Science
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Questioning AI: what kind of intelligence will we create? – Science Weekly podcastIn the second episode of this mini-series, Ian Sample asks if human-level intelligence is what we should be aiming for. And can we replicate something we can’t even define?
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Fossil evidence reveals butterflies and moths lived 50m years earlier than thoughtEarliest fossil evidence shows the winged insects were alive 200m years ago alongside the early dinosaurs -
Fragments of book recovered from wreck of Blackbeard's shipRemains of notorious pirate’s ship in North Carolina yield evidence that it was carrying a copy of Edward Cooke’s Voyage to the South Sea -
Sign up for Lab Notes - the Guardian's weekly science updateGet a weekly round-up of the biggest stories in science, insider knowledge from our network of bloggers, and some distractingly good fun and games
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Two suns? No, it's a supernova drawn 6,000 years ago, say scientistsIndian researchers say carvings found in Kashmir may be the oldest depiction of a dying star ever discovered
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Will we be ready to put a human footprint on Mars in 15 years?The countdown has begun to send humans to Mars. But what will it take, what we have already planned for – and is it really possible that we’ll be ready?
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Ocado to wheel out C3PO-style robot to lend a hand at warehousesHumanoid robot known as SecondHands to pass spanners and move ladders for technicians at online grocery specialist
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BBC follows Blue Planet II with hard-hitting nature documentariesDavid Attenborough’s landmark series inspires programmes exploring the impact of plastics and textiles on environment
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Key issues
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SpaceSpaceStarwatch: Farewell and thanks for 43 years of guiding us through the night skyIt’s the end of an era. Having written the Guardian’s astronomy column since 1974, Alan Pickup has decided to move on … at a timely moment in the newspaper’s history
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BiologyBiologyFossil evidence reveals butterflies and moths lived 50m years earlier than thoughtEarliest fossil evidence shows the winged insects were alive 200m years ago alongside the early dinosaurs
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GeneticsGeneticsThe new schools champion has done a Tim Farron – only this time the issue that makes a powerful man’s position untenable is not gay sexWith his views on eugenics, why does Toby Young still have a job in education?
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Medical researchMedical researchAs if cancer treatment wasn’t trying enough, a common stress will be unwanted advice. But you can benefit from the wisdom of others
Five things to remember after getting the dreaded cancer diagnosis -
PsychologyPsychologyQuestioning AI: what kind of intelligence will we create? – Science Weekly podcastIn the second episode of this mini-series, Ian Sample asks if human-level intelligence is what we should be aiming for. And can we replicate something we can’t even define?
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PhysicsPhysicsAstronomers may be closing in on source of mysterious fast radio burstsPulses may be from a neutron star cocooned by a strong magnetic field – though experts are not ruling out more unorthodox explanations such as alien ships
In depth
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Starwatch: Farewell and thanks for 43 years of guiding us through the night skyIt’s the end of an era. Having written the Guardian’s astronomy column since 1974, Alan Pickup has decided to move on … at a timely moment in the newspaper’s history
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Opinion
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Dementia is too big a problem to walk away from – for Pfizer or any of usThe financial and social costs of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s are devastating. It’s essential that big pharma be part of the effort to end them, says Bart De Strooper, director of the UK Dementia Research Institute
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Will 2018 be a year of scientific breakthroughs – or frustrations?From quantum computers that’ll make conventional machines redundant to a map of the brain, freelance writer Philip Ball highlights some of the key issues for science in the coming year
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Pictures & video
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Starstruck: the best space images of 2017With space missions in 2018 set to boldly go further than ever before, here is a look back at some of biggest breakthroughs and most breathtaking views offered by 2017
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Social media videos capture SpaceX streaking across California skies - video
A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space
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Supermoon skies: your best photographsWe asked you to share photos as parts of the world experienced the only supermoon of 2017. Here are some of our favourite images
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Supermoon trilogy begins – in picturesThe lunar phenomenon occurs when a full moon is at its closest point to earth so it appears larger than usual
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'It's a delicate place': Nasa captures 20 years of Earth's seasonal changes – videoA Nasa oceanographer explains how the US space agency successfully captured 20 years of changing seasons in a striking new global map of earth.
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Delving into a hidden world – in picturesThe winning and shortlisted entries for the the Royal Society of Biology’s 2017 Photographer of the Year and Young Photographer of the Year competitions
Astronomers may be closing in on source of mysterious fast radio bursts