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The world of science fiction has shown us many wonders: alien intelligences; faster-than-light (FTL) travel; dematerialisation transporter devices; bigger, brighter, louder weapons; machine intelligences taking over the world; Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming a successful U.S. politician… This list barely scrapes the tip of the iceberg.

Some of the developments shown in what we consider to be science fiction are quite clearly preposterous and might more properly belong in the realm of fantasy. To the best of scientific knowledge, it is never going read more

With the Olympics now practically within touching distance, London is bracing itself to receive an estimated 330,000 extra international visitors from over 220 different countries. As many have pointed out, this is a role to which the capital should be very well suited – Games organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe has observed that ‘London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world, constantly renewing itself, and now home to 200 ethnic communities, who speak a total of 300 languages.’

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It has become increasingly easy to work outside your home country, which is great news for someone who enjoys the multinational world of Premier League football. However, the rising mobility of the world’s workforce is not without its dangers.

You may have heard of Dr Daniel Ubani, a German speaking doctor who gave his elderly patient a fatal overdose on his first and only shift in the UK. It was announced last week that the British government is trying to sidestep EU read more

20 year old Alex Rawlings is an Oxford university undergraduate who speaks a staggering 11 languages. He is conversant in English, Greek, German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, Hebrew, Catalan and Italian and has every intention of adding to this already phenomenal list. Alex’s interest in foreign tongues arose when he travelled to Holland with his family and was captivated by the incomprehensible lingo that surrounded him. Rather than shouting a bit louder and pointing, as one might expect from read more