Daily Diamond - Is this a 17th-Century Witch Bottle?

A beautiful glass-like green bottle has been discovered by archaeologists working near what will be the new National Civil War Centre in Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire.
Experts have dated the bottle back to around 1680, but they don’t think that this is your ordinary old and pretty bottle......
Read the full story at: Is this a 17th-Century Witch Bottle?

Daily Diamond - The "Miraculous Recovery" of the Galapagos Tortoise

The dwindling numbers of the Galapagos tortoises have been something of great concern for conservationists for decades. But now, after 40 years of hard work, the Galapagos Island of Española now has a stable and breeding population of giant tortoises.
In the 1960s, tortoise numbers had fallen......
Read the full story at: The "Miraculous Recovery" of the Galapagos Tortoise

Daily Diamond - Brothers Cycles Across US to Raise Money for Hungry Children

Brothers and amateur cyclists Chris and Jon Gagnon, 24 and 22 respectively, wanted to do something about child hunger in America.
They had always wanted to cycle across the US and knew that if they ever got the chance to do it, they wanted it to count towards something.
The brothers, from......
Read the full story at: Brothers Cycles Across US to Raise Money for Hungry Children

Daily Diamond - Oldest DNA Shares Earliest Modern Humans' Secrets

The thigh bone of an ancient man that was found in Siberia has yielded some answers about the beginning of modern humans, published in Nature.
The man is one of the earliest modern humans to have been discovered in Eurasia (the combined land mass of Europe and Asia), dating back around 45,000......
Read the full story at: Oldest DNA Shares Earliest Modern Humans' Secrets

Daily Diamond - Utah Jazz Basketball Team Signs 5-Year-Old...

Salt Lake City’s professional basketball team, the Utah Jazz, made a new signing at the beginning of the month, who proved his worth with a slam dunk within minutes of being signed.
And he is only five years old.
“We are a young team and we decided that we’d go even a little younger,”......
Read the full story at: Utah Jazz Basketball Team Signs 5-Year-Old...

Daily Diamond - Young Carers' Lives Put into Game to Raise Awareness

Working with some charities, young carers in Wales have come up with a way of raising awareness of the types of lives they have to live every day – in the form of a board game.
The game, funded by a Millennium Trust grant, aims to bring the day-to-day issues that young carers face to the......
Read the full story at: Young Carers' Lives Put into Game to Raise Awareness

Daily Diamond - The Vegetarian Gladiators

The old adage of eating all your greens so you grow up to be big and strong is true, according to analysis on the bones of Roman gladiators.
A study from researchers from Switzerland’s University of Bern and Austria’s Medical University (MediUni) of Vienna, published online in PLOS ONE,......
Read the full story at: The Vegetarian Gladiators

Daily Diamond - How is Nature so Sparkly and Shiny?

Have you ever looked at a shiny fish scale or the metallic flecks of colour in a peacocks majestic tail and wondered how nature could be so reflective?
Researchers from the University of Bristol in England think they have the answer, with what they call a “universal explanation” for all of......
Read the full story at: How is Nature so Sparkly and Shiny?

Daily Diamond - Cow-Less Milk Grown in the Lab

A pair of bioengineers in California are trying to create milk – but without the cow (goat, sheep, buffalo…).
Perumal Gandhi and Ryan Pandya are two vegans from San Francisco who have founded a synthetic-dairy start-up business called Muufri (pronounced “Moo-free”). But the pair has......
Read the full story at: Cow-Less Milk Grown in the Lab

Daily Diamond - BP and GDF Suez Collaborate on New Oil Field Discovery

The discovery of a new oil field in the UK Central North Sea has been announced by oil companies BP and GDF Suez.
As the oil field borders on areas operated by both of the firms – and has been flow-tested to suggest that it could yield around 5,350 a day – they have agreed to......
Read the full story at: BP and GDF Suez Collaborate on New Oil Field Discovery

Daily Diamond - Enid Blyton's 'The Faraway Tree' to Be Adapted for Cinema

For the first time, the books that make up Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree series will be adapted for cinema.
Enid Blyton died in 1968, but that hasn’t stopped her stories from remaining a favourite for generations of children around the world. She remains one of the world’s best-selling......
Read the full story at: Enid Blyton's 'The Faraway Tree' to Be Adapted for Cinema

Daily Diamond - Paralysed Man Helped to Walk Again

A man who was paralysed from the neck down has been able to walk again after pioneering surgery from researchers in Poland and England, publishing their work in Cell Implantation.
In 2010, Darek Fidyak was repeatedly stabbed  in the back with a knife, resulting in his spinal cord being......
Read the full story at: Paralysed Man Helped to Walk Again

Daily Diamond - Huge 4th Century BC Mosaic Uncovered in Greece

While working on an ancient burial site dating back to the 4th century in Amphipolis in Greece, archaeologists came upon a vast mosaic, spanning the whole floor of one of the rooms inside the site.
The mosaic is 3m wide (10ft) and 4.5m long (15ft). It is made up of pebbles in red, yellow, blue,......
Read the full story at: Huge 4th Century BC Mosaic Uncovered in Greece

Daily Diamond - Another Tremendous Step Forward for Diabetes Cure

Back in February, we told you about scientists in California who had managed to convert normal skin cells into insulin-producing pancreatic cells, urging them ever closer to the elusive cure for Type 1 diabetes. Now, another team in the US, from Harvard University, have taken their own huge step......
Read the full story at: Another Tremendous Step Forward for Diabetes Cure

Daily Diamond - 'The Doctor and the Dalek': Coding for Kids

Today marks the launch of the Doctor sharing some of his vast knowledge with six to 12-year-olds through the medium of gaming.
He’ll be doing this through a new game from the BBC, called The Doctor and the Dalek. As part of the BBC’s drive to develop the UK’s coding ability over the next......
Read the full story at: 'The Doctor and the Dalek': Coding for Kids

Daily Diamond - Tech Companies Offer Egg-Freezing "Perks"

It is not uncommon for us to hear of (or be one of those) people who choose to establish their career before they even contemplate starting a family. As a result, more and more people are starting families later in life.
This, of course, is not a bad thing. But something to take into......
Read the full story at: Tech Companies Offer Egg-Freezing "Perks"

Daily Diamond - Application for Video-Game Based Free School

Ian Livingstone, one of the great minds behind such huge franchises as War Hammer and Tomb Raider, has submitted an application to open a free school in which the lessons would be built around video gaming.
The Department for Education (DfE) application has been backed by several trustees for Mr......
Read the full story at: Application for Video-Game Based Free School

Daily Diamond - Snakebot Unveils Sidewinder Secrets

Sidewinder rattlesnakes are unusual in how they quickly travel across deserts and are able to climb steep sand dunes. Observing the creatures in motion, US scientists from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University created a robot snake, designed to mimic the movements.
However, it was found that......
Read the full story at: Snakebot Unveils Sidewinder Secrets

Daily Diamond - Comedy Club Launches Pay-Per-Laugh Tickets

Sometimes it can feel as if we are paying a lot for performance tickets, especially if it turns out we didn’t enjoy the show as much as we were expecting to.
But a comedy club in Spain has come up with a novel way for customers to only pay for what they “use”, thanks to facial......
Read the full story at: Comedy Club Launches Pay-Per-Laugh Tickets

Daily Diamond - First Euro Kidney Transplant Using Keyhole Surgery

The first kidney transplant using keyhole surgery in Europe has been carried out at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, paving the way for better and safer surgery in the future.
Keyhole surgery – or laparoscopy, as it is medically known – has been used to remove kidneys from......
Read the full story at: First Euro Kidney Transplant Using Keyhole Surgery

Daily Diamond - Teens Pull Woman from Path of Oncoming Train

Like something you would see in a television show or movie cliffhanger, a woman feared for her life as she was stuck in the path of an oncoming train. Luckily for her, two teenagers happened to be driving past at just the right time to stop and pull her to safety.
Colton Essary, 16, and Maddie......
Read the full story at: Teens Pull Woman from Path of Oncoming Train

Daily Diamond - Garlic Injections to Save the UK's Trees

Acute oak decline and ash dieback are just two of many diseases killing off trees in woodland areas across the UK.
But there might be a cure for our wooden friends – garlic! Or more specifically, allicin, which is a compound found in garlic that is responsible for its unique and pungent......
Read the full story at: Garlic Injections to Save the UK's Trees

Daily Diamond - New York Opens 100-Year-Old Time Capsule

On May 23, 1914, the Lower Wall Street Business Men’s Association in New York was commemorating several great events in the country’s history, including the “union of the Colonies” – the birth of the USA – exactly 140 years before.
The men decided to fill a great bronze......
Read the full story at: New York Opens 100-Year-Old Time Capsule

Daily Diamond - Mental Health Waiting Time Targets Unveiled

For the first time, waiting time targets have been unveiled for people with mental health conditions. These targets are to be introduced from April next year, in a move that has been greatly welcomed by mental health charities.
Every year, mental health issues are thought to be accountable for......
Read the full story at: Mental Health Waiting Time Targets Unveiled

Daily Diamond - Faithful Feline Tracks Down Owner to Care Home

We have heard some amazing stories of cats travelling miles to their former homes after their families have relocated. But how often do you hear about a kitty who has tracked down their owner to a new home – and one they have never been to before?
That’s exactly what happened with Cleo,......
Read the full story at: Faithful Feline Tracks Down Owner to Care Home

Daily Diamond - RoomAlive: Turning a Whole Room into a Gaming System

You may have heard of the holodeck from Star Trek – an enclosed room in which people and objects are simulated and holographic images are projected. Inside the holodeck, you can be anywhere you want to be and it has been the pipe dream of technology companies for decades to be able to......
Read the full story at: RoomAlive: Turning a Whole Room into a Gaming System

Daily Diamond - Brain "GPS" Discovery Gets Nobel Prize

This year, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine is being shared between three scientists, Professors Edvard and May-Britt Moser from Trondheim’s University of Science and Technology in Norway and Professor John O’Keefe from University College London. Their combined works have helped to......
Read the full story at: Brain "GPS" Discovery Gets Nobel Prize

Daily Diamond - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

If, like many people, you feel that the mirror is not your friend first thing in the morning and you wish it would just say something nice about how you look, then you might want to go shopping. In an IKEA store in London, there is a mirror up as part of the display that literally compliments......
Read the full story at: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

Daily Diamond - The 7-Year-Old Good Samaritan

There is nothing we love more than telling you about cases of genuine generosity and kind-hearted people to help restore your faith in humanity, especially when those people are actually children. And here is another such tale coming out of North Carolina in the US.
Caiden Perez is a......
Read the full story at: The 7-Year-Old Good Samaritan

Daily Diamond - How to Get Children to Eat Fruit & Veg

It is a problem that most parents can relate to: how to get children to eat fruit and vegetables. But a new study from the Universities of Bath, Edinburgh and Essex suggests that all it takes is to appeal to the child’s competitive side.
There were 31 schools across England involved in the......
Read the full story at: How to Get Children to Eat Fruit & Veg

Daily Diamond - Old Phone Boxes to Charge Mobile Phones

London’s red telephone boxes – an iconic reminder of years gone by, before the rise of mobile phones and tablets. Street telephone boxes have become more and more obsolete, though some have been converted into mini libraries or fitted with medical equipment in case of emergency.
But two......
Read the full story at: Old Phone Boxes to Charge Mobile Phones

Daily Diamond - Church Pays Congregation to Do Good Deeds

Church members at the LaSelle Street Church were happily surprised when their pastor announced that all active members would be receiving $500. The money would be coming with no conditions aside from the modest request that it is put towards a good deed.
The site of the small church in Chicago......
Read the full story at: Church Pays Congregation to Do Good Deeds

Daily Diamond - The Machu Picchu Arboreal Chinchilla Rat - It Lives!

A mammal the size of a cat – that has long been thought to be extinct – has actually been found living and well beneath the world-famous Incan archaeological site of Machu Picchu.
The Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat was first discovered in 1912, inside some 400-year-old Incan......
Read the full story at: The Machu Picchu Arboreal Chinchilla Rat - It Lives!

Daily Diamond - Wonga to Wipe More Than 300,000 Debts

The UK’s biggest payday lender, Wonga, has been the subject of much controversy over the past year or so. Now the company is trying to pull back and makes amends for some of its misgivings, by agreeing to write off more than 300,000 debts of customers who are 30 or more days in......
Read the full story at: Wonga to Wipe More Than 300,000 Debts

Daily Diamond - Human and Dog Rabies Could Be Wiped Out

Did you know that rabies is one of the deadliest diseases in the world? It is a serious viral infection that can be carried by most mammals, affecting the brain and nervous system.
When the symptoms have developed, a person might become aggressive, suffering from hallucinations and fever, and......
Read the full story at: Human and Dog Rabies Could Be Wiped Out

Daily Diamond - More Children Passing Y1 Phonics Test

New government figures from the Department for Education (DfE) have shown that more five- and six-year-old children in Year One in England are meeting the expected standard in the phonics test.
The test requires pupils to spell out a combination of real words and “non-words” that allow the......
Read the full story at: More Children Passing Y1 Phonics Test

Daily Diamond - UK Copyright Law Changes: You Can Now Copy CDs!

Back in June, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) issued guidance on changes that should be made to copyright laws in the UK. Those laws have finally come into full effect and mean that we are now allowed to make personal copies of our music, films and eBooks!
Until now, every time you copied......
Read the full story at: UK Copyright Law Changes: You Can Now Copy CDs!

Daily Diamond - Bidding Namoki the Gorilla a Fond Farewell

The gorillas at Bristol Zoo in England recently threw a party to bid farewell to Namoki, who is leaving the nest to start a family of her own at Belfast Zoo in Northern Ireland.
Namoki, a western lowland gorilla, was born at Bristol Zoo nine years ago and is now old enough to start a family of......
Read the full story at: Bidding Namoki the Gorilla a Fond Farewell

Daily Diamond - Should We Cut Down on TV?

How much television do you watch each day? According to new guidelines from NICE, if you are trying to watch your weight, then it might be too much.
NICE – or the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – have updated their guidance on tackling obesity for the first time in......
Read the full story at: Should We Cut Down on TV?

Daily Diamond - New Molecule Discovery: Milky Way Yields More Secrets

Something wonderful has been discovered 27,000 light-years away in the centre of the Milky Way – iso-propyl cyanide!
Okay, so it doesn’t sound very exciting, but does actually suggest that the life-bearing chemistry and building blocks of life could be widespread throughout our galaxy.......
Read the full story at: New Molecule Discovery: Milky Way Yields More Secrets

Daily Diamond - Nike Enjoys Profit Jump After World Cup

Thanks to the World Cup 2014, the world’s largest sportswear company, Nike, has enjoyed a tremendous profit jump.
In the three months leading up to August,   net profit rose for the company by 23%, to $962 million (£590 million). During the same period, revenue rose to $8 billion (£5......
Read the full story at: Nike Enjoys Profit Jump After World Cup

Daily Diamond - Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady with an Ermine

The Lady with an Ermine… How about just The Lady? A recent discovery from French scientist Pascal Cotte has shown that even some of history’s most famous artists don’t get it right the first time, and can change their minds about their work.
Mr Cotte, co-founder of Paris’ Lumiere......
Read the full story at: Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady with an Ermine

Daily Diamond - Who is More Moral: the Religious or Non-Religious?

It really is one of those controversial questions: is a religious person, in fact, more moral than an atheist?
You may very well already have your opinion on that matter, but new research from Germany, the Netherlands and the US might surprise you…
Religious and non-religious people are just......
Read the full story at: Who is More Moral: the Religious or Non-Religious?