Progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone can be detected in skeletons over 1000 years old, offering a way to identify individuals who died while pregnant or soon after giving birth
Author: hatman
Mother’s voice seems to boost language development in premature babies
Babies born too soon seem to have stronger connections in one of the major brain areas that supports language processing if they regularly heard their mother read them a story while in intensive care
Your diet is probably dangerously acidic but there’s a simple solution
Nutrition scientists have unlocked an entirely new way of thinking about why certain foods are good for you and others are harmful. Here’s what to eat to function at your best
Chatbots work best when you speak to them with formal language
Are you terse and informal when speaking to an AI chatbot? If so, you might be getting worse answers than if you used more formal language
A black hole fell into a star – then ate its way out again
Stars often fall into black holes, and now it seems the opposite can also occur, producing an extra long-lasting explosion as the star is consumed from within
What makes a quantum computer good?
Claims that one quantum computer is better than another rest on terms like quantum advantage or quantum supremacy, fault-tolerance or qubits with better coherence – what does it all mean? Karmela Padavic-Callaghan sifts through the noise
Coral reefs are at a tipping point after surging global temperatures
Record-breaking ocean temperatures have caused widespread bleaching and death among warm-water corals, which could have far-reaching consequences
Learning to play nice with other people
How did cooperation emerge in a cut-throat world? There are clues in the prisoner’s dilemma experiment, says Peter Rowlett
Blue Planet Red is wrong about Mars – but it’s surprisingly poignant
Brian Cory Dobbs’s documentary promotes the baseless idea that Mars was once inhabited by an advanced civilisation. But there’s some value in how it inadvertently documents a generation of otherwise-sensible scientists, says Simon Ings
Physicists are uncovering when nature’s strongest force falters
The strong nuclear force may abruptly loosen its grip on the fundamental particles that make up matter at a special “critical point” – researchers are now getting a clearer picture of when that point is reached