particles never touch

A surprising reversal of our usual understanding of the second law of thermodynamics shows that it may be possible for heat to move in the “wrong” direction, flowing from a cold area to a warm one




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Spraying rice with sunscreen particles during heatwaves boosts growth

Zinc nanoparticles, a common sunscreen ingredient, can make plants more resilient to climate change – in a surprising way




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Ancient Mesopotamian clay seals offer clues to the origin of writing

Before Mesopotamian people invented writing, they used cylinder seals to press patterns into wet clay – and some of the symbols used were carried over into proto-writing




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3D printing with light and sound could let us copy human organs

One day, doctors might be able to 3D print copies of your organs in order to test a variety of drugs, thanks to a new technique that uses light and sound for rapid printing




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2024 is set to be the first year that breaches the 1.5°C warming limit

This year’s average global temperature is almost certain to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial times – a milestone that should spur urgent action, say climate scientists




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More people are living with pain today than before covid emerged

Chronic pain has increased among adults in the US since 2019, which could be due to a rise in sedentary lifestyles or reduced access to healthcare amid covid-19 restrictions




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Slick trick separates oil and water with 99.9 per cent purity

Oil and water can be separated efficiently by pumping the mixture through thin channels between two semipermeable membranes




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DNA analysis rewrites the stories of people buried in Pompeii

Genetic analysis of five individuals preserved as plaster casts in the ruins of Pompeii contradicts established beliefs about the people and their relationships




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Quantum Rubik's cube has infinite patterns but is still solvable

Allowing for moves that create quantum superpositions makes a quantum version of a Rubik’s cube incredibly complex, but not impossible to solve




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In satire Rumours, diplomatic communiques collide with the end times

A stellar cast play leaders of G7 countries facing an existential crisis in Rumours, a smart film about communication, diplomatic nonsense and not coping, says Simon Ings




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The real reason VAR infuriates football fans and how to fix it

The controversies surrounding football’s video assistant referee (VAR) system highlight our troubled relationship with uncertainty – and point to potential solutions




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Our only visit to Uranus came at an unusual time for the planet

Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986, giving us our only up-close look at the planet – but unusual space weather just before the craft arrived has given us a misleading idea about the planet’s magnetic field




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Lights on surfboards and wetsuits could deter shark attacks

Experiments show that illuminating the underside of a decoy seal reduces attacks by great white sharks, revealing a possible strategy to protect surfers and swimmers




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Red kites and buzzards are being killed by misuse of rat poisons

Campaigners are calling for stricter controls on rodenticides after finding that birds of prey in England are increasingly being exposed to high doses of rat poison




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Humanity has warmed the planet by 1.5°C since 1700

Most assessments of global warming use 1850-1900 as a baseline, but researchers have now established a new pre-industrial reference by using Antarctic ice cores to estimate the average temperature before 1700




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Jets of liquid bounce off hot surfaces without ever touching them

Droplets of fluid have been known to hover above a hot surface, but a new experiment suggests the same can happen to tiny jets of liquid too




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Orbital wins the Booker prize: “I see it as a kind of space pastoral"

Samantha Harvey has won the UK's top fiction prize for a novel that takes place over 24 hours on the International Space Station




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Ancient Herculaneum scroll piece revealed by AI – here's what it says

A Greek philosopher’s musings on pleasure, contained in ancient papyrus scrolls buried by Mount Vesuvius’s eruption 2000 years ago, have been rediscovered with the help of AI




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Dogs and horses buried with Iron Age people may have been beloved pets

A 2200-year-old burial ground in northern Italy includes people interred with dogs and horses, perhaps showing they had strong bonds with their animals




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Is it time for a more subtle view on the ultimate taboo: cannibalism?

New archaeological evidence shows that ancient humans ate each other surprisingly often - sometimes for compassionate reasons. The finds give us an opportunity to reassess our views on the practice




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Indigenous Australians have managed land with fire for 11,000 years

Lake sediments reveal the ancient history of Aboriginal people’s use of fire to manage the landscape, a tradition that has benefits for biodiversity




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Did the people of Easter Island independently invent writing?

Wooden tablets containing a language of glyphs called Rongorongo may be evidence that the people of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, created their own writing system without the influence of European language




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How neuroscience can help you make tough decisions - with no regrets

Most people are too risk-averse when it comes to life's biggest choices. Learning how to overcome the cognitive biases at play can help you make better decisions - with no looking back




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Ancient campsite may show how humans survived volcanic super-eruption

Evidence from an archaeological site in Ethiopia suggests ancient humans adapted their diet during a dry spell after the Toba volcano eruption 74,000 years ago




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Ancient canoes hint at bustling trade in Mediterranean 7000 years ago

Italian canoes capable of transporting people and goods have been dated to the Neolithic period, suggesting there was a bustling trade across the Mediterranean Sea




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Oldest known human viruses found hidden within Neanderthal bones

Genetic analysis of 50,000-year-old Neanderthal skeletons has uncovered the remnants of three viruses related to modern human pathogens, and the researchers think they could be recreated




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Modern soldiers test ancient Greek armour to show it worked for war

An experiment inspired by Homer’s description of combat in The Iliad tested the capabilities of the Dendra armour suit from Greece’s Bronze Age




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Did rock art spread from one place or was it invented many times?

Rock art is a truly global phenomenon, with discoveries of cave paintings and etchings on every continent that ancient humans inhabited – but how many times was it invented over human history?




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Mysterious rock art in Venezuela hints at little-known ancient culture

Pictograms and petroglyphs depicting abstract lines and shapes offer a rare glimpse into the culture of people who lived in South America thousands of years ago




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Ancient artefacts suggest Australian ritual endured for 12,000 years

Wooden sticks found in an Australian cave appear to match the accounts of a 19th-century anthropologist, suggesting the GurnaiKurnai people practised the same ritual at the end of the last glacial period




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How ghost cities in the Amazon are rewriting the story of civilisation

Remote sensing, including lidar, reveals that the Amazon was once home to millions of people. The emerging picture of how they lived challenges ideas of human cultural evolution




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Iron Age skeletons found under bridge may have been hit by a tsunami

Twenty people may have died 2000 years ago when an Iron Age bridge suddenly collapsed following a tsunami or flood, but scientists also cannot rule out that they were sacrificed




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Britain saw centuries of economic growth under Roman rule

The technologies introduced by the Romans after they conquered Britain led to the kind of economic growth seen in the industrial age




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Neanderthal cooking skills put to the test with birds and stone tools

In an effort to understand ancient Neanderthal food preparation techniques, researchers butchered five wild birds using flint stone tools and roasted them




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Hobbit hominins from Indonesia may have had even smaller ancestors

An arm bone from an ancient human that lived 700,000 years ago on the island of Flores is the smallest ever found from an adult hominin, adding a new piece to the puzzle of Homo floresiensis




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Ancient plant artefact reveals humanity's epic journey to Australia

We know that modern humans took one of two routes to first reach Australia, and now an ancient chunk of plant resin has tipped the evidence towards the northern option




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Neolithic engineers used science knowledge to build megalith monument

A monument in southern Spain that dates to between 3600 and 3800 BC appears to have been built with an understanding of geology and physics




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A gripping account of morality shows how we work out right from wrong

Where do morals come from? In Animals, Robots, Gods, anthropologist Webb Keane argues imagination and differing senses of the world are key to discerning right from wrong