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    Don't Miss: The Sandman, Netflix's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's comics

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    Zero to Birth reveals how the brain is built, as neurobiologist William Harris explores the development of the human brain in utero and a bit beyond. Catch it live at the Royal Institution, London, at 7pm BST on 8 August.

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    The Uses of Delusion are manifold, says psychologist Stuart Vyse. In this new book, he connects research into illogical thinking with its evolutionary origins and explains the possible benefits of irrational behaviour. On sale from 1 August.

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    The Sandman stars Tom Sturridge as the titular lord of dreams, imprisoned by … More

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    The Moonday Letters review: Genre-busting sci-fi extols hope as a duty

    In Emmi Itäranta’s The Moonday Letters, humans have adapted to live off-world. But central to this genre-crashing thrill ride is a reminder that hope is essential

    Humans

    27 July 2022

    By Sally Adee

    Living off-world is the norm in Emmi Itäranta’s new sci-fi novelGorodenkoff/Getty Images
    The Moonday Letters
    Emmi Itäranta
    Titan

    THE culture on Europa is so different from anywhere else in the solar system that visitors need to be carefully briefed during the inbound journey.

    The settlements established on the Jovian moon – domes built in the ocean deep beneath its frozen surface – are shielded from the harsh radiation of space by a thick crust of ice. A crack anywhere would be devastating and the ice is sensitive to sound, … More

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    Evolution of lactose tolerance probably driven by famine and disease

    Archaeological and genetic evidence casts doubt on the idea that the ability to digest lactose after infancy evolved gradually

    Humans

    27 July 2022

    By Luke Taylor
    Neolithic people began drinking milk around 7000 BCCHRISTIAN JEGOU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
    Milk consumption was widespread thousands of years before people were able to break it down properly, according to the largest study yet on the evolution of lactose tolerance in humans. The ability to break down lactose was probably gained during episodes of acute crisis, not gradually over time, the study found.
    As babies, all humans produce the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose into the more readily absorbed glucose and galactose, but many people have much lower levels of lactase after weaning, meaning they cannot digest milk properly.
    The spread of lactase persistence – the ability to break down lactose after weaning – is considered one of the best examples of natural selection in humans. One-third of the global population gained this trait in just a couple of thousand years.Advertisement
    The leading explanation was that humans gained lactase persistence so quickly as their evolution was deeply intertwined in a cycle with dairy. As humans were pressured into evolving lactase persistence due to the nutritional benefits of milk, the spread of lactase persistence would have in turn increased human reliance on milk, increasing the pressure to be lactose tolerant.
    Richard Evershed at the University of Bristol, UK, and his colleagues studied 7000 animal fat residues that had seeped into pottery at 500 sites across Europe. This revealed that dairy farming was common in the region from 7000 BC onwards.
    But ancient DNA evidence revealed that lactase persistence wasn’t prevalent until around 1000 BC — roughly 4000 years after the trait was first detected and 6000 years after milk production took hold.
    There are many ideas as to why lactose tolerance developed so rapidly, ranging from the benefits of milk’s sugar content to vitamin D, but they “all go out the window because they are all pinned to milk use in one way or another”, Mark Thomas of University College London, a co-author of the study, told a press briefing.
    Mapping the use of milk across Europe against the spread of lactase persistence showed no correlation, while computer models suggest that famine and disease offer better explanations.
    Using changes in population size as a proxy for malnutrition, the researchers found lack of food was 689 times more likely to explain the rise of lactose tolerance than constant selection pressure. Using population density as a proxy for the spread of deadly pathogens, they found that disease was 289 times more likely to account for the spread.
    During these periods of crisis, the flatulence, stomach cramps or diarrhoea experienced by lactose intolerant people probably turned into a life or death matter, said Thomas.

    An analysis of health and genetic data from the UK Biobank also suggested that the co-evolution idea for humans and lactose tolerance is unlikely.
    Lactose tolerant people would be expected to have higher levels of some health metrics, such as bone mineral density, height or vitamin D, Thomas said, but the researchers found none except for slightly higher body mass index numbers.
    Surprisingly, there was also little difference in the proportion of people who don’t drink cow’s milk amongst the lactose tolerant and intolerant: 6.8 per cent versus 8 per cent.
    The results suggest that many people should consider drinking milk for its nutritional benefits, even if they are lactose intolerant, Evershed said at the briefing. “Broadly, if you’re lactose non-persistent it isn’t necessarily such a big deal.”
    The negative symptoms associated with milk consumption only occur in some people who are lactose intolerant, probably due to variations in bacteria in the colon. Some people who experience side effects may be confounding lactose intolerance with milk allergy, the researchers said.
    Journal reference: Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05010-7
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    Holiday reads: Top scientists and writers share their must-read books

    From sci-fi classics to essential non-fiction, some of the brightest minds in science, including Sarah Gilbert and Jim Al-Khalili, share their top picks for holiday reading

    Humans

    22 July 2022

    By New Scientist
    L to R: Jim Al-Khalili, Pragya Agarwal, Guy Leschziner, Robert Macfarlane, Sarah Gilbert, Peter Marren, Yuval Noah Harari
    We asked writers and scientists including Robert Macfarlane, Pragya Agarwal and Peter Marren to tell us what books they were planning to take away with them this year. And if their picks don’t make it into your packing, then why not try our round-up of the best science non-fiction to read on holiday and our picks of the year’s best science fiction to date?
    Jim Al-Khalili is a physicist and the author of … More

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    15 of the best science non-fiction books to savour on your holiday

    Whether it is the science of sleep, the physics that changed the world or the inner lives of bees, we’ve got you covered for holiday reading

    Humans

    21 July 2022

    By Liz Else
    NDinfinity/getty images
    ONE of the best things about science books is that there is always something new and marvellous to savour when you have enough time. Those who are lucky enough to be going on holiday are spoiled for choice: there has been a book bonanza so far this year from both established heavy hitters and challenging newcomers.
    Starting with the ever-popular dinosaurs, Riley Black’s The Last Days of the Dinosaurs is a vivid glimpse into the period just before (and just after) the worst day ever for life on Earth, when a 10-kilometre-wide asteroid ploughed into what is now Yucatán, … More

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    Mistakenly calling AIs 'sentient' is more dangerous than we think

    A Google engineer recently claimed an AI was alive and that it had hired a lawyer. If judges were to accept these claims, it could lead to AIs being frozen in their biased states, writes Annalee Newitz

    Humans

    | Columnist

    20 July 2022

    By Annalee Newitz

    Shutterstock/PeachShutterStock
    IN EARLY June, a Google engineer named Blake Lemoine dropped a bombshell. He told Washington Post reporter Nitasha Tiku that his employer had secretly developed a sentient artificial intelligence, and that it wanted to be free.
    The AI in question is called LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). It is a large language model, or LLM, a type of algorithm that chats with people by drawing on a huge body of text – often from the internet – and predicting which words and phrases are most likely to follow each other. After chatting with LaMDA, Lemoine decided it … More

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    How to grow chilli plants in cooler climates

    Chilli plants can thrive in summer and survive the winter even in temperate climes, says the heat-loving Clare Wilson, who offers some top tips

    Humans

    20 July 2022

    By Clare Wilson
    GAP Photos/Rachel Warne
    CHILLI plants hail from warmer parts of South America. As a result, they aren’t natural candidates for growing in temperate countries like the UK, unless you have a greenhouse. But they also do well in pots, so if you have a suitable spot by a window to nurture them indoors, you can produce a good crop of chilli peppers.
    The chilli is such a valuable culinary addition because it contains a chemical called capsaicin that binds to heat receptors called TRPV1 on our tongues, triggering sensations ranging from tingling to agony, depending on the concentration. The discoverer of this process … More

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    Travel the world and universe from home with these video games

    If you can’t leave the country over the holidays, then video games have you covered, whether you fancy flying a plane with Microsoft Flight Simulator or exploring a galaxy of planets with No Man’s Sky, says Jacob Aron

    Humans

    20 July 2022

    By Jacob Aron
    Asobo Studios/IGDB

    Subnautica
    Unknown Worlds Entertainment
    PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

    No Man’s Sky
    Hello Games
    PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

    NEXT week, I am leaving the UK for the first time in over half a decade, having been travel-constrained since 2016 by a combination of young children and the coronavirus pandemic. With that in mind, I have been thinking about the best travel … More