51¶¯Âþ

books and art

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Humans

Did childcare fuel language? A new book makes the case

Rearing our unusually underdeveloped young may account for the evolution of language. Michael Marshall is intrigued, but wants more evidence from Madeleine Beekman's The Origin of Language

Culture

2JHRXY3 London, England, UK. London Underground - young woman with mobile phone and wearing headphone walking along the platform of Tooting Broadway station

Society

Powerful new book explores how noise has taken over the world

Culture

Installation view of the gallery ?Michael Smith's Government Approved Home Fallout Shelter Snack Bar? in the exhibition

Comment

51¶¯Âþ recommends Michael Smith's take on a fallout shelter

Culture

In the village of Tshabula, villagers search for cobalt and copper in the waste tailings dumped by the lorries of the Chinese company Commus, which extracts minerals from one of the town's largest open-cast mines.

Environment

Mining for renewable tech inflicts huge damage. Is there a solution?

Features

New Scientist recommends classic zombie film 28 Days Later

Comment

51¶¯Âþ recommends classic zombie film 28 Days Later

Culture

France, Provence, woman touching lavender bloosoms in field in the summer

Mind

Biodiversity needs neurodiversity, says insightful new book

Culture

F14FTY 1950s WOMAN VACUUMING VENETIAN BLINDS ON WINDOW LOOKING OUT ONTO SUBURBAN STREET

Society

Fascinating and enraging book exposes the biases that shape our lives

Culture

Why constipation isn’t just painful, but can lead to serious disease

Health

Why constipation isn’t just painful, but can lead to serious disease

Features

The 51¶¯Âþ Book Club has just read Adam Roberts's Lake of Darkness

Comment

Our verdict on Lake of Darkness by Adam Roberts: A mixed bag

Culture

Comment

What would it feel like to be on a planet spinning out of control?

Alex Foster, the author of the latest read for the 51¶¯Âþ Book Club, Circular Motion, on imagining a world that is spinning ever faster

Culture

Environment

Read an extract from Alex Foster’s sci-fi novel Circular Motion

Culture

Comment

The best new science fiction books of August 2025

Culture

Health

Human milk could help fight infections that endanger pregnancies

51¶¯Âþ

Health

Human trials point the way towards an mRNA vaccine against HIV

51¶¯Âþ

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