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40,086 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science


WEDNESDAY 30. JANUARY 2013


In praise of … the Polish language | Editorial

Learning Polish may be tricky, but those who have done so say it's well worth the diligent study requiredWith its mind-bending plosives, tongue-twisting fricatives and terrifying affricates, Polish is not the easiest of languages to master. Try saying Szczebrzeszyn (sounds a bit like shtebdeshin) for the merest hint of the challenges involved. To non-Polish speakers, just saying hello sounds more...

South Korea launches rocket carrying satellite in battle for space supremacy

Launch of 140-tonne rocket likely to anger North Korea, which incurred tougher UN sanctions after December launchThe battle for space supremacy on the Korean peninsula intensified on Wednesday when South Korea launched its first satellite, weeks after a similar launch by North Korea.Relief greeted the Naro rocket's flawless liftoff from a space centre on the south coast at 4pm local time. South...

Iraq war veteran gets double arm transplant

Brendan Marrocco, former US army sergeant who lost both arms and legs in Iraq, has successful bilateral arm transplant surgeryA retired US army sergeant who underwent a double arm transplant after losing his limbs in Iraq has been discharged from the Johns Hopkins hospital.Sergeant Brendan Marrocco, 26, of Staten Island, New York, said he was anxious to return to an active life after the...

A masterclass in teaching algebra

Maths teacher Jonny Heeley shows year 10 pupils how algebra needn't be the devil's workNothing strikes fear into arithmophobes like the word "algebra", with its connotations of yellowing old texbooks filled with indecipherable symbols. Even the word sounds impenetrably alien: it's actually a medieval Latin word derived from the Arabic al jebr meaning "reunion of broken parts".This gut fear is...


TUESDAY 29. JANUARY 2013


Ramon Fernandez obituary

My husband, Ramon Fernandez, who has died of cancer aged 62, was born into a Spanish republican refugee family in Toxteth, Liverpool. Growing up, he sought refuge in art and drawing, an escape from a strained home life.Leaving school at 16, he began work at the Ford motor factory in Halewood, but soon realised this was not to be his chosen career. After completing his O-levels and A-levels at...