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40,083 articles from Guardian Unlimited Science

Letter: Lynn Margulis obituary

Bruce Osborne writes: I met Lynn Margulis (obituary, 12 December) at a workshop and summer school I organised in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, in the summer of 2000. We were delighted in getting her to participate, and to publish a paper in the Royal Irish Academy journal, Biology and Environment.Her idea that certain organelles in animals and plants were derived from ancient, free-living prokaryotes...

Death cap mushrooms kill Chinese cooks in Australia

Chef mistook deadly fungi for edible variety and made them into stir fry in restaurant kitchen for himself and colleagueA chef and assistant have died after eating poisonous mushrooms they cooked for themselves in the Australian restaurant kitchen where they worked.The male chef visiting from China, Liu Jun, 38, and his female kitchenhand, Tsou Hsiang, 52, died from liver failure at a hospital on...

The importance of experience is a no-brainer | John Crace

Medical studies showing that cognitive abilities start declining 15 years earlier than thought ignore the importance of nousI thought I had been doing OK. My scores in University Challenge had remained consistent, I still knew which way up to hold a book and I could carry on a conversation for at least 30 seconds without nodding off.But now a study in the British Medical Journal has found that the...


THURSDAY 5. JANUARY 2012


Cancer-related deaths continue to decline in US

American Cancer Society's annual report cites advances in cancer screening and treatment for falling numbersCancer death rates are continuing to fall, dropping by 1.8% per year in men and 1.6% per year in women between 2004 and 2008, according to the American Cancer Society's annual report on cancer statistics released on Wednesday.Advances in cancer screening and treatment have prevented more...

Churchill, Henry V and Napoleon? Overrated, says BBC History magazine

Also among the most overrated people in history, according to the magazine, are Charles Darwin, Spartacus and Malcolm XThey may be among the most famous figures from history, but the likes of Winston Churchill, Henry V and Napoleon Bonaparte don't hack it so far as some British historians are concerned. Poor old Charles Darwin doesn't figure any better either.All are included in a list of the most...


WEDNESDAY 4. JANUARY 2012


The scientists who are helping to convict Britain's killers

LGC Forensics is a private supplier of scientists that have helped the police bring some of the UK's most notorious murderers to justiceWhat do the killers of Stephen Lawrence, Joanna Yeates, Milly Dowler, Vikki Thompson, Colette Aram, Rachel Nickell and Damilola Taylor have in common? All were convicted with the help of evidence provided not by the police, but by scientists working for Britain's...