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Editor's note
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The weather front nicknamed the “Beast from the East” rolled onto UK shores this week, bringing with it bitterly cold weather and turning the country a brilliant white. Gareth Dorrian and Ian Whittaker reveal the science behind the arrival of these Siberian gusts on Europe’s doorstep – and remind us that no matter how cold it is, we’re lucky not to be living on Venus. And in an impressive new study, astronomers have detected signals from the first stars in the universe, which shows they emerged about 180m years after the Big Bang. Carole Mundell explains why their
finding could change our understanding of dark matter.
One of the main surviving written examples of the ancient Babylonian epic of Atrahasis features a flood and the building of an ark, far predating the Bible. It was written in cuneiform on stone tablets, now in separate countries. The join between these fragments has been hypothesised for decades, but it is only now, with the advent of 3D digital imaging, that the join has been confirmed without having to bring the two pieces together. The academics involved tell us how they did it.
And it’s 80 years since British novelist Daphne du Maurier published her masterpiece Rebecca. The book has sold millions of copies and transfixed generations of readers. Laura Varnham looks at why Rebecca has captivated so many people and why it isn’t really a love story.
All the best.
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Jordan Raine
Assistant Science Editor
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Top story
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National Police Air Service
Gareth Dorrian, Nottingham Trent University; Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University
No matter how cold it is, you're lucky you don't live on Venus.
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Tim Collins
Sandra Woolley, Keele University; Erlend Gehlken, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main; Eugene Ch’ng, University of Nottingham; Tim Collins, Manchester Metropolitan University
The possible join between the fragments of an ancient epic written in cuneiform in London and Geneva has been speculated for over 50 years.
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Still from Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 film: Rebecca.
Laura Varnam, University of Oxford
Once dismissed as a mere 'love story', Daphne du Maurier's masterpiece has transfixed generations of readers.
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Science + Technology
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Carole Mundell, University of Bath
New radio technology has managed to detect the first light in the universe.
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Emily Bailes, Royal Holloway
Hoverflies are helping spread disease among the already declining bee population.
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Politics + Society
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Stuart MacLennan, Coventry University
The Labour leader's vision for a customs union after Brexit is even more optimistic than the one being proposed by Theresa May.
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Clemens Hoffmann, University of Stirling
The prospect of gas wealth has been escalating old rivalries and disputes between Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Greece.
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James Christensen, University of Essex
When confronted with the consequences of arms sales, democratic governments fall back on a number of flawed arguments.
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Angela Crack, University of Portsmouth
To stop sexual exploitation in the aid sector, more self-regulation by NGOs isn't the answer.
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Health + Medicine
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Carrie Purcell, University of Glasgow
Abortion provision in the 21st century needs to be treated like any other medical procedure: without judgement
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Rachel Gater, Keele University
Stem cell treatments for eye disease always seem to be just on the horizon, but real progress is being made.
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Kim Heyes, Manchester Metropolitan University
As austerity bites, people are turning to social media for help with mental issues. Despite the fact that even Facebook agrees social media can be bad for mental health.
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Marta Di Forti, King's College London
The first UK survey of cannabis potency in ten years finds that skunk now dominates the market, while hashish has all but disappeared.
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Business + Economy
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Sean Smith, Edinburgh Napier University
By the end of this century the world's population will have increased by half, creating a housing problem that needs to be solved now.
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Ryan Abbott, University of Surrey; Bret Bogenschneider, University of Surrey
Tax policy favours machines over workers. Here's how to change it.
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Arts + Culture
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Richard Hand, University of East Anglia
Netflix hit, Black Mirror, follows in the footsteps of other forward-thinking sci-fi storytellers.
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Cities
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Marcus Mayers, University of Huddersfield; David Bamford, University of Huddersfield
Buses are set to be replaced by private and autonomous vehicles – but it's not clear how society is going to deal with it.
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Featured events
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309 Regent Street, London, London, City of, W1B 2UW, United Kingdom — University of Westminster
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Huxley Lecture Theatre, Main Meeting Rooms, Zoological Society of London, ZSL London Zoo, Outer Circle, Regents Park, London, London, City of, NW1 4RY, United Kingdom — UCL
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51 Gordon Square, London, London, City of, WC1H 0PN, United Kingdom — UCL
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Ron Cooke Hub auditorium, Campus East, York, York, YO10 5GE, United Kingdom — University of York
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