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People often assume that big brains are intellectually superior to small ones. After all, most animals have much smaller and less energy-consuming brains than we do – and are also less intelligent. Human brains after all account for a whopping 20% of our bodies’ energy consumption. So surely our ancestors’ large brains, which expanded greatly during the past million years, have driven the evolution of our cognition?
A new brain-scanning study suggests not. It found that different parts of the brain actually use different amounts of energy – with the part that has grown the most in humans having higher energy costs than expected. That means that you can’t just take any animal brain and scale it up to achieve human-level intelligence. The authors conclude that the structure and connectivity of the brain are more directly linked to intelligence than just size.
Meanwhile, the COP28 climate summit in Dubai has adjourned with a deal on fossil fuels, but some experts are warning it’s a step backwards. And whether or not you think Die Hard is a Christmas film, it has some interesting things to
say about terrorism.
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wikipedia/Foley
Robert Foley, University of Cambridge; Marta Mirazon Lahr, University of Cambridge
The human brain uses up 20% of the energy we consume.
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Countries agreed to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels, but oil and gas firms are ramping up production.
James Gabbert/Alamy Stock Photo
Alaa Al Khourdajie, Imperial College London; Chris Bataille, Columbia University; Lars J Nilsson, Lund University
The distinction between ‘abated’ and ‘unabated’ fossil fuels is crucial, yet remains ambiguous.
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Yippee-ki-yay.
Atlaspix/Alamy Stock Photo
Steve Hewitt, University of Birmingham
While the film’s terrorists may have been fake, the message about the political climate of the time is real.
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Politics + Society
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Claire Burchett, King's College London
Grzegorz Braun’s act was a reminder of how antisemitism has been normalised by the outgoing administration.
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Bashir Saade, University of Stirling
Israel is effectively fighting a war on two fronts.
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Stephen Clear, Bangor University
The government is attempting to overrule the supreme court by passing a new law.
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Dafydd Townley, University of Portsmouth
Around 50% of those under 30 supported Biden’s policy on Israel, a higher number than other age groups.
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Felia Allum, University of Bath
Women are often victims of these highly patriarchal crime systems – but they can also be powerful decision makers and exploiters of others.
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Education
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Alma Harris, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Pisa measures 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science every three years - but is that the best way to test an education system?
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Environment
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Nicholas Cowan, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; Mathew Heal, The University of Edinburgh
‘Breath emissions’ are around 0.05% of the UK’s total methane emissions.
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Brad Reed, Northumbria University, Newcastle; Hilmar Gudmundsson, Northumbria University, Newcastle; Mattias Green, Bangor University
Pine Island Glacier passed a tipping point decades ago, and it could do again in the future.
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Matt McDonald, The University of Queensland
Yes, there was some progress at COP28. But the international community is not taking this enormous climate challenge as seriously as it should.
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Health
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David Bergman, Karolinska Institutet
Some people with microscopic colitis avoid going outdoors.
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Timothy Matthews, University of Greenwich; Line Jee Hartmann Rasmussen, Duke University
Inflammation could be the missing puzzle piece.
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Science + Technology
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Stephen Woodcock, University of Technology Sydney
The annual ritual of buying a gift for a random recipient opens a window onto some fascinating mathematics.
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