CATEGORIES
WE'VE NEVER TAKEN WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE SERIOUSLY.IT'S ABOUT TIME WE DID
How much pain is normal’ for a person to have to endure? For women, that normal is often more than for a man
CLAIMING THE MORAL HIGH GROUND DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE YOU GOOD
Subconscious processes in the brain can convince us we're being good, even when we're not
UNDERSTANDING MATTER COULD REVEAL THE REASON WE, AND THE UNIVERSE, EXIST
Many questions remain unanswered when it comes to matter, but the biggest one is: Why is there any matter to begin with?
Tech horizons
Speculations about OpenAI's next projects abound, and - although nothing has been formally announced we'll be expecting updates to its Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT) models.
New frontiers in health
Following the attention focused on weight-loss drug semaglutide in 2023, phase 3 trials of a similar antidiabetic, tirzepatide (Mounjaro), are expected to produce results towards the end of 2024.
THE SCIENCE TO WATCH IN 2024
If 2023 is anything to go by, the year to come will witness breakthroughs across every field of science. From cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence to revolutionary discoveries in health and space exploration, here's what to expect...
MODELLING COMET IMPACTS COULD HELP US LOCATE LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS
Cosmic snowballs in space may have delivered life-giving molecules to Earth
YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO LOSE WEIGHT IF YOUR DOCTOR IS OPTIMISTIC
When it comes to enrolling people in weight-loss programmes, the doctor's sales pitch is key
SCIENTISTS FINALLY WORK OUT WHAT CAUSES UNUSUAL ITCHING
And it's worse than you think
HIDDEN SIGNALS UNDER EARTH'S CRUST COULD HELP US PREDICT FUTURE QUAKES
Scientists say that, with the right forecasting, we could track major earthquakes years in advance
THE BEST SCIENCE IMAGES OF 2023
A PIECE OF ROCK BROKEN OFF AN ASTEROID HURTLING THROUGH SPACE, THE FIRST FOOTPRINTS OF HUMANS ARRIVING IN NORTH AMERICA AND A GIANT MEATBALL MADE OUT OF WOOLLY MAMMOTH. THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE IMAGES THAT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF BBC SCIENCE FOCUS EDITORS THIS YEAR, AND NO, THAT LAST ONE WASN'T A MISTAKE. ENJOY OUR SELECTION OF IMAGES THAT HAD US RUBBING OUR EYES IN DISBELIEF IN 2023.
Hitting The Snooze Button May Boost Brain Function
Good news for snoozers: new research reveals that if you snooze, you don't lose
SCROLL REVERSAL
Losing days by endlessly scrolling on your smartphone? You're not alone. Perhaps neuroscience can help us beat the urge...
IF CONDITIONS ON EARTH CHANGED, IS IT POSSIBLE DINOSAURS COULD EVOLVE AGAIN? WOULD LIFE... FIND A WAY?
Dinosaurs are still with us, in the form of birds. But could the more canonical dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, evolve again, if the climate and temperature switched back to what the conditions were like during the Cretaceous? Probably not.
DEAR DOCTOR
WHY DO! LOVE SPICY FOOD, WHEN IT DOESN'T ALWAYS LOVE ME? WHAT CAN DO?
WHAT IS DECISION PARALYSIS AND HOW DO I DEAL WITH IT?
If you've ever gone online to order something during a work break - let's say a new electric toothbrush - expecting it to be fairly straightforward, but instead you found yourself overwhelmed by the huge number of choices and options available, you've experienced decision paralysis.
Q&A
IS THERE ANY SCIENCE TO LOW-DOPAMINE MORNINGS?
STRANGE RUMBLINGS
Earth-shattering seismic events can occur away from the fault lines between tectonic plates. And there's no easy way to predict when or where they'll hit
UNDER ΤΗΕ HOOD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
As the busiest year in the history of artificial intelligence (AI) comes to a close, Prof Mike Wooldridge prepares to deliver the Royal Institution's first Christmas Lecture on the subject. Noa Leach sat down with him to get a preview of the demonstrations his talks will include and an insight into how he thinks AI is going to change the world for children
A BLUEPRINT FOR ANTI-AGEING
SCIENCE SAYS IT'S TIME TO RETHINK - AND TAKE CONTROL OF - OUR BODY'S AGE. HERE'S HOW TO SLOW, HALT AND POTENTIALLY TURN BACK YOUR BIOLOGICAL CLOCK
FARM OF THE FUTURE
Join the BBC's Planet Earth III film crew HED and go behind the scenes in the city farm that's transforming fields into towers and running almost everything with robots
SAD CLOWN PARADOX:WHY TEARS OFTEN LIE BEHIND THE LAUGHS
Mental health issues are common among comedians and performing is just one way they can self-medicate
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION: HOW COOKING CAN DAMAGE YOUR DNA
From roast dinners to scented candles, there are potentially harmful pollutants lurking in every home
EMBRYO RESEARCH: WHY SCIENTISTS WANT MORE THAN 14 DAYS TO STUDY EARLY DEVELOPMENT
An extension to the 14-day limit on research has been proposed and has support. But there are moral and ethical questions to consider
THE UK'S COUNTRYSIDE IS IN TROUBLE... AND WE NEED TO DO MORE TO HELP IT
Britain’s woodlands, wetlands and wildflower meadows are under threat. But awareness isn't enough to save them
A DASH OF 'QUANTUM WEIRDNESS' ADDS AN INTRIGUING NEW ASPECT TO THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION
Just suppose survival of the fittest had a quantum element. What would that mean for life on Earth?
KIDS ARE THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING OBESITY. BUT WE NEED MORE OF THEIR GENES
We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so
AUTONOMOUS DRONE COULD REVEAL ANTARCTICA'S SECRETS
Understanding ancient tectonics will improve ice melt predictions
STUDY REVEALS WHAT REALLY KILLED THE DINOSAURS
It wasn't the meteor's impact, but the colossal clouds of dust it kicked up into the atmosphere that drove the mass extinction 66 million years ago
SCIENTISTS FINALLY FIND WHERE A STARFISH KEEPS ITS HEAD
Compelling research into their genes sheds light on the echinoderm’s enigmatic physiology