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INNOVATIONS

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

With Italy's iconic Etna volcano erupting at the beginning of the year, followed by the lava flows of La Palma making headlines for weeks in autumn, then activity starting at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in late December, it felt like 2021 was a particularly big year for the planet's volcanoes.

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?

The search for alien life is ramping up. But what if, instead of searching for signs of biology, we looked for something more familiar: an extraterrestrial civilisation

Crime and Nourishment

In prison, suicides, self-harm, and assaults on officers are on the rise. But studies suggest there is a cheap, low-risk way to improve inmate behavior and mental health, making the facilities safer for both staffand prisoners

Me, You, and Intimacy Too

When was the last time you were intimate with someone, emotionally, intellectually, or physically? Psychologist Dr. Michelle Drouin says we are in an intimacy famine, and speaks to Amy Barrett about whether social media and smartphones are stripping us of one of our basic human needs

WHY WE NEED TO EAT MORE PROTEIN

Load up on eggs, tofu, Greek yogurt, fish, and lean meat to help you feel full for longer

THE VOLCANO THAT SHOOK THE EARTH

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano was a once-in-a-century geological event – and now the clock is ticking to study its effects…

This robot arm can be controlled with your mind

It’s hoped the tech will one day help tetraplegic patients with day-to-day life

The metaverse: will it be safe for use?

The next stage of the internet could be a Wild West if we’re not careful. Alex Hughes spoke to Prof David Reid, an expert in AI, virtual reality, and spatial computing, to find out more

Surgeons save terminal patient's life with a genetically modified pig's heart

This world-first operation proves that an animal heart can function just like a human heart, without the body rejecting it

Pandas' gut bacteria help them stay chubby on an all-bamboo diet

Changes in the bears’ gut microbiome in the season, when nutritious bamboo shoots are sprouting, helps them to gain weight and store fat ahead of leaner times

New blood test can tell if cancer has spread around the body

The test could be performed at a GP practice and would help doctors prioritize patients with widespread and later-stage cancer

The Light Fantastic

As new telescopes around the world power up, they could answer an ancient mystery: what’s powering the most energetic explosions in the Universe?

Havana Syndrome: What's Causing the Mysterious Illness?

Some have blamed top-secret weapons, but the condition could be all in the mind

An End to Ageing?

Eternal youth is the stuff of religion and mythology, but what if we could just have a bit more of it? What if there was a pill that could slow down the ravages of time, so that you could feel younger for longer. It sounds like snake oil, but there’s a growing body of research that’s betting on making it a reality

Omicron Variant: How Worried Should We Be About It?

Research has started to emerge on the latest variant of COVID. How concerned should we be about it, and what makes it different from previous variants?

Dinosaur treasure trove unearthed in Italy

PALAEONTOLOGY

ANIMAL EMISSIONS: HOW BIG IS MY PET'S CARBON PAWPRINT AND WHAT CAN I DO TO MINIMISE IT?

Globally, pets chomp their way through about 20 per cent of the planet’s meat and fish. Could Fido and Mr Tibbles adopt a more carbon-friendly lifestyle?

ASTRONOMY: NASA'S SOLAR PROBE ‘TOUCHES' THE SUN

The Parker Solar Probe is part of the way through its seven-year mission to investigate the inner workings of our nearest star

A WINNING FORMULA

Beneath the rainforests of South America lives a fungi that consumes 50,000 leaves a day without ever coming to the surface. It relies on ants to bring it food in exchange for nutrients. This unlikely partnership starred in Sir David Attenborough’s new wildlife series The Green Planet. Evolutionary biologist Dr Pepijn Kooij speaks to Amy Barrett about this special relationship…

Why do we find human like androids so unsettling?

Alex Hughes spoke to the creator of Ameca, a humanoid robot that’s been going viral online for its uncanny facial expressions

WELCOME TO YOUR FUTURE COMMUTE

JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, IT FELT LIKE FLYING CARS WERE STILL A DISTANT SCI-FI FUTURE WE COULD ONLY DREAM ABOUT. BUT INVESTMENT HAS INCREASED RAPIDLY, AND A NUMBER OF COMPANIES ARE NOW BUILDING AIR TAXIS TO MAKE OUR CITY JOURNEYS FASTER, EASIER AND CLEANER

The Big Burnout

Long hours, low pay and a lack of appreciation — among other things — can make for a stressful workplace and lead to burnout. It’s something we should all be concerned about, because over half of the workforce reports feeling it

Could you be cryogenically frozen?

It’s a task harder than doing the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs

GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE

2022 will see NASA, with help from its international partners, take the first major step on humanity’s journey back to the Moon, and the start of a mission to establish an outpost alongside Earth’s natural satellite

A WHOLE NEW WORLD?

Technology has transformed our lives in the last couple of years. Will it continue to do so as we ring in 2022?

A VACCINE FOR CANCER

The pandemic derailed a lot of medical research. But the effort that was suddenly redirected towards developing a vaccine for COVID-19 may have helped us make important progress on at least one breakthrough: preventing cancer

PUTTING NATURE TO RIGHTS

More countries are enshrining the right to a clean environment into law. So if a company or government is impinging upon that right, you could take them to court

AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE: A BETTER TYPE OF AI?

Why are we working so hard to make computers that compute better, when we could be using computers to help us think and act better?

IT'S TIME TO GET EXCITED ABOUT THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE

NASA’s most ambitious project yet will peer deep into space looking for clues about the birth of planets, stars and the evolution of the Universe itself