Greek austerity tragedy shows where not to make cuts
There have been drastic rises in infant mortality, suicide and depression since Greece made deep healthcare cuts – but it doesn't have to be like this
Phone's Wi-Fi hotspot acts as SOS beacon in disasters
An app that turns your phone into an SOS beacon will tell rescuers where to find you if you are trapped, even when the internet is down
Our blender brain: How mixing ideas made us human
About 50,000 years ago we started to mash up incompatible concepts – and everything from science to fashion is the result, says cognitive scientist Mark Turner
India unveils its first home-grown astronaut capsule
A test version of the capsule should fly later this year, even as the country's space agency waits for funding to run a human space-flight programme
Cost of natural disasters doubles in China
Climate change and economic growth mean China paid out $69 billion to mop up after natural disasters in 2013, double the previous two years
Virtual currency 'Riecoin' tackles prime number enigma
Bitcoin's biggest exchange may have collapsed but a new virtual currency has an extra draw: testing a mathematical hypothesis worth $1 million
Robot arms to help knit replacement human body parts
A 3D printer fitted with two robot arms can simultaneously deposit two very different tissue types – without needing a scaffold to build on
Anti-gay Uganda claims sexual orientation is a choice
Uganda threatens life in jail for homosexuality, demanding critics show that people are born gay rather than choose to be. Here's the evidence
Virus that caused flu pandemic dominates again
Deaths from flu are up this year among young adults in the US, thanks to the same virus that caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic
European Commission sues UK over polluted air
The UK is the worst offender in the European Union in terms of failing to limit its smog, so the European Commission is taking unprecedented legal action
Electric heart sock could kick out pacemakers
A transparent silicon sock that slips around the heart could allow monitoring of this precious organ, and even do away with unwieldy pacemakers
Space images reveal California's vanished snowpack
Watch the snow on Californian mountains disappear after a year of brutal drought. NASA hopes the pictures, taken from orbit, will help the thirsty state find water
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