Science & technology | Obesity and bacteria

Greedy guts?

Every week seems to bring a new theory about why people are getting fatter. The latest is that intestinal microbes are partly to blame

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David Simonds

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Greedy guts?”

A chance for a safer world

From the January 6th 2007 edition

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Dr Dorothy Bishop.

Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society

His continued membership has led to a high-profile resignation

Legal Amazon preservation area borders the field for soybean planting.

Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions

Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier


Robot mixing at Toyota Research Institute.

Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques

They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes


Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you

A mystery is finally being solved

Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever

Concerns about some of their business models are building

The two types of human laugh

One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else