The f-word is often thought of as the most useful and flexible word in English. Whether that’s true or not, the term is so successful that it’s spawned dozens of euphemisms. Here are a few of them.

They may not be as stylish as a DeLorean or as sturdy as a blue police box, but wormholes in space could hold the key to real-life time travel – and a team of experts think they’ve figured out how. The trio of scientists delved deep into the laws of physics and discovered that it might be possible for humans to one day zip across galaxies in a matter of seconds, or journey through time itself. Now, this is all to do with the general theory of relativity and quantum physics, so don’t expect to get your head around it too easily. However, in their paper, Valeri P. Frolov and Andrei Zelnikov of Canada’s University of Alberta, and Pavel Krtouš of Prague’s Charles University proposed that a specific kind of wormhole would “inevitably” be “transformed into a time machine” if it was subject to particular conditions. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter For the uninitiated, wormholes can be described as spacetimes in which a “kind of tunnel exists connecting distant parts in the universe”. The main problem with them is… they don’t actually exist. At least not in any tangible way. As Drs Eric Christian and Louis Barbier put it in an explainer for NASA: “Wormholes are allowed to exist in the math of ‘General Relativity’, which is our best description of the Universe. “Assuming that general relativity is correct, there may be wormholes. But no one has any idea how they would be created, and there is no evidence for anything like a wormhole in the observed Universe.” Still, numerous experts in the field of gravitation and general relativity have spent years or even decades working on them, including Stephen Hawking in his time. For their paper, Frolov, Krtouš, and Zelnikov explored what is known as a ring wormhole, which was first described in 2016 by theoretical physicist Gary Gibbons, of Cambridge University, and Mikhail Volkov of the University of Tours. Unlike the spherical contortions of spacetime we might attribute to black holes, the ring wormhole proposed by Gibbons and Volkov connects sections of the universe (or, indeed, different universes) which are generally described as “flat”, as ScienceAlert notes. Ring-shaped masses could potentially create some pretty remarkable distortions in what would otherwise be flat spacetime if you consider how their electrical and magnetic fields might interact. And so Frolov, Krtouš, and Zelnikov decided to consider two types of such wormholes: “a wormhole connecting to flat spaces; and a wormhole connecting two distant domains in the same space”. For the latter, they concluded that if a “massive thin shell” surrounded one of the mouths of the ring wormhole, a “closed timelike curve” would form. This, as the name suggests, would mean that any travelling object (or ray of light) would come back to the exact same point whence it began. In other words, you could travel in space and time and return to your point of departure. The most exciting aspect of ring wormholes, as the authors point out is that: “For the ring wormhole an observer passing through it moves in a flat (or practically flat spacetime), while in the case of ‘standard’ (spherical) wormholes he/she should pass a domain filled with the matter violating the null energy condition.” Even without knowing what the “null energy condition” is, you can appreciate that the first option sounds a lot simpler. Now, before you start calling yourself Marty McFly or making a list of all the past mistakes you’d like to correct, we should stress that we’re a long way off seeing the creation of a bonafide, buckle-your-seatbelt time machine. But at least, thanks to the efforts of experts like Frolov, Krtouš, and Zelnikov, we’re at least one step closer to going back in the future. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Melanie Sykes has revealed she’s been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome. The 52-year-old I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star revealed the news of her diagnosis on her close friend Alan Carr’s podcast. Speaking of her diagnosis, Sykes said she’s “wired completely differently” and is “only now” understanding the impact of the neurological disorder on her life. Tourette’s syndrome may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics. During the interview, when Carr assured Sykes that it was fine to swear during the conversation, she said: “Oh good, but I’ll try not to, because I’ve just discovered I have Tourette’s. “I describe in the book (Illuminated: Autism and all the Things I’ve Left Unsaid) how I laugh at really inappropriate things. I am wired a completely different way and I’m only just understanding it. “I used to think, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ Now I know it’s everything that’s right with me,” Sykes added. The new diagnosis comes two years after Sykes was diagnosed with autism. The presenter, who is known for shows like Let’s Do Lunch with Gino D’Acampo, said after the diagnosis that “finally, so many things made sense”. Sykes first revealed her diagnosis in an email to readers of her magazine, The Frank. She wrote that finding out she was on the autism spectrum, which can affect the way people with autism communicate and interact with others, was “life-affirming”. She has since been welcomed into the autistic community with messages from mothers of children on the spectrum and adults diagnosed late in life. “They’re so happy I’m talking about it, normalising it,” Sykes told the magazine. “Some people who were too embarrassed to tell anyone now feel they can. “It makes me extremely happy to know I’ve helped.” Sykes’ diagnosis comes after singer Lewis Capaldi recently announced he was taking a break from touring for the “foreseeable future” due to his Tourette’s. The “Someone You Loved” singer struggled with his performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this year because of his tics, and appeared visibly moved by the huge audience who helped him sing his song. Following the show, Capaldi said he is “still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s” and needed to spend time taking care of his physical and mental health before he could return to touring. Read More Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods reunite four years after Tristan Thompson cheating scandal Nicole Kidman defends her controversial Vanity Fair mini skirt cover Alan Titchmarsh warns against ‘ill-considered’ rewilding trend in domestic gardens These are the women making waves in the cycling world Nappy changes and tantrums over Michael Gove: I took my toddler to a music festival Demi Lovato says she still struggles with vision, hearing impairment after overdose

Dolly Parton hopes she dies onstage because performing live is living her dream.

Taylor Swift is the only female artist to have four albums chart at the same time in the Billboard Top 10.

Harris Dickinson admits it would be hard to resist an offer to play James Bond despite the daunting prospect of succeeding Daniel Craig as 007.

Ed Sheeran was joined onstage by local legend Eminem at his Detroit concert.

Pom Klementieff took inspiration from movie legends Bruce Lee and Clint Eastwood for her portrayal of assassin Paris in 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One'.

By Hannah Confino REHOVOT, Israel - Every year, egg farmers kill 7 billion day-old male chicks because they cannot grow

Grasping a bouquet of roses, black headscarf tied tight and wearing a polka-dot dress, a middle-aged woman arrives in a nondescript, pink-walled hall in the Russian region of Chuvashia.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 17, 2023--

With the Tour de France Femmes kicking off on July 23 for a week of thrills, cycling and entertainment, it will also be highlighting the women making this sport what it is. In its second official year as the Tour de France Femmes, races of this calibre have happened in the past, but never on such a global stage. So, what is happening in the women’s cycling scene, how did we get here, and why does it matter?The women changing the game Women are working hard to bring the sport to people of all backgrounds. “The Amy D Foundation, Black Girls Do Bike, Get Women Cycling and Little Bella’s are all fantastic organisations, helping and encouraging women – and young girls – to get into cycling in spite of age, race and background,” explains triathlon cyclist Kate Dunbar. This year’s Tour de France Femmes will have a determined line-up of women championing the sport. Who should we look out for? “Annemiek van Vleuten was a fantastic contender in 2022, and I expect her to do well again this year. It’s her final year ahead of retirement, so she will want to do well,” says Dunbar. “The course this year is suited to van Vleuten’s skill set and she will have a stronger Movistar team to support this target, including Sarah Gigante and Liane Lippert.”A growing sport There has, in recent years, been a marked increase in the interest of this sport. “There is, without a doubt, a rising interest in women’s cycling,” says Amanda Braverman, global director of brand marketing at cycling tech brand, Hammerhead. “With more events geared towards women’s cycling and growing viewership in the Tour de France Femmes year on year, we’re seeing measurable gains in both interest and access to the sport.” “But we can’t ignore the fact that The Women’s Tour in the UK was cancelled, even though sponsors saw a huge return on investment in 2022, and the Women’s World Tour race Vårgårda, West Sweden was cancelled permanently after 25 years,” says Dunbar. “Even though we are seeing bigger efforts from organisations and the industry as a whole, as with most women’s sports, the Tour De France women’s tournament is still vastly overshadowed by the men’s – we still need more support and encouragement to boost women’s cycling,” she stresses. Cycling as a tool for liberation There is an important link between cycling and women’s liberation, that goes back a long way, beyond racing, to basic transportation. “It gave women social mobility and allowed them to travel faster and further than ever before. They could cycle further for work opportunities, and it also advanced fashion, as women needed cycling-suitable clothing. It allowed women to take control of their fitness and health in an easy way,” says Dunbar. Women’s cycling also subverted norms. “Cycling challenged femininity in the late 19th century, and bicycles were used heavily to support the English suffragettes movement. The bicycle became – and to this day remains – a symbol and a tool of female empowerment, independence, freedom and opportunity,” says Braverman. Trailblazers Some hugely inspiring women came before today’s Tour de France Femmes stars. “Some of the first women to get involved in cycling were true trailblazers, cycling as early as the late 1800s,” says Braverman. “Montreal-based Louise Armaindo raced on the high wheel, also known as the penny-farthing, which was much more dangerous than the modern bicycle. Armaindo set the North American long-distance record in 1872, and was praised as “the champion female bicycle rider of the world”. She also credits ‘The Big Five’ – Lizzie Glaw, Helen Baldwin, May Allen, Tillie Anderson, and Dottie Farnsworth – an influential group of female cyclists who raced in the 1890s, fitting their racing careers into busy lives that often included their families and other jobs. Today, there’s no denying defending champion van Vleuten leads the modern ‘big five’, but who else will be in the mix? Lorena Wiebes is likely to have another great first stage, Elisa Longo Borghini will give it her best shot, alongside the phenomenal Demi Vollering, and maybe Juliette Labous will make even more progress this year. Whatever happens, we are surely in for an exciting week of women’s sport.