Latest Stories
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Major train project risks derailment
Cross-party support for the proposed high-speed rail link between London and the north of England has been fracturing. Is this grand project worth its £50 billion price tag?
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Breakthrough for research into Alzheimer’s cure
Signs of a possible cure for dementia have been warmly welcomed, even though the treatment is unlikely to emerge for decades. Why do degenerative brain diseases frighten us so much?
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Astronauts plan to grow vegetables in space
Six romaine lettuces will sprout this winter on a space station 230 miles from Earth. With our planet’s fields growing crowded and water scarce, has farming found a final frontier?
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Kenya terror gang funded by elephant poaching
In the wake of a horrific attack on a Kenyan shopping centre, the world is now discovering how the killers were funded. What is the link between terrorism and organised crime?
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Mankind, science and disease in deadly fight
As Britain announces a huge push to tackle the three most deadly developing-world diseases, a top scientist has warned about drug resistance. Can humans and science beat disease?
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New study says working less could save the world
‘Time is money,’ goes the familiar saying. But a new book argues that our long working days are wreaking havoc on health and the environment. Is it time to cut down on the hours?
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Bird extinctions to ‘lay waste the human heart’
A new book charts the 30,000-year relationship between humans and birds in stunning detail. Now many bird species face extinction. This, warns author Mark Cocker, would be tragic for humans too.
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Warnings of early deaths as smog chokes China
The rise of China as an economic superpower has brought the downsides as well as the advantages of industrialisation. Air pollution is now so bad it is shortening lives.
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Quarter billion Chinese pushed into urban jungle
Chinese leaders will force 250 million farmers and peasants into cities in the next 12 years. They believe urbanisation is the path to prosperity, but city living can come at a terrible cost.
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Neuroscientist claims to have proof of free will
If the brain’s workings can be reduced to chemical reactions, is there room for free will? This question has puzzled philosophers for decades; now science may have the solution.
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Scientists use thought to pilot helicopter drone
Researchers have just announced the successful flight of a mini helicopter piloted using brainwaves. The breakthrough gives disabled people hope, but critics fear it will undermine humanity.
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Psychologist reveals tale of man without memory
He was intelligent and witty, but the man science knew as HM could remember nothing beyond the past 30 seconds of his life. A new book recounts the story of the world’s most famous brain.
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Fears over genetically modified ‘super fish’
AquAdvantage salmon is no ordinary fish: thanks to genetic modification, it grows to adulthood at a spectacular speed. But should we really begin farming a species created in the lab?
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Human clone breakthrough stirs hopes and fears
US scientists have discovered a method that will allow them to successfully clone human embryos. The research could save millions of lives, but what is the moral price?
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Angelina reveals dramatic cancer dilemma
Film star Angelina Jolie opted for radical surgery to prevent breast cancer, which an inherited genetic defect makes more likely. Her frankness has been hailed by health campaigners.