Doctor Gerard Cheshire, inset, from Bristol University, claims he cracked one of the world's most mysterious texts, the Voynich manuscript, a medieval text which has eluded scholars for years. The text was compiled by Dominican nuns as a source of reference for Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, the great aunt to Catherine of Aragon. The manuscript was written in an extinct and until this point unrecorded language, top right a symbol used in the text, as well as using an unknown writing system and with no punctuation marks. The translations reveal that the manuscript is a collection of information on herbal remedies, therapeutic bathing and astrological readings, left and below right.
Flying jet-powered taxi that carries five passengers at 186mph performs successful take-off in Germany
A German has conducted its first successful flight of its electric five-seater air taxi. Lilium, based in Munich, lew an unmanned test flight of its vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system in early May. The jet has 36 engines which allow it to take off vertically, and has a maximum top speed of 80mph (300 kmph) and a range of 80 miles. According to the tech firm, its flying taxi would allow users to travel from London to Manchester in less than an hour.
Pigeon slippers, dog's liver and inscribed cheese: The bizarre prescriptions two 'celebrity doctors' made in 17th century England to cure witchcraft, STDS and the plague
Simon Forman (inset, top right) and his protégé Richard Napier (inset, bottom right) paraded through Elizabethan England professing to be able to heal people of anything from witchcraft to 'bloody flux'. Consultation of the stars and a plethora of absurd treatments, including pigeon slippers, deer dung and boiled crab, were prescribed to patients. The pair left behind notes on every one of their 80,000 cases, but it was written in almost illegible writing (main) and has long remained a mystery. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have now deciphered the texts and placed some of the bizarre records online.
Brand new Doctor Who virtual reality adventure launching on Vive, Oculus and BBC's VR app will let fans step inside the Tardis
Written by Victoria Asare-Archer and directed by Mathias Chelebourg, Doctor Who: The Runaway allow fans of the long-running science fiction show to become the Doctor's latest travelling companion by donning a VR headset.
Remains of the wife of King Canute who 'walked over hot metal to prove she did not cheat on him' have been discovered in chests at Winchester Cathedral
Remains found in 1,000-year-old chests in Winchester Cathedral (top left, top right) are thought to be those of Queen Emma (bottom), wife of two Anglo-Saxon kings, including Canute (inset, left). Her importance was such that she was the first queen whose portrait was painted by artists (inset, right) and immortalised in court records. She was betrothed to King Ethelred The Unready and upon his death, married his successor, King Canute, author of one of the country's most lasting legends. Canute is popularly known by the story that he tried to teach his advisors the limits of his power by instructing them to carry him to the beach. The King then ordered the tide to stay out. The bones will go on display as part of an exhibition of the Cathedral's history, Kings and Scribes, which will open later this month, of which Queene Emma (artist's recreation, top middle) features prominently.
- World's most mysterious text is finally cracked: Bristol academic deciphers lost language of 600-year-old Voynich manuscript to reveal astrological sex tips, herbal remedies and other pagan beliefs
- Flying jet-powered taxi that carries five passengers at 186mph performs successful take-off in Germany
- NYPD under fire for using photos of celebrities such as Woody Harrelson to help its facial recognition systems track down suspects who look like them
- Mysterious yellow glass in Egyptian desert used on a pendant by King Tut was created when an asteroid struck the Earth
- Scientists warn West Antarctica's ice has thinned by 'extraordinary amounts' as study on 25 years of satellite data reveals glacier thickness has dropped 400 FEET in some areas
- Lush tropical islands that inspired Charles Darwin are being suffocated by an astonishing 414 million pieces of plastic - including 373,000 toothbrushes
- Pigeon slippers, dog's liver and inscribed cheese: The bizarre prescriptions two 'celebrity doctors' made in 17th century England to cure witchcraft, STDS and the plague
- Bedbugs may have sucked the blood of dinosaurs 100 million years ago as scientists discover they were alive twice as long ago as previously thought
- Remnants of 100 undiscovered ancient temples which are thought to date back as far as the 6th century unearthed in Cambodian jungle, archaeologists claim
- Facebook blocks dozens of fake accounts set up to influence elections around the world by Israeli company that also spent over $800,000 on adverts
- There may be hope for the Galaxy Fold yet: Report claims Samsung has fixed two major problems with its $2000 foldable phone that caused it to break within days of first use
- Brand new Doctor Who virtual reality adventure launching on Vive, Oculus and BBC's VR app will let fans step inside the Tardis
- Nissan unveils revamped self-driving system that uses radar and 'tri-cam' setup to see, as it sides with Tesla to shun popular lidar after Elon Musk called the technology 'a fool's errand'
- SpaceX will send 60 satellites to orbit tonight in the first of a dozen launches to set up its Starlink network that could provide high-speed internet all around the world
- First AI that sees like a human could lead to automated search and rescue robots, scientists say
- Oldest Scandinavian human DNA is found in CHEWING GUM made from birch tree tar 10,000 years ago in Sweden
- Remains of the wife of King Canute who 'walked over hot metal to prove she did not cheat on him' have been discovered in chests at Winchester Cathedral
- Outrage after Adobe says customers using an older version of Photoshop may be SUED if they continue - even though they paid for the software
- Where Israel's doomed lunar lander crashed into the moon: NASA image captured from orbit reveals the site of impact 'halo' left behind by Beresheet
- Remains of the wife of King Canute who 'walked over hot metal to prove she did not cheat on him' have been discovered in chests at Winchester Cathedral
- US government has its sights on AI that can track people for MILES using footage from different surveillance systems
- Oldest Scandinavian human DNA is found in CHEWING GUM made from birch tree tar 10,000 years ago in Sweden
- Ancient Romans used molten iron to repair Pompeii's streets before the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius which buried the city in ash and rock in 79 AD
- Mysterious yellow glass in Egyptian desert used on a pendant by King Tut was created when an asteroid struck the Earth
- Pigeon slippers, dog's liver and inscribed cheese: The bizarre prescriptions two 'celebrity doctors' made in 17th century England to cure witchcraft, STDS and the plague
- Oldest crater on the moon was created by a giant asteroid: Chinese probe finds rocks from deep inside the moon on its surface – and now scientists want to bring them back to Earth
- Bedbugs may have sucked the blood of dinosaurs 100 million years ago as scientists discover they were alive twice as long ago as previously thought
- Lush tropical islands that inspired Charles Darwin are being suffocated by an astonishing 414 million pieces of plastic - including 373,000 toothbrushes
- Brand new Doctor Who virtual reality adventure launching on Vive, Oculus and BBC's VR app will let fans step inside the Tardis
- There may be hope for the Galaxy Fold yet: Report claims Samsung has fixed two major problems with its $2000 foldable phone that caused it to break within days of first use
- First AI that sees like a human could lead to automated search and rescue robots, scientists say
- SpaceX will send 60 satellites to orbit tonight in the first of a dozen launches to set up its Starlink network that could provide high-speed internet all around the world
- Facebook blocks dozens of fake accounts set up to influence elections around the world by Israeli company that also spent over $800,000 on adverts
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Russian farmer unearths the remains of a 2,000-year-old nomadic 'royal' buried alongside a 'laughing' man with an egg-shaped head and a haul of jewellery, weapons and animal sacrifices
A farmer found the haul when digging on his land in the south of Russia near the Caspian Sea. It is a burial mound dating back up to 2,000 years and contains the remains of a high-ranking nomadic'royal'. The chieftain (left) was buried with his head raised as if on a pillow and wearing a cape adorned with gold plagues. Other discoveries include along the skull of a 'laughing' man with an artificially deformed egg-shaped cranium (bottom right) and pieces of jewellery (top right).
Stone Age families crawled on hand and foot through dark caves for FUN carrying wooden torches 14,000 years ago, new study suggests
A series of tracks created roughly 14,000 years ago has revealed stunning new insight into the ways ancient humans explored dark, potentially treacherous cave systems during the Stone Age. Researchers say at least 180 hand and footprints line the clay-rich floor of Italy’s cave of Bàsura in the famous Toirano caves, indicating ancient humans crawled barelegged through low tunnels as they searched for food and even explored for fun. The group that left behind these tracks thousands of years ago included a total of five individuals, from adults to children as young as three years old, who navigated the dark pathways using wooden sticks as torches.
Lenovo unveils the 'world's first' foldable laptop with a 13-inch bendable screen that folds in half to become the size of a book
The Chinese tech giant is bringing bendy screen technology to a totally new gadget, releasing what it's calling the 'world's first foldable PC.' Users can fold it in half to read their favorite book in bed, unfold it and stand it up using the built-in kickstand to watch their favorite videos hands-free, or use it as a full-screen tablet to take notes during a meeting at the office.
Miraculous 'bio-glue' that sets under UV light and can heal fatal wounds to organs in seconds is developed by scientists
Scientists from Zhejiang University in China have developed a gel-like 'glue' that can be activated by shining ultraviolet light on it (left). The substance formed a waterproof seal around a 6mm opening in 20 seconds when tested on pig livers (inset) causing bleeding to be stopped. Its creators say it is strong enough to withstand pressure in the heart and could close fatal wounds without the need for staples or stitches. It could hold promise in humans and be used war-torn regions or during surgery to stop fatal bleeding
Revealed: Jeff Bezos' futuristic vision of self-sustaining habitats that could house a TRILLION people in space
Building off of a concept introduced decades ago by physicist Gerard O'Neill – who Bezos himself studied under during his time at Princeton, according to Fast Company – the Blue Origin founder outlined self-sustaining habitats that could hold entire cities, agricultural areas, and even national parks in space. While such a future may still be a ways off, Bezos says it will be an ‘easy choice’ when faced with dwindling resources on Earth. The habitats, reminiscent of the film Interstellar, could be built close enough to Earth to allow people to travel back and forth, and house ‘a million people or more each.’ And, according to Bezos, they’d have the ‘ideal climate’ at all times, ‘like Maui on its best day, all year long.’
Explorer finds a plastic bag and candy wrappers at the bottom of the ocean nearly 7 MILES beneath the surface during deepest-ever submarine dive into the Mariana Trench
In a series of five separate trips into the Mariana Trench, Victor Vescovo, a private equity investor, former naval officer, and now, the record-holder for deepest manned submarine dive, joined a narrow list of explorers to visit the vast underwater chasm. While Victor Vescovo's journey recorded a number of phenomena, including three new species of marine life, he also turned unwelcome visitors: a plastic bag and a candy wrapper.
Elon Musk posts photo of rocket stacked with 60 satellites that will launch tomorrow in SpaceX bid to beam high-speed internet to the world
The SpaceX's CEO (bottom right) has tweeted a picture of a rocket packed full with 60 satellites (left) due to be launched this week as part of his Starlink project that aims to provide high-speed internet to the world, in particular, underserved regions such as parts of Africa. Many more satellite-filled launches are needed for even low coverage. The project could potentially launch 12,000 satellites into orbit
First fossil of an ammonite trapped in amber is found in northern Myanmar – and scientists say the sea creature died after getting stuck on a beach 99 million years ago
The fossil, found in northern Myanmar, is the first ever known example of an ammonite (left) to be trapped in amber. Amber normally traps and immortalises forest-dwelling creatures as it starts life as tree sap which captures them, renders them unable to escape and then hardens. The 33 mm long, 9.5 mm wide, 29 mm high chunk of amber hosts a range of different organisms from the marine world during the Cenomanian age. The researchers used X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) (right) to obtain high-resolution three-dimensional images of the organisms.
Rise of the machines: Hulking 165-pound humanoid robot delicately 'walks a tightrope' of tiny blocks in eerily similar fashion to a human walking along a treacherous path
Researchers from the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition in Florida have created a robot that uses a planning algorithm to balance its way across an uneven path of cinder blocks. The video shows the robot, called Atlas, carefully moving across a balance beam using body control, much like a human would. It was created using LIDAR, a system that uses a pulsed laser to measure the distance between objects, in order to step correctly on the narrow terrain.
Blue Origin is 'going to the MOON': Jeff Bezos unveils lunar lander at mysterious invite-only event in Washington D.C. and suggests his firm will hit VP Pence's 2024 deadline for putting humans back on the surface
Blue Origin is now in the running to put Americans back on the moon by 2024. During an event on Thursday, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos started off by sharing elaborate concept images of self-sustaining habitats reminiscent of the film Interstellar, with lush greenery and futuristic homes within its walls. But, the real star of the talk turned out to be something much closer to home – the moon. On stage, Bezos took the wraps off a massive model of what will be the firm’s first lunar lander, dubbed Blue Moon.
A remote-controlled ship carrying British oysters to Belgium becomes the first cargo vessel in the world to traverse the seas without a crew
Mersea Island molluscs were on-board the 40-foot (12 m) long Sea-Kit vessel heading to Orstend in Belgium and there was not a single human being on-board. Instead, a myriad of technological gadgets and innovations fed data back to a control room in Maldon, Essex where two workers completed the 22-hour trip. Sea-Kit is capable of speeds of up to four knots (4.6mph), has a capacity of up to 2.5 tonnes and is powered by a hybrid electric-diesel engine.
Found next to an Aldi, the 'UK's answer to Tutankhamun's tomb': Burial site thought to belong to Anglo-Saxon Prince Saexa is uncovered in Essex in one of Britain's 'most significant archaeological finds EVER'
A royal burial site found beneath a roadside verge in Essex has been hailed as the 'British equivalent of Tutankhamun's tomb'. Discovered between a pub and an Aldi supermarket in Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, in 2003 the relatively humble site clearly lacks the opulence of the famous pharaoh’s treasures. But it is thought to be the burial chamber of the brother of Anglo-Saxon King Saebert - a powerful prince who was among the first Anglo-Saxons to reject paganism in favour of Christianity. Archaeologists now believe it to be the earliest Christian royal tomb ever unearthed in the UK and a highly significant find. Pictured (clockwise from top right to bottom left): An artist's impression of the inside of the chamber; an archaeologist at the dig site; Conservator Claire Reed, inspecting the remains of a wooden drinking vessel; the mound under which the burial site was found.
Spectacular photos taken by the Rosetta space probe during its 4 BILLION mile journey to reach a comet show in stunning detail one of the most important scientific journeys of this century
Newly-released images from the Rosetta space probe shows stunning views of the surface of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which is millions of miles away from Earth. The high-resolution images were captured by the Rosetta space probe which orbited the comet for more than two years, between 2014 and 2016. Pictured left, the comet. Top right, a close-up of the surface of the comet and bottom right, the planet Mars.
Ford is using a 'Wall-E' lookalike self-driving robot that can avoid obstacles to ferry parts around its factory in Spain
The robot 'Survival' has been designed by Ford engineers and is being trialled in Spain. It can sense its environment and dodge obstacles with LiDAR technology and is made of a shelf that has 17 slots for different weights and size. Ford says around 40-employee hours a day are saved on mundane tasks because of Survival.
Ancestor species of modern humans and Neanderthals that lived in Spain one million years ago resorted to CANNIBALISM as it was more cost-effective than hunting other animals
Researchers from Spain's National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH) found remains with clear evidence human tooth marks, cuts and and fractures expose the marrow all found. Then they calculated the cost and the benefit of consuming other humans when compared with data for other prey. They found other animals had more calories per meal and per bite, but the ease and lack of effort needed to catch humans made it more energy efficient in the long run.
Stunning decorations of a sphinx, centaur and panther are revealed for the first time in 2,000 years on the walls of the Domus Aurea palace built by the tyrannical Roman Emperor Nero
Archaeologists accessed the room of the Domus Aurea in Rome and found its walls adorned with panthers, centaurs and a mythical sphinx. Small figures are bordered in red and yellow on the walls, with a white background. One scene shows the god Pan, another a man armed with a sword, quiver of arrows and a shield fighting a panther while the sphinx image shows it on a pedestal. There are also aquatic creatures, both real and imagined, architectural motifs of the time, vegetal garlands and branches of trees with delicate green, yellow and red leaves.
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British photographers Fiona Rogers and Anup Shah captured apes in Indonesia and Borneo - and highlighted how human our evolutionary cousins are.