Science
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Woman with Alzheimer’s starts conversing again after taking psilocybin
A scanning electron microscope image of the magic mushroom species Psilocybe cubensis, the highly potent psychedlic that the woman with Alzheimer’s was given Ted Kinsman/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A woman with severe Alzheimer’s disease who spent years communicating in monosyllables started initiating conversations after receiving a large dose of psilocybin. The woman, who also had urinary incontinence and was unable to…
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Has the answer to life’s origins been hiding in our cells all along?
Tiny droplets hiding in plain sight in our cells could explain how life got started Sam Falconer In every cell of your body, there are mysterious speckles. You need a microscope to see them, but if you peer closely, you will see lots of tiny dots: some sitting still, some moving around as if swept along in invisible currents. They…
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What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?
We all have moments of forgetfulness Craig Boylan We’ve all been there. You walk upstairs only to find yourself wondering why you bothered. You blank on an acquaintance’s name, just as you’re introducing them. Or maybe, after a frantic search, you find your car keys in the fridge of all places. Such momentary lapses of memory can be disconcerting, but…
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A golden age of maths is dawning and mathematicians are freaking out
I am attempting to solve a mathematical conundrum that has stumped many of humanity’s greatest thinkers. I have zero mathematical training, apart from a distant undergraduate physics degree, which should put my odds of success at slim to none. But I also have a trick up my sleeve – a kind of mathematical genie that can conjure arcane secrets seemingly…
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Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything
Sometimes, you work tirelessly on a problem, only to realise you have been going about it all backwards. Imagine trying to fit a massive antique piano through a tiny doorway. You have tried everything – rotating it, removing the legs, forceful shoving – but you just can’t get it to fit. Eventually, you realise it is easier to construct a…
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Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved
The plain of jars in Laos Alvov/Shutterstock The remains of at least 37 people have been found interred in a giant stone jar in Laos, reshaping our understanding of one of South-East Asia’s most puzzling ancient landscapes. Around the remote Xieng Khouang plateau in central Laos sit thousands of giant stone jars, some 3 metres high and weighing several tonnes.…
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A new tectonic plate boundary could be forming in southern Africa
Aerial view of the Kafue Rift southern boundary fault zone. The hot springs where researchers sampled gases lie in the green thickets Michael Daly The African continent may have begun tearing itself apart in a new location. Gases emerging from an arc of hot springs in Zambia appear to be coming from deep below Earth’s crust, in a sign that…
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Quantum computers simulated their biggest molecule yet – with help
An IBM quantum computer at Cleveland Clinic, one of the pair used to simulate a record-breakingly large molecule Kincaid/IBM One of the most promising uses for quantum computers is to simulate proteins that could help us discover new drugs, but these devices are currently too error-prone for the task. However, two quantum computers have now broken a simulation record –…
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Coral reefs on a remote archipelago shrugged off a massive heatwave
The Houtman Abrolhos Islands, off Western Australia, where corals appear to be exceptionally heat-tolerant Bill Bachman/Alamy Coral reefs on a chain of islands off Western Australia were almost untouched by a prolonged heatwave that devastated corals in other regions in early 2025. Researchers hope that learning the secret of extreme heat tolerance in these corals will help to protect reefs…
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Diamonds are surprisingly elastic when you make them tiny
An artist’s impression of nanodiamonds KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy Diamonds are forever, but if you make them ultrasmall, they can get a little squishy. An experiment with some of the smallest diamonds ever studied has now revealed why they become surprisingly elastic when they are ultrasmall. “Bulk diamonds are widely known for extreme stiffness and hardness. At the nanoscale, things…
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