CATEGORIES
Virtual Reality Is About To Change Everything
This year, virtual reality will finally come of age. The headsets won’t just be worn by gamers: this revolutionary technology is set to change everything. From booking a holiday to visiting the doctor, our lives are about to get a whole lot more virtual...
Explore The World's First Christian Art In Asia
Asian civilisations museum launches the world’s inaugural exhibition.
True Blue
They’re very fussy about the hole they live in and they eat fruit that would burn our skin off. Grand Cayman’s blue iguanas are definitely one of a kind, says Katie Stacey
Ancient ‘Pac-Man' Frog May Have Dined On Dinosaurs
Paleontology
Seven Earth-Sized Exoplanets Found
The system of planets found orbiting nearby dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 may be our best chance yet of finding alien life.
Biochemistry
Chemists have added synthetic letters to bacterial DNA. Study leader Prof Floyd Romesberg explains how this could expand the genetic code to make proteins never before seen in nature.
NASA To Explore Metal Asteroid For The First Time
Consider us psyched. NASA will be sending a probe to a distant metal asteroid for the first time ever. The mission was selected from five finalists as part of NASA’s Discovery Program.
City Slickers
With the help of Singapore’s residents, smooth-coated otters have returned to the heart of the city. Katie Stacey went to find out how they were enticed back.
01 Experiment With Our Food
Want to cook up a delicious meal? It’s not just about the food. We chat to psychologist Prof Charles Spence about the strange science of gastrophysics.
Miniaturised Wacky Races
Forget Formula 1 – cars the size of molecules came to France to race on a track made of gold. Rob Banino sizes up the competition
Robin Ince on… Comedy and Mental Health
“Some Believe That if You’re Joking About Something, You Haven’t Come to Terms With It ”
Nasa's Mining Bot Gets Rolling
We definitely dig this. NASA has started testing the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR).
Canberra, Australia's Charming Capital City
What was once known as a sheep town has now transformed into a scenic hinterland, filled with superb monuments and galleries for both educational and leisure purposes
This Viral Immunotherapy Appears To Be More Potent Than Others That Have Been Before
A team has created designer viruses that help the immune system target tumours. One of the researchers, Prof Daniel Pinschewer, describes this new approach to cancer therapy
This Queen Has Had No Equal On This Earth For 500 Years
She was one half of a 15th-century power couple that united Spain and helped propel the west towards global dominance. Of all Europe’s queens, argues Giles Tremlett, surely none had a greater impact than Isabella of Castile
Where Are All The Habitable Planets?
The number of known planets is increasing all the time, but how soon can we expect to find life? Stuart Clark takes a closer look.
The Cholesterol Drug Controversy
THE DEBATE ABOUT STATINS SHOWS THAT SCIENCE CAN’T ALWAYS SUPPLY EASY ANSWERS
My Life Scientific
This month, volcanologist Prof Twnsin Mather talks to Helen Pilcher about getting up close and personal with one of most destructive forces
Meet The Plant Messiah
Carlos Magdalena is on a mission to save the plants. From his base at Kew Gardens, he travels the world to rescue tropical species from extinction. The botanical horticulturalist talks to James Lloyd
What Causes Turbulence?
“PLANES CAN COPE WITH TURBULENCE, SO ALTHOUGH MY TEA MIGHT GET SPILT, THERE’S LITTLE DANGER”
Can We Trust Artificial Intelligence?
Deep learning is used in everything from speech recognition software to the assessment of mortgage applications. The only trouble is, we don’t really know how it works…
Celebrate Our Pets
It seems we can’t get enough of our animal companions. But why do we keep pets at all? John Bradshaw argues that the answer can be found deep in our evolutionary past.
Meet Your Second Brain
Decision-making, mood, disease… scientists are discovering that the network of neurons in our gut is involved in a lot more than just digestion .
Winston Churchill: Atomic Warrior, Nuclear Peacemaker
At the dawn of the Cold War, Churchill was one of the west’s leading champions of the atomic bomb. But, as Britain found itself in the crosshairs of a Soviet attack, his attitude changed – and that, writes Kevin Ruane, set him at odds with the United States.
Scientists Reverse Signs Of Ageing
New genetic treatment using stem cells suggests we can trun back the clock on old age.
Go Wild In Australia
Experience close encounters with Australia’s extraordinary wildlife renowned around the world
A Surgeon With A Secret
As part of our occasional series profiling remarkable yet unheralded characters from history, Jeremy Dronfield introduces Dr James Barry, the medical pioneer and eminent surgeon to aristocracy, who was forced to conceal a fundamental fact – that ‘he’ was in fact a ‘she’
How Africa Is Learning to Cope With Drought
New technologies are helping ethiopians to stave off famine
Where Does Time Come From?
US physicist Prof Richard Muller thinks that new chunks of time could be created as the universe expands. And he wants to peer into the heart of colliding black holes to prove it…
The Six Wives In A Different Light
From the scheming sophisticate who lost her head, to the hapless ‘mare’ who repulsed the king, the reputations of Henry VIII’s spouses are secure. But do the stereotypes stand up to scrutiny? Lucy Worsley investigates