Medicine

So what exactly is linguistics? Is it all about tape recorders, tongue twisters and dropped "aitches"? Or is...

We tend to think of parasites as evolutionary cheats, surreptitiously taking advantage of their hosts’ hard work while...

The Pythia, the prophetess at the Oracle of Delphi, was said to be able to communicate with Apollo by going into a...

There are 100,000,000,000 nerve cells in a brain, surrounded by at least 10 times as many supporting cells...

What do pop-up books and some of the most fundamental molecules of life have in common? Charlotte Rusby enters a world...

Usually, when the immune system meets something foreign, the offending intruder is swiftly attacked and neutralised....

Beating your head against a hard surface can be a sign of frustration, yet for a woodpecker it’s a fact of life. So why...

Mention plastics and most people think of polythenes, perspex and other oil-based nasties that never break down. But...

There are five million new cases of HIV internationally every year, and the virus is second only to tobacco as the...

Dementia-prone mice have shown researchers than an old mouse can learn new tricks, given the right environment...

The lymphatic system is your body's drainage system. It collects the excess fluid that surrounds cells and returns...

Bacteriophages were big business before penicillin and other antimicrobials appeared on the scene. But now, with...

Whether you love or loath the white stuff, it is unavoidable on your TV and in your paper. What is milk, is it good for...

Although the summer appears to have ended, I thought I would deal with something that provides a perfect opportunity to...

How much do we know about what makes people thrive and societies flourish? We know remarkably little about the positive...

One day someone will write a book that explains consciousness. The book will put forward a theory that fills the gap...

Scheele was the first to isolate Hydrogen cyanide in 1782 then went on to show its toxic effects by accidentally...

The last time you opened wide, did you ever imagine that you were opening the door to what is essentially home to...

For the last 75 years the average IQ test score has been increasing in every industrialised country in the world. Are...

Sleep paralysis researcher Julia Santomauro explores the phenomenon of sleep paralysis including what is sleep...

What causes cold sores and genital herpes, how do herpes viruses cause disease, why do herpes infections persist for...

Claire McLoughlin describes the chemistry of love and what happens when we fall in love, including substances that make...

Barrie takes a look at the past and present use of leeches in medicine and surgery, including helping doctors in...

A period, or menstruation, marks the beginning of the process by which the uterus, or womb, prepares itself for...