Scientists have long debated whether to attribute differences in male and female behaviour to the social environments in which we are raised or whether our brains are different too. We do know that people who display more androgynous psychological behaviours often tend to experience better mental health. This group of scientists suggests the same could apply to our brains. Androgyny, it seems, pays off on a neurological level.

It’s a century since British readers were first introduced to Hercule Poirot — a portly, pompous and frankly quite odd Belgian detective. And even today they can’t get enough of him. Here we investigate the techniques Agatha Christie deployed to make this unusual character so appealing to her audience.

In his first days at the White House, Joe Biden has moved rapidly to revoke some of the key decisions that placed Donald Trump on an antagonistic footing with international partners, bringing the US back into the Paris Climate Agreement, ending the so-called “Muslim ban” and downing tools at that infamous wall. What else can we expect from the new administration? It all starts on the home front with pandemic control.

Also this week: starfish evolution, a lockdown soundscape and the best way to cook bacon.

Have a nice weekend.

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