Science

Speaking a second language can delay dementia onset for years

Saturday, 19 February 2011

Speaking a second language may slow the rate at which the brain declines with age, showing that bilingual people are better protected against Alzheimer's disease than people who use only one language.

Satellite project to predict earthquakes will 'help save lives'

Saturday, 19 February 2011

Scientists have launched a project that they hope could one day help save thousands of lives by predicting when and where earthquakes will happen. A group of British and Russian scientists signed an agreement to work together on the project earlier this week in Moscow.

American science summit: How bears could help man get to Mars

Friday, 18 February 2011

Steve Connor: An unprecedented investigation into the biology of hibernating bears has provided scientists with vital insight into 'suspended animation', which might one day allow future space travellers to sleep for months at a time.

OCD study uses electrical treatment

Friday, 18 February 2011

An electrical treatment which zaps away symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can help extreme sufferers unable to cope with everyday life, a ground-breaking study has shown.

Video: Spectacular solar flare to strike Earth

Friday, 18 February 2011

Nasa has released spectacular images of the solar flare that is due to strike the Earth this week, causing brilliant auroras.

Got ME? Just get out and exercise, say scientists

Friday, 18 February 2011

The UK's largest study of treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome has provided the first definitive evidence of what helps those who suffer from the disabling condition that affects 250,000 people in the UK.

Video: Comet close encounter

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Scientists at Nasa had a late night close encounter for Valentines' Day, studying a comet at close range.

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One small step: the 250-day space odyssey done without leaving home

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

After more than 250 days in isolation, three participants of a simulated mission to Mars stepped out to a mock-up of the red planet in Moscow and planted flags in the sand yesterday. The Mars500 experiment, at the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems in the Russian capital, is being carried out with the European Space Agency and China's space training centre.

Video: ISS to receive record-breaking supplies

Monday, 14 February 2011

The International Space Station will be supplied with record-breaking amount of supplies.

Mock Mars mission simulates landing on Red Planet

Monday, 14 February 2011

After 257 days in a locked steel capsule, researchers on a mock trip to Mars ventured from their cramped quarters today in heavy space suits, trudging into a sand-covered room to plant flags on a simulated Red Planet.

Why infertility will stop humans colonising space

Monday, 14 February 2011

Jerome Taylor: Space, it seems, is simply not a good place to have sex due to the high levels of radiation.

Up telescope! Search begins for giant new planet

Sunday, 13 February 2011

Tyche may be bigger than Jupiter and orbit at the outer edge of the solar system

Kew scientists lead fight to save orchids from extinction

Sunday, 13 February 2011

Jonathan Owen: Global team to freeze seeds from 2,000 species.

Descendant of Einstein reaps relatively little

Saturday, 12 February 2011

The theory of relativity does not help very much if you belong to the same family tree as Albert Einstein, the legendary physicist who invented it. You're his kin? Sorry, but E=MC equals diddly squat.

Lab Notes: Is fast food making children stupid? Don't swallow the stories

Friday, 11 February 2011

Junk food rots your brain, scientists say. Well, actually, I just made that up. What scientists have really shown is that feeding junk food to young children from the age of three "may be associated" with a slightly lower IQ score at the age of eight.

Genetic tests prove the 'fairer sex' is kinder too

Wednesday, 9 February 2011

Women have a stronger genetic predisposition to help other people compared with men, according to a study that has found a significant link between genes and the tendency to be "nice".

Japanese prefer Glaswegian accent, says study

Wednesday, 9 February 2011

Glaswegians have the most attractive accent for Japanese speakers of English, a new study has revealed.

Flying tonight? Bats under threat

Monday, 7 February 2011

America's bats are dying in record numbers because of a deadly fungus that thrives where they sleep. Now there are signs that it could happen here

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Sun snapped in stereo for first all-round view

Monday, 7 February 2011

Image could help to revolutionise our understanding of the magnetic forces at the heart of our own star.

Earth's last great virgin habitat invaded

Sunday, 6 February 2011

A borehole through Lake Vostok's polar ice could reveal hidden lifeforms.

Special report: Catastrophic drought in the Amazon

Friday, 4 February 2011

Steve Connor: Region set to outstrip US as CO2 emitter.

How tiny Nauru became world's fattest nation

Friday, 4 February 2011

Warning of 'tsunami of obesity' as Western lifestyles spread across globe.

Video: Nasa discovers new planets

Friday, 4 February 2011

Nasa announces the discovery of Kepler-11, six new planets orbiting around a star.

Ready to acquire a taste for the 'vacuum cleaners of the sea'?

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Steve Connor: It breathes through its anus, can liquefy its body and acts as the waste collectors of the seabed. Scientists now believe that a species of sea cucumber living off the British coast could become a lucrative culinary export.

Experts uncover 1,500-year-old church

Wednesday, 2 February 2011

Israeli archaeologists today said they have uncovered a 1,500-year-old church, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.