Stories

• Coining new languages

  Gaia Vince celebrates the newcomers in our evolving linguistic landscape.

  06 August 2016

  • Mind, Neuroscience

• The woman who lost two languages and only got one back

  A burst aneurysm caused bilingual Basia Grzybowska to lose both her English and her Polish. Now she has recovered – partly.

  06 August 2016

  • Mind, Neuroscience

• Where is language in the brain?

  Language is all around us but where does it sit inside us?

  06 August 2016

  • Mind, Neuroscience
• 

  The do-nothing dilemma

  When Judy Refuerzo heard the word ‘carcinoma’, she began considering her treatment options. But two years on, she’s chosen surveillance over surgery. Charlotte Huff meets her and other so-called watchful waiters.

  02 August 2016

  • Society, Ethics
• 

  Cleaning up the herbal healers

  Traditional remedies in Ghana are loved by the people, championed by entrepreneurs and make millions for the government. Yepoka Yeebo finds out how herbal medicine became big business – and whether regulation might make or break it.

  26 July 2016

  • Health, Healthcare
• 

  When cuteness comes of age

  Neil Steinberg flies to Japan and finds a country and culture conflicted over cute.

  19 July 2016

  • Society, Identity
• 

  Life as a Lolita girl in the UK

  Exploring the subculture known for doll-like make-up, bonnets and petticoats.

  17 July 2016

  • Society, Identity

• Why some robots are created cute

  Neil Steinberg explores why, for certain robots, cuteness has its advantages.

  13 July 2016

  • Tech, VR and robots

• How designers make a toy cute

  What makes something so irresistibly cute that you need to touch, cuddle or play with it?

  13 July 2016

  • Society, Identity
• 

  Why are we still waiting for the male pill?

  History is littered with ideas to control male fertility – and men are keen to have them. But with the heyday of the contraceptive industry apparently past, bringing the two together requires great determination and inventiveness.

  12 July 2016

  • Health, Body
• 

  The ‘gay cure’ experiments that were written out of scientific history

  Robert Heath claimed to have cured homosexuality by implanting electrodes into the pleasure centre of the brain. Robert Colvile reports on one of the great forgotten stories of neuroscience.

  05 July 2016

  • Society, Identity
• 

  How the mafia is causing cancer

  When doctors in rural Italy began to see a surge in cancer cases, they were baffled. Then they made the link with industrial waste being dumped by local crime syndicates. Ian Birrell learns about the tragic consequences.

  24 June 2016

  • Planet, Environmental health

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