AI project offers 'immortality' for 25 people

In many ways, the weight of mortality is one of Hamlet's most prominent themes. Hamlet's philosophy is not just informed by grief due to the loss of his father, but by existentialismA form of philosophy which explores the meaning of human existence. . He contemplates suicide, but is discouraged by the fact that it is forbidden in Christianity, and that he has evidence for the existence of an afterlife. In one famous scene, Hamlet meditates on death whilst holding Yorick's skull, lamenting that everything in life is in vain, and all that is beautiful and vital must succumbFail to resist a negative force, or die from an illness or injury. to its own mortality.

Should digital lives have a time limit? Scientists in the US claim they have found a way to create versions of human beings that will survive long after they are dead. 

Is there life after death? For centuries, people have believed that consciousness continues long after our hearts stop beating. Now a new Netflix series searches for scientific proof.

Are we losing more than words? Linguists say the world's minority languages are going through a mass extinction event. This may make communication easier. But what else is lost?

Although some say that the political dimension of Hamlet is given little weight by Shakespeare himself, many directors have chosen to emphasise politics and constitution in their adaptations of the play. Claudius appears as the play's only real politician, concerned with managing the opinion of his subjects and council even as he views the throne as a source of ultimate authority.

Are comparisons with Weimar justified? After Donald Trump's announcement that he will run for the presidency in 2024, some believe that American democracy is in peril.  

Is right-wing extremism getting worse? A terrorist threat from a group looking to "restore the German Empire" has renewed anxieties about the far-right threat in Europe.

Will the UK suffer a "lost decade"? The government has revealed its plans to solve the economic crisis. But some think the cure is worse than the disease.

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark", says Marcellus, a relatively insignificant character in Hamlet. But it is one of the most famous theatrical quotes of all time, speaking to the spiritual and political sickness in Denmark which becomes the play's centrepiece, and commencing a semanticConnected to the meaning of words. field of sickness, rot and festering decay. In Act One Scene Five, for example, the ghost's description of his body's slow death by "the leprous distilment" (poison) stands in for the poisoning of the body politic by the corruption of its leaders.

Is sleaze always part of politics? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as the saying goes. Running nations is a grubby business. But does it have to be so? 

The woman who died and lived to tell the tale

Is Prince Charles fit to be king? Allegations that he approved an honorary CBE in exchange for a £1.5m charitable donation have revived doubts about his character and judgement.

Should sportswashing be illegal? The sanctioning of Roman Abramovich has forced English football to confront questions over who exactly should be allowed to own its top clubs. 

Some critics suggest that Hamlet is about shifting styles of leadership. The late King Hamlet is representative of a feudal style, as an expansionist "conquering hero" who has killed the former King of Norway, King Fortinbras, and reclaimed a portion of land from the neighbouring realm. Norway's new crown prince Fortinbras, who serves as a foil for Hamlet, continues to agitate throughout the play, threatening invasion. Claudius, on the other hand, has a more modern, diplomatic approach, trying to resolve the conflict through communication. In some of the play's final lines, characters suggest that Hamlet would have made a good leader, but the audience has cause to doubt this generous assessment of the broody, taciturnUntalkative. protagonist.

Is a new Chinese empire beginning? The Chinese Communist Party will give its leader a historic third term. Experts call it a "coronation" that will affect the whole world.

Could he be the King of new ideas? King Charles III has often been mocked for his obsession with ecology and architecture. Now some think he could usher in a new radical age.

Are our leaders too old? The climate crisis is a "children's rights crisis", says aid group UNICEF. Now, for the first time, children will have an official space at a major climate conference.

The appearance of the ghost, which cannot be put to rest until it is avenged, can be taken as a sign of Denmark's prevailing spiritual sickness. But as for its role, critics have long felt divided. Some exalt the ghost's honourable mission of redeeming his country and family line, whilst others point out his moral duplicity in demanding that Hamlet exact revenge through murder, whilst describing his own murder as "foul and unnatural". The presence of ghosts in Elizabethan theatre was by no means unconventional - they appear in other Shakespeare plays such as Julius Caesar and Richard III - but Hamlet's ghost is distinct among Shakespeare's work.

Can premonitions be true? A new book unravels the amazing science behind a British psychiatrist who tried to predict the future by mining people's visions and dreams.

Could ghosts really exist? A new book tells the true story of a suburban housewife in the 1930s whose extraordinary experiences obsessed the public - and baffled expert ghost-hunters.

Do we all have hidden powers? A Scottish woman who can smell Parkinson's has inspired experts to create a new test for the disease. Now, scientists are looking for others with amazing secret talents.