Daphne Koller started with a simple idea: make the world’s best university courses available, online, free to anyone who wants to take them.

Like many townies, I often fantasise about quitting my urban eyrie for the bucolic delights of the countryside, writes Julia Stephenson.

Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present and argues that, despite the wars of the 21st Century, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence.

What is courage? Is it the fearlessness of superheroes in the face of danger? Or is it overcoming cowardice when faced by the petty tyrants infesting the power structures of modern life, asks Anthony McGowan, award-winning author of The Knife That Killed Me, a book for young adults. 

As the excitement of Team GB’s mesmerising success in the 2012 Olympics begins to settle, commentators are talking about the Philosophy of Marginal Gains which played a pivotal role in their training — and how we can all apply these techniques to improve our lives.

A growing number of people advocate that consuming fewer calories than the recommended levels gives the body a chance to work on cell maintenance. Doctors are now investigating the life-enhancing value of this lifestyle.