ARE WE THINKING ABOUT DEATH WRONG IN THE WEST?

Everyone who’s alive now – you, your friends, your family – one day won’t be. It’s an unavoidable fact and yet we often go to great lengths to avoid acknowledging it. JULES HOWARD explains why that might be a mistake

ARE WE GETTING HAPPIER?

Enjoying more good days than bad? Feel like that bounce in your step’s getting bigger? HELEN RUSSELL looks into whether we’re all feeling more cheery…

The Explainer: Why Are Mountains So Formidable?

The explainer

Why Does The Universe Exist?

Stephen Wolfram is trying to find a rule that dictates the Universe. And in doing so, he might even become the first person to finally devise a complete, fundamental theory of physics. Elegant, or what?

A Scientist's Guide To Life - Indoor Air Pollution

Cleaning products… candles… cookers… how much does indoor air pollution really affect us, and what can we do about it? Respiratory specialist Dr Jonathan Grigg explains all -

Electric Vehicles: What Can We Do With The Growing Number Of Dead Batteries?

What will happen to the batteries when the first generation of electric vehicles reach the end of their lifespans in around a decade? Are they bound for the scrapheap, or can they be salvaged?

MASKING THE ISSUE

Even when the pandemic is over, you shouldn’t shove your face coverings to the back of the drawer

SPIDERS: SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUT BEING BITTEN BY A FALSE WIDOW?

A study has found that numbers of the spiders are increasing, along with the number of people being bitten. But what risk do they really pose?

BEYOND THE MEDAL

A Paralympian and their guide form a partnership based on more than winning

WHY DO I ALWAYS WALK INTO A ROOM AND FORGET WHAT I'M DOING?

Fear not, you’re far from the only one to have had this rather unsettling experience.

ALEXA, WHERE' S MY ROBOT BUTLER?

A machine that does the jobs we don’t want – that’s what was promised to us by the science fiction of the last century. Unfortunately, goof high-tech helps in hard to find - but that's about to change. Jennifer Pettison Touhy reveals how ho our homes are about to start looking after us, and not the other way around

Climate Change: Can The New Targets Get Us To Net Zero?

The UK government is aiming for an emissions cut of 78 per cent, compared with levels in 1990. They want to achieve this by 2035. Is this feasible?

Through Hardship To The Stars

‘Per aspera ad astra’. This is the phrase adopted as a statement of intent by space agencies, both real and fictional, that originates in Virgil’s Aeneid. But exactly what kinds of hardship will the human body have to endure to colonise the cosmos? Prof Christopher E Mason has been studying astronauts’ reactions to life in space and reveals to Ian Taylor how we might adapt to overcome the challenges we face

EYE OPENER

Incredible Images around the world

A GIANT LEAP FOR ANIMAL KIND

As we look to set up permanent bases on the Moon, Mars and beyond, we’ll need to bring other forms of life with us... but how will they cope with life in space?

INSTALLING A NEW AGE OF HUMANITY

FROM REALITY-ENHANCING IMPLANTS TO BRAIN-CONTROLLED EXOSKELETONS, BREAKTHROUGHS IN BIO-TECH HAVE FUELLED A NEW FUSION OF MACHINERY AND ORGANIC MATTER. HERE WE SPEAK TO THE CYBORGS WHO ARE HELPING HUMANITY TRANSCEND ITS BIOLOGICAL LIMITS, ONE DEVICE AT A TIME

EAT YOURSELF HAPPY

Increasing evidence suggests that a microbiome-friendly diet is good for your brain as well as your body

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

How a hand-holding charity stunt launched a social network, way back in the 1980s

BMI: IT'S FLAWED, SO WHY DO WE USE IT?

A report published by the Women and Equalities Committee says that the use of the Body Mass Index should be scrapped. Is there a better way to calculate if you’re a healthy weight?

A SCIENTIST'S GUIDE TO LIFE HOW TO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SHAVE

FED UP OF NICKS, CUTS AND RASHES? THIS MONTH, DR MARY SOMMERLAD FROM THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF DERMATOLOGISTS EXPLAINS HOW TO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SHAVE…

Hide And Seek In Cyberspace

A puzzle that remained unanswered for more than 14 years has now been solved, thanks to technological leaps in image searching

Why Do Some People Experience More Vaccine Side Effects Than Others?

Vaccines work by showing the body a microbial mugshot of a tiny perpetrator (such as a virus or bacterium) that is a threat to your body.

Should We Be Worried The Speed Of Earth's Rotation Is Changing?

We define a day as 86,400 seconds, or 24 hours – the time it takes for Earth to rotate once.

How Wildlife Vaccines Will Prevent The Next Human Pandemic

The coronavirus vaccines currently being injected into arms across the world are our escape route to normality. But keeping deadly viruses at bay and maintaining our freedoms in the future may require brand-new mass vaccination programmes that look very different to the ones currently taking place

Covid-19: Why Is It So Difficult To Figure Out Which Animal It Came From?

Was it bats? Was it pangolins? Was it both? Was it something else? Finding the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is vital for fighting future epidemics

LOOT BOXES: THE NEXT BIG BATTLEFRONT

Periodically, there have been moral panics about video games, with headlines claiming that “violent” and “addictive” titles are affecting impressionable players. At present, it is loot boxes’ turn to be put under the microscope. But should we be worried about video games, and are loot boxes a cause for concern?

THE AWESOME POWER OF SLEEP

Matthew is a professor of neuroscience and psychology and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the author of the international bestseller, Why WeSleep: The New Science Of SleepAnd Dreams, published by (£10.99, Penguin Random House).

POO: SHOULD WE BE PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO IT?

The trend for stool-gazing has health-conscious people staring into their toilet bowls. Before you don the rubber gloves, let’s flush out the truth from the pseudoscience

TIME TO SHINE

A FEW YEARS AGO, SCIENTISTS BELIEVED ONLY A TINY BAND OF CREATURES COULD EMIT LIGHT. BUT A STRING OF NEW DISCOVERIES HAS ILLUMINATED A WIDER WORLD OF GLOW-IN-THE-DARK LIFE FORMS

Bird Photographer 2021 finalists announced

Now in its sixth year, the Bird Photographer of the Year competition saw more than 22,000 entries from 73 different countries all competing for the £5,000 grand prize.