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The idea of using AI to read ancient texts raises an intriguing question: how will we know for sure that the AI is actually reading the original text and not simply engaged in its own imaginative version of creative writing( 15 February, p 16 )?

You ponder the question of when civilisation actually began. I have always viewed a key indicator of this as the advent of drainage. Disposal of human effluent and waste requires organised communities, surplus resources, management structures and a sense that sanitation is important. So, for Britain, civilisation started with the Romans, then departed, returning much …

Such is the power of the nocebo effect, it is arguably a mistake to read a list of possible negative side effects when you have to take a medication. When I had a covid-19 vaccine, I saw a wall poster listing possible side effects and advised the nurses it wasn't necessarily a good idea to …

Inspired by a reader's claim his cat possibly possesses theory of mind, I decided to test my own pet ( Letters, 25 January ). The experiment: I stand in front of a (full-length) mirror with Samson, a highly demanding 5-year-old Siamese cat, comfortably tucked under my arm. To attract his attention in the mirror, I …

"Text neck", the abnormal force on the cervical spine while tilting the head as we scroll on a smartphone, may not be the worst consequence. Normally, while breathing, we do so deeply from the diaphragm, but when holding a device with a bent neck, we tend to breathe shallowly. Over decades, this could damage lungs. …

The male river dolphins urinating high into the air may simply be showing off, like children ( 8 February, p 13 ).

Numerous peer-reviewed studies have validated the demographic origins of blue zones. The insights extracted from these longevity hotspots have created principles that have helped people live longer, healthier lives for a quarter-century. Claims to the contrary insult the science of demography and the people of blue zones, who are very proud of their culture of …

You report the view that rewilding and nature restoration in the UK and other European nations risks "offshoring" food and forestry production to places where biodiversity and the environment will suffer. Most rewilding in the UK takes place on land of very poor quality, often where farming has been uneconomic for decades and persists only …

In a way, the question "When did time begin?" is a non-question. Time is our manufactured, mental measuring stick, expressed as a word, to gauge and so compare motion. In this sense, it will have begun sometime after we started to use speech, between two other questions you posed: "When did Homo sapiens originate?" and …

I have two further possible explanations for the rise of ancient buildings with corners. I would have thought that it would be easier to construct a waterproof roof over a rectilinear structure than over a round one. Also, what about the ease of adding extensions to structures( 8 March, p 14 )?