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40,083 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Axe that clove creationism found at museum after 150 years

A lump of flint that challenged creationist history and was dubbed by an eminent archaeologist "the stone that shattered the time barrier" has been tracked down after 150 years in the vast stores of the Natural History Museum in London.On 26 May 1859, six months before Charles Darwin shattered the biblical creation story when he finally plucked up the courage to publish his theory of natural...


MONDAY 25. MAY 2009


Hay festival special

This week, two of the biggest science stories of the year broke - the first ever British astronaut and a 47-million-year-old fossil that tells us how humans descended from the rest of the animal kingdom. We've decided to ignore those and instead Alok Jha and James Randerson have hopped on the train to Hay-on-Wye. Here, we've been reading books, listening to lectures and soaking in the...


SUNDAY 24. MAY 2009


Gene research finds opposites do attract

The bond of true love may be forged in the genes as well as in the mind, researchers have found.A comparative survey of couples suggests people are more attracted to those who have very different immunity genes from their own, even though they are not aware of it.The genes in question play a major role in the immune system's ability to fight infections, but they are also thought to leave a...

'Innocent people are branded as criminals'

DNA pioneer is outraged by government's policyMinisters' decision to keep the profiles of more than 800,000 innocent people on the national DNA database for the next six to 12 years threatens the use of genetic fingerprinting to solve serious crimes, Sir Alec Jeffreys warned last week.The inventor of DNA fingerprinting, which has transformed forensic investigations, told the Observer that police...


SATURDAY 23. MAY 2009


Tiny seahorse among new species

A pea-sized seahorse, caffeine-free coffee plant, and bacteria that live in hairspray were among the top 10 new species of 2008 announced by scientiststoday. All were unknown to science until experts described them for the first time last year. Other oddities on the list include a tiny snake measuring just four inches, a 22in-long stick insect from Malaysia, and a snail whose shell twists in four...

Let's go ... star-trekking

Island PlanetariumIsle of WightThis small planetarium stages stargazing evenings on Wednesday and some Fridays, teaching the basics of the solar system and sessions on their telescopes.• Adults £8.50, children £5, islandastronomy.co.ukNational Space CentreLeicesterBritain's biggest space attraction is full of interactive exhibits including a 3D mission through the solar system, plus...


FRIDAY 22. MAY 2009


A new name for Ida?

The fossilised form of a lemur-like creature was unveiled to great fanfare this week, but experts now say its Latin name is invalidIf you thought media coverage of Ida, the 47m-year-old primate, was about to die down, then don't hold your breath.The scientists behind the discovery named the new species Darwinius masillae, in honour of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday. But it seems they may have...


THURSDAY 21. MAY 2009


'Turbines wind up my goats'

After three years of intrigue and confusion, not to mention a death toll of 400, the great Penghu archipelago goat mystery may finally have been solved.Officials investigating the unexplained deaths of scores of the animals on the windy island chain in the Taiwan strait believe that the introduction of noisy wind turbines could have given the unfortunate goats a fatal case of exhaustion.After the...

Jacqui Smith to ban 'legal high' drugs

The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, is to ban two "legal highs" and a range of ­anabolic steroids in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics.The Home Office published proposals today to ban the personal use of GBL, an industrial solvent also used as paint stripper, which has become a drug of choice on the club scene. It follows the death of a Sussex University medical student, Hester Stewart, 21....

Spacemen say cheers with recycled wee

Astronauts toast Nasa after switching on space station's new urine and sweat-based water supplyAt the international space station, it was one small sip for man and a giant gulp of recycled urine for mankind. A first for space was celebrated yesterday with astronauts drinking water that had been recycled from their urine, sweat, and water condensed from exhaled air.The crew, aboard the space...

The Large Hadron Collider absolutely did not blow up

The most powerful particle accelerator in the world closed with an almighty bang last year. In their latest video, physicists hunting the Higgs boson search for the right words to describe the unfortunate eventThe hunt for the Higgs boson, a theoretical particle thought to convey mass on some elementary particles, is a one horse race right now. Since the temporary closure of the Large Hadron...

Why turmeric could be the spice of life

Eating high-fat curries may not be as bad for us as we thought - at least, not if we lace them with turmeric. Scientists at Boston's Tufts University found that mice fed a high-fat diet that contained curcumin, a component of turmeric, put on less weight. This puts the spice in that magic group of foods with health-giving properties - along with garlic, ginger and fish oils.Like ginger, turmeric...