Completing a fiendish jigsaw certainly engages many areas of the brain, but genetics and other lifestyle factors also play their part

‘That’s a very strong statement,” cautions Roxi Carare, professor of clinical neuroanatomy at the University of Southampton. “A more appropriate way to put it is: puzzles help delay the onset and worsening of the symptoms of dementia.”

Dementia is an umbrella...

‘Unfair’ EU rules are delaying features for European users, the tech giant says.

Conjunction is easier to spot from southern hemisphere because Antares is in southern constellation of Scorpius

The moon all but kisses the brilliant red supergiant star Antares this week. It is a spectacular meeting but one that will require some effort to spot from the UK. To stand a chance of seeing the conjunction, you will need to find somewhere with a clear southern horizon. A hill to...

Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and Dell founder Michael Dell are also both involved, the president tells Fox News.

From depression to obesity, the concept of ‘evolutionary mismatch’ can help foster self-compassion and point the way to a more rewarding existence

One of the fascinating things about working as a psychotherapist is the opportunity to observe how many of our problems involve us getting in the way of ourselves. The difficulties we encounter are frequently the result of self-sabotage, and managing...

People expect effort, not a token ‘I’m sorry’, but be careful not to over-script your acknowledgment of mistakes

Calling the contrite: are you very sorry, or are you extremely remorseful? Do you see that what you did was very wrong, or have you recognised that it was exceedingly reprehensible?

If that sounds like overdoing it, when it comes to expressing regret, syllables matter. That was the...

Silverpit crater off Yorkshire coast was caused by cathedral-sized asteroid that set off 100-metre tsunami 43m years ago

Deep below the seabed, 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, is a remarkable crater that has divided scientists – was it, thrillingly, created by an asteroid crash? Or more mundanely was it the result of geological salt movements?

Today, the decades-long scientific debate can...

Trump said a deal had been approved but Chinese state media did not confirm that an agreement had been reached.

Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are ‘great concern’ for UK’s leadership in important areas

The heads of UK physics departments say their subject is facing a national crisis as one in four warns that their university departments are in danger of closing because of funding pressures.

In an anonymous survey of department heads by the Institute of Physics (IoP), 26%...

From gardening and humming to getting a dog – there’s more to boosting your gut microbiome than Greek yogurt

When the gut health revolution began a decade or so ago, few could have predicted the sheer variety of pre- and probiotic foods that we would come to embrace in our diets. From kimchi and natural yoghurt to fibre-rich jerusalem artichoke and probiotic shots, microbiome-nourishing...

Plus the right to roam the green and pleasant, and a £1,795-a-night solution to the postpartum blues

An all-party parliamentary group is calling for everyone to be given the right to go wild camping and swimming across our green and pleasant land (and, I suppose our blue and hopefully non-besewaged waters). Apparently we only have the right to roam across 8% of England at the moment, a...

Research which began with conversations round a campfire and went on to examine 7m gene variants shows how people survive with little water and a meat-rich diet

A collaboration between African and American researchers and a community living in one of the most hostile landscapes of northern Kenya has uncovered key genetic adaptations that explain how pastoralist people have been able to thrive...