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Women were the key to spreading culture and knowledge around Europe 4,000 years ago, according to new research. The study revealed European women traveled far and wide from their home villages to start families - bringing with them new cultural objects and ideas, while men tended to stay near where they were born. Researchers found that at the end of the Stone Age and in the early Bronze Age, families were established in a surprising manner in the Lechtal area,...

Four out of five marine species living in the oceans around Antarctica are expected to decline in number as the seafloor warms over the next century. A British Antarctic Survey (BAS) team examined the potential distribution of more than 900 species of Southern Ocean shelf-dwelling marine invertebrates under a warming scenario produced by computer models. The researchers concluded that, while some species in some areas will benefit, four out of five of the species native to the region (79 per...

BBC Panorama reveals how a detainee was choked by a member of staff at a G4S run Immigration Removal Centre Tonight BBC Panorama reveals footage of a detainee being choked by a member of staff at a G4S run Immigration Removal Centre. The incident is part of a culture of abuse captured by undercover filming, along with widespread self-harm, and attempted suicides by detainees. The undercover filming was carried out by a member of staff, a detainee custody officer whose...

These pictures show the inside of a top secret nuclear bunker that has remained hidden - for more than 40 years. The site, built during the height of the Cold War, has been buried beneath a Grade II-listed building since it was built in the mid 1970s. These pictures show the inside of a top secret nuclear bunker that has remained hidden - for more than 40 years. But it has now opened its doors to the public for the...

If the run-up to the 2017 General Election was notable for anything it was for the self-promotion of people who claimed to be loyal to their party. On the one side there was Theresa May, who although proclaiming to be captaining a strong and stable ship was actually seeing her leadership constantly challenged by the likes of Boris Johnson and co who have long had their eyes on the premiership. And then there was Jeremy Corbyn, who has suffered a...

The picturesque seaside resorts many of us visit are not what they seem to be. Behind the sunshine (and showers) is a worrying level of deprivation. The Social Market Foundation has found that the coastal communities of the UK are among the worst off for employment, health, education and earnings. Behind the sandcastles and picture postcard vistas average wages are £3,600 a year behind the national average. The Think Tank found that five of the 10 local authorities in the...

A foreign terrapin branded with right-wing 'EDL' graffiti has been spotted in a public park. Nick Leonard was walking with his one-year-old daughter when he spotted the defaced animal in a grassy area near a pond. The small reptile's shell was daubed in white paint with the slogan "EDL" alongside a crudely-drawn cross of St George – seemingly a reference to the far-right nationalist group, the English Defence League. In a bizarre twist the species is considered an invasive species...

Grazing reindeer help increase plant diversity in Arctic regions despite climate change, according to new research. Swedish scientists have found global warming actually reduces the number of plant species in the tundra. But plant-eating animals, such as reindeer and voles, can help plant diversity in the long run. The researchers believe animals could help protect diversity by preventing losses of small and slowly-growing species. Doctor Elina Kaarlejärvi, of Umeå University in Sweden, said: “By eating tall and wide-leaved plants, reindeer...

A petition to ban 'cruel' donkey rides from a traditional English seaside resort has gained more than 110,000 signatures in just six days. Supporters say the animals endure unnecessary suffering as they are forced to walk up and down seafronts carrying children in hot weather with no rest. The petition was set up by a woman known on as 'Kirsty D' who visited Clevedon, Somerset, on a hot day. It calls on the local council to ban the rides on...