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One of my biggest regrets is abandoning French and Spanish after GCSE. What felt like a chore at twelve is now a small daily thrill on Duolingo, where every streak and new verb feels like a tiny victory. And it turns out that multilingualism may offer more than better holidays and smug bragging rights.
New research suggests it could help keep the brain younger for longer. Scientists looked at more than 86,000 adults across Europe and found that people in multilingual countries were less likely to show signs of accelerated ageing. Even better, the effect was strongest in people in their 70s and 80s.
Ancient historians have long seen the adoption of farming as key to the emergence of the first states. But new research suggests agriculture was just as likely to be the result of state formation as its cause. Instead, one particular rural innovation may have actually paved the way for more hierarchical societies.
Plus, why the world’s most dangerous eruptions may come not from famous peaks like Etna, but from the “quiet” volcanoes we barely monitor at all.
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Katie Edwards
Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine
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Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
Xinyu Liu, University of Reading; Christos Pliatsikas, University of Reading
A study of 86,000 older adults across Europe shows people who speak multiple languages tend to age more slowly than monolinguals.
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Shutterstock/RawPixel
Christopher Opie, University of Bristol; Quentin Douglas Atkinson, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
New findings add weight to the theory that states didn’t just spring up from any kind of farming – it had to be grain.
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El Chichón volcano in Mexico erupted explosively in 1982 after lying dormant for centuries.
Michael Cassidy
Mike Cassidy, University of Birmingham
In regions like the Pacific, South America and Indonesia, an eruption from a volcano with no recorded history occurs every seven to ten years.
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Politics + Society
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Louise Ashley, Queen Mary University of London; Elena Doldor, Queen Mary University of London
Women in public life often experience gendered behaviour but are punished for pointing it out.
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Francisco Azpitarte, Loughborough University; Louise Holt, Loughborough University; Sobhi Berjawi, Loughborough University
There are disparities in provision for children with special educational needs across England.
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Arts + Culture
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Emma Linford, University of Hull
Many of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories examine male characters facing emotional catastrophe, betrayal and moral dilemmas.
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Clementine Collett, University of Cambridge
In my survey, 39% of novelists reported that their income has already been negatively impacted by GenAI.
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Roberta Garrett, University of East London; Julia Dane, University of East London
The show is a missed opportunity to to sympathetically explore girlhood in the digital age.
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Kenny Monrose, University of Cambridge
The reggae singer used his music to speak out at issues that mattered.
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Environment
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Susan Ann Samuel, University of Leeds
Six young climate activists and negotiators at Cop30 shared their hopes and demands.
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Business + Economy
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Vanessa Gash, City St George's, University of London
And part-time work can hit hourly pay by as much as 4%.
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Podcasts
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Anna Walker, The Conversation; Jane Wright, The Conversation
The fourth episode of Jane Austen’s Paper Trail uses the novel Emma to explore the writer’s views on friendship.
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World
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Selbi Durdiyeva, Nottingham Trent University
The plan proposed by the US and Russia appeared to reflect Vladimir Putin’s original war aims.
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Francesca Lessa, UCL
Many of Operation Condor’s crimes remain shrouded in impunity and silence, 50 years after its creation.
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Science + Technology
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Jonathan Growcott, University of Exeter
Using AI to distinguish between full-throated and intermediary roars could have benefits for lions’ conservation.
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Daniel Mills, University of Lincoln
You may have more in common with your pet than you may think.
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Alex Zarifis, University of Southampton
In his new book, This is for Everyone, the creator of the web argues for protection against the power and privacy invasion of big tech companies.
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Health
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Ed Hutchinson, University of Glasgow
A patient in Washington state has died from H5N5 bird flu, the first known human infection with this virus – but experts say the wider risk remains low.
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John Ferguson, University of Galway
Early trial results for a multi-cancer blood test have sparked excitement, but the technology still fails to detect three in every five cases.
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Raysa El Zein, University of Westminster
Two-thirds of the UK’s population eat less than one portion of beans each week.
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Gulnaz Anjum, University of Limerick; Mudassar Aziz, University of Oslo
Human stories filled Cop30’s corridors but not its headlines. Climate fatigue, not apathy, drives disengagement. Storytelling can help people feel connected again.
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