Is the Origin of Numbers a New Idea?

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The origin of numbers may date back many thousands of years, but the resech that hopes to get at these origins is still relatively new. For colin, speaking to different researchers and putting together his feature has revealed a blossoming field. It feels like there's going to be quite a lot of interesting work coming out over the next five or ten years as more people begin to think about this topic.

The cross-discipline effort to work our how ancient humans learned to count.

In this episode:

00:45 Number origins

Around the world, archaeologists, linguists and a host of other researchers are trying to answer some big questions – when, and how, did humans learn to count? We speak to some of the scientists at the forefront of this effort.

News Feature: How did Neanderthals and other ancient humans learn to count?

07:47 Research Highlights

How sea anemones influence clownfish stripes, and how skin-to-skin contact can improve survival rates for high-risk newborns.

Research Highlight: How the clownfish gets its stripes

Research Highlight: Nestling skin-to-skin right after birth saves fragile babies’ lives

09:48 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, an upper limit for human ageing, and could tardigrades survive a collision with the moon?

Scientific American: Humans Could Live up to 150 Years, New Research Suggests

Science: Hardy water bears survive bullet impacts—up to a point

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