CATEGORIES

THE DAY THE DINOSAURS DIED

New BBC documentary, Dinosaurs: The Final Day, presented by Sir David Attenborough, digs into a fossil site that may have recorded the moment an asteroid wiped out almost all life on Earth. Holly Spanner met with Robert DePalma, one of the palaeontologists at the site, to find out more about the significance of this discovery...

A WHOLE NEW WHORL

MANY OF US HAVE SEEN SEASHELLS ON THE BEACH AND MARVELLED AT THEIR COLOURS, AND PATTERNS OF CURVES AND RIDGES. BUT SEASHELLS ARE FAR MORE THAN JUST PRETTY OBJECTS, AND THEIR INTRICATE STRUCTURES CAN HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INHABITANTS THAT ONCE DWELLED INSIDE THEM

DOES YOUR DOG REALLY LOVE YOU?

Sure, they wag their tails to greet us and are happy to snuggle up and watch TV in the evening, but are our beloved pooches actually experiencing the same love for us as we feel for them?

COVID-19 can have long-term impacts on the brain

According to a study on nonhuman primates, effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the brain include reduced oxygen flow, neuron damage and bleeding

Experts call for NHS to provide genetic tests to usher in era of personalised medicine

We must move away from the current "one drug and one dose fits all" model to make treatments safer and more effective

Huge DNA study reveals new clues about cancer-causing mutations

The findings could lead to better diagnosis and treatments for cancer

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LAB-GROWN MEAT

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A FUTURE WHERE YOU CAN HAVE YOUR STEAK AND EAT IT…

NASA to test giant slingshot designed to fling satellites into orbit

NASA has teamed up with private spaceflight company SpinLaunch to trial a unique system designed to send satellites into space using a slingshot-like launcher. The system works by attaching a rocket payload onto one end of a giant spinning arm powered by electric motors, accelerating it to high speeds and then flinging it out into space.

The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Metaverse

Facebook recently changed its name to 'Meta' in order to position itself at the forefront of a new digital frontier called the metaverse. But what the heck is the metaverse, and what can it offer us mere mortals who do not inhabit the shiny Silicon Valley bubble?

MIGRAINES:CAN NEW TREATMENTS HELP EASE THE SUFFERING OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE?

Better understanding of the processes driving migraine pain is leading to promising new remedies

ARGOS OR AMAZON: WHO DID IT FIRST?

You can thank an in-flight catalogue, not the internet, for the emergence of convenient same-day deliveries

Can a smartphone be eco-friendly and desirable?

Fairphone has a long history of producing some of the most eco-friendly smartphones around. In fact, it is currently ranked in the top 1 per cent of sustainable companies in the world according to EcoVadis, a sustainability ratings company.

MALE CONTRACEPTIVE PILL ONE STEP CLOSER

The researchers behind the drug hope it will start human clinical trials later this year

Are we living in a multiverse?

Are there universes where the laws of physics do not apply, like in the newest Doctor Strange outing?

WHY I DITCHED MY FITNESS TRACKER

Stop chasing a 10,000-step target - Active 10 is an easier, more effective way to get fit

FIT TO BURST

INFLATION IS A USEFUL TOOL IN NATURE, ALLOWING ANIMALS TO PROJECT SOUNDS, SCARE OFF PREDATORS OR EVEN ATTRACT A MATE. LET'S BRING ON THE BLOAT!

COVID RISK: IS IT SAFE FOR ME TO RESUME ALL MY NORMAL ACTIVITIES?

In a restriction-free world, how risky is going to the pub vs going to the supermarket?

HAPPINESS: IS IT RIGHT TO PURSUE IT AT ALL COSTS?

Research suggests that focusing on your own happiness can end up making you miserable

THE DNA DETECTIVE

All sorts of mysteries lurk in our family trees, from long-lost relatives to adoptees' hidden heritages. In the new series of DNA Family Secrets, geneticist Prof Turi King sets out to solve them with the help of presenter Stacey Dooley and home genetic testing kits. She talks to Sara Rigby

IF MY BRAIN CAN'T FEEL PAIN, WHY DO WE GET HEADACHES?

We tend to experience pain when unpleasant stimuli activate sensory nerve fibres called nociceptors.

THE RACE FOR THE MOON

A new space race has begun. Over the coming years, an armada of rockets will head to the Moon to hunt down precious resources, satisfy the urges of billionaire tourists and maybe do some intriguing science along the way…

London Tube: Does Its Air Harm Your Health?

The Mayor of London hopes that 80 per cent of trips in the city will be made on foot, bike or public transport by 2041. But how polluted is the Underground's air?

Renewable Energy: Why Can't It Keep Uk Energy Prices Down?

Huge increases in gas prices have sent UK bills skyrocketing. Can green energy offer a solution?

An Immune System for the Planet

Can we build a global pathogen defence system -a planetary equivalent of the immune system - to protect us when the next pandemic arrives?

YOUR PRODUCTIVE BRAIN

Increasing your productivity is easy. It's just a matter of making a few simple changes to your routine, or behaviour, or thinking, and your productivity will soar. At least, that's what countless online articles claim. The actual science tells a different story. Even a modest amount of research reveals that some of the most commonly touted claims about how to boost productivity fall apart in the face of the evidence. So, here are some of the most common myths around boosting productivity, along with a number of approaches that have a more robust scientific basis.

TORNADOES

THE EXPLAINER

THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: WHY IS IT BEING RETIRED AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO IT?

The last decade of the ageing space station's life will feature private occupants, movies and an eventual watery grave

Using magnets to influence the brain could lead to revolutionary new depression treatment

The method, tested in rats, targets star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes. Neuroscientists Dr Yichao Yu and Prof Mark Lythgoe at University College London tell us more...

SPACE: HOW CAN WE SOLVE THE SPACE JUNK PROBLEM?

Recent news of an out-of-control rocket crashing into the Moon sounds dramatic, but it's the millions of pieces of smaller debris that present the real danger, according to a UK expert